Linux

[MorseLady]

I would like to play with Linux-Mandrake version 7 which is on a CDROM with a SAMS book. I cannot find a Linux Forum on here and as I am a complete newbie to Linux I would like to know where I can yell for help if it all goes wrong?

[NooNoo]

This is as good a forum as any Morse Lady... just use this thread and the linux lovers will help out I am sure!

[MorseLady]

Thanks Noo, will do. I am going to read the book first then I will jump in using my second computer of course. Nice to know that if I encounter any problems I can get advice.

[confus-ed]

Originally posted by NooNoo
This is as good a forum as any Morse Lady... just use this thread and the linux lovers will help out I am sure!

Can we not have one back then ? (A linux forum that is) ... not that I know anything at all about it really - which is I guess why I'd like the 'safety net' of a forum just for it ...

But Scott seems to have officially 'killed' xdrivers (previous wd linux forum) ... I did make an appeal on another thread in comments & suggestions ... but it seems only I was bothered, I'm sure others are (like here) ... but so far my cries go unanswered !!

[MorseLady]

Good idea Confus-ed. I get the impression talking to other IT students at College that quite a few Windows types also play with Linux and other things.

Wasn't there a Web Design Forum once? It would be nice to see a Forum for Web Design and Graphics.

[MorseLady]

Having read the Installation part of the book I thought I would walk through the Installation of Linux-Mandrake 7 and have already encountered two problems and have aborted the installation without harm to my dual boot Windows ME/W2K Server computer.

l. I read in the book that it is very hard to get Linux to work with internal modems and impossible it it's Winmodem as mine is.

2. I booted to the CD and it was easy (I selected Recommended Install)until I got to the partitioning stage but it only showed my disk as one whole drive instead of one NTFS Primary partition, one FAT32 Primary Partition and one Logical FAT32 Partition. This is where I got scared and did a runner!

I love installing Windows, even 2K Server and W3X/DOS,but this is scary!

Could I create the Linux Partition in Partition Magic and set it in Boot Magic, boot into the empty Linux formatted partition from the CD and install? I still have an external modem I could use but it is only 28k. Can you use Linux with Broadband?

[geoscomp]

Linux is fun, but can be a little confusing to the new user..there are a number of tutorial sites out there, like this one on partitions , that might be of help. You need two partitions for a linux install..the root and the swap partition. A lot of people use more. You can indeed use pq magic and boot magic, but I would only suggest that if you are already using boot magic for your multiboot setup

[MorseLady]

Thanks for the link. I do most of my partitioning in PM7 although I have used Disk Management in W2K/XP too. At the moment I have three partitions on a 15GB HDD holding ME on FAT32, W2K Server on NTFS and a logical storage/bridge partition on FAT32. My system partition is ME and is tied to the special HP BIOS.

To be honest, I am scared of a system I know nothing about and which is completely alien to my Windows experience and training as it does seem to make some drastic configuration changes to the MBR etc. Maybe I will buy a used low end Pentium at a Computer Fair and use that for Linux.

[NooNoo]

I have a nice p200mmx sitting here....

[MorseLady]

Noo wrote I have a nice p200mmx sitting here....

I assume you are telling me Linux runs well on a low end Pentium and that's what you use? I have a 486DX with 16MB and 340MB HDD but it's not enough for this version of Linux. I use it for playing with DOS and WIN 3x or WIN 95 which will just run on it. Sometimes I put 3x on and the Calmira Win95 emulator - no registry changes and little overhead, great for small machines. See http://www.calmira.org/ for more info on Calmira.

We have a shop here who used to sell old corporate machines real cheap but they only sell high end secondhand stuff.

I was going to take the Linux book and CD back to the Library but I will hang on to it and read some more.

Got a school Reunion today will probably not be able to get back to any replies on here until tommorow.

[NooNoo]

It depends on what linux you run and what you want it to do, but yes, a low end pentium is fine.

[craigmodius]

I don't think you'd even have to worry about a whole new PC for Linux if you're not comfortable with the dual boot idea.

Just get a second hard drive and install Linux on there. You could even physically disconnect the other hdd just to be on the safe side.

I have a dual boot setup with win98 and redhat 7.2 so I can't say as I'm any help with the PM/Mandrake setup.

Once you get that going you might want to start here on the whole winmodem issue.

Oh, and as you've probably figured by now backup, backup, backup. And when you've done that make sure you backup.

[gtiseb]

welcom morse lady!

i'm an avid linux user ( i do use mandrake alot) and I have to agree for a newbie coming from windows it can be scary. However there's a couple of things you need to know first:

1. a pentium 200 won't cut it if you plan to run a desktop. It would be fine if you were running a command line only server (which linux rocks at) but if you want to do any GUI stuff , you'll need more power (about the same as windows)

2. That being said, the easiest way to get linux to run without ruining you other partitions, is to buy another HD and add it on and choose that blank hd during the linux install procedure as you linux drive. this will keep you windows intact and let you switch to linux when you need too (hint: when you want to remove linux completely, just do a FDISK /MBR to restore the normal windows boot-loader)

3. most windmodems will not work with the version of mandrake you're using (which is a pretty old version but a good one to start with). I'm running mandrake 9.1 and it does recognise some winmodems but not all. a gootd hardware modem is always better in the long run but if you're on broadband I wouldn't worry too much about it.

4. The best piece of advice i can give you is try not to think too much in a WINDOWS way when you use the linux Desktop. when I started out I made this mistake and it really slowed me down, until A friend suggested I stop thinking like i'm in windows. you'd be surprised how much windows has made us do what IT wants instead of what WE want.

5. If you need anyother help, you can certainly ask me here in the forums or in the chat room, I'm usually there during the day eastern time.

[MorseLady]

Thank you very much for your very informative and helpful replies and as I said I went out yersterday so could not reply right away as I got home late.

Craigmodius, I am very happy with dual and multibooting with most versions of Windows, but with Linux it's all this setting up swap partitions and what seems like fundamental changes to the disc which worries me. So what you and gtiseb say about a second hard drive makes sense. I will have a look inside the HP Pavilion machine and see what provision I have got to install one and I need to do some other hardware and memory upgrades anyway. I have a 1GB hard drive in my box but I guess I will buy a new and bigger one?

gtiseb, thank you for your kind offer of help and your advice re versions is noted. Yes, I was aware that Mandrake version 7 was a bit old and presumably that's why it's free with a book! Is there a version of Linux I could buy which is not too expensive and which is easier for the newbie - how about Red Hat?

I am not on Broadband yet but will be just a soon as I sort out some awkward cable routing issues with my provider and why they won't let me install it on more than one machine. I will be posting questions on this issue on the appropriate Forum here. Yes, both computers have soft WinModems.

Looks like I have got myself a trip to the computer store this afternoon.

I get the impression that I am not the only Windows User Newbie to Linux who is scared? I feel the need to try it and how can I judge Windows unless I have at least tried other things?

Thanks again, what would I do without Windrivers Forums

[delmer_1]

I too recently attempted a dual boot with windows and linux, and it can be very confusing. I had a 30gb ntfs drive for windows XP, an 80gb ntfs drive for data, and i added another 30gb drive, made a 15gb fat32 partition for sharing files between windows and linux...and 15gb unpartitioned space that i used for my Red Hat 9 install. Red Hat is the only version of linux that i tried, but the install of it was pretty simple.

the problems come up when you want to actually do something with your computer. I dont know about the other versions, but red hat took some configuring before i got it where it was even remotly functional. There is no MP3 support out of the box, so you have to download and try to install it. That will probably be the hardest thing to adjust to, installing software is a big ridiculous task, often requiring the use of the command line.

I am not trying to hijack your thread, but i just wanted to bring up a few problems I am having, as you may have them as well.

when trying to access my fat32 partition, i have read only access to it. and I have to remount it all the time. I boot to windows, dump my MP3s and misc stuff onto teh fat32 partition, and then i can play them from linux, but i cant' save anything to that drive unless logged in as ROOT. is there a way to automatically mount this drive at startup, and somehow have write access to the drive when logged in as myself?

ALso, trying to install Java is impossible. I did manage to get netscape going, but i cant install java. is there an easy way?



If you are looking for a different version to try, go here:

http://linuxiso.org/

you can download the disk image and burn them, and since it is open source, it is legal.(at least to the best of my knowlege, if this is not true, please let me know) however if you are not on broadband, it will take forever so you might want to either buy it, or wait until you get broadband. Lycoris is a nice, USER FRIENDLY version. it has a very xp like interface and seems to be the easiest to configure, however it doesnt like my RAID controller, so it only boots if i disconnect my other hard drives and connect my linux drive as primary master.

yes, you can get linux working with broadband. I have redhat 9 working fine with my pppoe DSL connection.

sorry I am not much help, as I am a linux newbie as well. It is nice to see that I am not alone.