Help the N00b!

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 22, 2006

hey all!

I just finished installing Damn Small Linux on my Compaq Presario 1270 (older than your grandmother laptop) and I've run into a LOT of problems. I'm hoping you all can help me with step-by-step instructions on how to fix. I know basically NOTHING with Linux so you will have to really dumb it down.

I'll continuously update this first page as problems come and are fixed.

#1) I find DsL's file manager pretty much impossible to use, so I would like to install GNOME on this thing. I don't know how. Can you guys give me a site to download it in deb extension, because apparently deb is all DsL accepts? Also, can you walk me through everything I need to do?

#2) My CD drive and flash drive arent listed- I'm hoping installing GNOME will fix this problem. When I was installing DsL, I did not click on "mount" for either of them on the LiveCD - could this be why? Or is just the file manager's jerkyness?

#3) I downloaded both BitTorrent and LimeWire for Linux in rpm file format, but apparently DsL doesnt like rpm, so I need to use Alien to convert them. Again, can you walk me through what to do, starting with where to get Alien and what format to download it in?

#4a) I plan on taking this thing to WiFi hotspots, so I am wondering if I need any virus protection and what to use.
#4b) I have a network card that resets itself to the HOME IP address every time DsL powers on - how can I save it so that my LAN's IP address is locked?

#5) Upon Bootup, LILO lists the hard drives as Linux and "WinDos (hda2)" - can I change this to "Linux" and "Windows 2000" without uninstalling anything? I'm thinkin it should be just a short change in the lilo.conf file, but I have NO idea how to do that, and dont want to risk screwing up this thing AGAIN. Can you tell me EXACTLY what to do?

#6) Both Linux and 2000 run VERY slowly-would buying some Laptop SDRAM fix this? Also, is all Laptop SDRAM the same, or would I have to be specific?

#7)The Internal PC Speaker always defaults to volume level 64 on bootup, but it annoys me with beeping for (what I think) is no reason. How can I set it up to perminatly say that the PC Speaker volume is 0?

#8) On bootup, DsL does not recognize the resolution of my screen, so it says "Undefined Mode Number - Press Enter to Continue, Space to view modes, or wait 30 seconds" ...if I press enter it works PERFECTLY. How can I set it up so this does NOT pop up on bootup, but instead decides to use whatever video option that it automatically decides on when I press enter?

#9) It states in the lower right hand corner, in the MOUNTED/UNMOUNTED bar, that there is a HDA2 and an HDA5...the HDA2 is Windows 2000, but where did this HDA5 come from? It again annoys me...I could UNDERSTAND if it said HDA1 because thats my DsL partition, but HDA5? WTF?

Yes, I did post some of these questions on the thread "Damn Small Linux" but I was starting to hijack that thread, which isnt good, so here's one all about ME! Woot!

Thanks for your help!

*Edit 10-23-06* Problems #7-9 Added

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 23, 2006

I just added 3 new problems...they're starting to stack up.

Please help!

splat · Oct 23, 2006

if you want to run kde or gnome then you should install another distro other than DSL. DSL is meant to be a tiny, streamlined distro, which is why I suggested it for your old laptop.

I would give Debian and NetBSD a try. See what you like best and what runs best on your system. NetBSD is not linux, but it is very similar. Keep in mind that you are going to hit a few snags since you are brand new to *nix, and that's natural with learning anything new.

btw, HDA5 is probably your cd drive. and any program you want to install on DSL is in the MyDSL panel, if it's not in there, it's going to take some work to install it.

David · Oct 23, 2006

Shadowhawk109 said:
hey all!

I just finished installing Damn Small Linux on my Compaq Presario 1270 (older than your grandmother laptop) and I've run into a LOT of problems. I'm hoping you all can help me with step-by-step instructions on how to fix. I know basically NOTHING with Linux so you will have to really dumb it down.

I'll continuously update this first page as problems come and are fixed.

#1) I find DsL's file manager pretty much impossible to use, so I would like to install GNOME on this thing. I don't know how. Can you guys give me a site to download it in deb extension, because apparently deb is all DsL accepts? Also, can you walk me through everything I need to do?

I would try a "proper" desktop distro first. Try something like Ubuntu or if you want something more lightweight I *think* Knoppix is a little lighter. Or go for a Fedora install and don't install too much junk.

#2) My CD drive and flash drive arent listed- I'm hoping installing GNOME will fix this problem. When I was installing DsL, I did not click on "mount" for either of them on the LiveCD - could this be why? Or is just the file manager's jerkyness?

Before using a device it must be "mounted" - attached to the filesystem. This is done relatively easily provided the system detects your CDROM and has support for USB mass storage. DSL may not have these capabilities.

#3) I downloaded both BitTorrent and LimeWire for Linux in rpm file format, but apparently DsL doesnt like rpm, so I need to use Alien to convert them. Again, can you walk me through what to do, starting with where to get Alien and what format to download it in?

If you go with Fedora you can use the .rpms. If you go with ubuntu or knoppix you can use apt-get (much easier, but we'll go over that if/when you need it)

#4a) I plan on taking this thing to WiFi hotspots, so I am wondering if I need any virus protection and what to use.

You don't need antivirus or firewall provided you don't run anything as root unless you know it's safe.

#4b) I have a network card that resets itself to the HOME IP address every time DsL powers on - how can I save it so that my LAN's IP address is locked?

Might need to use iwconfig for that - not sure as I haven't dabbled much with Linux/wireless.

#5) Upon Bootup, LILO lists the hard drives as Linux and "WinDos (hda2)" - can I change this to "Linux" and "Windows 2000" without uninstalling anything? I'm thinkin it should be just a short change in the lilo.conf file, but I have NO idea how to do that, and dont want to risk screwing up this thing AGAIN. Can you tell me EXACTLY what to do?

Paste in the lilo.conf and we can help make changes.

#6) Both Linux and 2000 run VERY slowly-would buying some Laptop SDRAM fix this? Also, is all Laptop SDRAM the same, or would I have to be specific?

RAM can often help. Not all laptop ram is the same, you would need to know what type to buy or use the memory chooser from www.crucial.com and put in make/model.

#7)The Internal PC Speaker always defaults to volume level 64 on bootup, but it annoys me with beeping for (what I think) is no reason. How can I set it up to perminatly say that the PC Speaker volume is 0?

Should be a way to tell alsa to restore volume level on next boot. Cant remember it off the top of my head.

#8) On bootup, DsL does not recognize the resolution of my screen, so it says "Undefined Mode Number - Press Enter to Continue, Space to view modes, or wait 30 seconds" ...if I press enter it works PERFECTLY. How can I set it up so this does NOT pop up on bootup, but instead decides to use whatever video option that it automatically decides on when I press enter?

There will be an option in lilo.conf that says vga=blah blah. Again post the contents of lilo.conf and we can help.

#9) It states in the lower right hand corner, in the MOUNTED/UNMOUNTED bar, that there is a HDA2 and an HDA5...the HDA2 is Windows 2000, but where did this HDA5 come from? It again annoys me...I could UNDERSTAND if it said HDA1 because thats my DsL partition, but HDA5? WTF?

hda5 is afaik an extended partition. This may contain a logical partiton with for example a Win2k recovery system.

Yes, I did post some of these questions on the thread "Damn Small Linux" but I was starting to hijack that thread, which isnt good, so here's one all about ME! Woot!

Thanks for your help!

*Edit 10-23-06* Problems #7-9 Added

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 23, 2006

I dont feel like wiping DsL-I'm SOMEWHAT used to it, so if I can just run with tweaking it then life would be awesome.

Can we somehow work out a GNOME/KDE install just cause I'm stubborn?

splat · Oct 23, 2006

Shadowhawk109 said:
I dont feel like wiping DsL-I'm SOMEWHAT used to it, so if I can just run with tweaking it then life would be awesome.

Can we somehow work out a GNOME/KDE install just cause I'm stubborn?

it will be more work than it's worth. I'd pick NetBSD over any linux for your system unless you get more RAM. I was able to get NetBSD to run X on 16mb ram. it was slow as hell, but no linux, even dsl, would run X on 16mb.

The trouble is that I'm 99% sure no one has made a KDE/Gnome dsl package, so it is going to take a few extra steps to convert any .deb. I've never tried to use a .deb in DSL, but I do remember seeing that it is possible.

also check this out: http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/...stions#Why_doesn.27t_DSL_have_Gnome_or_KDE.3F

David · Oct 23, 2006

Shadowhawk109 said:
I dont feel like wiping DsL-I'm SOMEWHAT used to it, so if I can just run with tweaking it then life would be awesome.

Can we somehow work out a GNOME/KDE install just cause I'm stubborn?

Does DSL have apt-get?

Try typing apt-get update at the command line.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 23, 2006

Yeah-currently I don't have internet on the Linux side of this beast, so I can't do apt-gets or anything like that right now...sorry!

I'm only running DSL because it's so light on the resources-if there is another distro LIKE it that is good (has GNOME preferably, and supports RPMS) yet isnt as basic as Fedora Core 4 is, I'd like that-maybe a LiveCD, so that I can decide what I think first?

According to crucial.com, any PC133 SDRAM would work AS LONG AS it is < or equal to 128MB. Where could I pick some off (thats not ebay)?

Thanks for your help so far...I'll continue working on my part after DINNER !!!

Peace out!

splat · Oct 23, 2006

http://www.memorystock.com/ is where i got the 32mb stick for my toshiba satellite. I didn't have a problem with them so I'd recommend them. As for internet in dsl, what's keeping you from being able to access the internet? If it's wireless, they have a very good setup "program" for it, already installed by default. I think it's in the "panel". I'd have to open up my old laptop to check exactly.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 23, 2006

Here's the lilo.conf:

vga=791
# /etc/lilo.conf - See: `lilo(8)' and `lilo.conf(5)',
# --------------- `install-mbr(8)', `/usr/share/doc/lilo/',
# and `/usr/share/doc/mbr/'.

# +---------------------------------------------------------------+
# | !! Reminder !! |
# | |
# | Don't forget to run `lilo' after you make changes to this |
# | conffile, `/boot/bootmess.txt', or install a new kernel. The |
# | computer will most likely fail to boot if a kernel-image |
# | post-install script or you don't remember to run `lilo'. |
# | |
# +---------------------------------------------------------------+

# Support LBA for large hard disks.
#
lba32

# Overrides the default mapping between harddisk names and the BIOS'
# harddisk order. Use with caution.
#disk=/dev/hde
# bios=0x81

#disk=/dev/sda
# bios=0x80

# Specifies the boot device. This is where Lilo installs its boot
# block. It can be either a partition, or the raw device, in which
# case it installs in the MBR, and will overwrite the current MBR.
#
boot=/dev/hda

# Specifies the device that should be mounted as root. (`/')
#
root=/dev/hda1

# Enable map compaction:
# Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single
# read request. This drastically reduces load time and keeps the
# map smaller. Using `compact' is especially recommended when
# booting from a floppy disk. It is disabled here by default
# because it doesn't always work.
#
# compact

# Installs the specified file as the new boot sector
# You have the choice between: bmp, compat, menu and text
# Look in /boot/ and in lilo.conf(5) manpage for details
#
install=/boot/boot-menu.b

# Specifies the location of the map file
#
map=/boot/map

# You can set a password here, and uncomment the `restricted' lines
# in the image definitions below to make it so that a password must
# be typed to boot anything but a default configuration. If a
# command line is given, other than one specified by an `append'
# statement in `lilo.conf', the password will be required, but a
# standard default boot will not require one.
#
# This will, for instance, prevent anyone with access to the
# console from booting with something like `Linux init=/bin/sh',
# and thus becoming `root' without proper authorization.
#
# Note that if you really need this type of security, you will
# likely also want to use `install-mbr' to reconfigure the MBR
# program, as well as set up your BIOS to disallow booting from
# removable disk or CD-ROM, then put a password on getting into the
# BIOS configuration as well. Please RTFM `install-mbr(8)'.
#
# password=tatercounter2000

# Specifies the number of deciseconds (0.1 seconds) LILO should
# wait before booting the first image.
#
delay=20

# You can put a customized boot message up if you like. If you use
# `prompt', and this computer may need to reboot unattended, you
# must specify a `timeout', or it will sit there forever waiting
# for a keypress. `single-key' goes with the `alias' lines in the
# `image' configurations below. eg: You can press `1' to boot
# `Linux', `2' to boot `LinuxOLD', if you uncomment the `alias'.
#
# message=/boot/bootmess.txt
prompt
timeout=150
# prompt
# single-key
# delay=100
# timeout=100

# Kernel command line options that apply to all installed images go
# here. See: The `boot-prompt-HOWO' and `kernel-parameters.txt' in
# the Linux kernel `Documentation' directory.
#
# append=""
append="hda=scsi hdb=scsi hdc=scsi hdd=scsi hde=scsi hdf=scsi hdg=scsi hdh=scsi apm=power-off nomce noapic"

# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Linux

image=/boot/linux24
label=Linux

read-only
# restricted
# alias=1

image=/vmlinuz.old
label=LinuxOLD
read-only
optional
# restricted
# alias=2

# If you have another OS on this machine to boot, you can uncomment the
# following lines, changing the device name on the `other' line to
# where your other OS' partition is.
#
# other=/dev/hda4
# label=HURD
# restricted
# alias=3
other=/dev/hda2
label="Win/DOS(hda2)"

Also, when I said "my network card automatically reconverts itself", I meant a wired card, not wireless, so IWCONFIG is no good. Sorry!

OSGentoo · Oct 23, 2006

you could try puppy linux,but it does not have gnome or kde, but it is right around the same size as dsl and IMO much more functional out of the box.

Sir. BOBSONATOR · Oct 23, 2006

Fidora Core 6 is out tomorrow and is supposed to be great, ultra stable.

Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) is coming out friday, or thursday.

Im more of an Ubuntu guy.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 23, 2006

Yeah...after checking out memory prices I think upping the memory to 160MB should give me a nice boost...the trick is finding the memory. I'm not sure if the 1270 uses PC100 or PC133-I DO know it is SODIMM (SD) RAM, and I believe it is 144 pin-can someone check me on this?

On another note-what is a good halfway point between Fedora Core 4 (WAAAY too visually based) and DsL (Perfect size, but too tricky to use!)
I'm lookin for something with the Aterminal style command prompt, and the GNOME interface, but HOPEFULLY will only take up ~1GB or less when installed, and would run well on a 350Mhz proccy and (currently 32, hopefully 160) MB RAM.

Nothing TOO visual (OSX Linux, or Vista Aero

) but something that would work on my current HD + Proccy + future RAM + Video Card combo.

splat · Oct 23, 2006

Shadowhawk109 said:
Yeah...after checking out memory prices I think upping the memory to 160MB should give me a nice boost...the trick is finding the memory. I'm not sure if the 1270 uses PC100 or PC133-I DO know it is SODIMM (SD) RAM, and I believe it is 144 pin-can someone check me on this?

On another note-what is a good halfway point between Fedora Core 4 (WAAAY too visually based) and DsL (Perfect size, but too tricky to use!)
I'm lookin for something with the Aterminal style command prompt, and the GNOME interface, but HOPEFULLY will only take up ~1GB or less when installed, and would run well on a 350Mhz proccy and (currently 32, hopefully 160) MB RAM.

Nothing TOO visual (OSX Linux, or Vista Aero ) but something that would work on my current HD + Proccy + future RAM + Video Card combo.

i'm going to suggest NetBSD again. I think you'll really like it when you give it a shot, and it will run well on the old laptop (upgrading the memory will definitely help, but I think you'll see it runs well with the 32mb ram). It uses pkgsrc ( www.pkgsrc.org ) as its package manager and you can install binary packages or compile your own (compiling might be a pain on a slow computer like an old laptop).

also, check out OSZoo ( http://www.oszoo.org/ ) where you can try out a bunch of different distros and BSD's right in window in an emulator called Qemu. It's a great way to test things out before actually modifying your system.

oh, and get pc133. i think pc100 and pc133 are usually about teh same price because they are both ancient now, and they are pretty much interchangable. But, if you system has pc133 and you get pc100, i think you will default to the slower speed. Likewise, if you have pc100 and you get pc133, you will only run at pc100 speed, but the system was already at that speed to begin with.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 24, 2006

I'm thinkin about switching over to an older version of either Ubuntu, Fedora Core, or maybe Mandrake.

Can someone hook me up with some hardware requirements for
Ubuntu 4.10 (OLDSKOOL!)
Fedora Core 1 (OLDSKOOL!)
Mandrake Venice? It needs to be SOMEWHAT OLD!

I can't do any dl'ing because I have a 56K line, not a cable/broadband line...so I would LIKE to use installs as small as possible...taht and you guys get a hdd install size limit of 3GB as the other 1.5 is for Windows 2000.

So far I'm looking at Mandriva/Mandrake Venice...what do YOU guys think?

splat · Oct 24, 2006

debian woody is my suggestion. Any distro with a 2.4 kernel default will be fine.
ftp://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linu...ain/disks-i386/3.0.23-2002-05-21/images-1.44/
you install using floppies and grab everything elsee off the net as needed.

p.s. i still suggest NetBSD. www.netbsd.org I seriously think you will see it runs better on your old laptop, even without upgraded ram.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 24, 2006

Floppy drive = broked...I could hook up a USB drive, but I would LIKE to install somethin that isnt like UBERMANY floppies.

I always thought that Debian was for like Linux masters...which I obviously am not...

I'm lookin at NetBSD...if it has a livecd mode I might dl it tonight.

Also checking out Puppy Linux, and PCLinuxOS.

I'm leaning towards PCLinuxOS-its currently the best for what I like...I just dont know if my hardware will like it.

I MIGHT do a triple boot between PCLinuxOS, NetBSD, and Windows 2000, depending on sys requirements for NetBSD and PCLinuxOS.

splat · Oct 24, 2006

http://www.netbsd.org/gallery/products.html#netbsd-live
netbsd live cd.

edit: link to an actual live cd: ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/xtraeme

MRD · Oct 24, 2006

Just how old is this PC? What processor, ram, hard disk size, etc?

I run debian on my Thinkpad laptop (P133 w/ 72 MB RAM). It's pretty slow, but, well... it's a P133, what do you expect? =P

I don't run Gnome, I use Fluxbox or IceWM because they are much, much faster/leaner. On an old PC, Gnome or KDE will be very slow.

I don't know why you are trying to find a distro with RPM's... they are by far the most primitive and hard to use package management system out there. Get something that uses APT/debs, and just download debs or install from the repositories. If you try to use RPM's you will regret it. They bring nothing but pain.

The main cpu guzzler is the window manager... so pick a lightweight one if you need more speed.

The BSD's are very lean, though they are not actually linux, and are a lot trickier to install. They say you can run NetBSD on anything. Some guy figured out how to install it on his toaster (yes, really...). I believe the requirements for FreeBSD are something like 4MB RAM, an i386, and 50 MB HD space. Pretty low system requirements. I had FreeBSD running once, but it took a lot of work to get it pretty and get everything working.

Shadowhawk109 · Oct 24, 2006

System involved is "LAPTOP" in the sig...

The problem of PCLinuxOS's sys requirements has come up-they want 256MB of ram for it...and I only have ATM 32 to offer...could I set up a 224MB swap space to hold all the other memory PCLOS wants?

If so, can you walk me through how? I've tried before...and failed.

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