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Old 04-27-2004, 12:42 PM   #1
Xeys_00
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Location: Texas
Distribution: Slackware 9.1
Posts: 3

Rep: Reputation: 0
Would like to give my impressions of linux after an absence of 8 years


Hello all, I am a returning Linux user who last used this operating system in 1996. It was redhat something... Don't remember what its was called. But I know sound was dicey(seemed to only work as root, till i changed permissions of the sound card). X config was hell, and there were many things that I just kind of gave up on that windows 95 could easily do. Well, fast forward to the present. I decided I wanted to learn about the computer, not just play with it, and so I deleted windows off my drive and went full bore with Slackware 9.1(lilo is bugging me, it keeps wanting to give me an option for dos or linux, and if I leave it alone, it will come to a halt trying to boot dos, because its pointing to my 2nd hard drive where i keep my music files at. I will find a way to just boot straight into the shell eventually). Now, I had tried Slack back in '94 and it was a bit rough. And I had read forums claiming Slack was Sooooooooooo hard. Well, honestly, it went easy as pie. Kde looks just as good as Win XP. And I get to play with bash and perl and C++ all over again. Hmmmmm. Sound works great, even recognized my tv tuner card. I had a problem with my geforce 256 meg mem vid card. No, no problem, I just d/loaded the linux drivers and just read the directions that Nvidia sent with them and taken care of. I remember saying that, "I would switch full time to Linux if I could just do everything in Linux that I do in Windows." Well, guess what? I'm officially a switcher! I had considered buying an Apple, but why do that when for 15 bucks I can get linux from cheapbytes.com? There's so much to learn... And yet, its fairly easy to just listen to a mp3 or something. Not hard to check email or watch a movie. Plus people write some cool programs that are free. Not shareware. Not crippleware. But truly free. I know that the windows world has the same thing, but I haven't found any"shareware" yet for the system and everything i see is free. I'm on a limited budget and the price is right, the aps are right, and with a little help I will solve some of my last problems(such as how to give my login(nonsu) the right to browse my win partion, called oddly enough win, and play my music files, of which the *.wma files won't play, but I'll solve that too, I'm certain). Perhaps some folks could help me over my little problems I am having, but by and large, Linux is LIGHTYEARS from where I last left it. I will look around today for a unix class at the College in town(SHSU). I'm seriously impressed!

My name is Cecil. I'm a Triathlete, Food Service Manager, and now, A Switcher(parody of Apples Switch Campaign)

LOL
 
Old 04-27-2004, 12:59 PM   #2
Komakino
Senior Member
 
Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Somerset, England
Distribution: Slackware 10.2, Slackware 10.0, Ubuntu 9.10
Posts: 1,938

Rep: Reputation: 55
To fix the lilo thing edit /etc/lilo.conf and change (or add) the default option to Linux (or whatever label linux on your machine uses). Also there should be an option for timeout...change it to something low (or zero is what I use)

Now run /sbin/lilo to make the changes take effect.

All as root, of course.
 
Old 04-27-2004, 01:01 PM   #3
Komakino
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Registered: Feb 2004
Location: Somerset, England
Distribution: Slackware 10.2, Slackware 10.0, Ubuntu 9.10
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Here's my lilo.conf, it may be of some use to you

Code:
# Start LILO global section
append="hdd=ide-scsi"
boot = /dev/hda
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout = 0
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
  reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
vga = 773
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
  root = /dev/hdb3
  label = Linux
  read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends
 
Old 04-27-2004, 01:01 PM   #4
david_ross
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Registered: Mar 2003
Location: Scotland
Distribution: Slackware, RedHat, Debian
Posts: 12,047

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To fix your lilo problem just edit "/etc/lilo.conf" and delete the entry for Dos. You can then install that config file by running "lilo". You can also reduce the timeout or disable the prompt at all by editing lilo.conf and reinstalling.
 
Old 04-28-2004, 07:44 AM   #5
Xeys_00
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Apr 2004
Location: Texas
Distribution: Slackware 9.1
Posts: 3

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 0
Hmmm. I don't have that... Here's mine.

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hda
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# Normal VGA console
vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# DOS bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/hdb1
label = DOS
table = /dev/hdb
# DOS bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hda1
label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

ok, i feel dumb, i do see it, but i'm trying to figure out what to do. By the way, does anyone use a no xwin system? Just console all the way? Using mpg123 and stuff on one login and switch to another and do stuff in the shell? I thought about trying it out, but I wanted to play my music and do bash stuff at the same time.
 
Old 04-28-2004, 07:56 AM   #6
pave_spectre
Member
 
Registered: Jan 2004
Location: Behind You!
Distribution: Slackware 10 | SmoothWall 2.0 | FreeBSD 4.8
Posts: 56

Rep: Reputation: 15
To get rid of the dos option just delete

# DOS bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/hdb1
label = DOS
table = /dev/hdb
# DOS bootable partition config ends


from the lilo.conf file and you could also change timeout = 1200 to timeout = 0. Then just save the file and run the command lilo and you should be good to go.
 
Old 04-28-2004, 08:35 AM   #7
hw-tph
Senior Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Sweden
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 3,032

Rep: Reputation: 58
It's great to hear about it. Perhaps this should be moved or copied to the Success Stories section? Just a thought.

Oh, btw, the name of my kitten is Cecil.

And in addition to what pave_spectre (the Pave Aegis rocks) said, I would just comment out those lines. I never delete much in my config files, I like to keep stuff there for reference but commented out using pound characters instead (like the initial comment).


Håkan
 
Old 04-28-2004, 12:56 PM   #8
bruno buys
Senior Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Rio
Distribution: Debian
Posts: 1,511

Rep: Reputation: 46
of which the *.wma files won't play, but I'll solve that too, I'm certain

Do you have mplayer? Try it!
 
  


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