First real Linux install

[Bob The Great]

To help train me at my new job my boss sent me home with a K6 450mhz 256mbs ram, 2gb system and a Suse PRO box to learn Linux with! I have to say I'm enjoying it so far! I had a bad mouse port (PS2), but luckly a friend had an OLD com based mouse so now I'm up and running with the mouse. I'm learning its file structure and such now! Its pretty awesome! Any pointers for a newb? Things I should avoid or try out?

I love how it came with 8 cds of stuff! I'm excited to try some stuff out (ideas would be cool)! I also love the fact it also came with a DVD! I mean that rules! What a great idea! I realized that after I popped in my old CD-RW drive from my main machine. I needed to replace it anyway!

Anyway, I'm going to set this thing up as a printer server for now. I have an HP deskjet 3820. How do I set this up? My other two PC's are XP powered.

Also I want a switch so I can share monitors with my old 1ghz PC and the Linux box. Any ideas how to do that, or anyone have an old one they would be willing to part with for really cheap?

Thanks

[originel]

couple of things:

www.linuxquestions.org is a great place to find answers to a lot of questions on linux (it even uses the same message board software as TIMO!!). also http://www.justlinux.com/ (formerly linuxnewbie.org) is another good place for info.

www.sourceforge.net is THE place to get software for linux from, it has so much stuff there.

as for the monitor issue you have several options. the first is to get a switch box (newegg has some for around $40). this is by far the easiest and will give you a direct video output from all comps to a single monitor, keyboard, and mouse (or just video if you want).

the second option is to use something like telenet or SSH to get in. both of these are software based and take some work to set up. (just do a search and you'll find tones of info on both).

And my biggest piece of advice is just play around with linux and don't get frustrated. find a problem and solve it. and good luck!

[iNeb]

I suggest buying a book. Justlinux is a great forum.

I own Linux In a Nutshell by o'reilly and it is a great book! I bought it new (well used, but new) from amazon for $7 (including shipping)

Has all the commands plus more ++

[lynchmob]

What version of SuSE?
The first things I do when I install SuSE are:

• Turn up the volume on the mixer
• Create a cd burning directory and a download directory in my /home/me directory/partition
• run hdparm /dev/hdx to see how the hard drive got setup(x depends on what controller:hda is pri. master for instance)
• install abiword(no OpenOffice)
• setup the internet
• do the online update(manual for me)

Run YaST2 to do just about everything system-wise.There's more but I'll let someone else add to this.
HTH
lynch

[Bob The Great]

Thanks Originel, I'll check those out. I need to do some research on the file system so I know where stuff is stored

lynchmob, SuSE 8.0 PRO boxed ver with manuals (oy does it have manuals). I have no modem so internet is not an option. I'm still trying to setup the network. It won't work right with DHCP so I set it to an IP outa my routers range and now I can log into my router but I can't see any pcs.

What is abiword and how do I install it? I have staroffice installed currently.

I have to say so far I'm not terribly impressed with Linux. Its stable, but everythings name Kfrotbf or something like that, and it has like 10 progs that do the same thing but are different colors. It does come loaded with a bunch of stuff that can do everything so downloading is not needed but the stuff doesn't have good explinations. Also it seems kinda slow. Win98 on this machine would work a lot faster. But I'm sticking with it as my boss told me to I must just be missing something here. Maybe I need to install some games or something.

[originel]

you're not really missing much. one of my biggest grips with linux is that there is no consolidation between programs, and there usually isn't a "best" program, just 10 different ones to choose from. you get used to it after a while. if you want to organize things, you can always go and just run every program, see what it does, and then rename it on the menu (in KDE you right click on the K icon and select "menu editor". i don't know how to do it in gnome) and you can also get rid of a lot of things you don't need.

as for explanations of programs, usually you just have to get on the internet and go to the programs website and read about it there.

if you have staroffice installed, then don't bother with abiword. you've got what is probably the best office suite for linux at current.

As for speed i don't really know what to tell you. i use slackware (another linux distro) and it runs faster than 9x. i would guess that it is a combination of two thing: a) you have a lot of processes running at startup and b) you have every little piece of eye-candy turned on KDE. to change the former takes a lot of getting under the hood, but to change the latter run the KDE desktop wizard again and you can also go to the control center and there's stuff all over that you can change. also what file system are you using? sometimes that can affect speed as well.

[Bob The Great]

ok, well thanks for the info. I know a lot is loading at startup. It takes like 40 seconds from power to logon and another 20 from logon to desktop. Not quick, I know something is messed in my config. O well figuring it out will help me get to know linux better.

[Bob The Great]

ok, day 2. I still don't see why people like linux?

Ok, Win98 would run fine on this setup. Linux runs slow.

The only good thing I've found in it is the matrix screensaver, Ksirtet (tetris ), and kTron.

I still can;t get it to do DHCP under my router, though it will communicate with the router if I set it to an IP outa the DHCP range I have set it still won't see the other pc's. I need to find how to connect them together. Perhaps one of those sites has the info.

Edit: OK, you know what this is making me MAD!!! I can Konquer this!!! Ok, well I just pinged my linux box...hmm it needs a name...well I 'll work on that. Any way I just pinged it from my XP box and got a responce. It is there. I need to set it up to my workgroup now so I can share. This'll probably need special software...hmm now to search,

[thronka]

you need to try GLtron

[LittleKing]

Samba for file sharing in linux.

LK