I have dabbled with linux distros for around 3 years with no great sucess. Initially I think I was looking for a replacement OS which acted differently to Xp (ie point and click). I never gave the harder distros a thought I thought they were for programmers and my programming experience totals a snake game in pascal some 12 years ago. That was until I researched and then installed Debian. Now I am completely Windoze free and have been for around 3 months.


My biggest initial concern was the fact that Nvidia doesnt like Rivafb AND my GeForce mx440 graphics card does not function well using the 'nv' driver on my 19" screen set at 1280x1024.


My success story stems from 4 failed attempts at compling a kernel with the result that I had to reinstall each time because I buggered things up. All I was trying to do was take out the rivafb driver and patch the Nvidia driver to the kernel. I managed to do this twice successfully but in the proccess destroyed symlinks and generally made a mess from which I could not recover due to being a novice.

So.....I decided to make a custom 2.6.10 kernel from the ground up. A clean /usr/src folder, and a ream of print outs by my side, a plethora of coffee, and a couple of nights in the dog house and WOW!!!

Now I simply can not believe the result. I have no start up errors in the vebose scrolling text, my computer runs faster than ever, and Nvidia starts with no errors!!!!

If you are laughing at me at this point, I simply dont care! Others seem to do this with ease but I found this to be a challenge. More a mental barrier saying that this task is only for the "supersmart", not an average Aussie bloke! Yet here I sit using Debian Sarge with a custom kernel and feel ready for another challenge!


If you are still reading this, I am open to suggestions about where I can go from here! I would love to learn more about linux and would love to get to a level where I can contibute back to this superior world of linux.

Just needed to tell someone..............Thankyou LQ!!!

LQ is a great help isn't it ? =)

A special pair of browser bookmarks; [Linux Questions, of course] and [Linux From Scratch] .

Linux Questions offers a unique opportunity. I hit the "View threads with zero responses" link first thing. I try to give back by hitting all of the threads I have answers for off the top of my head. Then I pick one or two that sound interesting but I'm not sure of. Then I go crazy with Google and "man whatever-relevant-commands." I have learned some pretty interesting things this way.

Linux From Scratch is a great way to learn how the kernel and tools form a cohesive system. This endeavor requires a bit of work and time. It is a detailed walkthrough of building the system from source and integrating them. Some find it a tedious process, but I've learned a great deal and become more comfortable at the command line as a result.

I think the most important way anyone can "...contibute back to this superior world of linux." as you put it, is to never stop being curious. If you run into a problem keep at it until you solve it, then share your findings.

Ya, I think for most, myself included, it takes a bit for "the light to come on" so to speak, but once it does linux gets much easier and you go from "how do I do this" to "what cant I do".

I find building a linux toolchain pretty neat too, its just too cool that you can make a linux distro from scratch using one thats already up and working.

kernel configuration can be a real B***h, hats of to you.

Wow!!

Thanks guys! I appreciate your feedback, and will follow up your suggestions. Being a newbie I hesitate to give advise because I dont want to give assistance that could be wrong or hinder the process.

I have learnt here, that it is not always advice that is needed. A word of encouragement can be just as good.

Cheers