help with tweaking Suse Linux 9.3 pro
 

I downloaded suse 9.3 pro for my computer and I set it up to be a dual boot system with windows xp. This is my first attempt at installing an operating system and partitioning a hard drive. Everything is working out fine with running both systems on my computer, I was surprised at how simple it was to partition the C drive on my computer. I am a little worried that I didn't set up suse 9.3 pro correctly. The thing is when I ran the initial set up of the OS I set up GNOME and KDE as graphical desktop environments. My question is, How difficult is it to uninstall Suse 9.3 pro and restore win xp? My other question is related in that I need to know the specific steps involved in the process of restoring my win xp operating system, or more specifically how to re-partition my C drive so that it will run win xp exclusively. Please help this Linux user nooobie!!!

What is it that you're trying too do ????? Tweak the SuSE or uninstall it ???

For tweaks, either have a good search round the LQ>distributions>Novell/SuSE for ideas/suggestions or post a question about what it is you want to tweak. You can also check out this link for distro specific things.

If you wanted to uninstall - hell I'd just boot the XP disc and follow the rescue instructions to get the windows bootloader back in (some distros e.g. mandriva offer the option of booting the install disc, hitting a certain key for "advanced/other" option, then typing rescue and entering that and then just following some instructions to re install the windows bootloader).

Then just use windows to re-format the location where the SuSE was.

Personally, I'd leave it in there and dual boot. Learn linux as well as windows. You can never have enough "strings to your bow"!

thanks, I guess I am just a little overwhelmed and I need help getting started on the right path in Linux. I am not very up to date on writing software and that seems like a large part of Linux. Again thanx an mucho appreciado for any help you can give me!!!

Well how about this.

When I started with linux, my brother (family Linux bore and IT professional) had nagged and nagged. What he hadn't explained exactly what linux was.

Also, a colleague had mentioned linux and even given me a copy of the latest SuSE that he had (late 7 or early 8 series).

Being naive and ignorant, I just said what the hell and as instructed, booted the disc. I was fortunate, because when my system had been delivered, it had been formatted with 3 partitions. The main XP one, a tiny "rescue" one and an additional one.

The SuSE installed located the 3rd additional one and told me that it was going to install there. Great. Well sort of. I just kept clicking OK for everything, accepting all the defaults.

Luckily, I ended up with a usable install. The first time I restarted the system I suddenly started thinking "oh dear. What have I done"!. When the SuSE "fired up" I didn't have a clue. I was just opening apps to see if I could get a handle on what the hell they were supposed to do. The only thing "it" hadn't sorted was sound - and doing that myself was seriously "over my head".

It hadn't occurred to me that this was a different operating system.

Eventually, I had to get my bro' to visit to explain exactly what I'd done. He also had too configure the newly aquired USB broadband modem that I'd got when I signed up for an ADSL service.

Over the next month, I found Mandrake (now mandriva). downloaded, burned and installed it. Because it "alledgedly" supported the modem. Which it didn't. Well it had done, but the latest version that I got at the time, the support was broken.

I had started to learn stuff though, because it only took me 3 weeks or so, to configure the modem myself. What it had done, was expose me to the wonder community feel of the linux world. Along with all the different views/attitudes that I just hadn't experienced under windows (with all it's RTFM or "go and buy this/that/the other" comments, whenever I'd posted to a forum to ask a question).

Linux was a whole new world.

No. It wasn't perfect by any means. It still isn't. Theres still negativity to be found, along with entrenched attitudes and bad manners.

But generally, my experience has been very positive.

One thing that can be rather curious. Is, that as I'm not really very adventurous with my system, all the latest "all singing, all dancing" new stuff that you see in computer mag adverts and other such media, have to be looked for.

changing to linux is quite a steep learning curve, well for somethings. The differences in how it works, well that sometimes has to be seen to be believed, but strangely enough, you end up mainly with the same results i.e. browsing in the same way, playing music or whatever is similar. It's just the setting up of applications that under windows, you'd just bung a disc in click install/OK/whatever and off it goes.

Linux doesn't do so much of that (which IMO, is potentially detrimental to linux). Though in truth, even all the commercial distros put together, couldn't even come up with a fraction of the advertising budget that MS enjoy, let alone develop stuff so that it's as "easy" (perhaps a better word would have been "familiar") as it is with windows.

I now run this gentoo, which is, as I understand it, considered a "power distribution". Now I don't know about that, but it has some of the best documentation out there (for linux). One of my biggest "pet hates" is linux documentation. Linux developers are doing some wonderful stuff, but when it comes to writing docs, they don't often seem to have the most basic grasp.

Luckily, things are improving. mainly from the point of view that various groups/organisations are discovering just how much it can cost too run MS and their products on a commercial basis (despite whatever the latest clutch of MS ads say "we're cheaper than you are. etc etc").


Hence, don't feel overawed by linux. I suspect that I was probably deeper over my head when I started than you are right now.

Just take your time. Learn things one step at a time (maybe according too what you want to do with your system?????). Bite sized chunks is how I think of it.

So have a look at the distro's forum for Novell/SuSE, have a look at those SuSE forums that I linked earlier. Decide what it is about your SuSE install that you want to "tweak". Then accomplish them one at a time.

Some will be easy, some no so, some may even require newer hardware (like I discovered when I tried to implement shadowing and transparency in KDE - my graphics card will do it, but it slows down all the screen "redraws" so that it feels like i've got the brakes on - yes, it's disabled at the moment).

The world is your oyster (IT speaking). You can choose to do stuff how you want to do it, rather than how MS says you should do it.

regards

John

make a dos boot disk

put the file pqmagic.exe on another floppy.

You get pqmagic.exe from partition magic 8.0

Boot with the dos boot disk

insert the pqmagic.exe disk

run the program

make a primary partition for linux "root"

Do not format it

The remainder of the disk make an extended partition

inside the extended partition make:

a logical drive for linux swap

do not format

a logical drive for Windows XP

format with NTFS for XP

a logical drive for linux home

do not format

If you have large drive make

root 15 GB

extended:

swap 1 GB

XP 7 GB

home the rest

Install XP to the logical partition you made for it.

Activate XP

reboot with SuSE

It will probably guess what you had in mind. Just look at partitioning, and if you have to switch something around a little you can do that with the partitioner during the initial installation.

Do not plan on repartitioning after linux is installed. It has to be correct ahead of time

Install linux

GRUB will do all of your dual boot stuff and put Windows on the menu for a boot option.