*Nix

[ThePatriot]

Ok, i kinda made a short post about this in one of the threas, but i figure more people will see it here. I want to get some linux running on this machine, because i am a computer geek(for windows at least,) the people at my school in my computer class call me a hacker, just because i can edit the startup screen in Win 98...lol. Anyway, what linux do u reccomend? Some vague details as how to install it properly would be great to. I dont wanna mess up anything on my computer really bad by doing it(dont even know if its possible, but with windows installed, crashing isnt a possibility, its a likelyhood) Anyway, i know we have some serious comp geeks(when compared to me) so they could help me.

Also, if any of you could reccomend some reading material on *nix, how like UNIX is linux? Very similiar i have heard but i dont know, for once i am the one asking the questions, feels...odd..

[dave_p]

so far i have installed and used debian linux
and currently use redhat 6.0
im going to be trying slackware on the
recommendation of lopxtc

as for books unix complete, sybex publishing
is a good reference/tutorial for the beginner.

if you want to try unix without altering your machine
just yet i suggest getting a free shell account
and trying it out. you can get them at

http://grex.org

http://m-net.arbornet.org

http://sdf.lonestar.org

they are command line interfaces and you have
to telnet in to them though.
you can get some information on shells
and telnet here:

http://secinf.net/harmlesse.html

with a shell account and a modest amount
of unix knowledge you can host your own
web sites like this:

http://m-net.arbornet.org/~lorax

and/or host your own pictures for free like this:

[lopxtc]

Hey guys I cannot talk to long right now ... for books or documentation (ie man pages) ... check out the Linux Documentation Project

Also please feel free to email me with questions ... I will be glad to help ...

Aaron

[ThePatriot]

I have been up ALL night trying to get this caldera 2.2 edition linux to work. It refuses to...not only does it say i have some wack assed video card, the monitor settings refuse to work, i try and probe the video card, the screen turns to black and white lines...then wont work. Any ideas? PLLLZZ!!

[lopxtc]

That usually the sign that it didnt see your video card correctly. Video is still somewhat of a fun area in Linux. Newer cards usually dont get detected well, and a lot of on-board video bombs also.
Sometimes what can work as a final resort, or until you can compile a later version of X, is the frame-buffer. Slack does this by default still, and some distro's offer it as an option after install. It basically does an x-config based on your video ram and basic settings of what your monitor can do and such forth. This wont help you to play 3D games, but it will get you video.
Myself, I am not a fan of Caldera ... if you doing an install for the first time I would recommend Mandrake or Red Hat ... usually right on top of all the new drivers and a real painless install. Newer RedHat/Mandrake can also configure PAM and Kerberos at the install.

If you get the black and white lines or funky video ... try either alt-f{1-5} to drop to a command line ... or cntl-alt-backspace to kill X ... although this route may actually get you back into the same problem if you launched X from a graphical login as opposed to a command prompt login.

As usual, please feel free to email with questions.

Aaron

[ThePatriot]

Ok, i DL'ed redhat 7.2, both disks, thing is, it only fits on the cd-r when compressed, do i need to decompress it? How am i going to install it? I am gonna try and mess around a bit, i never thought linux would be so hard to install...

[lopxtc]

What you need to do after d/l'ing the ISO's is to burn them to disc. Read the manual that came with your software and it should let you know what the process is to burn ISO's to disk to make them readable and bootable. The process is a little different with each type of burning software.



Aaron

[ThePatriot]

Yes, i unfortunately notice NOW!! I already burned the ISO's, but CD-R's arent an issue, i got the bootdisk working, but it said i was missing the ISO's, so tomorrow i am going to read up on that and get this working. One final question(i dont email you because i figure maybe some other ppl need this info or have some input to it) I bought 2 beginning linux books, both came with caldera linux, question is, will they still be useful? Is all linux basically the same?? Or does each version have totally different stuff, because i would like to not have to go buy another book on Linux, but for Red-Hat linux...

[lopxtc]

Yes all in operation all Linux flavors are pretty much the same. The only real differences you will see;

1) Directory structure. The basic directory tree will be the same, although additional software (Apache, Sendmail, etc) maybe in slightly different areas.

2) Run levels. While all Linux flavors are supposed to have the same run-levels, not all do. SuSE is famous for having compleatly different run-levels then any other Linux flavor.

3) Kernel level. Most any new distro will be the 2.4.xx kernel. You want to look for any distro that is at least 2.2.19+ or 2.4.xx on its kernel level. This lets you know how far along the kernel is (features, stability, what-not). As someone new to Linux, you should stay away from any distro with an odd second number, ie 2.5.xx. These are development kernels and are ment to be used by someone willing to tweak and accept something that may not be to stable.

Pretty much aside from above you wont see too many differences. The biggest thing I can tell you get used to working on the command line. Yes there are a ton of programs that run through X that can do almost all of the SysAdmin stuff easier and prettier, you can only be certain it worked by doing it from the command line. Also it will help out with your typing if you are a slow typer *L*.

Dont worry about tons of emails, so far I have only received one email from someone.

Hope that helps a little.

Aaron

[ThePatriot]

Yep, i am gonna def work on the command lines. I dont think i could speed up my typing much anyway, the school typing program says i average about 90-120 WPM. I just need to learn command line stuff, i should read up on it more, thnx for all your help.

[subbeh]

Patriot, you are on the way to figuring it out... the only way to really understand it is just to screw with it. Here, try to install it, get it working, then get your computer all messed up like I did! Then reinstall it, and learn not to mess it up again! That's how I learned

Wait, forget everything I just said, because I still suck...

[subbeh]

Another thing... to learn linux and still have windows, try PHATLINUX! You can have it and windows on the same partition... it's like double clicking on an icon. It's great for beginners.

[lopxtc]

You are on about a good point. The best way to learn is to screw up, makes you think about what you did. I recompiled a kernel several times before I got it right. Kept removing options I needed and all that jazz. I love linux, but BSD and just plain regular Unix allow for adjusting your kernel soooooooo much easier once you know what you are doing.


Aaron

[ThePatriot]

My first AO post right now on Red Hat Linux. However, it is on the KDE desktop, so its kinda cheating b/c im using a windows set up. There is some stuff i would like answered however....How can i access the command line? I am in the desktop mode, but i know theres a way to get to the text command line part of linux. Also, can you view how much RAM i have and how much my computer is using? As well as, how much space I have left on my partition...

Just some stuff i would love to have answered, because it seems like it takes a little longer than it should to access the konqueror web browser. I will eventually move on to the command line, but im happy with my Windows type look at this moment I however, am a little upset, because the 2 books i bought about Linux are about using the KDE desktop, so it teaches me how to do stuff i already knew in windows. Can anyone reccomend some books that would teach me command line some more? Not some windows clone stuff which i already know.

[dave_p]

ctrl alt f1 to f6 will get you to a virtual console and ctrl alt f7 will put you back to the gui. you should also be able to bring up a console in a window from the KDE desktop. poke around a little.
congrats on the sucessful install!