trying to make conexant accessrunner drivers work to use adsl usb modem in mdk9.2
 

ive had mandrake 10 installed now for less than 24 hours and im already tiring of the constant and random freezes and crashes.

When it does go it turns the hard drive light on and it stays on until the reset button is pressed.

So currently im wandering what exactly Linux users base this "most stable OS" claim on.

Also my USB modem doesnt work unless i can find some Conextant Access Runner drivers.

"So currently im wandering what exactly Linux users base this "most stable OS" claim on."

Since you were unable to even spell "wondering" correctly, and unable to check ahead of installing if your DSL modem would work, it would be safe to assume that problems with freezing the locking up might be from problems with the installation that you yourself created.

So, try try again.

Sounds more like a system/computer problem to me. Did you use the final release of MDK 10? Will your computer work with another distro/OS without issue?

Instead of bashing Linux, you might want to know what you're doing first...as all of this sounds like user error and maybe an unstable computer to me.

Make sure you are using mdk10official and not the beta comunity version. Turn off the arts sound driver if you are using KDE as this has issues with certain software - mostly wine related so should not aply in your case. Also be aware that linux is less tollerant of harware problems, so if you were having crashes with windows due to memory faults you will have more trouble with linux as it tends to use all resources...

mdk 10 OE itself is quite stable and I have it on 3 machines here and have 9.x on the others which will be upgraded soon. Any unstability is a problem with you installation or hardware. Hope we can help.

RE: Caeda (can i call you Al ?)
 

First of all i apologise for not running my post through a spell-check and removing the typo. I hope this didn’t put you out too much you petty loser. If you have nothing constructive to say i suggest you PIPE DOWN.

Second of all, i fail to see how i could have caused any problems myself during installation as it is 99% automatic. A better explanation would be that the OS is nowhere near as stable as my Windows XP which has NEVER yet crashed. And it didn’t take 4 different distros of Windows to find one that worked either.

Second of all, i obviously didn’t check if my DSL modem was Linux compatible because i bought it about a year before even considering Linux. I certainly won't be going out of my way to choose hardware in the future just because Linux is incredibly picky. I can get online in Windows XP and that’s all that matters. Linux is merely an irrelevant experiment to me.

So if anyone more polite than Al knows the answer to the question then i welcome their thoughts. As clearly Al does not know the answer.

Ya I'm a club member and I want them to take my money and make this OS more stable! After the money I spent on the club I am still thinking about installing Slackware instead. This is not good for Mandrake.

I'm not bashing Linux only suggesting that Mandrake take some more time before they release a distro. 9.2 was very stable!

also
 

Granted while i may not have any experience with Linux software i can assure you that the problem is not hardware stability related. I build computers for a living and have a highly sophisticated set-up. Everything is set to produce the absolute optimum stability and i use only the highest quality components in my system. My hardware is maintained and monitored thoroughly and is able to run a completely rock solid stable Windows XP quite happily on another partition. And i really can't see my 3200+ or 1024Mb DDR Crucial RAM falling over at the thought of running the KDE desktop thingy.

Okay. I don't want to get into an OS fight, but have yout tried turning off the KDE sound system yet as this can be a problem on some systems. This causes freezes in some situations. Also you have not mentioned whether you are using the stably MDK10 Official version or not - as the community is essentially a beta edition.

Also, try to look at it from my POV with several rock solid mdk10 and 9.x systems. When someone has trouble, especially a newcomer to linux, you have to look at user error, hardware problems (including incompatibility due to the fact the manufactureres wont supply drivers), and known problem areas (like artsd)...

Having a piss poor atitude from the beginning doesn't really help matters, nor does it make people want to really help you. I appologize if I came off rude, but your initial post struck a chord with me...in any case, I'll do my best to help you.

So, you system works just fine...no hitch at all in windows? Actually, I'm really not a big fan of any Mandrake flavor...however, if your stuck on it for some reason, try PC Linux OS (http://www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/html/download.html). It's based on MDK 9.2 and it's stable, has all those little extras you end up downloading and having to install and it simply works very well...You can try it out first, as it's a live CD, then you can do a HDD install.

As for your DSL modem...is it capable of ethernet connection rather than USB? I've never had good luck with USB connections on broadband modems.

I also like Mandrake but there are a lot of choises. Slackware has a big reputation built on being stable if you don't mind doing without rpm

diablo111 you didn't come off rude at all sir, it was Al Caeda who came off rude

appreciate the tip

hahah

I have a pretty good experience with Mandrake distro. And Linux of course. Actually I've been running Mandrake/Linux for the last two years and no problems, except my own ignorance to setup several things.

At least I only switch to my own Windows 2000 partition only for games (Diablo II, Myst, etc)

I was using Mandrake 9.0 and upgrade to Mandrake 10.0 Community. Glitches? Always, but again because of my own inexperience to debug some things (I'll post in another forum/section my experience and hardware).

I have a kind of non-standard home network configuration and this has been most of the automatic setups.

I found the same problems with the latest patches to Windows 2000 and XP: too much auto configuration and you are off the limits and you have no clue what's turns went down....

Not going into the OS battle, Windows 2000 and XP are powerfull OSes and extremely stables. If you are happy with them and you can do anything you need, that's it.

no offence but most of you are more interested in telling your Linux life stories than actually focusing on the problem.

now where on earth do i get Conextant Access Runner drivers for mandrake?

Did I read your post right? Your running Win98 with 1024Mb of Ram. Win98 won't use that much ram it's way overkill and some of it would never be used. I recently sent back to Newegg a defective Crucial memory module. that was defective above the 750Meg mark. Win98 would have been a lot more stable but I'am not using windoze. So if you have defective ram in the upper portion of ram of course win98 will be more stable then Linux. I just wiped my last XP (What a crappy OS) machine last month due crashing once a week. Since I put MDK10 Official on it hasn't crashed yet. I also build systems part time too. I also use only High quality parts same as you. (Just because they new dosen't mean that their not defective) When I come across a Linux system thats very unstable I don't say to every one the Linux sucks I say I've got a hardware problem somewhere. :tisk:

RE: courtrrb

Quite simply courtrrb no you did not read my post right at all. I don't have Windows 98 i have Windows XP Pro SP1. My post was entitled as such because Windows 98 is legendarily unstable and my Mandrake 10 is a thousand times worse. It now crashes so often that i am no longer able to use it at all. Let me repeat that i have never yet experienced a Windows XP crash and that my set-up is rock solid using it.

My memory is not defective at all but of course there have been cases of defective Crucial memory. It's just incredibly rare is all. As with Kingston and Cosair it's worth the extra few pounds. I even tried running my system underclocked as a 2500+ on DDR333 but the crashing still occurred. I've also dug into my spares box and used alternative memory. Same problem.

From what i've seen on this forum, some pretty experienced Linux users hate Mandrake 10 and think it's release was too early, but i'm hearing good things about Mandrake 9.1 and 9.2.

It may well be that its a hardware related crash, but because Linux hates it's guts not because it's defective. :tisk:

Its interesting that you are having these problems with 10.0. Remember 10.0 is running on the 2.6 kernel which is still realatively young. Have you tried running 10.0 on the 2.4 kernel?? You may be better off with a 2.4 kernel box. Everyone here is saying Slackware is so stable. The reason could be that by defaullt Slack is still using the 2.4 kernel (even the recent 10.0 release). So that being said, if you are experiecing problems with a 2.6 kernel install try the 2.4(9.2).

I have How-To's on getting a Mandrake box up with either 10.0 or 9.2 so take a look. www.linuxloader.com may be of some help. I run both Mandrake and Slackware, both are very good. Slack is a bit more complicated to get configured but its not a big deal once you get some linux time under your belt. If you are having more troubles just post here or on my site and you'll get help.

PDR60

Tho they may seem like life stories, the point is that other people are not having the stability problems that you are having. The problem is local to your machine.

And you are not helping. You still have not said whether you are using mandrake 10 official or the less stable community edition.

And you haven't said whether you tried turning off the artsd sound system in KDE. We can't help if you won't give feedback.

As for hardware compatibility, that is the fault of the manufacturer. Why don't you tell them you want a driver. Otherwise go with hardware that does take linux into consideration and provide specifications or drivers for their hardware...

This whole problem could be solved if he just reverted to Mandrake 9.1. I'm sorry, but Mandrake 10.0 is nothing but trouble. :mad:

Why? There are plenty of mdk 10 installs running just fiine. I have 3 here now and am gradually upgrading all the 9.x boxes to 10 as I get time. This box has admittedly only been up for a week since the last reboot due to power failure, and this is a heavily used machine running multiple apps including windows games under winex...

The only stability issue with mdk10 I've had has been related to artsd and wine, which was resolved early on.

Hey xxvm1 since you have no real experience with MDK Linux or any Linux distro any version you really have no experience to say that MDK10 is unstable. I've installed at least 35 Mdk10 since it came out. I've yet to have one the is more unstable then ANY WINDOWS version to date including WINXP the buggest to date. if your having problems than ether it a fringe type hardware (Remember M$ DON"T write drivers for all know hardware the manuf do) that the drivers arn't mature enough or a piece of defective hardware that Windows does not use. In the last 5yrs I've installed over 200 systems (No laptops) with all Linux distros I have not seen one release more buggy then ANY version of windows period

No offense! You are right! I found this thread looking for tips/traps upgrading from Mandrake 9 to Mandrake 10, and the tittle of your post was mandrake 10 is quite unestable.

Sorry, but I forgot your real question after reading the rest of the posts. My answer: I don't know about that drivers.

Sorry again, and if I found anything related I'll post here. Good luck!

let's begin by making the difference between Linux and Mandrake.
Linux is a kernel. Mandrake is a Linux distribution which takes the Linux kernel, changes it, packages it in a attractive box with many other freewere apps and offers it for sale or for free download.
From what I understand, Linux(the kernel) is rock solid. Mandrake on the other hand is fairy bloated Linux distro.
Second, when you install and begin to run the Mandrake distro, you not only run Linux(the kernel, remember), but you are also running the X-Free app and on top of that you run the GUI which is either KDE or Gnome. So as you can see, when you run Mandrake, you also run several other things.
Now that you understand all that, you might understand that maybe it's your KDE that is crashing for whatever reasons.
You also said you don't care to make sure your hardware is linux(Mandrake) compatable. I am sorry to say that that attitude will only lead you to trouble. Since a lot of hardware is NOT yet Linux supported it is imperative that you MAKE SURE YOUR HARDWARE is Linux-compatable.
Last, I see you haven't bothered to come back and replied.
This leads me to several conclusion: you might be a troll, or you might have fixed your problems(doubtful) or you might not even care to run Mandrake. Either way is fine with me.

Just mentioning that I've never had a single problem with Mandrake 10, except with an internet problem which was solved when I got an ethernet router.
Other than that, i've never had to force a reboot and never had to log off because of problems. A normal day for my computer is one with around 10 different apps at the same time while i'm compiling some large application.
I ran Mandrake 10 community for about 5 months, and official since it was released.

No, this is not my Linux life story.
As someone else said, we're showing you that mandrake is not as unstable as you seem to think, and i'm 99% sure it is nothing to do with OS or the GUI you're using (sans artsd problems), but with your hardware.

Well said :D

I haven't got any stability problems using MDK10 Community or Official. It has crashed once, but that was because of a copy-protected audio cd :mad:

xxvm1 you should understand one simple fact, there are pluses for windows and there are pluses for Linux. The question is what suits YOU?

The bottom line:
On the very basic assembler level, the processor is running 0 and 1 and does not car or know what operating system he is dealing with.
Moving up:
Currently there are two major factories that write the source code that operates the hardware. Microsoft and Open Source.
Moving upper:
Microsoft corporation since its beginning wrote the code in certain way, So did the Open Source. The true tests for the quality of the source code were in the server and enterprise environments. UNIX, FreeBSD types of organization and source code which is Linux is based on, have proven to be MUCH MUCH more stable solutions than Microsoft based systems that often had code errors, vulrenabilities, crashes and so on.

So the superiority of the Linux system over the windows system on the very basic level is obvious. For the desktop systems its all goes down to drivers and configuration, since Microsoft existed far before Linux and was a major standard so does almoust all of the hardware vendors wrote drivers for the Windows OS.

This is not the case with Linux, many of the drivers for less known hardware were written by Open Source engineers and therefore potentially less stable than drivers written by engineers from the hardware company.
Tip: If you buy a new system, go with the known vendors that you know have drivers for linux or will develop in the near future.

So the bottom line is configuration. If you know how to configure your system correctly, it will undoubtelly be much of a more advanced than windows in many aspects. Sucurity has proven to the biggest spoiled fruit Microsoft had to eat for itÅ› wrong strategy of writing the source code; Or its just the echo of the old machine fading away under the new model..

xxvm1 I would suggest that it was better for us all, including you if we were instead of accusations moving to more constructive and usefull rails, and maybe someone could help you with your configuration problem. Insulting and saying unnice things may just take the wish out of users that love Linux and are really the ones that can help you out, posting here to help you out.

10Mhz

Do you mean the community version is a beta, or the beta of the community version?

I think mandrake is great, the only beef I have with it is that I can never get anything to install except FireFox. I don't think I have had an error free install otherwise which is quite frustrating. I have a Win2k, WinXP and Mandrake 10 machine and they are all pretty stable (my Mandrake machine kept locking up originally but it was because it was overheating).

Firstly let me congratulate the following people on sound advice:
spoody_goon
PDR60
Micro420
Scasagra

Well done guys. I've binned the appalling Mandrake 10, and am now running Mandrake 9.2 without any stability problems whatsoever. Who knows, maybe my "defective hardware" healed itself while i slept, or maybe Mandrake 10 is just buggy and poor. Whatever the case, i appreciate the constructive views given. I refer you people to the bottom paragraph "Problem 2".


Now to address the mindless crew of idiots who are so blind in their hatred of Microsoft that their motivation for posting replies to my cheekily named thread was to attack me. I'd be surprised if they even read the initial problem.

We had Caeda who was helpful only in pointing out a typo.

We have courtrrb who made himself/herself look ridiculous saying that Windows XP is the buggiest to date when it clearly isn’t.

We have Zaharia who starts name-calling, referring to myself as a "troll", like i live to cause trouble in forums. I suggest you don't judge people by your own standards sonny because some of us have a life outside this forum. Believe it. It is possible. If you don't like what i say then nobody is forcing you to click that mouse on my thread.

10Mhz i agree with you that Microsoft loses points because its security is poor. However, remember that the reason for this is that some people decide to steal Microsoft source code prior to its release. These "people" are hardcore hackers who hate Microsoft with a passion. It goes without saying that their computers do not have Windows. They are Linux users. So forgive me if i reject the idea of poor innocent Linux users fighting as the underdogs against the evil Bill Gates.

Would Windows be perfect without these unhelpful acts? Of course not, it would still have problems regardless, but a lot lot less. Also bear in mind that Windows will always have more security issues than Linux because there are more viruses written for it, as an overwhelming majority of home users have it as their sole OS. I think it’s fair to say that large portions of the people who write these malicious codes are Linux users as well. The rest using Windows and in it for the infamy.

Now continuing as the cheeky fella i am, i have a new gripe. For those of you who haven't just thrown your red hats on the floor in anger, read on.


Problem 2:

I have a USB modem which uses a Conexant Access Runner chipset. I bought this device long before Linux was considered, as previously explained. My ISP informs me that it will not work with Linux because no drivers are available. However it does suggest that using Conexant Access Runner drivers may work. Where do i find them? And how do i install them?

And I recently upgraded 9.2 to 10 without any stability problems until I installed crossover and winex, at which time I had to switch off the KDE sound server which can be a PITA anyway. Di d you ever try switching off the KDE sound server? Were you using a 2.4 or 2.6 kernel? The 2.6 is a different beast...

Anyway, sorry to break this to you, but when you post something with a subject like "mandrake 10 even makes Windows98 look stable" you are going to ruffle feathers, especially when a large percentage of the MDK 10 users are having no problems with their systems. Even so, some helpful suggestions were given...

But then you expect people to go out and write a driver for your modem in their free time. Why not go and complain to the guys who made the thing. They produced a driver for windows - MS didn't have to do it. Why not ask them all about it.

I've tried to help and you annoyed the heck out of me by not even responding as to whether you even tried removing artsd. Rather you just put out the blanket statement that mdk 10 was rubbish. It's not the best way to get help, sorry... :(

Suggestions. Buy a new modem or go back to windows.

You should just stay with WinXP.

You pay how much for XP? How many programs come with it? Can you do word processing, programming, and a huge number of other things with it like linux with a default install? No, you can't. And don't give me this it came with the machine and I didn't pay anything for it BS. You did.

Oh yeah, for the record WinXP is a huge gaping hole of security problems. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not done any security checking on it. It needs a LOT of customization before it can be safely used on the web. Unfortnately many linux distros have issues too, but nothing like XP. If you are one of those people who firewall off all of the ports with XP you'll find that it doen't work as well. Why? It has to call home to put it simply. Why is that in there?

http://www.hevanet.com/peace/microsoft.htm

I am impressed you got any help at all. You didn't provide much info for anyone to help you. What caused your problem? Who knows. Some basic information is required. OS version, what you did to try and fix it, dmesg output, etc. etc. I would like to also mention that unlike Windows a re-installation is not the best way to fix you issues.

Obviously you just want to point and click and have it work. So many people tell me that Windows always installs perfectly. Yeah, sure it does. That is why I have spent many weeks trying to get it installed for people who couldn't get it to work. It doesn't just work all the time. That is a myth.

Since I don't care to be nice about this it is my recommendation that you stay with WinXP. I hope you enjoy having to buy new hardware just to use the new "Longhorn" release.

Hey amosf how do u turn off the arts sound driver I don't see it. Thanks u can tell me on what ever message board you would like.

Easiest way is to use the KDE Control Center and go down to the sound -> sound system menu item and then in the sound system window just uncheck 'enable sound system'

You will still get sound from all the apps, tho some may need to have their driver option changed.

Hey xxvm1 you say I'am ridiculous when you come to a Linux forum and say win98 is more stable then Mandrake 10.0 with out giving any facts! Your surely don't have a clue about Linux and by your LOVE of windows you never will. It sound more like if it can't be fixed with the push of a button or setting some check mark in a dialog box than it's buggy. You make a perfect windows user. If your not able to give any details about your hardware I would not want one of the systems your building because it's not important enough for you to specify what the hardware is when a problem arises.

Again, is the community version a beta, or are you referring to a beta of the community version?

Hey Tim that might also fix my wolfenstein problem I will redownlod it later

I've been using linux for only the last 2 months, but I have tried mandrake 9.2, mandrake 10.0, SuSe 9.0 and SuSe 9.1. In those 2 months, my computer has crashed 6 times -- 5 times when I was booted into windows XP playing games, and once in Suse, but that was recoverable through SSH.

RE: courtrrb & silverback011

Hey courtrrb, let's start with me pointing out where i am right. I stated fairly bluntly that some people in here were so annoyed with my thread title that they would go ahead and insult me without reading the post. I'm afraid you have been shown up as one of these people sir. My proof? I stated very clearly in my post (#7) that i was running a Windows XP dual boot.
I also stated very clearly that i was running an AMD Athlon XP3200+ and 1024Mb DDR400 Crucial memory. If you had been able to see through your red mist, you would not have said "let me get this straight, you're running windows 98 on 1024mb of memory?" and now you ask for my hardware again. Tut!

Now silverback011 dear. "You should just stay with WinXP" well done you got further than courtrrb up there! But then you go and ruin it by saying "don't give me this it came with the machine and I didn't pay anything for it BS. You did." I'm afraid you've fallen foul of the very same post (#7) as courtrrb. Now take a moment. Breath. Calm down. I stated clearly that i build computers, and that i built my own. So don't worry i won't be giving anyone the "it came with the machine BS" like i have one of those nasty Dell heaps.
I paid exactly the same for my Windows XP Pro, Microsoft Office, Photoshop etc as i did for my last couple of Linux distros, and i know which were better value! I presume when you said XP has to "call home" you meant activation? It doesn't need to do this in order to be activated, but it is one option. You're right it does need a bit of attention to make it safe on the net, thanks to the morons that roam the information super highway. But nothing a firewall, turning off silly defaults like remote control and a bit of common sense doesn't solve.

My main strength comes in my complete and utter self-centred attitude. I'm not loyal to Microsoft brand for anything. I'm not loyal to any Linux distro. I am not loyal to any brand in any sense anywhere. I am the 21st century consumer and it's all about me me me. So it's simple when it comes to deciding who is best out of Windows XP and a Linux distro...whichever one works with the minimum fuss and effort. Gold star to mister Gates. Windows is so good, it was as if it was written by a multi-billion dollar company with an army of professionals at hand! But as i said, i'm the 21st century consumer so i'm not going to chose between Windows XP and my Mandrake 9.2. Hell no. I'm going to have my cake and eat it! I'm dual booting. Windows XP will of course always be my main OS, but Linux is a good hobby project to have. But just like building a model boat, i won't be taking it out to sea!

Now first to give me my driver wins a weekend at computer camp, 3 2 1 go!

I see that M$ got your buffaloed too. WinXp is so good are you kidding now who ridiculous. Like I said before I have a WinXp here and it's the buggiest OS I have ever seen in the last 24 yrs. In the last 6Months I switched 34 different people to Linux all from XP they were long time window users and they had nothing but problems the the OS. 2 of them didn't have any Internet connection so it wasnt due to virus. So please don't try to give me the bs that WinXp is soooo good. Because after dealing with the OS I know better. Rember at one time it was reported the WinXP had over 65000 bugs in it and you payed for the privelge of having them. If you having problem with a driver check with the company that built or check out this link for the driver:
http://translate.google.com/translat...D%26ie%3DUTF-8

Now get of your high horse .

Ok every one needs to calm down and remember this site is here to help each other not get into arguments.

We have a good answer now please be nice.

Well, IMO the community was a beta release, or at least a RC.

And I was having trouble with RTCW with artds as I recall.

I'd skip this thread guys, he's trolling...

reality check
 

look this guys a bit frustrated as most people who first start using any linux distro are.

there are two causes
1 linux takes a fair while to set up and even longer to get a good grasp of
2 No distro is anywhere near as stable as you've heard for countless linux hacks.

I run suse 9.0 and it's not bad by any means on the right hardware. it is not as stable as windows xp and more stable than windows 98. Installation and setup are are great especially for anyone planning to run samba with acl support as it's all in there.

don't flame this dude i can relate to how he's feeling

this thread is hilarious... truly amusing... i just COULD NOT read it without posting one thing i found quite funny in xxvm1's attempt at intelliegence and OS genius...

quote - "...i agree with you that Microsoft loses points because its security is poor. However, remember that the reason for this is that some people decide to steal Microsoft source code prior to its release..."

do you not understand that Linux is open source? EVERYONE has access to the source code. A couple of hackers get their hands on Windows source so that's why it's less secure? it makes no sense... Anyone interested can analyze Linux source code, yet it remains 100 times more stable and secure than Windows.... if you want to bash Linux, at least use valid arguments; And why the hell would you come here to do it? haha... go hang out on an XP forum... i'm not sure those exist though... I have an idea.. just email Billy himself!!

keeping the amusement going...
Josh

(Bold bit by me)

I presume that when I buy a computer from you with XP pro, MS Office and Adobe Photoshop pre-installed I will get the licenses for those apps.

Otherwise, I'll go for: *any distro*, Open Office and the Gimp and save me some serious $$$$

Like I said just stick with XP.

I read your posts fine. I have a processor and some RAM. That tells me nothing as far as finding your problem is concerned. Everyone who has a computer has these two items. That does't come close to helping. A machine locking up or becoming unstable can be caused by many things. Incompatible hardware is a common item. Just because it works under 9.2 doesn't mean it's not the hardware either. It may not have configured all you items because it did not recognize it. Did you check that? I know you will want to blame linux for the driver thing, but remember we get that info from the manufacturer. Sometimes they don't share. Oh, there was a time when drivers were a problem for Windows also for those of us who remember that. I would argue that they still have that problem.

As far as your driver is concerned try the company web site, ISP support is sketchy, did you try google, can you use the Ethernet connection (RC45) instead of USB? Throw us a bone here.

There are very experienced people in this forum that always help even people like yourself. Meaning persons who don't provide enough information and who come in hostile from the beginning.

<quote>I paid exactly the same for my Windows XP Pro, Microsoft Office, Photoshop etc as i did for my last couple of Linux distros</quote>

Then you pirated them. Microsoft Office costs more than any linux distro I am aware of. Unless your talking those costly enterprise editions.

From your posts and lack of information provided in order for us to actually give you some help I STRONGLY suspect along with "zaharia" that your are indeed a TROLL. Feel free to prove me wrong.

Windows XP Pro costs $129.99 retail and MS Office 2k3 costs ~$300 retail. Linux is at most ~$60 (least thats the highest I have seen besides the huge corporate packs that come with support and everything).

You know I was a newbie less then 2 years ago. I have only been running linux for 2 years. I remember the frustrations I encountered. ALL of them were due to my inexperience and pure lack of knowledge. I found forums and read....and read...... and read in order to LEARN how things work in Linux. I consider myself still a newbie. The learning is a continual process.

What I find troubling is the fact that new folks load up a linux box, it has problems, and they blame the distro. I don't get it. Because of their lack of knowledge, Its the distro's fault??? Give me a break. We are all basically running the same kernel(in one form or fashion). Its the additional packages and apps that affect how our boxes run. I never posted a single question in the first 6 months of learning linux. I dug the answers out of forums like these and just read man pages and how-tos.

I guess what I'm trying to say is; if you have a question ask it. Don't start off by flaming the distro. Mandrake has millions of users and a newbie's problem is not a result of the distro being crap. When a user asks a question and provides as much detail as possible the question is usually answered in one or two posts. But when you have someone just flame and moan about their problem without actually providing any detail you end up with a post like this one thats 4 pages long and the question/problem is still not answered. If you want an answer PROVIDE detail. If you want to troll .....move on.

I would suggest using some of the resources available to you on Mandrakes site. The "Campus" is excellent for someone who is new. You can work at your own pace and learn linux. There is tons of documentation on Mandrakes site. Its up to you to learn and solve your problems. Linux is not Windows(thank god) . The learning curve is pretty steep but if you stick with it you'll better for it. It doesn't matter what distro you choose, just stick with it until you learn how to make it do what you want. jumping from distro to distro is sometimes counterproductive. Master one then move to a more complex one. Master Mandrake and the RPM way of things then load up a Slackware or Gentoo and learn their way. Its addictive. You'll also be a guru by the time you are done.

If you aren't willing to do any of the above then Linux may not be for you. You may be better off with Windows. There is nothing wrong with that either as linux is not for everybody. Thats the hallmark of linux .......Choice.

PDR60

RE: Adam_equip, sir you are a true gentleman. Keep up the good work.

RE: amosf, i suggest you follow your own advice son.

RE: courtrrb, i'm "buffaloed" by nothing. I'm loyal only to what works with the minimum fuss, as i've said already. I've lost count of how many Windows XP's i've installed on systems and i can count the problems i've had on the fingers of one hand. Most serious fault i've come across was when a Windows XP Pro refused to install the "pala" font file for some reason. Needless to say install still went through to complete yet another rock solid system, and the file was manually added within 2 minutes of install.
I don't even get call outs for problems with Windows XP (apart from when their kids delete random files) but previous Windows were a real bitch, especially 98 *shudders* Now i hate to echo the thoughts of earlier views on here but "if you have stability problems its probably your hardware, rather than a problem with the OS". Two years and i'm still awaiting my first XP crash...

RE: Josh328, fire with fire eh. I like it, grrr manly. But seriously, Microsoft and Bill Gates are a massive figure of hate for hackers and similar morons. And as i have said, they don't use Windows, they use Linux. Shoot themselves in the foot? Nah. Wise up junior.

RE: chefmark, if you have ordered a computer from me you pay for the privilege of hardware well built. I don't force any particular OS on customers; i like to offer them the choice. If only Dell and PC World had such an open attitude maybe Linux would be taken seriously. I offer free install to my customers for any OS and softwares they want. This is almost exclusively Windows XP these days which makes my life much easier. Anyway, the answer to your question depends on the customer and where they got their software from, as i refuse to enter into the many licenses and legal problems that distributing causes.

RE: silverback011, my modem cost me about £15 from ebuyer. I don't go for £100 branded devices as they use the same chipsets as cheap and nasty models, much like Prada selling cotton tees for £90. As i've stated already i bought this long before Linux was considered. The first thing i did was check the Origo site for drivers but no luck, as the ISP said. No ethernet, USB only, so no bones i'm afraid. And i'd be careful who you slander, you could get in trouble. "you pirated them"

If a troll is someone who shows the faintest signs of personality then i'm in the club. If some of you feel threatened by words on a screen then you really need to look in a mirror dudes.

over and out

haha.. ok, so let's just get everything straight... Windows is less secure than Linux simply because some hackers stole the source code, but we are not going to consider that Linux source code is openly available because the hackers are using Linux themselves? haha... hackers are hackers, my friend.... if they want to hack a Linux server, they'll try to do it... regardless of what OS they use....
let me fill you in.... Linux is 100 times more secure because of the structure of the UNIX influenced file system and the fact that a huge community of developers have had the opportunity to build it, rather than a team of Easterners that Bill Gates hires.