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knoba

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Posts posted by knoba

  1. Hey Mitchell, sounds like you're having quite a time of it there. Well done for persevering - it helps everyone! :thumbs:

     

    I can only offer my opinions, experiences and suggestions here, as alternatives to you. I did not see them being fully mentioned yet;

     

    Consider getting another wireless card...? Physically remove the suspect item, do a fresh vanilla install, leave the box running, and see if it still freezes. If it does - it's not the card. Sometimes i go to maplins (good returns policy) and buy a new part and test it in my box to see if its going to work. If it doesn't work "well", i return it and tell them it wont work on my Linux box and get a full refund. B) Then i try a better one.

     

    I have a strict 'policy set' when i go shopping online for my systems - I try to pick the best, top brands, med - high'med models, for Linux (these 'will' all work extremely well with windows too), something newish but not entirely state of the art - tried and tested. I try to research the technology - find out what i will need and what are the best features for forward/backward capability. I check the Linux hardware lists, check the manufacturers website (no info? - email them. -> wont support Linux? - Bye!) google for reviews by other Linux users (no reviews? it's either crap or it's too new -> next!). Only then will i look at prices and find a way to budget for it. I know I've invested well when dual boots' fly and the units give me years of hassle free service, coping with old and new system(s) changes. The item also has a higher re-sale value when i need to prune away old stock.

     

    A few years ago i was running a PII vaio laptop with Mandriva-2005; a linksys pcmcia wireless card (ndiswrapper) & linksys wireless switched hub without any probs at all. I went on the road with the lappy, after that, for 6 months (continuous), jumping WiFi hotspots - it was sweet! I was so impressed with it i put one in my sisters acer laptop last year (Mandriva 2006) and that's been fine as well. (In my experiences with Linux) Hardware problems can be some of the most time consuming and frustrating issues. It's so damn fussy, but, you're worth it! ;)

  2. I'm no expert skyhawk, but i find what you have written very interesting.

     

    Here's my fstab from a 'bog standard' permanently installed Mandriva One 2007.1 Live CD - mostly an office machine.

     

    /dev/hda1 / ext3 defaults 1 1
    /dev/hda6 /home ext3 defaults 1 2
    /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy auto umask=0,users,noauto,iocharset=utf8,sync 0 0
    none /proc proc defaults 0 0
    none /tmp tmpfs defaults 0 0
    /dev/hda5 swap swap defaults 0 0

     

    Here's the one from my Debian Etch box - I added; sda (external usb hdd), hdb (internal ide) and shm (jackd) to it. - Used mostly for multimedia;

     

    # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
    #
    # <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>	   <dump>  <pass>
    proc			/proc		   proc	defaults		0	   0
    /dev/hda1	   /			   ext3	defaults,errors=remount-ro 0	   1
    /dev/hda6	   /home		   ext3	defaults		0	   2
    /dev/hda5	   /usr			ext3	defaults		0	   2
    /dev/hda7	   none			swap	sw			  0	   0
    /dev/hdb1	/mnt/hdd	ext3	defaults,errors=remount-ro 0	1
    /dev/hdc		/media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto	 0	   0
    /dev/hdd		/media/cdrom1   udf,iso9660 user,noauto	 0	   0
    /dev/fd0		/media/floppy0  auto	rw,user,noauto  0	   0
    /dev/sda	/mnt/sda	ext3	rw,noauto,user	1	0
    shm		/dev/shm	 tmpfs	 defaults	 0	 0

     

    I guess i just figured that the Mandriva 'live' install would require some very special considerations since it not only acts as a live install, but also has the option to install permanently. This feature of Mandriva Live blows my mind and i totally give big kudos to the developers and contributors for it. The computer and O/S does what it is supposed to do very well and i have resisted my desires to tweak it or experiment at all. If it ain't broke... ;)

     

    I hadn't noticed that i wouldn't be able to mount a cdrom in it manually. I will add it and have a better look around the system.

     

    I would like to know more though and thought i would register my interest on this discourse in your excellent thread.

  3. I don't know Ubuntu and I may be way off base here illia, but i found this on my travels. I do not vouch for it as i have never had to use it - but it's Linux - right? Maybe someone else can testify to its usefulness.

     

    Boot next time giving 'init=/bin/sh' as argument to the kernel, and reset the root password with the 'passwd' command.

    For lilo, at the prompt type 'linux init=/bin/sh', for grub, hit 'e' when you have you have selected the right entry in the menu).

     

    Or as another alternative perhaps, boot with a linux live-cd or a rescue cd, look for the partition in which your etc/passwd file is

    (cfdisk should give you insight into your partition table), and reset the root password by:

     

    mount /dev/hda1 /mnt

    (assuming the first partition on the first ide disk is your root partition, try hda2, 3, etc if the next step fails)

    chroot /mnt

    passwd

    <type new root password twice>

    reboot

     

    ...if nothing else it may help you build a solution.

  4. Thanks neddie~ (dumb questions - with a nut like mine? I wish!). I've only just really looked (Doh!) and Iiyama say the native resolution for the monitor is 1,8 MegaPixel (1680 x 1050). The whole reason I went for a good sized monitor, in the first place, is so it can be set to 1024x768 for pater. I guess I just want the best for him.

     

    I use a 17" set to 1280x1024 and think that's extravagant. :unsure:

     

    So... no anna the screen shots aren't scaled down. I have the monitor set on custom (with the proper sync ranges) as theres no easy entry in MCC for it. The video card is also listed as a 7900gt but this ones only 7600gst. I'm just not sure what changes will make a decent difference to the final output and I'm a little fearful of messing around too much with the hardware settings as I wont be here if he gets probs later on.

     

    I guess i'll point him here for support. All the folks here are so clever and generous (brings a tear to my eye and a smile too). :D

     

    I'll try this new "native mode" way of living that you both suggest and muck about with the fonts, styles et al. I may come back a different person though....

     

    Thank you all for your time and efforts you are much appreciated.

  5. Hello anna and thanks.

     

    Well... My dad has a bit of trouble with reading them and has said as much. He's so new to computers and the Internet (74 yo) so I'm trying to make his excellent venture into cyber space as enjoyable as possible. They kinda hurt my eyes after a while too. I think the letters and character shapes are not well defined and tend to be a bit blurry. I find my eyes trying to focus in and out to compensate like yo-yos' (even thinking about it makes me dizzy :D )

     

    I'm not great at Linux but I was wondering if anyone had a slightly more involved solution that I could learn something about and try to implement for him.

  6. Hi~

     

    The font rendering on my screen is very poor. I've tried all the usuals;

    Anti Aliasing

    Force DPI

    Changing fonts

     

    I thought I'd post up 'the best' screenshots. The system is for my dad. His eyesight isn't great even with glasses and a big screen. Can I try anything else?

     

    snapshot1.png

     

    snapshot2.png

     

    System Overview ~

    O/S - Linux Mandriva Spring 2007.1 'One' + Updates

    Ker - Linux localhost 2.6.17-13mdvlegacy #1 SMP Fri Mar 23 19:05:24 UTC 2007 i686 Intel® Core2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz GNU/Linux

    CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz Socket 775 FSB1066 4MB Cache Retail (E6600)

    RAM - OCZ 2 x 1Gb PC2-6400 DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 ATI Cert. Dual Ch. (OCZ2A8002GK)

    M/B - ABIT IL9 Pro i945P Socket 775 ATX (IL9 Pro)

    GRA - Innovision 3D 256MB DDR3 DVI-D PCI-E Graphics Card (7600GST)

    SCR - Iiyama Pro Lite TFT E2200WS DVI-D (IIYMO269)

  7. Hey~

     

    Crackin' chat.

     

    I'm not that great with Linux. I'm currently trying Debian etch atm, as an alternative to Mandriva. Its errr... new (muffled cry for help:). I think it was either Tyme or Arctic that, did a great piece on it, inspired me to try it.

     

    It's my first break from the Mandy dist, ever, after 4 years. Gentoo and Ubuntu are next on my list too because of great threads just like this. The technical stuff is good, but sometimes the human aspect is more interesting to me.

     

    Well done to you; Kunk, Mystified and eveyone who searches and achieves. :) Makes me feel more confident trying to give it a go too!

  8. Boner :huh:

     

    Did you do all the updates with easy-urpmi? And im guessing your not using anything "fancy shmancy" like 3d desktop.

     

    Open a terminal as user and then type; su, password, kate. Does Katie have all her widgets in the right place?

     

    I think i've seen some threads around about different KDE 3.5 GTK themes and widgets not displaying properly - so you could try changing the theme that root uses. Is it possible to re-create the fault with Gnome or ICEWm in root?

  9. Hey Jimtim~

     

    long time since i've seen "Ivor the engine & Jones the steam" nice touch there chap.

     

    Well done for perservering ~ what a mystery!

     

    In light of nothing new, lets get some basics out of the way here...

    what are your o/s & system specs; [bash@localhost ~]$ uname -a

     

    I notice from your libs you are running a 64bit box, which i have zero experience with, but the katapult file you "downloaded separately", would seem to sugest, to me anyway, a 32 bit from the file name you mentioned initially. But i dont know how to check that out for sure! Does anyone else know if the packages are 32 & 64 bit inclusive now? S'about time!

     

    "/home/james/Download/katapult-0.3.1.4-1mud2007.0.i586.rpm"

     

    katapult-0.3.1.4-1mud2007.0.i586.rpm - belongs to Mandriva 2007 - source:rpmbone

     

    Yes, the "katapult-0.3.1.4-1mud2007.0.i586.rpm" Download could be significant. It is better to install using the Software installer, when u can, and not from a download as there may be other files (dependancies) it requires to install properly. The software installer will also check the integrity of all the packages, compute all the dependancies, download all the packages and install all of them for you without any hassle at all.

     

    If your using ML 2007 Katapult should be installed from the packages list and not from a folder of downloads. I do this all the time, at work, and it plays havoc with the IRS computers.

     

    Which method did you use?

     

    Personally, as a last resort and/or if time is tight here, I would consider the plan of re-installing the main o/s and keeping the home directory out of the disk format after "backing it up". 4 easy hours tops, adsl, plenty of tea and tell everyone its gonna be 2 days of hard work for 'their' benefit and demand something nice for yourself. :)

     

    Otherwise just the juicy bits Jimtim please...

  10. Just a wild shot here; I had a similar kind of issue recently. The numlock got switched on automatically (by Mandriva) and changed all the vowels to numbers. I only found out by copying and pasting in the password characters from desktop filenames. :huh: I wonder if Katapult is doing this. Does your keyboard output look normal in a text editor eg. printing all the characters right?

  11. When it comes to security the pest policy is to trust no-one.

     

    At the moment I am living in a fully kitted out "covert" truck with solar panels etc. on a laptop, piggybacking on dhcp, free and legal wireless connections. True :thumbs:

     

    I only connect when I need to and have tied my girlfriend and myself up to prevent any wrong doing. Of course it goes without saying that we wear masks and disguise our voices by rolling over the floor on our mouths when we do talk. B)

     

    Physical security has to be one of the first policies implemented.

  12. It's just a thought, and you probably already know this, but I've just installed 2006 on my Vaio with Wifi too and the touchpad was going crazy doing all sorts of things I didn't like, like your lappie.

     

    With mine I edited the "synaptics" section in /etc/x11/xorg.conf file. I just wanted basic function from the touchpad and the ability to plug in a 3 button optical usb mouse. Now it works like a dream.

     

    So this is what I changed it to;

     

    # File generated by XFdrake.

     

    # **********************************************************************

    # Refer to the XF86Config man page for details about the format of

    # this file.

    # **********************************************************************

     

    Section "Files"

    # Multiple FontPath entries are allowed (they are concatenated together)

    # By default, Mandrake 6.0 and later now use a font server independent of

    # the X server to render fonts.

    FontPath "unix/:-1"

    EndSection

     

    Section "ServerFlags"

    #DontZap # disable <Crtl><Alt><BS> (server abort)

    #DontZoom # disable <Crtl><Alt><KP_+>/<KP_-> (resolution switching)

    AllowMouseOpenFail # allows the server to start up even if the mouse does not work

    EndSection

     

    Section "Module"

    Load "dbe" # Double-Buffering Extension

    Load "v4l" # Video for Linux

    Load "extmod"

    Load "type1"

    Load "freetype"

    Load "synaptics"

    Load "glx" # 3D layer

    EndSection

     

    Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier "Keyboard1"

    Driver "keyboard"

    Option "XkbModel" "pc105"

    Option "XkbLayout" "gb"

    Option "XkbOptions" "compose:rwin"

    EndSection

     

    Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier "Mouse1"

    Driver "mouse"

    Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"

    Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"

    Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"

    EndSection

     

    Section "InputDevice"

    Identifier "SynapticsMouse1"

    Driver "synaptics"

    Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"

    Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"

    # Touchpad geometry definition;

    Option "LeftEdge" "120"

    Option "RightEdge" "830"

    Option "TopEdge" "120"

    Option "BottomEdge" "650"

    # Tapping timings;

    Option "FingerLow" "14"

    Option "FingerHigh" "15"

    Option "MaxTapMove" "110"

    Option "MaxTapTime" "180"

    # Move distance of the finger for a scroll event;

    #Option "HorizScrollDelta" "20"

    #Option "VertScrollDelta" "20"

    # Min. time (in milliseconds) for detecting a tap

    Option "MinSpeed" "0.8"

    # Max. time (in milliseconds) for detecting a tap;

    Option "MaxSpeed" "1.00"

    # Acceleration factor

    Option "AccelFactor" "0.015"

    # Setting for edge motion speed;

    Option "EdgeMotionMinSpeed" "200"

    Option "EdgeMotionMaxSpeed" "200"

    # The down button generates a button 2 event;

    #Option "UpDownScrolling" "0"

    # Max time (in milliseconds) for middle button emulation.

    Option "EmulateMidButtonTime" "75"

    #Option "CircScrollTrigger" "2"

    #Option "CircScrollDelta" "0.1"

    #Option "CircularScrolling" "1"

    # Switch on/off shared memory for configuration;

    Option "SHMConfig" "on"

    EndSection

     

    Section "Monitor"

    Identifier "monitor1"

    VendorName "Generic"

    ModelName "Flat Panel 1024x768"

    HorizSync 31.5-55

    VertRefresh 40-70

     

    # TV fullscreen mode or DVD fullscreen output.

    # 768x576 @ 79 Hz, 50 kHz hsync

    ModeLine "768x576" 50.00 768 832 846 1000 576 590 595 630

     

    # 768x576 @ 100 Hz, 61.6 kHz hsync

    ModeLine "768x576" 63.07 768 800 960 1024 576 578 590 616

    EndSection

     

    Section "Device"

    Identifier "device1"

    BoardName "NeoMagic MagicMedia (laptop/notebook)"

    Driver "neomagic"

    Option "DPMS"

    EndSection

     

    Section "Screen"

    Identifier "screen1"

    Device "device1"

    Monitor "monitor1"

    DefaultColorDepth 16

     

    Subsection "Display"

    Depth 8

    Virtual 1024 768

    EndSubsection

     

    Subsection "Display"

    Depth 15

    Virtual 1024 768

    EndSubsection

     

    Subsection "Display"

    Depth 16

    Virtual 1024 768

    EndSubsection

     

    Subsection "Display"

    Depth 24

    Virtual 1024 768

    EndSubsection

    EndSection

     

    Section "ServerLayout"

    Identifier "layout1"

    InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"

    InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"

    InputDevice "SynapticsMouse1" "AlwaysCore"

    Screen "screen1"

    EndSection

     

    I hope this helps. If it doesn't though, I really dont know...

  13. I love learning and have always believed the best things in life are free. Then I heard about linux. Determined to run Mandrake, from the start, I bought Mandrake 7.2 from MandrakeSoft (2 cds + 1 KDE cd). I couldn't, however, get on with it as a complete noob with a very "old" donated computer. Mandrake 8.0 was also a no go for me. Slaped head with kipper for a few more years (windows) then bought Mandrake 10.0 and built a P3 with "all the right hardware" just for Linux and me... and it flew, I didn't.

     

    Linux as an education and freedom of choice is second to none. A sincere thankyou to everybody new and old!

     

    It's so good to be home, i've missed you ALL so very, very much! :thumbs:

  14. I've been using Linux for a while now which I love. I adore quality especially when its free and I guess I'm proud of that. I'm drawn to people who are interested in learning and being independent. Linux automatically gives me a good basis for these principles i admire so much and provides one of many social tools to explore our world and find good people that I can support too. I always recommend https://mandrivausers.org as a much better Linux resource than myself and I thank the board and users for that. This board and its users are especially friendly. I refuse to frequent any boards that have flame wars for the basis of their content.

     

    I've just supported my 3rd Linux (Mandriva 10.1 Official this time) convert from M$. :thumbs: and, I have another 2 in the pipe. I give freely, as is the way, and only choose from my local circle as most times its better to physically be there to support them in resolving issues like no Internet or hardware conflicts. I could not have done it without this board and its excellent moderators and users.

     

    A HUGE thankyou to all :D

  15. Just for the record, I brought 2 x "philips pbdv1640g" for my 733 Linux box 7 months ago and they have both gone to the wall. I have not used them nearly as much as i thought i would, maybe 10 burns each & a couple hundred reads, as it's mainly a networking box. The first went 2 weeks ago and the last went this morning while reading a dvd and I could actually smell fried lectrics. Whats my point?

     

    Answers on a postcard please to: support@philips.com

     

    The company sent me a replacement for the previous one (philips pbdv1628g... sheesh, I'll have to sell them to a windows user!).

     

    Next time... the pointy hat in the corner is getting a bit tatty, i'm gonna look at the linux supported hardware list and this forum. Dont get Philips.

     

    knoba

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