zenarcher

I use Mandriva 2005, but I'm not sure about your dual view question. However, with most motherboards, you are able to disable the onboard video by going into the BIOS, making the change there. Nearly every BIOS is a bit different in how it is set up, but you should quite easily find a setting there. Your Nvidia card should work just fine with Mandriva. zenarcher

Mandriva is quite easy to install and set up. Mandrake (Mandriva) was the first distribution I managed to get working successfully, when I began trying to use Linux. SUSE is a very nice distro and I tried it first, however I encountered some issues I could not resolve with it. That was when I tried Mandrake. I'm getting ready to try SUSE again, due to a supposed easier method of setting up SATA RAID, however the last SUSE version I tried was a couple of years ago. I think you probably would be successful and happy with either distribution. zenarcher

I haven't used any of this chat stuff in many years, but as I recall, there are members of the chat rooms who monitor the activities in the chat areas. If they feel your conversation is inappropriate or not in keeping with the policies of that chat group, they have the means and authority to remove you from the chat area by what is referred to as "booting" you out. My suggestion would be that you either find a different chat group, or use one of the personal Instant Message programs, where only you and your sister are chatting with each other and not within a group chat area. zenarcher

You are welcome for the help. When I started with Linux, I was at a complete loss, as I'd worked with Microsoft for many years and just couldn't get the MS way out of my head, so I could approach Linux with an open mind. When you do your Mandrake install, you should get a screen, during the install process, which will tell you that the install has located four disks....As you proceed through the install process, you should be prompted to insert Disk 2, Disk 3, then Disk 4....before you finish the install process. Now, later on, if you want to add programs from the Add Software menu, you will be prompted to insert different disks....and you will install your programs with ease. Once you get that all going, you might ask again about adding other good applications, someone will be happy to direct you to the PLF website and explain how to add applications using URPMI, which is very easy to do. Also, you might want to check RPM Search website...checking only the box for your Mandrake version...and there are alot of RPM format programs you can install. If you stay with RPM's, it's as easy as click and install. Regards, zenarcher

Certainly there are many other applicatons on the additional CD's. Also, there are many files you will need for using KDE, Gnome or other desktops...along with audio players and such. In other words, I think you will see that you need at least 3 of the CD's to get a usable Mandrake installation. I would certainly install all four. I use Mandriva 2005 LE, the PowerPack edition, which has 6 CD's and I let the installation find all six of them. That doesn't mean everything is installed on the hard drive, but if I wish to add applications, at a later time, the installation can find and ask for the proper disk. I hope that helps. Mandriva is a very easy to use distro....I like it very much and have used version 10.1, 10.2 and the new 2005LE. Also, welcome to the forum here. You will find lots of people willing to help you with any problems you encounter. Don't hesitate to ask! Regards, zenarcher

MSI KT6V Motherboard AMD XP3000+ Processor 1Gig PC2700 RAM 2- Western Digital 80G 7200 RPM Hard Drives (Soon to be SATA RAID0) Nvidia FX5200-128 Video Card Digital Doc 5 Temperature and Fan Controller Artec 52X24X52X CD Burner ECS 6 in 1 Card Reader Raidmax Scorpio Full Tower Case with Side Window Aspire 500W Power Supply NU Technology 8X4X DVD+RW DVD Burner 17" Solaris LCD Flat Display IBM Webcam Mandriva Linux 2005LE PowerPack(Soon to try SUSE 9.3) Linksys BEFW1154 Router(Connects two of the idential boxes..one for me and one for my wife), as well as an old HP box running Windows for my wife's games and my VoIP telephone system to a Broadband cable connection) Sorry about the double post! I did this too early in the morning!

MSI KT6V Motherboard AMD XP3000+ Processor 1 Gig PC2700 RAM Nvidia FX5200-128 Video Card Aspire X-Super Alien 500W Power Supply ECS 6 in 1 Card Reader Nu Technology 8X DVD+R 4X DVD+RW DVD Burner 2- Western Digital SATA 80G, 7200 RPM Hard Drives(Soon to be SATA RAID0 Configuration) Artec Diablo 52X24X52X CD Burner Digital Doc 5 Temperature and Fan Controller Raidmax Scorpio Full Tower Case with Clear Window Mandriva 2005LE PowerPack (Soon to try SUSE 9.3) I have two virtually identical boxes (one for me and one for my wife) and a clunky antique HP box for her Windows games on my network, using a Linksys BEFW1154 Router(Which also connects my VoIP telephone) to a Broadband Cable connection.

I guess it's really cheap, but I use an Nvidia FX5200, because I've never had a problem with it, it's low cost and it works just great with Mandriva. I'm using Mandriva 2005....but have also used the two previous versions of Mandrake. I also use LCD flat displays and I use GIMP, without any problems. Some people might have some better suggestions. I use the one with 128M of onboard RAM...and I run 1Gig of RAM on my system. I use this same setup on two computers here...and never have had a problem with either of them. I merely use the default driver in Mandriva. Regards, zenarcher

I have an old HP T45 that works very well. Much better than a newer Lexmark I have.

Poke the monkey in an irresponsible way and you will end up paying for years to come!

Likewise, I have 80Gig WD SATA drives and they worked just fine with Mandriva 2005LE, right out of the box. zenarcher

If I ever do that, please send me a nasty email, or maybe some SPAM! :x zenarcher

I am using Mandriva PowerPack 2005 LE. I have two, 80GB SATA hard drives in my system, as I had the intent to set them up in RAID0 array, using mdadm. I've spent no less than 3 months, trying to set up a RAID0 array with mdadm, but I'm not competent enough in Linux nor SATA RAID to do so. I've even tried several email conversations with Neil Brown, who handles the mdadm application. While he has really attempted to assist, he is not familiar with Mandriva. One of the forum members here, "blackpage" spent a lot of time working with me on the problem, as well. He finally worked out the procedure, by setting up a system on his own box. He emailed, telling me that he had it all working and would be giving me a step-by-step procedure. He stated that one of the problems was that Mandriva would not allow the transfer of some /usr folders, such as /lib, nor would it allow symbolic links for those. Anyway, he had worked through tbe problem, but before getting the information to me, something happened and he sort of disappeared. I have been unable to contact him for over a month. So, at the moment, I have everything on sda, the first hard drive, although I have also formatted and partitioned sdb, the second drive. I hate to have a second hard drive in the system, doing absolutely nothing. RAID seems to be an impossibility, as I've tried every forum and am met with blank stares. As such, I'd like to figure what I must do to use both my sda and sdb drives in the system. I'm thinking that perhaps I could use the second hard drive, sdb, as a /home partition. I don't mind reformatting, partitioning and re-installing the system. I just would like to do whatever I have to do to be able to use both hard drives. If I can't, I might as well pull them both out and buy a larger single SATA drive. Could anyone suggest what they think would be the best way to partition the two drives (I have 1GIG of RAM)and explain to me if I have to do anything special, when doing the partitioning and re-install, so that both drives will just work correctly and store and use the data on them, as I've tried to describe above? I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on partition naming and sizing...as well as any other information I might need. I am running only Mandriva on my system...I am not using any version of Windows. Oh, I might also ask if anyone would know if setting up SATA RAID0 might be easier with SUSE than Mandrake. I'm wondering that, due to the note from "blackpage" that Mandrake doesn't like transferring /usr folders nor symbolic links. Thanks, zenarcher

Hey Danleff, Thanks for the information. That sounds like the best way to go, if I can't get the RAID setup figured out. I know that both sda and sdb drives are recognized, as there is no problem partitioning them, during the install, so that part is okay. I understand what you are saying about the /home on the second drive...and that makes sense. I am wondering if I should put anything else on the second drive, for the same reason, in the event of a reinstall, so I wouldn't lose my personal settings, etc. If you have any suggestions there, it would be appreciated, as well. I have a post on an SUSE forum right now, waiting for an answer, too. I'm trying to find out of anyone in the world has actually ever set up SATA RAID with SUSE 9.3. According to that link, it looked reasonable to do. If I can find anyone who has done so, I'd be more than happy to try a switch from Mandriva to SUSE. I tried SUSE 9.1, without success, which is why I went with Mandriva. After booting up with SUSE 9.1...somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes later, the entire system would lock up, forcing me to reboot by turning off the power switch. First, the ethernet connection would freeze...then, almost immediately, everything would freeze. I couldn't find any help resolving the issue. Anyway, I then installed Mandrake and it worked without a hitch. zenarcher

Looking at the link below, I'm wondering if SUSE 9.3 Professional might be the way to go with RAID. At least what I've read doesn't look like it's as complex as what I've been trying to do in Mandrake. http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/doc/s...ystem.raid.html Anyone have any thoughts on this? zenarcher

Hey Danleff, Yes, you are talking about RAID1. There are different RAID configurations and RAID1 mirrors, so you actually have a backup. RAID0, which I am trying to do puts data on both drives...so actually, you are combining the drives (i.e. 80GB plus 80GB= 160GB. The concept is that the drives can access data much more quickly. Of course, if either drive dies, everything crashes with RAID0. If I'm understanding you correctly, concerning the two drives, I think I can do this. I can partition the first drive (sda) as I normally would...deciding on my partition sizes, etc. Then, I can partition the second drive (sdb)...using the entire drive size as ./home (probably Ext3) and when I install Mandriva, everything for ./home will automatically go to the second drive (sdb). I wouldn't have to do anything special, beyond just naming the partitions. Is that correct? zenarcher

Dan, you are right. I've searched everywhere.....several other people have searched...and the only information available is from the source of mdadm. Unfortunately, there is no specific information for using mdadm with Mandriva that I've found. I'd switch to SUSE Professional, if I could find information on that. If all else fails and I cannot set up a SATA RAID0 array, I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to use the second hard drive for /home. If so, I'm not exactly sure how to do that, starting with a fresh installation of Mandriva. zenarcher

I appreciate the thoughts and help, guys. Maybe I can post here what Blackpage has given me and someone will have an idea. He was sure there might be some errors, but the last email said he had it all worked out, which I will include, after the information he has given me and documented......Here is what he gave me so far: SATA RAID0 WITH MANDRIVA USING MDADM PARTITION DRIVES DRIVE 1 Partition Size Name Type Name 01 10G / Ext3 sda1 02 1G Swap Swap sda5 03 69G /home Ext3 sda6 DRIVE 2 Partition Size Name Type Name 01 1G Swap Swap sdb1 02 79G /home2 Ext3 sdb5 mdadm -C /dev/md0 -l 0 -n 2 /dev/sda6 /dev/sdb5 mkfs -j /dev/md0 mv /home /home.tmp mkdir /home chmod 755 /home mount /dev/md0 /home # if there is anything worth keeping in /home.tmp then cp -a /home.tmp/. /home rm -r /home.tmp echo "/dev/md0 /home ext3 defaults 0 2" >> /etc/fstab # edit /etc/fstab and make sure it looks "right" mdadm -Db /dev/md0 | sed '/devices=/d' >> /etc/mdadm.conf # edit /etc/mdadm.conf and make sure it looks "right" NOTES: You would need to be sure that "mdadm -As" or similar is run by the rc scripts. I don't know exactly how Mandrake decides whether to do that or not. Hunt around in /etc/init.d to see. IF you aren't confident in judging if fstab and mdadm.conf are "right", feel free to email them to me and I will look. Well, we have e.g. these two lines ... echo "/dev/md0 /home ext3 defaults 0 2" >> /etc/fstab # edit /etc/fstab and make sure it looks "right" The first line utilizes the "echo"-command which normally "echos" text to the console. By using the "I/O redirection" operator (">>") you can tell echo to not use the screen as output but the file "/etc/fstab" instead. In other words: Output to screen is redirected. The ">>" operator means that the string "/dev/md0 /home ext3 defaults 0 2" is to be appended at the very end of /etc/fstab. Please, do take care that you really use ">>" and NOT ">" instead, as ">" means "replace content in file" and not "append to file". What Neil meant by "check if it looks right" is just to make sure that appending the string with echo and I/O-redirection has worked properly. Ad instructions and setup: Well, the setup as described here is fairly similar to our setup with one exception: The operating system's partition (that's where /usr, /sbin, /bin and all the other OS relevant folders are) is not being RAID-ed. But just setting up /home is good enough for starters, and if you remember: I was not all too fond of doing a RAID-0 on the system partition neither So from my point of view the setup and instructions look quite allright so far. About /etc/init.d and rc-scripts ... If you recall, we've been at that point too when I was telling you in one post that I'm not sure if you need to add a startup script to make the RAID-volume persistent and available automatically at boot time. This is where RC-scripts are needed ... Lean back and relax, as this can get sort of lengthy Fact 1: Every Linux distro, and therefore Mandriva too, has a so called "startup folder". This top-level startup folder is called "rc.d" and resides in "/etc/rc.d" Fact 2: During startup every Linux flavor runs through different levels of initialization which are called "runlevels". The different runlevels tell the system quite early what "mode" it should prepare. E.g. runlevel "1" means "preare for single user mode", runlevel "3" means "prepare for full multi user mode" and runlevel "5" e.g. will also prepare a multi user mode with the X-GUI available. You can check what runlevel Mandriva is running by opening a console and entering the command user@box# runlevel and the output of this command should be something like ... N 5 which tells us that Mandriva is in runlevel "5". So much for the runlevel-basics. Fact 3: "S" and "K"-scripts If you peek around in "/etc/rc.d" you will find a flock of subfolders ... rc0.d rc1.d rc2.d . . rc6.d As you can guess: These folders correspond to the runlevels. If you peek into one of these folders, let's say "rc5.d" you will find all the scripts that actually handle the starting of processes that are used for this runlevel. I don't know what scripts exactly Mandriva adds to the various rcX.d-folders, but that's not so important now. What you will see in e.g. rc5.d is a list of files like this ... S10syklogd S20network S22portmap S23xinetd and so on ... It's not important now WHAT commands are actually launched here, and it's also not imortant if the numbers at the beginning of the filenames ("Sxx") correspond to your entries. The secret is a very simple one: "S" stands for "START" and the following number determines the sequence in which the scripts are launched. In the above example "sysklogd" is started BEFORE "network" as it has a lower number (10) than "network". You will also mention that each entry is only a symbolic link to a script that actually is stored in "/etc/rc.d". In other "rcX.d"-folders, e.g. in "rc0.d" and "rc6.d" you will also find files named like this ... K25mysql K30sshd etc. etc. Yup, you're right, "K" stands for "KILL". At this point Linux reveals that it has a crush for Blood, Sweat & Tears as it obeys the rule "What goes up must come down" quite strictly In the above example the database "MySQL" is shut down, as is the SSH-daemon. That's the whole thing behind startup and kill-scripts. They ensure that needed daemons and processes are started at boot time (the "S"-scripts) and properly killed/stopped when the system goes down again (the "K"-scripts). A lil summary: If there a rcX.d-folder that correspond to the runlevels we can extrapolate the following info: rcX.d-folders with "S"-scripts are used at boot-time. From this we know that the runlevel that corresponds to the number of the respective rc-folder (e.g. "rc5.d") is one the system enters when it starts up. rcX.d-folders with a majority of "K"-scripts indicate a runlevel that is entered when the system shuts down (either shut-down or reboot). I said "majority" above cause it can happen that a rcX.d-folder may containa "K"-script even though the respective runlevel would not make the system shut down. Some Linux distros (Debian e.g.) use runlevel 2 for "console only" mode. In this case the rc2.d-folder might contain a "K"-script for graphical UI managers, as these are not needed in console mode. An entry in "rc2.d" like "K80kdm" is quite commonplace and only means "shut down KDM". Many facts, I admit, but we're already through with it So what does that mean for your RAID setup? To tell Mandriva that it should start the RAID-volume, you need to add a startup script in the folder that corresponds to the proper runlevel. For Mandriva this folder should be "rc5.d". The things to do are as follows: 1: create a startup script in /etc/init.d (or should this be /etc/rd.d) 2: make a symbolic-link to that script in "rc5.d" Ad 1: open a text editor and enter the following text ... #!/bin/bash mdadm -As Save this to "/etc/init.d/startraid". (or should this be /etc/rc.d/startraid) Ad 2: Open a console and change directory to the folder "rc5.d". Once you're in this directory make a symbolic-link to the "/etc/init.d/startraid"-file (or should this be .etc.rc.d/startraid). Before we come to the actual command a few things are to be considered: 1: you need the RAID volume to be started => that means the link-name will start with an "S" 2: you need it to start quite early => that means the number after the "S" should be low, not too low, but in all cases lower than the number of any script that launches the GUI (as the GUI already needs the config files from the /home folder which is on the RAID volume) 3: we should make the symbolic link "relative" and not absolute => that means we should use "../../"-syntax to point to the startraid-file instead of entering the "hard" path Points 1 & 2 are explained yet, and for point 3 just have a look at the links in rc5.d. Type "ls -l" in the console to view the contents of "rc5.d" ... output should be ... [blah ... file stats] S20network -> "../../network" So whatever "../"-combos you see, we will use the same. I assume there is just a single "../"-block for the next command. Still being in rc5.d type this command ... user@box# ln -s ../startraid S22startraid As it goes for the number: Launch the RAID manager quite immediately after network if this is possible. So whatever number is not taken after "SXXnetwork", choose that. That should be it. FINAL THINGS: Mandriva expects mdadm.conf to be in "/etc/madadm". Make a symbolic link to ensure the file is found. Check if you have an "mdadm"-folder already in your /etc-folder. If not create it and enter the following command in the console ... user@box: ln -s /etc/mdadm.conf /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf We need to do that as the auther of mdadm suggested this command ... mdadm -Db /dev/md0 | sed '/devices=/d' >> /etc/mdadm.conf which adds the the sed-filtered output to /etc/mdadm.conf. That's absolutely OK and we only ensure that /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf points to the proper file. Following this information, I received an email from Blackpage, indicating the following: Heya Stan I'm pleased to inform you that I spent the last two days fiddling around with mdadm-based RAID in Mandriva 10.2. Everything went peachingly well (with some exceptions), and so I'm currently processing around 50+ pics that will be used to demonstrate the tasks necessary to build a RAID volume. As soon as I have finished the HTML-pages I will inform you, and post launch a new thread on linuxcompatible where we can discuss the matter further in front of the community. As a lil teaser: the first part will demonstrate a RAID-0 volume hosting the "/home" folder. I plan to extend this by transferring the "/usr" folder to the RAID volume too. Some folders can't be transferred in Mandriva (e.g. "/lib") as the references needed by the operating system seem to a) not like symbolic links (e.g. /usr -> /raid/usr) and rely on "early binding" which means that parts within /lib are needed before "mdadm" is/can be started That is not really a problem as RAID-0 volume offers the most meat with dynamic data, which normally resides in the various directories under "/home".

I was just wondering if anyone knows or has heard from one of the regular forum posters, "blackpage." He was helping me with setting up a SATA-RAID array for my Mandriva Linux. It was a pretty complex little exercise, using mdadm. Anyway, blackpage had even set up a Linux box and gone through the exercise himself, to make sure we were getting it right. Along with posting here about the topic, he had also been sending email. I received an email from him about a month ago, saying that he had it all worked out and was making a step-by-step screenshot page for accomplishing the task. He was planning on letting me know as soon as that was completed, posting the information here and having the info available on a website, as well. He was quite excited about having it working corectly. Anyway, I have not heard from him since and he has not responded to email. Likewise, I haven't noticed any posts here in the forum from him, since that timne. So, I was just wondering if anyone knew him, as I am concerned about him. Regards, zenarcher

I'm not sure, but that is certainly a possibility. I just thought perhaps someone on the forum knows blackpage and might have an idea as to what happened to him. Thanks for the suggestion! zenarcher

I had the same problem with SUSE. I reinstalled several times and continued to have the same problem. I finally installed Mandrake and haven't had a problem since. I was never able to find the source of the problem with SUSE. Hope you do better at finding a solution! zenarcher

I seem to have created quite a challenge for myself, being new to Linux and completely unfamiliar with RAID, at the same time. I really need some help here. I have installed a pair of SATA hard drives in my system (WD800JD) 80 Gig 7200 RPM. My motherboard is an MSI KT6V, using the VT8237 for RAID. I have 512M of RAM. I read on another forum that many people were having a problem, as that specific WD hard drive could not be recognized by the VT8237, I seem to be fortunate, in this respect, as both were immediately recognized and properly identified. I was able to set them up just fine. I want to set them up as a RAID0 array. After doing so in BIOS, I attempted to install Mandrake Linux Powerpack 10.1. This would not work, but I found that I must disable APIC in the BIOS. After doing so, all seemed well. I then booted the computer with the first Mandrake disk, to install. Immediately, Mandrake installed the drivers for the VT8237. The install process went along just fine...everything appeared normal. At completion of the install, Mandrake advised me to remove all disks and reboot, which I did. The system went through the BIOS fine..but when Mandrake goes to start, rather than starting, I merely see about half a screen full of the number "9". Nothing more. I then went back and deleted the array and created a RAID1 array in the BIOS. I reinstalled Mandrake, VT8237 drivers installed fine, as did the disks. At the end of the install, I removed all disks and rebooted. Mandrake works fine! No "9's" on the screen. Apparently, it works fine as a RAID1 array, as the problem is only with the RAID0 array. Looking at the partitions when in RAID1 array, the first disk shows all the partitions. If I move to the second tab, the second drive is there, but no partitions appear. So, not knowing anything about RAID, I'm wondering if it's actually a mirror, as it's supposed to be in RAID1. Anyway, I'm totally confused. I am a Linux noobe and even less skilled in RAID. This is my first attempt with RAID. I really would like to figure this out and use a RAID0 array. As I say, in the BIOS and RAID setup, both hard drives appear...are named and serial numbers, size, etc. all are correct, so I believe they are working okay. Any help would really be appreciated!

Hey blackpage, Thanks so much! I suppose I'd have had to check for PM's. I've never received one, so I suppose I didn't look!!! I'll stay tuned!! zenarcher

Just wondering if blackpage has had a chance to try the SATA RAID configuration we were working on yet?? zenarcher

I have always used AMD processors with Mandrake..10.1 and 2005LE...with MSI motherboards. I've never had any problem with recognition, using that. Of course, I haven't tried an AMD 64 processor yet...but just wondering if you are installing the Mandrake 64 bit system or the 32 bit?? zenarcher