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I'd suggest using VMware server to play with the other distros
It is all nicely packaged up for Ubuntu, it should be listed in the Package Manager so the whole installation is merely point and click.
Then you can run multiple copies of Linux/Windows/whatever takes your fancy
It is all nicely packaged up for Ubuntu, it should be listed in the Package Manager so the whole installation is merely point and click.
Then you can run multiple copies of Linux/Windows/whatever takes your fancy
Another possibility is the Xen virtual machine system, which is the Linux native solution, available for Ubuntu in the standard distributions. Haven't had to use it myself, yet.
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The advantage of Grub is that it doesn't depend on any one of your distros. It will start anything, running as "native". It can be edited from anything that can access the partition it sits on. If that fails, it can be run from a floppy.
When one of my Linux HDs died, it was (of course) the one with the boot stuff and Grub on it. I dug out the Grub floppy and was up and running with the other two HDs in a minute or so.
When one of my Linux HDs died, it was (of course) the one with the boot stuff and Grub on it. I dug out the Grub floppy and was up and running with the other two HDs in a minute or so.
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Linux -Key Encryption -Cannot connect to net
Can anybody please help ?
Just been given dinky little laptop ASUS EEE PC 4G , which has Linux installed rather than XP .
If the local Wireless I/net is unencrypted , it works a treat , but if encrypted I cannot get connected even with correct Key entered .It goes to 'Pending' and stays that way.
Only thing I have noticed is that it only asks for key once , whereas XP usually asks for key twice.
Handbook gives instruction for converting to XP with M/soft disc etc - is this the only way out ?
Thanks.
Just been given dinky little laptop ASUS EEE PC 4G , which has Linux installed rather than XP .
If the local Wireless I/net is unencrypted , it works a treat , but if encrypted I cannot get connected even with correct Key entered .It goes to 'Pending' and stays that way.
Only thing I have noticed is that it only asks for key once , whereas XP usually asks for key twice.
Handbook gives instruction for converting to XP with M/soft disc etc - is this the only way out ?
Thanks.
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Posting from memory as I don't have my dinky little unit at hand, but right click on the connections icon (bottom right, looks vaguely like two computer screens if not connected, or shows a green power meter kind of thing if connected), then click on "connections" something or other (edit connections?), go Refresh if needed, then click on your desired connection and go Connect. The net result of this is that it should bring up the password input dialog--if you already know how to get to that, then do it the way you're used to.
Once you've got the password dialogue, it's really easy, all you do is type in your password. If you've typed it in correctly, then below your password input box you should see a message saying something like "valid WEP password entered" or some such, if you don't get anything, then change the encryption type option from the selection list (I only have two options, it's either one or the other)... that should bring up the aforementioned message if you've selected the right encryption type. Then you accept the dialogue and wait for it to connect. Click on "Details >>" to see if it's doing anything if it takes a long time.
HTH. I'll try to update a bit latter when I have access to my unit.
Once you've got the password dialogue, it's really easy, all you do is type in your password. If you've typed it in correctly, then below your password input box you should see a message saying something like "valid WEP password entered" or some such, if you don't get anything, then change the encryption type option from the selection list (I only have two options, it's either one or the other)... that should bring up the aforementioned message if you've selected the right encryption type. Then you accept the dialogue and wait for it to connect. Click on "Details >>" to see if it's doing anything if it takes a long time.
HTH. I'll try to update a bit latter when I have access to my unit.
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
One tip - I find it useful to have the key on a USB stick, so I can copy and paste it rather than (mis)typing it!
Given that the connection works when no encryption is used, I wonder if the problem is to do with a mismatch between what the Wireless Access Point (WAP) is configured with, and what the EEE is set up for - e.g. WEP vs. WPA or WPA2.
To state the obvious, the client must have the correct settings for authentication type (WEP / WPA), the encryption type (AES or TKIP) and key provision (Open or Shared for WEP, WPA or WPA-PSK - pre-shared key - for WPA) to match the WAP settings.
Also a common problem is that some WAPs can be set up with a password that generates the WEP / WPA key, but you have to put the key into the client, not the password - if you see what I mean.
SD
Given that the connection works when no encryption is used, I wonder if the problem is to do with a mismatch between what the Wireless Access Point (WAP) is configured with, and what the EEE is set up for - e.g. WEP vs. WPA or WPA2.
To state the obvious, the client must have the correct settings for authentication type (WEP / WPA), the encryption type (AES or TKIP) and key provision (Open or Shared for WEP, WPA or WPA-PSK - pre-shared key - for WPA) to match the WAP settings.
Also a common problem is that some WAPs can be set up with a password that generates the WEP / WPA key, but you have to put the key into the client, not the password - if you see what I mean.
SD
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Linux Advice Please?
Hi guys,
I come from an Win 95/98/2000/XP background. I am looking at spending a couple of weeks trying out Linux for some aspects of my work.
The applications I will mainly be using are Autodesk Maya and MatLab. My graphics card is NVidia.
Can anyone recommend a distribution of Linux that would be good for me? I am not averse to tweaking and command lines, but would like to spend most of my time in a GUI.
The biggest thing for me is that I need to triple boot this system - Windows XP, Windows XP x64, and Linux. I don't care what order I install the systems in, but I need a decent boot loader for the Linux system (I used a freeware distro briefly a couple of years ago and the install routine was hideous - it asked me to set various directory paths, but with NO explanation as to what those paths were...).
I'm not a computerphobe, but I do need things to be reasonably user friendly!
Any advice much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Martin
I come from an Win 95/98/2000/XP background. I am looking at spending a couple of weeks trying out Linux for some aspects of my work.
The applications I will mainly be using are Autodesk Maya and MatLab. My graphics card is NVidia.
Can anyone recommend a distribution of Linux that would be good for me? I am not averse to tweaking and command lines, but would like to spend most of my time in a GUI.
The biggest thing for me is that I need to triple boot this system - Windows XP, Windows XP x64, and Linux. I don't care what order I install the systems in, but I need a decent boot loader for the Linux system (I used a freeware distro briefly a couple of years ago and the install routine was hideous - it asked me to set various directory paths, but with NO explanation as to what those paths were...).
I'm not a computerphobe, but I do need things to be reasonably user friendly!
Any advice much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Martin
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For what it's worth I use (and like) SUSE which has quite a good gui, but I believe Ubuntu is the one recommended to try out for the first experience. Both can be downloaded off the web.
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
If you google the application and linux you should find the official line about what distros have been tested / certified or are formally supported for each application.
What distro you go for may depend on the level of compatability / support you actually need.
Fedora, Red Hat and Ubuntu would be other candidates.
Regarding boot order - you should always load Windows first, as XP is not considerate of other OS's!
I would suggest XP 32, XP 64 then Linux as the install order.
I assume you are au fait with file system selection - NTFS is still not officially and reliably writeable under linux.
SD
What distro you go for may depend on the level of compatability / support you actually need.
Fedora, Red Hat and Ubuntu would be other candidates.
Regarding boot order - you should always load Windows first, as XP is not considerate of other OS's!
I would suggest XP 32, XP 64 then Linux as the install order.
I assume you are au fait with file system selection - NTFS is still not officially and reliably writeable under linux.
SD
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You can also, just to play with it for a while, down load 'virtual box' and install it in windows and then install linux in that, it gives you a chance to play with it without altering your current set up, and you can switch between them without re-booting.
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Here's my £0.02, all its weight thrown behind Ubuntu - although on my rig I prefer Matlab Windows based as some crucial toolboxes used to lack Linux support and even if they worked now, don't fix what ain't broke. After saying bye to the venerable but aging Gentoo, we (is I & colleagues) migrated to a variety of systems, the favoured setup proving to be Kubuntu as a virtual machine in Sun VirtualBox, running on top of Vista or Mac. It's actually a very smooth running combo, with full networking and sound and bells and whistles one can only desire, and the switch between the two systems takes as much as a keystroke.
Even if you prefer the separate boot option, I recall that while installing Kubuntu, it offered to install as a standalone system. I'd be interested to see it work, do post your experience if you decide to go for it
Even if you prefer the separate boot option, I recall that while installing Kubuntu, it offered to install as a standalone system. I'd be interested to see it work, do post your experience if you decide to go for it
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I would also recommend trying the distro you choose virtually, and I believe Sun VirtualBox is the best choice for Linux rather than MS Virtual PC.
Ubuntu can be run from the Live CD or another good way to try it with complete functionality is installing it as a program within Windows.
Just insert the CD or run the iso on a virtual drive within windows and install.
Doing it this way means if you are not happy with it, you can just uninstall using add/remove programs.
The GRUB boot loader is very good and will handle all your os's better than The XP one.
There are some apps that can be installed in Ubuntu to control GRUB if you need to modify it without having to use a command line.
You will not be able to run all Windows programs in Linux, even using Wine, which is a Linux program designed to run Windows software.
It's often trial and error, but it is a good learning experience.
Ubuntu can be run from the Live CD or another good way to try it with complete functionality is installing it as a program within Windows.
Just insert the CD or run the iso on a virtual drive within windows and install.
Doing it this way means if you are not happy with it, you can just uninstall using add/remove programs.
The GRUB boot loader is very good and will handle all your os's better than The XP one.
There are some apps that can be installed in Ubuntu to control GRUB if you need to modify it without having to use a command line.
You will not be able to run all Windows programs in Linux, even using Wine, which is a Linux program designed to run Windows software.
It's often trial and error, but it is a good learning experience.
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The problem with Ubuntu is that it is very "prescriptive" about what it will let you do.
I found it frustrating after years of using Debian and Fedora. It kept telling me "No, you aren't allowed to do that". In the end, I stopped using it.
If you want flexibility and the option to do different stuff, and provided the software you want to use supports it, I'd suggest Fedora as the most capable and flexible.
I run several other distros on my "Linux toy" - Debian is friendly, Mandriva is good, SuSe is OK, Slackware is brilliant but needs more "geek input". Knoppix has saved my bacon a few times, but is essentially "Debian run from a DVD".
As SD says, while some distros can read and write NTFS, that's a high-risk scenario. Keep 'em separate!
I found it frustrating after years of using Debian and Fedora. It kept telling me "No, you aren't allowed to do that". In the end, I stopped using it.
If you want flexibility and the option to do different stuff, and provided the software you want to use supports it, I'd suggest Fedora as the most capable and flexible.
I run several other distros on my "Linux toy" - Debian is friendly, Mandriva is good, SuSe is OK, Slackware is brilliant but needs more "geek input". Knoppix has saved my bacon a few times, but is essentially "Debian run from a DVD".
As SD says, while some distros can read and write NTFS, that's a high-risk scenario. Keep 'em separate!
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Linux expert required please
Hi chaps. I admit I am completely new to Linux and now have an issue with my Eeepc.
Just downloaded and installed the latest updates, one of which was for Mozilla Firefox. After install I restarted the computer and can no longer run Firefox and so can't access the net on that laptop.
The error stated is:
<toolbar item id="search-container"title=&searchitem.title;"------^
Its an XML parsing error:unclosed token location blah blah blah
Would really appreciate any help. Is it like windows where you can uninstall a program and then install? If so how do I effect this if I can't open a browser?
Apprecaite any help thanx
Fowlup
Just downloaded and installed the latest updates, one of which was for Mozilla Firefox. After install I restarted the computer and can no longer run Firefox and so can't access the net on that laptop.
The error stated is:
<toolbar item id="search-container"title=&searchitem.title;"------^
Its an XML parsing error:unclosed token location blah blah blah
Would really appreciate any help. Is it like windows where you can uninstall a program and then install? If so how do I effect this if I can't open a browser?
Apprecaite any help thanx
Fowlup
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Hmmm - maybe (just maybe) I'm not the dummy I thought I was. Solved it. Got onto the mozilla website where installation instructions existed. Not exactly ideal instructions to the linux newbie but it worked....... Just adopted the standard philosophy of reinstall. What confused me intitially was that "add remove software" in linux doesn't exactly mean that!
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It took me a quite a while to actually get a downloaded program to install in suse and I'm still not totally sure how to do it correctly.
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'Tis a different skill set from Windows, and there are many variant ways of doing it.
The easiest is kpackage, which comes with Debian and its siblings.
Yum and Yumex (Fedora) ain't bad.
With those, you pick what you want from a list, click "Yes" a couple of times, and it installs. Usually it tells you that you need another 45 packages you didn't know about, but it will do them all for you.
The rest get progressively harder and more pernickety.
The real man with hairs on his mouse uses the DOS 1.1-like command set - with
./make-install "gee.whiz." #Fred $Nerk /a .../b $config-all
(or something very like that - it's a while since I felt so masochistic as to try).
One error, and it throws up its hands and you start again.
Suse, in my experience, is about in the middle.
The easiest is kpackage, which comes with Debian and its siblings.
Yum and Yumex (Fedora) ain't bad.
With those, you pick what you want from a list, click "Yes" a couple of times, and it installs. Usually it tells you that you need another 45 packages you didn't know about, but it will do them all for you.
The rest get progressively harder and more pernickety.
The real man with hairs on his mouse uses the DOS 1.1-like command set - with
./make-install "gee.whiz." #Fred $Nerk /a .../b $config-all
(or something very like that - it's a while since I felt so masochistic as to try).
One error, and it throws up its hands and you start again.
Suse, in my experience, is about in the middle.