Ok, here it goes...

[chamblah]

I'm in the process of downloading my first copy of Linux. Going with Redhat 7.2

As soon as I get done dling it, I'll burn it. And then try and figure out how to install it.

I've been a dos user, a mac user while in school, and currently every version of Windows.

But i know nothing of Linux.

So, as you guys can probably tell I'm gonna need some guidence here. What else do I need? I'm gonna get the drivers for my geforce 3 from nivdia, but that's the only thing I think I need.

thanks guys.

[dnar]

Good luck. Redhat 7.2 does a fine job of recognising hardware IMHO. You WILL need those nVidia drivers and XFree86 could be the only area you need help in setting up. Sing out if you get stuck, plenty of help floating around here.

Good luck!

[chamblah]

what is XFree86?

[dnar]

Originally posted by chamblah
what is XFree86?
The Free X-Windows sub-system that provides the framework of your GUI. http://xfree86.org/

[chamblah]

ok. so it's like a shell right?

[chamblah]

ok. the dics are burned. now what? are they bootable? do i need to boot with a boot disc or am i able to make one with the redhat disc????

[Azzuron]

Your Discs are bootable :) fire it up with your bios set to boot your cdrom first. As for your 3d card, im not sure if you will need the drivers off nvidia exactly, you will need them if you want to try and get 3d acceleration in xwindows and games...but otherwise it should be able to give you a nice display with out them. as i hear the 3d stuff is rather experimental still...what do you know of it dnar? i put support for it in my kernel, but i havnt gotten nvidia drivers yet, and im not sure if its worth it. last time i put them drivers in i had a HUGE block onmy screen that was all scrambled random colors... very strange... it interfered to say the least with the use of Xwindows :) but that was on mandrake...with any luck its just mandrake right?

[chamblah]

if it'll work fine with out nvidia drivers then i wont both with them. i don't plan to do any gaming with linux anyway. that's why i've got windows.

[chamblah]

new questions.

i set up a couple partitions for linux and the swap with partition magic(PM). when i boot off the cd it asks about partitioning with the druid and fdisk etc.. is it not detecting the ones i mad with PM or when i run them it will detect them and everythign will be ok?

the reason i ask is that i don't want to lose anything (of course) and if i have to i'll remove the partitions that i did with PM, move my stuff to another drive the partition it with their tools.

[Azzuron]

You should be able to use their partition druid program to partition see all your partitions on the disk.

From their you need to set 1 to swap one to /home and one to / (root)

if you have the partitions the sizes you like, then you can have druid format them (Should have a colum that says if its formating a partition or not) or you can just install onto them the way they are. i suggest you use EXT2 for your file system on the root and home, mounts(partitions) and you rather have to use teh SWAP for the swap partition. If you dont do anything to terribly wrong, it shouldnt hurt your exsisting partition you should recognize it on the disk.

[chamblah]

right now i'ma t work and reading through some stuff on setting up linux. i've got a question concerning tcp/ip in linux. my network is setup using dhcp, but from what i'm reading i have to set linux up staticly. it would seem possible to set it up using dhcp but i'm sking just to make sure.

can i set it up using dhcp or am i gonna have to set it up staticly?

[phil]

Originally posted by chamblah


can i set it up using dhcp or am i gonna have to set it up staticly?


In the Red Hat installation process, you can choose DHCP or you can punch in some static details. When you reboot, your network should be there.

[Azzuron]

Yes its very hard to miss in the installer :)

[chamblah]

i haven't installed it yet cuz i just haven't had the time. but on my next couple of days off, sun & mon, i'll prolly start with the install.

if anybody has any tips or suggestions for me please let me know!

[phil]

Originally posted by chamblah

if anybody has any tips or suggestions for me please let me know!


I must admit, I have only ever had success with the RH installation process (from RH6 onwards). I would say that you will be fine unless you have some obscure hardware.

[chamblah]

that sounds pretty cool. everything that's on my machine is less than a year old.

that's the kind of stuff that makes me happy.

[Stilgar]

Originally posted by phil



I must admit, I have only ever had success with the RH installation process (from RH6 onwards). I would say that you will be fine unless you have some obscure hardware.

Don't have linux right now. But ditto on what Phil said. I've installed on a few machines and surprise, surprise it all worked.

[Billy_Bat]

Geeze!
I guess I am not doing too bad. Just installed Mandrake 8.1 and actually made it here, all inless than an hour. But this is waaaaay different than what I am used to. Windows Whore that I am. I guess that I will get used to playing around with it, and make it workable.
Arrgh!
BB

[Azzuron]

bah mandrake makes things to easy. untill you want to try and update a software packages anyway :p

[Billy_Bat]

Easy is my middle name. It is too late tonight to spend much more time playing with it, especially since I can barely read anything. I have the screen resoloution set at 1600x1200, but can barely see it. Should have set it at 1024x768 first. Ah well, back with Win2K for a bit tomorrow!
Good Luck!
BB

[chamblah]

what sites can you guys provide for good linux stuff and what-not?

[dnar]

I regularly export my Galeon portal up to my web space, this gives me all my regular bookmarks from were ever I am, friends, clients etc. You can find it here (http://members.dingoblue.net.au/~dnar/portal.html). Most of the Linux links you would ever need are there.

[chamblah]

thank you very much dnar

[chamblah]

well i've got it installed. from what i can tell it's working great.

but i do want to change a few things.

first one is the display is kinda wonky. everything is pretty clear and crisp except my fonts. is this just cuz i used the geforec3 drivers that came with it or what? and if i need/should change my drivers, how do i? cuz i can't use my scroll wheel now either :(

and what do i use for an email cleint? i'm pretty sure there's one on here i just haven't gone digging for one yet.

[chamblah]

what's a TAR? etc... i want to use opera as my bwoser and the availibe downloads are DEB, TAR, & RPM. what the heck are these?

[Billy_Bat]

I am just as lost (no, more) than you. I was wondering if there is a site that has drivers etc for all different types of components. But if it is mostly for email and websurfing... It is still pretty cool, but looks like it could start consuming more and more of my time.:) I have the ATI All in Wonder Radeon. THere are Radeon drivers, which is very cool, I would just like to use the TV Tuner.
Web surfing and channel surfing at the same time is a man't paradise!
Would it be wrong to ask if I could use Internet Explorer with Linux?
Thanks!
BB

[X-Calibur]

Originally posted by chamblah
what's a TAR? etc... i want to use opera as my bwoser and the availibe downloads are DEB, TAR, & RPM. what the heck are these?

DEB: my guess would be that it's a package for Debian Linux
TAR: tar-balled file--> compressed, a .zip equivalent, you must "untar" form the command line.
RPM: a Red Hat Proprietary install package that is compatible with some other distro's I think, left click and choose install... very simple... you can also do it from the command line, where you can monitor some of the bullsh*t you get fed when installing... usefull when something goes wrong....

Cheers

X'

[X-Calibur]

Originally posted by Billy_Bat

Would it be wrong to ask if I could use Internet Explorer with Linux?
Thanks!
BB
Wrong: YES --> this is blasphemy....
Can you: NO --> not entirely true, you could use a Windows emulator (Win4Lin?) and run it from there.... but it is my understanding that Linux browsers like Galleon (see dnar's thread about that) are very powerfull too... I know I'm satisfied with Opera... but there's a few others on the loose...

Cheers !

X'

[Billy_Bat]

It's like your favorite underwear, you know how you get used to the way it creeps up your butt? I guess I can change, but I have been suckling at the MS teat for so long... But I am in the mood to experiment. <G>
Thanks!
BB

[Azzuron]

Galeon i find is much link internet explorer. it has many of the same functions some better, like tabs for surfing multiple pages from the same window, and all around its pretty much just as good. altho their are a few things in IE that have the better. Im sure in time galeon will pick up and things will be very good.

[chamblah]

well 'm gonna use opera as soon as i figure out how to install it. i've been using it for about a year now and if it's the same as it is in xp i'll be happy.

[phil]

Originally posted by chamblah
well 'm gonna use opera as soon as i figure out how to install it. i've been using it for about a year now and if it's the same as it is in xp i'll be happy.


OK, download the statically linked RPM to your HOME directory. Now to install do this (remember all commands are case sensitive):

1) Open a terminal
2) Type: su
3) input your root password
4) Type: rpm -Uvh opera-6.0-20020110.1-static_qt.i386.rpm
5) it is now installed so you can exit your terminal.

You should now find an Icon in your menu to run Opera.

[chamblah]

sounds cool. thank you

[Azzuron]

Does opera use Mozzila? He may very well have to update that as well.

[phil]

Originally posted by Azzuron
Does opera use Mozzila? He may very well have to update that as well.


Nope, Opera has it's own rendering engine.

[chamblah]

i tried using mozilla. it drove me crazy. way too much like netscape and i hate netscape. i'll prolly try the one that dnar uses to gonahreha or something like that:)

[phil]

Originally posted by chamblah
i tried using mozilla. it drove me crazy. way too much like netscape and i hate netscape. i'll prolly try the one that dnar uses to gonahreha or something like that:)


LOL! I think you mean Galleon. It is a nice browser and uses the Mozilla install as it's base. It is very fast with some nice features....you'll like it. The new Opera is nice, but they are not as "Standards Complient" as they used to be which is a shame as it is a really nice browser.

[chamblah]

ok. new problem(?). the text is very cruddy looking. it's very thin and boken. is there a way to change the text appearence or size or something? just give me an idea of where to go. it's alomost like reading somethign from a typewriter thjat over 100 years old.

[chamblah]

how do i install genome@home? it's a tar file and i haven't figured those out yet.

[Ercewee]

usually:

tar -xvf insertfilenamehere.tar

when its a tgz or tar.gz use:

tar -xvfz insertfilenamehere.tgz

check man tar... gives you the different options

[phil]

Originally posted by chamblah
how do i install genome@home? it's a tar file and i haven't figured those out yet.


hehe...pretty easy really:


1) Open a terminal
2) Type: tar -zxvf ghclient099_linux.tar.gz

This will uncompress the tarball and create a new dir with all of the files needed to run genome. Now do:

3) Type: cd ghclient_linux

4) Run the ghclient.x program by typing: ./ghclient.x

The config will run and you enter your username and team number (2136075668)....you are now good to go :)

[chamblah]

Originally posted by phil



hehe...pretty easy really:


1) Open a terminal
2) Type: tar -zxvf ghclient099_linux.tar.gz

This will uncompress the tarball and create a new dir with all of the files needed to run genome. Now do:

3) Type: cd ghclient_linux

4) Run the ghclient.x program by typing: ./ghclient.x

The config will run and you enter your username and team number (2136075668)....you are now good to go :)

opened the reminal. input all that you listed.

these are the errors i got:

tar (child): ghclient_linux.tar.gz: cannot open: no such file or diectory
tar: (child): error is not recoverable: exiting now
tar child retunred status 2
tar: error exit delayed from previous errors

any help would be welcome. i'd like to play around in linux but since i wont be have genome going in tha backgournd i'd rather not. i don't want to lose out on my crunching time.

[dnar]

2) Type: tar -zxvf ghclient099_linux.tar.gz

From your error output:-


tar (child): ghclient_linux.tar.gz:

You have the filename wrong. (missing the 099). Also, maybe your in a diff directory than the downloaded tarball? Do an "ls" and see if its there!

[chamblah]

wow. i figured it out. for some reson it wasn't in th eproper directory.

now i've got it running. now how do i get it as part of the start up? do i put the filelinto the /boot?

and does anyone have any idea how to fix my fonts in the browser? they're looking very cruddy looking. i'd like to try and install the drivers from nvidia but the install looks pretty complicated. but if some one could give some direction.....:D

linux drivers for nvidia (http://nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=linux)

i can tell which drivers i need but after that i'm kinda lost of the install process.

the client seems to run faster in linux too.

[chamblah]

Originally posted by dnar
2) Type: tar -zxvf ghclient099_linux.tar.gz

From your error output:-


You have the filename wrong. (missing the 099). Also, maybe your in a diff directory than the downloaded tarball? Do an "ls" and see if its there!

yeah i wa also forgetting the 099 part. goofy me. thanks dnar. now see if you can help me figure out this font problem

[Azzuron]

If you follow NVidia's directions word for word...it should work find, so long as you know how to navigate directories

IE:
cd ..
cd <dirname>
and stuff...

[chamblah]

ok. i'm looking at the steps now. is there an order to the install? should i install the glx first or the kernel driver? or does it really matter?

and i think i fixed the font problem too. i just upped the font size in galeon. now i just need to find a font i like and a size to go with so i don't feel like i'm looking at my grandmother's computer that has giant old ppl fonts.

[chamblah]

i'm gonna have to review this further. the readme is saying :

Before beginning the driver installation, you should exit the X server.
In addition you should set your default run level so you will boot to
console and not start up X (please consult the documentation that came
with your Linux distribution if you are unsure how to do this).

and i'm not sure how to do that yet. oh well. that's the reason i'm trying linux, is to learn something new. and what better way is there to learn than with the possiblity of screwing everything up?

[Azzuron]

Well that means to install it, you just exit Xwindows... i by default set mine to boot to the text mode instead of Xwindows. X takes to long to load if im just going to want to jump out to command line anyway, and starting x is only 1 command that takes 1 second to type if you have only half a finger.

They say to make it so xwindows doesnt start on boot, incase the driver doesnt function properly, say you install the driver, and you dont have a nVidia card... oops :). so its a good idea, although i have installed their drivers a few times and never had any issues with it. The readme file should tell you which to compile first....just start at the top and do what it says till you get to the bottom :). as for turning off the auto X start up...ask dnar, i dont have a clue as to where it would be, and i dont have access to a linux box at the moment to check it out. suggest looking for a RedHat Boot Config or something though in the system menu :).

[chamblah]

ok. so i guess i'll configure it to start in command lin then from there i can go to xwindows. sounds pretty nifty. guess figuring out how to do that wil lbe my project for tonight while i'm at work.

thanks:D

[siggy]

Originally posted by chamblah


yeah i was also forgetting the 099 part. goofy me. thanks dnar. now see if you can help me figure out this font problem

I did the same thing 1st time thru.

Linux so far reminds me of DOS. ;)

[Azzuron]

more like.. .DOS on 25 different types of steroids :p

[chamblah]

anybody familer with GRUB (Grand Unified Bootloader) that's on Redhat? i want to know if there's a way to make the genome client part of the boot so that when linux starts the clients starts with it or am i asking for too much?

and, how do i configure my system to start only in command line so that i can load some new vid drivers?

[dnar]

Man, you dont use GRUB for anything other than loading the OS....

You can add anything you want to /etc/rc.local

To start in console mode (run level 3) edit /etc/inittab (you must be root to edit this) and change the line that has "id:5" to "id:3". Thats it...

# Default runlevel. The runlevels used by RHS are:
# 0 - halt (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
# 1 - Single user mode
# 2 - Multiuser, without NFS (The same as 3, if you do not have networking)
# 3 - Full multiuser mode
# 4 - unused
# 5 - X11
# 6 - reboot (Do NOT set initdefault to this)
#
id:5:initdefault:

[chamblah]

ok. i was under the impression that grub was part of the initial boot too.

well that's the whole reason i'm postin ghere is to learn though

[chamblah]

one other thing....
...what command do i then issue to get to xwindows?

[Ercewee]

startx

[chamblah]

ty:D

[Azzuron]

hey dnar, so runlevel 3 will be like booting the system to the command line only? is that what my system does at default then scince x doesnt start automaticly? wow...wish i knew that...cuz i use /sbin/init 5 when i come back up from setting it to 1 and it makes things unique for me....i dont like it. so 3 is what i should use?

[dnar]

Originally posted by Azzuron
hey dnar, so runlevel 3 will be like booting the system to the command line only? is that what my system does at default then scince x doesnt start automaticly? wow...wish i knew that...cuz i use /sbin/init 5 when i come back up from setting it to 1 and it makes things unique for me....i dont like it. so 3 is what i should use?
Yup.