First Encounter ...

(a description of my linux beginnings ...)

I am not a "computer person."  But, I have spent many zillion hours using my computer for work, play and basic frustration.  I have a pretty good command of "win98/winME."  My Windows box is stable and more or less problem-free.  It does amazing things.  So, what do I have against Windows?

1. Bill Gates residence.

2. Installed stuff I don't know what it is.

3. "Progressive system instability."  (I find that when I add and remove a lot of programs, over time the registry gets absolutely huge because of left behind entries, the system becomes unstable and I have to reinstall Windows.)

As of today I have (project in-progress), I have an install that is huge, slow and crashes a lot :-)  I don't have sound (can't make the SB Live work), can't reach my network printers and don't know if the modem works.  The network card works and I can browse the web.  I have a full suite of file managers, web/e-mail tools, office tools. I can even edit documents created in MS Word.

Linux 1:

I installed Linux on a 486 using dual-boot features and "loadlin."  It worked -- that is I could actually run the computer.  The screen resolution was ugly and ridiculous.  The computer was slow. None of my peripherals worked.  However, it came with "Adventure" which I had played some years earlier on my CP/M machine.

End of project.

Linux expectations:

My reading suggests Linux offers a sleek, customizable install that is fast, secure -- and most of all, stable.

Linux 2:

Since I have an old hard drive in a PII that was basically doing nothing (having been moved to "Drive D" when replaced by an awesomely bigger hard drive), it occurred to me that I could create a dual boot machine without having to create a separate partition or risk destabilizing my Windows install.

Step A.  Google websearch for "linux."  Proceed to Linux "main site."  Find list of distributions that will work for my configuration.  Randomly select appropriate install packages.  Follow links.  Ignore broken links.  Download first install package I find that responds to download request.

This "selection method" results in download of "Icepack" Linux.  I know nothing about it except what they say on their webpage.  Download is free, but if you actually by the package, you are entitled to support.  Only a fool or a Dummy would use the free download ...

Download by cable modem takes 8 hours.  However, in a major web browsing miracle, the download proceeds without any problems.  FTP (with software that will "resume" downloads).  Nevertheless, I use ordinary HTTP download internal to MSIE 6.0.

Step B.  What the heck is an "iso" file and what do you do with it?  Search internet with "AlltheWeb" search engine, find linux ISO website.  No "faq for dummies," they assume you have some idea what you are doing.  However, after awhile it becomes clear that "iso" is a CD ROM image file.  That means that you need to burn a CD using software that knows how to use the image file to create the CD.

More searching -- turns out the Adaptek Easy CD understands ISO files, which is a good thing because I have that software.

[At this point, my attention was diverted due to the "awesomely bigger hard drive" developing bad sectors.  Full scan disk takes me 12 hours, partly because when you walk away it immediately finds a bad sector and waits for you to tell it what to do about it.  Arghh!  Also, this naturally occurs immediately >after< I delete everything off the old hard drive, which till now I had preserved as a bootable Windows drive.]

Back to step "B".  Burn CD from ISO.  Side hint: Do not use 4x or higher speed on CD burner unless you are sure it works.  I used to have a lot of failures until I discovered that if you try to burn too fast, you get "buffer overruns" and the CD fails.  This has nothing to do with the speed of the CDR/W, but is a function of the computer.  Apparently, PII with 64megs ram is not sufficient for 4x burning.  I burn at 2x, no problems but takes forever.

Step C.  Boot from CD.  Icepack Linux takes it from here, identifying the hardware and setting up the install.  Icepack screens are refreshingly "Not Windows".  I've always disliked windows install displays and a lot of their default graphics/splash screens/prompts, etc.  (Just a matter of personal taste.)  Screen resolution is okay, but the monitor keeps blinking.  Dang -- this reminds me of  "Linux 1." 

The default install is something like 2 gigs.  (So much for "sleek" ...)  Icepack seems to identify all of my hardware, leading to the expectation that everything will be in working order when the install completes.  (Hahahahaha...)

First install fails due to Dummy error.  Boot simply goes to a stupid screen that prints 4040404040 all over it, or something like that.   However, I refuse to take complete responsibility.  Some factors conspire.  (1) Despite the fact that my BIOS allows booting from "Drive D", other notes found online suggest Linux will only boot from one of first two hard drives.  I don't know what constitutes "first two."  My Drive D is on the "Secondary Master," and apparently that is not one of the first two.  (2) Something was wrong with the Icepack effort to partition my drive.  (I know this, because on the second install it did it differently). (3) The Icepack on-screen prompts were not Dummy Proof.  There was a prompt that warned I should install to "boot from floppy" but it wasn't actually clear (a) I hadn't done that; and (b) how to do it.

The install takes a long time, longer than my recollection of installing Windows on the same machine.

Step C (reprise):  Assuming Dummy Error, I install all over again.  This time I figure out what I did wrong with respect to installing to boot from floppy.  (Note:  I do not actually >want< to boot from floppy, although this may be unavoidable unless put Linux on my Drive C.  This may be possible in a future install -- I have a neat "drawer" system by which I can remove the Drive C hard disk without disabling the computer.  Originally I planned to buy another hard drive and have one for Windows and one for Linux.  However, the old drive is to big to fit in the drawer and had to remain permanently in the computer.  That is why I find myself installing to Drive D instead of Drive C.

This time the install works.  I boot to the "Gnome" desktop.  I sort of like its graphics.  The screen is still blinking, driving me nuts.

Step D:  I spend the couple of hours trying to solve the video problem.  Icepack does not recognize my monitor and may have misidentified the model of my video card.  Fortunately, I am a fanatic for keeping manuals on everything and I have the manual for the monitor.  Unfortunately, the parameters in the manual are not among the options in the setup screens.  Further unfortunately, the software driven screen adjustment buttons on the monitor don't work and the image is off-center/distorted/blinking.

I try different video card/monitor configurations.  No luck.  The word "VESA" catches my eye while searching for options.  Now, I do not specifically know what VESA is, other than it is a bus system used in some computers and I had a VESA monitor once.  Maybe actually this one, but it has been a few years since I messed with the video/monitor installation.  Actually, I think it was my old computer, because I think Windows recognized both the video and monitor of this computer.

Anyway, I figure it can't hurt to try "VESA," especially as my monitor manual also says something about VESA. 

Amazing, it works and now I have video.

Step E:  Explore Linux -- I mess with Gnome configurations.  I try to browse the web.  Big miracle here!  I don't do any special setup at all and the web browser instantly connects.  This is a "double miracle" because my computer is not directly connected to the internet.  I have an old 486 laptop that functions as a web server via "AllAboard INetshare."  So, wow!

But consider how bizarre this is.  I can see any public computer on the internet but I cannot connect with my own three networked computers.  Well, solving the networking problem will be left for another step.

Icepack/Gnome comes with "Mozilla" web browser.  Naturally, I immediately discover there is a newer version of Mozilla and download it.  I'm not sure if it is safe to load it over the existing Mozilla, so I install it to a different directory.  It works -- but I have no idea how to "register it" so it will be the default browser.  I don't know what I have to do to uninstall the old version and get it off my computer.  I do not know anything.

Icepack loads four different desktops, at least three web browsers, a bunch of file managers, a couple of office suites.  I spend some time trying these and switch from Gnome desktop to KDE desktop (which I seem to like better).  I especially like the KDE "Konquest" file manager/web browser.

Here's an irony, though.  One of the things I like best is the integration of the file manager and the web browser.  Didn't all those Linux/Unix users encourage the US Gov't to sue Microsoft contending these shouldn't be integrated?

Step F:  I want to make a backup of my boot drive.  My floppy drive does not work.  As will emerge, this is Dummy Error.  I spend a lot of time trying to figure out precisely how to mount the floppy drive.  I discover that from a "terminal prompt"  (DOS prompt to us Windows users) I can run the "mount" command, but I don't know the syntax.  Oddly, the "unmount" command is not recognized.  Linux keeps telling me that the file system of the floppy can't be read.

Speaking of floppies, during the install I made a rescue disk.  I have no idea whatsoever how to use the rescue disk.  I tried it during my failed install, but it didn't do anything, it didn't boot.  How is this going to rescue me?

More hours of web browsing.  I search for a list of different file system formats.  Although there is lots of discussion concerning the existence of multiple file formats, nobody seems to want to list them.  I finally find a list and try a bunch of them.

Trying all these file formats is really annoying because you have to keep typing stuff like "mount -t vfat fd0 /media/floppy."  (Warning, I typed the command from memory, it's probably not correct syntax, so don't copy it!)  For reasons unknown to me, Icepack has chosen to put the floppy drive under "media" instead of "mnt", while "mnt" seems to be the standard place to put it.

In frustration, I try a different disk.  Want to hear something amazing?  The different disk mounts as vfat just fine.  Huh?  (Well, hours later I guess that Icepack formats the boot disk in an otherwise "unrecognizable" format so that you don't accidentally erase it.  Just a guess, but it makes sense.)

Also, I discover that if you "right click" on the floppy disk icon, it has a mount (and also unmount) command.  You have to mount a floppy when you put it in the computer and unmount it when you take it out.  The "unmount" command works, even though it does not work from a command prompt.

Then I discover that KDE has window based utility to mount and unmount devices.  You can test them or mount them and the utility also has a complete list of file system formats!

Step G: Sound doesn't work.  I have a SoundBlaster Live card that is excellent in windows.  The Icepack install has identified the card and supposedly installed the necessary software.  It doesn't work.  I search various websites including the "linuxquestions" forum.  I find several discussions of SoundBlaster Live and discover that it is apparently not well-supported because of undocumented features.  (Thank you, Creative!)  I try a package from Creative's website.  It is not designed for the present kernel but I try it anyway.  It doesn't work.

I read about "ALSA" drivers.  Somebody has posted in the forum that the ALSA drivers work well for his soundblaster.  I try them.  I don't really understand how to install them.  I try the "ALSA" install in the Icepack installer.  Nothing works.

I put the sound card issues on hold.  I give up on Linux for awhile to pretend I have an actual life.

Stay tuned.

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