As far as I know, we only have 1 guru active on the board
I understand it's hard to try to come from a winbloze based mentality and attempt to do something like get your driver installed for your video card. I have been there, as probably a lot of others have. Some stay, some go back, it's really not a contest as it may seem sometimes. I will do what I can to reply to each of your comments in order, here goes:
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We should change the URL header to "Where linux newbies come to get more confused"
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Nah, this really is a great place for newbies who wish to actually learn linux should come, it's got some of the best people here, and everyone likes to help. I know you are frustrated, but it does get better
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I'll keep stabbing at this we the month winds down, but if I cant get the answers I need, I see no point.
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This doesn't sound to me like you are really wanting to find something other than winbloze to use as your OS, but rather a view of someone (like consumer reports) that is simply trying out a product and giving a rating/review on it. Linux is a viable alternative to "The Beast" but it does require a bit of learning to get going, as winbloze may have back in it's early days. There are versions of Linux out there aimed at people who don't really want to use linux, but just don't want to be tied down to MSFT, some of the distros include Lindows, and Lycoris. SuSE, the distro you have, is a very good choice for a newbie, and does have a lot of drivers available that aren't part of the standard kernel for whatever reason, but I guess just not the specific one you need. Luck of the draw I guess
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I am quite sure linux has its good points, but unless someone can link the kernel with a hald decent GUI, linux will stay a niche product.
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It does. There are gui's available to help someone build their new kernel, and even some distros that build kernels for you. This is where Linux wins. When was the last time you tried to build a new kernel in winbloze? That's right, never, because your only choice is to buy the newest version, and use it's default kernel. And yes, Linux has many other good points, like stability, uptimes in years, not hours; obviously a better choice for the server market; and many other "good points".
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Also, if hardware vendors cant make simple driver installation files, linux will continue to have its collective ass handed to it by The Beast.
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This is in no way Linux's fault. If you make a program, and decide not to make a version for anything other than winbloze, why should linux be marked as a "lacking" alternative. Just because some things don't work in Linux that do work in winbloze, doesn't mean it's lacking anything. Try running a few things of Linux on winbloze. You have even less options now. And then, to make this comment worse, is that you don't even recognize your own hardware manufacturer for making drivers for your card. Alot of others don't, and then the Linux community has to blindly build their own drivers for their cards. This is a blatent ignorance, and I am sorry that you don't understand it.
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Its not like my nVidia GeForce 3 is some oddball card...last time I checked it was pretty popular. So whats the problem?
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And that's why nVidia provides drivers for it. It takes a short amount of patience for you to install your card, after that, you could at least have a look at linux a little bit better, in it's gui form which it seems you would prefer.
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Ok, thanks for attempting to help me people.
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Do you really mean this? Or are you being sarcastic, I will assume that you are sincere, and I say, "you're welcome".
I don't mean to sound snappy in my retort to those comments, but if you are going to judge something, I think more time should be required; along with an open mind, which, from reading your replies, seems to be what might be the thing that is lacking.
Now for some more help on this:
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But I have no idea how to extract/install them
Thats why I asked for the command line syntax
Its a base install with nothing changed.
How do you extract TARs?
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tar xvzf /path/to/file/filename.tar.gz
You will then need to enter the directory that "tar" created during the untarring:
cd /path/to/file/filename
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How do you activate the program once its installed?
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This is not a program, it's a driver. Depending on the version of SuSE you have, there are RPM's provided. RPM's are thought to be a little easier for you if you aren't too familiar with Linux, so you may want to try those first. They are located at the bottom of the page I provided in my earlier post.
Instructions are provided
here and tell you what I am telling you.
If you download the RPM files for your version of SuSE, the following command will install them:
*note: You must be in the directory the files are located in
rpm -Ivh NVIDIA_GLX(then press the tab key for autocompletion of the filename)
Now the GLX driver is installing. If you have dependency issues, they must be satisfied. This means that you will need to install additional programs for this to be installed correctly. If you have problems installing those additional programs, I am sure someone can help you, simply post in the software section your problem, and a description of what's happening.
Once it's finished and you have satisfied all the dependencies (these dependencies are also noted in the readme file that I have given you the link to above), then you need to move on to the other file you downloaded.
The kernel Driver file. Make sure you have the right one for your version of SuSE.
rpm -ivh NVIDIA_kernel(then press tab for autocompletion of filename)
Now the kernel drivers are installing.
After that completes (with no errors) you will need to edit a file. Depending on the version of SuSE you have, you may need to edit a different file. If you have a "/etc/X11/XF86Config-4" file, edit this one. If you don't, and only have "/etc/X11/XF86Config" file, then edit this one instead.
Scroll through that file, changing/editing the following:
If you see a line "glx" good, if not locate text which might say:
load "dbe"
load "v41"
load "Type1"
load "freetype"
And add
load "glx"
If you see the glx entry, and it's commented out:
#load "glx"
remove the # sign.
Also, in that general area, you may see these lines:
Load "dri"
Load "GLcore"
You should place a # sign in front of each of them.
Ok, now locate the line further down that says "nv". Change this to "nvidia".
That sound like that's about it.
If you are still having problems, here are some other threads/websites for some info:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=21868
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...threadid=26716
A forum just for nvidia users:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/foru...?s=&forumid=14
HTH