Newby to Linux (SUSE 9.1)
 

Hi Everyone,

I'm a :newbie: to Linux (six months) after spending donkeys years with MS and getting fed up with the constant rise in cost of software decided to look for an alternative :cry: .
I managed to purchase a SUSE 9.2 "Live CD" from ebay just to try out the operating system and liked the way in which it worked :) .
Then I purchased a boxed copy of SUSE 9.1 personal installed it on an old Desktop PC - 450mhz Pentium II processor, 256mb memory, 20Gb hard disk and I'm really pleased so far with it.
The only problem I did encounter was it didn't install properly to begin with an error "These packages returned an error - bitstream-vera and desktop-data-suse" :scratch: .
I then ended up stripping the PC down checking the memory, hard disk CD rom etc only to find that while eating my lunch, my greasy fingers had got onto the installation CD making it difficult for the CDROM to read the disk :tisk: .
Cleaning the disk solved the problem straight away and I haven't had a problem since.
It seems to perform very well even on an old machine and hasn't locked up on me as the other well known operating system used to do frequently from time to time.
Also got hold of a book "Linux in easy steps" so I'm just getting to know the ins and outs :study: .
I'LL stick with SUSE as I'm kind of familiar with it and I haven't tried the others yet.
Sorry for the boring intro :eek: ...

ok, so no questions?

I would recomend that if you have broadband you download the latest version of SuSE as 9.1 is quite old...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Suse. :)

I had similar problems to your greasy CD with one of my old computer. In my case, it was a faulty CD drive, so I'm glad it was just a spot of grease for you.

As jollyjoice said, I'd definitely recommend updating to a newer version when you get a chance -- Suse 10.0 is current, with 10.1 due this month. No need to buy the boxed package; if you've got a high-speed internet connection you can download it yourself from www.opensuse.com, or else find a friendly neighbour who can do it for you.

Alternatively, I got my copy of Suse 10.0 taped to the front cover of a magazine (www.linuxformat.co.uk, but others have also carried it), so you might find you can save yourself some downloading if you keep an eye on the magazine racks in your local store. I'd guess they'll be carrying Suse 10.1 soon after it's released.

How refreshing to have a new member check in with something besides: "What is Linux?" or "Where is the on switch?"
AND with a reasonable command of English....;)

If you like SUSE 9.1 , you'll really like 10.0 ;)

Hi Guys,

Thanks for replying to my Newbie post, I'm grateful for the response and advise and I shall be upgrading SUSE 9.1 as soon as I get my broadband sorted (why didn't I have it done sooner).
Can you tell me if upgrading SUSE 9.1 via the Yast screen is Ok and just as good as purchasing the CD's or creating an image disk?

Thanks,
Carlonlinux.

SuSE isn't really a rolling release cycle like distro's like Arch and Gentoo (among a few others), so it would be better to upgrade the whole thing by burning a new iso and installing.

I believe the new cd will have an update feature when you boot into the installer (like the WinXP cd had when you upgraded from Win98, or when most people did)

Upgrading SUSE 9.1 to 10.0
 

Hi Guys,

:p
Thanks for responding to my post, after spending 3 or so hours in an internet cafe burning the five CD's (Broadband not setup yet) plus getting asked questions like... "Why are you waisting time with that?" and "What's wrong with XP?", I finally managed to completed the download and burn the five CD's and went home.

The PC I'm running SUSE on is an old Pentium II 500mhz, 256mb RAM with 20GB hard disk I had knocking around so I thought I'd see if it will update the current system.
After pottering around indoors and checking the progress also changing the CD's when required the system rebooted and the SUSE 10.0 desktop was on screen YIPPEEE! :p :p

The Desktop seems far better than previous version a lot more informative (i.e. sub menus when mouse is over the K icon).
For some reason even though this machine is quite old 10.0 seems to run a lot quicker and smoother. I've also noticed that devices, peripherals etc are already setup properly as well.

The only problem I did have was with CD-5 which I think has an error as the CD-ROM failed to read it (but I'LL try to update or burn another disk if it's required).
I even managed to resolve the problem with root login screen as this was previously set to YAST screen, but now has root desktop (Bombs & warning triangles).

Spoke to the chap who runs the internet cafe and explained briefly what is was all for, but when I told him the whole thing cost me (3.5 hours, plus £7.50 for blank CD's and internet time) he can't understand why it's so cheap compared to other well known operating systems can cost £200 plus, and when everything is included (i.e. OpenOffice Suite, Multimedia and Web software).
I had to show him a few screen shots on the internet, explain why it was Ok to download and load software onto my PC to use freely... (It seems there is life outside of Mi*roS%ft Win$ows, NO RESPONSE FROM ANYBODY, BUT MOUTHS WIDE OPEN).

Thanks Again guys will keep you posted!
Carl.
:cool:

SuSE 10.0 is 5 discs? Wow, it's gotten a lot bigger since I've used it.

Good to hear you got it working properly. I have found that some of the newer apps, like KDE 3.5 and GNOME 2.13, are working quicker than certian older versions. *Crosses fingers hoping they're pulling out some of the bloat*

I'm glad you liked the upgrade. As you've seen, Suse 10.0 is much improved over 9.1.

I'd be interested to hear their reactions when they actually see it running. You never know... you might even convince a few others to try it out ;)


[QUOTE=DeusExLinux]SuSE 10.0 is 5 discs? Wow, it's gotten a lot bigger since I've used it.[QUOTE]

Bigger? You're kidding, right? I've got a boxed copy of Suse 8.0 from a few years ago (my first Linux!), and I just checked -- it came with 7 CDs, plus an additional one for Star Office (no OpenOffice back then). There was also a DVD in the box, but I didn't have a DVD drive back then.


Yes, KDE has made good progress at improving the speeds of the desktop in the last couple of of versions. 3.5 is even better, but you'll need to wait for Suse 10.1 to be released for that.