LinuxQuestions.org
Share your knowledge at the LQ Wiki.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Mandriva
User Name
Password
Mandriva This Forum is for the discussion of Mandriva (Mandrake) Linux.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 10-26-2003, 10:15 AM   #1
TheOneAndOnlySM
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Dallas, TX
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Posts: 987

Rep: Reputation: 30
Mandrake 9.2- Worth the upgrade?


i have used mandrake 9.1 before, it was nice, but had a very condescending feel to it, thus it was scrapped for slackware

now i'm wondering if the new feature of 9.2 are really going to entice me to give it another shot and maybe it will be used on the other computers in the house (as the rest of my family really don't understand computers that well)

what are these major new features, do they work well, and how does it feel (or how would it feel to an absolute newbie?)
 
Old 10-26-2003, 10:20 AM   #2
dolphans1
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: LoneStar
Distribution: Mandriva & Ubuntu
Posts: 1,041

Rep: Reputation: 35
Re: Mandrake 9.2- Worth the upgrade?

All I've ever used was Thiz-Linux and Mandrake 9.2, I feel Mandrake 9.2 out performs Thiz-Linux, but Thiz-Linux was a 7.0 version, but same kernel, 2.4.

Why do you feel slackware was better than Mandrake 9.1?

d-1



Quote:
Originally posted by TheOneAndOnlySM
i have used mandrake 9.1 before, it was nice, but had a very condescending feel to it, thus it was scrapped for slackware

now i'm wondering if the new feature of 9.2 are really going to entice me to give it another shot and maybe it will be used on the other computers in the house (as the rest of my family really don't understand computers that well)

what are these major new features, do they work well, and how does it feel (or how would it feel to an absolute newbie?)
 
Old 10-26-2003, 10:37 AM   #3
TheOneAndOnlySM
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Dallas, TX
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Posts: 987

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
well, the average slacker's response would be "i feel more powerful when i can manually edit my config files"

this is true to a degree, but the real reason was because mandrake is overly bloated and even if u trim it down and install only what you need, the distro insists that you use its config tools, as though those tools were more intelligent than I

so i use those tools and half the time they either didn't work or didn't produce the outcome i expected and i had no idea what was happening with my computer and its config files; thus when i went to slackware, this is where i got all my training with how linux is structured and all sorts of good things and i was able to tell slack exactly what i wanted it to do without any hassles as i was directly editing whatever i needed

now that i know all this, i think i want to give mandrake another try so even when i use those config tools, i have an idea as to what happened and i can go back, repair, and modify everything so that mandrake does what i want; however, i am not sure if i should stick with 9.1 or use 3 more cd's to get 9.2

i just read another thread and it talks about several bugs and that it has not yet "settled down" unlike 9.1 which didn't need to "settle down"

if this is the case, then i don't need 9.2, but the new built-in features intrigue me (such as very cool windows-like plug-and-play which would really help out my family); the main reason for needing mandrake is to get my family to stop using windows

i don't know about thiz-linuz, but i really need a comparison between mandrake 9.1 and 9.2
 
Old 10-26-2003, 10:43 AM   #4
quatsch
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: New York, NY
Distribution: gentoo, gentooPPC
Posts: 1,661

Rep: Reputation: 48
what makes you think you have to use the gui config tools in mandrake? I never use them these days b/c, as you say, they sometimes don't work as expected. I edit the config files manually just like the 'avarage slacker'. I hear that Suse really doesn't like the user to do it manually but that's not true for mandrake.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 10:53 AM   #5
TheOneAndOnlySM
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Dallas, TX
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Posts: 987

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
well, from when i used it (then again realize when i used it i had approximately 15 posts here and 5 hours of linux experience) i had very much difficulty in finding config files or getting certain programs to run because mandrake just does something differently (now that i am more experienced, i should be able to figure what it does differently)

namely epsxe gave me problems that i didn't experience in other distros like redhat or slack; i know that in slack it was because the file structure was not warped and redhat may have been because there was already a certain library present that mandrake didn't have; manually editing files that i was told to edit didn't work too well either during the time i used mandrake

but all in all, my time in mandrake had a very newbie-feel and altogether unpleasant, as i had no choice but to resort to mandrake's control panel to attempt to solve my problems

even when i asked for help, it was always to use mandrake's control panel

but anyway, back to the subject (please no more discussion on why i like slack more than mandrake); is it worth upgrading to 9.2 from 9.1?

Last edited by TheOneAndOnlySM; 10-26-2003 at 10:55 AM.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 11:05 AM   #6
salparadise
Senior Member
 
Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Birmingham UK
Distribution: Various
Posts: 1,736

Rep: Reputation: 146Reputation: 146
well

i've just upgraded from 9.1 > 9.2

the 3cd download version i bought:
no kernel source on cd (had to download it seperately)
menus were seperate (no gnome/kde integration) and largely empty
however, a search here led me to the (new?) command in mandrake "update-menus -v"

I don't know that much about linux, and i don't know anything about programming
so i can only speak as a "user"
admittedly one that spends at least 10 hours a day in front of the screen
9.2 is faster within itself
3d is better
allround nicer feel

but

it's buggy
it hangs on shutdown sometimes
it hangs on logout/log in sometimes
i downloaded all the patches/upgrades and bug fixes
and earlier this afternoon it hung on logging out to the point where i had to switch the pc off and then back on again

it doesn't feel as solid as 9.1
but it feels nicer

not much use really from a technical point of view
i spend a LOT of time on the computer
it's certainly good enough to stick with
imo
 
Old 10-26-2003, 11:32 AM   #7
TheOneAndOnlySM
Member
 
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Dallas, TX
Distribution: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Posts: 987

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 30
this is basically what i've been reading like you said

nicer feel, but a heck of a lot more buggy

i don't mind empty menus, but the hangs do seem to worry me

if on the technical side there isn't much new, then i'll have to reconsider staying with 9.1 than upgrading

any more info?
 
Old 10-26-2003, 11:37 AM   #8
quatsch
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: New York, NY
Distribution: gentoo, gentooPPC
Posts: 1,661

Rep: Reputation: 48
there is this thing about the 9.2 installer frying some cd-drives into oblivion. there are some threads about this here. Mainly LG drives so if you have one, you might want to wait for a fix.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 12:34 PM   #9
dolphans1
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: LoneStar
Distribution: Mandriva & Ubuntu
Posts: 1,041

Rep: Reputation: 35
what is an LG drive?

d-1


Quote:
Originally posted by quatsch
there is this thing about the 9.2 installer frying some cd-drives into oblivion. there are some threads about this here. Mainly LG drives so if you have one, you might want to wait for a fix.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 12:36 PM   #10
Woad_Warrior
LQ Newbie
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Location: The Shire of Sunderoak in the Kingdom of Aethelmearc
Distribution: mandrake
Posts: 17

Rep: Reputation: 0
i updated to to 9.2 yesterday, and i've got to say i'm extremely disappointed. the install went fine (i did a clean install after backing up my necessary files), but from an operational standpoint, this is the buggiest release i have ever had the displeasure of using. i mean seriously, how the hell could they miss something like /usr/src not installing, or even being on the cd? i have temporarily returned to 9.1. why temporarily? because i'm d/l'ing libranet right now.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 01:46 PM   #11
quatsch
LQ Addict
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: New York, NY
Distribution: gentoo, gentooPPC
Posts: 1,661

Rep: Reputation: 48
Quote:
what is an LG drive?
LG is just the brand.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 01:58 PM   #12
bigVoice
Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Toronto
Distribution: Mandrake 10
Posts: 237

Rep: Reputation: 30
Let me add a positiive experience. I've read a lot about people claiming its buggy. I have not noticed this... and I'd also like to point out that many of the buggy claims are coming from the same few individuals.

I'm NOT saying that they don't have legitimate concerns... I'm sure they do. I also think that Mandrake 9.2 (like all new releases) must have bugs.

That said, I have not really noticed much. I installed 9.2 the day after the iso's were available, and I've pushed it pretty hard. I'm not using my box in a "stock" or "traditional" way (that is to say, only sticking with a few small tasks). I think I'm pushing it pretty hard, installing software from source and giving the *drake tools a decent workout. Overall I've been MORE happy with the performance and stability of 9.2 over 9.1.

The original poster suggested he/she wanted a linux distrobution to help their family move away from Windows. In this regard, I don't hesitate for a second to recommend Mandrake. As to 9.1 over 9.2... personally, I'd choose 9.2 for a few of the really nice added touches over 9.1.

Also of benefit, as a power-user, Mandrake will help them be able to keep up with you. Rather then telling them to "download and uncompress the tarball and run dot-slash-configure... etc" you tell them "go to configuration, packaging, install". As someone who provide the family "tech-support" I sure appreciate this
 
Old 10-26-2003, 03:51 PM   #13
barrys
Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: London
Distribution: Susi 9.1, Man10 amd64, Man10.1
Posts: 243

Rep: Reputation: 30
Great ideal for first time users. I am using 9.2rc on a laptop with a wireless usb, I also use a usb photocard finds everything. It doesn't have the wireless pcmcia card working at the moment, thouh I think linux questions has give me enough answers to solve this my 2nd to last problem.

I changed from mdk9.2 to Redhat 9.0 on the laptop, but although I could get the card working with that, I coldn't get the windoze hard drive, photo card, or even worse the cdrom did not mount. I even believe it doesn't have autmount.

My last problem on two different machines however, it the sound cards are detected but do not work. Both machines worked well on the 9.1 so I know they should work on the new release. I hope.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 09:42 PM   #14
dolphans1
Senior Member
 
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: LoneStar
Distribution: Mandriva & Ubuntu
Posts: 1,041

Rep: Reputation: 35
Citrix Metaframe and Linux?

So far so good with mandrake 9.2, If I could figure out how to install & use Citrix metaframe, to open up a sabre window with work I would probably ditch windows altogether.

Windows XP and windows 98 are just as buggy as any OS out there, IMO.

Mandrake 9.2 works in similar fashion to Windows XP, when comparing it with Thiz-Linux.


d-1



Quote:
Originally posted by barrys
Great ideal for first time users. I am using 9.2rc on a laptop with a wireless usb, I also use a usb photocard finds everything. It doesn't have the wireless pcmcia card working at the moment, thouh I think linux questions has give me enough answers to solve this my 2nd to last problem.

I changed from mdk9.2 to Redhat 9.0 on the laptop, but although I could get the card working with that, I coldn't get the windoze hard drive, photo card, or even worse the cdrom did not mount. I even believe it doesn't have autmount.

My last problem on two different machines however, it the sound cards are detected but do not work. Both machines worked well on the 9.1 so I know they should work on the new release. I hope.
 
Old 10-26-2003, 09:46 PM   #15
tigerflag
Member
 
Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Distribution: PCLinuxOS 2012.08
Posts: 430

Rep: Reputation: 30
I spent yesterday at a Linux Install-Fest and had a chance to see 9.2 and talk to people who have used it. One guy said it was much faster and more stable on his machine than 9.1. I don't know what kind of machine he had. Someone else told me just the opposite: that it was very buggy compared to 9.1. When he tried to update it, the whole thing fell apart in some way.

My own opinion from briefly helping someone after it was installed, was that the menus seemed "crippled" compared to 9.1. I think 9.1 menus were the best I've ever seen on any distro, but a lot of the progs were missing in 9.2, even after running MenuDrake. He also had to install a bunch of server apps like Apache even though he wasn't running any servers. On the plus side, he had an easy time getting his sound working, whereas I've always experienced Mandrake to be the worst distro when it comes to getting the sound to work.

I'm happy just having Slack now. I like it's feel better than any other distro, but Mandrake 9.1 comes close. If I decide to reinstall a Mandrake, I'll stick with 9.1

Just my $0.02

Siri Amrit
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Upgrade to 2.6.x kernel worth it?? Nz_Boy_2004 Linux - General 1 10-03-2005 11:57 PM
Kernel upgrade, worth it? Pawnzeeknee Slackware 8 02-21-2005 11:31 PM
mandrake 10.0 official vs. mandrake 9.0 is it worth the upgrade? Perquisitor Mandriva 7 07-14-2004 12:28 PM
Mandrake 10.0 worth the upgrade?? alex101 Mandriva 6 03-12-2004 12:48 PM
Is Mandrake 8.2 worth the upgrade? bhattman Linux - General 10 07-21-2002 04:48 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Mandriva

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:20 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration