nsolitude

I am new to Linux, not a programmer but I have a technical background and I am persistent MOUSE PROBLEM: How do I undo this wrong mouse configuration when I can't navigate in the GUI now? I finally got a good install of mdk 10 CE to dual boot with WinXP. I had spent many hours for days on this without much sleep. I was getting CRC errors until I started messing with the hardware. It was either an improperly seated RAM module or a CDROM / CDRW cable/connection or configuration. Whatever. I booted into Gnome first and I had an invisible mouse curser. It took me awhile to find it because it was invisible. I went into the configuration window and was finally able to get the mouse selected and run the configuration thing. I tried the drivers for the PS2 wheel mice but they didn't work. I began trying others on the chance that one might work. The curser never appear. Finally I selected a mouse config that screwed everything up. The invisible cursor is stuck in the lower left hand corner of the desktop and the keyboard ONLY works within the small pop up window in that corner, which makes the keyboard useless. The more I tried to get back into the mouse config the worse it all got- I logged out of Gnome and into KDE and tried there. Same problem only it got worse. I can't even log out now without using the reset button, and when I reset I still have the same problem in Gnome and KDE. I need to UNDO whatever I did so I can plug in a mouse that works. Who could imagine that a mouse could be this much trouble- It is an older Hewlett Packard wheel mouse. I think it would be easier for me to just reinstall the OS with a new mouse. On the other hand, I would like to start learning somewhere, since I am new to this. If anyone want's to take the time to explain a 'how to fix', I will take it from there and try to fix it, learn some things in the process and pass on some assistance elsewhere. I am installing Linux because I want to learn some programming in an open source environment. Thank you nsolitude

Maybe this is a clue that might help: I had this problem when installing the boot loader to MBR. I can go through the entire install fine but get a crc error when trying to boot to 10.0 CE. In the last install attempt I again selected MBR for the boot loader. Again I could not boot into XP, but my situation is probably a little bit different than yours. I went into BIOS settings to change the boot sequence and try o force a boot to XP. For some reason I chose to DISABLE the FLOPPY DRIVE, so the remaining boot sequence was CDRW and then HDD. When I rebooted, the Linux OS selection appeared (I assume this is Lilo) I selected 'windows' and it booted right into XP with no problem. Try this and see if it works for you. I noticed in another thread entitled, 'Mandrake ***ed up my hard drive' or something like that, (thread started by a guy from Brazil called aze? I can't find the thread right now. If you can find it you can see my reply to joeclark which tells more precisely what my circumstances were when this happened. ANYWAY, in that thread, a member 'joeclark' noticed that when boot to XP fails and the blinking curser comes up, the floppy drive light is also ON constantly. I am new to Linux, and not a computer/software technician. Does this indicate a problem with an IDE controller? Anyhow, Good Luck. I wish I could get a good install and get rid of Windows forevermore. I envy you guys with a good install. I may have a hardware or driver issue causing the crc errors. No clue what is causing it. nsolitude

joclark wrote: I just disabled my floppy drive and I was ONLY THEN able to boot into XP. My situation may be different than yours: First install of 10.0 CE, I installed the boot loader into the MBR and and had the same problem others describe with the blinking cursor. I didn't know a work around so I reformatted and reinstalled XP with all of the updates. I tried the 10.0 CE install again and this time I selected to install the boot loader to a floppy disk. The result was that when I booted the machine without the floppy disk I just got this: L 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 and so on down the page half way. I booted with the boot loader floppy and to Linux I get a CRC error. This has been a consistent problem in my install attempts. When I selected Windows from the boot floppy, it would not boot to XP. I can't recall what the screen showed-- maybe a crc error. I went in to bios to change the boot sequence to try to force XP to boot and for some reason I decided to disable the floppy drive. That is all I did, the remaining boot sequence was CDRW then HDD. I rebooted AND I went straight into windows XP. Maybe this will work for some others. Now I have a disabled floppy drive so I'm not sure how I am going to fix anything. I think that I have a hardware and/or driver problem on this machine. I used the same 4 CD set to do a successful install on another computer with XP. EDITED to add: So, I got into XP, BUT my objective is to get rid of XP altogether and run only Linux. Please give me some advice or refer me to a link. I go through the complete install of 10.0 CE just fine but when I try to boot it from the OS selection screen I get a 'CRC ERROR' I am reluctant to try the 10CE install on a clean reformatted drive (WITHOUT XP!) because I am afraid 10.0 CE won't install correctly. Then I would have to reinstall XP with all of the updates on a slow dial up connection and that takes a whole day. I do not want Windows at all!!! Can Anyone advise me on these CRC ERRORs and do you think that CE would install correctly on a reformatted hard drive? If so this is the easiest solution, just put the CE disks in, and use the whole drive for CE. Should I try this? Thanks nsolitude