Yet another linux distro question. !!2!! questions for the price of ONE!

[Kappo]

Ok, I am trying to dual boot linux on my XP machine, and have been unsucessful so far. So in effect I have two quesitons

1) I have downloaded Slackware and Debian. I want something that is powerful, yet not so obscure that I need an MBA to learn everything I need to know. My other requirement is that I dont really want to learn RPM stuff as it is not standard thoughout Linux. I am more geared towards learning all the standards first, then moving on to the quirks with each particular distro. Any ideas on what someone thinks would be a good noob (I dont know very much, but I have supported APPLICATIONS on SCO, and I seem to pick this stuff up faster than most people I know) distro. Something that after I learn the basics I wont be wanting a new distro in a month?

2) Ok so I goto install slackware. I boot from the ata100.i kernel and get everything loaded. Reboot (I installed LILO into the MBR then into the bootable linux drive), and get NO prompts for which OS. It is set up as one drive on an ATA100 controller (asus a7v133) and partitioned into the XP NTFS partition, the linux swap and the linux native. Even when I try to boot TO that drive from the slackware CD it tells me it cant find the drive. All I can think of is that I didnt install the ata100.i kernel (it wouldnt even see the drive unless I booted into that image when I was installing).

I guess the questions kinda go hand in hand, seeing how I need something that I am capable of installing (or someone telling me what n00b error I am making).

Thank you guys in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[LNXman]

1) If you want to learn about LINUX, you may want to try the few distros that are not bloated with stuff you don't need, but only with stuff that is necessary to run the system (i.e. to have it run as a server, and not a desktop). Slackware, and Debian come to mind automatically, with the addition of LFS (LINUX from scratch), but LFS, would probably drive you nutz since you say you are a noob.
I guess you are in good hands already since you have installed slackware. In addition, you can try checking out any of the BSD flavors (each flavor focuses on a specific area, but the system behavior is almost the same). They seem to be pretty similar to LINUX, and they can serve the same learning purpose.

2)When you installed slackware, did you install the kernel you used during the installation? Or a generic kernel? Make sure you install kernel 2.4.5 instead of 2.2.16 when you are done. If you are not sure, go through the installation process again, and when you come across the kernel installation section, choose the option that allows you to select the kernel to install, and then choose the one you need from the list. Just make sure you read the kernel description file first, so you know what you are choosing. The file should be in the home directory where the kernels are located.


GL

 

[Kappo]

WOOT all that stuff worked GREAT for me I got it installed and it even booted to lilo! I forgot to put my winxp partition in so it would only boot linux though, but I think I can get that squared away. Now I just gotta figure out why X windows isnt starting...some error 104 connection reset by peer, that and my mouse wont load (MS Optical with USB, plugged into my keyboard )

Pretty cool! I got the network setup and running and was playing with Lynx

Thanks for your input, once I get all the kinks worked out I will have no fear that I will love it.

 

[Kappo]

ok, new issue

1) I copied the bootsect.lnx to my c:/ drive and edited the boot.ini. When I select the SLackware from the boot menu it just goes to a blank screen and sits there with a cursor blinking as it mocks me I can boot from my boot disk and it loads in /dev/hde6 just fine, but it wont do it from the boot menu. ugh.

2) when I do startx it gives me an error of no screens found.

Anyone that can help? THANKS again

 

[LNXman]

you need to setup your video card under /etc/X11/XF86Config. This can be accomplished by:

-Hand. Meaning you edit it yourself, or
-running xf86config at the prompt.


Just make sure you have your Video card information. . .

L8

 

[Kappo]

just got though with that..lol well I got SOME sort of graphics...it will take a bit of tweaking but my mouse is a MS optical USB mouse...plugged in via my MS keyboard. I tried using USB but that didnt work at all, so I switched to PS2 and it works, just not in X windows. Keeps jumping around and stuff. not really usable at all.

Im trying to focus on getting it to boot without the boot disk as it takes WAY to long to load with using that slow floppy

 

[LNXman]

The reason the mouse jumps around is because you did not select the correct type of mouse support for X. WRT usb, you are going to have to configure that section by hand, since the Slackware does not detect USB mice on the fly, and I don't believe it has a USB mouse option during set up. Maybe next distro release -- whenever that is going to happen. If you still have probs, shoot us a post.

L8

 

[Kappo]

LoL configuring by hand is BAD for this n00b it DID have an option for that, but it gives me an error on boot that it cant find device. Also it doesnt work before I startx like when I use pS2. I start the mouse server thing on boot so I can copy/paste from the command line.

I did manage to get lynx working well, so my network is doing great

any other ideas on the boot thing? should I use the DD command again (if this creates a NEW bootsect.lnx). Also, should there be any viewable info if I open it in notepad in windows? It shows blank (was hoping it was a text file with a funky extension ) and it still wont boot when I select it from the boot menu.

 

[LNXman]

You mean, re-do:

dd if=<your_boot_partition> of=/bootsect.lnx bs=512 count=1

and then add to the boot.ini

C:\bootsect.lnx="<whatever_you_want_to_call_it>"

?

If it did not work the first time, try it again . . . it does not hurt.

WRT usb, you have to make sure you have INPUT CORE SUPPORT for the mouse added to your kernel. Or, load the correct modules for it at boot time (hid,keybdev, mousedev). Once you have this support, you should be able to add USB support to your XF86Config file.

L8