[SOLVED] New Linux user

[JimBoCol]

Hello all.

I just purchased a copy of Linux Umbutu? This is my first time using Linux. I know abosolutly nothing about it, so if I ask very stupid questions, please be patient. I do tend to learn very quickly.

I have been using PCs since the mid 80s, Apples, and MACs for about the same amount of time. I am very familar with DOS, Windows, Apple OS, and OS-X, so I'm not computer illieterate.

So far, it looks very nice, and I think I'm going to really enjoy it.

I have it installed on a second partition on an IBM Thinkpad T23 1.23Ghz, 1GB RAM, and an 80GB Hard Drive split in half.

I do have a couple of issues/Questions.

For one reason or another, it is unable to see my wireless network. it can see the adapter, says it's working, and enabled, but no networks. I don't see any way to "refresh" for new networks, or scan for new networks, or even set up to connect to a WPA2 connection. How can I do this?

Update to wireless: On further investigation, I have discovered that what I am seeing is the ethernet wired card. it can not even see the PCMICA wireless card. How to I add new hardware?

How do I find out what version of Linux Umbutu I am running?

How do I switch between Windows XP and Linux?

I have a little green icon on my desktop with a picture of a running man in it named CNR. What is that?

Oh yeah, in case this matters, the Logo on the desktop is freespire.

Thanks,
Jim.

[donaldfarkas]

i dont know much about freespire but you might be to find some specific problems with it on their website. I'm sure many people here would be capable of helping you. While you wait for the more knowledgeable poster check out their website it might be a simple fix Freespire.

CNR Plugin provides free one-click access to thousands of open source applications, as well as options for legally licensed DVD playback software, Sun's StarOffice, Parallels Workstation, Win4Lin, CodeWeaver's Crossover Office, TransGaming's Cedega, commercial games and many more.

[reed9]

I have a little green icon on my desktop with a picture of a running man in it named CNR. What is that?

The only CNR I'm aware of comes from an old defunct distro called Linspire. It stands for Click'n'Run and is/was another way to install software on your machine.

How do I find out what version of Linux Umbutu I am running?

From a terminal

cat /etc/*-release

How do I switch between Windows XP and Linux?

There are 3 ways to run Ubuntu. From the Live CD, from a full installation to your harddrive, which is what most people normally think of as installing an operating system, or installed in Windows using Wubi. When installing to the harddrive, you can do what's called a dual-boot setup, where both Windows and Linux are installed to the system and you choose which to boot into when you start the computer.

For one reason or another, it is unable to see my wireless network. it can see the adapter, says it's working, and enabled, but no networks. I don't see any way to "refresh" for new networks, or scan for new networks, or even set up to connect to a WPA2 connection. How can I do this?

We need more info to troubleshoot this. From a terminal, post the output of

lshw -C network
lsmod
iwconfig
dmesg | grep firmware

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Sw...tu/FromWindows

[JimBoCol]

Doing that as we type. Wating for validation email to activate my account. in the mean time,

I have Linux Umbuntu Freespire

So Linux is the actual operating system, Umbuntu is what, the version? What is Freespire, like the manufaturer?

[JimBoCol]

From a terminal

cat /etc/*-release

DISTRIB_ID=Freespire
DISTRIB_RELEASE=2.0
DISTRIB_CODENAME=skipjack-feisty
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Freespire 2.0"

We need more info to troubleshoot this. From a terminal, post the output of

lshw -C network
lsmod
iwconfig
dmesg | grep firmware

jim@TP-T23:~$ lshw -C network
bash: lshw: command not found
jim@TP-T23:~$ lsmod
Module Size Used by
isofs 36288 0
af_packet 24072 2
savage 34176 1
drm 81812 2 savage
binfmt_misc 13064 1
ipv6 274080 12
forward_oss 15144 2
ppdev 10116 0
lp 12548 0
tc1100_wmi 8068 0
pcc_acpi 13184 0
sony_acpi 6284 0
dev_acpi 12164 0
video 16260 0
battery 10756 0
ibm_acpi 31512 0
container 5248 0
sbs 15528 0
button 8720 0
i2c_ec 6016 1 sbs
i2c_core 23424 1 i2c_ec
dock 10424 0
ac 6020 0
asus_acpi 17308 0
backlight 6784 2 ibm_acpi,asus_acpi
nls_cp437 6784 1
ohci1394 36528 0
ieee1394 300120 1 ohci1394
usb_storage 72128 0
libusual 17936 1 usb_storage
ntfs 108276 1
loop 18312 0
vfat 14208 0
fat 54044 1 vfat
sr_mod 17188 0
sd_mod 23556 0
pcmcia 39596 0
snd_intel8x0 34588 1
snd_ac97_codec 98464 1 snd_intel8x0
ac97_bus 3200 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_pcm_oss 45056 0
snd_mixer_oss 17920 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 80260 3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_dummy 4740 0
snd_seq_oss 33408 0
snd_seq_midi 9600 0
snd_rawmidi 25856 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 8448 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
irtty_sir 9600 0
sir_dev 17540 1 irtty_sir
nsc_ircc 24208 0
irda 201532 3 irtty_sir,sir_dev,nsc_ircc
crc_ccitt 3072 1 irda
snd_seq 53232 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
parport_pc 36644 1
parport 37576 3 ppdev,lp,parport_pc
pcspkr 4224 0
snd_timer 24196 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 9100 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
snd 54788 12 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_ oss,snd_pcm,snd_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_ti mer,snd_seq_device
soundcore 9440 1 snd
serio_raw 7940 0
yenta_socket 27532 3
rsrc_nonstatic 14080 1 yenta_socket
pcmcia_core 41624 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
snd_page_alloc 10888 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
iTCO_wdt 12072 0
iTCO_vendor_support 4868 1 iTCO_wdt
shpchp 34324 0
pci_hotplug 33608 1 shpchp
intel_agp 26140 1
agpgart 35788 2 drm,intel_agp
tsdev 8768 0
evdev 11008 4
cpufreq_powersave 2688 0
cpufreq_conservative 8200 0
cpufreq_ondemand 9356 1
cpufreq_userspace 5408 0
speedstep_ich 6288 0
speedstep_lib 6148 1 speedstep_ich
freq_table 5792 2 cpufreq_ondemand,speedstep_ich
psmouse 38792 0
reiserfs 247680 1
ide_cd 32672 0
cdrom 37664 2 sr_mod,ide_cd
ide_disk 17024 3
floppy 59748 0
piix 11140 0 [permanent]
generic 5124 0 [permanent]
e100 36488 0
mii 6528 1 e100
ata_generic 9092 0
libata 125848 1 ata_generic
scsi_mod 143116 4 usb_storage,sr_mod,sd_mod,libata
uhci_hcd 25488 0
usbcore 135048 4 usb_storage,libusual,uhci_hcd
thermal 14856 0
processor 31560 1 thermal
fan 5636 0
capability 5896 0
commoncap 8192 1 capability
vesafb 9220 0
fbcon 43296 0
tileblit 3584 1 fbcon
font 9216 1 fbcon
bitblit 6912 1 fbcon
softcursor 3200 1 bitblit
jim@TP-T23:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.

eth0 no wireless extensions.

irda0 no wireless extensions.

jim@TP-T23:~$ dmesg | grep firmware
[ 9.196000] IBM TrackPoint firmware: 0x0e, buttons: 3/3
jim@TP-T23:~$

I am using Linux now to enter this. I just decided to give it a wire until I can figure out the wireless issue.
I do appreciate the assistance.

Jim.

[reed9]

Doing that as we type. Wating for validation email to activate my account. in the mean time,

I have Linux Umbuntu Freespire

So Linux is the actual operating system, Umbuntu is what, the version? What is Freespire, like the manufaturer?

It gets a little confusing. People often debate whether the "operating system" should be considered just the linux kernel or whether the whole collection of userland software is properly the whole operating system. The kernel is the low level core of an operating system that allocates resources and deals with hardware. In most linux distributions you have the GNU operating system running on top of a linux kernel. On top of that you have various Desktop Environments or Window Managers, which provide the main interface and user experience for most home computer users.

Because of the open nature of Linux, different flavors of linux often utilize another flavor as the base for their release. So Freespire is a distribution based on Ubuntu Linux. The Freespire 1.0 release was based on Debian and Freespire 2.0 was based on Ubuntu 7.04. Ubuntu itself is also based on Debian.

Anyway, it's unfortunate you paid money for Freespire. First off, almost all linux distros can be had for free. (Though it's nice to buy a disc to support them or otherwise donate.) Second, and more important, Freespire is a dead project. The last release was 3 years ago, which is an eternity in open source software.

I highly recommend you install a current and supported distribution, like Ubuntu proper. The current Ubuntu version is 9.10, and their next version (which is a long-term support release) is due out on April 29th.

For your wireless, I thought you were using Ubuntu, which has the lshw command. Freespire does not. Instead, give us the output of

lspci -vnn

Since Freespire is quite old, it's entirely possible your wireless will work out of the box with a newer distro as well.

[reed9]

Read this if you want a look at what's coming in the 10.04 Ubuntu release.

[JimBoCol]

Read this if you want a look at what's coming in the 10.04 Ubuntu release.

I am the type of person that when they do something, they do it right. I have decided to hold off, and am downloading Ubuntu Server 9.10 as we speak. I've got a strong hunch that will resolve my wireless issue.

If I expect to learn something the correct way, it's always best to have the latest available, and good help. It looks to me as though I have been blessed with both.

I'll be back when I'm all finished.

It's a 600+MB download so it's going to be about 15 minutes.

oh yeah, it's an iso file. Does that mean that I can just burn it to a CD and it will be bootable?

Thanks,
JIm.

[oz]

oh yeah, it's an iso file. Does that mean that I can just burn it to a CD and it will be bootable?

Welcome to the forums, Jim!

Yes, if it's burned properly it should be bootable. You can check this HowTo for the correct steps to take for downloading and burning the ISO file to disk as an image:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...ll-cd-dvd.html

Be sure that you burn it as an image and don't simply copy the ISO file to the blank disk, and don't make it bootable yourself because the ISO burning process takes care of that step automatically.

[JimBoCol]

Welcome to the forums, Jim!

Yes, if it's burned properly it should be bootable. You can check this HowTo for the correct steps to take for downloading and burning the ISO file to disk as an image:

Be sure that you burn it as an image and don't simply copy the ISO file to the blank disk, and don't make it bootable yourself because the ISO burning process takes care of that step automatically.

Thanks, I did figure that out though

Unfortunately, it will not run on my system, so I'm downloading 9.10 Umbutu. This one is rather large, and will be over an hour. In the mean time, I'm playing with what I have, to get a feel for it, and I can honestly say, I like it. It's almost like like a cross between OS-X and windows 2000 Pro
I think I'm going to enjoy this...

now, do I understand correctly in that I can put this on my Macs too? I have a Power-book Lombard 400MHz G3 with 512MB RAM, and a 100GB Hard Disk, and a Gray tower G4, 500Mhz , 513MB RAM with a 2TB Hard drive. What an awesome deal that would be, the same OS on my PCs and Macs!!! Heaven I say, HEAVEN!!!!

Forgive me, but I'm a kid with a shiny new toy
Thanks,
Jim.