Where to start....

I got hold of a retail copy of mandrake 8.0 to install on a Compaq Presario 1610 (1.5 GB Fujitsu, 2MB video ram, running on a neomagic chipset 128XD). I wanted a less crashy, buggy GUI than windows, which was hanging constantly. I didn't want to have to learn bash.

Well, so much for that. I have now installed and reconfigured the damn thing more times than I can remember, I've RTFMed, I've surfed, browsed and ventured down more mail threads than Ariadne, and I experience the following continuous problems:

(a) Monitor - doesn't like my monitor, X keeps trying to burn it up whenever it loads (even at the lowest possible settings - apparently XF86 does this - is there a patch yet? I thought open source was 'instantly updated').

(b) Package installation - freezes when i run RPM Drake - thus cannot load software that way. Cannot load it through the Konqueror either - always an error, just as its almost done...aaargh. If I could find a straightforward bash command to do it i would, but i cannot.

(c) Most recent amusing little issue - crashed out of root, went to reboot, and then couldn't initialize anything at ANY LEVEL!!!

So, here I am, reinstalling for the umpteenth time, and beginning to think Bill Gates has it over Torvald.


Okay Penguin - fix this or I'm drilling in the Arctic Reserve!

Seriously - can anybody help?????

A) That is most likely a video card problem, not a monitor problem. You need to check your settings for your video card too.

b)check out the rpm command.

To install:
rpm -ivh PACKAGENAME

To uninstall

rpm -e PACKAGENAME

c) This could be anything since you didn't give any details. Many times problems can be fixed by going into single user mode.

Just type:
Linux single

Once your are in single user mode you will have to look around to see what kind of problem is preventing a normal boot up.

(a) at the prompt with x shutdown and logged in as root type 'Xconfigurator' found in /usr/X11R6/bin/Xconfigurator

That will guide you through a setp on MD atleast MD7 anyway. Its the better method I discovered for setting up xfree86 for like you I also have problems

NB, I'm not sure but I think MD 8 no longer uses Xconfigurator?

(b) I suggest you try it as cinnix said, for Linux is very resource hungry. I had to upgrade from 64 mbs to 192 and now that i'm running 192 have no problems with stalls although I still video compatability problems.

(c) Apart from there being a million possablilties i have noticed that (depending on the symptons which you dont mention) when the disk gets full x will not start and sometinmes just not fully boot. 1.5 Gb's is probably not enough especially for MD.

at the prompt if you get there try typing 'df -m' that will bring a disk usage in Mbs and % if you have runnout of space, start deleting stuff you don't need by uninstalling rpms as cinnix posted and using the 'rm' command then after a few Mbs try rebooting again and startin x if thats what your having problems with.

If you need to know what commands are try the following at terminal or in console mode.

NB. in the following typing the letter 'q' will take you back to the prompt.

# man rm Displays the manual for rm command.
# man rpm Displays the manual for rpm command.
# apropos will look for keywords on manuals eg; #apropos remove.

also using

# rm --help brings up options for the remove command.