Re-install/ Pre-install questions

[Wakou]

Some of you may have read about my travails with Suse 11.0 (see foobar'ed my GUI thread) I guess an option now is to re-install. I have d/l'ed Suse 11.0 DVD. One of the probs I had was being unable to tell the install NOT look on the internet as getting connected is a job for afterwards, as I use WiFi via USB.
I thought that the advantage of the DVD as opposed to CD install was that all you might need was already there...
For instance can I get pico/nano/joe from the DVD? How? Or are they installed by default? When running, can I go to Yast and "rem" out the on-line repositories, so it does not try to look on the internet?

[techieMoe]

I'm surprised the installer refused to go any further when you told it NOT to look for online repositories. Have you considered trying the latest version of openSuSE? 11.1 came out a few months ago. You might have better luck.

Nano is definitely installed by default, but you should be able to use the DVD as a repository after you're done installing. I've had to do that before.

[D-cat]

TM's right. I can't DL the DVD image right now, I don't have enough free space on a partition that can handle a larger than 4GB file (I hope to in the near future). Speaking from many past installs, the SuSE 10 DVDs were crammed with everything I needed in a base linux install. Only certain legally restricted libraries and 3rd party applications (like video editing type stuff) had to be downloaded from a separate external repository.

Perhaps the software selection in the installer has confused you? You can click on the software line and manually select the additional software you want to install from the DVD (This is where patterns and search functions come in handy).

If you have already done the base install, the software selection is available in Yast -> Software -> Software management. You can also adjust the sources list and "turn off" online sources you don't want to use.

[Wakou]

Thank-you for the replies guys... I had some "fun" with the 11.1 DVD image, including my DVD burner suddenly refusing to work, and me "cleverly" making a DIY cleaner disk........ (not a good idea!) and then, when trying to install from windows, the DVD image, tidying up after itself SO beautifully that it erased not only the Unpacked ISO but the ISO itself as well, a 5 hour download.. GONE!!!.
So I re-installed 11.0, this time using KDE3.5 rather than 4.0. First impressions, +++++ and plaudits to the folks who made this installer, it went very well indeed. One minor problemette with my monitor, a Samsung 226BW which complains about "not recommended settings " and a question mark, but with no suggestions how to resolve. By more or less random poking about I got it to work.... I have still to persuade it to connect to the interweb, but I am sure that will come with more random tinkering. As for Yast trying to look for remote suppositories, I think I have cracked that one by unticking "enabled" Before I do anything fatal (!) could one of you give me some pointers...

Upgrade from within 11.0 to 11.1...:
Can I? If so how and is it worth it?


When adding ndiswrapper, Yast "helpfully" installed Xen and some more options to my boot menu. Which do I use? From memory it offers:
openSuse xxxxxxxx (default)
openSuse xxxxxxxx Failsafe
openSuse xxxxxxxx (pae)
Xen xxxxxxxx
something else failsafe..
something else (pae)


If I make changes after having booted to ie, option 1, do those changes apply if I boot next time using a different one?
Do I need to boot to one of the added options in order to use ndiswrapper?
If I forget which option I chose, is there a way to find out from within the running OS?

I think I would like to try KDE4.x whatever is new, but I do not want to cludge my new install, is it simply a matter of dropping to runlevel 3, and invoking KDE4, and then runlevel 5...? or is it more than this?
.. as a more or less total noob, I suppose I should try gnome as well... but I dunno how....

Those of you who have read my other thread (Foobarred my GUI) will know I had problems when trying to install an nVidia driver set. Should update the kernel first, and get that running stable, and then get the drivers?

Is there a "nicer" wifi manager than knetworkmanager....
I would like to be able to see the wifi networks within range, choose the right one, and then enter the wep key if necessary, rather than tell it in advance..

Thank-you for having read this far.....
With a bit of luck, I will be reading your replies from Suse not Windows!


ps Rugby on now so I will stick with windows for the rest of the afternoon... My Linux project a nocturnal job.....

[gogalthorp]

Xen should not have installed unless you told it to. You don't need it unless you are going to be using Virtual Machines. Go to Yast-Software-Software Management and remove all xen related packages you may have installed. If that does not remove the option go to Yast-System-Boot Loader and remove the options.

On the graphics log on screen at the bottom left you will see the options to select the GUI you want to run when you log in. Note you may be auto logging in so just select log out from the menu to get to the log in screen.

You may or may not need ndiswrapper depending on your hardware. What WIFI chip or card do you have? If you don't know open a terminal window become root temporally by typeing
su
then the root password (note this does not echo to the screen)
Then
lspci

this will list all of your pci devices and should show the chip set for the wireless card. note that lsusb will list all usb devices if the card is usb based.

post the results and someone (not me I don't use wireless) will be able to help you get it running.

You should do all updates prier to installing the video driver. Note I recommend you go to NVIDIA site and down load the driver for your card and follow their instructions. note you did not tell us which NVIDIA card/chip set if older you may need to use one of their older drivers.


BTW it is repositories not suppositories. Though one may become confused LOL

[D-cat]

Upgrade to 11.1 ? Don't know, haven't done. Heard some good things, heard some bad things.

Boot menu, extras are for special situations. Each just points to a different kernel; it's all on the same hdd, so changing things in one does affect the others (at least the OpenSuse options). The Xen option is if you enable the Xen hypervisor so you can run several instances of SuSE (or other Xen aware OS's) at the same time. This is called Virtualization. This might be a good option for testing other desktops or distros without risking a FUBAR to your main working one. Read up on it well though. ndiswrapper shouldn't require any special kernel options, though first I'd make sure Yast really can't configure the netcard on its own. Yast -> Network Devices -> Network Card

Unless you have a specific need, just stick to the default boot option.
To find out which kernel you're running while in KDE, just open Konqueror and in the url bar (if it isn't already there) type sysinfo:/ and press Enter. It'll give you all sorts of useful info including OS details.

Changing your current user's GUI doesn't involve dropping to text and all that. Simply log out (End Session). When you get to your log in screen, there will be an option for Session type (this varies a little depending on the chosen layout) where you can choose from the installed window managers, such as KDE, KDE4, Gnome, xfce, icewm, whatever.

Making software updates first will make it less likely that you actually break working hardware, but it probably will not have an effect on whether it's going to work with that kernel or not either way (does make for easier diagnosis though). Note that some hardware drivers are immeasurably easier to install from the manufacturer's online repository via Yast. e.g. nVidia drivers

Nicer wifi manager than knetworkmanager? Actually, this depends on your preference and the networks you connect to. I have a massive preference for kInternet. The only thing that's a major deal breaker for some though is that it doesn't store encryption keys. This may not be a big deal if you use 64-bit WEP, but if you're running WPA-PSK with 256-AES encryption, well, you're not going to want to type that code in every time you connect. Still, if you do a lot of public wifi hotspot type surfing, you might like kInternet better.

Since 10.3, they stopped installing kInternet by default in preference for the kNetworkManager. I'm not sure if it's still included on the SuSE DVD in 11+, but if it is, you should be able to install it via Yast - Software - Software Management. Also, kInternet runs in user-space, not su, so for kInternet to work properly, you need to make sure that the devices being used (like your wifi card) are checked off as User Controlled in Yast - Network Devices. Otherwise, it can only monitor.

It seems complicated at first, but if you take it one at a time, it's really not that bad. Good luck! I think you'll find SuSE a good fit for you.

[WakouonSuSe]

Hello from LinuxLand! Thank-you for taking the time to reply to my noob questions!
One of my USB wiFi sticks is a netgear WPN 111, although I believe has a atheros chipset, and I have ZD1211 firmwares in the lib folder it only seems to want to work with ndiswrapper..
I have got rid of "xen" for the time being, with no apparent detriment, Dunno why YaST decided to install it. I have also edited the boot menu thanks for the tips, and watch this space for more silly questions soon.