About To Install Linux

[hey_suburbia]

I have set up a partition, and I have two versions of Linux ready to go.

Redhat 9.0
SuSE


what version of linux (possibly other versions) would give me the best experience with Linux, I'm basically looking for an alternative to Windows and need it to do basic desktop stuff, I'm not running a server. Maybe some video rendering, 3d.... Which Linux version has the best compatiability? Is there a "front-runner" in the Linux world?

What version of linux do you use? I'm just over-whelmed by the number of versions out there and can't decide. Which one is gonna last?

Thanks

[StyleWarz]

I suggest to use Mandrake Linux or Knoppix both are very good distro's... If you're a real Linux n00b, Mandrake is yours.... :P

[LSA]

I am using red hat 9 but people tell me that slackware is really good and it is not hard for newbies (I am trying to learn linux too)

[hey_suburbia]

How do you like Red hat?

Red Hat seems to be the one I always here about.

[shn]

Originally posted by hey_suburbia@23 January 2004 - 14:56
How do you like Red hat? 

Red Hat seems to be the one I always here about.
Red hat is dead, unless you want to pay 180 bucks for a boxed copy and support that most experienced linux users dont even need.

The only distro that will go further in development is the Fedora project, which is an ok distro but It will always be for enthusiast and never be capable of running on live systems. You can still find copies of older versions of red hat. The most recent is red hat 9 (aside from feora). But pretty soon they will drop all of that as they already get enough money from their partners like cisco and other big companies that require rhct or rhce certification from red hat and only redhat.

I still use red hat linux advanced server 2.1 but I run it on a machine for production purposes and was forced to pay for a support liscence every year even though I did not need it. Fedora still has a long way to go. So unless you want to be recovering from a crash every other day i suggest you switched to a more stable distro. But there are good tutorials on this site for the fedora project. http://fedoranews.org/

Also some other links for distros that I posted previously.

http://filesharingtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=95648

[uNz[i]]

I just tried my first Linux distro today... and it was pretty sweet.
Morphix is a Live Linux distro based on a combination of Debian and Knoppix.
You can read about it and also download from here (http://morphix.sourceforge.net/modules/news/).
Heres a screencap of the desktop.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/unz/images/Morphix.png

[h1]

I use SuSE 9.0 Pro. Power users should use either SuSE or Gentoo. You would be better off going with Mandrake or Slackware.

[LSA]

A good place to get free linux cd's is a local linux user group, sometimes they do install demonstrations and they would surely have cds there.

I forgot to go to mine when they did a install demonstration...was going to get slack <_<

sometimes you can get a book from the library about linux and they have cds in them...but the ones that i see are usually about red hat :(

[uNz[i]]

Another good place to get the odd distro is demo CDs on the cover of PC magazines.
Thats where i got my copy of Morphix.
I&#39;m beginning to think the editor has something against Windows. :D

[LSA]

Originally posted by uNz[i]@23 January 2004 - 16:29
I&#39;m beginning to think the editor has something against Windows. :D
who doesnt have something against windows? :lol:

[shn]

Originally posted by haxor41789@23 January 2004 - 16:10
I use SuSE 9.0 Pro. Power users should use either SuSE or Gentoo. You would be better off going with Mandrake or Slackware.
Suse desktop is not for power users. Only The SUSE LINUX Server Family is. Gentoo is though. Omg slackware..........for a n00b? Thats a no no.

@uNz[i

Is that gnome 2.2 or 2.4?

Looks good. B)

[uNz[i]]

iI think it&#39;s Gnome 2.4

I was too busy trying to learn how to access my A: drive to be paying much attention to version numbers... I&#39;m such a Linux n00b :lol:

I played with that distro till the sun came up.. and I&#39;ll definately be going back for more.:)

[shn]

Originally posted by uNz@23 January 2004 - 16:46
iI [i]think it&#39;s Gnome 2.4

I was too busy trying to learn how to access my A: drive to be paying much attention to version numbers... I&#39;m such a Linux n00b :lol:

I played with that distro till the sun came up.. and I&#39;ll definately be going back for more.:)
Your a: drive should be "/dev/fd0"

Or just use the disk mounter Im sure there is one in 2.4 :)

[h1]

Originally posted by shn+23 January 2004 - 23:39--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (shn @ 23 January 2004 - 23:39)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-haxor41789@23 January 2004 - 16:10
I use SuSE 9.0 Pro. Power users should use either SuSE or Gentoo. You would be better off going with Mandrake or Slackware.
Suse desktop is not for power users. Only The SUSE LINUX Server Family is. Gentoo is though. Omg slackware..........for a n00b? Thats a no no.

@uNz[i

Is that gnome 2.2 or 2.4?

Looks good. B) [/b][/quote]
Slack was what I started with, yes there was a curve, but it wasn&#39;t too difficult.

I am very happy with SuSE now. Gentoo is also very nice, I&#39;ve given it a try before.

[uNz[i]]

Yeah.. I found the disk mounter after reading the help files... I had to learn how to mount a floppy and format it so I could save that screenshot.... All in all, it was a very educational night. :D

[LSA]

I think these live cds are just what linux needs to become a mainstream desktop os

join teh revolution

:tank: :gunsmile: http://indalinux.hispalinux.es/imagenes/tux.jpg :gunsmile: :tank:

:lol:

[ultimatejester]

I wanna download Mandrake on but its on 3 cds. Also will i be able to run it from the cd.

[SeK612]

I d/l&#39;ed Marndrake v9.2 recently to try out Linux. I was looking for Redhat (I&#39;d heard alot bout it and guess it was popular) but they were messing around with distros (with v9.0 being phased out and Fedora being phased in). It wasn&#39;t too bad to install and runs fine. I stick with windows still though as I need to sit down and configure Mandrake properly.

[uNz[i]]

Originally posted by ultimatejester@24 January 2004 - 09:23
I wanna download Mandrake on but its on 3 cds. Also will i be able to run it from the cd.
MandrakeMove is the single disk live version, which means it&#39;ll run straight from the CD.

The file you&#39;re after is called MandrakeMove-i586.iso - 631348 KB
Edit: ftp://mirror.inspire.net.nz/mandrake/iso/

[shn]

Originally posted by ultimatejester@23 January 2004 - 17:53
I wanna download Mandrake on but its on 3 cds. Also will i be able to run it from the cd.
In the time it will atke you to download all thoose iso&#39;s you can have mandrake installed in less time than that if you do an ftp network install from a mandrake mirror.

All you have to do is download a small 1 to 2 meg boot image and use rawrite for windows to write it to a floppy. Rawrite For Windows (http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/rawwrite.htm)

You have to use a server that has the o.s. files and not just the iso. When you get to mandrake download page just look for this:

Mandrake Linux 9.2 for i586 and higher

Here is an example of a mirror server with the o.s. files.......good bandwidth too.

ftp://ftp.phys.ttu.edu/pub/mandrake/9.2/i...ges/network.img (ftp://ftp.phys.ttu.edu/pub/mandrake/9.2/i586/images/network.img)

Once you write it to a floppy you just boot from the floppy and follow the installation instructions. You should have at least 2 to 3 mirror ftp addresses written down for the install because it will ask you for the exact ftp link and the directory. And if one does not work or you put in the wrong address you wont have to boot into windows just to find the address of another.........have more than one.

[ultimatejester]

They only have one Canadaian mirror. I didnt find any OS file in that one. How about i use the Texas one.

[safrole]

I think these live cds are just what linux needs to become a mainstream desktop os
True. Live&#39;s are good for newbies, just cd/ram-boot and go. If you connect via ethernet card, chances are you can use dhcp to continue connecting, unless you&#39;ve got some obscure/obsolete devices.
I like the Debian live&#39;s. Tried Mandrake but the individual pkdg selection is a bit tedious, too many
dependency Y/n, plus I find apt-get > rpm.
Whatever you choose, study the package list. The Linux kernel keeps evolving so you need the necessary tools to compile it. Distrowatch (http://www.distrowatch.com/) lists the major packages for each cataloged distro.

[DWk]

Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?

[shn]

Originally posted by DWk@25 January 2004 - 20:20
Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?
I have so many distros burned to a cd that I dont use nero for burning linux iso&#39;s. I use a much smaller and less system consuming app since I burn in the background a lot.http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

It easily integrates into the right click menu for a quick burn of any iso image and it can finalize as well.

I usually use nero when Im doing music, and video burning. But the app above is much more lightweight. Sometimes you do have to check or uncheck some options in nero depending on what type of image your burning. Why cant nero just burn the iso in one step?. Why does it have to be so advanced for an iso image?<_< Here is what it looks like............btw its completely free no strings attached.


http://server5.uploadit.org/files/shn2150-isorecorder.JPG

[safrole]

Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?
Yes. Finalize and select disc-at-once. Maybe disc-at-once/96. I remember burning a few coasters with track-at-once.

[cselik]

i&#39;ve tried them all, even beos and some unixes.
i can tell u one thing: don&#39;t be logged in as root, only when u need to do someting only root can do.

i stayed on suse, don&#39;t like it very much though. But since im not using x, only putty-ing to it, guess it doesn&#39;t matter than.

yeah, suse will tell you things when you enter a: bash. :lol: :lol:

[DWk]

Originally posted by safrole@25 January 2004 - 22:31

Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?
Yes. Finalize and select disc-at-once. Maybe disc-at-once/96. I remember burning a few coasters with track-at-once.
Ok.... the file name is MandrakeMove-i586.iso

I assume that i586 is some kind of Standard? I&#39;m gonna try burning Mandrake today and testing it at the university.

Thanks for the proggie, shn, I&#39;ll get onto that :)

[DWk]

There goes one coaster with Nero <_<

I burned with DAO and when I try to boot with the CD, it goes around like it&#39;s not a bootable CD :( (although it does check if it is)

[uNz[i]]

Just swiped this from the Morphix FAQ,, and they in turn swiped it from the Mandrake readme, so it should help you get sorted Dwk. ;)

(Note: this has been copied from the Mandrake Readme and has been slightly edited, credit where credit due)

All the CD-Writing software can use ISO image to burn directly a CD-Rom.

Important note: take care to download the ISO in binary mode (FTP). By default Netscape download the file in ASCII mode which corrupt the image. You can check the integrity of the ISO file with the md5 key (md5sum mandrake.iso under Linux), go to http://www.etree.org/md5com.html to get the md5sum.exe version if you are using Windows)

If the download
fails you can use "Resume" which allows you to continue the download. It
works with ftp (reget), ncftp, CuteFTP, Getright, ...

With Easy CD Creator:
--------------------
Open Easy CD Creator
Go to "File"
then to "Create CD from disc image"
make sure to change the bottom drop down menu ("Files of type:") to say
"ISO image files"

It will do the rest after you browse to the *.iso file
(Thanks for zacheyer)

With WinOnCD:
------------
you can select a
"track-image" project when you click the New button. So long as you are
in track mode, not file-system mode (how that looks depends on whether
you have 3.0 or 3.5) then dragging a track image file onto the CD window
should accept it as a raw track. WinOnCD uses .RAW as its own
extension
(Thanks Rick Jones)

With Nero Burning Rom:
----------------------
Open Nero.
Close the wizard if it is started automatically.
Go to "File"
then to "Burn Image...".
In the next dialog, click on "Image Files (*.nrg)" and select "All files
(*.*)".
Choose the .iso file and accept.
In the following dialog make sure:
- Type of Image is: Data Mode 1
- Block size: 2048
- Image header: 0
- Image trailer: 0
- All the checkboxes are unactive.
Click "OK".
In the next dialog check that the "write" and "finalize" option are active.
Click on "Write".
(Thanks Antonio Asensi)

With CD-Record:
---------------
CD-Writing HowTo:
http://howto.linuxberg.com/ptHOWTO/CD-Writing-HOWTO

For example:
cdrecord -v speed=4 dev=4,0 mandrake.iso
You get the number on the SCSI bus number with "cdrecord --scanbus"


Good luck.

[DWk]

Actually when I try to burn with Nero, i have all those options correct :(

[uNz[i]]

Odd :blink:

Well, all I can suggest is to try one of the other burning progs in that readme. :huh:

[shn]

Originally posted by DWk+26 January 2004 - 05:08--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (DWk @ 26 January 2004 - 05:08)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-safrole@25 January 2004 - 22:31

Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?
Yes. Finalize and select disc-at-once. Maybe disc-at-once/96. I remember burning a few coasters with track-at-once.
Ok.... the file name is MandrakeMove-i586.iso

I assume that i586 is some kind of Standard? I&#39;m gonna try burning Mandrake today and testing it at the university.

Thanks for the proggie, shn, I&#39;ll get onto that :) [/b][/quote]
i586 is the architecture of most modern machines. i586 and i686.

Older ones are i386 and so on.

[DWk]

Originally posted by shn+26 January 2004 - 12:25--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (shn @ 26 January 2004 - 12:25)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>
Originally posted by DWk@26 January 2004 - 05:08
<!--QuoteBegin-safrole@25 January 2004 - 22:31

Wondering if there&#39;s anything I should check/uncheck in Nero before burning my Mandrake Move iso I downloaded?
Yes. Finalize and select disc-at-once. Maybe disc-at-once/96. I remember burning a few coasters with track-at-once.
Ok.... the file name is MandrakeMove-i586.iso

I assume that i586 is some kind of Standard? I&#39;m gonna try burning Mandrake today and testing it at the university.

Thanks for the proggie, shn, I&#39;ll get onto that :)
i586 is the architecture of most modern machines. i586 and i686.

Older ones are i386 and so on. [/b][/quote]
Still, my Mandrake Move CD isn&#39;t booting :(

[DWk]

Burned again.... well it&#39;s good news - I complete a full set of coasters for my house <_<

[shn]

What did you use to burn it?

[DWk]

Originally posted by shn@26 January 2004 - 20:44
What did you use to burn it?
Nero and Alcohol. IsoRecorder didn&#39;t recognize a blank Cd (the hell....)

[hey_suburbia]

what would be a good linux version for a shitty laptop P2, 192 RAM, 333 mhtz. I tried installing Mandrake beta 10, didn&#39;t work. I got passed the main load screen than just a blank screen. How&#39;s Lindows for laptop? Any suggestions.

[shn]

Originally posted by hey_suburbia@26 January 2004 - 22:47
what would be a good linux version for a shitty laptop P2,&nbsp; 192 RAM, 333 mhtz.&nbsp; I tried installing Mandrake beta 10, didn&#39;t work.&nbsp; I got passed the main load screen than just a blank screen.&nbsp; How&#39;s Lindows for laptop?&nbsp; Any suggestions.
http://netbsd.org

Btw, thats not linux...............but its close enough. :lol:

[4play]

i was thinking of installing freebsd (http://www.freebsd.org/). same kinda thing as openbsd (http://www.openbsd.com/) and netbsd.

anyone tried these before and how much to they differ from linux.

[shn]

Originally posted by 4play@26 January 2004 - 23:02
i was thinking of installing freebsd (http://www.freebsd.org/). same kinda thing as openbsd (http://www.openbsd.com/) and netbsd.

anyone tried these before and how much to they differ from linux.
Lots and lots of manual configuration............But its worth it once you get em up and running.

Dont plan on having a gui right after installation. 99% of the time youll have to configure all that yourself, among other things.

Hope you like spitting out commands at a black screen ;)

[4play]

you know i love to ssh into my machines remotely, their is nothng more i love than a bit of command line tinkering.

still was gonna use it on and old machine have it stripped down with no gui and use it for a fileserver.

[shn]

Originally posted by 4play@27 January 2004 - 02:56
you know i love to ssh into my machines remotely, their is nothng more i love than a bit of command line tinkering.

still was gonna use it on and old machine have it stripped down with no gui and use it for a fileserver.
Then have at it.

X servers tend to be of no use if your using a linux box as any type of server. It will just take up valuable resources.

Btw..................who needs a gui anyway? :lol:

*edit* Once again. Any bsd as Im sure you already know 4play is not linux. Its based on unix from the berkeley software distro.

Still uses X though, if you let it. Just didnt want to get any linux n00bs confused. ;)

[hey_suburbia]

Are there special versions of linux made for the laptop?

333mhtz
p2
192 RAM

besides NetBSD?

[shn]

Originally posted by hey_suburbia@27 January 2004 - 14:59
Are there special versions of linux made for the laptop?

333mhtz
p2
192 RAM

besides NetBSD?
http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/

[hey_suburbia]

Thanks for the link, extremely helpful. I actually went to that site before, but I thought it was just some kind of advertisement because of the way they have all of the computer models layed out. :frusty:

[ultimatejester]

Originally posted by shn+24 January 2004 - 00:15--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (shn @ 24 January 2004 - 00:15)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-ultimatejester@23 January 2004 - 17:53
I wanna download Mandrake on but its on 3 cds. Also will i be able to run it from the cd.
In the time it will atke you to download all thoose iso&#39;s you can have mandrake installed in less time than that if you do an ftp network install from a mandrake mirror.

All you have to do is download a small 1 to 2 meg boot image and use rawrite for windows to write it to a floppy. Rawrite For Windows (http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/rawwrite.htm)

You have to use a server that has the o.s. files and not just the iso. When you get to mandrake download page just look for this:

Mandrake Linux 9.2 for i586 and higher

Here is an example of a mirror server with the o.s. files.......good bandwidth too.

ftp://ftp.phys.ttu.edu/pub/mandrake/9.2/i...ges/network.img (ftp://ftp.phys.ttu.edu/pub/mandrake/9.2/i586/images/network.img)

Once you write it to a floppy you just boot from the floppy and follow the installation instructions. You should have at least 2 to 3 mirror ftp addresses written down for the install because it will ask you for the exact ftp link and the directory. And if one does not work or you put in the wrong address you wont have to boot into windows just to find the address of another.........have more than one. [/b][/quote]
:lol: :lol:

Thnx for that.

I have a laptop and i use a PCMCIA Adapter. Everytime i choose the option to download it through Ftp. It says" Plz note that PCMCIA Adapters are now supported, plz check pcmcia.img and one other .img file" and after that a page appears with different drivers i guess and then i chose pcmcia.generic. It asks me to send a command to kernel??

What do i do next?

[ultimatejester]

Never mind. I found it. I am suppose to download the image and wite it on the disk right.

Is there any big difference in MandrakeMove and other 3 disk version.

[shn]

Originally posted by ultimatejester@28 January 2004 - 13:30
Never mind. I found it.&nbsp; I am suppose to download the image and wite it on the disk right.

Is there any big difference in MandrakeMove and other 3 disk version.
Yep just get that image and write it to the floppy. Hopefully you want have to pass any additional options to the kernel............I doubt it.

There is a slight difference. Plus you get a few less features with the downloaded version of mandrake move. But all thoose features can be added back, most people dont need them anyway.

The 3 disk version is a full fledged mandrake linux distro. There is really never a way to lack on features pertaining to a particular distro because you can add all that stuff later if you need it.

The mandrake move is great for laptops ;)

[DWk]

Bleh.....stupid Mandrake Move .iso.... there goes 4 coasters :angry:

Downloading RH9 now :rolleyes:

[hey_suburbia]

I decided to go with :
680845312 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD1.i586.iso
681529344 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD2.i586.iso
681504768 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD3.i586.iso



Started to install on my
366mhz
192RAM
p2
Laptop



Got the following:

Loading alt0......
Loading alt0/all.rdz....................................................
Ready.
Uncompressing linux...........

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; invalid compressed format (err=1)

--system halted


Any idea&#39;s what to do next?

[shn]

Originally posted by hey_suburbia@28 January 2004 - 20:30
I decided to go with :
680845312 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD1.i586.iso
681529344 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD2.i586.iso
681504768 MandrakeLinux-10.0-beta1-CD3.i586.iso



Started to install on my
366mhz
192RAM
p2
Laptop



Got the following:

Loading alt0......
Loading alt0/all.rdz....................................................
Ready.
Uncompressing linux...........

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; invalid compressed format (err=1)

--system halted


Any idea&#39;s what to do next?
You can start by not installing a "beta"

With linux, nothing matters except the kernel. The new kernel thats out now has a minor version number that is even. For example:

Kernel version "2.6.1" The 6 is the minor version number, and its even. Anytime the minor is even that means that the kernel is fully developed and completely stable.
If its 2.5.x or whatever then its not a fully developed kernel.

I think mandrake uses a 2.4.x or whatever.

the point I am tring to make to you is that the kernel is the core of the o.s. When it comes to linux a kernel is really all that matters. The rest are just packages and libraries, ect.

So if your downloading a beta version of some type of linux then the only thing beta will probably be the packages and everything else besides the kernel. As you can see mandrake 10 beta runs a 2.6.1 or 2.4.25 kernel (your choice) so its stable in that regard. But all the packages are probably not and still need development.

So here is what you should do. Install mandrake 9.2 and then upgrade the kernel to 2.6.1 if you want a completely stable system, packages and all. Or keep the kernel with that comes with 9.2 because it also has an even minor version number.

In other words, your gonna get a lot of buggy packages (software programs) if you install the beta.

You do not have to use mandrake, try something else if that still does not help. Try another distro. I would stay away from anything from red hat unless it is red hat Fedora. Red hat 9 and other previous versions will be of no use to you in the future unless your a paying customer you will not be able to update it or anything.

Btw, you might need an older version of linux on your laptop. Whatever distro you get consider going back a few versions as the versions out now are not designed to run on a system as slow as yours (processor). Just like xp wont run on a lot of older machines............although Ive see xp on a 100mhz box with 64 megs of ram, right before it was thrown in the trash :P

[ultimatejester]

Great.

I installed MandrakeMove since you said it was good for laptops. I am posting here after reading all the documentation. I cant change the resolution. I am on 800 x 600 right now. I wanna change it to 1024 x 786. Could this be because of generic driver. Also is there a way i can save my sessions. How do i know which device is not supported.

Thnx

[shn]

Originally posted by ultimatejester@29 January 2004 - 02:09
Great.

I installed MandrakeMove since you said it was good for laptops. I am posting here after reading all the documentation. I cant change the resolution. I am on 800 x 600 right now. I wanna change it to 1024 x 786. Could this be because of generic driver. Also is there a way i can save my sessions. How do i know which device is not supported.

Thnx

Availability:

&nbsp; # The MandrakeMove Download Edition is already available for Club Members&#33;
&nbsp; # The MandrakeMove Boxed Edition is available for immediate order at MandrakeStore.com. The Boxed Edition provides the complete MandrakeMove system, plus the capability to save configuration and personal data to a USB key<_< , plus additional commercial software such as NVidia® drivers, Acrobat® ReaderTM, RealPlayerTM, FlashPlayerTM, and MandrakeMove documentation.

Thats what I was referring to regarding the lack of features in the downloaded version. I suppose they include some type of menu item in the paid version that allows you to save your configuration, etc in a few easy steps. Anyways, who cares.............never pay for linux ;)

Like any live cd that is about the only issue that most poeple hate. Most people just deal with because they dont use it as a primary o.s., they just use it when they want to tinker with linux.

Now for a hardcore user like myself thats where the shell scripts come in at. You can have that configuration script executed at your login shell everytime you boot up the live cd. I thought you would be aware that your settings dont get saved since its a live cd. If you have a jump drive or usb thingie you can save your configuration script to that drive or maybe even a floppy and then write a simple shell script that mounts /dev/fd0 at boot and runs your config script when your logon shell appears. I could do that for you but it would require me to ssh into that box and edit your config files, I would need sudo permission for that, or just plain out root.........and with all do respect I would rather decline because its not worth the trouble for a live cd. If you wish to have preferences then probably be best to have an installed system.

You can also save the desktop configuration (.kde in kde desktop) on another partition (non ntfs) but the partition would have to be mounted at boot time.

Your resolution size can be changed in the mandrake control center, or your Xfree86 config file. And with the generic driver its actually the opposite, if your graphics is screwed up then youll probably need to use a generic "vesa" driver. For older notebooks the framebuffer is almost always set to fb800x600 by default. Funny were on mandrake, Im telling you all this about mandrake and I dont even use it. But its linux, so I generally know.

Like I said, try another distro.

[Illuminati]

Anyone else seeing the vision of a forthcoming poll on favourite Linux distro? ;)

Maybe it&#39;s just me who thinks it but this is a bloody great topic. :D I was thinking about trying Linux on dual-boot soon (as many of my chosen universities are using Linux & WinXP on dual-boot for my course :)) and wasn&#39;t sure which distro to go for.

A friend of mine had problems removing the boot sector of Mandrake after taking it off so I thought against using that. Likewise, many of those unis used Red Hat so I thought about using that - Until I saw this topic :blink:

Which leads to another question - Are all Linux distros able to dual-boot or is it just Red Hat? :huh:

[shn]

Originally posted by Illuminati@29 January 2004 - 04:27
Anyone else seeing the vision of a forthcoming poll on favourite Linux distro? ;)

Maybe it&#39;s just me who thinks it but this is a bloody great topic.&nbsp; :D I was thinking about trying Linux on dual-boot soon (as many of my chosen universities are using Linux & WinXP on dual-boot for my course :)) and wasn&#39;t sure which distro to go for.&nbsp;

A friend of mine had problems removing the boot sector of Mandrake after taking it off so I thought against using that.&nbsp; Likewise, many of those unis used Red Hat so I thought about using that - Until I saw this topic :blink:

Which leads to another question - Are all Linux distros able to dual-boot or is it just Red Hat? :huh:
Its the boot loader that allows it to dual boot. If you install a boot loader then yes it can duel boot.

But you could just use a floppy disk to boot your linux kernel that way you can leave you mbr untouched (master boot record) Although you wont get a o.s. selection screen.

As for red hat, I cant complain. I have used red hat advanced server 2.1 on my alienware mj-12 for a years but I have a liscence with them and pay a yearly fee because that box in particular I use as a commercial server. So I could get sued if I didnt. But the new o.s. for general linux users will be Red Hat Fedora Project and they have put up some great tutorials for fedora here Fedora Community Site (http://www.fedoranews.org/)

Its the previous versions of red hat that you should avoid............red hat 9 and anything before that. But if your just installing for local testing purposes then what the hell give it a try, its when you find out you want to keep it and use it for a while and then they "stop" putting out updates for the general public . That day will come. Red Hat is just in the process of getting their infrastructure situated.

[hey_suburbia]

Thanks again for the help, shn.

I&#39;ll give 9.2 a try.

The installation was very inconsistent,
First I&#39;d get stuck on the first page of installation saying that it couldn&#39;t uncompress,

Second, I&#39;d get stuck on a page with a guy and a heart around him and the error saying
something about a kernal panic, could not mount....bad parameters.
http://www.basicfunction.com/transfer/heart.jpg
And lastly, I&#39;d get to a screen that mentioned something about second stage ramdisk.
http://www.basicfunction.com/transfer/error.jpg
It was very strange, but I&#39;ll give 9.2 a try.

[4play]

Originally posted by hey_suburbia@29 January 2004 - 15:52
http://www.basicfunction.com/transfer/heart.jpg


what the hell is that. seems very odd to me having that on a linux install where did you get this copy ?

[shn]

I suggest you run an md5 checksum on that disk.

Or was that the mandrake 10 beta? Maybe it looks like that, I have never tried it :huh:

But like 4play said, thats odd.

Since mandrake was to no avail, probably because of the old hardware on your laptop. Now you might want to try out Fedora Core.:

No need to downlod the 3 iso install disk (do a network ftp install from a official Fedora mirror).. Just download your floppy images as needed from here --- ftp://ftp.nrc.ca/pub/systems/linux/redhat...i386/os/images/ (ftp://ftp.nrc.ca/pub/systems/linux/redhat/fedora/linux/core/1/i386/os/images/)

You will need at least the pcmciadd.img. And if that site is slow you may choose from the various mirrors here ------ http://fedora.redhat.com/download/mirrors.html but follow the same directory path as the mirror above to get to the images directory.

Once you have the image you need write it to a floppy with rawrite like you have done before as posted previously in this thread above. You should be brought to the installation screen. Once you get there Please follow this step by step self explanatory Fedora Core Installation Tutorial. -- http://www.phatvibez.net/FedoraInstallGuide/index.html (credit to Brian Chamberlin)

Your almost certain to have trouble with your xconfiguration (graphical) so If you like you can choose not to set x up and skip your x configuration If its not going to work unless manually configured anyway your better off skipping it and editing your Xfree86 config file from the command line using an editing tool that is always installed by default like vi or emacs editor. If you decide to take the chance and try to set up x server in installation process you will need to see if your "exact" video card is listed and select that, if it is not selected then you can try using a generic but it probably wont work and x will fail to start after boot and you will have to knock the runlevel down to 2 so it wont start on boot and then edit your config file. I will give you the correct commands to do that if that happens. But the whole install may go really smooth.............youll just have to see. Or you can try mandrake again or whatever suits your fancy ;)
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@hey_suburbia -- Strange :huh:

Mandrake move works fine for me. I even created a virtual_key that can supposedly save my settings just like the paid version but Ive yet to see. Also all my drives were mounted so I have access to the ntfs windows files on this box. However it does not come with mozilla.:angry:. It even warned me when I tried to upload a snapshot to the forum.:huh:
http://server5.uploadit.org/files/shn2150-snapshot1.jpg