[fyrephlie]

well i never expected to get such a response from this post... but i really appreciate all the suggestions, and i also think i'm far more prepared now to make gentoo happen for me.

thanks all you gentoo fanatics

[crashandburn0420]

Originally Posted by fyrephlie

ok ... so i have been using linux for about a month now... i have had some issue (still am with simplyMEPIS) but primalily things have been quite smooth with openSUSE ... and the little bit i have done with k/ubuntu. these are all basicly point and shoot distros as i understand. now... here is the thing... i have been looking at gentoo for a while (actually i tried installing it first back when i ended up toying with mepis and knoppix.... but felt a little inindated then) i feel like i am prolly comfortable enough to give it a shot... however i wanted to ask for some feedback...

1. how long did most people use linux before they went to gentoo... and if you started with it ... how many tries did it take to get it right?

2. considering that i do not have a LOT of extra free time to install... would you say it takes a while starting at stage 1 ... or would i be better off trying a stage 3 to begin with?

3. does EVERYONE agree that the gentoo documentation it full enough to ecompass every installation?

4. when i poked at it the first time i spent a lot of time bouncing in and out of links2 ... is it easier to maybe waste the ream of paper and ink cartridge (or better my companies ream of paper and toner cartridge) and just print out the documentation

5. is gentoo really 'better' in terms of speed and configurability

thanks

1. I was using linux about three months, so you could say i started with it because this is the first distro i plan on keeping for a while. It took me a while to get it right, but thats because i didnt follow the instruction correctly.

2. I highly reccomend starting with stage 3, just because you're still starting out. Use it for a while and if you want do a stage 1.

3. Follow it exactly and you wont have a problem

4. It is easier but that it a waste of ink and paper for only using the instructions once or twice.

5. So far it is the fastest distro ive used and i guess its pretty configureable but i have a hp computer with no upgrades so i dont need to much of that.

[Dachnaz]

Fyrephlie, I live in the southeast corner of Minneapolis, down by the river and the airport.

[fyrephlie]

Originally Posted by Dachnaz

Fyrephlie, I live in the southeast corner of Minneapolis, down by the river and the airport.

ok ... you live in minneapolis then ... cool. i live about 25 minutes north west of you in champlin (across the river from anoka)

[GangRelatedNinja]

Gentoo, surprisingly, was the first Linux system I ever had. I got it even before I got Winslows XtraProblems, so I've had tons of experience with it. If you do a stage3 install (which is the only one gentoo supports now) it might take you an hour, although I've done it in 30 minutes, both of which are less time-consuming than SuSE and Fedora. The kernel will be considerably faster, because it isn't as bloated as some of the other mainstream kernels.

[dlippiett]

Originally Posted by fyrephlie

well i never expected to get such a response from this post... but i really appreciate all the suggestions, and i also think i'm far more prepared now to make gentoo happen for me.

thanks all you gentoo fanatics

Fyrephlie, your not the only one whos prepared to try gentoo (again for me...Thank the radio shack gods for my new printer for the gentoo Doc's...dont think ill be up 4days around the clock trying and trying and trying lol) ive been running Linux since 98 though...started with RH9, then in 2000 i switched to mandrake 9, then 10.0, then 10.1, then slack ware 10.1 in early 02...which i had running up until just recently when we had a power spike...i thought surge protectors were supposed to save my stuff...ehh not this time every thing i had hooked to it was smoked i have about $400's worth of paper weights now <goes back to order that micro atx board so i can get a gentoo box running on an amd athlon xp 2800+>

[southpaw]

Well here are my two cents for what it's worth...
About a year ago, after reading a little bit about a few different distro's, I decided to go with Gentoo 2004.3 (latest available at the time), I guess you could say that I'm a glutoen for punishment. However, after about two months of multiple installs (both semi-successful and total failures), I decided to try Slackware 10.0 for a little bit. Shortly after that I tried Mandrake 10.1 (now Mandriva) but then I came back to Gentoo right around the time that version 2005.0 came out, I've pretty much been using it ever since.

I can honestly say that stage 3 is the way to go, unless you're an experienced programmer there really is no benefit to doing a stage 1 install. Stage 3 is the most stable and you can squeeze as much optimization out of a stage 3 install for your system as you could out of a stage 1 in a fraction of the time. Also, if you really want to get the most out of your Gentoo system I would suggest browsing the Gentoo forums for any information on the jackass! project, it will help you understand how to optimize your system based on a stage 3 install.

As for the Gentoo handbook and the installation medium, I will try to knock out two birds with one stone. Although I do believe it is a good idea to have a physical manual at your side, there are several options you could choose to tackle this dilemma. However, for the sake of brevity I will share with you my favorite option based on my experiences. If you haven't already done so, and of course I'm assuming you have some type of broadband access, down load and burn an iso image of the "Gentoo 2005.1 Universal LiveCD". It is pretty much just like every other live disc out there, you have a fully functioning Gentoo Linux environment with the GNOME desktop, Mozilla Firefox, and all sorts of other applications. From that point you could browse the web with Firefox and read the handbook online as well as search the forums for any additional information necessary. Meanwhile, you can install Gentoo at the same time by simply going to one of the other terminals by typing ALT+F1, ALT+F2, etc..etc..(I think the desktop environment sits under ALT+F7).

That way you're not tied to any one particular architecture or stage or whatever, just boot up with that disc and install EXACTLY what you need while your surfing the web, it's a beautiful thing.

One last note, the fastest I've ever got Gentoo installed on a computer with a fully optimized compiler toolkit, custom compiled kernel, X windows, and Mozilla Firefox was about 5 hours. This was on my laptop a Dell inspiron 600m w/ Pentium M @ 1.5GHz, an 80Gb HDD, 1Gb of DDR SDRAM @266MHz with an ATI Mobility Radeon 9000. Also, besides compiling programs, imho, Gentoo is the fastest distro out there

[dlippiett]

i tried installing gentoo a day before christmas eve...followed every little thing in the docs to the letter...had 1 problem, the ftp link for grub was dead, so i went with lilo...after about 6 to 7 hrs it said i could reboot etc...i did...got the error from my bios "Operating System Not Found" either i screwed up some where, or the penguin gods are avenging the death of my linux drive being turned into windslows for a while

[St. Joe]

I sometimes ask myself why I keep Gentoo on my machine, but there is just something about it that appeals to the mad scientist in me. When I first installed Gentoo I used the Quick Install Guide, but I wouldn't encourage anyone to follow this same path unless they are proficient in general Linux knowledge. Basically I knew I was ready when I could read the handbook without crossing my eyes.

[gruven]

I completely switched over to Gentoo Linux when I could do a full install without looking at the handbook.

I deleted my Windows partition 2 weeks ago, lol.