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Old 07-02-2004, 08:00 AM   #1
Foxy
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Initial questions after first Linux use


I have to say that Linux is quite odd compared to Windows!

Questions:
*The internet connection dialog says the method of connecting is 'lan'. I told the installer that I would use 'isdn'. I can't see a way to change it back to isdn!
*I installed wine but it hasn't appeared in any menus (tsk). I can see it in usr/bin, so how can I get it onto the 'Start' menu? (Not the correct name, but you get the idea).
*When I try to run a file that is the Nvidia drivers for my card (GF4) (.run) it eventually says that it cannot find the file? What? (This happened when the file was on the CD and when it was on the desktop).
*What do I do with a '.bin' file? (this is the Helix player file I think)
*I tried to get good 'ol Opera on but it said it was already installed when I ran the rpm... eh?
*Is there a way to set increased mouse sensitivity? I put on acceleration but the 'dead zone' irritates me (when it is on 'the mouse 'jerks' before moving), but when it is off I get a jittery cursor when trying to hover over icons etc. So basically, I need to increase mouse sensitivity instead. I would love it if something could emulate the Logitech Windows drivers and utils so that I could use the extra mouse buttons again. (I have an MX500).
*Stupid question: programs from Mozilla I tried to put on (thunderbird and the not-so-Mozilla-but-modified-Mozilla-Composer nvu) were just a load of files in the tar. I'm assuming you just put these somewhere, but WHERE? How I get these on the menu also?

Guess what?
 
Old 07-02-2004, 08:35 AM   #2
kevinatkins
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hello,

Yes, Linux is quite a change from Windows - after a while it'll be like second nature and hopefully you'll come to appreciate what at first seem like eccentricities!

anyway, quite a list of questions you've got. I'll have a go at answering them where I can, but can i make a small suggestion? To speed up response, you might want to separate each question into a separate post with appropriate subject line - that way, we can see at a glance what the thread is about and those experienced / able to comment will be able to make an immediate reply.

Some answers will depend on which distribution and which desktop environment you're using, so we could do with knowing those - eg, adding 'Start' menu items is different in KDE and Gnome!

anyway, here goes - I'll answer where I can..

Quote:
*When I try to run a file that is the Nvidia drivers for my card (GF4) (.run) it eventually says that it cannot find the file? What? (This happened when the file was on the CD and when it was on the desktop).
What you need to do here is open up a console window (command prompt) and navigate to the directory where the file is held (on your cd - so it'll be somewhere under /mnt/cdrom, or /media/cdrom, or similar - make sure the cd has been mounted first!). To run the nVidia installer, you'll need root permissions, so first issue 'su' at the command prompt, then enter your password (you won't get any feedback on screen - no *'s or anything. That's normal)
Then to run the file, you need to add ./ (that's dot slash) before the filename - this instructs the command interpreter to run the file from the current working directory.

Quote:
*What do I do with a '.bin' file? (this is the Helix player file I think)
I'm not familiar with the Helix player, but the .bin extension would tend to suggest it's an executable file of some sort - procedure is similar to above.

Quote:
*I tried to get good 'ol Opera on but it said it was already installed when I ran the rpm... eh?
It's possible Opera is indeed already installed - to check, open your console window and type 'which opera'.

Quote:
*Stupid question: programs from Mozilla I tried to put on (thunderbird and the not-so-Mozilla-but-modified-Mozilla-Composer nvu) were just a load of files in the tar. I'm assuming you just put these somewhere, but WHERE? How I get these on the menu also?
It's not a stupid question - what I think you're looking at here is an archive containing source code which needs to be compiled - not as difficult as it sounds, but probably beyond the scope of this thread.

Hope this helps a bit - there's always the Linux community to fall back on when problems arise; it's one of the great things about it (as well as security, stability, etc..!)
 
Old 07-02-2004, 11:44 AM   #3
Foxy
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Sorry, I forgot to say which desktop, etc, lol. I'm using KDE on Mandrake Linux 9.2.

To clear up about the Mozilla-programs question, I can tell that the files are essentially what you put in a directory to use the program, if you get what I mean. Someone has compiled the program and stuck the program and it's files in a tar for extraction and then immediate use without installing or anything. Hope this makes more sense.
 
Old 07-02-2004, 01:37 PM   #4
penguin4
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foxy: suggestion; attempt to forego reference to W. 180* diff. some thing
that work on w not on linux. do not fight it join it.(pun)
 
Old 07-03-2004, 07:24 AM   #5
Foxy
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I can barely understand what you mean penguin4, but I think you are saying 'stop using Windows terminology and stop expecting things to work just as they do Windows'. Well, I am in the strange position of trying to bash down a wall with a small hammer to access the sledgehammer that I really need. In other words, I can't use the proper terminology for something I don't yet understand. I don't expect everything to work just as in Windows, but that doesn't mean that I am going to just work around problems/oddities and not try to find solutions.

I tried a 'which' on 'opera' and 'opera7' and it didn't find it, as I thought it wouldn't. I doubted that Opera would be included since it is closed source, and the 'free' version is just the payed version with an ad.
 
Old 07-03-2004, 07:44 AM   #6
Ajarn
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Mandrake has very good tutorials if you use MDK10.
If you installed from CDs, you still have to apply 700 Mb of updates to get a good installation.

Why don't you just switch to version 10--official
I find it much better, and you find a lot of good tutorials there as well.
( ofcourse, there are the necessary updates as well , but not to many )

Last edited by Ajarn; 07-03-2004 at 07:53 AM.
 
Old 07-03-2004, 08:23 AM   #7
Foxy
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9.2 was the newest version I could get, lol! I don't have broadband because BT doesn't want to give me it until it becomes 'commercially viable' *laughs*. (They're quite happy to rip me off with expensive, less good ISDN instead ). So I have to rely on magazine coverdisks basically. Those are once a month, and there is only one distro per DVD...

Downloading 700MB updates is a bit of a joke (although not a funny one) as you can now see.

I've heard about a LOT of problems with 10 anyway, and in any case, if it's slower than 9.2 then I don't want in. 9.2 is already annoyingly slow to load compared to the fresh Win98 install I have (this is on my old PC).

Last edited by Foxy; 07-03-2004 at 08:25 AM.
 
Old 07-03-2004, 08:26 AM   #8
amosf
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Net connection... Try clicking the wizard or the expert tags or whatever... I seem to remeber it being a bit buggy in 9.2, but there is a way there somewhere... Mind you mdk10 ain't quite right either, tho they have improved things. It still says I'm not connected to the net, but I'm using it

If you want wine easy on the menus you might want to look at $40 codeweavers for apps (office, photoshop, etc) or $30 point2play+cedega (winex) for games... 'Real' wine tends to take a bit of work to set up, tho in mdk10 it is in the menu system...

The nvidia drivers - try using

sh ./whateverthedriveriscalled.run

You'll need to be root and may need the developement libs, gcc, headers, etc installed...

Opera may be installed. Type opera in a console. I was an opera user BTW, but mozilla has caught up and I use it now, even though I paid for opera...

I had a similar problem with the mouse in 9.2 but not is 10. I had to add something like Resolution 200 in the XFconfig file... Wish I could remember exactly. Do a search (but it wasn't easy to find)...

I usually get mozilla binaries in a tgz... you unzip them and run the installer. When You open something like that always look for the README or INSTALL file and it will have some info.
 
Old 07-03-2004, 09:03 AM   #9
Foxy
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I was going to look at Cedega if I took to Linux (if it runs Codename Eagle reliably I will probably cry with joy).

I did kind of get the Nvidia drivers to run (I think su then enter root password then run it from there worked), although I've now got to figure out how to start in command line mode, lol. (See other post I made).

Thanks for the pointer about mouse sensitivity, I'm going to have to edit X config file(s) to get it using the new NVidia drivers anyway, so two birds with one stone so to speak.

I tried to set my connection up with the wizard again but the dialog insists on being stubborn and keeping 'lan' as the method. I really would like to get this up because I'm having to spend ages in Win98 on crappy IE trying to find a solution, lol. (I don't want to install Opera again for fear of being dragged back into Win via lethargy. )
 
Old 07-03-2004, 09:18 AM   #10
amosf
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BTW after thinking a while, The mouse option was something like

Option "Resolution" "200"

in the mouse section to get it to work right... ( on my box anyway )
 
Old 07-03-2004, 08:23 PM   #11
petkov
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here are some more tips for ya:


Ctrl+Alt+F1 to exit KDE's GUI and get to a command line(called CLI for short)
Alt+F7 to return to KDE's GUI from the command line

to find something, open a terminal and use the "locate name-of-program" command

remember, capital letters DO matter in Linux, so opera and Opera will give you different results..;-)
 
Old 07-04-2004, 03:55 AM   #12
Foxy
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Thanks.

I've got Opera on finally, yay! I downloaded the 'static' version after having a look round the Opera site, and this installed flawlessly. I don't understand why, but at least it's on now.

I've found out how to add stuff to the menu now too. (I found a Mandrake utility in a right click menu somewhere).

So, the only big thing left (minus the nastiness of installing new ALSA drivers for my Vortex 2 card, and the new nVidia drivers) is this internet connection. I really can't fathom what is going on with it. Why Mandrake insists on deafulting to 'lan' connection I don't know. I've tried using the Wizard in expert mode, but I don't know what make my ISDN card is (It's a BT Speedway, but who knows who made it! ). And then the wizard asks for the card's IRQ and some other values which I do not know how to find. In other words, I'm stumped. I looked in the network related files in /etc, and found them oddly empty in some instances. There wasn't a directory for the new connection settings profile I created, which is rather suspicious.

Last edited by Foxy; 07-04-2004 at 03:57 AM.
 
  


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