MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Nov 10, 2006 10:42:10 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Nov 10, 2006 10:42:10 GMT -5
Just made my conversion to linux. Using the Debian Linux system. I'm brand new to this, is anyone else out there using it? This is going to take some getting used to.
Ron
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Linux
Nov 11, 2006 3:42:47 GMT -5
Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Nov 11, 2006 3:42:47 GMT -5
Hi ron,
I have often though of changing to Linux, especialy now when MS have this checking out your system thing, can you give us some Idea of the difficulties you are experiancing , ?
Thanks
Jack Yorkshire UK
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Linux
Nov 11, 2006 13:23:54 GMT -5
Post by akansan on Nov 11, 2006 13:23:54 GMT -5
I haven't used the Debian Linux, but I have played some with Knoppix. what sorts of problems are you experiencing?
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Nov 12, 2006 11:38:03 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Nov 12, 2006 11:38:03 GMT -5
Sorry, I've been off-line for a while. Had a snow/ice storm and I didn't have any power for some time. Think maybe it's time to get a generator. This happens a lot here.
Getting used to the commands and how to use them is a big thing. Windows doesn't let you decide or determine anything, linux lets you do everything. I also installed this on my Gateway 700S system. It has two 120gb hard drives. I still have Windows XP on one drive and Debian linux on the other. Then I use a dual boot program to let me choose which one to boot into. Gateway, like all the other big computer builders, are famous for using proprietary devices in their systems. I have a Creative Soundblaster Audigy SB sound card, and it just happens to have a chip on it that doesn't show up on Creative's list of cards. What a surprise. Consequently, and can't get any sound with my linux system. I guess that's something that I will have to revisit later. I also haven't been able to get it to accept my HP 8200 scanner. I haven't given up on that yet though. I haven't tried to run any of my Windows programs yet, but I do have wine installed and that is supposed to let me do it. Hey John, I absolutely detest Microsoft! I long ago quit using anything of theirs, except the operating system. I use OpenOffice.org for my office suite, and I use a lot of open source software as well. Most of the open source software for Windows was developed from linux, so I'm already quite familiar with most of the software. I'll let you know how things progress.
Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Nov 13, 2006 15:09:30 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Nov 13, 2006 15:09:30 GMT -5
Well, things are getting better. Today I succeeded in getting my HP Photosmart printer recognized, including the flash card readers on it. Now I can load photos from my camera. Still working on that scanner. Ron
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Linux
Nov 13, 2006 17:13:32 GMT -5
Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Nov 13, 2006 17:13:32 GMT -5
Hi Ron
Thanks for the info Keep at it !!!!
Jack Yorkshire UK
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cuervo73
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2005
Posts: 185
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Linux
Nov 17, 2006 18:07:55 GMT -5
Post by cuervo73 on Nov 17, 2006 18:07:55 GMT -5
Hey Ron, I'm a Linux guru.. it's what I used at work and now that I'm retired, I use it here at home. Don't hesitate to give me a holler if you need help. I am going to Michigan tomorrow for a week. I'll be staying in Kalamazoo or Portage actually. You are up in the Northern part of the state, no? I will be taking my laptop with me and will be checking mail and such from the free wifi coffee bars there. ed/cuervo
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Nov 18, 2006 18:30:33 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Nov 18, 2006 18:30:33 GMT -5
Hey Ed, yeah, I live up in the north central part of the state. I was completely new to this, so I was really starting from scratch. So far, I really like it. I've worked out some problems, and I'm still working on some more. I see now that Debian is about to come out with a new release that will address most of my problems. I think that I'm complicating things further by having a dual boot setup. I had a fix for more of my issues, but I could no longer access my Windows hard drive. Can't do that for now. I you used linux at work, you were really lucky. I really believe that linux is the way to go. I am also a big fan of open source software in general. I don't have any problem sharing any of the knowledge that I gain from working with this. Windows has stiffled and restricted the growth of computer software. It's time to slay the beast!
Okay, I'm done ranting. Ron
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cuervo73
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2005
Posts: 185
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Linux
Nov 22, 2006 10:50:00 GMT -5
Post by cuervo73 on Nov 22, 2006 10:50:00 GMT -5
Ron,
when you say that you can no longer access your Windows drive, did you mean that a) you can no longer boot into the windows partition? or b) you can not access the Windows partition/files when you are booted into Debian? I might be able to help you fix that.
I was explaining to my father-in-law about this RTH, and all, and told him about how you make canes from the wood you collect around your place... and he said that sassafrass wood makes good canes. ever try that kind? That grows in the woods around Kalamazoo.
I am sitting here in Portage, MI in a little wifi lounge at a place called Panera Bread. nice place.. better than Starbuck, I think. We don't have Panera back home in Albuquerque.
ed/cuervo
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Nov 22, 2006 16:27:47 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Nov 22, 2006 16:27:47 GMT -5
Hey Ed, I would love to do Sassafras, but I have been unable to find any here as of yet. I'm always looking though! I couldn't boot into Windows. I have both systems on separate hard drives, and linux wouldn't recognize the other drive no matter what I did. I had grub installed on the windows drive, which is my default drive. I no think that I know how to fix that problem, but I'm going to hold off for just a little while. Debian is supposed to come out with a new release by the end of the year which should fix most of my problems for me. My main problem seemed to come from trying to install a new kernel. I had made up a new kernel that included some thing that I needed, and that's what caused my booting problems. The new release will have 2.6.18 kernel which should have all the things that I needed. I love it anyway. Using it probably 90% of the time now. I can see myself dropping Windows completely if this new release is what they claim it is going to be. I've been doing this work on my old Gateway 700S computer. It has an Intel motherboard with Rambus ram. Originally had a 2.4 GHz processor, but I just upgraded that to a 3.06 GHz. That's as big as I could go with a 478 socket board. It's also the only board of that series that has HyperThreading. They are out of production, so I had to get that chip on eBay. Boy was that a fiasco! But that's another story.
Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Dec 19, 2006 18:45:55 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Dec 19, 2006 18:45:55 GMT -5
Haven't updated this in a while, but I'm still hanging in there. I'm using linux about 95% of the time now. I love it! Still waiting for the new Debian release that was scheduled for December. That should have the fixes for the last of my problems.
Ron
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spikeict
fully equipped rock polisher
Alba gu bra! In Promptu
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,413
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Linux
Dec 19, 2006 20:52:28 GMT -5
Post by spikeict on Dec 19, 2006 20:52:28 GMT -5
Keep us (ok me) posted. I am a old time DOS user and "Windows doesn't let you decide or determine anything" drives me crazy. I have both of the Linux versions you mentioned on cd's but want to build a clean system before I install either one.
If you are familiar with the old program Qemm, my buddy and I would open it up and set around for hours saying things like"Ok, put a 5 four spaces to the left drop down 5 lines and insert a 7, we did things that I still don't know how they worked at the end but they did.
I hate seeing the HD activtity light come on and have no idea why. In my book the only decent windows was: Windows for work groups 3.11.
To conclude, I need more than 5 mins at a time to do a operating system change. I don't have that right now but as soon as I do I am wading in hip high, so any help between now and then ......
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cuervo73
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2005
Posts: 185
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Linux
Dec 24, 2006 3:06:54 GMT -5
Post by cuervo73 on Dec 24, 2006 3:06:54 GMT -5
Ron, sorry I haven't gotten back to follow up with this thread. I wanted to respond about what/how to check out if the boot setup was OK for dualboot windows and Debian. But, I don't use Debian and am not sure what boot loader they use: grub or LILO. So, when I got back to albuquerque, I tried to get a copy of debian from another Linux bud here and do an install so I could talk to the boot setup issue more intelligently. So far, I haven't gotten Debian installed. bunch of dumb problems, if you know what I mean. I have Linux running on 4 boxes here, all oldies [from a 450 MHz up to 1.7GHz fastest one]. I run RedHat 7.3, RedHat 8, Fedora Core 4, CentOS 4.2 and Mandriva 10.1 on the various boxes. If you really want to boot/salvage the Windows stuff on that dualboot box, what I would do for starters is run "fdisk" to see what is on there.. see if fdisk recognizes a valid Windows partition or not. If it is not recognized, then you will probably never get anything off it ever. If fdisk sees the Windows partition, then try to mount that partition under Debian and check the boot files. As far as the LILO/grub boot stuff, look under /boot and if there is another directory called "grub", then it uses grub for booting. Look next for a file /boot/grub/grub.conf Edit that file and check if Windows information is in there. If not, you need to run grub-install to fix the missing Windows info. You may need to google on the grub howto for details. hope that helps. ed/cuervo
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Dec 24, 2006 9:57:25 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Dec 24, 2006 9:57:25 GMT -5
Hey Ed, thanks for the info. Debian uses grub. I have my two operating systems on separate hard drives, and I couldn't get grub to see the other hard drive that had Windows XP on it. That happened after I installed a revised kernel. I've done a reading on grub, and I have that problem solved now. I haven't done any more work on changing the kernel due to the fact that the new release that is supposed to come out any day now, has what I need already set up. I've had to do a lot of reading and trial and error work to get used to using the command line. That's getting a lot better and I can make the system do most anything that I want now. My current version of Debian also will only run OpenOffice 1.1 and I really prefer the 2.0 version. The new Debian release will fix that as well. It's kind of funny, I can hardly stand to use the Windows XP OS any more. Hopefully I can scrap the whole dual boot business in the near future. Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Jan 10, 2007 9:06:05 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Jan 10, 2007 9:06:05 GMT -5
Well folks, I've developed a sinus infection that then dropped into my lungs. While I was in the midst of a fever (yeah, I'm blaming it on the fever! ) I did something incredibly stupid. When all was done, I completely lost my hard drive, and all that was on it. I also had kept putting off backing up anything, so it's truly all gone. Like I didn't know better, developing a new operating system and not protecting myself from these possibilities. Good news is, it has given me a chance to start my linux experience all over again, and this time I actually know a little bit about it before I start. Of course, since I'm typing this, you know that I've gotten back up and running. Did things a little different this time, and my system is back up to what it was before, plus my sound card now works! Only thing left that I haven't resolved now is my scanner. I use a HP Scanjet 8200, which uses a different chip that most other scanners. Give me time, I'll figure this out as well. Of course, now I'll keep my data backed up properly! (Famous last words!) Ron ps. Finally snowed here. I've got about 2 inches on the ground. Big deal! Two inches in the forest doesn't even cover the ground. I'm surprised really, I thought that once I was sick, it would snow like crazy!
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Jan 12, 2007 9:23:44 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Jan 12, 2007 9:23:44 GMT -5
I'm having a tough time lately. First, my hard drive, now my dsl was down for a day and a half. Still not working right. Running slow.
Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Jan 12, 2007 18:47:33 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Jan 12, 2007 18:47:33 GMT -5
Well, my dsl wasn't up for very long. Now I'm down for the count. Apparently there is some hardware down in St. Louis that has gone bad. So now I'm back to dial-up. I'd almost forgotten how slow this was. I think that maybe I'll just wait for my dsl to come back up next week.
Ron
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Linux
Apr 7, 2007 14:58:17 GMT -5
Post by MichiganRocks on Apr 7, 2007 14:58:17 GMT -5
Just thought I'd update this thread for those who were interested in my progress. Updated to Debian Etch (Version 4), which is still under development, but I couldn't wait any longer. Everything works now, even my HP8200 scanner. No longer any reason to use Windows at all. Ron
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