just a couple questions

[hypnotizeminds]

Dist: SuSE 9.1 Personal, running on Live CD for now. Completely wiped 13.5GB hard drive.


ok first things first, no wireless support and i cant get my card to work to get online with it. i have the cd that came with it but i cant get it to work. obviously new to linux, what should i do? its an Xterasys PCI Wireless 802.11b card.
-------------------
second, i have to change a setting to Verbose Mode at startup to get passed "Starting PCMCIA" in the boot process. I'm not on a laptop so obviously I have no PCMCIA cards or slots. Im not worried about that, i just want to know, *** is Verbose Mode?
-------------------
third, after a while, when i decide to replace my windows os with linux once and for all, and i uninstall windows from my primary hard disk and install linux, what happens to all of my installed programs? I know they will remain on the hard drive but will they still be installed? also, what about the ones that wont work with linux? any details you can give me about this would be great. thanks!
-------------------
ADDITION: Ok, i just installed a second hard drive, a small one, just so i can run linux from the hard disk. about the wireless problem, i cant install it because i cant open "Setup.exe" on the drivers disk, i tried using WINE but maybe i did it wrong? i dunno, im pretty windows savvy but i dunno, i got a concept wrong with linux. but im not giving up! it just sucks cuz i have to shut down and run windows to get on here and ask questions about linux, lol. also the video sucks cuz i cant get on nvidia.com and download drivers.

someone help!

[smurfy]

hypnotizeminds, let me preface this reply with a caveat - I don't think you are anywhere near ready to ditch Windows, yet.

Now let's take this one step at a time:
1) (including ADDITION) As already documented here in the LInux forum, SuSe 9.1 Personal is pretty much a waste of space. If you are going to install Suse to a hard disk, install SuSe 9.x Pro.
It most surely has Wireless network support (to what degree I am unsure as I don't have the hardware to test). It should pick up your PCI card on install. If not we may be able to get it working with YaST.
Setup.exe is a Windows executable to install drivers in a Windows operating system. If you think you can run a Linux O/S with Windows drivers, keep dreaming.
A quick google indicates it should work.
2) My very basic understanding of verbose mode is the install/boot procedure gives more feedback and options - giving you the opportunity to bypass PCMCIA modules. As I have posted here previously, this is a common hang up on my systems and I use verbose mode every time on Suse 9.1 personal Live CD.
3) No, when you (uninstall) delete Windows, you'll delete all your programs (which needed Windows registry to run). If you have Windows-Only software you have to run (only if you can't find Linux alternatives), either keep running them under Windows (multi-boot) or attempt to use Wine/Cedega/Crossover to install & run them under Linux.

[modmidget]

Smurfy is correct about the SUSE 9.1 personal CD. It's a big waste of time. I know from experience, I spent two weeks (or more) trying to get it to run then I threw it in a garbage can. This version of SUSE is intended to be ran as is , Novell isn't giving you a full working system for free. It does not include the tools you need to install additional software.

If you want a good working version of Linux you should download Mandrake 10 or Fedora.

I downloaded the 3 CD Mandrake 10.0 release from http://www.linuxiso.org/ and installed it. So far it works pretty good and it came with LOTS of free programs.

If you don't have an internet connection that's fast enough to download three 700 meg files in a reasonable amount of time go to one of your local computer stores (Fry's) and look for Linux magazines. Sometimes the magazines will have CDs included that will do a full install to your PC. I went to Fry's last weekend and found two publications with CDs attached (one was Red Hat but I don't remember what the other one was, it may have been Fedora).

[hypnotizeminds]

Originally Posted by smurfy

I don't think you are anywhere near ready to ditch Windows, yet

Not true. I am VERY ready to ditch Windows, I just need a version of Linux that suits my needs. I am not an idiot, lol. Besides, if you look again, i said "WHEN i decide to replace my windows os with linux...", meaning not right away of course, but saying that I'm nowhere near ready is ignorant on your part, but I forgive you.

Originally Posted by smurfy

If you think you can run a Linux O/S with Windows drivers, keep dreaming.

Oh! My dreams, they have come true!! Thank the Lord!! BAM!

Originally Posted by modmidget

Smurfy is correct about the SUSE 9.1 personal CD. It's a big waste of time. I know from experience, I spent two weeks (or more) trying to get it to run then I threw it in a garbage can. This version of SUSE is intended to be ran as is , Novell isn't giving you a full working system for free. It does not include the tools you need to install additional software.

Yes, I am quickly finding that out for myself, but thanks for the confirmation. I do enjoy the SuSE interface on the desktop though. (I realize it isn't SuSE interface, persay, but the program that is in charge of it, GNOME or KDE or whatever it may be, i forget, is great!)

Originally Posted by modmidget

If you want a good working version of Linux you should download Mandrake 10 or Fedora.

Thank you, modmidget, for the suggestion. I have heard a lot of good things about Mandrake, and only went with SuSE because I could not find a download link for Mandrake 10, but alas! There it is! Mandrake 10, here I come!SuSE

[hypnotizeminds]

modmidget,

I should download the 10.0 Official, correct? NOT the 10.1 Beta. Also, can you tell me a little bit about the support for this OS, if you would be so kind. I can't find any info on it. Link, perhaps? Thanks again for your help.

[pigwot]

I'd also look at Kanotix and Ubuntu. Both have a bootable CD iso you can burn. It will let you know quicjkly if a system's hardware is going to be compatible /w linux. There's a link from my website (www.whizbark.com) for Knoppix/Kanotix iso, and Ubuntu is available at:
http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubu...er/000001.html
Enjoy...

--Pat

[hypnotizeminds]

Thanks alot, you guys have helped me out a lot. It's a shame that SuSE 9.1 Personal wasn't what I was looking for, because I thought overall it was pretty nice. Eh... what are you gonna do??

Oh and by the way, Mandrake 10 is done downloading. All three CD's finished and ready to burn, I just have to go dig up some blanks. 28-34 minutes a piece to download. A little over 700MB in 28min? Is my connection pretty fast? I'm happy with it anyways. Thanks again you guys!!

[hypnotizeminds]

Eh, Mandrake 10 wouldn't recognize my mouse.

Logitech MX1000. No other mouse to use right now.

Also, ran VERY slowly on my com for some reason. Wouldn't shut down either.

Any ideas? Maybe I should try Fedora...

[modmidget]

I downloaded Mandrake 10.0 official. Didn't wanna get involved with a beta install since I'm a newby.

I've gotten nearly all of my support from this web site but Mandrake has been working so well I haven't really needed a lot of support. After I installed Mozilla Firefox there was an additional tool bar when I connect to the internet that points to 4 Mandrake sites. They are: Mandrakesoft.com, Mandrakeclub.com, Mandrakeexpert.com/index1.php, & Mandrakeonline.net. I haven't checked any of them out yet but you'll porbably find some kind of support in one of them.

I have a pretty simple system, so Mandrake recognized everything except my modem. Luckily the modem has a Conexant chip set and I was able to download the driver from Linuxant.

Mandrake even recognized my Kodak DX3500 camera when I plugged it into a USB port. That was a BIG suprise. It also automatically recognized my old Canon BJC-1000 printer and installed all the necessary drivers.

[hypnotizeminds]

My wireless card is a Xterasys XN-2511b PCI card, Wi-Fi 802.11b. Cannot get the drivers off the CD and can't get the thing online to search for them. I've looked and I can't find any anyways.

As for the mouse, I don't know. I'll just mess with it some more, but I've tried every configuration in the settings.

[bAdWaYz]

Hiya hypno long time no post for me ehh. Well firstly I don't think Smrufy meant any dissrespect by what he said, its just he wants you're first leap intop full time linux to be as easy as it can be. Nextly I will agree with both Smrufy and Mod on SuSe. Don't worry about the desktop's because you can run kde or gnome, or a ton of other destops once you get ya feet wet a bit. I'm looking into that wi-fi card of yours for drivers and will post anything I find. It would help to know the chipset on the card however. So all in all good luck post back and enjoy linux with windows as a safety net "for now".

[hypnotizeminds]

I cant find info on the chipset, sorry. Thanks for all your help though.

Sorry, sometimes i take things personal cuz alot of people around here dont take me seriously, i guess u would just have to know the people i know and live with who i live with, but im not out for pity, lol, just sayin that i hate when someone tells me i cant do something or even implies anything of the sort, u understand..

but again thanks for your help, i really appreciate it!

[sho-dan]

hypno
did a search for Xterasy card ,found nothing also,the cd u have u try auto play ,how about opening it in the cd icon in my computer, or do a search for the drivers while disk is in cd-rom

[hypnotizeminds]

the problem is that they are windows drivers, but i downloaded a program that allows most wifi card win drivers to work in linux.

now MDK10 is givin me hell. when it starts up, all is fine, then it starts up KDE and just halts at 85% leaving me with nothing but a cursor (which, if you have been keeping up with this thread, you would know i am not able to move it! lol)

i dont know, as much as you guys dont like suse, suse seems to like me best, lol. comments anyone?

[smurfy]

Hypno, sorry if that sounded short and insulting. There is a distinct difference between wanting to do something and being ready to do it. It has taken me 4 years of playing with Linux to feel confident enough to rid my main PC of Microsoft. I've wanted to do it for a couple of years.

Now, that said, let's take a look at where you are...

Nice find with DriverLoader. I hadn't heard of it before. I sure hope it works for you because I haven't found any references for anyone getting that particular wireless card to work. If we can get it working with you, you'll certainly become a benchmark for me to recommend it to others.
The card is working in Windows? Get Aida32 from our downloads page and use it to identify the chipset of the card.

As I mentioned in my previous post (and in my "giving SuSe a 2nd chance thread) Suse Personal & SuSe PRO are different beasts. I have been using Suse Pro now for about a week and like it a lot.
SuSe Pro is a bit of a misnomer, it's more like SuSe FULL and SuSe Personal is more like SuSe BASIC.
If you can get your hands on SuSe PRO, you should try it.

If we're stuck with Mandrake or Fedora, well, we can try that as well. (There's actually no reason why you can't try all 3 at once. 13Gb is just enough space to install 3 distros side-by-side but probably best to wait a bit before trying that).

I guess the next step is to decide on what distro you are going to try, stick with it and see if we can get all your hardware running.
So...
Mandrake 10.0 official?
Fedora Core 2?
SuSe 9.1 Pro?