hi all,

i had installed mandriva one 2008 in may of this year, but hadnt bothered to do the security updates thing that was showing in red on the top right of the screen. a few days ago, i did it (selected all updates), and now, when i reboot, i get 2 more entries on the grub screen (a desktop586 2.6.22.9-1 and desktop586 2.6.22.19-2) in addition to the older mandriva linux 2008 entry. now which do i choose?

before i did the updates, gtkpod was working like a charm to sync music to the ipod, now, apparently, when i connect the ipod, it doesnt automount, and even when i mounted it manually, and tried syncing a song onto it, gtkpod gives me an error that it doesnt have permission to write to the device, something to that effect. ok, i'm not a geek or anything, and its frustrating when doing a security update thing breaks these kind of settings. any idea how i can correct this?

the bigger question i wanted to ask was, how come linux (or mandriva?) is so frustrating, in the sense that doing updates breaks other settings? if i spend some time on the system, i may be able to get things working again, but right now, i'm occupied with other things, and i'd rather not tinker and troubleshoot, when i think it was not even warranted, in the first place. yeah, i know the newer mandriva version is out, but i dont want to install that atm.

as an example, i use a sony vaio laptop (vgn-n220e), and i am not able to adjust the screen brightness. i tried some troubleshooting from "http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/source/Documentation/sony-laptop.txt?v=linux-2.6", and it worked once (after reboot, the brightness was minimum once, now its back to high brightness). my question is, why dont manufacturers provide details about their hardware, so linux guys can write drivers etc for them? why is it all kept so hidden and "proprietary"? because, as an example, i find the vaio a good piece of hardware, but without the right/good drivers, it all seems a waste. and, my experience with vista on this laptop has been abysmal, to put it lightly (and anyway, i never wanted to go along with windows...its there for my mom)

if any of you could direct me to some url's etc, that explain this state of affairs, that would be great.

thanks again,
bittersweet60

Let try to give you some answers.
The extra choices that are given to you may not make much difference for you, but for the box it does.
So use the option that works best for you.
Apply the updates as soon as they are there , of course this is just my humble opinion.
Updates should not breaks the settings.
Did you ever check the update history of Windosz , it is not a big surprise if not all updates are installed.
They just failed.
And if you try to correct it , sometimes it becomes very nasty
you're question manufactures and not giving the details well they are the ones that can provide you with the answers

Hi, when grub comes up with a menu, select the newest version
and check it provides the hardware and configuration you require (or are used to).

With newly installed kernels I use the verbose boot option to view the
text as the (Linux) system starts watching for error and fail massages.

The old version is there in case you can't boot properly with the new install.
You can remove any old entries through the manager (Configure My Computer) boot options.
Usually (Mandriva free) the entry "Linux" is the newest version,
but the newest version is also listed, as you show above here.
This gives clarity to choice when you need it, but otherwise is a bit daunting.

Personally I have not installed ONE since the first ONE, I can't remember
which version, but have been under the impression that it contained the
most adaptive system to be compatible with a large variety of machines.
(but not necessarily very efficient installed on a hard-drive)

You may be able to find backups of system files (filename~) in /etc and/etc/(package.name)

Also check for hidden files in /home/(user) and /home/(package.name).
You may be able to reinstate some of the functionality you had before.

One thing you discovered is my pet hate.

When updates come in, they are "repository updates" Not necessarily for my system.

Always check, unless you have installed the whole DVD, you won't be using them all.

Like samba (for example), if you don't have to connect to m$ machines you won't use it.

Otherwise, I recommend installing 2009.0 free release, it has an improved kernel and is a bit easier to get external devices working.

And keep telling your friends, family and colleagues about FOSS, about the lack of hardware support from manufacturers, to put pressure on those manufacturers that are ignorant and too greedy, riding on the back of Buggy Proprietary Operating Systems.

Any other questions, ask here?

Regards, Glenn

ps. you may want to update your urpmi database.

to update, do this in a shell...

urpmi.update -a

to upgrade I suggest easy urpmi...

http://easyurpmi.zarb.org/

Follow the directions. BACKUP FIRST!

cheers, Glenn

hi glennspref,

thanx a lot for the helpful info. atm, i'm staying away from the computer, cuz my mind is into other things, but once i'm back into computer mode ;p, i'll follow your suggestions, if i want to get my mandriva in better shape..thanx a ton for your help ;-)

-bs60