I am new to linux and i had installed and used the red hat linux 9.0 for few days. i know that this linux is very old. then i hear the name of debian. i like the idea of debian, it's a community, not just a distribution. now i have downloaded all the debian cds of 3.1_r1 from the official debian mirror.

and install with kernel 2.4. it's complet different from red hat linux. it doesn't start with a desktop invironment.

how can i configure a desktop invironment? and may hear music and compile my own cpp files. (by the way i am first year student of CSE, i have lot's of assignment on cpp), i wanna code this in debian and compile them.

now need someone's help.

i am also looking for unofficial or fan site for only debian.

Well, for the desktop enviroment system, type this (like root)

If you want to use KDE, change gnome and gdm for kde and kdm respectivly

Of course, you can remain with gdm because gdm will also let you to get to KDE but is your choise ;-)

Reegards


Bye

In Sarge, you don't have to add "xserver-xfree86" (XFree86 is the only one available).
Also, "x-window-system" should pick the default(starting from Etch, that's X.org) for your distro anyway...

Look into the core packages too: x-winodw-system-core, gnome-core, kde-core.

They come with just the bare bones and are very good if you like cutting down on space or useless apps you'll never use.

Sarge should have installed a graphical display manager (gdm) automagically if you select the Desktop Environment installation - you can see this at this screenshot... http://www.linuxcdmall.com/debian-3....nshots-34.html

But what the screen shot doesn't point out is that Desktop only appears to be selected. The red box only indicates focus. To actually select you must hit the space bar. Obvious too oldtimers but newbies often miss that. IIRC Etch does it a bit better. It is already selected.

have look at the http://www.debianhelp.co.uk and http://www.aboutdebian.com these are very helpful websites for new users to start and hope this helps

yes, that's very true... it caught me out initially. Thanks for the info about Etch and that option, glad to hear that it handles it better

I just installed Debian 3.1r0a, i have had it installed before, but this time after installation it rebooted and said OVER RANGE...what is that and how do i get past it?

Thanks in advance for the help...
foxmuldar,

OVER RANGE.. is that a Debian Error message, or is that your monitor telling you that the video settings are out of range for the monitor ? if it's the latter

Try switching to one of the virtual terminals (CTRL+ALT+F2) to see if you can get to a shell.. If that works then you need to adjust the settings in your X configuration

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

Ensure the settings selected for your monitor and video card are correct..