Fedora 10 Login Problems after Clean Install
 

I have an old computer with an AMD K6 processor - 125mb RAM and 2GB HD with an Internet Cable "board" installed.

I have ran Windows 98SE on this computer for 4+ years with broadband Internet connection via a router to my home network. I wanted to try it out with a Linux system on it. I had previously used a Yellow Dog Linux install on my Mac Powerbook for about 3 months and liked it very much so I didn't think this would be too difficult to do. I did a lot of research and decided to try the Fedora 10 distro on my old computer. I spent many hours burning bad CDs and trying to install the system using a bad CD-Rom but finally I changed the CD-Rom to a newer unit that still works well. I also reburned the CDs at the lowest speed I could. Finally, after about 3 hours I was able to see the message on the screen saying that the system had been installed on the old computer. (During the process, whenever I was asked for a password I typed in the same thing and wrote it down.) Then I booted up for the first time. The system appeared to boot fine and then it gave me a prompt for "localhost login:" I can type in any word there and hit "Return" then it asks me for a "password". I can type in anything I have typed in so far but it always comes back to me saying that the "Login incorrect". I have searched the Linux Question forum and found a comment that I could possibly change the password using the first install disk and using the "rescue installed system" option. I tried that and sure enough, it said that the program would set up a shell and that I could change the password by typing in "passwd". I did that and I was finally able to change a "Unix Password". I rebooted and tried this new password but it didn't enable me to get past my initial hurdle of typing in an acceptable "localhost login" and "password".

Can anyone give me enough help to get to the point where I can use the computer to get the KDE or the GNOME desktop working well enough to see what I can do with the system? Is there any one place I can go to get instructions other than hunting here and there for instructions? I have found good general tutorials here and there, including the Fedora website but I am still having a hard time just getting started.

Thank you for any help you can provide.
NewTeacher

Were you trying to install a GUI and did it fail? If not, when you get the login prompt, type either "root" or the name of the user your created later in the install process followed by the password you used at these stages.

Did you finally login to the system? The password you set at installation was for root user. So you should be able to login with this user and password.
Once you are put on shell after login you can get to the graphical environment with startx command.

Also if you want to change the default boot to graphical, you can edit the file /etc/inittab and change the line id:3:initdefault: to
id:5:initdefault:

Although I must say, I don't like the idea of running Gnome with 125MB. It may work if you install a lighter windows manager.

Exactly, Gnome and KDE both will eat a lot of memory. But I do not know if F10 comes with other window managers or desktop environments by default. XFCE will be a good choice. I liked it when I used Dream Linux Desktop Edition 3.5.

You can get xfce for fedora

OP, if you'd like to try it, type

yum grouplist

once you log in as root, then

yum install "relevant group name from previous step here"

to install it. Note that if the group name has any spaces, you will need the quotes.

you need 512 mb ram to use gnome in fedora 10.
you can't login with root in the first login in fedora 10. try to login with user account that you have created and then if you want to login as root, you can change the 3rd line in '/etc/pam.d/gdm' to this:
'auth required pam_succeed_if.so user quiet'
........
if you want to change the root passwd or user passwd(that you have forgotten) reboot the pc and in the first screen after boot screen click on escape and choose your kernel and click on 'a'. at the end of line add '1':
'grub append>..........................quiet 1'
and then 'inter'....here fedora boots in single user mode and in prompt type 'passwd' and you can put your new passwd for root and confirm it.
and i think you know how to change passwd for user.
then you can reboot your pc and login with user or type 'init 5' to go to gnome or kde.
how to choose gnome or kde?! at login screen choose user and at the down of the screen is options for languages, keyboards and window managers like kde or gnome if you have selected them to install at install time.

One other note tonight - you asked if I was trying to install a GUI. I had not reached that point in my efforts. When I did the research on using Fedora I found that if I did not have enough memory, the install program would use a text interface but that installation of a GUI could be done later. When I have used other distributions I have been given the option of different GUI types to use. I would hasten to say however that when I have used these other versions I was working with a newer computer system that had about 500 mb of RAM, not the 120+ that my old machine has on it.

Thanks again for your help.
NewTeacher

with this hardware YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO INSTALL A GUI for fedora 10 .
you will be in text only with fedora 10
NO Gnome , NO KDE, NO xfce , but ONLY text

and text mode is iffy you do not meet the min.requirements
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/releas...ics_for_Fedora