i should be working (but i'm fixing my computer).

Today's the day (finally).  So, I'm installing OpSu 11.3 on a gateway lt3103u that has a clean install of Windows Vista on it (Vista very sludgy, due to all the crappy updates) as I've documented here previously. 

...

First, I booted via my OpSu 11.3/KDE 4.4.4 Live USB.  Everything running okay, fan on (good deal!) and temps okay.  I noticed that the 3d graphics still have issues, though they remained minor at first.  (The problem with this, re live USB, is that switching off 3d once the screen has borked won't cure the screen issues.  I didn't try switching 3d off immediately after boot, though.)  The other thing I noticed right off is that running krandr I was not offered the awesome resolution options I was offered in OpSu 11.2 (1920x?)  Don't know whether this is just for the Live desktop or whether the really cool extra fine resolution f rom OpSu 11.2 has been eliminated in 11.3.

In any event, I started an install while running the Live desktop and things went ok, but then I ran into difficulties.  First, every bootloader option I tried indicated that due to the partition being greater than 128 gig, the computer might not boot.  EGADS!  I decided to risk it anyway -- but didn't get too far, as the 3d borked the screen and I couldn't read the install prompts so I had to abort.

I then commenced install via the Live USB flash drive, but selecting "installation" at the GRUB prompt rather than from the loaded desktop.  Much cleaner interface (due to the aforementioned 3d issues).  In case anyone wants to know how to encrypt the /home drive, here's what to do (because it's not obvious and I tend to forget).  Of course, if you select this you will have to type your password at boot each time, but I feel a lot more comfortable knowing my data is encrypted in case I lose the computer somewhere.  At the screen that offers the proposeed partition changes, select the "modify partition" button.  This will give a list of the partitions.  Double click on the one that has been set to mount as /home.  Then click the "encrypt" option and select ok or next (forgot what comes next).  Anyway, you will be asked to input your "don't ever forget" password for your /home partition (twice to verify) and then you can just choose next, etc. and continue with the install.

As I type this, the install is still shrinking the Vista partition, which is taking an inordinate amount of time, so I'll report more later.

Later:  Well, shrinking the Vista partition took over half an hour, but the actual install portion took only something like 20 minutes, for an overall install time of about 50 minutes.  Of course, with updates and customization we are only just beginning -- but this install is comparable to installing bare bones Vista,  (plus a lot more software) so overall quite incredible.  Also, I always had a problem with the 11.2 installer crashing after shrinking the partition -- which didn't seem to prevent install, I just had to walk through all the steps again, but this time no crash.  Apparently the GRUB bootloader is ok, though I haven't rebooted (other than the necessary "first time" reboot that comes right back into OpSu.

Bad news on the graphics front -- still only get 1366 resolution and not the awesome 1920 I was getting in 11.2.  AND, the 3d looks deceptively like it will work until I actually do anything, whereupon it borks.  With 3d off, the default theme is not very attractive, no "transparency" at all for the desktop container, for instance.

So, right now I am loading updates.  I'm not clear on how the updater applet works -- I've never had an install where I considered this tool useful.  Well, not never, but certain not in the 11 series.  In ancient times, yes.  The updater told me I had a few updates, seem to run for a while with zero progress and then close.  I'm not clear whether anything got installed, though the drive light was flashing alot.  Then it told me there were no updates available.

The one package that seemed to be "added" by the updater (with my manual selection of it) was the "pullinfonts" that retrieves an msfonts package.  when I went to software management, it seemed to have been installed.  But, OTOH, there were a bunch of automatic updates, including the installation of a number of packages that were not initially installed.  So, I do not know what this is all about and I am installing those packages right now.  More later.

Later (later):

OpSu 11.3 installer sets up the update, source, debug, oss and non-oss repositories as part of the install.  That's a bit mild for my tastes, so now to add repositories.  (But it didn't take long to install the updates I mentioned earlier.  Of course, I have a fast connection. More Later.

Later (later, later):

There is a good list of selectable repositories in the add repositories>community options.  However, I'm unclear regarding KDE.  There is now a KDE update repository.  How does this relate (if at all) to the stable KDE 4.4.4 repository?  Don't know.  The importance is, one would prefer to avoid mixing incompatible repositories as problems can occur.  It's also difficult to do a successful distro update (zypper dup) if the repositories are in conflict.

I switched to the air>netbook theme.  That looks better.  Only one point of concern in the install -- did not manage NTP server correctly.  Time initially came up with GMT rather than local time on the panel display.  I then went to YAST>Network Services>NTP and set up a public time server, requesting it to update "now and on boot."  But, it didn't update "now."  It did, however, update on re-boot.

Which reminds me, Grub/reboot worked.  I didn't log into Vista, though, so don't know yet if any problems have been inflicted there.  Plus, if all goes well, I won't be visiting Vista much, especially as it has become so sludgy.  (And as noted elsewhere, Vista was pretty usable on this computer last November or so when I purchased the computer.  This is Microsoft's concept of "updates."  As opposed, say, to OpenSuse, where 11.3 seems to have improvements over 11.2 (except insofar as my disappeared very high resolution.  But, that was an anamoly in the first place and I didn't use it much.  Although it put a lot on the screen, it was fairly tiny and therefore difficult to see.  Extremely cool, though.)