clevedonal

I like to shoot a few bad guys too, picked up Serious Sam Gold Edition in a PC world sale bin for a fiver. Runs fine on Win2k, - if you're interested let me know and we could strike a deal! al

Thank you Steve am i correct in assuming that fdisk /mbr will only erase/restore the master boot record and not all my stuff in my windows drive.... i think i'd get shot by the family if that were to occur

Thanks for the headgear advice.... the reflections from my shiny top can dazzle passers-by and cause traffic accidents.... maybe i'll get fitted for a rug ?? or invest in some "Anti-Glare Head Polish" from my local pate sundries store... the error is definitely in the BIOS boot sequence before win20000000 starts - halts on black BIOS screen... reading "verifying DMI pool data 01 01 01 01 01" <around 6 lines of this 01's then halt .... and the seagate is jumpered as 'slave' rather than "cable select" - i think it is telling me it wants to stay where it is.... and to cough for a new h/d - @£40 for a 7200 80gb from Ebuyer - i take it mandrake 9.1/ 9.2 will be happy in a home with such a lot of living space? thanks guys ....

I wanted to completely remove my 40gb seagate HD - (currently running in main system as 2nd IDE slave, with mdk9.1)- place it in a recently acquired 'cheap Pc', (see previous post) format it and do a clean install of MDK9.2 from a DVD version free with 'Linux format' mag. i shut down, took HD out, reboot, enter BIOS and confirm HD removal, BUT, into the boot-up sequence the machine locked up at "verifying DMI pool" - a stream of 01,01,01's. when i put HD back all is well... should i risk formatting the drive in situ before removal or will this confuse it further? removing it via windows' 'control panel' wont do any good will it? i tried changing 1st boot device, but that seemed to make no difference.... athlon 1.3 512mb 64mb nvidia ide 1: (M) IBM deskstar 46gb, Win2000 (S) creative dvd ide 2: (M) liteon cdrw (S) seagate barracuda 40gb mdk9.1 it is my intention to replace the seagate 40gb with another large drive as and when finances allow - i simply wanted to play with mdk9.2 on a stand-alone system, but i think i'll have to buy a new drive and stick it in the 'new'system.... all thoughts/suggestions/mockery welcomed!

Hi Peep it is an Athlon 750 (i forgot to add that) - adding extra memory looks like a pain... (guidance? HP suggest it will take only 2x128Mb, though on the machine case it says it can take 3x128Mb... and IS it particular about memory type/manufacturer?) - might well try loading MDK 9.2 on it soon then - thanks !

I have just aqcuuired an HP Pavilion 8695 - 20GB (upgradeable to 80GB), 128Mb upgradeable to 256Mb/LG CDRW/Samsung DVD/32Mb Nvidia/ onboard sound + nic/Dell 17" monitor... I have Mandrake 9.1 installed in dual boot (with Win2000Pro) on main house machine, but was wondering if any of you fine folks had suggestions as to what i could or should run on the Pavalion as 'secondary' machine in the house - Will MDK 9.1 run well... or my recently and cheaply acquired MDK9.2 DVD be a better(??) OS ?? i know this is a Mandrake board... but perhaps a SUSE or RedHat Distro be more suitable for the HP machine?? All suggestions/advice/abuse welcomed for a new but interested player!

Gowator i copied this info from e-buyer site: eNotes allows you to raise querys and track their progress. They are the preferred method of contacting ebuyer. Click here to send an eNote » Click here to find out more about eNotes » Phone 0870 467 0753 (Customer Support) Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm We do not accept telephone orders. This number is used to provide customer support only. i can only say that i have bought a few things from e-buyer (though i am sure my financial circumstances are different to yours) and i have found them to be helpful and communicative - i have recommended, and will continue to recommend them to UK based folks - obviously based on my personal dealings with them. I wish you success in future endeavours...

thanks for the link Darkelve (i know - i should have included it )

I was nosing around "E-Buyer" (www.ebuyer.co.uk) - a web based computer store (very good prices/choices for the UK market anyway), and i came across a ready built system with MDK9.1 pre-installed. This is the first time i have encountered a 'major' retailer doing this, in the UK at least... I just thought i'd let everyone know! (And NO - i do not work for them, but i do buy on a regular basis from them) al

Following on to my previous adventures... i now have to enter 'root' password in order to reboot computer... i am somewhat confused by this ... is there a way to safely tidy-up LILO to remove some of the 'unused' options? - i got around 8: linux/linux old/windows/windows 2... (etcetera. etcetera. etcetera) at least i'll be able to slide back down the learning curve al

Ixthusdan - thank you for your prompt reply :D . after a little trial and error - i am back up and walking in a mandrake stylee. I will attempt to install the nvidia drivers soon - hopefully with more success than before. I am not familiar with any command-line functions but - i AM learning (old dog / new tricks notwithstanding) Many thanks for your help! al (Wizdom is the domain of the Wiz)

Boys & Girls (as part of my MDK education....) Prior to an attempt to install MDK 9.2 from Linux Format mag - i thought i'd try and educate myself a little, by bringing my MDK 9.1 install up-to-speed... I attempted to follow Mottts' directions installing my Nvidia video drivers - but my print-out of directions was not as clear as it should have been - I downloaded/installed the drivers, but in attempting to 'save' my insertion, i think i inserted a space/character which is incorrect... which resulted in not being able to boot into GUI, but only command line startup. & not knowing what the original Mandrake drivers config looks like - i then attempted a 're-install' from my cd's thinking that would replace my damaged config file - resulting in LILO having more options to start windows & mandrake - which still only booted to command line. Q1: how would i restore the original mandrake 'nv' config to allow me to boot into KDE/Gnome to try again. (is there a 'standard' config following initial install?? is there a way to copy the current 'config' file for your amusement/entertainment/expert eyes?) Q2: how to restore MBR to show only one 'windows' + Mandrake. Q3: should i format the Mandrake drive then re-install, & a safe way to do this to allow windows to continue? Machine: Athlon 1300 46GB Win2000 40 gb ( 30GB Mandrake + 10GB fat 32 ) 512Mb NVidia Geforce 64mb SB 5.1 (thanks in advance for your time! ) clevedonal ( clevedonal@yahoo.com )

Thank you (again 8) ) Counterspy, I guess that means I have to keep up with pretty much each and every security update? I'll have a nose around in msec, and try to set it to 'standard' - is this likely to alter my internet connection? broadband via router (i had two pcs connected but only one at the moment - though this may well change, and my windows is configured through the router) and cable modem, hopefully protected in win98 mode by zonealarm... I had trouble inserting 'smilies' while on this board using mandrake, though no probs in win mode.... is this 'normal' ?

I am up and running (well limping at least) with my dual-drive/dual-boot, and sucessfully connecting, but i dont want no bad guys prying into my top secret info or remotely trashing my minutes of hard labour... i'll find guarddog and play with it (I have Zonealarm on my Windows install, and have reasonable confidence) - but any advice on (free!) Anti-Virus software? as i dont suppose my Mcafee7 pro for windows will work?

My thanks to counterspy, and to duir for their words of wisdom and encouragement - i bit the bullet, and slipped the penguin onto my new drive, and all seems well. :D Though my motherboard AV is complaining. My basic hardware seems ok, and internet access through router/cable modem is fine. I've not set up printer/scanner/cameras yet.... and noseguy does not co-operate! :roll: I will persevere, and may well seek further advice regarding AV+firewall info if anyone might point me? Many thanks folks! al

Thanks Duir.... I'll try to make sure that i'm not going to lose anything irreplacable, as i'll suffer if i trash my other halfs creations!

Thanks Counterspy, it is my intention to use all of my new drive for Mandrake, (that is reason for purchase) and keep Win & Mandrake on two completely separate drives, utilising the bootloader, but, never having 'bootloaded' before and having only recently installed windows (again), i'd obviously prefer if each left the other alone :roll: now that win has all its patches and security updates installed (again). My wife will be less than happy if my 'experimenting' goes T-U. al

I have a 3cd pack Mandrake 9.0, Athlon1300/256 ram/46gb... currently running Win98SE, just bought a 40gb drive and would like to install Mandrake on the new drive to play and learn as wife wont let me dump Bill's baby. I am totally unfamiliar with dual booting, and only have looked at ML9 very briefly.... how much trouble might i have, and any pitfalls? All advice thankfully welcomed.... al :lol: