On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:20, Bolero wrote: > > Hello Everybody, > > > > I resend this email in text mode since somebody complaint about the > > first HTML version, which apparently could only be read in text mode > > incl. all formatting characters etc., additionally apparently loading > > your server unnecessarily due to HTML mode.
That was me ;-) > > > > I am new to Linux (RH C4) and after some weeks of stuffing around to get > > even the basics working, I am asking for help. I'm adding to the roar of approval for Ubuntu/Kubuntu. I've put a few newbies onto it including my 84 year old mother-in-law (she didn't install though!), with no problems. You WILL have some problems, but Windows users have problems too, even Mac users have problems. You can't have something as complicated as a computer and not have problems. The live CD is magical. You can play to your heart's content without touching your Windows installation at all! When you shut down, the whole thing disappears, and no damage is done. Pretty much everything works, or doesn't work, exactly as it would in a full installation (except for access to your hard drive, and saving files permanently - that's possible but beyond the scope of a beginner). Go to ubuntulinux.com - download and burn the "live" ISO file which you will find there and try it out. It will also help you connect to the net, and you should be able to surf websites etc. A small caution - make sure everything you are going to use is plugged in before you start the live install, because the installer will go looking for devices, and if they aren't there, sometimes post install is not quite so smooth. > > Problem 1 ? ADSL Connection > > > > The installation program does not ask me to setup my network connection, > > which I tried under ?Setup Internet Connection? as well as ?Network?. > > My modem is not listed and that?s were the trouble starts. > > > > Somebody advised that I should setup the connection using DHCP instead > > of PPPoA If you still have your windows set up working, ask your isp about getting connected to the net. Whatever you do with your modem for windows is exactly what you would do for linux. Ubuntu will automatically look for DHCP. Nearly all modern broadband modems seem to use DHCP so it is something you don't really need to think about at this point of your career. The modem is designed to connect to your ISP. Your computer (windows, mac or linux) then uses DHCP to connect to the modem. Once your modem is set up you shouldn't need to change it. If it already works for windows it will continue to work for anything else. > > Problem 2 ? Monitor Resolution > > > The only resolution that works is the monitor?s native one, i.e. 1280x1024. My recollection is that the graphics tries to give you the highest resolution possible. Ubuntu gives you options to lower the resolution if you wish. I'm sure Redhat does too... I've not used RH for years. > > Problem 3 ? Audio Some audio is problematic. The live CD will sort that for you. It will either work or not. If it doesn't it's best to get help (from here, perhaps). > > Should I download and install the individual drivers in Windows? Will > > my Windows OS still work? What chance is there that the Linux RH > > problems I have will be fixed? No relationship at all. In certain cases, linux will use specially installed windows drivers, but that would be clear to you when the time came. The drivers are used with linux "wrappers" - very confusing for beginners. If you ever need them, you will then understand, but it's not for beginners. > > Somehow I am a bit weary, Stanton Finleys installation notes in the > > beginning point out that the installation of Linux is easy and can be > > done by everyone; however there are apparently 45 pages of installation > > notes needed to get the job done! > > > > Sorry, I am to say the least a bit frustrated and would appreciate some > > help. Unless you have some strange hardware, Ubuntu will install and run with so little intervention that instruction are almost superfluous. I can't imagine filling one page, much less 45 pages. I'm very sympathetic to beginners though.. there is way too much jargon and too much assumption of knowledge. such as "what does DHCP mean, and should I care?". Acronyms are one of the greatest blocks to knowledge ever invented. They are a kind of insane masonic code used by computer geeks to confuse the hoards. One thing you will find very odd is that in the Linux world there is an amazing and sometimes confusing amount of choice. There is not one-true-way to do things as there is in Windows. There is endless argument about window managers and filesystems and distributions and other arcane matters that serve to confuse newbies. Ubuntu has shortcircuited a lot of those arguments by making decisions for you. You can get into the fun of arguing religious differences if and when you want to, but after you have been initiated. Just go with the default settings at first. They work really well. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
