Hello people, First, I would like to ask for a "mentor", can anyone volunteer (or is there a list of volunteers already?) to be my mentor. Please tell me how long you have been working with Linux. I am trying to install Linux Mandrake 5.2 for the first time and I have some problems: 1. When I select to install from the CD-ROM without forcing supplemental disk, the system will scan (or whatever you call it) the CD-ROM and exit the program (there will be a black line at the bottom of the blue screen and whatever you type is useless). 2. I copied the REDHAT directory to a dedicated WIN95 partition and tried to install using that, but the installation program cannot detect a redhat installation tree! 3. How should I partition my disk drive? (e.g.: What size for: / root SWAP /usr /usr/src /usr/local /home /bin (I don't know if it should be a partition itself or under root?) /etc /tmp and is there anything I've left out?) 4. Will my computer system (all the component) work with Linux? ================================================================= This is my computer system configuration: Intel Pentium 166 MMX [May upgrade to Intel Pentium II 266/300 if necessary as my family still uses MS Windows 98 (I'm the computer geek in my family)] Unknown brand motherboard (VT 586TX): Intel 430TX Chip set Award BIOS V.4.51 4 PCI 2.1 3 ISA 32 MB RAM [May upgrade to 64MB if computer becomes too slow] Compaq v50 Color Monitor (1024x768 Max. Res.) S3 ViRGE PCI (325) Ver. 4.0 (640x480 in True Color) Logitech First Mouse Super (PS/2) [May use Logitech TrackMan Marble/Vista if space is confined] US Robotics Sportster 28,800 Fax Modem with V.32 and V.34 bis [May upgrade to US Robotics Courier/Sportster 56K Modem (V.90)] Creative Sound Blaster 16 Canon Bubble Jet Printer BJ-10sx [may upgrade to a color printer, any suggestion of a good one that Linux Supports (best if it is Epson, Hewlett Packerd or Canon, I can find them in Singapore easier)] Acer (but my system says ATAPI) CD-ROM Drive (24x Max) Quantum Fireball ST4.3A (4.01 GB for now, Parition: 2.06GB FAT32 and 1.94 FAT32) [May add a IBM Hard Disk drive 4~8GB and recommendation?] ================================================================== This is all I could think of, if there is anything I've missed, please tell me
******************** * System Summary * ******************** < Hardware > Processor: GenuineIntel Pentium(R) Model 4 167 MHz Stepping 3 Math Support: On Chip BIOS: Award Software 06/13/97 Bus Type: PCI Ports: 1 Parallel, 2 Serial Memory: 32.0 MB (100% Utilized) Floppy Disks: 1.44 MB Hard Disks: 4.01 GB Multimedia: Sound, CD-ROM Video: 640x480 in True Color, S3 ViRGE PCI (325) Ver. 4.0 < Operating System > Windows: 4.10 (Build 1998 ) DOS: 7.10 Net Clients: Microsoft Family Logon ******************** * System Details * ******************** < CPU > Supports model specific register instructions: Yes Built-in APIC: No Type: Original OEM processor Supports machine check exceptions: Yes Supports CMPXCHG8B instruction: Yes Supports virtual mode extensions: Yes Supports page size extensions: Yes Supports debug extensions: Yes Supports RDTSC instruction: Yes Supports physical address extensions: No Supports MTRR_CAP register: No Supports Page Global Enable bits: No Supports MCA_CAP register: No Supports CMOVcc instruction: No Supports MMX technology: Yes CPUID result: 1 = 0x0000054300000000008001bf00000000 < Ports > Communications Port (COM1) ECP Printer Port (LPT1) Communications Port (COM2) ********************* * Display Summary * ********************* Monitor: COMPAQ V50 Color Monitor Video Chipset: S3 ViRGE PCI (325) Ver. 4.0 Resolution: 640x480 in True Color < Device Information > Driver Version: 4.0 Technology: Raster display < Device Characteristics > Physical Width in Millimeters: 169 Physical Height in Millimeters: 127 Width in Pixels: 640 Height in Pixels: 480 Pixels per Horizontal Logical Inch: 96 Pixels per Vertical Logical Inch: 96 Color Bits per Pixel: 24 Color Planes per Pixel: 1 Brushes: Unlimited Pens: 4294967295 Fonts: 0 System Colors: 4294967295 Relative Pixel Width: 36 Relative Pixel Height: 36 Relative Pixel Diagonal Width: 51 < Clipping Capabilities > Can Clip Output to Rectangle: Yes Can Clip Output to Region: No < Raster Capabilities > Capable of Transferring Bitmaps: Yes Supports Bitmaps Larger than 64K: Yes Supports DIBs: Yes DIBs on Device Surface: Yes Supports Windows 2.0: Yes Stretch/Compress Bitmaps: Yes Stretch/Compress DIBs: Yes Requires Banding Support: No Flood Fills: No Palette-Based Device: No Capable of Scaling: No < Curve Capabilities > Can Draw Circles: Yes Can Draw Ellipses: Yes Can Draw Interiors: Yes Can Draw Pie Wedges: No Can Draw Chord Arcs: No Can Draw Wide Borders: No Can Draw Styled Borders: No Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders: No Can Draw Rounded Rectangles: No < Line Capabilities > Can Draw a Polyline: Yes Can Draw a Styled Line: Yes Can Draw a Marker: No Can Draw a Polymarker: No Can Draw a Wide Line: No Can Draw a Wide, Styled Line: No Can Draw Interiors: No < Polygonal Capabilities > Can Draw an Alternate-fill Polygon: Yes Can Draw a Rectangle: Yes Can Draw a Single Scan Line: Yes Can Draw Interiors: Yes Can Draw a Winding-fill Polygon: No Can Draw Wide Borders: No Can Draw Styled Borders: No Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders: No < Text Capabilities > Capable of Stroke Clip Precision: Yes Capable of Any Angle Character Rotation: Yes Any Multiples for Exact Scaling: Yes Can Draw Raster Fonts: Yes Capable of Character Output Precision: No Capable of Stroke Output Precision: No Capable of 90-Degree Character Rotation: No Independent X-Y Scaling: No Capable of Doubled Character for Scaling: No Integer Multiples for Scaling: No Can Draw Double-Weighted Characters: No Can Italicize: No Can Underline: No Can Draw Strikeouts: No Can Draw Vector Fonts: No Can Scroll using Bit-Block Transfer: No ********************* * Printer Summary * ********************* Printer: Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-10sx (default printer) Connected to LPT1: < General Information > Port: LPT1: Location: Unspecified Description: Unspecified Data Type: EMF Print Processor: WinPrint Driver Name: Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-10sx Status: Normal Driver Version: 4.0 Technology: Raster printer < Device Characteristics > Physical Width in Millimeters: 203 Physical Height in Millimeters: 260 Width in Pixels: 2880 Height in Pixels: 3690 Pixels per Horizontal Logical Inch: 360 Pixels per Vertical Logical Inch: 360 Color Bits per Pixel: 1 Color Planes per Pixel: 1 Brushes: Unlimited Pens: 100 Fonts: 4 System Colors: 2 Relative Pixel Width: 360 Relative Pixel Height: 360 Relative Pixel Diagonal Width: 510 < Clipping Capabilities > Can Clip Output to Rectangle: Yes Can Clip Output to Region: No < Raster Capabilities > Requires Banding Support: Yes Capable of Transferring Bitmaps: Yes Supports Bitmaps Larger than 64K: Yes Supports DIBs: Yes DIBs on Device Surface: Yes Supports Windows 2.0: Yes Stretch/Compress Bitmaps: Yes Stretch/Compress DIBs: Yes Flood Fills: No Palette-Based Device: No Capable of Scaling: No < Curve Capabilities > Can Draw Circles: No Can Draw Pie Wedges: No Can Draw Chord Arcs: No Can Draw Ellipses: No Can Draw Wide Borders: No Can Draw Styled Borders: No Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders: No Can Draw Interiors: No Can Draw Rounded Rectangles: No < Line Capabilities > Can Draw a Polyline: Yes Can Draw a Styled Line: Yes Can Draw a Marker: No Can Draw a Polymarker: No Can Draw a Wide Line: No Can Draw a Wide, Styled Line: No Can Draw Interiors: No < Polygonal Capabilities > Can Draw a Single Scan Line: Yes Can Draw an Alternate-fill Polygon: No Can Draw a Rectangle: No Can Draw a Winding-fill Polygon: No Can Draw Wide Borders: No Can Draw Styled Borders: No Can Draw Wide, Styled Borders: No Can Draw Interiors: No < Text Capabilities > Capable of Any Angle Character Rotation: Yes Any Multiples for Exact Scaling: Yes Can Draw Raster Fonts: Yes Capable of Character Output Precision: No Capable of Stroke Output Precision: No Capable of Stroke Clip Precision: No Capable of 90-Degree Character Rotation: No Independent X-Y Scaling: No Capable of Doubled Character for Scaling: No Integer Multiples for Scaling: No Can Draw Double-Weighted Characters: No Can Italicize: No Can Underline: No Can Draw Strikeouts: No Can Draw Vector Fonts: No Can Scroll using Bit-Block Transfer: No ***************************** * Memory Report - Summary * ***************************** < General Information > Memory Utilization: 100% Total Physical Memory: 32.0 MB (33554432 Bytes) Available Physical Memory: 1.62 MB (1699840 Bytes) Page File Capacity: 300 MB (314572800 Bytes) Available Page File capacity: 260 MB (272105472 Bytes) Largest free block: 63.0 MB (66117632 Bytes) Swap File pages: 8071 16-Bit USER free percentage: 73% 16-Bit GDI free percentage: 86% ****************************** * Drive Information Report * ****************************** < Drive A > 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive < Drive B > No drive B < Drive C > Total space in drive: 2,208,231,424 bytes (2.06 GB) Used space: 1,172,832,256 bytes (1.09 GB) Available space: 1,035,399,168 bytes (987 MB) < Volume Information > File System: FAT32 Number of FATs: 2 Mirroring: Enabled Volume Serial Number: 540,548,327 Maximum Filename Length: 255 Filename Case: Preserved Case Sensitive File Search: Not supported Unicode Filenames: Supported < Logical Information > Sectors Per Cluster: 8 Bytes Per Sector: 512 Total Clusters: 539,119 Free Clusters: 252,783 Total Bytes: 2,208,231,424 Free Bytes: 1,035,399,168 < Reported physical Information > Number of Cylinders: 523 Sectors Per Track: 63 Total Heads: 255 < Actual physical information > Number of Cylinders: 14,818 Sectors Per Track: 63 Total Heads: 9 < Partition Information > Partition 0 Type: 32-Bit FAT Boot Indicator: Bootable Partition Size: 4321422 Sectors (2.06GB) Starting Sector: 63 Starting Head: 1 Starting Cylinder: 0 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 268 Ending Sector: 63 Partition 1 Type: Extended Partition Boot Indicator: Not Bootable Partition Size: 4080510 Sectors (1.95GB) Starting Sector: 4,321,485 Starting Head: 0 Starting Cylinder: 269 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 522 Ending Sector: 63 Partition 0 Type: 32-Bit FAT Boot Indicator: Not Bootable Partition Size: 4080447 Sectors (1.95GB) Starting Sector: 63 Starting Head: 1 Starting Cylinder: 269 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 522 Ending Sector: 63 < Drive D > Total space in drive: 2,085,093,376 bytes (1.94 GB) Used space: 895,275,008 bytes (854 MB) Available space: 1,189,818,368 bytes (1.11 GB) < Volume Information > File System: FAT32 Number of FATs: 2 Mirroring: Enabled Volume Serial Number: 727,390,469 Maximum Filename Length: 255 Filename Case: Preserved Case Sensitive File Search: Not supported Unicode Filenames: Supported < Logical Information > Sectors Per Cluster: 8 Bytes Per Sector: 512 Total Clusters: 509,056 Free Clusters: 290,483 Total Bytes: 2,085,093,376 Free Bytes: 1,189,818,368 < Reported physical Information > Number of Cylinders: 523 Sectors Per Track: 63 Total Heads: 255 < Actual physical information > Number of Cylinders: 14,818 Sectors Per Track: 63 Total Heads: 9 < Partition Information > Partition 0 Type: 32-Bit FAT Boot Indicator: Bootable Partition Size: 4321422 Sectors (2.06GB) Starting Sector: 63 Starting Head: 1 Starting Cylinder: 0 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 268 Ending Sector: 63 Partition 1 Type: Extended Partition Boot Indicator: Not Bootable Partition Size: 4080510 Sectors (1.95GB) Starting Sector: 4,321,485 Starting Head: 0 Starting Cylinder: 269 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 522 Ending Sector: 63 Partition 0 Type: 32-Bit FAT Boot Indicator: Not Bootable Partition Size: 4080447 Sectors (1.95GB) Starting Sector: 63 Starting Head: 1 Starting Cylinder: 269 Starting Sector: 1 Ending Head: 254 Ending Cylinder: 522 Ending Sector: 63 < Drive E > Acer 24X [Max] CD-ROM Drive ******************* * Input Summary * ******************* < Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard > Sub-type: 0 Number of function keys: 12 Code page: 437 (Default) Delay: 0 Speed: 31 Layout: 00000409 < PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port > X Threshold: 0 Y Threshold: 0 Speed: 0 Number of buttons: 2 Button status: Normal ************************ * Multimedia Summary * ************************ < Waveform output devices > SB16 Wave Out [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 104 (Sound Blaster 16 waveform output) Version: 4.38 Product Name: SB16 Wave Out [220] Formats 11.025 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes Channels: 2 Support Pitch control: No Playback rate control: No Synchronous/blocking: No Volume control: Yes Separate left and right volume control: Yes Microsoft Sound Mapper Manufacturer Id: 1 (Microsoft Corporation) Product Id: 2 (Microsoft waveform mapper) Version: 4.3 Product Name: Microsoft Sound Mapper Formats 11.025 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes Channels: 2 Support Pitch control: No Playback rate control: No Synchronous/blocking: No Volume control: Yes Separate left and right volume control: Yes < Waveform input devices > SB16 Wave In [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 4 (Sound Blaster 16 waveform input) Version: 4.38 Formats 11.025 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 11.025 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 22.05 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 8-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Mono, 16-bit: Yes 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 16-bit: Yes Synchronous/blocking: Yes Channels: 2 < MIDI output devices > SB16 MIDI Out [330] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 201 (Sound Blaster MIDI output) Version: 4.38 Technology MIDI hardware port: Yes Square wave synthesizer: No FM synthesizer: No Microsoft MIDI Mapper: No Support Volume control: No Separate left and right volume control: No Patch caching: No Creative Music Synth [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 302 (Sound Blaster Pro stereo synthesizer) Version: 4.38 Technology MIDI hardware port: No Square wave synthesizer: No FM synthesizer: Yes Microsoft MIDI Mapper: No Voices: 18 Notes: 18 Channel Mask: 65535 Support Volume control: Yes Separate left and right volume control: No Patch caching: No MIDI Mapper Manufacturer Id: 1 (Microsoft Corporation) Product Id: 1 (Microsoft MIDI mapper) Version: 4.0 Technology MIDI hardware port: Yes Square wave synthesizer: No FM synthesizer: Yes Microsoft MIDI Mapper: Yes Support Volume control: Yes Separate left and right volume control: No Patch caching: No < MIDI input devices > SB16 MIDI In [330] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 202 (Sound Blaster MIDI input) Version: 4.38 TTS Virtual Piano In Manufacturer Id: 0 (Unknown) Product Id: 0 (Unknown) Version: 1.0 < Auxiliary devices > SB16 Aux: Wave [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 406 (Unknown) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: Yes SB16 Aux: Midi Synth [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 407 (Unknown) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: Yes SB16 Aux: CD [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 401 (Sound Blaster Pro aux (CD)) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: Yes Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: Yes SB16 Aux: Line-In [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 402 (Sound Blaster Pro aux (Line in)) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: Yes Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: Yes SB16 Aux: Mic [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 403 (Sound Blaster Pro aux (Mic)) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: No SB16 Aux: Master [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 404 (Unknown) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: Yes SB16 Aux: PC Speaker [220] Manufacturer Id: 2 (Creative Labs, Inc) Product Id: 405 (Unknown) Version: 4.38 Technology Audio output from an internal CD-ROM drive: No Audio output from auxiliary input jacks: No Support Supports volume control: Yes Supports separate left and right volume control: No Auxiliary Mapper Not Installed < Joystick devices > No drivers installed or configured < MCI devices > LiveAudioFile Description: Netscape Packetized Audio File Device Type: 522 (Waveform Audio) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Error # 273 (MMSYSTEM273 The specified command is missing a paramter. Please enter one.) Requires an element file: Yes LiveAudioMetafile Description: Netscape Streaming Audio Device Type: 522 (Waveform Audio) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Error # 273 (MMSYSTEM273 The specified command is missing a paramter. Please enter one.) Requires an element file: Yes ActiveMovie Description: ActiveMovie Device Type: 520 (Digital Video) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: Yes Requires an element file: Yes ReelMagic Description: XingMPEG Driver Device Type: 520 (Digital Video) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: No Supports recording: No Can save a file: Yes Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: Yes Requires an element file: Yes MPEGVideo Description: XingMPEG Driver Device Type: 520 (Digital Video) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: Yes Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: Yes Requires an element file: Yes avivideo Description: Video for Windows Device Type: 520 (Digital Video) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: Yes Requires an element file: Yes waveaudio Description: Sound Device Type: 522 (Waveform Audio) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: Yes Can save a file: Yes Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: No Requires an element file: Yes sequencer Description: MIDI Sequencer Device Type: 523 (Sequencer) Can eject the media: No Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: Yes Has audio output: Yes Has video output: No Requires an element file: Yes cdaudio Description: CD Audio Device Type: 516 (CD Audio) Can eject the media: Yes Can play the media: Yes Supports recording: No Can save a file: No Uses device elements: No Has audio output: Yes Has video output: No Requires an element file: No