[newbie] 1st boot: 'can't open modem' ... re-boot: modem works fine ?!?(LM8.1)
Hi, I have a Lucent winmodem, running under LM8.1, which until recently has worked fine. Lately, however, when I try to use the modem after a cold boot, 'kppp' complains that it cannot open the modem. If I then re-boot the system, I can connect with no problems, and the modem works fine. I had at some stage played with a few BIOS settings, but afterward set them back to their original state (or so I believe). Could a BIOS setting be the casue of the prblem ? Also, I have been getting much worse than usual connection speeds than usual, although this may just be line problems. Thanks for any advice ... cheers, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] No sound for window/system events (Gnome/Sawfish/LM8.1)
On Sat, 2002-01-19 at 16:41, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: On 19 Jan 2002 14:33:45 +1000, Charles Darcy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Fri, 2002-01-18 at 22:35, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: Try running GNOME as root. If sound works properly there, then we have a permissions problem. Load userdrake (as root) and add your username to the 'audio' group. No Gnome sounds as 'root' either, I'm afraid. Have you configured a Bastille firewall recently? I once had a problem with sound in GNOME and I managed to trace it back to my Bastille settings. I set up a Bastille firewall soon after I installed LM8.1, and since I have never heard any Gnome sounds, this may well be the cause. In fact, after I had started 'esd' as a background process from a terminal, a little while later the terminal displayed some sort of error message about Bastille and a 'tmp' directory. Bastille has an option to guard against abuse of the 'tmp' directory, which I enabled when I configured Bastille. Do you think this might be the problem ? If not, do you recall which Bastille setting gave you trouble ? Thanks again for your assistance. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] No sound for window/system events (Gnome/Sawfish/LM8.1)
On Sat, 2002-01-19 at 09:50, Ric Tibbetts wrote: I had a similar problem with mine. Sound worked in KDE, but not Gnome. A little digging revealed that there was no /dev/dsp, it was (for some odd reason) set up as: /dev/sound/dsp. A link fixed it. There's probably a better way though. Any suggestions on why /dev/sound/dsp was set up, rather than the more standard /dev/dsp? I have a /dev/dsp file which is a link to /dev/sound/dsp, so this appears not to be my problem. Thanks all the same. The /dev/sound directory also contains a 'dsp1' file (also a 'midi' and 'mixer'). I'm not altogether sure what these files are for and how they should be used. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] No sound for window/system events (Gnome/Sawfish/LM8.1)
On Fri, 2002-01-18 at 22:35, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: Try running GNOME as root. If sound works properly there, then we have a permissions problem. Load userdrake (as root) and add your username to the 'audio' group. No Gnome sounds as 'root' either, I'm afraid. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] No sound for window/system events (Gnome/Sawfish/LM8.1)
Hi, I haven't been able to get the sounds to play for window and system events, like closing or minimizing windows. XMMS plays sound files without any trouble, so I think the problem is with my Gnome setup. I've enabled the 'Play sounds for window events' and 'Play sound effects for unmanaged windows' in the Sawfish configuration area in the Gnome Control Panel. I've also enabled the 'Enable sound server startup' and 'Sounds for events' options in Multimedia/Sound area, although when I test the 'Play' button for any of the sound events, I hear nothing. I'm using LM8.1, with Gnome and Sawfish. Thanks for any advice. regards, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] Mount error during boot (aka: no more Mandrake :-()
Hi, When I try to boot LM8.1, I get these errors: mount: error 22 mounting reiserfs well, retrying read-only without any flags mount: error 22 mounting reiserfs pivotroot: pivot_root (/sysroot, /sysroot/initrd) failed: 2 kernel panic: no init found. Trypassing init= option to kernel The kernel needn't panic, I'm doing a good enough job for the both of us (:-). Luckily, I was about to do a full re-install of LM8.1, and had just finished all the preliminary backups. The only unusual activities were the copying of several very large (650MB) files from Linux to windoze. I also made a LM8.1 Install disk in windoze, whose floppy properties showed '0 bytes used', but when I looked in the folder itself, the files appeared to be there. So I no longer have a Mandrake system. Windows still works (I'm in it now *ugh*), and I wonder if it might have been involved with the problem. Before I began the install (from HD, with the ISO's on the windoze FAT partition), I left windoze to do a check of the LM8.1 ISO md5sums in Linux, which was when the trouble struck. I decided to try the install anyway. DiskDrake complained that it couldn't read the partition table, continue at own risk and showed only a single 'hda' partition covering the whole 15GB disk. Not willing to risk losing the windoze partition, I aborted the install. Can I repair whatever damage has been done ? I tried to boot with a LM8.1 boot floppy, but with no success. If I try a full install with the dodgy partition table, is there a chance I will lose my windoze files ? Is my /home partition gone (I was intending to keep it intact during the install) ? As you can imagine, any help will be *greatly* appreciated. thanks, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] InteractiveBastille error messages.
On Thu, 2001-11-29 at 15:06, Paul Rodríguez wrote: I had this trouble some time ago as well (can't remember what version of Bastille, and iptables I was running). I any case, I was advised, that to get rid of that message, i can get rid of linuxconf from the list of services that Bastille audits. I don't know much about the issue, and can't find the message in the archives. But I think the point was, unless you are concerned with someone with physical access to the system making changes via linuxconf, you don't need linuxconf auditing. -Paul Rodríguez Do you think the full security configuration I chose was applied, or does Bastille abort when it strikes the 'linuxconf' trouble ? Do I need to run InteractiveBastille again ? Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] InteractiveBastille error messages.
On Wed, 2001-11-28 at 17:33, Paul Rodríguez wrote: Whoa, sorry, I was a bit tired. I actually meant iptables, I read your message as iptables, not chains. You should check to make sure iptables is installed. I've now installed iptables (as well as ipchains). Bastille now complains: about to run through config file ... iptables v1.2.4: invalid TCP port/service 'linuxconf' specified. ... which is similar to the second problem I had with ipchains mentioned in a prior post. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] InteractiveBastille error messages.
Hi, After answering all of the questions in InteractiveBastille (Tk interface), and applying the changes, the Tk window closes normally, but the terminal in which I started InteractiveBastille displays the following: About to run through config file ... /sbin/bastille-ipchains: /sbin/ipchains: No such file or directory. /sbin/bastille-ipchains: /sbin/ipchains: No such file or directory. /sbin/bastille-ipchains: /sbin/ipchains: No such file or directory. ... (repeated 100 or so times) Are these messages normal for LM8.1 ? Thanks for any help, regards, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] InteractiveBastille error messages.
On Wed, 2001-11-28 at 16:02, Paul Rodríguez wrote: Is ipchains installed? Ok, I installed ipchains, which fixed the first problem, but Bastille now complains: ... about to run through config file. /sbin/ipchains: invalid port/service 'linuxconf' specified. I have linuxconf installed, if that's what is being referred to, but otherwise the message is a mystery to me. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] nVidia drivers + glms (cpu temperature sensors) for LM8.1
Hi, I'd like to install the latest nVidia GeForce drivers in LM8.1, but the nVidia download site only provides rpm's up to LM8.0. Is there any chance the LM8.0 drivers rpm will work with LM8.1 ? The site also provides a source srpm. If the LM8.0 rpm is unusable, perhaps I can generate the drivers for LM8.1 from the srpm ? (I've never installed from srpm's before.) Has anyone had any success with either of these approaches ? I'd also like to install the glms hardware sensors (cpu temp, fan speed, etc) package. Is the Cooker version safe to use ? Thanks for any help, regards, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] Re: How to set double-clicked desktop icons to execute by default ?(LM8.1)
On Mon, 2001-11-12 at 15:12, Charles Darcy wrote: Hi, When I double-click an executable text file icon on the desktop, a prompt appears asking whether I wish to display or run the file. Is there a way to set the file to run by default in LM8.1 using Nautilus 1.0.4 ? thanks, Charlie. I tried changing the Nautilus preferences user level from 'advanced' to 'beginner' and then back to 'advanced', and the option re-appeared in the 'icon and list views' section of the preferences. All works well now. Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] How to set double-clicked desktop icons to execute by default ?(LM8.1)
Hi, When I double-click an executable text file icon on the desktop, a prompt appears asking whether I wish to display or run the file. Is there a way to set the file to run by default in LM8.1 using Nautilus 1.0.4 ? thanks, Charlie. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] How difficult is Nautilus 1.0.4 to install ?
Hello, I'd like to upgrade Nautilus to the latest version (1.0.4), but I find the installation instructions a little daunting. Has anyone had any success with this upgrade ? Will a failed installation destabilize the system ? Thanks for any info, regards, Charlie.
Re: [newbie] System logs overflowing with 'gconfd' messages.
Adam Greene wrote: Well, I'm sure what gconfd is either, but my guess is that it has something to do with GNOME as GNOME uses CORBA objects as it's basis (rather than Microsoft's ActiveX / COM/ DCOM models like Windows does) and that is a CORBA IDL message probably trying to tell you that the ORB server is not running (I believe it is called ORBit). Anyways, it is probably a misconfiguration of GNOME that is doing it (a failed installation or configuration of a package). Thanks for the info. I found a few references to the same problem with a google search, and it seems the trouble might be the version of Nautilus (1.0.1.1) I'm using. I'll try upgrading to the latest version and see if that fixes the problem. regards, Charlie.
[newbie] System logs overflowing with 'gconfd' messages.
Hi, My syslog, messages, loginlog user.log files are being logged constantly with entrys related to 'gconfd'. This is a sample from '/usr/log/messages': Jul 10 17:50:19 localhost gconfd (rod-1513): Failed to notify listener 385876639, removing: IDL:CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0 I don't know what 'gconfd' is, or why these messages are being continuously logged, but they're slowly consuming the free space on my '/' partition. Thanks for any advise, regards, Charlie.
[newbie] What can I get rid of in '/var' ?
Hi,
My system (LM8.0) broke down a few weeks ago, with the X server
complaining that it couldn't open the default font 'fixed'. A re-install
fixed the problem, but I've just re-experienced the same trouble.
In despair, I was about to re-install again, when I recalled that
the root ('/') partition on my hard drive was suspiciously close to
full. When I checked, sure enough, the partition was completely full,
and after I moved some files to a different partition to make a little
free space, I re-booted and the X server started normally. No more
problem.
When I checked the '/' partition, I found the disk hogs to be the
log's in '/var/log'. So, I guess my questions are:
- Which log files can be safely deleted ?
- Is it normal for these logs to grow so large, so quickly ?
- Are there any other system files which may need periodic
purging ?
thanks,
Charlie.
[newbie] LM8.0 boots to console mode only.
Hi, I've lately installed LM8.0 and had it running well for the last month. The only problem I've had is Sawfish crashing periodically. I think this may be linked to the Desk Guide applet, which crashed at the same time Sawfish dies. I've been able to continue by restarting Sawfish. The problem occured about once a week, until last night, when it happened several times. This morning when I booted Linux, I was presented with the non-graphical console login screen, instead of the usual graphical login. I thought the X server might be the problem, so I tried to start it manually with 'startx', which gave the following messages: FontTransSocketUNIXConnect: can't connect: errno = 2 failed to set default font path 'unix/:-1 fatal server error: could not open default font 'fixed'. I'm afraid I'm too new to Linux to know what to do to fix this problem, so I very much appreciate advice from anyone as to how to fix it. As a very last resort I guess I could try re-installing LM8.0, but its taken me weeks to get my development environment nicely setup, and I would hate to have to do it over again. regards, Charlie.
[newbie] Workspace selector in panel + shared libraries
Hi, I've managed to remove the little panel widget which lets you choose between workspaces and can't for the life of me figure out how to get it back. I can still switch between workspaces with ctrl-alt-left/right arrow, but I'd like to use the widget also. Any ideas on how to restore this widget ? Also, I've built a shared library (xxx.so) and installed it in /usr/local/lib. When I run the program which requires the library, I'm told it cannot be found. I moved the library to /usr/lib and the system was then able to find it. So, how can I tell Linux to look in /usr/local/lib for shared librarys ? Is there something similar to the PATH environment variable, to which I can add '/usr/local/lib' ? Thanks for any help, regards, Charlie.
[newbie] Re: Internet security + Harddisk optimise danger + Wheel mouse.
Thanks Dennis and sorry for my late reply. I think my list subscription has gone askew as I've received no list mail and have had to check the archives for replies. Anyway, Bastille is just what I was looking for. It appears very good and provides whats seems comprehensive security for many areas of the system which I hadn't considered. Do you suppose there is any value in using portsentry, now that I have installed Bastille ? As far as the my other problems go, I have my wheel mouse working, and my hard disk hasn't crashed, so I'm feeling pretty hopeful. Thanks for your help, regards, Charlie.
[newbie] Internet security + Harddisk optimise danger + Wheel mouse.
Hi, I've just installed Linux Mandrake 7.2. It's early days yet, but after years of frustration with that other poor excuse for an OS, I'm really looking forward to a stable, sensible environment. All is going well so far, but I do have a couple of concerns, mentioned below. I very much appreciate any advice from the list. -- Harddisk Optimise Danger -- During the installation, I selected 'Use harddisk optimisations', even though there was a warning about possible data corruption in some cases. Is there a real risk of data corruption ? If there is corruption, will it be immediately evident, or might my file system suddenly disappear 6 months down the track ? In case its relevant, my system has a Quantum Fireball Plus LM 15GB disk and a Pentium III 733MHz processor on a Gigabye GA-60XM7E (Intel 815E AGPset) motherboard. -- Internet Security -- Another concern I have is internet security, an issue I unfortunately know very little about. I use the internet throught a dialup connection (PPP) and browse/download with Netscape. I don't forsee any additional needs in the near future. I simply want to ensure that no one can "snoop/mess with" my system while I'm online. I've read a couple of earlier mail's on the subject and I will try the pmfirewall configured with all the defaults (except external interface which I'll set to ppp0), in conjunction with portsentry. I hope this will do the job ? I am not altogether sure what command line arguments I should pass to portsentry or what mode to start it in. Also, can I automate the process of starting portsentry, so that it will be running whenever I make a PPP connection (I understand that pmfirewall does this somehow) ? -- Wheel Mouse -- I have a Trekker Wheel mouse, but haven't been able to configure my system to recognise it. The mouse works fine, as a two-button mouse, under the default configuration, but I've found the wheel/third button very useful under Windows. Does Linux support the wheel, and if so, how might I configure the system to use it ? If there are any other important first steps I should take after a fresh installation, I'd like to hear of them. I think updating the RPM's might be something to look into, but I want to be sure of my internet security before I spend too much time downloading. Thanks for any advice, regards, Charlie.
[newbie] Install 7.2 hangs during 'Setup filesystems'
Hello, I downloaded the 7.2 Mandrake linux tree from one of the mirror sites, and attempted a hard disk install. I chose the 'recommended' option, as this is my first experience with linux. All went well until I reached the 'Setup filesystems' step, at which point the DrakX Partitioning wizard, asked me to choose a partitioning option. I selected the 'Use free space on windows partition' option, and was asked to "Please wait. Computing Windows filesystem bounds". A minute of hard disk activity followed, at the end of which the disk thrashed for a few seconds. A dialog then appeared stating "Warning. DrakX will now resize your Windows partition. Be careful ... Ok Cancel". At this point, the system hangs. The mouse pointer still moves, but nothing responds to mouse clicks. I then tried a text mode install. Again all went well until after I selected the 'Use free space on windows partition' option. After selecting this, I was asked what size I wanted to keep for the windows partition. I entered 6GB, and was then told "Resizing. resize_fat: Partition size will be 4095MB". Then after a minute of disk activity and again a final few seconds of thrashing, the following messages appear: "Install exited abnormally -- received signal 9." "Sending terminator signals ... done." "Sending kill signals ... done." "unmounting filesystems ..." "you may safely reboot your system." I am rather at a loss as to what the cause of my problem. It seems to be related to partitioning my disk (I have a Quantum Fireball Plus LM 15GB ATA66), but I really know very little about it. In case its relevant, the rest of my system is: - Pentium III 733MHz, 128MB RAM - Lucent WinModem (ugh ... can I use this in Linux?) - Sony CD (read-only) - Gigabyte GA-GF2560 Geforce256 graphics card - Gigabyte GA-60XM7E (Intel 815E chipset) motherboard. One thing has me puzzled. The Mandrake website says the full 7.2 tree download is about 1GB, but after I downloaded it, it was only about 660MB. Can I have missed something in the download that would cause the hang ? Could the mirror I used be faulty ? I might try downloading the iso images and using WinImage to extract the full 7.2 tree. This approach works according to an article on the Mandrake website, but the problem it was addressing is not identical to mine. Sorry that this post has become a little long-winded, but I wanted to be as thorough as I could. My sincere thanks to any who can advise me with this problem. I am very eager to try linux, after years of suffering with that other OS, and Mandrake seems a very good introduction. regards, Charles.
