OK, I finally decided to try Linux again. (A while ago I tried Linux 5.0 but it didn't like AMD systems back then). This time I picked up a copy of Debian Linux "Woody" 3.0 but I'm lost without documentation. I have no Linux or Unix experience.
Firstly, can anyone recommend a good book for a n00b, a good general book on linux. Also are there any decent reference books for Debian Linux 3.0?
<b>[Warning! Long rant! Questions are at the end]</b>
Now on to my trials. I've attempted to install Debian Linux 4 or 5 times with different degrees of success.
The first time I tried to load every package but I think I ran out of space. I'm temporarily using an old 3.2 GB HD.
The second time I loaded many of the packages but left out the server stuff. Linux would go through the motion of loading but the screen filled with garbage text characters that ran on continuously. Later, I learned that this was the point where the Xserver was attempting to load.
The next time I installed Debian I tried using the Vesa video driver (I was selecting ATI previously as I have a Radeon 8500). Again Linux went through the motion of loading. This time instead of garbage text characters, at what should be the login prompt, I got just an "L" followed by 01 01 01 01 01, repeating every two seconds.
At this point I remembered the startup disk. I tried it and it worked. The system gave me a graphical login screen and then a GUI (Gnome I think). I thought everything was fine when I saw this but graphics were horrendously slow (remember I selected Vesa drivers). I was trying run some of the utilities (forget which ones) but I got an error saying my User is not a "SuperUser". So I tried to login as ROOT and try to figure out how to give myself rights but a login error said I can't login as Root. I figured I probably need to exit the GUI. Unfortunately I don't know how to do this. I also couldn't figure out how to boot without the GUI. Anyway, I called it a day.
The next day I decided to give the ATI driver another go. I reloaded Debian and this time the system didn't give me garbage characters but the screen blinked a few times an eventually informed me that the XServer can't load.
I remembered someone once mentioned that ATI cards have have problems so I downloaded some Linux drivers from ATI's site and tried to load these. The drivers I downloaded were for the wrong version of something (Xfree86 I think) so I went back and downloaded an earlier version. This time the drivers matched my installation. I tried to load the drivers using the RPM program as per the instructions but was told the database can't find the files. (The files were on a CDRW disc). I can't remember the details but I got the impression that the files weren't in the correct place which was supposed to be /etc/X11/RPM. I nosed around the NET (because I could friggin figure out how to copy or move files). I came across the "tar" command but I must have been getting the syntax wrong and couldn't copy the files. Finally I used this, "mount /dev/cdrom /etc/X11/RPM" which I guess just maps the CDROM. Anyway, the RPM command now worked but with errors. The actual syntax is, "rpm -i --force <i>filename</i>". The notes said if you get a certain kind of error then use "rpm -i --force --nodeps <i>filename</i>. This seemed to work, so I went on to the next step which was to configure the display with the program fglrxconfig. This seemed to work too. However...
I rebooted but got the same thing, a few blinks of the screen, and the message that Xserver couldn't start. I think it also said to fix whatever is broken (yeah right!) and manually reload the Xserver by typing "startx". Well, I didn't fix anything but I typed "startx". The screen blinked a couple of times and again I get "Xserver couldn't start" but this time there were some diagnostic errors. I should have written it down but I rember the following "FireGL...Module R200...starting...Display default 1024x768 0x0...1280x1024 0x0...800x600 0x0..." Then it said something like "no valid frequencies" and "syntax error at line XXX" and it said something about checking the file, X86Config.
(The end - almost).
I not asking anyone to fix all my problems but I would like to know more about some of the issues I ran into.
1) Please, I need a recommendation on the aforementioned books.
2) How do I view/edit configuration files like X86Config? How do I copy files?
3) How do I give a user superuser privileges? Does this mean the same privileges as Root?
4) how do I avoid loading the GUI at boot time? alternatively, how do I exit the GUI?
5) Does anyone know if the ATI 8500 drivers work with Debian Linux (or am I just spinning my wheels)?
I'm sure I'll have a million more questions later but I've come to the conclusion that Linux really isn't for newbies.
<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 09/21/02 01:30 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
Firstly, can anyone recommend a good book for a n00b, a good general book on linux. Also are there any decent reference books for Debian Linux 3.0?
<b>[Warning! Long rant! Questions are at the end]</b>
Now on to my trials. I've attempted to install Debian Linux 4 or 5 times with different degrees of success.
The first time I tried to load every package but I think I ran out of space. I'm temporarily using an old 3.2 GB HD.
The second time I loaded many of the packages but left out the server stuff. Linux would go through the motion of loading but the screen filled with garbage text characters that ran on continuously. Later, I learned that this was the point where the Xserver was attempting to load.
The next time I installed Debian I tried using the Vesa video driver (I was selecting ATI previously as I have a Radeon 8500). Again Linux went through the motion of loading. This time instead of garbage text characters, at what should be the login prompt, I got just an "L" followed by 01 01 01 01 01, repeating every two seconds.
At this point I remembered the startup disk. I tried it and it worked. The system gave me a graphical login screen and then a GUI (Gnome I think). I thought everything was fine when I saw this but graphics were horrendously slow (remember I selected Vesa drivers). I was trying run some of the utilities (forget which ones) but I got an error saying my User is not a "SuperUser". So I tried to login as ROOT and try to figure out how to give myself rights but a login error said I can't login as Root. I figured I probably need to exit the GUI. Unfortunately I don't know how to do this. I also couldn't figure out how to boot without the GUI. Anyway, I called it a day.
The next day I decided to give the ATI driver another go. I reloaded Debian and this time the system didn't give me garbage characters but the screen blinked a few times an eventually informed me that the XServer can't load.
I remembered someone once mentioned that ATI cards have have problems so I downloaded some Linux drivers from ATI's site and tried to load these. The drivers I downloaded were for the wrong version of something (Xfree86 I think) so I went back and downloaded an earlier version. This time the drivers matched my installation. I tried to load the drivers using the RPM program as per the instructions but was told the database can't find the files. (The files were on a CDRW disc). I can't remember the details but I got the impression that the files weren't in the correct place which was supposed to be /etc/X11/RPM. I nosed around the NET (because I could friggin figure out how to copy or move files). I came across the "tar" command but I must have been getting the syntax wrong and couldn't copy the files. Finally I used this, "mount /dev/cdrom /etc/X11/RPM" which I guess just maps the CDROM. Anyway, the RPM command now worked but with errors. The actual syntax is, "rpm -i --force <i>filename</i>". The notes said if you get a certain kind of error then use "rpm -i --force --nodeps <i>filename</i>. This seemed to work, so I went on to the next step which was to configure the display with the program fglrxconfig. This seemed to work too. However...
I rebooted but got the same thing, a few blinks of the screen, and the message that Xserver couldn't start. I think it also said to fix whatever is broken (yeah right!) and manually reload the Xserver by typing "startx". Well, I didn't fix anything but I typed "startx". The screen blinked a couple of times and again I get "Xserver couldn't start" but this time there were some diagnostic errors. I should have written it down but I rember the following "FireGL...Module R200...starting...Display default 1024x768 0x0...1280x1024 0x0...800x600 0x0..." Then it said something like "no valid frequencies" and "syntax error at line XXX" and it said something about checking the file, X86Config.
(The end - almost).
I not asking anyone to fix all my problems but I would like to know more about some of the issues I ran into.
1) Please, I need a recommendation on the aforementioned books.
2) How do I view/edit configuration files like X86Config? How do I copy files?
3) How do I give a user superuser privileges? Does this mean the same privileges as Root?
4) how do I avoid loading the GUI at boot time? alternatively, how do I exit the GUI?
5) Does anyone know if the ATI 8500 drivers work with Debian Linux (or am I just spinning my wheels)?
I'm sure I'll have a million more questions later but I've come to the conclusion that Linux really isn't for newbies.
<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 09/21/02 01:30 AM.</EM></FONT></P>