hello, i just installed linux and this command line type thing showed up so i type in root. now i get this:

[root@localhost root]#

what do i put now?

First, add a user account with adduser (or useradd, depending on your setup) and set a password for the user with passwd <username>. Unless you did this when you installed. You generally don't want to login as root.

The logout as root and login as the new user. Now, if you've installed X, type startx, and you should get a desktop.

Steve

ok i put adduser and i see this:

usage: adduser


adduser

and theres some things that look like [-e expire ]

not sure what to do now

Try something like

adduser madskillz -m -G users,wheel -s /bin/bash

then

passwd madskillz

(most of the options they list do what you'd think, e.g. -e makes the account expire after a set amount of time, -s assigns the shell, and so on)

Steve

well now i see this

[madskillz@localhost madskillz]$

i think im getting close now...but what command do i type here?

startx

Steve

doesnt work, i dont think i enabled it when i installed

i think i'll have to reinstall mandrake, i might have messed something up with the KDE configuration..but thanks i think i know what to do from here now

What distro are you using? (Note, this is an important thing to mention in future posts.) You may have a number of problems, or it may just be a newbie thing. (We've all been there, by the way.) Try typing 'startx' at that prompt. Hopefully, that will send you into X-windows/Gnome/KDE. If so, you should manage better from there. If you know (guessing doesn't work so well with linux) that you installed gnome or kde (or both), you can also try 'gdm' or 'kdm' respectively. If startx doesn't work, you're probably not going to have luck with gdm or kdm. If the screen goes haywire, hit ctrl+alt+backspace to shut down the X server.

On the other hand, if none of that works, you haven't installed or properly set up your distro for x-windows (the gui linux uses). Depending on your distro, this may be as simple as a one line command, or it may be easier to reinstall, and pay more attention to the options available. Most distros expect that you will want x-windows, so they install it as part of a standard install.

There is a possiblity, if you're using one of the "expert" distributions (debian, gentoo, slackware, and others) that the distro doesn't assume you want a gui (a gui on a server is a waste of resources, in case you're wondering why not). In those cases, especially for a newbie, it might be easier to try another more "newbie friendly" distro. Otherwise, you're in for a lot of reading, and probably as much frustration.

Linux is actually pretty easy to use, and once you've gotten used to it, you'll wonder why you put up with some of the other stuff for so long. Part of that means that you'll have to unlearn a few habits (like reinstalling when something breaks--in linux, chances are your problem is a couple commands or mouse clicks to fix|but at first, it's probably better to worry more about getting a working system, so ignore it for now, but keep it in mind). If you like the power of the PC, you'll probably find the time you put into linux to have an incredible return on your investment.

If you're using Mandrake, Redhat, SuSE (the big three), and startx doesn't work, chances are there was a problem during your install, or not enough stuff was installed.

ok i typed pwd, and now im in /home/madskillz
dont know what takes me to the desktop now

ok well i have mandrake and i think i'll install it again...i think you're right some stuff didnt install fully.

Here's a how to for Mandrake. If you follow this you should boot to 'x' without a problem.

http://easylinuxguide.jsutnoni.com/viewtopic.php?t=418

Since you have done it before you may want to pay particular attention to what software to install. If you have room select them all, the ones on the left. Leave the ones on the right like they are, they are server stuff. Do not uncheck any though. Make sure you go through the configure part during the summary. Especially the monitor and network part.

Hope this helps.

thanks a lot, but it was because i checked off some things in the setup that i shouldnt have but im alright now

Great news. Glad you got it going. Be sure to try out the other desktops like Gnome and Ice. They are neat. Gnome just looks different and Ice is really fast. Not fancy, just fast.

Love my Linux, Hate that windoze!