For you Xperts out there... gimmie a hand?

[NeoCORE]

Hey all,

Well, I have decided to take the plunge and go back to linux for a bit. I have used it before, but basically you can still call me a reasonable beginer.. I have windows stuff coming out my ears, but when it comes to linux I am boggled.

Anyway... first of all, installed mandrake 9... like it, but couldnt get networking to work with it... also, theres more support out there for RH, so I am currently half way through installing Pheobe.

I really love linux to be honest... it's thoose wee niggly things that it does that draws me to it... for example, actually turing off my 8886 screen when I close the lid.. or estimating the amount of battery time left fairly accurately.

So... heres my few quick questions:

First of all, I really need to get it to connect to my university network... it's really easy to do in windows, but after several attempts with Mandrake, I gave up, and dercided to go with red hat (yet to see if it is any easier).
So, I was wondering if someone could explain how to set it up under linux, if I gave you the way I do it under windows.
Basically, I hook the network cable from an open access point in uni, goto my local area connection under network connections (XP) and then hit propeties, and then properties of the TCP/IP protocol and insert the IP address etc. I have been giving by the system admins here.
I am guessing the server here is NT (seeing as every desktop in the building is NT Workstation)
I do not have to log in or anything, I just use the IP at whatever port I am at that is written on the desk.
Basically, this is my main method of internet acess (and a nice one as well, took me 20 mins to download the 3 red hat CD's :D)
Finally, it doesn't even matter what workgroup I have configured either.

Any help would be great.. :)

I thought I had more questions, but after browsing the forum for a bit, I think I know enough to keep myself occupied. Cheers to lcasse for all the great info!

NeoCORE
:banana: :banana:

[Vash]

Originally posted by NeoCORE
Hey all,

Well, I have decided to take the plunge and go back to linux for a bit. I have used it before, but basically you can still call me a reasonable beginer.. I have windows stuff coming out my ears, but when it comes to linux I am boggled.

Anyway... first of all, installed mandrake 9... like it, but couldnt get networking to work with it... also, theres more support out there for RH, so I am currently half way through installing Pheobe.

I really love linux to be honest... it's thoose wee niggly things that it does that draws me to it... for example, actually turing off my 8886 screen when I close the lid.. or estimating the amount of battery time left fairly accurately.

So... heres my few quick questions:

First of all, I really need to get it to connect to my university network... it's really easy to do in windows, but after several attempts with Mandrake, I gave up, and dercided to go with red hat (yet to see if it is any easier).
So, I was wondering if someone could explain how to set it up under linux, if I gave you the way I do it under windows.
Basically, I hook the network cable from an open access point in uni, goto my local area connection under network connections (XP) and then hit propeties, and then properties of the TCP/IP protocol and insert the IP address etc. I have been giving by the system admins here.
I am guessing the server here is NT (seeing as every desktop in the building is NT Workstation)
I do not have to log in or anything, I just use the IP at whatever port I am at that is written on the desk.
Basically, this is my main method of internet acess (and a nice one as well, took me 20 mins to download the 3 red hat CD's :D)
Finally, it doesn't even matter what workgroup I have configured either.

Any help would be great.. :)

I thought I had more questions, but after browsing the forum for a bit, I think I know enough to keep myself occupied. Cheers to lcasse for all the great info!

NeoCORE
:banana: :banana:


Neo,

Acually this is pretty easy, the network config GUI should be in the "Mandrake Control Center" you can see it on the desktop (you must do this as root) in there is a network config app. Really easy, input your ip,dns information and blammo yer up. The only thing that might be buggerin the play is that if Mandrake didnt pick up your nic. You can check this by opening a terminal prompt and typing "/sbin/ifconfig" (sans qoutes). the first device you'll see is the loopback connector called "lo" below that gobbly gook is the big guy.. called eth0, if you see eth0 and its reporting a hardware or mac address, that guy is alive in well. Give this a shot, if you have any questions give a holler.

Vash

[NeoCORE]

/me remebers now why he dropped linux... solve one problem, get another.

Got redhat installed, I have to go into interactive start-up to get it running and run it with the command line arguments nousb, noprobe, no pcmcia.

If I dont, it will hang at the firewire... and if I dont go interative it hangs at pcmcia.

As for the network... worked instantly, as soon as I put the info in in network config. unlike mandrake.

Currently writing this on my 8886 using redhat pheobe on my uni network.... cool or what :banana: :banana: :banana:

Anyway... I think following the kernel guide here will solve my problems with firewire and pcmcia ( should I not install the modules at all cause I don't use them... or should I install them as lclasse says?)

Anyway... this looks like fun regardless :D

Cheers for the info though Vash!

NeoCORE

[Vash]

Originally posted by NeoCORE
/me remebers now why he dropped linux... solve one problem, get another.

Got redhat installed, I have to go into interactive start-up to get it running and run it with the command line arguments nousb, noprobe, no pcmcia.

If I dont, it will hang at the firewire... and if I dont go interative it hangs at pcmcia.

As for the network... worked instantly, as soon as I put the info in in network config. unlike mandrake.

Currently writing this on my 8886 using redhat pheobe on my uni network.... cool or what :banana: :banana: :banana:

Anyway... I think following the kernel guide here will solve my problems with firewire and pcmcia ( should I not install the modules at all cause I don't use them... or should I install them as lclasse says?)

Anyway... this looks like fun regardless :D

Cheers for the info though Vash!

NeoCORE

Depends if you want to or not, I would because I like to know that my box is all completly working and you never know when you need that stuff.. but its up to you, if yer happy with what you got dont worry about it, its not needful. What'd the doctor say? If you move your arm and it hurts... dont move it?

Vash

[laclasse]

NeoCore,

All distro should connect easily on your set-up ( Uni connection as you described ).
Here is a few pointers, note that i will not describe any 'wizard' configuration, as they are anyhow issueing the command i will describe for you. All these commands must be issued in a terminal/shell/console as root.

1) ifconfig :

The ifconfig command is situated in the /sbin directory. This this a wonderful tool. Ex :

# /sbin/ifconfig eth0 192.168.10.10 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
#

This will set the ip adresse of your first ethernet interface ( eth0 ) to the 192.168.10.10 ip, in a Class C network ( netmask 255.255.255.0 )

To verify, issue /sbin/ifconfig with no arguments, and it will be showing all the interface and their configurations. ( like ipconfig /all in DOS ).

2) route

The route command issued with -n switch will show you your kernel routing tables. You can then see what is your gateway, as well add or change the gateway.

Ex :
screamer:~# route -n
Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
0.0.0.0 GGG.GGG.GGG.GGG 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0
screamer:~#

In the example above, XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is your broadcast adresse, and GGG.GGG.GGG.GGG is your gateway. ( These should be ip adresses ! not letters ).

To add a gateway to your interfaces, you are using the route command again:

Ex:

# route add default gw GGG.GGG.GGG.GGG
#

Where GGG.GGG.GGG.GGG is subtitued for the gateway adresse of the network you want to connect to.
Verify the route as been added with 'route -n'

3) Last point, to finish a network/internet connection, the DNS.

The file that contains the DNS servers is /etc/resolv.conf. Edit this file as root, the syntax is very simple:
search YOURDOMAINnameHERE ( localdomain is the default nix one )
nameserver IPADRESSE_OF_DNS_1
nameserver IPADRESSE_OF_DNS_2

Fille the values of first dns and second dens and domain if the network Admin gives you one. Once all this done, restart the inetd super server ( or xinetd on mdk/RH ), like this:
# killall -HUP inetd
#
#killall -HUP xinetd
#

Or equally, you could just reboot .

Thats it, you are connected provided that all information entered is correct ( typos beware !)
Verify with a ping www.yahoo.com.
Hope that helps . ;)

[NeoCORE]

Cheers again,

Used your guide last nite to compile my own kernel... works great, sound, pcmcia, firewire... no boot problems at all.

Gonna have to fix the graphics drivers and that's me.... really interested in winex 3.0... gonna try the CVS version first... is there any big differences between it and the packaged?

Any1 know how to get CnC Generals working :D

Cheers again

NeoCORE

[chiphart]

Originally posted by NeoCORE
Got redhat installed, I have to go into interactive start-up to get it running and run it with the command line arguments nousb, noprobe, no pcmcia.

If I dont, it will hang at the firewire... and if I dont go interative it hangs at pcmcia.

Did you really have to do this? I've loaded RH8.0 and 8.1 and it has neither hung on the firewire nor had any problems recognizing PCMCIA or USB. Out of the box. Never touched anything. I've got a 5660...

[NeoCORE]

I have got an 8886, so maybe that is the cause.

My general tip for newbies like myself trying to install any distro of linux is if it hangs try running it with command line arguments -nousb -nopcmcia -noprobe and hopefully it will work for ya.


Cheers
NeoCORE

[NeoCORE]

After reading the network notes that you gave me (cheers again laclasse), I decided to go back to mandrake 9.0 as it provides an auto update feature that doesn't require me paying, and since the network was the only reason I changed.

I like mandrake, but I tried to install gentoo as well... it failed to boot and kept freezing, no matter what command line arguments I tried. Would have been nice to see what it was like, cause from the advertising speel on the homepage it sounds good (but isnt that always the way? :))

I am considering other distro's... I don't know why, but something about mandrake doesn't feel right, though to be honest it suits me well, as I would prefer the so called "bleeding edge" releases compared to thoose of debian or red hat.

Anybody got any suggestions. and btw, what distro do you use laclasse... o, and if you ever need any web space to upload some file addons to your great tutorials, give me a shout, I should be able to sort you out.

Thanks again all =)

NeoCORE

[chiphart]

What's wrong with RH? You don't have to pay to update, etc.?

[NeoCORE]

There's a subscription fee or something like that to register your PC. I think... correct me if I am wrong :)


btw... bloody quick reply :D

[chiphart]

You only pay a fee for "special" service. You are allowed one free "demo" license. Works like a charm for me.

[NeoCORE]

I already had a demo licence for my old desktop... so it said I had to pay for my Sager... should I just re register under a different name?

[chiphart]

No, just reclassify your license to point at your new machine (edit your account and delete that machine record).

[NeoCORE]

Ah good stuff... will do that if I decide to change again... I take it you stand by RedHat?

btw. anyone had any experience getting a logitech mx500 mouse (usb) to work under linux... It's got around 8 buttons in total, and I was hoping to use them as they are good for games (hanvent actually got round to get linux to dectect the mouse at all to start with... :D)

[chiphart]

I like RH for the simple reason that I'm used to it. We put it on all our clients' machines all over the US and it's beautifully stable, fast, etc. As far as I am concerned, debates about RH vs. Mandrake, etc., are like debates about Gnome vs. KDE. Everyone is right and everyone is wrong.

[laclasse]

Well, as a general Advice, distros are ...well like taste and colors. All of them are configureabl;e to a certain extend.

Problems occurs with heavily tweaked vendors distros, like Mandrake, Red Hat or SuSE. These apply 'House developped' patches and enhancements, that are not always clear.

I use Debian. But not Stable. Sid is the name of my distro or unstable. But don't fall into the hype. Unstable Debian == Stable RH or MDK.

Debian is pure GNU/Linux, therefore has no commercial motivation to release distributions, where commercial vendors are rushing the numbers series. Debian contract is different. Software is bug proofed over years until an old version is declared stable. Debian STABLE is intended for PRODUCTION machines, not for end users.
Debian STABLE is named WOODY atm. Note that SARGE is the next release, SID will ALWAYS be the devel/unstable latest version branch. Running 'BleedingEdge' Debian means some days systems aren't that reliable, but hey that is the price to pay.

Was upset to see you do not consider Debian as bleeding edge. It is provided ya can tweak your system installing only a base, and work from there.
Here is my system at the moment:

XFree 4.3.0 latest CVS DRI radeon modules, Mesa 4.01 cvs latest 3d lib
Glibc 2.3.1-15
2.4.21-pre5 kernel with preemptive and acpi patches

Running all latest versions of everything, but note that i do not run any big desktop like gnome or kde. I use Openbox window manager.
As i said, this is an example and you should try them all until you are really happy with one.

I dual boot this machine with LRs GNU/Linux. This is IMHO better than Gentoo. www.lrs-linux.co.uk
Gentoo and all sources distro should not be tried by 'non-seasonned' linux users, apart if frustration and masochism are the goals.

Good Luck.

[NeoCORE]

Right... so debian might be the way to go... :)

This is turning into the scenario of me walking into a video store with my girlfriend... it takes bloody ages to agree and choose and it always has an extremly high possibilty of being the wrong one.

/me is going to look at a few reviews etc. of linux distros before continuing to reinstall them (3 linux installs in less that 24hrs)

I am definetly going to be trying my best to get used to linux... in comparision to windows... it just plain cushions you too much... linux has the configurability to be blistering fast... and learning about it should expand my knowledge of computers a little more (it's always nice to have stuff like this under your belt when you are a computer science student with a 5 year course ahead of ya)

If I get a good install and set-up, Ill be gald to write a guide for all the newbies with me.

Btw, cheers for all the quick replies... it's like a chatroom on this post :D

[dirtboy]

I use Gentoo, and I like it even though I am not a seasoned linux user. I have also used debian, RH, Mandrake, and Suse. I like Gentoo because it seems to run faster.

Gentoo is a source based distro, so everything you install through the emerge tool must compile for your machine. This take awhile on some packages (like kde and mozilla) but once it is done, it is generally faster than other binary packages that are only compiled for the ancient 386 processor. Compiling from source allows software to take advantage of new processor instructions.

Gentoo is not for the faint of heart. You don't get all the wizards that RH and Mandrake provide, so expect to do some google searching and newsgroup browsing. After installing Gentoo my knowledge of Linux and networks in general increased threefold.

I have a ProStar 8854, which is the same machine you have.

[NeoCORE]

How did you get by the initial install programs, it keeps hanging on me... I have tried several command line arguments, none of them worked :(

[dirtboy]

Which live cd are you using? 1.2, 1.4_rc2 or 1.4_rc3?

[laclasse]

Been stealin stuff from 1.2, but will base it on 1.4rc as far as i know. I am currently awaiting 2.4.21 release which will have the ide patches. At the moment , patching acpi is enough, and i want to supply 3 dif kernels with the base install.

I have the boot process and the ncurses scripts as to : What machine do you have : 5660, 8886 or 887 ready. Just need collaboration with a 888X sager linux owner. Who is interested ?

[NeoCORE]

me me me me me...

I am an 8886 owner... and if you can get it to work well for me, it will work for anybody (with me being a newbie and all ;))

Also, anytime I am on the net, I am usually connected to some form of high speed line, so trading shouldn't be much of a problem :)

/me awaits laclasse's response eagerly :D

[dirtboy]

I can give you hand if you like. I use the vanilla-sources and patched it up to 2.4.21-pre5. ACPI is working fine. Even have USB working great with a USB drive, the mp3 player, and a usb to ps2 mouse and ps2 keyboard (one adapter, two ps2 ports).

[NeoCORE]

Hey dirtboy,

I was trying to use gentoo 1.4rc3 :)

It keeps hanging on USB and PCI hotplugging.


Any help is really apreciated... I searched all of gentoo's forums, and one guy is having the same problem, he says it is something to do with pcmcia ports.

Unfortunately gentoo does not have a nopcmcia option at start-up (with rh and mdk I have to use it + nousb and noprobe to get the installer to boot)

Cheers

NeoCORE

[dirtboy]

I did mine using rc2 and it never hung up on me. Give that a try and see if it is any better. It should be archived on one of the download mirrors.

[NeoCORE]

Ill be posting a guide on how to install gentoo soon... got it up and running, and it does run very sweet :D


used the 1.2 cd, no bother, it's to do with the kernel they provide in the rc3 livedisk.

Performed the install from stage 1... runs nice and fast now... :)

[laclasse]

Well hehe, this is much appreciated thank you very much.

Dirtboy, which 888X do you own. Please paste an lspci and a lsmod of your current distro. A kernel config will be nice.

Thanks again ;)

PS: Not much time at the moment, as i have been more or less absent of the forum. Next week will be quieter. ;)

[dirtboy]

~8886. Its actually a Pro-Star 8854, but they are the same machines. They even use the same pictures in all their ads. I'll postup my configs as soon as I get them uploaded to a hosting site. Those things are too long to put up on a forum.

[dirtboy]

Totally off topic. You guys should try using distcc if you have more than one machine with Gentoo. It lets two machines work together when compiling from an emerge.

[dirtboy]

Ok, now I have my Gentoo webserver hosting files for me at home.

Here is my kernel config file for 2.4.20 vanilla-sources patched with prepatch 2.4.21-pre5 from kernel.org .config (http://www.dirtboy.org/.config)

Output of lspci. pci.txt (http://www.dirtboy.org/pci.txt)

[NeoCORE]

I am currently going to use gaming sources, they have been rated extremely well for games and just general desktop speed...

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=40262


NeoCORE