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I got a cheap computer from eBay for a Linux box, a Kayak XAs, monitor
cables finally arrived so I could see what I'm doing. I got Mandrake from
eBay, a 7 CD set for around $5 including shipping. Couldn't figure out
why it was so cheap.

Installation was fun and easy for the first disk. When it said to insert
the second disk it just hung there, and eventually said there was an error
installing some package, continue? Yes. Error installing another
package, continue? Yes. Eventually I gave up, started over clicking
"cancel" to skip CD 2. It said to insert International CD 3, so I stuck
in the International CD which was my CD 7, and it didn't like that. So I
tried my CD 3 and it didn't like that. Eventually the install finished
with just the first disk.

Maybe that's why it was so cheap. There's still stuff on the other disks,
but it's as if the Install disk were made for something else.

If I have a working setup, I can add stuff later. But my monitor is stuck
in crappy mode, the 640x480 strobe light. It's an AuroraVision that
doesn't appear in the hardware list, but I'd entered the settings and it
told me I'd have to restart GNOME before the setting take effect. Which
is kind of frustrating because on my Mac I enter a resolution and refresh
rate and it's set immediately, and if the screen goes wonky it resets in a
few seconds. I know immediately that something is happening and whether
it worked. But when I restarted Gnome the settings didn't take effect, I
still had a cramped strobe light. I've found a few places to enter
monitor settings, but it didn't seem to take in any of them.

My modem settings didn't seem to take, either. It's an ISA modem that
came with an Optiplex PII 233 MHz, however old that is. There are no
markings on the modem that I know how to relate to a brand or
manufacturer, but the computer said it detected a modem. But my ISP
information doesn't seem to take. I enter the phone number, user name,
password, DNS servers, etc., and test the connection and nothing happens.
Then I go back to the networking wizard and most or all of the fields are
blank, or all but the first few digits of the phone number were gone.
Weird.

What's going on there?

I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.
--
"Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the
truth... But let us beware of publishing our dreams before they have been
put to the proof by the waking understanding." -- Friedrich August Kekulé

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:01:24 +0000 (UTC), Gregory L. Hansen <glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
>
> I got a cheap computer from eBay for a Linux box, a Kayak XAs, monitor
> cables finally arrived so I could see what I'm doing. I got Mandrake from
> eBay, a 7 CD set for around $5 including shipping. Couldn't figure out
> why it was so cheap.
>
> Installation was fun and easy for the first disk. When it said to insert
> the second disk it just hung there, and eventually said there was an error
> installing some package, continue? Yes. Error installing another
> package, continue? Yes. Eventually I gave up, started over clicking
> "cancel" to skip CD 2. It said to insert International CD 3, so I stuck
> in the International CD which was my CD 7, and it didn't like that. So I
> tried my CD 3 and it didn't like that. Eventually the install finished
> with just the first disk.
>
> Maybe that's why it was so cheap. There's still stuff on the other disks,
> but it's as if the Install disk were made for something else.

I've had a few installations go like that. I bought some Debian disks
where only the installer was readable. It loaded up, partitioned my hard
drive, then couldn't read anything else, leaving me with a lovely blank
partitioned drive.

> If I have a working setup, I can add stuff later. But my monitor is stuck
> in crappy mode, the 640x480 strobe light.

Ack!!

> It's an AuroraVision that
> doesn't appear in the hardware list, but I'd entered the settings and it
> told me I'd have to restart GNOME before the setting take effect. Which
> is kind of frustrating because on my Mac I enter a resolution and refresh
> rate and it's set immediately, and if the screen goes wonky it resets in a
> few seconds. I know immediately that something is happening and whether
> it worked. But when I restarted Gnome the settings didn't take effect, I
> still had a cramped strobe light. I've found a few places to enter
> monitor settings, but it didn't seem to take in any of them.

Setting up X can be really complicated. I have no idea how Mandrake does
it.

> My modem settings didn't seem to take, either. It's an ISA modem that
> came with an Optiplex PII 233 MHz, however old that is. There are no
> markings on the modem that I know how to relate to a brand or
> manufacturer, but the computer said it detected a modem.

If it's a Plug-n-Play modem you'll probably need the isapnp tools to give
your modem the magic wiggly bits to know what it's supposed to do. Or
something. (I haven't done that in years. PCI is nice.)

> But my ISP
> information doesn't seem to take. I enter the phone number, user name,
> password, DNS servers, etc., and test the connection and nothing happens.
> Then I go back to the networking wizard and most or all of the fields are
> blank, or all but the first few digits of the phone number were gone.
> Weird.
>
> What's going on there?

Hard to say. One of the files that didn't get installed right might be
one that is needed to store the information you're trying to enter. And
getting the modem to work is a whole other issue, of course.

> I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
> and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
> being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.

Two questions: do you specifically need *Mandrake*, and do you have a CD
burner on your Mac?

You might want to consider Debian, which can be downloaded and installed
completely over the internet. Having a CD burner will make it easier, but
I've done it from floppies. You can get a minimal install going with a
few floppies, then get your modem going (with, ah, luck and persistence)
then download the rest of the system.

I've also got copies of SuSE 8.1, Redhat, er... 7.2, 7.3, 8-something, and
maybe 9 around, along with Debian "Woody". I could make copies of any of
these and mail them to you.


--
- Laurel * * * http://amberdine.com

Laurel Amberdine wrote:

> On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:01:24 +0000 (UTC), Gregory L. Hansen
> <glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
>>
>> I got a cheap computer from eBay for a Linux box, a Kayak XAs, monitor
>> cables finally arrived so I could see what I'm doing. I got Mandrake
>> from
>> eBay, a 7 CD set for around $5 including shipping. Couldn't figure out
>> why it was so cheap.
>>
>> Installation was fun and easy for the first disk. When it said to insert
>> the second disk it just hung there, and eventually said there was an
>> error
>> installing some package, continue? Yes. Error installing another
>> package, continue? Yes. Eventually I gave up, started over clicking
>> "cancel" to skip CD 2. It said to insert International CD 3, so I stuck
>> in the International CD which was my CD 7, and it didn't like that. So I
>> tried my CD 3 and it didn't like that. Eventually the install finished
>> with just the first disk.
>>
>> Maybe that's why it was so cheap. There's still stuff on the other
>> disks, but it's as if the Install disk were made for something else.
>
> I've had a few installations go like that. I bought some Debian disks
> where only the installer was readable. It loaded up, partitioned my hard
> drive, then couldn't read anything else, leaving me with a lovely blank
> partitioned drive.
>
>> If I have a working setup, I can add stuff later. But my monitor is
>> stuck in crappy mode, the 640x480 strobe light.
>
> Ack!!
>
>> It's an AuroraVision that
>> doesn't appear in the hardware list, but I'd entered the settings and it
>> told me I'd have to restart GNOME before the setting take effect. Which
>> is kind of frustrating because on my Mac I enter a resolution and refresh
>> rate and it's set immediately, and if the screen goes wonky it resets in
>> a
>> few seconds. I know immediately that something is happening and whether
>> it worked. But when I restarted Gnome the settings didn't take effect, I
>> still had a cramped strobe light. I've found a few places to enter
>> monitor settings, but it didn't seem to take in any of them.
>
> Setting up X can be really complicated. I have no idea how Mandrake does
> it.
>
>> My modem settings didn't seem to take, either. It's an ISA modem that
>> came with an Optiplex PII 233 MHz, however old that is. There are no
>> markings on the modem that I know how to relate to a brand or
>> manufacturer, but the computer said it detected a modem.
>
> If it's a Plug-n-Play modem you'll probably need the isapnp tools to give
> your modem the magic wiggly bits to know what it's supposed to do. Or
> something. (I haven't done that in years. PCI is nice.)
>
>> But my ISP
>> information doesn't seem to take. I enter the phone number, user name,
>> password, DNS servers, etc., and test the connection and nothing happens.
>> Then I go back to the networking wizard and most or all of the fields are
>> blank, or all but the first few digits of the phone number were gone.
>> Weird.
>>
>> What's going on there?
>
> Hard to say. One of the files that didn't get installed right might be
> one that is needed to store the information you're trying to enter. And
> getting the modem to work is a whole other issue, of course.
>
>> I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
>> and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
>> being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.
>
> Two questions: do you specifically need *Mandrake*, and do you have a CD
> burner on your Mac?
>
> You might want to consider Debian, which can be downloaded and installed
> completely over the internet. Having a CD burner will make it easier, but
> I've done it from floppies. You can get a minimal install going with a
> few floppies, then get your modem going (with, ah, luck and persistence)
> then download the rest of the system.
>
> I've also got copies of SuSE 8.1, Redhat, er... 7.2, 7.3, 8-something, and
> maybe 9 around, along with Debian "Woody". I could make copies of any of
> these and mail them to you.
>
>
To get Mandrake working, you need CD2. If you were unable to install files
from it, there is no wonder that things aren't behaving. Were the disks
for a Mac? I doubt very much whether you would finish up "exactly where
you are" by purchasing reliable CDs. What version of Mandrake is it? The
latest is 9.2 - just out. If you are just starting out with Linux, I would
advise you to take up Laurel's offer. Play around with a distro - even an
old edition - and get a feel for the features you want.

HTH,

Doug.
--
Registered Linux User No. 277548.
They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place. My typing is
about as accurate. Apologies for any typos that slip in. - Doug.

glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) writes:


]I got a cheap computer from eBay for a Linux box, a Kayak XAs, monitor
]cables finally arrived so I could see what I'm doing. I got Mandrake from
]eBay, a 7 CD set for around $5 including shipping. Couldn't figure out
]why it was so cheap.

]Installation was fun and easy for the first disk. When it said to insert
]the second disk it just hung there, and eventually said there was an error
]installing some package, continue? Yes. Error installing another
]package, continue? Yes. Eventually I gave up, started over clicking
]"cancel" to skip CD 2. It said to insert International CD 3, so I stuck
]in the International CD which was my CD 7, and it didn't like that. So I
]tried my CD 3 and it didn't like that. Eventually the install finished
]with just the first disk.

]Maybe that's why it was so cheap. There's still stuff on the other disks,
]but it's as if the Install disk were made for something else.

]If I have a working setup, I can add stuff later. But my monitor is stuck
]in crappy mode, the 640x480 strobe light. It's an AuroraVision that
]doesn't appear in the hardware list, but I'd entered the settings and it
]told me I'd have to restart GNOME before the setting take effect. Which
]is kind of frustrating because on my Mac I enter a resolution and refresh
]rate and it's set immediately, and if the screen goes wonky it resets in a
]few seconds. I know immediately that something is happening and whether
]it worked. But when I restarted Gnome the settings didn't take effect, I
]still had a cramped strobe light. I've found a few places to enter
]monitor settings, but it didn't seem to take in any of them.

]My modem settings didn't seem to take, either. It's an ISA modem that
]came with an Optiplex PII 233 MHz, however old that is. There are no
]markings on the modem that I know how to relate to a brand or
]manufacturer, but the computer said it detected a modem. But my ISP
]information doesn't seem to take. I enter the phone number, user name,
]password, DNS servers, etc., and test the connection and nothing happens.
]Then I go back to the networking wizard and most or all of the fields are
]blank, or all but the first few digits of the phone number were gone.
]Weird.

]What's going on there?

]I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
]and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
]being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.
Or you could download the new Mandrake 9.2 and burn that onto
CDs for the cost of the CDs. Or get a good set of
CDs from somewhere like cheapbytes. Or order from Mandrake, or...
Sounds to me like you got a bum set of CDs You also seem to have trouble
setting up your video card. Hard to tell from here with no information.
You also do not tell us which program you use to try to connect to the
net with? kppp?

Yes, Linux is not as advanced as Mac or Win is in setting the screen
resolution.You do NOT have to reboot. You just need to restart your X.

In article <bmqfi0$pca8b$1@ID-45790.news.uni-berlin.de>,
Laurel Amberdine <circle@mtco.com> wrote:
>On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:01:24 +0000 (UTC), Gregory L. Hansen
><glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:

>> If I have a working setup, I can add stuff later. But my monitor is stuck
>> in crappy mode, the 640x480 strobe light.
>
>Ack!!

Yes, the standard for public terminals at libraries, kiosks, and wherever
there be computers, with geeks locked out of the control panel and any
hope of doing something about it. The 640x480 strobe light, providing
headaches and eye strain for... well, a long time, anyway.

>If it's a Plug-n-Play modem you'll probably need the isapnp tools to give
>your modem the magic wiggly bits to know what it's supposed to do. Or
>something. (I haven't done that in years. PCI is nice.)

I don't know if it's a PnP modem. I thinking of just getting another,
they cost around $20, but I'd want to rule out software issues, first.

>> I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
>> and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
>> being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.
>
>Two questions: do you specifically need *Mandrake*, and do you have a CD
>burner on your Mac?

I took to Mandrake because it was suggested as a distribution that's easy
for the beginner to set up and likely to work on any random collection of
equipment. There's a computer store near me whose Linux support consists
of a few Red Had boxes laying around, I could always pick up one of those.

>
>You might want to consider Debian, which can be downloaded and installed
>completely over the internet. Having a CD burner will make it easier, but
>I've done it from floppies. You can get a minimal install going with a
>few floppies, then get your modem going (with, ah, luck and persistence)
>then download the rest of the system.

I have a burner at work. You like Debian?

>
>I've also got copies of SuSE 8.1, Redhat, er... 7.2, 7.3, 8-something, and
>maybe 9 around, along with Debian "Woody". I could make copies of any of
>these and mail them to you.

That's a kind offer. I'll see how things go on this end, first.

--
"Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the
truth... But let us beware of publishing our dreams before they have been
put to the proof by the waking understanding." -- Friedrich August Kekulé

In article <c21761-cb3.ln1@dougshost.mydomain.org.au>,
Doug Laidlaw <laidlaws@myaccess.com.au> wrote:

>To get Mandrake working, you need CD2. If you were unable to install files
>from it, there is no wonder that things aren't behaving. Were the disks
>for a Mac? I doubt very much whether you would finish up "exactly where
>you are" by purchasing reliable CDs. What version of Mandrake is it? The
>latest is 9.2 - just out. If you are just starting out with Linux, I would
>advise you to take up Laurel's offer. Play around with a distro - even an
>old edition - and get a feel for the features you want.

If I need CD2, I suppose some problems wouldn't be a big surprise. I
didn't want to be too quick to blame Mandrake for what might just be
crappy media. I think it was supposed to be Mandrake 9.1.

--
"Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, then perhaps we shall find the
truth... But let us beware of publishing our dreams before they have been
put to the proof by the waking understanding." -- Friedrich August Kekulé

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 13:15:15 +0000 (UTC),
glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:

<snip>

>I took to Mandrake because it was suggested as a distribution that's easy
>for the beginner to set up and likely to work on any random collection of
>equipment. There's a computer store near me whose Linux support consists
>of a few Red Had boxes laying around, I could always pick up one of those.

Mandrake used to be my favorite distribution, because its setup and
tools were nice. However, I've upgraded my PC several times since
then, and now it seems that Mandrake's graphical installer doesn't
like my PC. When it comes up, it just freezes my computer with the
caps lock and scroll lock flashing (a common sign for Linux when
something goes wrong, but I still don't know exactly what it means).
I've been able to install it on my PC in text mode, but then I had
problems installing some drivers & stuff.

My point is, Mandrake is good, but on some hardware, it seems to be a
headache.. I ended up installing RedHat 9 on my machine, and it works
well.

Eric

Le Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:01:24 +0000, Gregory L. Hansen a écritÂ*:

>
> I got a cheap computer from eBay for a Linux box, a Kayak XAs, monitor
> cables finally arrived so I could see what I'm doing. I got Mandrake from
> eBay, a 7 CD set for around $5 including shipping. Couldn't figure out
> why it was so cheap.
>
> Installation was fun and easy for the first disk. When it said to insert
> the second disk it just hung there, and eventually said there was an error
> installing some package, continue? Yes. Error installing another
> package, continue? Yes. Eventually I gave up, started over clicking
> "cancel" to skip CD 2. It said to insert International CD 3, so I stuck
> in the International CD which was my CD 7, and it didn't like that. So I
> tried my CD 3 and it didn't like that. Eventually the install finished
> with just the first disk.
>
> [...]
>
> I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
> and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
> being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.

seems somebody sell broken Mandrake install.

You may find real iso images of Mandrake and checksums here:

ftp://ftp.rutgers.edu/pub/mandrake/Mandrake/iso/

others mirors :

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3


Michel.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 13:15:15 +0000 (UTC), Gregory L. Hansen <glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
> In article <bmqfi0$pca8b$1@ID-45790.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> Laurel Amberdine <circle@mtco.com> wrote:
>>On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:01:24 +0000 (UTC), Gregory L. Hansen
>><glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:

>>If it's a Plug-n-Play modem you'll probably need the isapnp tools to give
>>your modem the magic wiggly bits to know what it's supposed to do. Or
>>something. (I haven't done that in years. PCI is nice.)
>
> I don't know if it's a PnP modem. I thinking of just getting another,
> they cost around $20, but I'd want to rule out software issues, first.

I forgot to ask (or maybe you already said, and I forgot that) does your
modem have jumpers on it? That could make things a lot easier.

>>> I'd like to think I could spend $50 on "real" CDs from the Mandrake store
>>> and all the problems would be solved, but then I imagine spending $50 and
>>> being exactly where I am now, except $50 poorer.
>>
>>Two questions: do you specifically need *Mandrake*, and do you have a CD
>>burner on your Mac?
>
> I took to Mandrake because it was suggested as a distribution that's easy
> for the beginner to set up and likely to work on any random collection of
> equipment.

Hmm.

> There's a computer store near me whose Linux support consists
> of a few Red Had boxes laying around, I could always pick up one of those.

I wouldn't suggest Red Hat, personally. The latest distributions are
aimed at a corporate market. A dialup connecion isn't even part of
the standard setup. They also expect pretty modern hardware. OTOH, there
are a lot of people using Red Hat, so you could certainly get help more
easily.

>>You might want to consider Debian, which can be downloaded and installed
>>completely over the internet. Having a CD burner will make it easier, but
>>I've done it from floppies. You can get a minimal install going with a
>>few floppies, then get your modem going (with, ah, luck and persistence)
>>then download the rest of the system.
>
> I have a burner at work. You like Debian?

I like Debian very much. Just about every application that ever worked
with Linux is in a Debian distribution. Package installation, removal,
and upgrading is *much* easier with .deb packages than with RPMs (which
are used by Red Hat, Mandrake, and SuSE). The new installer is very easy.
They say you could teach a chicken to install Debian now: just keep
hitting enter.

The "difficult" part about Debian is that configuration is (mostly) done
through text files. Of course, configuration actually *is* always through
text files in Linux. Some distributions have written pretty graphical
interfaces to create the configuration files. This is nice and easy until
something doesn't work and you have no idea what to change or how.
Debian packages always have man pages, and the configuration files are
commented with clear examples.

Right now I'm running SuSE though, because my hardware is too new for
Debian. It's fine, but when something goes wrong and the setup tools
can't fix it, I'm lost.

>>I've also got copies of SuSE 8.1, Redhat, er... 7.2, 7.3, 8-something, and
>>maybe 9 around, along with Debian "Woody". I could make copies of any of
>>these and mail them to you.
>
> That's a kind offer. I'll see how things go on this end, first.

Good luck! I'm sure you can get something working.


--
- Laurel * * * http://amberdine.com

Eric <> writes:

]On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 13:15:15 +0000 (UTC),
]glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:

]<snip>

]>I took to Mandrake because it was suggested as a distribution that's easy
]>for the beginner to set up and likely to work on any random collection of
]>equipment. There's a computer store near me whose Linux support consists
]>of a few Red Had boxes laying around, I could always pick up one of those.

]Mandrake used to be my favorite distribution, because its setup and
]tools were nice. However, I've upgraded my PC several times since
]then, and now it seems that Mandrake's graphical installer doesn't
]like my PC. When it comes up, it just freezes my computer with the
]caps lock and scroll lock flashing (a common sign for Linux when
]something goes wrong, but I still don't know exactly what it means).
]I've been able to install it on my PC in text mode, but then I had
]problems installing some drivers & stuff.

]My point is, Mandrake is good, but on some hardware, it seems to be a
]headache.. I ended up installing RedHat 9 on my machine, and it works
]well.


That is usually a kernel problem. Mandrake uses the Linux kenrel with
some patches. You need to figure out at what stage it is is freezing.