So there are a lot of people having trouble installing Linux ( Ubuntu ) on those ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 or any other ATI card here is the solution ( i have given this example with ubuntu but it can be used with any other Linux distro ) first go to ATI’s site and download the driver then all we have to do is boot into your linux distro and just install the drivers, for that we will first need a copy of the drivers on HDD or flash drive, and then just cd into that directory and type
sh ati-driver-installer-8.40.4-x86.x86_64.run
where ati-driver-installer-8.40.4-x86.x86_64.run is the name of the driver file with me, it will start the install procedure just follow that and after the install just configure your resolution with
aticonfig --resolution=0,1280x800
as my resolution was 1280×800 your can be 1024×786 or some other just type what ever it is.
after this we just need to start the X server again type startx and enjoy every thing in graphical mode.

Note:- if you used a Live CD you will have to install the drivers 2 times first for the live CD and then for your system, enjoy!!!

Ankur Shrivastava