Hello people, I'm new to linux
 

I got a copy of FC5 and I installed it. I did some reading on Linux but the problem is most things aren't going according to plan and I'm wondering if I should just give up or are there obvious things I am doing wrong?

1. After installing my nvidia drivers I went to System->Administration->Display and I chose dual display and configured my second monitor. Afterward I restarted and I was confronted with a blue screen that said X server failed to start. I finally just got my computer to start back up normally again and I'm wondering if I did something wrong?

2. Is there a difference between logging in as root and using su command and typing your password?

3. If I install the nvidia drivers as root will they work in a user account? For some reason my user account seems choppier when I scroll webpages.

4. If I start a full screen game am I supposed to turn off any background windows? My fps is dangling around 4 - 11.

5. When a full screen game freezes what series of keystrokes should I try to unlock my system with? (ctrl-alt-del doesnt work)

6. If an X server (I think that is what they are called) freezes how can I kill it? I know that the first display or X server or whatever it is called is accessed by ctrl-alt-f7. If I wanted to turn off the display how would i do that in the command line accessable by ctrl-alt-f2?

7. How do I interpret and analyze log files so as to debug what is causing the errors? Is there a general approach or is it always different depending on which log file? Can you direct me to any readings that deal with specific log files and how to analyze them, what everything means on them etc... (Start with graphic log files if there are many readings)


For now I think those are the things vexing me. I don't know if my questions are reasonable to be asking here, but I guess I'll find out soon eough. Thanks.

Hi,

And welcome to LQ!

There is - primarily if you're using X. You're potentially more open
to exploits if you login as root and run your sessions that way.

Yes, they will.

Kind of suggests that NVidia drivers aren't loaded (unless your
machine is a P90 ;}).

Ctrl-Alt-BkSpc should kill an Xsession (if the machine hasn't locked hard).

See 5, or (as root) skill -9 xdm X (or whatever other processes
are involved with a graphical login with FC).

Basically really just read them; hunt down entries chronologically
close to the time the problem occurred.



Cheers,
Tink

Here are some answers to some of your questions:

(1) did you by chance use nvidia's proprietary drivers or are you using the drivers supplied by Fedora. I remember reading something about there being major problems with nvidia's proprietary drivers. You might want to look through the Fedora website to see what it has to say about nvidia drivers.

(2) Logging in as root causes all of the programs that you start up to have root privileges, whereas doing an su and providing password causes only the terminal shell that you did su in to have root privileges. So, there is a difference.

(5) You might want to type ctrl-alt-f1 to get a terminal shell, log in as root and then type "reboot" (with the "s) at the terminal prompt.

1. How did you install the nVidia drivers?

2. Yes. Logging in as root gives you complete access to all files, commands, etc. for that entire session. Using "su" will allow you to operate as "superuser" for a time; namely, until you end that terminal session. Logging in as root leaves you open to exploits and may restrict/foul up installing or running some programs (Crossover Office comes to mind). It is not advisable, and rarely necessary, to login as root. I only do this once every blue moon when I'm making extensive changes to my system, such as rebuilding an X Configuration, or mucking about with a custom kernel (not that I know what I'm doing; I just muck about. ;)). At any rate, don't login as root unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary. One of the great things about Linux is that 99.9% of the time, you can operate as a normal user, do what you need to do, and leave your system protected against local or remote exploits.

3. Almost usually always yes. Again, how did you install your drivers?

4. See above question.

5. In Fedora, Ctrl+alt+backspace will end your session in a hurry, or you can run gconf-editor and go to apps -> metacity -> Global Keybindings and set a custom keystroke by double clicking "run_command_1". In the box that pops up, type:
Then go over to keybinding_commands and find command_1. Double click, and when the box pops up, type:
6. By, "turn off the display", do you mean actually turn the monitor off, or go to a command line only interface? If it's the former, that's going to depend on some hardware variables. If it's the latter, using our little gconf-editor trick above, you could assign your favorite keystroke to run:
7. Look for a utility called "Bug Report Tool". There are helpful guides linked that will give you logging information specific to your distro.

Never give up. There's a learning curve at first, but you will find these forums can help you jump those hoops. Also, I remember from my Fedora days coming across a really great Fedora guide at http://www.fedorafaq.org/. Happy Lxing!

Thanks for the answers. Good news is I somehow got the fps normalized so the drivers seem to be okay.

"See 5, or (as root) skill -9 xdm X (or whatever other processes
are involved with a graphical login with FC)." This response is kind of confusing and I'm afraid to test it out incase i lose all my windows.

do you mean run either:

or
to kill the display? (how can i specify which display to kill, or is there only one? I am thinking like can i have a display on ctrl-alt-f7 and f8?

And about su, I know those things I was asking if there is a difference between suing in a terminal and then typing in a command as opposed to logging in as root? Because when I ran setsebool it came up as not a command when I sued to become root and when i logged in as root suddenly setsebool was a command.

And how can I get my duel display running? Any links?

There's a difference between "su" and "su -". su will preserve the
current users environment, hence stuff that lives in */sbin/ won't
show up in your normal users path, and not in roots either if you
just su. su - fixes that.


Cheers,
Tink

Hello!

There are some differences between logging in as root or using su other than what have been mentioned so far.

If you enter you will have the authorisation of the root user, but will still be using all the environment variables and the settings of the user you logged in as.
If you enter the command then you will basically log in as root in the terminal window with all the environment settings ($PATH etc) set for user root.

okay that clears it up.

I just ran into another problem with yum, can someone take a look? It's been doing the same thing for 3 completely different things I've been trying to download.

Maybe you want to manually download and install the packages locally, using something like smart, which you can find at http://labix.org/smart The advantage of this approach is that if you ever have to reinstall (e.g. a hard drive fails) and provided that you have kept good backups, you can do it from local RPMs and not have to go through the rigmarole of pulling everything down through the internet again.

You will probably need to use rpm itself to install smart since yum can't do local installs very well, if at all. Simply do, at a root prompt, rpm -i <smart-package-rpm-name> and rpm -i <smart-package-gui-rpm-name>.

If you take this approach, you should start with the packages that you know you want to install (e.g. flash-plugin) and use smart to see what dependencies need to be satisfied (if any) in the form of more packages that will need to be downloaded. Then, once all dependencies are satisfied, use smart to install the packages and all of their dependencies.

Looks like you either lost connection, or the package you were trying to download has changed. Have you tried using yumex or another visual yum installer? There is one included with Fedora. I suggest this because you may get additional debugging info if you use one of these programs.

He means the latter of the two codes you gave. And I would suggest following the ctrl+alt+backspace and ctrl+alt+delete tricks I and others have mentioned.

Regarding how to get the dual display running, how did you install your video drivers?