kmack

Not sure, but assume you might be running KDE or Mdk DM. You can do some power mgmt in KDE via K--CONFIGURATION--POWER CONTROL--DISPLAY POWER CONTROL. You might want to disable DISPLAY POWER MGMT and / or set your suspend times differently. Think that might be what you need. man:apm and man:apmd have some command info that you might need to be use to make permanent changes too.

Good! Glad it worked for you. The latest patches seem to really have improved the urpmi and update tools! They are much more stable than the original 9.1 versions. :) You can also learn more about the updates via the security announcements. They have a "reference" that gives a URL for each update that connects it to a developer's website or some security website that will help you see the details for the particular update.

Nice thing about Mdk update is that you can click Max Info on the GUI window, and then before installing each package you can read about it and choose whether you want to install it. It has most of the details about the "multiple bug fixes" except for minor things that they don't bother to explain. I would highly recommend using the update on a regular basis. Subscribe to the email updates from the security group at www.mandrakesecure.net to get an email annoucing the security updates, or watch for the update security announcements that are mirrored here on this board. (Aru, thanks for that!) The key to using Mdk Update is to learn to use it when you have a good connection and if it doesn't go thru, try switching to another mirror. Also you can look at the various mirrors and see which ones are up to date.

If only Neo was here to interpret that for us! :roll:

[kelly@localhost kelly]$ ls -l /dev/misc/rtc crw-r----- 1 root root 10, 135 Jan 1 1970 /dev/misc/rtc Steve, Sorry I am slow to respond. Just back from lunch here in SE Asia. Sounds like a pain of a problem there. Hope you get it sorted out. Sounds like you have a good grip on it though! Yes, I sort of figured Olson's tutorial didn't apply but wanted to add it for the sake others that have the more common variety problem and had not found it yet. :wink:

kelly@localhost kelly]$ ls -l /dev/rtc lr-xr-xr-x 1 root root 8 Jun 2 2003 /dev/rtc -> misc/rtc Is that what you need? I don't think this is related to your particular problem, but DOlson has a nice tutorial on the clock problem. The default settings leave nntp and hw clocks fighting for control and it is very irritating. http://icculus.org/~dolson/mdkxp/?c=ttrls/clockfix

Kind of interesting... I checked my info and it was 72 x72 then I added in the screen size as suggested and restarted X. With the new settings from my Viewsonic E53 monitor manual I got 71 x 71!!! :roll: So I went back to my old settings. What's up with that I wonder? This is a 15 in. monitor and to make things decent, I stuck with 800 x 600 resolution. It doesn't looks as sharp as I would expect though. My 15 in laptop screen is way better looking. :-)

James, I think the planetmirror site is in Australia. Give it a try. ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/mandrake-iso/i586

I upgraded via Mdk Update and had flash problems with Mozilla too. I had added the libmozswfdec.so plugin and it caused the regular flash plugin not to work. Once I deleted the libmozswfdec.so plugin my flash returned to working condition. Hope this helps someone else with flash problems after the upgrade. :)

Not sure this is applicable to your problem, but I have had a hardware related problem that prevents a reboot. It has been there since ML 8.2 and it still happens in 9.1. Works under Win98SE but every version of ML has not been able to reboot cleanly. :roll: So-- I just shutdown and restart rather than hang the computer. It takes longer, but avoids the hassle that doesn't seem to be overcomeable. Mobo here is Abit KR7A133 Athalon XP 1600

Ditto what tyme said: One of the biggest challenges you'll face in the switch is finding documentation. I don't think there is an easy answer. You'll get good at using Google and searching for key words + linux! :roll: I get lots of help from the documentation included with 9.1. It is located on KDE desktop at K--Documentation--HOW TO's ENGLISH. Some of it is outdated, but most will apply. (The 9.1 manual is not yet released unless you are a Mdk Club member. But the 9.0 manual is mostly the same.) You need to get comfortable with reading man pages for the commands and configuration files too. I like to use Konqueror and type man:whateverthenameis and read it there. I often find it helps me to print out the ones I really need to study or read carefully. The OLD DOCS link at the top of this page is one of the best overall sources I have found. http://icculus.org/~dolson/mdkxp/ has a section on command line comparisons between DOS and Linux that is interesting. http://sunsite.dk/linux-newbie/ is another basic site that I like for quick reference. Mostly I search this forum and lurk on a couple others to find what I need. Sorry I don't have a more precise answer than that...not sure there is one. Mostly it takes time, but I didn't become a power user on MS overnite either now that I think of it. I hope this info helps. :)

bvc: Once again thanks! I tried to find docs for the fc-cache -f command but no luck here. I found fc in my O'Reilly Linux in a nutshell but no joy on the fc-cache command anywhere else that I could find. So I took a leap of faith and trusted that you knew what was best. To be safe, I dropped out of X as I was concerned it might cause problems. Now I know... for the record, where can I find source for docs on fc-cache? I'm a bit strapped for time right now as I have deadline for a paper for a PhD class I am taking and I need to get focused on it. My heart's more on solving this problem, but it will have to wait a bit longer. Tomorrow I leave for a week long trip, and won't have this linux desktop with me so will be relegated to using my WinME laptop, and playing with Knoppix 3.2 CD for a time. Winmodem blues too...

Thanks bvc! I appreciate the file permission check and feedback. I tried the fc-cache -f by going to init-3 and root and running it. I then relogged in as a user and started x and couldn't see anything changed. I rebooted and the error still exists. Which font directories do you think I should delete? Do you mean the MS directories? or the /drakfont that is giving the problem? If I delete them, how do I reload them in Drakfont? Where would I find the drakfont files? Since I am basically running now with only a rare intermittent problem, I have been reluctant to do much surgery for fear of making things worse. Since I don't understand this as well as I should and haven't had time to really study it out I am moving slowly on this. From what I have read, this gets pretty technical and will take some time to work through! Sorry for some many questions... just want to get a handle on this before I try to do anything!

geldroma: Thanks for your input. I used MCC to import MS fonts and this is what I had afterwards. Wish I'd used texstar's rpm instead! I cannot figure out why it doesn't like the files in those directories... that is the problem. I think it might be a permission thing. [kelly@localhost kelly]$ ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/drakfont total 24 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 8192 Apr 13 01:58 ttf/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 16384 Apr 14 21:26 Type1/ [kelly@localhost kelly]$ ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/drakfont/ttf --SNIP-- -rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 45952 Apr 13 01:58 felixti.ttf* -rw-rw-r-- 1 root root 120552 Apr 14 21:26 fonts.dir -rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 54216 Apr 13 01:58 forte.ttf* --SNIP-- AND [kelly@localhost kelly]$ ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/ total 124 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 40960 Apr 13 07:03 100dpi/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 40960 Apr 13 07:03 75dpi/ drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Apr 14 21:26 drakfont/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Apr 13 07:02 encodings/ -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 102 Apr 13 07:02 fonts.cache-1 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 13 07:02 mdk/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 16384 Apr 13 07:02 misc/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 13 07:02 Speedo/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 13 07:02 TTF/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 13 07:02 Type1/ Could it be that the fonts.dir and fonts.cache-1 files have wrong permissions and cannot be used? I don't know why they are different? Can someone (with a good font server setup) please compare their permissions for these directories and files with mine and let me know if there is a difference? TIA! :)

Having occasional xfont server freezes that lock my computer up and require powerdown to recover. In troubleshooting I found the following error messages: # grep xfs /var/log/messages May 16 07:48:36 localhost xfs: xfs startup succeeded May 16 07:48:36 localhost xfs: ignoring font path element /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/drakfont (unreadable) May 16 07:48:37 localhost xfs: ignoring font path element /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/pcf_drakfont:unscaled (unreadable) I'm a bit timid to do much until I understand this more. Should the fonts be uninstalled/reinstalled or force install over the top? What would the experts recommend?

OK... by that definition I experience 1-3 Level 4 crashes per month... No response at all from anything, even ssh doesn't get a response from another machine on the network. Pull the plug time.

Since I am still relatively new to Linux, I think most of my crashes are probably due to the learning curve more than to OS problems per se. But hey, I am learning thanks to you all! I have a strange x font server issue that hangs everything about 2-3 times per month. (mouse stops responding, not able to use keyboard cmds -- total freeze requires powerdown) Always when using Opera and surfing. Haven't been able to track it down yet, but I think it is my settings somewhere and not the OS. Compared to the 5 crashes experienced PER DAY :roll: at times with my WinME laptop, I am very pleased with ML 9.1! 8) HW: Abit KR7A-133; Athlon XP 1600; 512mb ram; 40 gb 7200rpm Maxtor hd; Liteon 48x24x48 cdrw; Asus 52x cdrom; SB Live 5.1; Asus V3800 video 32mb TNT2

Aru: Yes, I tried the /dev/scd1 method and also have tried with the -v but it didn't make any difference. I checked the Asus website and there are no new drivers or firmware for this fairly new drive. I also did some googling but didn't see any specific reference to a problem like this. I'll just keep fiddling and see if I can figure it out. Thanks for taking time to give me some options! It really helps me confirm that I am not doing anything wrong in my use of commands, etc. (in this case anyway!) :)

Steve: Thanks for your input. Yes, I did a cd to return to the /home/kelly directory but I didn't close the konsole. When I tried the ~$ umount /mnt/scd1 the prompt just echos back and nothing seems to happen. When I do the same command sequence on the /mnt/scd0 drive it goes to a new prompt, but allows me to eject using either the eject cmd or the eject button. The /mnt/scd1 drive doesn't respond and I have to go to root to umount. At least I can unmount as root, but I would like to know why I cannot umount as user. (yes, same user that mounted is trying to unmount) I think aru is right, it maybe related to the Asus driver that is used. I had a bad drive and replaced it two days ago but in the past I could mount/umount with no problem. I have edited the fstab in the meantime, and wondered if I did something wrong there, so that is why I posted this question. :) Just tried again, here's code: [kelly@localhost kelly]$ mount /mnt/scd1 [kelly@localhost kelly]$ grep scd1 /etc/mtab /dev/scd1 /mnt/scd1 iso9660 ro,noexec,nosuid,nodev,iocharset=iso8859-1,unhide,codepage=850,umask=0,user=kelly 0 0 [kelly@localhost kelly]$ umount /mnt/scd1 [kelly@localhost kelly]$ grep scd1 /etc/mtab [kelly@localhost kelly]$ su Password: [root@localhost kelly]# umount /mnt/scd1 umount: /mnt/scd1: not mounted [root@localhost kelly]# eject /mnt/scd1 eject: unable to eject, last error: Invalid argument [root@localhost kelly]# What is odd is it apparently unmounts properly since it is no longer shown in /etc/mtab When I did the eject command, the drive ejects the cd, but I am getting an error message that it is "unable..." This is a minor annoyance that I can live with, but might be a bug in the driver or something that I may report to the ML team. What do you think?

First, THANKS to Aru and the rest of you that are writing the new FAQ's! They are great! Perhaps this should be in the FAQ section, but I hated to mess up the good posts there. Please feel free to move this if you desire. I am trying to learn my way around ML, so turned off supermount, and am having problems with my umount command. I am able to mount with no problem by using: ~$ mount /mnt/scd1 but when I try to unmount using ~$ umount /mnt/scd1 nothing happens except it returns me to the prompt line. The CDROM drive will not respond at all and even the manual eject button doesn't work. I have to go to root to umount and am not sure why this is happening. Why would I have mount but not umount permissions? I followed the instructions in FAQ IM-07 (though I am not getting any busy error message, just the cd is not able to be ejected by software or manual means) and then I went to root and gave the: # fuser -km /mnt/scd1 command my computer hung and I had to do the ALT+SYSREQ+R,S,E,U and finally got a response and got to another konsole (actually 2 windows were being displayed with extremely small fonts) and logged in as root again and halt -n to shutdown. Here's appropriate part of my /etc/fstab: /dev/scd0 /mnt/scd0 iso9660 user,iocharset=iso8859-1,unhide,codepage=850,noauto,ro,umask=0 0 0 /dev/scd1 /mnt/scd1 iso9660 user,iocharset=iso8859-1,unhide,codepage=850,noauto,ro,umask=0 0 0 Is the problem that I looked into the directories on the cd and didn't close the konsole and reopen it? I thought it was enough to just cd since all I had done earlier was a simple ls /mnt/scd1 My /mnt/scd0 works just fine both mount and umount commands, but this new Asus 52x CDrom is not. /mnt/scd0 is a cdrw and /mnt/scd1 is the slave and a plain cdrom drive. Can someone help me see what I am doing wrong? TIA!

Thanks for all the great input and feedback! I am trying to get past the "monkey see--monkey do" stage of being a Mandrake user. Up to now, I have pretty much just worked to get my system to run. Now I want to learn how to make it fly! :wink: One thing I am learning is that "--" and other things added by MCC are probably ML specific and might not be documented or even necessary in some cases. :roll: I admit that sometimes it is hard for me to read electronic documentation as opposed to a good old BOOK! I am old enough to not have grown up in the ebook generation. I have Linux in a Nutshell (O'Reilly) but it is sometimes too brief. I need to dig up a few more good references in print for backup. Again, thanks for the help. You all are great! :)

I haven't been able to figure out what the "--" in the fstab options is for. Can someone fill me in please? Where do you find that? I looked in manpages for fstab and mount and didn't see it. Example from Cannonfodder's fstab (after the user entry):

Cannonfodder (or others) I like the way you organized the fstab file into sections. It makes it easier to sort out. Question: Does that mean it is OK to redo it like that? I guess as long as the explanatory lines are commented out they don't figure into the mix, right? Also, is it OK to have the blank lines in between sections? I have been studying this and see that there IS an order to the line entries that is important, though options appear to be flexible as long as the major fields are kept properly. I see LOTs of deviation in some of the posts here. I also see that MCC does its own thing and adds "none" and other things that seem almost problem-causing at times. HOORAY for a good FAQ on this! I must have read 50 or more posts yesterday trying to sort out a problem I was having with CDROM not working. Add to that several hours of reading Man pages and one can get terribly confused. Your fstab is much nicer to read! :)

pmpatrick: Thanks for the other ideas! I'll reset my ram too. Power supply voltages seem ok, but could be an intermittent problem. I am in SE Asia and we do get some voltage swings but I have a voltage stabilizer on the line. :) I have taken the cdrom drive out and reset all the connectors a couple times. It is really odd. It works for a few minutes then dies. In ML 9.1 if I try to play a music cd, it won't autostart (no big deal) but does start if I manually start it via Kscd. If I stop it, it won't restart. Definitely wierd. I was able to mount it via /mnt/scd1 and could cd within the data cd, but when I tried to umount /mnt/scd1 got an error that according to mtab it was not mounted. Then I could not get it to eject and had to power down and manually eject it. Hmmm... definitely think it is a cdrom problem. I think I will replace the drive as it is in warranty. I built this computer last Sept so it isn't that old and the cdrom drive has not been used much at all. Again thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience! Sure helps me!

pmpatrick: Think part of the problem might be the cdrom drive. I fired it up in Win98 and it didn't work. I took it out reset the connectors and it worked. Got back in the case and it worked for a time, then when I tried it under ML 9.1 it is erratic. When I put a cd in the drive it doesn't always spin it up and I think it is hardware related. Think I will get another cd drive and see if I get more consistent results. Been reading all your posts re: fstab and settings and you really are active in helping people in that area. Thanks for your patience and time! I'll be sure and post if the new drive does the trick.