[newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98??
no, it is not a rant: I would appreciate help on this one. I newly installed Mandrake 8.0 on a new machine which does not include windows (yet), so this time one cannot blame microsoft (damn!). Linux, or maybe more precisely xwindows/KDE has crashed on me several times already and that puzzled me. I had to make a hard shut down which of course I'd like to avoid (I wouldn't want to have to reinstall everything again). the situation is like this: I run one application when I suddenly notice that in the background the whole desktop disappears, meaning the desktop icons, the control panes and even the window's frame (with the resize buttons) which I guess is controled by KDE/xwindows. I can then carry on using the application I was using but of course can no longer resize, move, minimize the window. I can quit the application using the pull down menu. If I do, I can then close other windows/ applications that were open in the background. The application that were running but whose windows were minimized are of course no longer accessible. Once I close everything, I am left with a clear background with absolutely nothing on it. There is no key stroke that I found that could bring up any dialog box or at least allow me to shut down properly. crt+alt+dek doesn't help either. At that point the only solution is to make a hard shut down. On startup the kernel of course complains that devices were not properly unmounted. I get a series of messages saying things like: i-blocks is 64, should be 8. FIXED. So I guess it's a problem with the windows environement. I thought linux was more stable than windows. I now have three questions: 1- how do I manage to shut down properly, should that happen again? 2- what can I do to help diagnostic what is the source of the problem? 3- and of course, how can I fix the problem? It happened several times already and each time I was running KMail and Netscape at least. (only that plus a small game last time it happened). I guess netscape could be involved in the problem (I didn't open it so that I could write this email). It was already pretty shitty under windows, made it crashed. I thought such a thing couldn't happen under Linux. Still, I may be wrong about netscape because the funny thing is that I could carry on using it after the desktop crashed. What do I do now? Is someone able to help me?
Re: [newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98??
On Thursday 21 June 2001 15:41, you wrote: Dear Sir, For killing the Window use ctrl+alt+backspace keys. For shutting down, ctrl+alt+delete will work wonderfully if you have not Oh! Thank you for that! I am still looking for a howto with all those tips that any complete beginner should know. I just tried that and it worked fine. I'll try again if my window freezes up again. made the installation as high security. Otherwise it will ask for root login before shutting down. I have loaded MKL 7.2 and 8.0 and found no problems. But Redhat linux 7.1 gives a lot of problems especially with SCSI adapters. I have looked on the KDE web site (I should have done that first, sorry to bother you first) and it is possible that it is a kde bug though I am not sure. http://bugs.kde.org/db/20/20748.htm : this bug seems a little bit similar ??? If it happens again, I'll use gnome instead and see if it is better. Thanks. An-Guo
Re: [newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98??
the situation is like this: I run one application when I suddenly notice that in the background the whole desktop disappears, meaning the desktop icons, the control panes and even the window's frame (with the resize buttons) which I guess is controled by KDE/xwindows. .. There is no key stroke that I found that could bring up any dialog box or at least allow me to shut down properly. crt+alt+dek doesn't help either. Hmmm. If even C.A.D. won't work, then the system is very much banged up. You prolly can't do a ctrl-alt-f2 to get to a new command window? If you can do that, log in as root, do a ps -ef and try to locate the pid of the programs that are making the mess. Then kill -9 these PID's. At that point the only solution is to make a hard shut down. On startup the kernel of course complains that devices were not properly unmounted. I get a series of messages saying things like: i-blocks is 64, should be 8. FIXED. THis is normal after such a hard reboot So I guess it's a problem with the windows environement. I thought linux was more stable than windows. I now have three questions: 1- how do I manage to shut down properly, should that happen again? 2- what can I do to help diagnostic what is the source of the problem? 3- and of course, how can I fix the problem? You should first try to find out what the offending program (or combination of programs) is. Also check if all the hardware in the computer is fit for Linux (no memory with different speeds etc.) What is the hardware you have? hth Paul
RE: [newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98??
you most likely have a x config error.. Firstly ctrt-alt-Backspace will kill just X, not the linux box, the unmout errors are caused by you reseting.. or restarting.. you need to run Xconfigurator, type in : locate xconfig then go there (locate will tell you where it is...) then run it... then you will need to enter all your screen and graphics adaptor details again... when you post a question like this, its a good idea to mention the following: 1. What graphics adaptor? 2. How much ram (adaptor and main memory.) 3. Motherboard brand Model and chipset. 4. CPU type and Speed.. 5 log messages.. go to /var/log and have a look at the log messages... they will most likely tell you what caused it... That will help alot in determining your problem.. regards Frank -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of An-Guo Sent: Thursday, 21 June 2001 3:17 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98?? no, it is not a rant: I would appreciate help on this one. I newly installed Mandrake 8.0 on a new machine which does not include windows (yet), so this time one cannot blame microsoft (damn!). Linux, or maybe more precisely xwindows/KDE has crashed on me several times already and that puzzled me. I had to make a hard shut down which of course I'd like to avoid (I wouldn't want to have to reinstall everything again). the situation is like this: I run one application when I suddenly notice that in the background the whole desktop disappears, meaning the desktop icons, the control panes and even the window's frame (with the resize buttons) which I guess is controled by KDE/xwindows. I can then carry on using the application I was using but of course can no longer resize, move, minimize the window. I can quit the application using the pull down menu. If I do, I can then close other windows/ applications that were open in the background. The application that were running but whose windows were minimized are of course no longer accessible. Once I close everything, I am left with a clear background with absolutely nothing on it. There is no key stroke that I found that could bring up any dialog box or at least allow me to shut down properly. crt+alt+dek doesn't help either. At that point the only solution is to make a hard shut down. On startup the kernel of course complains that devices were not properly unmounted. I get a series of messages saying things like: i-blocks is 64, should be 8. FIXED. So I guess it's a problem with the windows environement. I thought linux was more stable than windows. I now have three questions: 1- how do I manage to shut down properly, should that happen again? 2- what can I do to help diagnostic what is the source of the problem? 3- and of course, how can I fix the problem? It happened several times already and each time I was running KMail and Netscape at least. (only that plus a small game last time it happened). I guess netscape could be involved in the problem (I didn't open it so that I could write this email). It was already pretty shitty under windows, made it crashed. I thought such a thing couldn't happen under Linux. Still, I may be wrong about netscape because the funny thing is that I could carry on using it after the desktop crashed. What do I do now? Is someone able to help me?
Re: [newbie] Linux Mandrake as unstable as Windows98??
I now have three questions: 1- how do I manage to shut down properly, should that happen again? I'm not sure what ctrl-alt-dek is, but the command should be ctrl-alt-backspace 2- what can I do to help diagnostic what is the source of the problem? You could try booting from the boot floppy you made during the install and see if that helps. 3- and of course, how can I fix the problem? What install did you use? recommended, custom, or expert? It happened several times already and each time I was running KMail and Netscape at least. (only that plus a small game last time it happened). I guess netscape could be involved in the problem (I didn't open it so that I could write this email). It was already pretty shitty under windows, made it crashed. I thought such a thing couldn't happen under Linux. Still, I may be wrong about netscape because the funny thing is that I could carry on using it after the desktop crashed. What do I do now? Is someone able to help me?