suse
 

hi, i have just installed suse 2004 off of a dvd pack i got, im having some major problems as to where applications are, now this im sure is simple its just because im used to using libranet or maybe not i dont know.?.?. my main problem is i cant get gnome to run so its an option at logon and also there is a whole lot of applications that i know are installed that i just cant find anywhere? any ideas? suse super users?

thanks in advance
jay

Welcome to LQ jay_deacon.

Unfortunately I'm afraid you may not like what I'm about to say. Basically, the latest version of Suse is 9.1, and in comes in both a Personal and a Professional edition. Suse has not released any versions called "Suse 2004", and therefore if you have purchased something with that name then chances are pretty much 100% that you have purchased an unofficial imitation of Suse, but not the real thing.

The reason I say is that unlike most other distros, Suse does not make their installation ISO images available for free download (although they do however offer a Live Eval CD of the Personal edition, and you could alternatively install Suse via FTP for free). As a result, the only official Suse installation disks are those that are either purchased from a retailer or from Suse directly or from Novell which now owns Suse. Anything else claiming to be a Suse installation disk needs to be considered an unofficial, home-made product of questionable integrity/validity, and if you install it onto your PC, the unfortunate fact is that you don't really know what you are getting. Neither would anyone else, and thus trying to offer advice as to how to solve your reported problem would likewise be impossible, because there's no way of knowing what is or is not installed on your box.

Sorry - I'm not trying to be the bearer of bad news but IMO, something labelled "Suse 2004" can only be considered an unofficial ripoff of the real thing. If it's possible, I'd ask for a refund from whoever you bought it from.

FYI: Suse's ISO download policy can be seen here. They never quite say it explicitly but their policy clearly is that they just do not make their ISO's available for download.

Good luck with it in any event, and sorry again if this is not exactly the news you wanted to hear. -- J.W.

trust me its official, i ordered it from novell, its an evaluation cd, which come in a 3 dvd pack direct from novell as i said