[somethingotherthenwindows]

Now let me pull out some of my linux distro CDs... alright. I have freeBSD, mandrake 10.0, mandrake 10.1, Damn small linux (DSL), mandrake move, peanut linux, and ... gentoo. Now, I have succesfully installed only 2 linux ditros in my whole life. thats mandrake 10.0 and redhat 7.2. Now I know im not the fastest learner ever but I spent ALL of yesterday and last night till 2:00 AM trying to get gentoo installed. (maybe if u could pick up from where you thought you messed up then it would be easyer) and it took me damn near 3 months to get redhat installed. Ok ok so the install is hard, big deal? but nooooooo once I get Redhat all my hopes of linux are ruined. the so called "better then windows by being stabler (HAHA) and faster (another HAHA)" alright. So I spent 3 months to do that, (or one long day and night) thats ok Now I get to do the fun stuff, LEARN THE SYNTAX! yeah! I start to learn the syntax and on my way I discover that there is such thing as "BlackBox WindowManager" SWEET! clear windows how cool! so I download the file and use all my now known linux commands to try to install it. Guess what? I find out that redhat is fussy with blackbox. so I read and read and read findout how to get myself started then untar it and find out there is a depedancy.ok lets go get that. opps another depedancy, so i go get that and guess what? ANOTHER DEPENDANCY! haha, so now that my dreams of geting all these files that need this user and this access and this dependancy and this distro are ruined. I tryed other files, of course! I never give up. to this day of me working on linux for about.. total of 5-6 months i have installed 2 outs of 8 distros and 1 out of .. ALOT of files. Cool im new I get it so i fire up this bzflag game and its slow as (something). OK FINE let me just jog down to my locale linux store. OOHHHH i live in helena montana! I forgot there isnt one! alright let me go to the library. guess what? linux books from redhat ver .00000000000000000002.4.2..3.6.78.8.9.2.2!

Now to conclude my adventure with linux, its hard to learn, hard to install, not that mcuh faster then windows, imposible to get new software on it, and the games out there are null...
BUT fear not because today is another adventure! (I never give up)

P.S. gentoos instuction to install gentoo are AWESOME. Its the only guide/tutorial out there I've seen not totaly made for linux guru's.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

LMAO i found debian and remember trying to install that too!!

[danleff]

Quote:

Now let me pull out some of my linux distro CDs... alright. I have freeBSD, mandrake 10.0, mandrake 10.1, Damn small linux (DSL), mandrake move, peanut linux, and ... gentoo.

No wonder you are having trouble! That's quite a list! Don't expect Peanut or DSL to run well, from what I know abour your system so far. These distros are lightweight and don't have the features that you would need for a fully functioning system, especially for games and such. Mandrake will take care of the dependency issues for you if you use the control center/install software tool to add the apps that you need off the cd.


The problems occur when you add apps. that are not included with Mandrake. This can be frustrating, but if you are not dedicated to learn the syntax, then it may not be worth it for you.

Most of the apps. that you need are on the cd's that you burned, if they were not already installed during the install of Mandrake.

Don't expect older distros to work well as well, since you have newer hardware. I would imagine you would have problems installing Windows 95 on your system as well.

Maybe you can start with what you are looking to do on your system, then we can suggest ways to go.

I would also look into the live cd versions of Linux. This way you get an idea of what a typical install has, without actually doing the install yet. Kinda like a preview of Linux. Knoppix and Mepis are both good ones.

[egorgry]

If you haven't completly lost all hope try out ubuntu or mepis it's debian based, easy to install. Apt will make your pkg managment easy. gentoo and debian are for hardcore linux warior geeks that like to hack. Get your feet wet with something a little more newbie friendly. Don't take this as an insult but it sounds like you want the ease of windows or mac you won't find it with linux mainly because the major vendors don't support it. oh and freebsd ain't linux.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

I know freeBSD isnt linux, thats part of the reason i got it. to check it out. i thought i would throw that in the list though.

its not that i want something easy is just that i dont want something imposible... i just tryed to install gentoo again. and i got futher on the boot-up this time. but it says...

checking all filesystems...
the superblock could not read or does not describe a correct ext2 filesystem. if the device is valid and it really contains a ext2 filesystem (and not swap or something), then the superblock is currupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8193 <devices>
*fsck could not correct all errors, manual repair needed

give root password for maintenence
(or type Control-D for normal startup):

Well im mad. i hope someone helps me fast. i might try to install debian again... i REALLY dont feel like downloading ANOTHER distro. but i guess ill start one now of mepis or ubuntu!!! thank you for your input!

[egorgry]

Hang in there. It sounds like you are giving it more than a fair chance. Linux isn't for every one but once you've got it installed you will feel good and you can start having fun. I know some windows converts that installed 5 to 6 times before everything was the way they wanted it. Just focus on one distro for now, you'll work it out.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

SWEET!!! i just hit control d. i thought that it acually ment to type control d. anyways and it started up!!!! but now i need to get into a gui! some help? kde and startx does nothing. maybe emerge kde??

[egorgry]

Congratulations! It's funny Sometimes I forget how easy it is to confuse some of that stupid stuff. It's hard to think like a newbie sometimes but we were all there at one point. if kde is not installed then you will need to emerge it. check to see if X is installed can you cd /etc/X11 and do you have a XF86Config-4 file? if not you will need to emerge X.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

bad news, i cant get any type of desktop going. i type emerge x, emerge kde, emerge gnome, and emerge other desktops crap. none of it wor, i will check and see if i even have x11. if i dont then emerge x doesnt work, i tryed

[viper96477]

this is one of my experience wf linux...

there are several times i cant get into any of the X after i have installed my mandrake 9.1..guess wat? i went back to my windows XP, format the harddisk that i have used to install linux, and reinstall the mandrake 9.1 again..

it will somehow give you basically what you want after several times of installation...

[danleff]

I think that Viper has hit on a possible problem...and your error messages tell me something.

How are you formatting your partitions before every install, or are you just trying to overwrite each installation on the partition that had a previous install already on it?

Are you allowing gentoo or the distro install utility to partition and format the drive?

Are you using the entire drive for the install, or allowing one single partition to be used? Do you have Windows XP on the system?

Also, post some specs. on your system, especially the monitor and video card that you are using? Posting the motherboard model or system type may help us sort this out as well. X problems often point to video card or monitor setting issues.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

OK, i have a compaq evo. (my school is where i got it so im pretty sure the hardware is common) with a 1.8ghz intel pentium 4 processor. video card is a radeon 9600SE 128MB 8xAGP, 512MB ram. 1 tick is HP ddr, 333, cl2.5 the other is a compaq ddr 266 cl 2.5. (??) floppy drive, campaq powerbox, iomega zip cd 650. (??) 40 GB IDE hardrive. i have had windows xp home on it but i recently got a virus and i couldnt get on the net. so i just deleted it. so the whole drive is for whatever linux works best for me...

sorry it was so indepth. i had to open computer to figure it out and i think its best for me to write down all i can incase i even need to use it.

i also have a problem with geting ANY linux to work on my laptop (which is how i write to you guys) and im pretty touchy with it and i dont want to mess anything up on it.
it is a compaq nx9010 intel penitum 4 2.8 ghz, 190 MB of ddr ram. (266?) radeon igp 345m chip type rs200m AGP. DAC type is internal DAC(400mhz)64.0 MB.

Thank you direct x.

So some help with that might be nice too. currently it has xp pro on it and takes whole drive.

[egorgry]

Best place to start for the laptop is http://www.linux-laptop.net/ find your model and start seeing what others have already done, what is working, and what causes problems. It's a great resource nd why go through the pain of figuring it out if someone already has it documented. The Desktop should work with any distro Check compaqs site for linux support.

[danleff]

Ok, I see two, maybe three problems.

The Evo, this is a desktop model?

You are running two different speeds and brands (yes, I know Compaq and HP are now the same company) of ram? This may be an issue with stability and install issues. I would pull ome of the sticks out and see how the system responds. Are both these sticks certified to run on the Evo?

In terms of the laptop, Mandrake will not run well on less than 128 mb of ram. The graphical install requires at least this much. The only distros that I have seen run Ok on systems with this amount of ram, are the lightweights, like Puppy, DSL...

And beware. The recent distos, like Mandrake and Fedora with the 2.6 kernel series have issues installing next to MTFS windows XP partitions, where Windows becomes unbootable. So, I guess it's good that you have not messed with this laptop yet. What does the laptop have on it now as an OS?

Also, Libranet might work. It does on my laptop, in fact well with 64 mb installed and using IceWM as the desktop GUI.

The other issue are the ATI Radeon cards. A lot of folks have problems with these and Linux. This may be the source of any issues that you have with installing, or getting X up. I always use NVIDIA cards wich all work well in Linux. I also have one S3 card that works well with Limspire and Libranet.

[ReFoRMaT]

I feel for you dude. I did a little linux investigating (surfed/read), I downloaded Redhat 9.0, burned it (3 disks later), put my spare Deskstar (13GB) in and started the install (chose workstation). After all the file writing and self configuring, it comes up against my GeForce fx 5200/128MB (on a Via Apollo133A chipset/733 P!!!/512MB sdram). BAM!, screens goes black (Nvidia wrote into the winbloze driver, if it 'sees' my chipset, it defaults to 2X apg. I tried an ATI card but it looked like sh*t @ 4X agp). So, driven by curiostiy about the almighty and mysterious linux (which I want to switch to permanently, eventually...Billy IS the antichrist!), I dig out an old Matrox 200/agp. Bingo! RH 9.0 sees the card and before ya know it, I am in this very wierd and interesting place (gnome I think it was). OpenOffice worked but was distorting the size of fonts and makin' 'em fuzzy. Got on the internet extremely easy with the PPPoe configure tool. Mozilla worked pretty good. Maybe I shoulda tried KDE cause I found the graphics rough and distorted. Kinda scared me off. I am more than willing to give up some of the 'familiar comforts' of windoze for a nicer looking, slightly more user friendly linux. I think the cryptic file system and command structure/language is stopping alot of people from jumping off the 'fence' to the linux side. Maybe I am just another spoiled and lazy minion. Sad really.

[ReFoRMaT]

P.S. M$ peaked at 2k/service pack 2 which is what I am running now (everybody knows sp3 is loaded with XP style M$ spyware, actually, minor spying started with 95 but I don't wanna 'get started'). I want to make the switch and convince others to switch BEFORE 2k becomes obsolete. I am curious about Mandrake 10.0. The site says it is the most user friendly. Is it? Is KDE 2.6.x anygood? Anybody?

[angelominer]

Originally posted by ReFoRMaT:

Quote:

I think the cryptic file system and command structure/language is stopping alot of people from jumping off the 'fence' to the linux side

any one remember our parents faces with DOS????
come on we took to it like there was nothing to it
played doom wolfenstien etc etc etc.
the only secret you need with linux is this
....."dont forget to install the "midnight commander" aka mc"
file browser , file editor, has commands built it to do anything you want with a file compressed or otherwise.
allows you to view whats inside an rpm before you install it
so you can actually finf the executable afterwards..... etc etc
its only as hard as what you make it.thats the one thing ive never seen in any advice. vi sucks for a newb. joe is kinda bad.
when you need to edit outside of x(which is something youll need to do allot of while getting x to run) use mc, highlite the file and press f4 . works just like a dos editor.
any way the only real prob ive got is morons thinking windblows
is the only os that will ever want to use thier freakin hardware.
thats all for now. remember ...........install mc

[angelominer]

oh yea sorry bout this but havent you ever been using something in windows and thought ...this blows.. why did they do this?
well in linux they actually give you the tools and source to change what you want/need to suit your needs, if you think about it its worth the trouble/learning curve, you could easily spend thousands of dollars trying to come up with the same software for windows. your completly cover for any thing from web server to developement env. and with kick ass guys out there like those from "id software" (doom 3 actually runs a little faster on my pc////dual boot/(some games as you know....)/////when in linux than in windows.) you can have the source to make it go, heck
ive had more problems with windows than i ever did with linux.
with linux it was something that "I" did not a fluctuation in the stock of ms in the middle of jan, that caused the useless
dlls in my precious ram to act up makong me want to run out and buy the more stable much faster version of windows(all the while knowing that they are releasing it before testing it out on real situations, like a computer actually connected to the internet with a live person doing stupid stuff on it)
sorry guys. i like linux, some may not. but if i can fix the prob on my own id like to.
not wait patiently for the next hot fix to come and rescue me from my woes.

[somethingotherthenwindows]

are we getting a little off topic guys? Well i got SUSE. it is the BOMB! i love it. it is perfect for beginners AND is awesomely Fast! finally what I've been looking for. not only did it work on my desktop comp. it works (after tweaking) great on my laptop too. actually thats what im using to talk to you guys right now! its beautiful too!! man its the bomb. so much so that i even tried installing it on my laptop... i sacrificed norton on my windows side of dual boot laptop. along with ALL the other software that can default with the laptop! So all in all im pretty happy with suse. GREAT distro for beginners. FAR better then mandrake in speedwise. just as easy to install and only 1 DISK!! haha. finally im so happy!!!

But alas there is one problem i have yet to conquer. my wireless network card doesnt work on my laptop. i have a bcm94306 802.1g broadcom built into it. ive search for alot of answeres but.... having little luck. but i guess i can just have this cord on my laptop! im just ssoo happy. its really beautiful...

[zenarcher]

I'm a real newbie to Linux and have worked with M$ since DOS 5.0 through Windows XP Pro. Linux was really frustrating to install and start learning, no question about that. Like you, I tried several distros. My hardware is all quite new, as the box is one I custom built a few months ago. Basically, I use an MSI motherboard, AMD XP3000 processor 512M of RAM and a NVIDIA video card. Anyway, I was really trying to get SUSE to work for me. No luck. It would install perfectly, on a freshly formatted hard drive. To use it, I just kept one hand on the mouse and the other hand on the power button on the box...because every few seconds...up to a few minutes...the whole darned thing would freeze up. Didn't matter whether you were doing anything or not. You'd see the clock stop...and the only way out was to actually hit the power button on the box and shut down. I posted the problem on several forums and about all the help I received was several others with the same problem. Someone suggested Mandrake. I installed Mandrake 10 and it has worked perfectly! I'm planning to get the Power Pack version now, as I could not be happier than I am with this distro. The few minor hardware problems were corrected with a bit of trial and error and I wouldn't go back to M$ for anything. I build and repair computers and have several customers wanting to try Linux after seeing my setup. I tell them if they aren't willing to learn about Linux, don't ask. Stay with M$....but if they are willing to take the effort to go through the learning curve, it can't be beat!

zenarcher