danleff

Good explanation! One more thing. If you plan on making a boot floopy and have a rescue/boot floopy as a back-up boot device, then making more modules available reduces the kernel image size. If you compile too many hardware settings into the kernel image itself, then the image may be too big to fit on a floppy. So, it depends on what you are looking to do. Of course, if you back-up your installation to a .gz file using partimage, you don't have to worry about this and you can compile as much hardware as you want directly into the kernel image.

Kinda like shopping for cars. Don't let the salesperson know who you are and don't post til you feel comfortable. For us guys, it's like not admitting that you need directions to your destination. I think that people really learn a lot by crusing the forms and seeing if any problem matches what they experienced.

Great! Sorry for the delay. If you want to keep Mozilla as the mail handler, that is fine. You are on the right path with K-mail, but there are a few other settings that you probably need under the settings>configure kmail>identities and network settings . Your 90% there! Let me know.

You are getting it! Fun, isn't it!! You are correct, you really don't need any extra programs to connect to the ISP in your case. Don't worry about other video drivers yet, since you have a desktop now. This means Mandrake has basically configured your video card. K-mail....you need to find out at this point, these issues; 1, What your pop server is; for example mine is pop.nycap.rr.com 2. What your smtp server is - eg; smtp.nycap.rr.com 3. Have your login user name and password available. You can get these settings from your ISP provider. It sounds like they may be more willing than most to help with Linux, since they have an external package available. Once you have them, then we will get Kmail up and going. Cause' if you did not do this during the install phase, you can do it manually, fairly easily now. I'm going to install Mandrake this evening.

This should be normal, as it gets assigned an address. So you do have broadband?

I'm going to install mandrake today, so I can follow this with you. Each distro (Mandrake, RedHat, etc..) can have a different way to allow access to certain files or programs. If I remember correctly, Mandrake asks you, on install, to choose a root and user password. I believe it also asks you to pick a security level. There are two levels of logging in, root and user. Most distros also give you a choice of which level to login to. This is why it asked you to pick passwords for each level. When Mandrake boots, you need to pick which level you want. If you choose user, this allows you general access to the system. Some programs are initiated at the root level. This is a security feature that protects your system from users or folks on the net who do not want to have access to your files and system. An example wpuld be if two people had accounts on the same nachine. You might want access to your files and not want the other person to have access to them, or certain programs. So, for some programs to run, you have to put in the root password when asked. This can be changed, but more on that later. So, I am assuming that you get into the graphical part of Mandrake, because you can click on icons to get to programs (you have a desktop)? If not, this is one problem. If so, what exactly is sympatico, your user ID in Mandrake, or ISP name? Or, is this your user name that you picked in Mandrake that you also have as your ISP username? Oh, by the way, is this ISP dialup or cable?

It depends on what version of the kernel you are using. If it is 2.4.XX; I liked the reference here. If you can use make xconfig instead of make menuconfig, this will give you a box that explains what each module is. This can come in very handy in removing what you do not need. I'm having a heck of a time with 2.6.0 on my system. The same site has an article on this version, if you need it. What's nice is that in this latest version, make gconfig is a slick interface and you skip doing make dep in the process. Just do a google search "kernel how to" and you will also get a lot of hits. The archives of this site for August have some good articles. On the 2.6.0 version it is titled "slackware on fire."

Perhaps I am missing the point, but what files are you trying to copy to /usr/local/bin? This area is generally for executable files. If they are just regular files, you should be copying them to the /home directory. Are you logged in as user or root? I am downloading Mandrake 9 as we speak, but the copy errors are related to permissions for the directory that you are attempting to copy to. In most distros, you can use the file manager in superuser mode to copy to other than user directories. What are the circumstances that the password problem is coming up? On it's own or when you are trying to execute a program.

Take a look at this page. Were you using Lilo or did you try to modify the XP boot.ini?

Nzaal is correct. On the usual questions asked about the dhcp you can accept the defaults, but I found for that the next two questions you have to have an actual IP address of a download source, as well as the ftp address to link to. Also, I hope that you have Broadband, it takes a while! If I find mine later, I will post them. P.S. Try and IP address of 140.221.9.138 and the following for the site address; /pub/ftp.suse.com/i386/current/

Nice instructions! That was what I was not sure about, the exact commands to access/mount the NTFS partition. What I did on my system, to avoid the hassle, was to create a fat32 partition on my drive, so that I could save files there that can be accessed either in Windows or Linux. You can then mount the drive (the newest Linux versions now mount the Windows/Fat32 partitions for you) in Linux. This way you can access (read and write) the partition in either OS. Support "out of the box" in newer versions of Linux is already built in and are able to read CD's created in Windows, so this is another option. So, if you insert a CD that was created in Windows, either Linux will auto open the CD, or it will recognize the CD when you click on your CD icon on the desktop.

I guess I will start off the reply, then let the experts take ot from there. With Windows 2000, are you running the NTFS filesystem or Fat32?

I believe Squeak has it closer. I have not installed Mandrake again yet, but my memory is coming back. Now that we know what version of Mandrake you have... This is what I would do. Is Win XP still bootable? Make sure that it is. Get into XP and look to see the size that it reports that the partition is. If it says 65 gig, or close to that, you know that this is your XP partition. Don't move any files from one partition to another (I'll explain below). If you wiped XP by accident and can't boot to XP, you will need to re-install XP. OR, if you know XP is still there (your data files are intact) you can proceed. It sounds like you still have the NTFS partition, from your description. This is an issue only if you wiped your XP partition. If you did, and XP is not there, you will need to re-install XP, so that Mandrake finds it on install and adds it to the Lilo bootloader. But let us know if this seems to be the case FIRST, or if you are unsure. If all is fine, go ahead with the Mandrake install and allow Mandrake to take over the non-XP partition, or free space, if this is the case. Choose the journalized filesystem. I can't remember, but you may be given a choice of ext3 or reiserfs filesystems. Choose one. Allow the install to progress. Lilo will auto-detect the XP installation and give a choice on boot, as Squeak stated. Make sure that you make a back-up boot disk, as suggested during the install. You may need it later if something goes wrong with Mandrake at a later time. Now back to my comment about partitions. Some companies, like HP, Compaq and IBM (Thinkpads) reserve a small amount of space on a partition for utilities, or even as part of the bios functioning. So, do not move any files from one partition to another. Many Distros, when using their partitioning utility, break up the partition into three seperate ones. Don't worry about this. Mandrake will do the work for you, when you allow it to auto-allocate the partitions. Good luck on the install!

Absolutely, you are correct, Mandrake 9 will correctly do the bootloader thing with XP, IF you are using the newer versions of Mandrake. I was being cautious, as I did not know what version Hollywood63 was using. It sounds like he is new to Mandrake and other distros in general, so he probably is not familiar with expert mode and such. Took me a while to get it right! Also, I have done so many distros in recent years, that I forget what I did for each. If you shrink the XP partition and try the install, I believe that Mandrake will use the unformatted space to set itself up. Looks like I will be installing Mandrake 9.1 this evening to see how it is currently handling the process!

Hello; I don't post much here, but I will give it a try. You did not mention what version of Mandrake that you are trying to install - 8 or 9? One problem is the NTFS partition (the filesytem that XP generally tries to install with). Most Linux distros do not deal with NTFS partitions well, in terms of installing. If you are trying to use free space on the NTFS partition, this is most likely the problem. I use PartitionMagic, a partitioning software package, to shrink the Windows partition, then format the free space as either ext2 or ext3 (which are the Linux filesystems). Then do the Mandrake install, pointing it to the new Linux partition that you created when it wants to format/initialize the partition to use. If you are new to Linux distros, I would heed the advice given above. Mandrake will use Lilo (the Linux bootloader) to over-write the XP bootloader, so you do not want to do this, unless you know what you are doing. So, choose no to lilo over-writing the bootloader and make a floppy disk to boot from. Then, once you get comfortable with Mandrake, you can change this later on. Again, it depends what version of Mandrake that you are trying to install and if it will play nice with XP. I would post back with more information, so that the experts here can help you better. By the way, I find ext3 faster, more stable and less problematic.

OK, I tried the install. Got as far as the message, chose "ignore" and a second message came up "The partition table on device hda was unreadable. To create new partitions it must be initialized, causing the loss of ALL DATA on this drive. Would you like to initialize this drive?" Does this just mean the Linux partitions; hde5 - root hde7 - home hde - usr Or is it telling me the the WHOLE DRIVE? I have Mandrake currently installed on ext3. I failed to mention, if not already assumed, Win XP on NTFS. It looks like I may be better off leaving it well enough alone.

Hello; RedHat would not install, complaining about the geometry of the drive from a previous installation (must be Mandrake). I assume that I have to uninstall Lilo from Mandrake. PartitionMagic will also not load, from the hard drive or the floppies "unable to define drive designation". This will be a project over the next week, if I decide to switch. I did install Mandrake RC1, which went without a hitch. Thank you both for the quick replies. I was able to download the latest RedHat via FTP software. I appreciate the information and input. Great resource, I will be back!

Thanks for the quick reply, Gents. Interesting article Philipp. I guess Mandrake has decided to include the support anyway. I'm sure that I may have mucked up the installation of the NIC on install. RedHat Beta 4 did not like the NIC at all and tried to default to the USB provided by Roadrunner. I believe that I asked it to specifically configure the NIC on the first go around, as default, knowing that there are still issues with the USB. It looks like this Distro is more friendly with NIC cards than USB, even though it appears to detect the USB connection install, it's a no-go when opening Konqueror. I'm going to try RedHat Beta (NULL) this evening and take the suggestions given. I feel very comfortable compiling the kernel later, if needed. One last question, on the RedHat install. Do you need all 5 CD's, or will it accept just the 1st CD for a basic install? I keep getting server time-out errors downloading these ISO's and would like to take my time with the others.

Hello all! No NTFS support built in? I tried Mandrake beta 3 and 4. Both auto configured dual boot with Windows XP. But, beta 4 failed to configure my NIC. NTFS was built in and Mandrake reads my NTFS without a hitch. Will RedHat beta install dual boot with Windows XP correctly? I much prefer RedHat, have 7.3 on my primary system with ME and have been very happy with it (I know, I need XP for some work stuff, at least for now). This "secondary" system will most likely become my primary once I get RedHat up and running.