Leo

I think you are right, the modelines thing is a red herring, I found this which may help you, as someone seems to have got it working. I did notice that in Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt,crt" he had upper case for CRT also there was more to the server layout section than you have. May be worth a go...

Do you need to add in a modeline entry for the metamode "1280 x 1024" Leo

Just came across this in the online edition of The Guardian It was quite encouraging that despite not making it into the list of major distros, Mandrake still got an honouable mention.

can you get it to make any sound if you login as root in cli? just shout if you need help with this.

yes, it is a well known feature for linux-users already. but this is also maybe the best proof that linux and apple finally give microsoft a push in the right direction. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So does this mean that Microsoft will now be coming out against software patents... or will they just apply for the patent for this?

Almost exactly the same for me, I couldn't afford Windows and went into pc world where they had Red Hat, Mandrake 9.0 or Suse. The sales assistant couldn't tell me the difference so I picked Mandrake Powerpack as it had Star Office. Leo

I googled and found this twinview post which amongst some information about Nvidia drivers for this purpose used the following in their xf86Config: Section "Device" Identifier "Card0" VendorName "nVidia" Driver "nvidia" BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "TwinView" Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "31-82" Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "55-120" Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf" Option "MetaModes" "1280x1024,1280x1024; 1024x768,1024x768" #Option "ConnectedMonitor" "crt,crt" EndSection Any good?

I got the bugfix for hotplug from the Mandrake Updates and now it all shuts down perfectly. Thank you to both Andrewski and illogic-al for their help. My learning point from this is to always check the updates before complaining.

It sounds as though the monitor is being recognised when you plug it in whilst Linux is running but not when you boot up. You could probably adjust your XF86Config file to identify your monitor as an alternative monitor to be used from boot but this may well stop the laptop screen from working. I guess what you need is some way of selecting the monitor to use at boot. Alternately, is there a key combination (Fn + F4 perhaps) that switches between monitors on your laptop? Leo

what file type is hda1 and have you checked your /etc/fstab to make sure it is correctly set up? Leo

I had this problem as well with 10 CE, I got over it by reinstalling. I think that the problem was that I had selected KDE as the DE and then removed the KDE packages by hand at the package selection stage which meant I screwed up the startup script (but that is just a guess). I guess you could use a rescue distro like Knoppix to remedy the error, but I found it easier to just reinstall since I had no data to lose. Leo

I tried bringdown usb and it just hung, the kernel is 2.6.3, as you suggest, I guess the previous kernel would work but I know that this one does work because I had no problems with it the first time I installed it (I am just peeved that it doesn't work now). I am going to try illogical-als suggestion around the update but I am only on 56K dial up and it cuts out every 2 hours so it could take a while, I was hoping to find out what was causing it in order to speed up the process. Thank you both for your help. Leo

I had 10 CE working fine but had to reinstall, now I cannot get it to shutdown. I have tried shutting down from both GUI and CL. When I view the messages at shuitdown it always hangs after: Stopping hotplug: ohci_hcd 0000:00:07.4 : remove, state 1 usb usb1: USB disconnect, address 1 usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 2 usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, address 4 usb 1-3: USB disconnect, address 6 drivers /usb/class/usblp.c:usblp0:removed ohci_hcd 0000:00:07.4 : USB bus1 deregistered I have three usb ports a 4 port hub is in one and a printer in another. The hub has a graphic tablet/mouse attached. The pc is Gateway athlon 750 (quite old) and previously ran 9.0 Thanks for your help Leo

I'm not sure about lilo, however grub can be put onto a floppy and made bootable, there was a thread in Tips and tricks about it here (there may have been a Lilo one as well). You could also try linuxquestions.org which is a good source of tips.

Ah... I was wondering how the disk "knew" when it wasn't being installed on a non gateway pc. #edited to remove silly question and bad spelling

Ix: thanks for the tip, however I have already tried that. I replaced the bootloader and it still would not load so I reformatted the entire drive (since I knew Mdk would reinstall OK) but I still get the same error following installation. The windows disk came with the pc and seems to be a Gateway tailored install that will not allow me to bugger about with any settings at all. Whilst I am being hassled to get windows back on the pc, I am now sulking and figure that if it won't play ball and Linux will then so be it... arctic: I would if I could however I only have dial up and so cannot get the iso images, I am at the mercy of Linux format coverdisks and what I can afford off the shelf But hey. It works!

I've been using 9.0 for the past year or so, and manage to f*ck it up whilst attempting to reinstall win98 (don't ask!) so I thought I would give 10 CE a go (since I had the disks and nothing to lose) anyway, it went flawlessly (with the exception of the conexant hcf modem which I have to pay for a driver for if I want it at full speed /rant off). ... unfortunately win 98 won't reinstall. [edited by spinynorman]

Don't worry, we've all done it (alright I'VE done it, I was just trying to bring the rest of you down with me :D )

you did put the space in between 'find' and '/boot/grub/menu.lst' didn't you?

could you not remove supermount from your /etc/fstab file and manually mount the drives you need (or is the problem that supermount is not included anymore and you want it back?)

I think it is /etc/XF86Config or /etc/XF86Config-4 depending on the version you are running. There will be a section for Mouse which details the type of mouse you are using and a few other options. Sorry to be so vague but I am on Win2K at the moment. If you look at the man pages for XF86Config ($man XF86Config) or Xfree86 it should give you a better description.

Probably a silly question, but is the mouse ball and rollers clean? if you are running xfree86 it may be worth checking the config file to make sure you have the correct settings.

Sounds like the modem is at fault, try switching to the other modem to check it (no harm if it costs you nothing but time :D )

I liked the quote from the Irish minister for trade in Newsforge presumably she means jobs for lawyers.

have you got the CD player muted in your sound settings? are you using ALSA?