lawsonrc

Hi, fissy...are you on a laptop, perhaps a Toshiba Satellite? This is a "bouncing key" issue that is easy to fix. I will have to come back with the "fix" in a little while, as I just got a phone call and must leave the house at this moment. Please respond with the make and model number of your computer. Regards, Richard L.

Hi MottS, I appreciate your help :); however, it didn't work. Here is what worked. I deleted the icon I had made. I right-clicked on the desktop ->Configure desktop ->Behavior/Behaviour (since you live in my favorite city of Montreal...I'll be there to cool down from the Houston,TX heat the beginning of July for four days, but I'm off topic!) I checked/ticked "Display devices on Desktop" and took it from there. I must give credit to my fellow Houstonian bvc, a "very wise" moderator of this forum, for his assistance. Merci mille fois a vous aussi! :D Richard L. P.S.(Can't wait to speak French again! Je m'impatiente a parler francais encore!)

Many many thanks, dturley! I now have KWiFiManager working on my panel and also gkrellm on my desktop. I appreciate your help and Kenneth's very much! Sincerely, Richard L. :D :D :D

Well, Kenneth, the battery monitor was there the whole time next to KOrganizer and the clock in the lower right side. I didn't see it because my panel was tiny, and I've been playing around in Gnome for a while and forgot. My laptop is one of the "newer" ones (13 months old) with ACPI and also legacy free BIOS. And the battery monitor *does* work nicely with ACPI. **However**, I really would like to know if KDE has a Wireless Card Monitor that shows the signal strength for the Wireless Card. I finally found something called PCMCIA and put it on the KDE panel, but it does absolutely nothing...N-A-D-A. It is totally useless. It just shows that the wireless card is in eth1 (as if I didn't already know that...d'uh!) I'm wondering if any other users on this forum have wireless with their laptops and are using KDE. Do you use wireless? I have a Linksys WPC11 (802.11b) card, but all brands of Wi-Fi cards would be monitored the same. Thanks again! Sincerely, Richard L.

Of all the Debian distros that I have read about in e-zines and magazines, Libranet is the "cutting edge" of debian distros. In a few weeks version 2.8 will be out with KDE 3.1 and Gnome 2.2. It has an excellent reputation and stays more up to date than any other Debian distro. On the other hand, they test it very, very carefully before they come out with the next version. That's why they are about 8 weeks or so behind Mandrake 9.1, Red Hat 9 (shrike), and SuSe 8.2. They really want to iron out the bugs before they bring it out. Be on the watch for it! It should be out in late April or May. I can't wait to have it side-by-side with Mandrake 9.1 on my laptop (it will replace MDK 9.0). It will be great to learn "Apt" and continue learning Mandrake. I've always found Mandrake buggy for me. But I love it, particularly because of the large user base and how they are friendly and helpful to one another. Anyway, on my desktop I have Xandros and Red Hat 8.0 because Mandrake 9.0 wouldn't recognize my CD Rom drive to install. And 8.2 on my second hard drive turned out to be a really buggy disaster!! I'm really happy to have Mandrake 9.1 on my laptop, in spite of its bugs. So for me it's MDK 9.1 and soon Libranet 2.8 all the way!!! Richard L.

I did all the updates and it appears that the Gremlins in Mandrake Control Center and the playful follies on the panels in Gnome and KDE are now gone. No more hiding panels when MCC appears on screen. No more Calendars popping up with MCC from the hiding KDE panel. No more changing time zones from Central U.S. to Berlin, Tokyo, and Sydney Australia in KDE. The Gremlins are dead...gone...vanished...maybe they went to Lindows or to Yoper in New Zealand (he-he) to play havoc on them! :lol: Good night all! Richard L.

Thanks cannonfodder for your list of update sources. I'm glad you put them on the forum not only for me, but for others that can take advantage of them :D . I'm amazed at the support users can get in this forum and the sharing that goes on here. 8) I really appreciate it. I know I've given only a little help, and have gotten tons of it here. But as my knowledge in Mandrake and Linux gets better (I know, I'm a slow learner), I hope to be giving back help more and more as time marches on. :wink: Thanks to all! Sincerely, Richard L.

I really like KDE, but I also like Gnome, too. In Gnome, there are a couple of utilities that I found in a few seconds and added to the panel in MDK 9.1: One Gnome utility is the Battery Charge Monitor, which is a nice graphical icon that shows the status of one's laptop battery with a popup tooltip to show the percentage of the battery that is left. In the preferences, the battery color levels as default are: yellow 40%, orange 25%, Red 15% (these defaults can be changed). A popup window can give a warning when the battery is low so that one can plug in the AC adaptor; also a beep (these too can be turned off or on). Another quite nice Gnome utility is the Wireless Link Monitor 2.2.0 for one's wireless card. On the panel, it can show the wireless card's signal strength in percentage. When I am in KDE 3.1, I have searched high and low to find equivalent utilities to sit on the panel, but can't find them. They may be right under my nose. Can someone point me in the right direction so that I can add them, please? Thanks! Richard L.

Thanks tyme and cannonfodder...You both posted simultaneously!! I appreciate tyme's detailed step, by step instructions to help remove the update mirror in the Software Sources Manager. And...I appreciate cannonfodder's immediate response, too. (Edit at 9:56 pm. Central U.S. Time) I forgot to say that I was successful in getting all the updates after trying several U.S. mirrors.) Thanks guys!

For the last three days I have tried using Mandrake Update to get the updates, bugfixes, etc. I have tried to download these by taking my laptop to various locations with T1 and/or DSL or Cable connections and have been unsuccessful for the following reason(s): I keep getting the "Error during download" window which states: There was an error downloading this package (it doesn't matter which package). Then it lists the "ftp" url. Then error: couldn't connect. Do you want to continue (skipping this package)? Why are others able to update and I'm not? Thanks! Richard L.

Thanks, manly, but even when I change the fonts to be the same in Galeon and Mozilla as in Konqueror, it doesn't change anything. It is not a "font" choice thing, but an anti-alias thing. Although I don't prefer it, Konqueror has over-all the clearest and nicest font look, from the toolbars to the web pages themselves. Netscape just looks weak, and it doesn't seem to pick up all my fonts like Mozilla and Galeon did, which were already installed on MDK 9.1. Netscape font choices are adobe-font name-with a number. Oh well, for now I have to settle with Konqueror much of the time since it is the most easily readable, although I will be using the others, just less frequently. If anyone else has suggestions for making fonts on web browsers and their pages to look sharper, please feel free to comment here. I really would like to use Netscape 7.x in Mandrake as well as the others. Thanks in advance. Richard L.

In MCC with 9.1, there must be a gremlin creating mischief because the problem I am about to describe happens in both KDE3.1 and Gnome2.2: Whenever I open MCC from an icon on my panel in either Window Environment and put in my password for access, the panel hides itself by sliding to the right until it is gone simultaneously at MCC's window opens up. Additionally in KDE as soon as the panel is hidden, the calendar from the clock pops up in the bottom right corner. (In Gnome the calendar doesn't open, but the panel slides and hides to the right). Sometimes in KDE the panel hides, then reopens without the calendar popping up. AND*** it changes the time on the clock from US Central time to either Tokyo or to New York!!!! I'm also having troubles with Mandrake Update, but I will start another thread for that. Why the strange behavior? Is anyone else experiencing this? P.S. I do have my Start Applications Menu in both KDE and Gnome moved to the right of the panel and the panel is at the bottom of the screen. Thanks in advance! Richard L.

Thanks, JediSB.... Actually, I compared Mozilla and Galeon in MDK 9.1 with MDK 9.0 on my laptop (both on different partitions) and they look the same, so they must be anti-aliased and I was mistaken. It's just that Konqueror looks a little better. What puzzles me is that Netscape 7.02 looks "blah". I particularly like it over Mozilla since AIM is built right into the browser in the side panel for my Buddy List, and this doesn't work in the side panel in Mozilla. Yes, I know that I can use GAIM in a separate window with any other browser, but I just like the convenience of it built-in and functional with Netscape 7.02. I'm beginning to like the way Netscape and Mozilla and "Group" bookmarks and how easy it is to edit these "Groups". Then when you open the browser, just like once on the "Group" to open up the saved bookmarks and all your pages open up instantly (i.e. on cable/DSL/T1). I'm still very fond of Opera 7.1 and hope its final version in Linux will be as clear font/page wise as in WindowsXP. Sincerely, Richard L.

Hey MottS, Wed. evening at the Houston LUG workshop, a member helped me as follows: We booted into MDK9.0 and to the /etc/ directory and the fstab file. In it was located a line: none /mnt/floppy supermount dev=/dev/sda,fs=auto...........(et cetera) I wrote the line down, then restarted the computer and booted into MDK9.1. We went to the fstab file and made it fstab.old, then we added the line above into the fstab file (right below the similar line for the CD Rom) and copied this edited file into the /etc directory, replacing the fstab.old. Somehow (and I forget when and how) we made a folder for the floppy in /home/richard and I presume linked it to the fstab file in the /etc directory. And it works. Here's the problem. I want a shortcut (i.e. application launcher) on the desktop I dragged and dropped the folder from /home/richard directory. When it gave me choices "move, copy, or create a link", I created a link. I now have a folder with a down-arrow in the bottom left corner with, I think (--it is so small) a lock behind the down-arrow. And this shortcut works, too. However, I don't want the desktop shortcut to use a folder icon, I want it to have a floppy icon. So I right-clicked ->properties to change the icon and browsed "other icons" to choose the floppy-mdk icon. When I click "OK" I get: Type: Locked Directory Contents: Directory Location: /home/richard/Desktop Size: 0 B (0) Free space on /mnt/floppy Points to: /mnt/floppy Then I click on OK again and get a "Sorry"...Could not save properties. You do not have sufficient access to write to /home/richard/Desktop/floppy/.directory. I have done Ctrl-Alt-F1 and logged in to root with password, then Ctrl-Alt-F7 back to GUI and tried it, but no luck...same "Sorry" message. I have also opened a terminal and done su and password with the same results. I want a pretty icon instead of a folder on the desktop for the floppy, just like in MDK 9.0. Now in Gnome 2.2, I do have a pretty icon there already. I wish KDE3.1 would be as nice as Gnome 2.2 is. All help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. :) Sincerely, Richard L. P.S. Is this all happening because I didn't have the external floppy connected during the initial installation of MDK9.1???? :roll:

Ezroller is 99% correct (or maybe 99.9% correct); however, I found one case where I needed to actually go to the root desktop because when I su-ed to root, I couldn't resolve my problem. Here was my problem in MDK 9.1 which could only be resolved as root with the root (red) desktop: As user, I had right-clicked on the application menu and had changed it from Menudrake to the KDE Menu Editor so that I could customize it. It was impossible to switch it back to the Mandrake Applications Menu as user and as su. With the help of one of the great moderators on this forum (bvc--, natch), I logged in as root and was able to switch back to the Mandrake Applicatiohs Menu that way. Then when I logged back in as user, the Applications Menu had changed back to the original Mandrake Applications Menu. Now I know to customize only the Mandrake Menu and not the KDE menu. Regards, Richard L.

Thanks, MottS....I'm in my classroom right now and the laptop is locked up in my closet (don't want the high school kids to know I have it here at school for obvious reasons). At the end of the day I'll get it out and go into each version and check out as root the lsmod. Then I'll respond back here in the forum to inform which modules are loaded. Regards, Richard L.

My year old laptop (Toshiba 5005-S507) is one of the type that has no internal floppy drive, but came with an external, usb floppy drive. My laptop has been partitioned with Partiition Magic and has the following OSes: WinXP-Home roughly 20 gigs), MDK 9.0 (roughly 9 gigs), and MDK 9.1 (roughly 9 gigs). Eventually MDK 9.0 will be replaced with Libranet 2.8 when it becomes available. Mandrake 9.0 recognizes my external, usb floppy drive, but Mandrake 9.1 (on a separate partition) does not recognize/cannot find it when I plug in the floppy drive. Can anybody give me - a non-techie slow learner - steps on how to fix this problem? I appreciate the help of all the fantastic members of this forum. Sincerely, Richard L.

The fonts on Konqueror are clear and sharp, both on the toolbars, menus, etc. AND on the web pages. However, when I use Netscape 7.02, OR Mozilla, OR Galeon, the fonts on the menus, toolbars, AND web pages are dull (enemic) looking and not sharp and distinct like on Konqueror. Eventually I'll want to use the final version of Opera 7.1 (will not use beta), so I also want its fonts to look as sharp as its Windows version. I have already used MCC to install the MSfonts from WinXP (first time that it would take it from NTFS file system...YEAH!!...didn't work in 9.0). Since I'm a point-and-click-GUI-non-techie-dimwitted-slow-learner with only limited command line experience, any simple and thorough step-by-step instructions would be very, very helpful in getting the other browsers and their web pages to look as sharp as Konqueror. Yes, I like to switch around with web browsers according to mood and desire, so please don't respond with "Why don't you just use Konqueror". Many thanks in advance. Sincerely, Richard L.

Thanks, DragonMage.....Is this a Linux thing (system wide in all Window Managers) A MDK thing? or a KDE thing?

When I click on my shortcut from the panel to open Konqueror Web browser, it opens by default as a very small window. I dragged the corner and made it larger, hoping that it would remember the size and open at that size the next time. However, it still opened as a very small window. Then I maximized it, hoping it would remember to open next time maximized, but no go. I went to Settings and tried to find an option for this, but didn't find one. It's irritating having to change its size each time I launch it. Any suggestions that a "non-techie" simpleton like me would understand???? Thanks in advance. Richard L.

Hey bvc...fellow Houstonian! Go to Bookmarks -> Edit Bookmarks to open up the Bookmarks Editor. You might be able to right-click and delete the "Sample Smark Bookmarks" folder. Or maybe deleting the folder called "Toolbar". Since I like the toolbar with the Google thingies, I'm not going to try it. Hope this helps (after all the help you've given me.....he-he!) Sincerely, Richard L.

I finally got Mandrake 9.1 to work properly on my laptop Toshiba 5005-S507. (Had to fix the ACPI and recompile the kernel as keventd was sucking up 99.7% cpu usage). I downloaded the theme Acqua from kde-look.org, since I enjoyed using it with MDK9.0. In a terminal, I then went to the directory where I had extracted it; then I typed in the command line for installing it (I typed it correctly, but I'm at work now in W98SE; I think it was ./install.sh). The next line stated that the theme was installed. THEN about 15 seconds later on a new command line I get the following: Mutex destroy failure: Device or resource busy. Why can't I install this theme? I really want it. Does anyone know how I can get it to work? Also, what the heck is "Mutex" and a "destroy failure"??? Thanks in advance, Richard L. P.S. A very special THANKS to BVC (a moderator here) for all his efforts in recompiling the kernel to get ACPI and keventd to work on the laptop. KUDOS!

You say that you are going to be using many different partitions. You will be limited to 4 primary partitions. May I suggest that to use many different distros partitioned along with Windows XP that you go to www.acronis.com and check out their product called Acronis OS Selector. It will allow you to put as many as 100 partitions on a hard drive. It is also very linux friendly and supports both Windows XP and Reiserfs (Partition magic only supports ext2 and ext3). I found out about the product on the xandros forum. There are two guys there that have used it and highly recommend it. You could go to their forum and do a search for "Acronis" to get the messages: http://forums.xandros.com/ I'm not very technical, but just wanted to pass this information along to you. Regards, Richard L.

Hey ezroller, I thought college (and non-college) students downloaded from Kazaa in their sleep, uh, while they sleep. (he-he). But aren't college students night-owls anyway? I sure was back in the mid/late 60's when I went to University of Texas at Arlington. Back then it was Arlington State College (until my junior year) and we played against McNeese in football. (Yeah, I'm an old fart now.....)

Have you been to www.linux-on-laptops.com? Although your model may not be listed under the Toshiba link, there may be a model similar to yours which may be of help. For example, I have the Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703, so I would look at any of the 5xx5 models: 5005-S507, 5105, etc. Hope this helps a little. Since there are so many brands and models of laptops, and since linux is by and large harder to completely install on a laptop, it may be that there is no member in this forum with your make and model to give you tips, and you may have to search elsewhere. Wishing you good luck! Richard L.