I am working on getting my FC4 working to my satisfaction, but there are some learning gaps in my way, maybe you can help.

I need to know where I can put the code in to mount my ntfs drive when linux boots. I figured out how to mount it, but it unmounts every time I reboot.

I also want to start several programs when linux boots. Where do I find the files to run these programs, not only to start with linux, but I want to put several icons on my desktop as well. I am guessing I can just enter a line in with whatever I mount my drive in.

Is there an easy way to prevent a program (such as xmms and gkrellm) from having the bar at the bottom of the screen? I am also looking for something that will keep programs on the active desktop all the time (after reboot, or restarting the program).

I also have a problem when I hit the 'log out' button, where it takes about 5 minutes for the log out screen to come up...then it takes another 5 minutes for it to log out and reboot. Any ideas on what this is all about?

Thanks a ton for all the help...I am actually starting to get ahold of this linux thing...

to have the drive automatically mounted you will need to add a line for it to your /etc/fstab file:

http://www.google.com/search?q=fstab+ntfs

as for auto-starting programs, you can use your rc.local file (i'm not sure where it's located on fedora) but if what you want is for something to get started when you log-in to your desktop environment then you should use your desktop environment's auto-start feature... like, for example, KDE has a folder in which you can just drop-in any scripts or shortcuts to programs which you want executed when you log-in...

as for the logout issue, this probably won't be of much help to you, but i think i saw something similar a couple years ago - if i can remember correctly the issue was solved by editing the /etc/hosts file, it has something to do with the localhost entry (but i'm not 100% sure)...

sorry i can't be more helpful right now...

1) you can add a line to the /etc/fstab file to mount filesystems at boot. for ntfs, it might be something like:
/dev/hdbx is whatever the partition is (or /dev/hda if it's your a drive), /mnt/local is just an example that you can change to whatever you want, and defaults are just that, so read man fstab to find out the options.

2) starting programs when you start linux and starting programs when the gui launches are two different things. for starting programs, you would need a startup script, or a line in a startup file like rc.local if it's just one line (like setting an hdparm parameter, etc.)

to put icons on the desktop, you'll have to say what desktop you use. it can be done a lot of different ways depending on that.

3) i think stopping applications from being in the taskbar usually depends again on the desktop you're using, and what application you're talking about. gkrellm, for example, has an option not to include it on a taskbar or pager. that's the only one i know of that has that option though, not to say there aren't others. it's probably easier in kde or gnome, so just be more specific what you want to do.

4) you can probably ctrl+alt+delete to bypass the logoff delay and go directly to a terminal. i have the same problem in xfce4, and i just kill X that way when i need to shut it down.

hope some of that helps

Since you say you can manually mount NTFS, I guess I can assume you've already enabled NTFS support in Fedora. Then, you just need to follow these instructions to have it automount. Since the instructions are for Ubuntu, though, use su to switch to root instead of using sudo before every command.

Several methods of shutting down:

1) Open a terminal, su to root, type "shutdown -h now" to halt the computer.
2) Open a terminal, su to root, type "shutdown -r now" to reboot the computer.
3) Open a terminal, su to root, type "init 0" to halt the computer.
4) Open a terminal, su to root, type "init 6" to reboot the computer.

If you need help with a command, try:
(where COMMAND is the name of the command you want help for)
1) man COMMAND
2) COMMAND -h
3) COMMAND --help
4) info COMMAND

"COMMAND -h" and "COMMAND --help" work in different ways depending on the command (possibly not at all)

You can change to a different console using (usually) ctrl+alt+f1 (or f2, or f3, etc). Usually one console (on mine it's number 7, or tty7) is reserved for X-window systems, ie, the Graphical User Interface (GUI), and the others are all Command Line Interfaces (CLIs).

Any questions, ask! (Though that's pretty much the extent of my knowledge - I'm kind of new as well!)

Best of luck with Linux,

Andy.