[AuckLUG] Installing Linux

[Kent Wilkinson]

Richard Innes wrote:
> Folks: I am new to this list but not completely new to Linux.
>
> I hope to get a new box soon and wondered if Linux it has matured 
> enough for me to retain WindowsXP on my old box and put a Linux 
> desktop in my new box. (Some years back when I had two boxes I 
> experimented with Linux on my older box.)
>
> To this end I partition my hard drive and started my great Linux 
> adventure. This is my sad tale to date, perhaps some more experienced 
> Linux user can offer me advice/suggestions how I might pursue.
>
> 1. First distro Ubuntu 6.10. First big mistake used the manual option 
> in the installer. Result back to square one and a revamp of my hard 
> drive. Second attempt got Ubuntu sort of on my hard drive, no install 
> options, no option to create user and super-user passwords with a 
> result that though a sudo password was asked for I had no way of 
> knowing what it might be. Also, the device manager did nothing but 
> waste CP cycles. It couldn't activate or deactivate anything and 
> listed most of my devices and peripherals as 'unknown' and 'working' 
> whether the latter was true or not. Worse still, though I could 
> configure pppd I couldn't call up the dialer. Sadly, when I checked at 
> the Ubunbtu website I learn Ubuntu do not support dial up connections. 
> Perhaps when broadband gets cheaper/quicker I might go back to Ubuntu.
>
> 2. Second distro Sabayon which wouldn't mount any of my drives, serial 
> ports. cdrom.Cd. etc. This I find on checking the rather funky Sabayon 
> forum is not an uncommon happening and as yet no one has managed a 
> work around.
>
> 3. So I move on to another distro; SUSE (free) 10.2, the 'ultra 
> versatile distro'. Didn't get much further with that than I got with 
> Sabayon. This time  it couldn't copy certain files during the 
> installation (the temp file). This I feel may be related to my having 
> my DVD drive on the same channel as my hard drive. I don't believe 
> this this is responsible for the Sabayon fiasco.
>
> 4. Fourth try I get lucky, try a CD of Mepis 6.5 and actually get it 
> installed, I mean fully install but then my luck ran out. Modem 
> trouble again. First time around it said it couldn't open my modem 
> which is a hardware Dynalink running through a serial port (connected 
> and fired up). Second time around it simply froze. here I am talking 
> about the graphical configuration for the connection and using the 
> query modem option.
>
> The annoying thing is my trusty old Mandrake 9 and 10 and Koppix (and 
> even my old Red Hat 7.1) work perfectly except for the sound card 
> (Creative SB Live 5.1). All detect and allow me the not just to 
> configure my modem but use it to connect to the internet. The Koppix 
> though is a live disc and doesn't seem to offer any install option.
>
> The Ubuntu looked interesting and I would have loved to have had the 
> opportunity to explore it further and will do so if circumstances 
> change. I found Mephis rather fiddly to configure, being slightly 
> visually impaired I need a font larger than the standard offering, but 
> not unreasonably large. Also configuration seem to be scattered over 
> various files and not centralized.I like the old Mandrake 
> configuration center where you can adjust all your setting in one 
> place, even more so the ability during the install to check all your 
> peripherals like modem, printer, and sound.
>
> So I am hoping some of you Linux gurus out there can give me a pointer 
> or two. I've used Linux in the past and would like to try some of 
> newer distros before I turn to dust.
>
> Richard Innes
>
>
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If you like mandrake then you could try mandriva, they changed their 
name a few years back

http://www.mandriva.com/

I would offer to help but I use gentoo and that is very text file based 
for configuration.

regards

Kent