NickA's first linux thingummy

**Marmite the Dog** · 08-06-2007, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

I can't get SuSE to install on my USB disk.

I didn't think you could execute any programs on a USB drive?

**lom** · 08-06-2007, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

idn't think you could execute any programs on a USB drive?

On the contrary - I don't know of any program that does not execute from a USB disk.
Booting from a USB disk is another story though, you need BIOS support for that and older BIOS'es doesn't have it.

**NickA** · 08-06-2007, 03:31 PM

USB Pendrivelinux install from Linux | Pen Drive Linux

**Marmite the Dog** · 08-06-2007, 03:38 PM

^ Blimey!

I presume it's a seriously cut-down version of Linux though?

**mrsquirrel** · 08-06-2007, 06:59 PM

Not if you have a new 8GB USB drive.

130 Dollars here.

**Marmite the Dog** · 08-06-2007, 07:30 PM

Are we talking Flash Drives or Disc Drives?

I meant Disc Drives, even though I'm probably still wrong in my assumption.

**NickA** · 08-06-2007, 07:36 PM

I thought flash drives were just disk drives with a go faster stripe.

**Wallalai** · 08-06-2007, 10:01 PM

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

Originally Posted by NickA

^^I fear you 2 are being a bit complex for my friend CMN (and me)

My point.

I agree, but this cannot harm anybody.

Figure out when I began to be curious about the GNU/Linux OS I've just bought my first ever computer running Win98 1st edition. A complete newbie I was.
One day I bought a Redhat box with some CD's and a User Manual that were supposed to bring me to the Linux world. Reading the book it could as well be written in chinese and I thought I will never understand anything about it. Then I tried to install, I succeeded, but only in console mode. No driver for my S3 Savage 3D graphical card. After a lot of surfing, downloading other distros and a few months I ended with a working Linux with X.

So don't be impressed this will looks clear for you in less time that you think.

**lom** · 08-06-2007, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Are we talking Flash Drives or Disc Drives?

Both.
A USB disk drive is equal to any other disk drive in the system so you can always execute programs from it. You can format it , partition it, and make it bootable. But you will need BIOS support in order to be able to boot from it.

A USB Flash stick behaves like a special disk drive. You will need a program like FlashBoot to make it bootable and like the USB disk , you need to have a BIOS which can boot from USB devices.

**Marmite the Dog** · 09-06-2007, 12:35 AM

^ Ta..

**a. boozer** · 11-06-2007, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by NickA

^here it is, not beautiful, but it does the job

And I thought that trying to learn Thai was difficult enough!

**Bobk_nyc** · 13-06-2007, 02:13 AM

I have the mandriva flash, and it has been a bear to even boot from. when I do get it to boot, it funs so slowly, that it just isn't worth the trouble.

**Jardine** · 19-06-2007, 06:01 PM

Whats the status on CMNs convertion to Linux? How many hours have you spent on it so far FF?

**friscofrankie** · 19-06-2007, 07:57 PM

^Not many, Cmn's machine is quite old I'm not sure I posted this but I really was looking for a distro with a 2.4 kernel and could not find one of hte ez install types that still use 2.4.x. The keyboard & mouse locks when booting Suse 10.2. We will try another, older distribution.

He downloaded unbutu but I'm thinking it's gonna lock up too. haven't heard. I've assembled the parts to make him a nice 2.4.29 kernel based install. and I've got an earlier version of fedora we'll try. I am not big fan of fedora but it does have a fairly easy installation. If that gives me problems I've got a backup plan.

This will take a good deal of time, not to install, but to get him setup so he can manage simple tasks. Really need a few hours without being fed lovely food to work out his hardware/firmare issues.

What the hell he got a BIOS upgrade out of it

i think it is a bit irresponsible for the larger distros to go out and embrace it so whole-heartedly. Linux has always been a system that supported almost any old hardware. When adding all the hardware detection and whizbang install features the kernel needs to probe for hardware. The firmware on does not support this, or should I say the 2.6 kernel needs stuff just that ain't there?

**mrsquirrel** · 19-06-2007, 08:40 PM

Don't the makers of Ubuntu make a cut down version for old machines.

FF

Why in farks name can't I upgrade my SUSE Kernel from 2.1.18 to the latest.

Get bloody errors.

I want native NTFS access but I can't set it up without the latest kernel which I have.

Says it'st a dummy file.

Pissing me off a lot. Everything else is ok minus a small LAN problem which I am working on,

**friscofrankie** · 19-06-2007, 09:20 PM

Try the source and compile it for your machine.
http://http://www.kernel.org/
Some good links and information there. Nice menu driven configurator when compiling. Get 2.4.34.5 Fuck 2.6.
With the 2.6 kernel my machine would just dive for the dirt when disk writes were going on; downloading files, or copying/moving files the copies/moves would take forever my torrents slowed down, My machine was unusable. Problem with the way disk writes are off loaded to the hard-ware, the system couldn't pass off the writes to the hardware, it then had to do all the work.
With CMn's machine it would get a point wher it would probe for the mouse and lock up completely no input devices worked had to power down.
When you compile the kernel you'll have to configure it to include the NTFS module. They can be compiled in or loaded as modules, you choose at compile time.

Better to investigate the 2.4 kernel and a loadable module, this way if it give trouble you can disable it. and the 2.4 kernel is much more stable. Modules take up a small amount more memory but well worth it in flexibility.

Most of 2.6's improvements are really focused at the server end. linux-ntfs.org has a decent product www.linux-ntfs.org - Home
2.4 is supported I would read carefully about security issues and access rights, especially. mounting to view or copy should not be a problem but I would want to know a helluva lot more about how ownership and file/directory access is handled before I used the product. It's a loadable module (driver)..

There is no "Native" NTFS access, either way you go, it is mounting a foreign file system with either a compiled in or loaded library. if it were I; I'd go for the loadable module. you can probably afford the 2 - 5K of extra ram it's gonna use.

I think I posted above I think it extremely irresponsible of the general use and more important distributions not include a 2.4. It should still be the #1 choice as far as desktop systems go, especially the "I'm so gui I'll do it all for you" distros.

**lom** · 19-06-2007, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

The keyboard & mouse locks when booting Suse 10.2.

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

We will try another, older distribution.

/ranting mode off/

PS/2 Keyboard or USB Keyboard?

**Marmite the Dog** · 19-06-2007, 10:14 PM

^^ Another one who should be put in the slammer for not posting in English.

**ChiangMai noon** · 19-06-2007, 10:15 PM

ps/2...

**mrsquirrel** · 20-06-2007, 04:19 AM

Not your console you fucking numpty.Your keyboard connection to your PC

**dirtydog** · 20-06-2007, 04:45 AM

He said it was ps2, all the older keyboards are.

**NickA** · 20-06-2007, 06:59 AM

CMN and FF, you seem to be making this more difficult than it is.... all i had to do was stick the disk in and run it - took about 2 hours to get a dual boot system up and running.

**ChiangMai noon** · 20-06-2007, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by NickA

all i had to do was stick the disk in and run it

Install doesn't work Nick.
Mouse and keyboard freeze at the start.

**mrsquirrel** · 20-06-2007, 10:47 AM

Why doesn't that suprise me?

Maybe it doesn't like Welsh people.

I have an old Mepis 6.01 maybe 8 months to a year old at home I could stick in a torrent for you or even email it in a multy RAR.

**friscofrankie** · 20-06-2007, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by NickA

CMN and FF, you seem to be making this more difficult than it is.... all i had to do was stick the disk in and run it - took about 2 hours to get a dual boot system up and running.

Well if you had no difficulties you didn't get much opportunity to learn much about the install process did you?

The machine locks up as soon as it probes hardware. So we go into a text mode install. same fuckin thing. No utils to build a bootable disk and build by hand. this is the problem; everyone's trying to be the latest and greatest. Sad, really Linux is a great system; quite stable when set up right.

We'll get it up on a 2.4 kernel, using a text mode install. No more difficult than setting up DOS really. When I originally recommended Suse I was unaware they had gone over to the 2.6 kernel. They are usually the last to embrace the newest whiz-bang innovations when I discovered they had moved to the 2.6 kernel I mistakenly expected the backward compatibility issues to be resolved.
I was fuckin wrong.

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