Text 3465, 107 rader
Skriven 2005-04-08 15:04:06 av Robert Comer (1:379/45)
   Kommentar till text 3463 av Gary Britt (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Tribulations Of Installing Linux or Johnny O is right.
==================================================================
From: "Robert Comer" <bobcomer_removeme@mindspring.com>

Not to defend  the Mandrake install, but the graphical install has *much* more
information of the type you are looking for.

It's really too bad the laptop couldn't use the graphical install.

You might want to try some of the other distributions if you're game -- I gave
up Mandrake pretty much myself.  (I only have Mandrake 9 on my laptop,
otherwise I've been playing with SUSE/Novell on one PC.)

- Bob Comer


"Gary Britt" <zotu@nospamforme.com> wrote in message
news:4256cd14@w3.nls.net...
About 6 months ago I bought a magazine that came with Mandrake Linux 10.1. I
did so to install linux just for the hell of it on an old laptop (2 gig HD,
Pentium 200 MMX, NeoMagic 2mb Video, capable of 800x600 on LCD and 1024x768 on
external monitor.)

I know windows and dos and PC Hardware, but I know nothing about Linux. Unlike
when I first began installing windows or before that OS/2, I made no effort to
study anything about how linux works and how to install it.  So I approaced the
install as a normal uninformed computer user.

Plunked in the CD, but it either didn't want to install under windows or I
didn't give it enough time.  Decided to just boot the CD and let it install,
but this laptop won't boot any CD, even though it is supposed to have that
capability.  A problem for me but not Linux's fault.  Made up a dos floppy with
cdrom drivers and tried to get linux to install, but when this didn't work
realized that Linux needs its own boot floppy to install this way. Directions
in a text file for creating this floppy were VERY incomplete.  If I wasn't
familiar with dos commands I would have never figured out how to create the
needed linux boot floppy.  The text file said use this command and gives and
example of the command, but the example omits the needed full paths to the util
file in question and the image file it takes as a command line option, and
these two files are NOT in the same directory.  So if you type in the command
as shown in the text file it fails every time because it can't find the needed
image file that is in and entirely different branch of the directory tree.

Then in using the command to create the floppy you have to choose one of five
file names to fill in one spot of the command.  The descriptions of the choices
are so poorly written that you are unable to determine for sure which one is
the real choice you are looking for.  After a couple of wrong guesses about
which image file to use, I finally lucked into the right one.

Finally, reboot with floppy and CD in place and installation begins. Graphics
screen in high resolution comes up and I get to the first install screen. 
Select language.  The screen is not clear as to what to do next. Select other
items, hit advanced or hit next.  Hitting next causes the install to
immediately fail and the machine to reboot, so I think maybe I should have done
something before hitting next.  Couple more tries with similar failures and I
finally notice an error message going by the screen so fast you barely have
time to read it, that hints that maybe the problem is video related.   Boot
again and select advanced options for install, look
at my choices that are video related.  Now the install has no problem
displaying graphics to the point of that first screen.  It just can't figure
out how to do it after that first screen.  Seems odd, but I play along. Select
lowres graphics install option and reboot.  Get to same graphics screen, now in
low res, and same error, crash-reboot..  Ok try a different option, reboot,
graphics screen, hit next, same error crash-reboot.  OK try text mode install. 
Finally, something works and I get passed the first screen in text mode.  Next
come a series of screens to choose various setup options, sadly some of these
screens are so poorly written and documented that they are impossible to
decipher as to what to pick.  Like a screen with at least 50 files or programs
or options, not sure which :-( ,  that is nothing more than a list of
unintelligible names that look like a series of random letters thrown together
with absolutely no meaning in the name, no description of what the thing is,
does, or when it should or should not be selected.  With such complete lack of
info, unable to decided to select anything on the list or not, so I just hit
next and keep going.  Install continues for about 1 hour more now.  Finally,
install completes and I start getting some screens for configuration of various
items, like root name, server name, security level choices, etc. etc.,
absolutely NO explanation is given for any of these items.  Nothing NADA.  You
have no clue as to whether you should fill something in or leave it blank.  You
are given no clue as to what the ramifications are if do or don't fill in
something or not (like root password or user password, etc etc).  Finally, I
get to a screen that shows a summary of what has been configured.  I note the
video has not been configured.  While given absolutely no clue by the install
routine that anything that wasn't configured could be a problem or not, I
decide that the video not being configured could be a problem.  So I select the
video and hit a button to try and configure it.  The install immediately gives
me a screen that correctly identifies the video card as a NeoMagic 128XD but it
asks me to choose which resolution and color depth.  I remember I used to run
it at 1024x768 so I select that option (unfortunately I forgot that the
internal LCD will only run at 800x600).  Computer proceeds to lock-up, install
is trashed and I need to start over.

Bottom line.  In some respects the install routines of Linux are not as good as
say OS/2 around 1993.   In other ways, it is as good as OS/2 1993.  The
almost complete lack of onscreen documentation and help files that can be
pulled up for each of the install screens, etc. is a HUGE drawback to the
quality of the install.  When the install crashes, it never tells you why. If
you don't catch something as a log entry goes flashing by at the bottom of the
screen by accident, you have no clue what the problem is with the install.

A real newbie would have never gotten past the create boot floppy part to even
begin the install with help from someone else.

I am going to try the install again over the weekend, but I sure hope linux
runs a hell of a lot better than the install routine.

Gary

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5
 * Origin: Barktopia BBS Site http://HarborWebs.com:8081 (1:379/45)