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Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

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Old 08-06-2006, 12:19 PM   #1
JBailey742
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PLEASE HELP! I fear my PC is dying on me left and right


I don't know linux very well. I have no idea if my computer is dying on me left and right, or if it's simply a bad configuration.

What is clear, some time ago, my floppy drive died on me. It won't work at all, not under windows, suse, mandrake, or mandriva, it just won't read any data.
One of my PS2 ports died (is it called PS/2, where you hook up the keyboard/mouse?)
Also, my LAN card died on me, so I had to replace that as well.

I also believe, yet not confirmed, that my printer is dying on me as well. I asked for help, but not a single person on any forum was able to give any advice. That sometimes means, it's not some config issue, but that the printer may be shot.
It had nasty problems with windows once, the paper would be feed too deep, print some, then the remaining would be printed on the second page (the document is only one page), and once done, it'd beep with lights flashing.
Linux is giving me errors, check here for more info: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=468093

Now, when I try to play Call of Duty, I am noticing my "3d accelerator" is no longer working too well, and some errors about "miles sound" not working.

I'm actually getting a little paranoid here. I don't know linux that well. This was and is one of my fears about linux. If my hardware dies, how easily can I get other hardware that will work great with linux?
I was lucky (I think anyway, not sure how many have it this way, with what I am about to say). It seems like all hardware was autodetected and installed nicely, without having to update things to get things to work.
I don't have money, so I can't get any new hardware of any sort. If you don't mind, please give me suggestions on what I can buy, so once I get some money, I can simply go and buy it.

Here are some things I prefer:

I prefer the AMD Athlon 64bit type processor
Asus or possibly MSI (is it MSI, I think so)
NVIDIA Card, 6600 or 6800 is alright, don't need any dual card stuff, same with processor.
Other things I'm pretty sure I can take care of, the RAM if needed, and harddrive if that's even needed, but doubtful.

Please, please, please, please help!
If some may be bad configs, please let me know. I'll try to be as detailed as I can. Thanks.
 
Old 08-06-2006, 12:30 PM   #2
slackhack
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if all that stuff is connected locally (printer, etc.) and it's all "dying," i would suspect the motherboard is the culprit. if it's possible, try to test the hardware that you suspect is "failing" on another computer, you might be surprised to find that your printer or floppy now work fine. you could also boot a knoppix or other "live" CD to see if it's your kernel, configuration, etc.

if it is in fact the motherboard, find out what's compatible with your CPU, and then look around online to try to find the cheapest possible replacement. used is usually a good option, as a lot of enthusiasts sell perfectly good hardware cheap because they're upgrading. i usually don't plug companies, but newegg is usually pretty good at finding most anything you need. again, just look for the cheapest one you can find, only making sure it has relatively good reviews and not a lot of people saying they've had major problems that all sound similar. i've found that in 99% of cases, the cheap hardware actually works just as good if not better than the really expensive stuff, and often lasts longer, too. you might only miss out on some fancy options, but most people don't need the advanced options of most things anyway.
 
Old 08-06-2006, 01:16 PM   #3
JBailey742
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slackhack
if all that stuff is connected locally (printer, etc.) and it's all "dying," i would suspect the motherboard is the culprit. if it's possible, try to test the hardware that you suspect is "failing" on another computer, you might be surprised to find that your printer or floppy now work fine.
As for the PS2, LAN and floppy, I know it's the mainboard. The LAN is onboard, and I tried other floppy drives, and they couldn't access anything either.
So, the mainboard I know is corrupt, and could easily be the culprit for that.
It may very well be the culprit for everything else. I haven't thought of that, thank you. That may save me some money.


Quote:
Originally Posted by slackhack
just look for the cheapest one you can find, only making sure it has relatively good reviews and not a lot of people saying they've had major problems that all sound similar.
NanoSystems is a nice store not far from my place, 10-15 minutes away, and sells pretty cheap and good hardware for the computer. I do also check amazon.com for reviews and see what others are saying about it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by slackhack
i've found that in 99% of cases, the cheap hardware actually works just as good if not better than the really expensive stuff, and often lasts longer, too. you might only miss out on some fancy options, but most people don't need the advanced options of most things anyway.
Yeah, the older and cheaper stuff lasts longer because it's more basic, basically meaning, less things are likey to crash, my opinion anyway.
And I don't need all these special fancy add-on's and features to all the hardware.

I'll be sure to check around. My dad has mandriva2006, same as me, he installed it from the CD that I own. He's out of town until Sat, but I'll see about that printer.
So, this 3D accelerator or acceleration "may" be a mainboard issue too? That'd be nice, replace one thing and I'm set to go

I just hope it won't be like my last upgrade, lol. I waited and waited and waited for the 6800 GeForce Nvidia card to be available, 256 MB, $400.00 dollars I believe, or 300, it was pricy.
I finally saw it at Best Buy, and it was glitchy. I tried to play Doom 3, Call of Duty, COD2, and after a few minutes, it'd freeze/lock up. I had to give it to my dad.

Last edited by JBailey742; 08-06-2006 at 01:19 PM.
 
Old 08-06-2006, 03:25 PM   #4
lazlow
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It could also be that you are pushing your power supply beyond its ability. Over time this will kill a motherboard and a lot of other things. A lot of no-name (and brand name) 350 watt power supplies are only 250 watt. Which was ok 5-6 years ago but today 350watt is the bare bare minimum. I personally would not touch anything (brand name or not) under 400 watts.

lazlow
 
Old 08-06-2006, 03:39 PM   #5
JBailey742
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My power supply is fairly new, Mad Dog brand, 550W
 
Old 08-06-2006, 03:45 PM   #6
masonm
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Sounds like a failing MB to me. If that power supply is relatively new, I'd want to check it out as well. Could have gotten a defective one, ya never know.
 
Old 08-06-2006, 05:43 PM   #7
JBailey742
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it's not new new, maybe a year or so though. I need a new mainboard. maybe that will solve the other issues as well.

update: I'll be getting a mainboard soon, I need one. According to cedega's system test, my sound failed once as well. Dang it.
This is not looking good at all.

Last edited by JBailey742; 08-06-2006 at 06:31 PM.
 
Old 08-07-2006, 10:13 PM   #8
JBailey742
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I found a mainboard for my computer, not much left for the socket 754 it seems (AMD Athlon 64bit).

And the results:

LAN Card: Onboard LAN is automatically detected upon boot. Before, I had to type "dhclient eth0" in a file to get it to work.

Floppy: It sounds like it works now. I only have one disc to test it with, came with the mainboard. It may work.

Printer: It printed a few documents with no errors. However, it does give me errors if I have the printer off, then turn it on. More info below.

3D Acceleration/COD: Seems to work, nice and smooth, no "failed" messages.

Sound/COD: No errors so far as well. Seems good!

That's quite a few fixes just by the mainboard alone. I almost bought another printer, but glad I didn't. It seems like everything was fixed because of just the mainboard. That saves money!

As for the printer, I noticed I get the same errors when the printer is off when rebooted. If I turn it on, I still get errors from "kover", and I have to reboot with the printer on for it to print anything.
It use to print once, than failed. I was able to print a few CD covers now, so I'm sure the mainboard helped in that as well, but I don't understand why a printer that is turned off, then on to print, would fail in "kover".
It may work in other places though.

For the most part, it just simply works. I did a foolish thing though. I drove out to get the mainboard, bought it, brought it to my computer, removed the old mainboard, and tried the new. I'm thinking, opps! It's a mini mainboard, that fits nicely in those mini towers. It looked like the AGP slot wasn't lining up with the slots on the computer case.
Later on, I decide to go back to that store, during rush hour traffic, only to hear him say, it should fit. It's an ATX type, like my case.
I go back, in HEAVY traffic, realign it, and voila, it does fit.
I must have panicked too quickly before, and didn't check it carefully enough.
oops, lol.
 
Old 08-07-2006, 10:39 PM   #9
lazlow
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JBailey

I would still worry that if that power supply has problems it may eat the new motherboard. Lm_sensors will report your voltages and temperatures and is fairly easy to install.

Lazlow
 
Old 08-07-2006, 11:28 PM   #10
JBailey742
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I believe it's been installed, but I can't locate it.
 
Old 08-08-2006, 07:54 AM   #11
slackhack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JBailey742
As for the printer, I noticed I get the same errors when the printer is off when rebooted. If I turn it on, I still get errors from "kover", and I have to reboot with the printer on for it to print anything.
It use to print once, than failed. I was able to print a few CD covers now, so I'm sure the mainboard helped in that as well, but I don't understand why a printer that is turned off, then on to print, would fail in "kover".
It may work in other places though.
try just turning cups off and then back on again with the printer on instead of rebooting. then launch the application you want to print from *after* cycling cups.


>> type "sensors" at a command prompt to see if lm_sensors is installed and configured.

Last edited by slackhack; 08-08-2006 at 07:56 AM.
 
Old 08-08-2006, 10:54 AM   #12
JBailey742
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this is what I got when typing in sensors

[jeremy@localhost ~]$ sensors
Philips PAL_BG -i2c-0-61
Adapter: bt878 #0 [sw]

tveeprom-i2c-0-50
Adapter: bt878 #0 [sw]

[jeremy@localhost ~]$


I'll find where you can turn the CUPS off then on. I'm still quite a noob, but I feel I'm beginning to find places a little easier.
 
Old 08-08-2006, 11:08 AM   #13
J.W.
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Another question - how old is your equipment? Although most PC's can operate without issues for many years, after about 6 or 7 years (IMHO) it would not be a major surprise for things to start failing. Frequently, this can be the result of accumulated dust/dirt inside the cabinet, which can retain moisture, which leads to corrosion.

As for the printer, same question. I can say though that Linux itself is not causing the failures - it's strictly a hardware problem. Good luck with it
 
Old 08-08-2006, 11:18 AM   #14
JBailey742
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Of all the problems I was having, I figured the mainboard would fix all but the printer. I assumed this because of the problem I had with windows, how odd it was acting up.
Most of my hardware is fairly new, couple or few years old....It was in April, bought some hardware for me and my sister (it was her b-day), so I know it was in April. This was roughly when Doom 3 was released. Was that in '04? '04 or '03 of April.
Anyway, my system is:

AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (64bit)
1 Gig of RAM (PC3200/DDR: 400 Mhz)
6600 GeForce NVidia card (128 MB)

The printer could be 4-5 years old. Getting a new mainboard certainly helped, but I still think I need a new printer, that, or a USB cable, best to go cheap and try it out then get too pricy, ya know?

Turning CUPS off then on, I hear CUPS when it comes to printers, and I'm sure I'll find where you can turn them off.
thank you.

Last edited by JBailey742; 08-08-2006 at 11:19 AM.
 
Old 08-08-2006, 11:48 AM   #15
slackhack
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i'm not sure where the cups startup script is in mandriva. /etc/rc.d/ maybe, or maybe there's some way to do it from whatever GUI you use. until you found it, you could always kill -HUP cupsd and then /usr/sbin/cupsd& to start it again.
 
  


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