http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/
Review by Neil Williams.
The views expressed in this review are those of the author and not
necessarily those of the GLUG.
| Hardware | Availability |
|---|---|
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Installed on: Advent 5372 laptop |
Distro Cost=£5 |
I initially made sure the network operated under WindowsME and set the host information for the rest of the LAN before installing. I also
copied across a lot of my /home type files under Windows just so that I could test the machine. Besides, this machine needs to be
dual boot as I can't use Linux at work! Set as http://advent under ME using Xitami and Zone Alarm Pro and http://fergus under Linux. (Don't ask! I can never
decide on decent names for machines on the LAN.)
Booted direct from CD-ROM, no problems. Graphical installer appears fine.
Initially responded like a lunatic to the touchpad but connecting a spare PS/2 mouse to the external port made it see sense. I've installed Mandrake 7.2 on two different desktop machines already, a P1 and a P3, and the recommended install gives the best overall results for configuration once installation is complete. Customised installs always seem to leave me missing a few icons in DrakConf - the Mandrake Config. Mandrake still offers plenty of customisation within recommended if you are short of disc space.
Went for a recommended install but DrakX fell over initially when trying to automate the partitioning. Worked fine under Expert Mode except that certain functions still needed the external mouse to actually do the clicking. Went for 2047MB for Windows (ME), 3286MB Linux native hda5 (why is it always 5??) and 392MB swap hda6. Partitioned and formatted fine in expert mode.
Configured local network, Linux found eth0 fine. I entered IP, host name with domain and deleted the default DNS/gateway settings. Added users, fine so bootloader next. No complaining this time- so better check later! I've had disagreements in the past between GRUB and LILO, Mandrake installs and uses GRUB at first but the DrakConf configuration module configures LILO by default.
Installed X without problems but configuration went awry. Mandrake complained of setting too deep and wouldn't proceed. Rebooted. (without CD)
Overall, the installation was the easiest of all the ones I've done so far, but then that could be because I've only done three and everything gets better with a little practice! As expected from articles in mags like Linux Format, it was the post-install configuration of X and the sound card that would be more work.
Linux booted OK and complained about being not cleanly unmounted so did a check. Once up it loaded pcmcia first time. When I tried to start the X Font server, startx gave no such process, errno3 server error. So I used a text login due to X problems - (actually more likely my error) - and ran linuxconf to set other host information for LAN. I couldn't see any obvious reason for X to fail so I rebooted with CD-1 to try an update.
X still caused error when I tried an LCD panel choice. Rebooted without CD, logged in as root, ran XFdrake - normally a GUI but it has a console mode! At least this didn't bomb out. (Incidentally, bootloader worked fine!) I tried altering the graphics card and monitor settings to no avail. X refused to start properly (it seemed to run and even respond to the keyboard once loaded, just showed nothing on the screen!)
Digital Flat Panel 1024x768 is Windows description with SiS 630 display adapter. Mandrake didn't have a "Digital Flat Panel" option under the monitor options but I got around this later.
So in console mode only, I installed the rest of my additional packages, apache, php4, mysql, imap, and a few others.
I now had a console mode system that was fully operational, I could configure apache from linuxconf (console mode), mysql and imap from Webmin over the LAN (https://fergus:10000/)
The 791 trick. An essential site for all laptops: http://www.linux-laptop.net/. Following the
link to Advent machines, I discovered the trick to getting X to work - I am using XFree86-SVGA-3.3.6-18mdk as installed by mandrake - that relies on the vga mode set in /etc/lilo.conf being set to 791. I did a text login as root, used Vi to edit /etc/lilo.conf and changed the vga = setting at the top of the file to 791. Saved lilo.conf, exited Vi, ran lilo at the prompt and then ran shutdown -r now
Linux used the new graphics mode straightaway - the boot process displayed a neat image of Tux and used a much smaller font than the MS-DOS type font used initially. Because of the X problems, Mandrake had left Linux to install in Text mode with network (runlevel 3) so I logged in as root and used startx, expecting problems! Loaded first time, although in a horrible dithered manner using probably 16 colours only! Still, I could use X and so I used DrakConf to change the graphics resolution to a higher colour depth - 65 thousand colors (16bits) 1024x768. Perfect. Changed runlevel to 5 using Linuxconf.
I then configured root to use en-gb keyboards etc in the KDE Control Panel and moved on to the other users. Touchpad problems surfaced again with first user but root was OK. The only solution is to reboot the machine with a PS/2 external mouse plugged in. It seems to only happen when you log in under X for the very first time for that user. After that, it behaves properly. So leave the external mouse plugged in and log in to each user once - if only to set the keyboard and background / screensaver.
I haven't got the sound working yet, the boot process identifies the sound module and starts OK (snd-card-trident) but I can't get ALSA to work and HardDrake cannot configure the card as it says it is "not supported". I'll update this page when I've sorted the sound. (n.b. check the D&C LUG site archives for other tips.
Update
The problems with the touchpad now seem to relate to previous use of Windows ME. Problems with the touchpad occur if the computer does not power off between running Windows and rebooting into Linux. A simple restart is insufficient, the laptop needs to power down before booting into Linux if Windows has been running. Rebooting the same OS is not affected, only switching OS causes problems. Take care if Windows crashes without shutting off the power to the laptop. Either remove the mains lead and release the battery, or reboot into Windows and shut down properly. Hibernation and sleep modes are also affected if you restart into Linux from a hibernating Windows session.
Neil Williams