Be warned, I may have gotten a little carried away with this post... over 2000 characters long.

My comp:
800MHz/384MB ram/20gig HDD IDE-0 Master/CD-RW IDE-0 Slave

I'm on a Network of 3 computers

System1 - XP (this comp i'm using to post/Internet gateway)
System2 - XP
System3 - Now called Linux3 (My comp)


XP was starting to become a little unstable and instead of reinstalling XP I decided it would be a good time to try to install Linux.

Had a little problem with it not wanting to FDISK when my HDD was slave, when I did get FDISK working heres what I did:

My 20gig HD

/dev/hda2 - 200mb linux swap
/dev/hda5 - 4096mb linux (boot flag)
---- about 15 gigs of un-partitioned space to dual boot XP later ----

Now I started setup, Selected the swap partition and it starts taking me through prompts... I choose to format my "/dev/hda5" as the Journaling File system, and I choose the Full Install. Everything installs and it asks me to choose a kernel, I select bare.i ... It asks me to put in a floppy to make a boot disk, heres the first problem, it seems my floppy drive wont read/write anything... So i figure i can skip this because i can boot of the CD if necessary.

Next it asks if i want to install "LILO", because i want to dual boot later, i figured this was a good thing to install too. About this time i believe it gets me to reboot.


"Disk boot failure, insert system disk and push enter."

I guess i didn't setup the kernel correctly... so i boot of the CD and at the Boot prompt i typed "bare.i root=/dev/hda5 noinitrd ro"


I'm in linux now, at least the console, I try navigating around and amuse myself with the text games for a bit and everything seems to be good until i try to run an application with a GUI... Ex. Mozilla
root@Linux3:Mozilla
(mozilla-bin:1758): Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display:

A screenshot of me trying to open a few programs:
img75.echo.cx/img75/4639/linux004small2jx.jpg (46KB)

Now I'm stuck, I'm not sure what to do next...

You should post the contents of /etc/lilo.conf
Chances are that you installed lilo to the root partition and not the MBR.

$ xwmconfig
will give you a choice of window managers. Try Gnome or KDE to start with.

# xorgconfig
will generate a configuration file for your X server, which will be written to /etc/X11/xorg.conf

$ startx
will start the X server and window manager you chose

Check out this link as well. It's pretty good for slackware basics

http://www.slackersbible.org/

I'm POSTING FROM MY LINUX MACHINE

Thanks so much dcdbutler , I didn't know of the command "startx" hehe,

Now all thats left to do is get my machine booting on its own
the following is my lilo.conf file

{
# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/hda5
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
vga = 773
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/hda5
label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends
}

ok., so lilo was installed to the root partition and not the MBR
So, change the line
boot = /dev/hda5

to

boot = /dev/hda

then run lilo
# lilo

Then reboot and I think everything should be ok

Cheers

Ok, working great now, Thanks a lot

Fantastic!

Welcome to LQ, by the way

I notice in your shot you were running as root. This is not smart!
You REALLY need to create an underpriveldged user with the command and do your normal work as that user.

Hey,

I still don't understand the big deal of being root. Considering a lot of things have to be done using su/sudo anyways, you're still pretty much working as root. Instead of saying "Don't login as root" wouldn't it be better just to say "Don't change/delete stuff you don't understand" ?

If I'm missing something, please let me know

Matt

I think the idea is that if you get a virus or something it wont be able to do anything if it doesn't have root privileges

If a program your running has a bug and something exploits that, say a piece of javascript in firefox then if your running as a normal user the most you can do is damage your own files, if running as root you can wreck the entire system.

Once your system is setup there is no need to use su or sudo unless performing maintenance or installing additional programs

exactly. And, Matty-J, it is REALLY (and I mean REALLY) easy to touch things you don't understand- and root doesn't ask questions. (speaking form experience- reinstall...)

And if someone takes advantage of your system- they can wreak havoc if in root. GET A NEW USER!!! now!!!

titanium_geek

Thanks for the clarification

Now I know. And Knowing is half the battle. GI-JOOOOOOE!

The main problem with running as root is simply that a simple typo or an otherwise minor error can destroy your system. To illustrate, suppose you are in directory A, and then do a listing on directory B. You continue to explore directory B, and decide it's all stuff that is not longer useful and that you can get rid of, so you execute the rm command with a wildcard, intending to delete everything in direcotry B. Oops - actually you're still in directory A, and if "A" is your root directory, etc, you have just hosed up your system beyond repair.

As titanitum_geek points out, whatever you run as root will be performed without question. There are no Windows-type of "Are you sure?" pop-ups when you run a command as root, and usually it takes about 2 nanoseconds after pressing the Enter key to realize that you've made a mistake. As a veteran of more re-installs than I'd care to admit, I'm well acquainted with the penalties of running commands without being sufficiently careful.

Anyway, running as root should only be done in limited, specific situations (such as installing new software). Otherwise, run as a regular user. You will save yourself a lot of grief and regret and data. -- J.W.