Hello world of Linux from another total newbie...
I've been meaning for some time to have a good fiddle with Linux to see what all the fuss is about. I got Knoppix & fiddled a bit & now got a Mandrake 10.0 DVD from a magazine. I'm extremely keen to get it all running and start my new learning curve but I'm having problems that you may be able to help with.
System - Dell Inspiron 5800, 256Mb RAM, 30GB HDD, NVidia GeForce4 Go 64Mb, Pentium 4 2.0GHz M.
First prob was partitioning the drive as I wanted to keep the WinXP there for now(sorry!) but managed to eventually create a 7.5Gb space (should that be enough?).
Installation looks fine up until the 'summary' where you can configure the un-configured bits. If I try to set up the Graphical Interface to my card I get a sample screen that's too narrow. If I choose the 'no it's no good' option the screen goes haywire & although I'm sure there's still things going on you can't see anything other than lines & garbage - and I did wait a while... If I choose not to configure it, it tells me I've not configured 'X' do I really want it? Tried yes & no but still probs further down the line.
Then I wanted to set up my network card (Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller) but my puny knowledge was highlighted when I seemed to get stuck in a loop of choosing a card, auto-detecting then choosing a card again.
ANYWAY, I would like just to get the OS working then worry about these things later BUT when I choose to march straight through the installer without mucking around with these things I do reach the 'Congratulations you did it' type screen and re-boot the system without the DVD. It all looks good until I get around half-way along the progress bar then the computer emits a deafening monotone high pitched sound that's akin to 38 rape alarms... I mean this is loud. 1st couple of times I switched of in sheer terror. Then I tried covering the holes on the laptop to see if it would work regardless but it didn't...
Please help if you can! If I've left out any vital info let me know...
Thanks in advance.