caudell

You might try posting this in the forum for windows. The main problem with "blue screens of death" is the OS itself. Download PCLinuxOS and use it and your blue screens are over.

If the icon says it is connected why don't you open a web browser and see if it is in fact connected. Also you should check in the Mandrake Control Center and see that the network connection is "on" at boot.

Buy the ethernet card. It is about $10. It works much better than the USB which is usually a problem with Linux or windoz.

does this clamav work alright with Gnome? Clamav will work with Gnome. I can't advise on the GUI since I use KDE. Try KDE, install Klamav and see how you like it. KDE is far more complete as a desktop than is Gnome. Some application GUIs will work with KDE or Gnome.

It is quite simple if you use KDE and Kmail. Install clamav and in Kmail under the Tools menu select antivirus wizard. It's easy and it works. You can also install spamassassian and in Kmail under the same menu select antispam wizard. You really have very little to worry about in Linux but it does prevent you from passing a virus to others who persist in using ms windows.

This should work fine in most modern Linux distributions.

You might want to try PCLinuxOS. It comes as a live CD so you can try it before installing to your hard disk. You can download it free at the following link. http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/html/download.html Download ISO, burn to CD (don't burn at over 8x to ensure you get a good burn), place the CD in the drive, make sure your BIOS is set to boot from a CD and then reboot your PC. I find it a cut above others including redhat fedoral core.

Mandrake 7.2 is very OLD. You need a newer Linux to try. I would suggest PCLinuxOS. If you have a high speed internet you can download the ISO at the following link. http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/html/download.html It is totally free and comes as a live CD so you can put it in, reboot your PC and try it before installing. If you install be sure and install the boot loader (Lilo) on the second hard drive so as not to change the MBR of the hard drive on which you install WinXP. Be sure and install WinXP FIRST. I have been using Linux for years. PCLinuxOS is great. Also Xandros has a free version which would be much better than Mandrake 7.2. You can download Xandros free edition at the following address. http://www.xandros.com/products/home/desktopoc/dsk_oc_download.html This requires bittorrent. For $10 you can download via ftp at the following address. The charge is to help the company pay for the bandwidth which isn't free to them or anyone. http://shop.xandros.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=122 If your are really new to Linux either of the above would be good. Xandros might be easier for you to install.

Use another version of Linux, preferably Mandrake 10.0 rc1 which is available for free download.

Get Win4lin. It works great, easy to install. Your mother will simply opens M$ Windows as she would any other Linux application. I bought it when I began my move to Linux. The only thing I use it for now is to open a legacy file in M$ Publisher or such like. Inexpensive, it works.

As "root" open the Mandrake Control Center, select "Network & Internet" then "Draxconnect" then select "Configure Internet Access". Type 192.169.1.254 into the box marked "gateway", then click OK and then OK in the window of the Control Center. You should be able to go online by then setting your browser to this address http://192.168.1.254 and pressing "enter" on your keyboard.

I purchased Xandros 1.0. It worked fine but was not nearly as configurable as I would have liked. However it is an excellent system that works "out of the box". Everything is configured to function. It will not work with the Alcatel Speedtouch USB modem and therefore it was useless to me except for office use. I use Mandrake (presently 9.1) for all my work. I would recommend Xandros for a new Linux user. MS Office will install fine under Crossover Office. LC