Some misc *nix questions

[TheWart]

okay, here is the deal. I have been really interested into figuring out linux, and so i am trying to do just that. A little over a week ago i installed Slackware 8.1 on an old P200MMX with 96mb of ram. The system is a dool boot w/ 2K. Well, i managed to get it installed, and I amazingly got X to work with my old onboard ATI Rage II. Anyway, gnome is wayyyyy to slow to run on that, so I decided to put my skillz to the test and install linux on our main rig, a PIII 733 with 512mb ram and a GF2. Anyway, i know that in order for the MBR to work oka, u need to install linux on the first 1024 cylinders of a drive. Soooo, if i have a 40gb WD drive for XP (partitioned into 5 sections) can i pop in my old ibm 15 gig and format it like so: first 1024 cylinders (mb?) and install LILO there. Then make a 128mb swap partition, and then 2 extended linux partitions. Will that work?

Also, I just tried to recompile my kernel, and i ran make menuconfig (BTW, how do u tell if ur system is a 386, 486?) and configured it. I then ran make dep, and then make clean. Then, i ran make bzImage. After it finished, I copied bzImage to / where my normal vmlinuz is. I then edited the lilo.conf file to add this kernel at bootup time...BUT, when i chose to bootup the new kernel, i could hear disk activity, but the screen was black...So i had to ctrl-alt-dlete and go back to my normal kernel...any ideas?

 

[neuralfx]

ok first that p200mx is pretty slow anyway, yes gnome will be slow, i suggest using just command line, but if you want gui on it, look into Blackbox, its a window manager that is small and fast ..
ok on installing linux on ur other rig, the 1024cyl is a problem in old versions of lilo, its a non-issue now, dont worry about it .. and bout how to tell if ur system is a 386 or a 486 .. this is your processory architecture, your p3 733 is a an i686 .. as long as you use an architecture equal or below, you will always be ok, seein as there isnt any 786 software, you dont even need to worry about it .. though sticking with i686 may help performance .. well hope this helps a little .. good luck .. enjoy linux ..
-neural

 

[Nothinman]

when i chose to bootup the new kernel, i could hear disk activity, but the screen was black...So i had to ctrl-alt-dlete and go back to my normal kernel...any ideas?

You probably have the framebuffer stuff enabled and it's having a problem with your video card. Try disabling the framebuffer, all it really gets you is a bootup logo and higher resolutions on the console, as soon as you start X you're using the X driver.

 

[TheWart]

thanks a lot for the help guys.....i am lookin foward to becomin a linux convert....except for games ;P

 

[neuralfx]

well for games, if its of any interest to play ur win games in linux check out transgaming
http://www.transgaming.com
-neural

 

[lorenzo]

And if you can, try to support Loki @ www.lokigames.com by buying a game or two. They really need the help and the linux community is much better off with them than without them.

 

[TheWart]

Hmm, i will check into those...thx

 

[NorthenLove]

Yes please do support LOKI and TransGaming as they have brought some good games to Linux. I own several games ported by Loki. Games like SMAC and SMACX, Quake 3, Tribes 2, SOF, UT ( well the installer that allows you to use the windows version and install it was made by LOKI ), Haevy Metal FAKK 2, and soon I will get DUES EX when they release it. If you want to see more games on Linux then support the people who port games over ( i.e. Loki ) and game companies that decide to bring them over ( i.e. BioWare who is making a Linux native version of Never Winters Nights ). Or companies that develop cross platform gaming solutions ( i.e. TransGaming ). You can't change things if you don't support those who are willing to bring changes to a industry.