jimf43

SimplyMEPIS no contest I'm running the new ProMEPIS on my laptop right now... Just gets better and better. Dapper Dan you should think about replacing your Red Hat

Well, as others here know, I'm quite biased. Mepis has tought me more about linux and given me a more stable desktop than anything else I've ever tried. What I think of the current SimplyMEPIS is here:http://mepislovers.com/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=10

Anyone planning to update their kernel to 2.6.8 or 2.6.8.1 should be aware that it 'will' trash your Reiserfs volumes. I've had this happen to me, and, I know of at least one other user who had the same happen to him.

Debian is the best way to go. Nothing beats the reliability of their packaging method for maintaining and upgrading your system. However, even though it's gotten better, Debian can still be a pita to set up. Mepis offers a great way to set up a really nice Debian complyant build with a minimum of hassle. You'll also be able to check your hardware compatability before you install.

Go to control center under kde components/file associations find the rm and ram entrys and make sure that realplayer is at the top of the list.

I'm too pragmatic to do a huge amount of compilation unless I have to, but, I can definately respect a person who does and still understands the overall reality of the situation Love your 'machine profile'

Ahh... You don't mean the bug in Mepis, you mean the bug in the promise pdc20276 controller... What a piece of crap. I gave up on mine after 10 bios changes and a lot of work. Never did work right in Window$ or Linux.

Since you are used to synaptic, as soon as you have Mepis installed, open a terminal, type: apt-get update type: apt-get install synaptic You're back in familiar territory. Mepis has the whole of the Debian repository available soo... It's a heck of a lot of apps ;-) It's set to pull from testing, but you can change that depending on how adventurous you are.

Originally posted by blackpage: Quote: Generally speaking: Many "mobile" notebook-gfx cards seem to be made of gremlins rather than transistors as their major intent seems to be to pull the jolly linux-user's nerves by making a lot ado and fuss. You got that right ;-). Mepis configuration has a whole special section for configuring sony VAIO laptops. The graphics card may not be th only problem.

Originally posted by Vermyn: Quote: MEPIS is an awesome pick, even though 2004.1 has a little bug or two in the kernel (which happens to prevent me from using it at the moment), Specificly what 'bugs'? Have you mentioned this on the mepis.org forum? Quote: but it is an excellent system. Any Debian distro will treat you right with apt-get. Apt-get will solve most of your packaging nightmares. Honestly, I'm still running SimplyMepis2004 RC4... This might be missing some eyecandy, but otherwise it's the same as the final. The kernel is a touch leaner, and, I've found it to be a real sweetheart. Also the latest versions of SimplyMepis do not have the option for a boot floppy RC4 still does. There will be a (final.final?) release about the middle of this month, but I probally won't change unless it's for something like the 2.6.8 kernel (unlikely).

Tough question... Overall Asus has a great reputation, but, I think that the board just hasn't been out there long enough for anyone to give a difinative answer. Looking at the extended spec, I'd be concrned about a number of the onboard features compatability. Here are the issues I see: PEG16X One slot * this is a new spec, and, although I wouldn' t expect problems, one never knows... Audio CMI 9880 from ICH6/R - High-definition audio * this is probably ok IDE RAID ITE 8212F. 2 ATA133 ports. Capable of RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1 and JBOD modes SATA 4 ports from ICH6/R and a further 4 ports from Silicon Image 3114R controller SATA RAID RAID0 and RAID1 from Intel Matrix Storage and RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, RAID5 (via software patch) and JBOD from Sil3114 * SATA is still problematic at times, but the controller is pretty mainstream, so, cross your fingers. Networking Dual Gigabit Ethernet Controllers. Marvell 88E8001-LKJ PCI-based controller and 88E8053 PCI Express-based controller * I don't have experence with this one and network cards/chips can be a problem. Networking Wireless Marvell 88W8310 two-chip 802.11g Wireless controller with on-board antenna port * this is the one that scares me. If network cards/chips can be a problem, then wifi can be a nightmare. I seriously doubt there is curent support. As you should know by now, hardware support in Linux can lag behind the latest and greatest. I'm pretty certain that, sooner or later, this will all be suported. Right now I'm not sure that you can get everything working. Without booting Mepis or Koppinx to verfy some of the features, I don't know how you can tell for sure. Of course that means that you bought the board ;-)

Have you thought about Mepis? Your laptop would be a good candadate for the new SimplyMepis2004.01. I also think that you would be a lot happier with the debian apt method of installing and upgrading apps. To my mind a superior way of doing things and certainly a lot less time consuming than Gentoo's. If you downloaded the iso, you could check hardware compatibility before you install.

I have used a number of different modems under linux. anything from internal hardware to winmodems with varing degrees of sucess. About a month ago Dapper Dan recomended an external hardware modem. Best thing I ever did. Totally compatably with both Linux and window$ and hardware based so it's noload on your cpu. The most suprising thing is that it's cheaper than comparable internal modems. Take a look: http://store.yahoo.com/i-software/107839.html

Originally posted by SoulNothing: Quote: hey guys i just wanted to pop in i havent had any issues whatsover in with linux and ntfs live cds or installs ive done it mostly with my hp and that was the only feature that worked it took some tweaking but i edited the ntfs partition accessed changed files etc. good tips though so far i really didnt do anything special but play round with the partitions No, we were talking about read/write of files on the NTFS volume from Linux. Read is fine, but write support is a very iffy proposition with a better than excelent chance of corrupting the volume or at very least the file. Write support is very experemental and may never be reliable. That's why a fat32 transfer volume is recomended. The seperate issue of resizing NTSF volumes has been covered in other threads. You may have sucess when resizing with qparted... then again, I wouldn't do it... ;-)

I don't think the SIS chipset should be a problem. As for the rest read my post on mepislovers.

Gee guy they're both 80mm. One is 1/4 thick and the other 3/8. Worst case you gotta source longer screws or just use the fan that comes with it. either way it's no heart attack.

Originally posted by danleff: Quote: One issue I found (probably connected to my install) is that I used kernel 2.6 and K3b locks up solid, to the point that the whole system locks (mouse and keyboard)- no reboot or kill is possible. Anyone else been having this problem? Haven't seen that one. Currently I'm running RC4 with the 2.6.7 kernel which has a little leaner kernel and still has the boot option. I've had no problems with it, and, other than the lack of some very specific hardware support (which i wouldn't use anyway) and eycandy like the bootscreen it's identical to the final. You might want to try that version. IMO it's a sweetheart. One problem on any of the recent ones, don't try to upgrade to any of the kde 3.3 apps or librarys yet. Still a lot of problems with those.

Hi Mel, Glad to see you again The problem with Linux and NTFS isn't the read but rather the write portion of the equation. I haven't seen any problems with read and copy of NTFS to a linux volume, but, you should have a fat32 volume for any transfer back to window$. Incidently, Have you tried the latest Mepis? I know we had talked about a while ago. You also might enjoy stopping over at http://mepislovers.com . I'm usually there.

Originally posted by danleff: Quote: The issue that I ran into, is that Mepis insisted on installing lilo or grub without an option to install on a floppy, This is currently impossible (too big) to implement. There is currently some talk of slimming down the kernel for those who must have a boot floppy.

Originally posted by the pom: Quote: What the heck is bash ? Bash is the command interpreter for the Linux kernel interface. Similar to the DOS shell or the Window$ command line.

Originally posted by martouf: Quote: you sure you want to go feed the goats in those shoes? 8) You're right, in that case he needs to stay with M$

Originally posted by martouf: Quote: before you make your decision, have a look here at the Mepis distro site. the choice of SuSE personal vs. professional means whether or not things like gcc (GNU C Compiler) are included without any additional steps. This is very dependent on whether or not you have broadband. With broadband, aquiring whatever apps/tools is very fast and easy. If you have 0nly 56k then it's an issue and you need the files on CD. MepisPro will be coming out soon with that option, but I've found it just as easy to get the apps from the Debian repository. Quote: are you intending to have a Win98-type web surfing system for your use? or a software development and/or LAN server system? if the former, then LiveCDs and 'personal' distro versions will certainly provide the means to further your education. We have people who are running Mepis/Debian for everything from a straight desktop to a pure server. It's all how you want to set it up. Quote: if you need an analogy: fitting you with a distribution is like fitting you with a shoe. The choice of shoe depends on what you intend to do with it. If you know the purpose up front, that may be true, but, starting with a vague idea... well???

SuSe Professional is only available as a 'paid for' version. I've been watching this thread, and, I am confused by your choices. The most experienced people Like Dapper Dan and danleff give you their best advise, but you totaly ignore them... Gotta go with the most hiped distro??? Go figure... If you want a distro that is something more than a bootable CD , has really good packaging management, and, is likely to give you a good first time user experience, then, I strongly advise you to try the new SimplyMepis 2004 final that has just come on the public mirrors. It's not for nothing that Mepis ranks #3 for this month on Distrowatch... Oh well, you're the one who has to live with his decision

Or you could try Mepis .

Originally posted by Whiskers: Quote: If I click on a link in instant messaging or something, it opens up mozilla as my default browser, where I would prefer it to open firefox instead. Also when you click on an email link in a browser it says " "error mailto is not a registered protocal" Are you using KDE or Gnome? In KDE you can set the prefered program to open html and the prefered mail client in the control center. I'd be suprised if Gnome didn't have something similar.