tux99

I've got a new computer!

I haven't installed the OS yet but it's running a live CD fine and looking great!

 

Thanks a million, tux99, you were an amazing help! I owe you a beer or several!

 

I'll write it all up as soon as I can so that others can do it too!

You're welcome, I'm glad it all went smooth!

One more thing, do a complete memory test with memtest86 before starting to make proper use of the PC and also a surface scan of the hard disk with badblocks -svw /dev/sda (this is a read-write test so do it from a live CD BEFORE installing the OS, as it wipes the disk).

If these two tests succeed without errors than you can be confident that the hardware is sound and error free (it indirectly tests the cpu and the motherboard too).

I always do that when building a PC or doing a hardware upgrade, this has helped me spotting defective components early on before risking my data on a flawed disk or memory module.

Also once you have installed the OS (Mandriva 2009.1 works fine on the K48, even the current Intel graphics drivers are stable on it) make sure you install and configure lm-sensors to monitor the cpu temperature, it should be below 40C when the PC is idle and around 55C after running at full load for a while. If the temperatures are much higher than this, then you might not have installed the cpu heat-sink correctly (I'm sure you have, but better be safe than sorry!).

PS: If you like, I could publish your planned write up about your build experience on my LinuxTECH.NET website, I'm always glad for new content! :) (PM me if you like the idea)

It looks like it's not active.

Run swapon -s in a terminal to list active swap partitions.

Also check /etc/fstab to see if it's in there:

grep swap /etc/fstab

 

[Edit] - or, wait a minute, is the paste already on the heat sink? There are three dark grey areas on the bottom of the fan unit, is that the thermal compound already applied? So do I just need to put it all together and the paste will get spread out? I'm surprised it's not mentioned at all in the "installation instructions" for the CPU.

Yes the dark grey stuff under the heat sink is thermal paste, it will melt and spread out by itself (through heat) when you start using the PC.

While you can replace it with better one (Arctic Silver 5 is the most recommended one), it's by no means necessary as the cpu you got is very heat efficient. Replacement thermal paste is mostly necessary when you intend to strongly overclock the cpu, or on cpus that are known to get very hot.

Also if you would want to use a replacement thermal paste, you would need to remove the factory fitted one first, which can be rather messy.

Thank you tux99. But that thread is about burning a data DVD. Did you try burning a Video DVD directory tree on a double-layer media?

 

Yves.

Yes, but not from home videos, only backups of movie DVDs, but that should be the same once you have authored the VIDEO_TS folder onto hard disk and then transformed it into iso format.

I used growisofs to write the .iso onto the dual-layer DVD, like this:

growisofs -dvd-compat -speed=2 -Z /dev/hdd=/data/dvd.iso

/dev/hdd is my DVD burner, replace as necessary.

 

Having no expertise in audio-video processing, I'm thinking about raising the VBR. To do this, I need to author a dual-layer disk. Is it possible?

 

Yves.

Sure, as far as know there is nothing special involved, any current version burner software like for example k3b or growisofs will burn a dual-layer disk for you if the size of the data is bigger than 4.5GB and you have a burner capable of dual-layer.

See this thread too:

https://mandrivausers.org/index.php?/topic/83724-problems-burning-double-layer-discs-and-isos/

Thanks for the idea... Does it allow you to change configuration for the webcam so that you can use it with other software? I need to use it with skype.

Cheese is just a normal program to display the output of the webcam and to allow you to take snapshots, it can't help you with skype.

With regards to the errors you are getting with cheese I don't know what it causing them. Are you perhaps trying to run cheese while some other program (skype/mencoder) is already using the webcam? Only a single program can use the webcam at any given moment.

'cheese' (available in the Mandriva repos) has some effects, including horizontal flip, maybe that's what you need?

I run the appropriate command (I think) and I get: connection timed out

 

Networks...argh

 

Not sure where to go from here.

you need to open the firewall on Mandriva for ssh.

in the MCC under Security you can find 'configure your firewall'.

Just enable ssh and leave everything else untouched.

Also you might have to start the ssh-server (or even install it if you don't have it installed).

The package is openssh-server, to start it do the following as root:

service sshd start

Really? Does that make a difference? I always used a 586 kernel with my old Centrino, and in fact all I can see in the repositories are 586 and x86-64 kernels.

If you look at any repo you will find kernel-desktop586 and kernel-desktop packages, the kernel-desktop are 686, while the other ones are 586 (as the name implies :) ).

I have never measured the difference but the fact that most distros have a kernel compiled specifically for 686 means to me, that there is a speed advantage which makes it worth it.

But if the Pentium dual-core is different enough to have different instructions and a different kernel from a 586, doesn't it matter that all the apps are compiled for 586? At least, in the three repositories I looked at (in 3 different countries) there are only i586 and x86_64 sections for 2009.1.

I guess it would be too much hassle to compile all apps for 586 and 686, so they are compiled for 586 for compatibility reasons. You could always try Gentoo for optimized packages... ;)

Now maybe it doesn't matter. From what (little) I understand about it, a 32-bit OS will run fine on a 64-bit-capable machine, just maybe not quite as fast (depending on the apps) as a 64-bit OS would. But maybe the difference is really small for many things and maybe the extra trouble of incompatible drivers and unavailable plugins would make running 64-bit awkward. And I don't care about supporting 8GB of RAM as my case can't support that much anyway. It just feels like 32-bit was getting old quite a while ago now.

I guess you answered yourself here, personally I use 32bit for the same reasons, the small speed advantage that 64bit provides is not worth the potential extra hassle it provides. I know there are people who use 64bit without issues, but with 2GB of RAM I don't see the point.

Apart from that the Shuttle is perfectly capable of running 64bit Mandriva.

And then the next question is, if I install from One (as I probably will because my attempts to use Free on my old laptop failed miserably but One worked every time), it doesn't seem I get a 32/64 choice anyway, so will I get 32 bits that way? In which case, I guess that's ok, right? :unsure:

One is 32bit only (and with a 586 kernel which you will have to replace yourself with a 686 kernel manually afterwards), you would have to chose the 64bit Free or Powerpack DVD, or the 32/64bit dual arch CD.

See here for an overview of all Mandriva versions:

http://www.linuxtech.net/news/mandriva_linux_2009.1_spring_is_out.html

What if I want the old one to be the active /boot? I want 2009.1's /boot to be the active one, as one day I'll upgrade it to 2010.0 final. Meantime, I'd like to test 2010.0 beta and rc.

 

When you install 2010 just skip the boot loader installation and add the entry for 2010 manually in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file on 2009.1

Something like this (this is an example without a separate /boot, with a separate /boot you would have to leave out the /boot and use the partition number of the /boot partition):

title Mandriva 2010.0
root (hd0,8)
kernel (hd0,8)/boot/vmlinuz root=UUID=86749152-7532-46be-a75c-b748379b6f55
initrd (hd0,8)/boot/initrd.img

hd0,8 is the partiton containing 2010.0, in this case hd0,8=/dev/sda9 (grub starts counting from zero)

UUID=86749152-7532-46be-a75c-b748379b6f55 is the UUID of the Mandriva 2010.0 partition

you can find the UUID of all partition by typing the command 'blkid'

Something related that I saw today on the mandriva forum. http://forum.mandriva.com/viewtopic.php?p=720604#720604

good to know but "destroy" is the wrong word, it surely didn't destroy the flash physically, it just corrupted the Mandriva installation.

That flash key could be reformatted/partitioned and reused.

Sure you can, I have 2008.1 and 2009.1 as dual-boot on my desktop PC.

It doesn't matter if /boot is separate or not, as long as you don't share any partitions between the two installs (/home can be shared but it can still potentially cause problems when switching back and forth so I would only recommend it if you use different users for the two installs).

Moonlight 2.0 for Linux is in beta testing stage currently, maybe try that and see if it works for you.

USB sticks contain often very bad quality flash chips, especially if it was some cheap noname stick, they don't last many write cycles.

Other than that they should behave exactly like a hdd from a formatting and partitioning point of view.

I found that the more reliable solution is to buy a good brnad CF card (SanDisk, Kinston, Transcend) and then use a stick-sized CF-to-USB adapter, instead of a USB stick. CF cards are generally built to cope with a lot more write cycles than cheap USB sticks.

If you want to reset a USB stick, you can do the same as you would with a hard disk:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=4096 count=1024

(replace sdX with the actual device name of your USB stick, this overwrites the first 4MB of the stick with zeroes which should zero out both the partition table and the filesystem headers).

badblocks -b 4096 -svw /dev/sdX

will do a very thorough test of the USB stick (it will erase all data too!), finding any bad blocks, but will take a few hours.

20GB is normally a waste for / . 10-12GB (like you thought yourself too) is more appropiate, I guess with a very large disk it doesn't matter but with 120GB it might be better not to waste 8-10GB.

Also I was leaning towards a Core2Duo (more or less based on the specs of the first K48 system I saw) plus I was thinking the more modern chips would generate less heat maybe, maybe stress the fans less, and if I'm splurging on a "real" PC then I might as well pay a little bit extra for a little bit more oomph.

The Pentium Dual-Core (i.e. the E5x00 and the E6x00 series) is a Core2Duo (in all but the name)! It has nothing to do with the old Pentium 4 generation, it's the same identical 45nm C2D core as the E7xx or E8xx Core2Duo series, it just has less cache, which actually makes it more power efficient and cooler running.

The naming is confusing and lots of people mistake them for the old style Pentium 4 dual-cores that were horrendously inefficient, but I guarantee you they have NOTHING in common other than the name.

The E5300 is actually probably the best chip ever made from a cost to cpu power to heat and power efficiency ratio and you will find it's plenty powerful for almost everything (it's only to weak for hard core gamers and people who do a lot of video transcoding and similar extremely demanding activities).

As I mentioned earlier, if you build it yourself, be careful with inserting the RAM into their slots (you have to push evenly with some determination but at the same time you shouldn't flex the motherboard) and the Intel cpu heatsink is a bit fiddly to attach but if you take your time and study things carefully first, then it's not difficult.

If you have any doubts about any step, just ask here! :)

Before you decide if to go for a pre-assembled system or for building it yourself, you should consider also that in case you build it yourself and you get a dead component it will take you more time to identify the problem and return the defective part, while with a pre-assembled system there is the advantage that any decent shop should have tested everything already before shipping it to you, so the chances of a DOA system are much lower.

This shouldn't scare you from building it yourself, it would only be a problem if you can't afford the extra time you are without a PC while waiting for any defective part to be replaced.

In practice chances that you get a defective part are fairly low.

Well, the search function does not appear to be working.

 

I am having trouble playing .mov files in Kaffeine. The video is OK but the sound is choppy.

 

If I try vlc, the sound is good but I have no video

 

Sigh

Try xine or mplayer.

Those stores seem rubbish to me (as so many computer stores), they are telling you porkies and charging high prices compared to online shops, and they just push whatever their have in stock, the K45SE just came out last month in Europe so it certainly can be ordered!

Also you really don't need a 3GHz C2D especially since the E5300 is dead easy to overclock, mine runs at 3GHz absolutely stable, with no increase in temperatures compared to when it ran at 2.6GHz.

All you need to do is increase the FSB in the BIOS (no need to fiddle with any other settings).

I read those comments about the loud PSU fan too, but mine is fairly quiet, I think it was an issue with earlier batches last year.

I know you said you don't like ordering online, but here is an example build with links to Alternate.de a very well known, long-established, reputable German online dealer , so you can think about it:

K48 barebone € 122,90

http://www.alternate.de/html/product/details.html?articleId=287352

Intel E5300 cpu 2.6GHz boxed € 58,90

http://www.alternate.de/html/product/details.html?articleId=313548

Kingston ValueRAM DIMM 2GB DDR2-667 Kit (KVR667D2N5K2/2G) € 33,99

http://www.alternate.de/html/product/details.html?articleId=36850

LG GH-22NP20 Bulk € 30,99

http://www.alternate.de/html/product/details.html?articleId=290056

Western Digital WD7500AADS 750GB (Caviar Green) € 59,90 (very quiet and low power draw)

http://www.alternate.de/html/product/details.html?articleId=345144

Currently all these items are in stock at Alternate.de.

Grand-total: 320 Euros including shipping

(I have listed an IDE burner as the K48 ships with one IDE and one SATA cable included, so you don't need any extra cables.)

Obviously in case you don't already have a keyboard and mouse you need to add that, too.

Else there is this vendor: http://www.xpc-shop.de/

There you can click yourself together a personalized K48 build and then order it ready assembled (make sure you chose 2x1GB RAM not 1x2GB as they show you by default, to get the benefit of dual-channel).

They are a bit more expensive but the same config as above comes at 370 Euros assembled.

Another question - the K45 (and K45SE) only has a VGA output. The K48 also has a DVI output. If I want to drive a 1600x1200 monitor (which has both VGA and DVI in), will it make much difference which input I use? I assume DVI is better because it wouldn't have to be converted from digital to analog to digital, but would it be noticeable? Otherwise there doesn't seem to be much difference between the K45SE and K48 (apart from 50EUR and a slight difference in size).

(The asrock apparently has HDMI out and a HDMI->DVI converter)

Yes it will make a difference, DVI is absolutely pin-sharp, VGA (especially at 1600x1200) is more blurry. My K45 looks ok at 1280x1024 seen on its own, but if I compare it to my other PC that uses DVI at the same resolution I notice the difference.

As I said above, the Asrock is great as a HTPC/media center PC because the ION does all the work for that, but you should test it doing normal desktop stuff, browsing (try youtube, especially HQ and HD), then you will notice that the cpu is slow.

 

I have 3 Gigs RAM, Dual core 3000 mgz processor, 3 250 MB hard drives in a 465 MB RAID5 array using NVIDIA software that came with it, a newer Mad Dog DVD, no floppy, and wiped, formatted hard drives.

I have a feeling the RAID5 array is the issue. Is this pseudo-hardware raid that you set up from the bios bu then still requires a driver in Vista?

Wow, that's interesting. I just assumed that in the years since I bought my laptop everything has advanced so much that whatever I buy is bound to be faster - especially when it says 2*1.6GHz instead of 1*1.6GHz. I had no idea the cache makes so much difference, I guess I'll have to try it out if I can. But if the graphics stuff is handled by the decent GPU, then the "weak" atom would only really be noticeable when doing serious number crunching like compiling or photo-stitching, right? Maybe booting but that's mostly hard drive access. Most of the time it wouldn't really be a problem I think (my centrino spent a lot of time running at 600 MHz).

Actually normal desktop use is much more cpu intensive than GPU intensive. The ION GPU is only an advantage for 3D stuff (games) and for playback of HD videos (but with a decent C2D you can do that anyway). For normal desktop use you are much better off with a powerful cpu and basic GPU than the other way round.

Yes, that's right. I've seen the ION one at 290 euros and a complete system using the K48 is being sold for 440. That's with core2duo 2*2.9GHz, Intel GMA950, 2GB RAM, 750GB hard drive, DVD burner and so on, nothing spectacular. The main reason I don't buy a load of bits myself and attempt to put it together is that I have no clue what I'm doing and no clue what bits go well (or at all) with what other bits. So I'd probably think I was saving money when actually I was just wasting it. If I buy a complete system then they've done the groundwork figuring out what fits. Plus they buy in bulk, plus I could take it back if it doesn't work.

A complete K48 for 440 Euros is simply a rip-off, anyone can build that for less than 300 Euros in 10-15 minutes (that's how long it would take anyone experienced to put together the barebone K48, a cpu, a hdd, a DVD drive and two memory sticks).

These would be the bits you need (there are many alternatives, but I can assure you these will work together):

- Intel E5300 cpu 2.6GHz (boxed version retail version with heatsink-fan)

- Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (KVR800D2N5K2/2G)

- LG GH22NS40 DVD-multi-burner

- any SATA 3.5" hard drive, a 2.5" notebook drive would work too, but it would need adapter brackets that need to be bought separately

Putting the bits together isn't hard, the only bits to be careful about is making sure the RAM is seated properly (and don't press the motherboard down too hard when inserting the RAM) and the Intel heat-sink mounting system is a bit fiddly but anyone with a minimum of technical mindset can do it.

Basically if you know how to handle a screwdriver then you can put together a PC too! :)

If you tell us in which country you are I can post direct links for all the bits to some online dealer with good prices too.

I'll do the Italian bits. Do you have a due date? I can't promise anything with regards to when, but I should find the time in the next few days.

So far I've found a 1600x1200 monitor, and I've found a couple of candidates for the little machine:

- Asrock nettop ion 330 (dual core 1.6 GHz Atom, nvidia ion graphics, DVD burner, very cheap)

- Shuttle K48 (Intel core2duo 2.9 GHz, Intel shared graphics, DVD burner, more ports but about 50% more expensive).

 

So obviously I'm leaning towards the Asrock, but I'm wondering if I'll have problems with the (new?) nvidia ion stuff or problems driving a 1600x1200 with such a cheap box. I've read comments that Ubuntu runs ok on it, but it's not clear how much of a pain it was to get it working.

Does anyone have any experience with these things, are they too cheap to be worthwhile or would they be a reasonable desktop? I'm not expecting stellar performance but I'm used to my single core 1.6 GHz centrino so I'm easily happy :)

Nvidia ION is fully supported by the closed-source Nvidia driver so you shouldn't worry about any compatibility issues.

What you should be concerned about is the Atom cpu, which is fine for a simple second computer for web browsing or as a media center (the ION does all the hard work for the video playback), but I wouldn't choose it as my primary desktop machine as it's too weak.

A dual-core Atom is probably still slower than your 1.6GHz Centrino, your Centrino had 2MB of 2nd level cache, these Atoms only have 512K which makes a big difference. I have a Toshiba Libretto with a 1.2GHz Pentium-M (2MB cache) which still feels much faster than any Atom Netbook I have tried.

I'm surprised you are saying the K48 is 50% more expensive, did you see it at such a high price as a fully built system somewhere?

The best way to spend little with the K48 is to buy it as a barebones and then add DVD, cpu, RAM yourself (bought as separate components). By doing it like this it shouldn't cost 50% more and you are getting a MUCH more powerful system than the Asrock is.

The Shuttle K48 barebone as available under 130 euros, the Asrock ION 330 costs around 280 Euros, therefore with the 150 Euros difference you should easily be able to add 2GB RAM, an E5300 cpu, a DVD drive and a hard disk to the K48 (you could salvage the hard disk from your defunct laptop and save on the hard disk too).

You can always us the --nodeps option of the 'rpm' command, but if you break something with it, you are on your own.

I use it occasionally when I'm sure it's fine.