Hello - Newbie here, few very simple questions

[johnyelland1234]

Hello everyone, i'm very new to Linux and decided to use it to try and get away from Windows.

I have a few real easy questions:

1. How do I shut down the computer? I go to log out in KDE and it brings me back to the shell prompt.
2. When trying to connect to the internet, my connection box freezes when trying to access the modem (Speedtouch 330) although it is installed.
3. How do I run and install applications that i've downloaded for the linux format? Kind of like whats the .exe file but in linux terms

Thanks guys, much appreciated

[Bobalandi]

To shutdown, you run:

shutdown -h now

as root.

and runing an app in linux format is just like running one in windows, just double click it. if that doesn't work try going into the terminal and runing

./the-application-name

if it's a package for slackware you can also use

pkgtool

[Dapper Dan]

Hi johnyelland1234 and welcome to the forums!

How do I shut down the computer? I go to log out in KDE and it brings me back to the shell prompt.

The most expedient way to shutdown from there is to run:

shutdown -h now

Did you create a regular user account? If not, and your Internet is not functional, "sign in" to KDE as root. From the command line, run:

kuser

...which is also in your menu and create an account for yourself as a regular user. Sign back out to the command prompt and (as root) do:

kdm

and press enter. Now, sign in as the newly created regular user. When you sign out, it will throw you back to kdm. There, you can choose the options to shutdown. If you'd like for your box to boot directly to kdm, without having to envoke it as root each time, you can edit /etc/inittab to do this. See this post for more.

When trying to connect to the internet, my connection box freezes when trying to access the modem (Speedtouch 330) although it is installed.

Haven't had any dealings with this modem. A little "Googleing" seems to show it can be made to function properly. See this page for more.

How do I run and install applications that i've downloaded for the linux format? Kind of like whats the .exe file but in linux terms

Slackware uses .tgz packages which you can install via pkgtool. Check out this for instruction. Also, visit Linuxpackages,net for packages for Slackware.

EDIT: Bobalandi you beat me to it!

[johnyelland1234]

thanks alot for that Dan.

Still no luck with that speedtouch. Is there anyway of actually finding out for definite where the modem is connected to?

I'm given loads of options like /dev/modem and /dev/usb/usb001 or something.

Also, i've split my 40G HDD into 2x 20GB partitions, one for Linux and one for Windows.

I can't seem to access the other hard drives that have a NTFS file system which store all of my media on from Linux, although I can from windows.

It comes up with a error message when clicking on it from Linux.

Any ideas?

[Bobalandi]

Are you using slackware 12.0 or 12.1 or something else.?
In 12.0 there is a problem with HAL, so you'll have to add yourself to a bunch of the groups, I forget which ones, but if you google it, you'll find out.

[Freston]

Welcome to the forums!

There is an easier way to turn off the computer. If you add yourself to the 'power' group, and boot into runlevel 4 rather than to runlevel 3 and starting X with startx, then you can turn off the machine from the GUI.

To change the default runlevel you need to edit /etc/inittab

___

It would be handy if you include the error that the ntfs partition is giving you. I expect it to be a permission problem. If you want regular users to access the ntfs partition, you'll need to adjust /etc/fstab to reflect this.

In 12.0 there is a problem with HAL, so you'll have to add yourself to a bunch of the groups, I forget which ones, but if you google it, you'll find out.

This is true, but to an extend. It is not a 'problem' in Slackware, but a choice. Newly created users have severly limited rights on a Slack box. It is thought the job of the person holding root to hand out rights and turn on services. It's a very flexible and dependable system, Slackware, but it's very manual.


As a point to the OP: I don't know how you got to Slackware. And I don't know your preferences. But I do know moving from Windows to Linux by going down the Slack road might not be entirely easy.
If you want ease then I may recommend an easier distro. If you want to take the difficult road, then expect a steep learning curve, loads of work on the command line, but in the end a bigger reward IMHO. Once you understand the basic mechanism behind Slack, you'll see that it is set up logically and elegantly. It's also highly dependable. Ya know? I think I vaguely remember a crash that I could not attribute to some form of error on my side, but it's a long time ago and I'm not so sure.

But Slackware is not build with the Redmond refugee in mind. You have your hands on something completely different.

PS. I don't want to press any of my preferences on anyone. But VectorLinux is based on Slackware and it has many of the advantages. But it's more friendly to new users and a lot easier to set up.