IMcool

You can use all those messengers in Linux. I have used ICQ and AIM in Linux with no problems.

Yeah, there's a good answer. Try another distro that I like. ;( I ran into a similar problem with Mepis on one computer. I eventually grabbed a spare mouse. I have also seen Mandrake install start the install ok, but when I selected what I thought was the right mouse setings, my mouse pointer would jump all over the screen (this has happened in several Mandrake versions). I let Mandrake stick with the wrong setting and once the desktop was loaded, I set it correctly with no problems. The point is, the 'X' configuration is not truly "finished" until a complete install. Did you reboot, and see if that helped? What mouse do you have? The mouse is directly related to the X configuration, so check your video and mouse settings. A quick way to restart X is to hit Ctrl-Alt-Backspace and see if anything changes. If you can't get around ot that way, try changing USB ports... if it is a USB mouse... and restart. If you can't get anything to work or use the GUI tools, then you will have to edit the file manually. I am not sure if it is in the same location in SUSE, but Xconfig file is usually located in /etc/X11. FYI, I was able to get my winmodem(which I couldn't in other distros) to work in SUSE. I was lucky enough to find Linux drivers from the manufacturer (Intel HAM Driver). SUSE's included dial up tool (not KPPP) was the easiest I had ever used.

Which MS Windows OS? Different MS Windows have different levels of security. It also depends on what file system Linux making. I use ext2 and XP does not see it unless I use my administrative tools under administrative rights. I think the simple answer would be to only allow administrators to edit that drive. In fact, do not allow any user priviledges to that drive since there is no use fro it in Windows. For instance, in Windows 2K there is a security tab for each drive; mapped or local. That should do it for you.

I have had sucess with my Logitech Wingman (work just like a force feedback). There are drivers out there, I just can't recall where right now. I bet a quick search at http://www.google.com/linux will get you there quickly. In Suse, there is this nice graphical joystick test. Mine worked just fine without installing anything (may be packaged in Suse) , but I couldn't test vibration.

I would consider the features of each distro. Particulalry in these areas: 1. Community 2. Packaging (varies between distros) 3. Supportablility (availability of the software you need) All of them are not perfect, but I personally find Mandrake more appealing with all the support it has.

I am running KDE in Mandrake 9.1 with the same processor and memory. The MAIN difference is the video memory. I have an old RIVA TNT 2, which is 16Mb. Yours is, 4Mb?! Get a better video card and you will be fine. Also, what is your swap file size?