danleff

Also, let us know what programs that you are looking to run. We may save you some time. Frank's Corner is a good site, but it is getting outdated in information related to productivity apps.

From what I have read, it should work. What make and model laptop is this? Try popping the install disk into a desktop and see if the install starts or if you have a bad cd.

In Yast, try searching for kwifimanager. Mine is on the DVD. If not, let us know and I will find a link.

There is a utility called Kwifi in Suse that should help. If it is not installed, it is on the cd, I think. This should allow you to set the WEP values and default SSID. It has a graphical interface, which makes life a little easier.

Try looking at the how-to for the Asus wifi located here and see if this helps.

It doesn't look too good either, see here. I would consider either what Dan suggested, or a wired NIC card for now. At $10 or so USD, it would save a lot of headaches. Does this motherboard have on onboard NIC, as my A7n7x does?

Run a diagnostic from the hard drive manufacturer on the hard drive. I bet this is the problem. I have Mandrake cd 10.1 on my system, with no problems. I assume this is the only OS on the system?

Also take a look at the thread on Linux Questions. The moderator, finegan, has a post about this. Reference Section 3.26

Write support to ntfs from Linux is still developing. It is not considered safe yet. It is best to have a fat32 partition as a share drive to store files that you would want to share between the two operating systems. You were able to get around the issue of Windows overwriting the MBR and setting up Grub or lilo to boot Windows?

Then most likely the cd is not bootable, if you set the bios correctly. Did you burn the cd disks yourself? If so, did you burn them as an iso image or data file? A properly burned Fedora cd should have a bunch of directories and files on the cd. Is you just see the iso file itself on the disk, then you did not burn the iso file as an image and it will not be bootable. Are you using cdrw media or cd-r media? What burning software are you using and at what speed did you burn the iso files? They need to be burned at a slow speed, such as 4X or 8X.

There are a couple of options. If you want, you can boot Fedora from the Windows boot.ini file. As matttah said, if you configured boot.ini to boot Fedora as an option, just removing the line pointing to the linux bootloader will do it. It's much easier in linux to edit this file. In Windows, you need to login as administrator (rights) to do edit this file. When you install Fedora, you can choose to install Grub on a floppy, rather than the hard drive. Fedora also has a graphical bootloader utility. If you install the system-config-boot package (either installed during the installation of Fedora), or though Fedora's package management utility, then you can edit or change the bootloader options. You then invoke the command in a terminal window (as root user); system-config-boot. Finally, if Grub is installed on the system, you can use the grub-install command to tell it to make a bootable floppy.

Yep, I use the Linuxant package in my laptop with a D-Link wireless PCMCIA. Worth the $30 USD I spent on the package, compared with the frustration and time spent on other free drivers. The Linuxant package works fine onmy system, usingthe standard windows drivers that came with the card. Some hardcore Linux users have an aversion to using drivers that you pay for. However, each wifi card manufacturer generally produces a number of cards with different chipsets. So, even if you buy a specific brand, the card itself (and the chipset that it uses) is at issue. Many Linux users are struggling with wifi, due to the varying chipsets in their cards. If you can determine the chipset, then finding the driver to fit is next. Thing is, I looked at Mandrake's hardware compatibility index and your card is not listed as supported. So, third party drivers may be the way to go. Since most wifi companies do not directly support Linux, we need to rely on anyone who can design appropriate drivers. The other problem is how you have wifi set up on the system...adhoc, access point et al. WEP, or what encription that you are using is the other stumbling block. I use RoadRunner, so my connection is not static, it is dynamic. Ask me how I got my lappy up and running...I could not tell you setep by step. I did a lot of googling before it worked. I am a relative newbie at this, but keep looking and report back your results. Take a look at a detailed description of chipset issues here

Nice, Philipp, thanks for the peek. This should be useful for those situations that the added moderator options are needed.

Try this site. Although it is for Suse, the basics are there. Look under the section, Possibilities of the Grub Boot Menu. There you will find some commands to help you find the kernel to boot, including using the find command to show you where kernel is to allow you to boot the kernel. It should be located under something like (hd0,0) /boot/vmlinuz-(what-the-kernel-version-is). You may also need to pass the initrd, as well, which should also be located in the same directory. Did you try to boot from the first install cd, as I mentioned? Then you can see where the /boot/vmlinuz and initrd files are and and get an idea of what to put in the grub command line.

The issue is will Mandrake just look for CD#1, or ask for another also? In this case, it get's more difficult, especially on hard drive space. There is a way to allow Mandrake to use data on the hard drive, I will look this up. It may be a little tricky to set up, as Mamdrake also looks for the verification files on the cd (to verify the rpm files on the cd). In terms of the atmel drivers, the instructions are daunting, if you are a new linux user. See the link on how to do it at the atmel forums. If your up to it, I salute you!

This is what I did on a bad install of linux. Assuming that XP was installed first, then Mandrake on the same hard drive and it is the primary master drive (or the only drive in the system). Also this assumes that lilo or grub was installed on the master boot record (MBR). Windows will take over the mbr on install, so the worst senario is reinstalling XP. Since this is a new install of both, you won't lose much, except time. BTW, this is not a Compaq or HP system, is it? If so, let us know. Anyway, go to the Recovery console, by choosing "R" at the setup window. Make sure that you are at the C prompt. When you get the command line, type in fixboot Allow the process to finish, then type in fixmbr Ignore any warning messages and allow the process to finish. See if this fixes it. Since you used fixmbr already, the linux bootloader is trashed anyway. So, you may need to do a windows install again, if the above does not work. Some have reported that a win 98 boot disk will work to recover the mbr, which is easily available, if you want to try it. In terms of partitioning the drive, you can use PartitionMagic, or any other such utility to set up the partitons ahead of time. I suggest if the system is trashed, that once windows is up again (new install or recovered old install), you use such a utility to resize what you have and make a small fat32 partition at the end of the NTFS (Windows) partition, then leave the space you want for Mandrake to install to empty. Mandrake will find the empty space for the install. Someone else reported no problems with Mandrake 10.1 on an XP system, so you may elect to try this version rather than 10. Apparently they fixed the disk geometry problem in the new release. If you chose to go with another distro, be aware that Fedora Core 2 had the same problem. It apparently has to do with the 2.6 version kernel and parted. But leaving some formatted space between the NTFS partition and Mandralke seems to work fine also.

No problem. I sometimes forget that not all the questions posed on this site are from hardcore users like us. They keep reminding me though!

...and just to clarify what matttah is getting at, it is not that Grub has taken up the space, it is that Windows can not read a partition that has been formatted with Linux partitions. So, Windows thinks that there is no space on the hard drive (at least that it can read). Any disk formatting utility can erase the partitions that you made with Mandrake, be it PartitionMagic, any linux install with the fdisk utility, a Win 98 or ME boot disk (windows version of fdisk), or disk partitioning a utility made by the hard drive company that made the drive.

Ahh...now that I read your posts more carefully, I get it. Your second post got my neurons firing! So, you did disable the graphical interface near the end of the install? Then this makes sense. None of the options get you to a command prompt? In other words, choosing linux (the first option) does allow the system to boot (a bunch of commands flying by) that result in a command prompt? Since you disabled graphical, this is what you get. If you do get this far, then try running startx at the command line (then hit the enter key) and see if your gui comes up. And yes, you are supposed to getthe rainbow colors. If they look fine and are centered on the screen, you would have been good to go. I know very little about Grub from the command line, as I have never used it this way. However, it is still possible to rescue the system. It may be easier to do another install and choose to do a new install, allowing the monitor settings to take place (if they are correct), then you will get your gui and graphical Grub screen on boot. If Grub does not work on the current install (and you want to try a recovery), you can also try to rescue the system with the 1st install cd. When you get the initial screen and command prompt at the bottom, you can then type in linux root=hda1 since you stated that there is no other os on the system. See if this allows you to boot to a command prompt, where you should be able to fix the graphical interface and restore Grub to a graphical screen on boot. If this were a Fedora system, I could tell you right off how to fix it from the command line, but my memory is failing on Mandrake. Maybe someone else has the answer on the tip of their tongue. Ifnot, I will try tolook it up for you.

What I did not mention, is hashing outthe entries as another option. This way, they are intact in the menu.lst, in case you need them later. Say, you find out that the new kernel has resulted in some piece of hardware not working. Rare, but it happens. So, each kernel entry starts with title and ends with the initrd entry. So, you can hash out each entry that you do not want like so; #title Fedora Core (2.6.5-1.358) #root (hd1,0) #kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.5-1.358 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet #initrd /initrd-2.6.5-1.358.img Save the file and your done. You can also edit the default=3 entry to change the default entry that is booted first (relevent to the number of booting entries that you have in Grub), if needed, but this is another matter. This is different from Lilo, in that no further modifications are needed, such as running /sbin/lilo, after making changes to /etc/lilo itself.

What would help, is if you could post a little more background information to help us see what the problem might be. Is this install on a desktop system, or laptop? You noted that you are a fairly new Fedora user. Did this installation boot to a graphical interface before and quit doing so, or is this a new install? Did Fedora install in graphical mode, or revert to text mode? Often the failure to boot to a gui on a new install is due to misconfigured video or monitor settings, or even not enough memory in the system to run a gui. Many folks miss the video config. utility during install to test the video settings. So, give us some system specs as well, such as the system you installed to and how much memory is in the system. I assume that the system does boot to a command prompt, such as [nameofuser@localhost ~]$ Thanks for being patient, but this information will help troubleshoot the system.

It's actually good that the old kernel still shows. If something went wrong with the new kernel install, you have a fallback. You can remove the lines for the old kernel from Grub, by editing the /boot/grub/menu.lst file. You can do this as root user either by using vim or konqueror as superuser. What I do is get to a terminal, as root user and invoke konqueror (if you are using KDE). Keep hitting the back button, until you get to the main directory window. You will see the boot directory. Get in there, then grub. you will see the menu.lst file...double click on this and you can see the menu. Be careful not to delete any of the information related to the new kernel, only the old kernel information. If you post the contents of this file (cut and paste to the forum), we can tell you what to delete. Save the file and your done! You can also do this from the gui, in the control panel, which may be safer to do. I'll have to look this up, as I am rusty on this right now. Before you do this, it is wise to make a boot floppy, just in case.

This is one of the most common mistakes that folks make burning iso images. You do not burn it as a data file, rather, you burn an iso image. How to do so depends on what burning software that you are using. A good start is to look here. Burning an iso image should be done at a slow speed, not the fastest rate of the burner. It is usually good to burn them at 2X or 4X speed. Of course, this depends on the burner rating. You will need to burn the image correctly, then use your dvd drive to boot the image. Burning the iso as an image makes the dvd bootable, unlike just burning it as a data disk. Extracting the image will not work as well, as then burning the extracted files as data do not make the dvd disk bootable.

You don't normally have to type is startx, but getting a prompt with X failing usually is an indication that it does not like the video settings. Typing this command resulted in some information that is helpful in this regard. Quote: (WW) ATI (0): Failed to set up write-cmbining range (0xfb000000,0x200000) (EE) ATI (0) Virtual size (1024x768 (pitch 1024) exceeds video memory (EE) Screens found, but none have a usable configuration. Fatal server error: No screens found If you have the original video card in the system, it has only 2 mb of video memory. My guess is that that is not enough to run at the default of 1024 X 768 resolution. You probably need to change it to 800 X 600. During install, did you test the various screen options to see if any would work? This is easy to miss. I have never editied xorg.conf, or configured it via the command line, but maybe someone else has and can help.

Were you able to test the video during install, and was this successful? my guess is that you are really pushing the limits on the HP 8180 installing mandrake 10.1. If you have all the original equipment in the system, the video is probably the culprit. Were tou able to od a graphical install, or did it revert to a text install? What you have is the command line, which probably means that video failed. What happens when you type in startx (hit the enter key) once you have entered your user name and get the command prompt? BTW, what were the names of the iso files that you burned, just to make sure that you got the correct ones for this system? Or did you purchase the cdrom set?