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Re: [LUG] Do other LUG Members find X a pain to configure ?



On Wednesday 09 April 2003 4:47 pm, Simon Sanders wrote:
> I'm an aspiring Mandrake 8.2 package user, strongly desirous of scrapping
> all dependence on MicroSoft Windows and MS Windows applications. I bought a
> copy of Mandrake Linux 8.1 which ran ok except that StarOffice 5.2
> collapsed whenever I tried to print and hardly any of the games worked (to

If you mean things like 3D games, I'm not at all surprised. I find it bemusing 
that Mandrake and other distros install these games as default in the Games 
group when a large number of newish systems simply can't run 3D X.

> The only trouble is, StarOffice 6.0 wouldn't load (I got an error message
> that said it couldn't find StarOffice 5.2), KPPP stopped working properly

Sounds like you did an upgrade - I've had problems with upgrades and I now 
only install - make a backup and let the new installer zap the partition - 
start again with a fresh configuration. This isn't just Linux either, I 
couldn't get Windows 98 to upgrade over Win95 and Windows ME wouldn't upgrade 
Win98 and that's before we consider upgrades that actually change the 
filesystem structure like ME->XP.

> (although I could connect with my ISP, my browser and email systems
> couldn't find whatever it is need to find in order to work), the games were

DNS normally, plus a gateway. That problem may have disappeared with a fresh 
install.

> no better and Mandrake wasn't interested. I'm sure the problems are due to
> something simple like configuration, but I haven't a clue what to do. The

We all start there. There have been LOADS of people on this list (including me 
not so long ago) who kept on nagging Simon (W), Alex and others about 
configuring Mandrake whilst having to use a Windows connection. The key is to 
take one thing at a time and remember that this is not a small bit of 
software, it is a complete system and there is nothing about it that 
necessarily has to work anything like the Windows way. Learning Linux still 
takes time because the system is so much more capable. The temptation to 
install EVERYTHING is enormous but you'd be better off installing just what 
you can get your head around. Leave the rest until later. Don't entrust 
valuable data to any new system until you are confident about using it and 
you'll be happy to zap it to solve problems. I know most problems can be 
solved without wiping the partition, but when I was learning it was by far 
the easiest way to learn. You pick up how to solve problems by less drastic 
means as you learn more.

> FAQs associated with KPPP do identify my problem but the prescribed remedy
> doesn't work (actually, I haven't pinged the server because I don't know
> what this means or how to do it).

Open a terminal window (often the icon looks like  monitor perhaps with a 
seashell in one corner) and type ping -c4 hostname.domain - the c4 means that 
the ping command only executes 4 times. That's useful when you are testing 
and you actually haven't got a connection to where you want - otherwise you 
can sit there staring at ping for some time. (It's Control + C if you need to 
quit from ping). So:
ping -c4 127.0.0.1
ping -c4 192.168.0.1
ping -c4 www.dclug.org.uk

(Think of a terminal window as a more powerful version of the C:> prompt.)

> I'm tempted to go out and buy another package, but I feel that I'm likely

Nah, just try again. We all did.

> to be disappointed again. So I've reluctantly transferred everything back
> to MS Windows and I tell myself that at least I'm partly free of MicroSoft
> since I use Eudora and Netscape Navigator/Communicator. I've tried sites
> like Linux Newbie and Just Linux but can't find anything remotely relevant.

Ask away. (And when you find the answer, add it to the Wiki for everyone 
else).

> And one way and another, I'm pretty cheesed off since I would really like
> to go over to Linux but can't.

Yes you can. It's not an impossible task. Installing Netscape etc. is the easy 
stuff (as easy as buying a pizza). Installing and learning a new operating 
system (Linux, BeOS, OS/2, Unix, whatever) takes more time and involves some 
new learning (more like buying a house).

> So it's all very well to say that that's what packages are for - the
> Mandrake package hasn't worked for me.

Yet.
:-))

Keep going, ya doing fine!

-- 

Neil Williams
=============
http://www.codehelp.co.uk
http://www.dclug.org.uk

http://www.wewantbroadband.co.uk/

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