Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I have just installed Redhat 9, with the Gnome GUI. Everything seems to be fine apart from two major issues.
1. When trying to configure the printer, it (Linux) does not appear to be able to find the parallel port. I tried typing in the /dev/lp0 in the custom box, but no good.
How does a complete and utter newbie novice get the parallel port to work. My printer (Epson Stylus color 400) appears in the list of printers supported, it is just not being detected.
2. The sound card detection does not detect my sound chips. This may be because I do not have a separate sound card, but sound built into the motherboard, I don't know.
My sound system on this PC is Yamaha OPL3-SAx (originally running under win 95)
How (in idiot level steps) can I configure my sound to work?
I have tried looking at other posts relating to the printer issues especially, but they get too technical too fast. I wouldn't have the first clue even on how to modify conf files etc. So I need help in patient baby steps please.
Best news of all.... my modem works fine! I had tried Phatlinux in the past but came to a dead halt with the modem and gave up trying. RH 9 found it and used it first time.
The short answer to your sound problem: spend the money and get a sound card that IS supported under Linux and Red Hat. Make sure you turn off the sound chips on the mother board via CMOS. Sound cards are cheap these days. Otherwise you are asking for eternal headaches.
Those changes I made were in the actual BIOS not in Redhat.
I have an Intel motherboard, so the following may not be the same for getting into all BIOS's
Also, an important point to bear in mind...... if you are not careful, any changes you make could make a bit of a mess. It is possible to "Exit without saving changes" if you are not sure.
On the first screen I see when booting up the computer, it does a quick memory check then for a few seconds it says at the bottom of the screen
"Press F2 to enter setup"
After I hit F2 it changes to
"Entering Setup"
Then the BIOS setup screen opens.
Once in, it is just a case of scrolling around to find the settings you want to change. There is usually help on the screen telling you which keys do what, so you can change settings.
As I said before, the ones I changed were
"Plug and Play OS?" (I set it to "No")
and
"Parallel port" (I changed it from "Auto" to "EPP" and my BIOS then automatically filled in the other details relating to that mode)
Then I hit the required key to "Save Changes and Exit"
It askes me if I'm sure, then when I hit "yes" the setup closes and the computer reboots. I let mine boot to Windows 98 first, just to make sure the printer still worked ok. Windows went through the "detecting new hardware" procedure and picked up the printer port. The printer works fine in Windows.
Then I rebooted into Redhat and ran the Printer configuration from the Gnome Desktop. It showed the printer port, and let me go through the rest of the procedure.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.