Single user or multi-user mode?
 

During installations of software, patches, ect., which is best to do it all under as (title)? I would think it would be a good idea to install your video card during a single user mode session. I have kernel 2.4.31, stock, and I'm about to recompile really for my first time to 2.4.34, I believe most stable and best version of 2.4, and I'd like to know whether I can do all of this at my desktop while using the konsole and alt-tabbing to this web browser?

Thanks!

You can certainly compile a kernel while xserver is up and running KDE ... or anytime and anyplace really.

As for installing a video card ... I suppose you mean installing drivers for the card ? The ATI drivers ? If so, then yes also. AFAIK the ATI drivers still use a GUI interface to install the drivers.

There aren't any problems with recompiling the kernel with X on, you can actually configure the kernel with a graphical interface (read the slackbook, good stuff).
Problems shouldn't arise until you try to use the new kernel (that is, if you messed up something).

When installing nvidia drivers you must close X and rmmod nvidia (if it's an update). Sometimes the nvidia installer still complains of kernel module in use and you have to restart in init 4.