Windows/DOS girl thrown in deep end with Linux

DavidMcCann · 05-23-2010, 11:39 AM

You can usually find which distro you have with the command
cat /proc/version

catkin · 05-23-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann

You can usually find which distro you have with the command
cat /proc/version

On Slackware 13.0 it gives the kernel version, not the distro, similar to uname -a

Code:

c@CW8:~$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.29.6-smp-c3 (c@CW8) (gcc version 4.3.3 (GCC) ) #3 SMP Wed Apr 7 15:14:57 IST 2010
c@CW8:~$ uname -a
Linux CW8 2.6.29.6-smp-c3 #3 SMP Wed Apr 7 15:14:57 IST 2010 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) X2 Dual Core Processor BE-2300 AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux

tommylovell · 05-23-2010, 03:49 PM

If you can get to a "terminal window", type "cat /etc/*ease"

It works with lots of distros

Redhat

Code:

[root@sse5 ~] cat /etc/*ease
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.4 (Tikanga)
[root@sse5 ~]

Fedora

Code:

[root@athlonz ~]# cat /etc/*ease
Fedora release 10 (Cambridge)
Fedora release 10 (Cambridge)
Fedora release 10 (Cambridge)
[root@athlonz ~]#

Debian (on a "plug" device)

Code:

root@debian:~# cat /etc/*ease
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=9.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=jaunty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 9.04"
root@debian:~#

Ubuntu Netboot Remix

Code:

tommy@tommy-laptop:~$ cat /etc/*ease
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=9.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=karmic
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 9.10"
tommy@tommy-laptop:~#

SuSE (SLES)

Code:

[root@sles ~] cat /etc/*ease
SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 (i586)
VERSION = 9
[root@sles ~]

This works on a lot of systems because the groups that produce the distros place a file in "/etc" with that content, and use a filename that matches the "*ease" pattern.

In Redhat, the file is "/etc/redhat-release". ('redhat-release' matches '*ease'.)
In Fedora, it is "/etc/fedora-release". ('fedora-release' matched '*ease'.)
In Debian, it is "/etc/lsb-release". (etc. Neat, huh?)
In Ubuntu, it is "/etc/lsb-release". (Makes sense, Ubuntu is Debian based.)
In SLES, it is "/etc/SuSE-release".

(A humerous note, in fedora there are two "soft" links to that "/etc/fedora-release" file, "/etc/redhat-release" and "/etc/system-release", hence the funky output output output of the 'cat' command. It matches all three filenames...)

Don't get discouraged. Linux is a great operating system!

yonnieboy · 05-24-2010, 06:25 PM

If it's what I think it is.... there is no terminal, there are no repos and no means to update. The OS is horribly hacked to almost useless. About all you can do is check your email.

These 7" display laptops ship with a choice of 2 broken Operating Systems - Linux or WinCE. With the WinCE the device is basically bricked and trash. With the Linux version, there is hope, but you have to know what a soldering iron is and know how to use a few handtools.

If you have the xBurst CPU, there's a group working on a new useful Linux OS for it - do a search on google. If you have the Arm CPU, variant of via 8505, there's another group with a website: http://s0.blackmage.co.uk/~nextvolume/via_arm/index.php

So far the known way to change the OS is sort of like a dual boot where you insert a special formatted SD chip. Somewhat of a pain as it involves holding a key down for a long time. In a nut-shell the real fix is to open up the case, solder on a serial connector, using a special password you re-flash the bios and install a better OS.

Don't ditch the gadget yet, there are people working on a fix. These units have a lot of great potential.

PM me in a few weeks and I might have some better info for you.