Pic Your Tux

[BeerSlinger]

I'm in a corner so I really could use some feedback....

Earlier I submitted a post expressing a problem with Redhat Fedora Core 4 in regard to install of codeblocks.  It was suggested that I try Fedora Core 5 so I did; ten hours later I can now honestly say that it was an unmitigated disaster. So at this point I have given up and I’m willing to try other things.

Basically, the first distribution that I used of Linux was Mandrake but I dropped that over time because there were too many issues with hardware from one version to the next.  Since that time I have played with Redhat, outside of that, I have tried no other distribution.  Basically what I would like is simple. Most of what I want is to write C++ and PHP code. On the outside, I would like to compile and play some of the older Quake’s and few other games but the most important programs to me are:

Codeblocks
Wine (or some other windows emulator)
Quanta Plus

If someone can run all three of these programs, could someone post the distribution and version that they are currently running?

[takeshimiya]

Running the 3 in Ubuntu 64 5.10.

No distro that I know comes with everything out-of-the-box for the 3 running.

You'll need to download the corresponding packages for each program (in the case of Ubuntu, you'll need to download the development tools packages).

If you want easy and simple, it's a matter of taste, but I preffer debian based systems for it's biggest collection of compiled packages and it's packaging system.

I can recommend Ubuntu, Elive (amazing), and Mepis (I have the 3, all debian based).

If, otherwise, you want to learn every piece of your linux, I can recommend Gentoo, Slackware or Debian itself.

[BeerSlinger]

Running the 3 in Ubuntu 64 5.10.

No distro that I know comes with everything out-of-the-box for the 3 running.

You'll need to download the corresponding packages for each program (in the case of Ubuntu, you'll need to download the development tools packages).

If you want easy and simple, it's a matter of taste, but I preffer debian based systems for it's biggest collection of compiled packages and it's packaging system.

I can recommend Ubuntu, Elive (amazing), and Mepis (I have the 3, all debian based).

If, otherwise, you want to learn every piece of your linux, I can recommend Gentoo, Slackware or Debian itself.

Oh, point taken and don't get me wrong, I don't expect everything to work error free and I definately know that not everything is gonna work straight out the box.  My point was that with mandrake, I had a heck of a time getting it to accept certain drives that I had.  This wouldn't have been a big deal but it was my storage drive so I couldn't access any information.

Redhat has been its own ball of wax. At first I was real impressed but I tried installing RPM's and I couldn't get one to install. When i tried installing RUN files, I kept getting errors about incompatability with some part of my oporating system (I forget what it was).  Finally, when I tried to run a website, I found out that http server wasen't running....but that was cool, I turned the HTTPD on and it started functioning.  But when I tried some of the most basic PHP, the service wasen't running from the best that I could see because the code was ignored all together. What frustrated me was that I could find no way to verify if apache was running the service or not.

Fedora C5 just crashs and burns every time I try to install so I really don't undestand what is going on with that.  It has frozen in so many places that I don't know even how to approch problemsolving.

I know that no linux is gonna be error free, but at this point, I just want one that works...

I've never tried Debian seriously, and honestly, those other versions I've never even heard of....so I will have to do some research...

[takeshimiya]

As with any distro: YMMV.

However, I can recommend enough Ubuntu for starters:
It gained a lot of momentum, and the community is very friendly towards newbies, so it's very likely you'll find all the answers that you might come across either in the forums or the wiki.

You will find packages for all the things you've mentioned present in Ubuntu.

[BeerSlinger]

As with any distro: YMMV.

However, I can recommend enough Ubuntu for starters:
It gained a lot of momentum, and the community is very friendly towards newbies, so it's very likely you'll find all the answers that you might come across either in the forums or the wiki.

You will find packages for all the things you've mentioned present in Ubuntu.

 :shock:

My word!!!! Debian is HUGE.........I love it......But I am looking into the others that your talking about....

But I say, its hard telling the difference from one to the other without install, because just screeshots don't say much because Gnome is Gnome.....

[takeshimiya]

Then you might want reviews that can be found in http://distrowatch.com
There are plenty of them for every distro.

Something else, it seems that Ubuntu is the popular choice here in the forums. :wink:

[RJP Computing]

All I can say is Ubuntu!

It is simple to get up and running, plus the apt-get / Synaptic package manager is great. It will help you get all the functionallity out of your Ubuntu system once the install is done. That is how the Ubuntu team keeps the install to a single CD-ROM.

I am fairly new to Linux because I could never find a compelling Linux distro to actually use. Ubuntu is the most usable that I have found. It is actually fun for me to work with. I currently have Code::Blocks running on Ubuntu in XFCE windows manager. It is working great. I just have to get debugging working. ( I just haven't asked here how to do that  :wink: )

I would like to make a wiki entry for the exact steps I took to get Code::Blocks up and running on a virgin Ubuntu install. If someone has already a quick guide I would love to see it.

Thanks. Good question.

[BeerSlinger]

Then you might want reviews that can be found in http://distrowatch.com
There are plenty of them for every distro.

Something else, it seems that Ubuntu is the popular choice here in the forums. :wink:

Oh, a non-propaganda review is always worth its salt….or its wait in gold…..or at least rocks…..

 

[BeerSlinger]

All I can say is Ubuntu!

It is simple to get up and running, plus the apt-get / Synaptic package manager is great. It will help you get all the functionallity out of your Ubuntu system once the install is done. That is how the Ubuntu team keeps the install to a single CD-ROM.

I am fairly new to Linux because I could never find a compelling Linux distro to actually use. Ubuntu is the most usable that I have found. It is actually fun for me to work with. I currently have Code::Blocks running on Ubuntu in XFCE windows manager. It is working great. I just have to get debugging working. ( I just haven't asked here how to do that  :wink: )

I would like to make a wiki entry for the exact steps I took to get Code::Blocks up and running on a virgin Ubuntu install. If someone has already a quick guide I would love to see it.

Thanks. Good question.

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up ageinst the wall.....

[sethjackson]

For Linux Gentoo.  It has a graphical install now for the less venturesome. :lol: It runs all three.

OpenBSD is by far my favorite OS. It is a BSD derivitive, and it is very secure. The only thing with OpenBSD is that some of the ports lag behind. (Lack of manpower) WINE is far behind, (not really OpenBSD's fault). Umm C::B haven't tried it. Only reason it wouldn't work is because wx is at 2.4.2 on it.  BTW with OpenBSD intaller is text based. I find that cool. 

EDIT:

I will hasten to add that OpenBSD is not Linux. :wink:

[BeerSlinger]

For Linux Gentoo.  It has a graphical install now for the less venturesome. :lol: It runs all three.

OpenBSD is by far my favorite OS. It is a BSD derivitive, and it is very secure. The only thing with OpenBSD is that some of the ports lag behind. (Lack of manpower) WINE is far behind, (not really OpenBSD's fault). Umm C::B haven't tried it. Only reason it wouldn't work is because wx is at 2.4.2 on it.  BTW with OpenBSD intaller is text based. I find that cool. 

EDIT:

I will hasten to add that OpenBSD is not Linux. :wink:

OpenBSD is one that I've heard of.....yeah, I did know that it was Unix....

My thing also is (and I haven't stated this) that i'm not walking away from windows.......I'm running........I am so feed to the teeth with that company that I would rather do a deal with the devil VS by another product from redmond....

That's why WINE is so important.....for me it will help, but if I can get a game to work, I can wein my wife off of it.....

[RJP Computing]

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up against the wall.....

If you didn't know this already, Ubuntu comes with all the debian software available. Just thru a tool called apt-get (commandline tool) or Synaptic (GUI tool).

There are also flavors of Ubuntu. What I mean is there is Kubuntu which is using KDE instead of Gnome. There is also a new comer called Xubuntu (I run this because my Linux box is a piece of old crap. ) and it uses XFCE. The really cool part is these are the officially supported versions so you get the 6 month release cycle and 3 year support for the desktop and 5 year support for the server. You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all. Then install, using 'apt-get' the windows manager of your choice. i.e. FluxBox.

[BeerSlinger]

If you didn't know this already, Ubuntu comes with all the debian software available. Just thru a tool called apt-get (commandline tool) or Synaptic (GUI tool).

There are also flavors of Ubuntu. What I mean is there is Kubuntu which is using KDE instead of Gnome. There is also a new comer called Xubuntu (I run this because my Linux box is a piece of old crap. ) and it uses XFCE. The really cool part is these are the officially supported versions so you get the 6 month release cycle and 3 year support for the desktop and 5 year support for the server. You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all. Then install, using 'apt-get' the windows manager of your choice. i.e. FluxBox.

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up against the wall.....

No I didn't realize that, I know that it was said that it was debian baised.....but compatablilty and reality tend to be two sparate things with linux......

Interesting, I will have to try this first.....

Crap.....I got to cut my debian download.....

 :?

[BeerSlinger]

Takeshi,

Normally I don't like to say anything negative and I don’t mean this in a pessimistic way but the install of Ubuntu was the icing on the cake of a lousy day.  I know that this is not the site to be talking about OS issues but it’s very difficult to use C::B if I don’t have the operating system to use it on so I will try to keep this brief.

To be honest, I didn’t read the reviews that you posted because you have been a big help in the past so I trusted your judgment.  But the install that I had was a little more then shaky.  On the other hand, it could be something that I did wrong and I admit that I’m still a newbie; So I want to review what happened to get your feedback or anyone else whom can help.

After I installed and burnt the copy of the OS, I immediately started the install after I had wiped the destination disk from a 3rd party program in windows.  At first, I was real encouraged because the install started very quick with no BS. When the prompt came for the install type I typed “server” because I want a web server on this machine.  After that the install was very quick off the single CD but it didn’t do a couple of things that concerned me a great deal. 

First, it didn’t setup the root account or password.  Second, after the install detected my network, it recognized that I wasn’t running DHCP and that’s cool but it asked for my IP, Sub and provided my gateway, it never asked for DNS servers …

The next thing that perplexed me was that no GUI ever booted.  I was put directly into a text terminal. So when I hit that I was so lost that I didn’t know what to do…

With such glowing reviews, I’m confused why all of this happened…Just to be safe, I’m downloading other distribs to try, but if we can fix this situation; I would love to hear the answer because I’m usually the type to do a full install so I will always go with the full or server option…

[mandrav]

@BeerSlinger:
Why don't you actually read what is being said here???

You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all.

When the prompt came for the install type I typed “server” because I want a web server on this machine.

 :?

The server install is just an install stripped of anything graphical. You can still run a web server with the normal install...

First, it didn’t setup the root account or password.

Ubuntu doesn't use the root account for security reasons. You can still enable it later on if you really need it. But why do that? Just work as a user and if you want to do something that requires root privileges, just type sudo in front of the command. It will ask you for your password and execute the command as root...

[thomas]

There is actually nothing one can do wrong installing Ubuntu. The most difficult thing that you are being asked is your name...

I begin to wonder whether you are serious about all those things you said (not only the posts on this forum). You seem to have a serious problem installing or using any kind of software.

If you are really serious and you are not making those stories up, then you should realize that Linux is not the operating system of choice for you.

You should buy a PC with Windows XP and MS Office pre-installed, and make an investment in Norton Ghost and a handful of DVDs. Or pay a CS student 50 dollars to set up your PC.
Really, you will be a lot happier.

Also, you should seriously reconsider whether C++ is the right thing for you. Java or Visual Basic might really be a better start. I am not trying to discourage you, only trying to be realistic.

[Michael]

There is actually nothing one can do wrong installing Ubuntu. The most difficult thing that you are being asked is your name...

Here, I fully agree with Thomas . I have installed Ubuntu in an old computer without exactly knowing its components. It was just told me that there would be no problems for Internet. Moreover, I had not even read the installation guide and I was/am a Linux newbie. My only "problem" was during the partitioning when I have had to chose about the method. I have chosen LVM, because it sounded good and now it seems not so a bad choice.

May be later I will give a try to gentoo .

Best wishes,
Michael

[Pecan]

There is actually nothing one can do wrong installing Ubuntu.

Well said. I was plesantly surprised at the install. Not one glitch on an old dell laptop.

Ubuntu found every device and everything I had plugged into it. Including the WiFi adapter that microsoft wouldn't configure. What a surprise....

With one sentence from Yiannis, It connected to my WiFi network and I've been compiling, testing, abusing it ever since...

[BeerSlinger]

@BeerSlinger:
Why don't you actually read what is being said here???

You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all.

Ok, you got me, after 14 hours on my machine last night, I skimed his posting.  I missed that he had stated that...

When the prompt came for the install type I typed “server” because I want a web server on this machine.

 :?

The server install is just an install stripped of anything graphical. You can still run a web server with the normal install...

First, it didn’t setup the root account or password.

Ubuntu doesn't use the root account for security reasons. You can still enable it later on if you really need it. But why do that? Just work as a user and if you want to do something that requires root privileges, just type sudo in front of the command. It will ask you for your password and execute the command as root...

My last commment was because, I admit, I have very little experience in linux on either a user level or a corporate level.  In that time I have dinked with 3 versions of Linux-Mandrake, 4 versions of redhat and even a real old version of slackware that worked on a x386 once. And in all that time, I've never seen the root disabled, it just seemed really illogical...

I just couldn't wrap my head around why that would happen........But I guess that's part of my nature, i'm the same with microsoft.  I get more infurated by XP (especially since I've done as much hardware as i've ever done programming) because they make 5-10 steps for a process that takes 1 or two in 2000....

Nothing annoys me more then a software package that has been dummied down by a software company for the morons in the general public. That's why I swore that I would never own another OS after 2000 and i'm starting to refuse to build and reload machines with microsoft XP or any other joke after that.

Even though I can be a idiot at times, there is nothing I hate more then being treated like one....and Microsoft seems to get cheap thrills by doing so.....

[BeerSlinger]

There is actually nothing one can do wrong installing Ubuntu. The most difficult thing that you are being asked is your name...

I begin to wonder whether you are serious about all those things you said (not only the posts on this forum). You seem to have a serious problem installing or using any kind of software.

If you are really serious and you are not making those stories up, then you should realize that Linux is not the operating system of choice for you.

You should buy a PC with Windows XP and MS Office pre-installed, and make an investment in Norton Ghost and a handful of DVDs. Or pay a CS student 50 dollars to set up your PC.
Really, you will be a lot happier.

Also, you should seriously reconsider whether C++ is the right thing for you. Java or Visual Basic might really be a better start. I am not trying to discourage you, only trying to be realistic.

Well, to be honest with you, the exact place that you telling me to go, is exactly where I have been and I’m currently trying to get out of.  I started into computers in 98 after being a music major because I couldn't find any other major that suited me in the least.  As soon as I started, I had a machine built for me. Not long after I worked in a computer lab for a few years and did more hardware then I ever did software.

But bear in mind, this is when the k6 was still out and AMD wasn't nearly as accepted and at that time and I could afford Intel.  In that time, I didn't a lot of VB and a ton of ASP.  After .NET came out I gave up programming all together and basically just about gave up computers all together because I could see where Microsoft was going and it was a place that I didn't want to go.

By then, I was just about out of college and this was after the millennium so there no longer was a job market in this area.  In that time I did very little and went even no where quicker.

Right now, in the past few months, I have had more trouble with Linux because partially, I think that I have expected too much and I just don’t understand it as well as I should because all I’ve even dealt with is Microsoft.  And on the other hand, if I ever had problems, I never, ever “worked the problem.” I would always fdisk the HD and kill the MBR and that would be the end of it.....worse comes to worse, if it was too big of a bother, I would just stick it in a corner and let it Low Level Format and then go back to windows 3.11, 95, 98, ME, 2000 pro/server or XP and just keep doing what ever Microsoft had developed.  Well, at this point, I'm tried of doing that anymore.....

But I will admit that it’s been like being dropped in the middle of china and only knowing about 20 words of Mandarin.....A lot of the problems that I have seen and solved have usually been because I’m trying to get Linux to do something it just cannot or I just expect it to act like Microsoft and it doesn’t.

I don’t know about other people and if they would agree with this assertion, but I’ve recently come to realize that experience can not only work for you but it can work very hard against you.  I just get frustrated because I’ve been so comfortable for so long, in windows, if something doesn’t work, I can explain it.  But on the other hand, when something blows up in Linux, I have no clue why it is happening because I’ve never experience anything like it before; so not understanding it just drives me crazy…

[thomas]

Well, what can I say... I have read at least one dozen posts on this forum ranging from problems unzipping an archive to missing executables and DLLs, as well as about a dozen posts on a diversity of Linux forums as well as the RedHat installation list stating that <insert random software> does not work for you.
I forgot where it was, but you once talked about nearly every existing free IDE too, and none of them worked for you (including Code::Blocks).

So in one word, no software (whatever it is) works for you. However, I myself work with the same software every day, and I never see a problem.
Taking RedHat/Fedora as an example, I have been using RedHat and later Fedora for servers since 1996. The hardware ranged from i386 with 16MB of RAM, NE2000 network and no video card over Cyrix 6x86 machines with Trident VGA and $5 network cards to Pentium III/IV systems with builtin TNT2 and unknown onboard LAN, and last but not least AMD64 machines with 2GB of RAM and Marvell Yukon 1000 Mbit network. I never had any kind of problem with RedHat or Fedora during all this time. Usually, those machines had uptimes on the order of one year (only rebooting after installing a new Linux release).

A couple of months ago, Yiannis hinted me to Ubuntu. Although I will probably never abandon Fedora (because I am used to it), Ubuntu is a really, really good system, it is absolutely foolproof. It worked fine out of the box with whatever hardware I tried, the perfect end-user system.

I really cannot understand why it does not work for you. Your system (AMD64 3200, Radeon X800, onboard AC97, and Marvell Yukon 88E8001) is not that unusual at all. A million people have PCs like that. I have similar (or identical) components in several of my PCs myself, and both Fedora and Ubuntu work reliably with that hardware. No need to configure a single thing.

The only really unusual thing about your PC is that you have 4 or 5 CD/DVD drives (I don't remember the exact number), but this should really not be a show stopper...

[BeerSlinger]

Well, what can I say... I have read at least one dozen posts on this forum ranging from problems unzipping an archive to missing executables and DLLs, as well as about a dozen posts on a diversity of Linux forums as well as the RedHat installation list stating that <insert random software> does not work for you.
I forgot where it was, but you once talked about nearly every existing free IDE too, and none of them worked for you (including Code::Blocks).

So in one word, no software (whatever it is) works for you. However, I myself work with the same software every day, and I never see a problem.
Taking RedHat/Fedora as an example, I have been using RedHat and later Fedora for servers since 1996. The hardware ranged from i386 with 16MB of RAM, NE2000 network and no video card over Cyrix 6x86 machines with Trident VGA and $5 network cards to Pentium III/IV systems with builtin TNT2 and unknown onboard LAN, and last but not least AMD64 machines with 2GB of RAM and Marvell Yukon 1000 Mbit network. I never had any kind of problem with RedHat or Fedora during all this time. Usually, those machines had uptimes on the order of one year (only rebooting after installing a new Linux release).

A couple of months ago, Yiannis hinted me to Ubuntu. Although I will probably never abandon Fedora (because I am used to it), Ubuntu is a really, really good system, it is absolutely foolproof. It worked fine out of the box with whatever hardware I tried, the perfect end-user system.

I really cannot understand why it does not work for you. Your system (AMD64 3200, Radeon X800, onboard AC97, and Marvell Yukon 88E8001) is not that unusual at all. A million people have PCs like that. I have similar (or identical) components in several of my PCs myself, and both Fedora and Ubuntu work reliably with that hardware. No need to configure a single thing.

The only really unusual thing about your PC is that you have 4 or 5 CD/DVD drives (I don't remember the exact number), but this should really not be a show stopper...

I think I know what your refuring to, but i'm not sure....

Well, what can I say... I have read at least one dozen posts on this forum ranging from problems unzipping an archive to missing executables and DLLs, as well as about a dozen posts on a diversity of Linux forums as well as the RedHat installation list stating that <insert random software> does not work for you.
I forgot where it was, but you once talked about nearly every existing free IDE too, and none of them worked for you (including Code::Blocks).

I did post a question about an error message that was given about broken bios......I finally resolved this but I never posted that, yes, and it is true, the PC that i'm on has 5 CD's, 5 HD's 2 PCI IDE One IDE controler only and one RAID controler only.....

The problem and solution was first I tried to put linux on too low the bus......it didn't want to work on the PCI IDE's......so I took some asprin and riped my machine apart and put it on the raid......well, it didn't want to work there either.......so I gave it the primary IDE.....and it worked fine........I got everything to work with putting Redhat on master on the primary ide and windows on master raid.......then everything went swimingly...

I don't know what your talking about with code blocks not working.....It was a little bit of a curveball with the nightly build and undestanding the concept of it......but once I knew where to get it, it wasn't a problem.......then I began to understand the whole concept of WXWidget.dll after someone explained that I needed it and then started to do some digging.......to be honest, i've never had a problem with C::B for windows in the least.......Its been more stable then most programs that i've gotten, even over programs from microsoft....

My basic problem with Redhat has been simple......core 4 installs fine, but when I try to install software on it, everything goes south.......with core 5 it continually crashs in setup......it doesn't matter if its a clean install or update, it doesn't matter.......the only thing I haven't done is to track down either the device or software option that is crashing.....that could be done by unattaching everything or tracking install, one option at a time......to me, just trying to get up and running.....it wasn't practical.....frankly, the whole reason for opening this up is to find what works and then just go there.....

now that i'm fresh today, I'm getting ready to try Ubuntu again......now that i've calmed down and had a moment to breath........I have a bad feeling that I was trying Ubuntu on a bad day.......When I looked back, I should have tried Debian first......I really didn't really expect something so simple, and it puzzled me a bit because it was very rudementary......

[takeshimiya]

My basic problem with Redhat has been simple......core 4 installs fine, but when I try to install software on it, everything goes south.......with core 5 it continually crashs in setup......it doesn't matter if its a clean install or update, it doesn't matter.......the only thing I haven't done is to track down either the device or software option that is crashing.....that could be done by unattaching everything or tracking install, one option at a time......to me, just trying to get up and running.....it wasn't practical.....frankly, the whole reason for opening this up is to find what works and then just go there.....

I'm beginning to think you have hardware problems such as faulty ram or hard disk.
Have you checked your ram against memtest?

Another thing, try to focus with one distro and one problem at a time.
If something doesn't works at first it can be frustrating, but usually a configuration setting solves it, or a new kernel, or a new driver.


For example, I couldn't get linux working no matter how hard I tried on this machine (altrough I had experience in other machines).
Well, it was because the chipset was really supported on kernel 2.6.11 and up. And at that time all the distros (except Gentoo) had 2.6.11 kernels or lower, so I couldn't even boot.
But then the distros started to come with new kernels, and I tried Ubuntu 5.10, which worked for the first time well.
I had to put some bootup parameters thanks to some chipset idiosincracies, but fortunately Ubuntu forums and Google exists

And then, the last problem was I couldn't get past 1024x768 in this monitor, no matter what option I would choose.
Then, after downloading and installing the ATI propietary driver, everything worked nicely.

[Game_Ender]

You should also learn to make good use of the resources on the internet the Ubuntu wiki is awesome and full of great answers to almost anything you would want to do with Ubuntu.  Heck, with almost no linux experience I manged to compile and install comedi along with its kernel modules in Ubuntu.  Something that Redhat makes hard with there altered kernel source.

Here is something I am learning the more I use open source: Searching Mailing Lists, Forums, the Web, Wiki's and Manuals will almost always solve your problem and it will be quicker than a forum post.  Almost every issue you have has been hit before, especially in a distro like Ubuntu.  You just have to spend a little time forming some proper google queries and you should get the answer.

[Michael]

Regarding ubuntu, what I also like is the availability of different web-forums (different languages) . If I do not find what I search in the english forum, then I search in the italian, french, German and/or Portuguese one. Normally, I find quite fast an aswer to my query. Naturally, I avoid to cross-post the same question in each web forum .

Best wishes,
Michael

[BeerSlinger]

My basic problem with Redhat has been simple......core 4 installs fine, but when I try to install software on it, everything goes south.......with core 5 it continually crashs in setup......it doesn't matter if its a clean install or update, it doesn't matter.......the only thing I haven't done is to track down either the device or software option that is crashing.....that could be done by unattaching everything or tracking install, one option at a time......to me, just trying to get up and running.....it wasn't practical.....frankly, the whole reason for opening this up is to find what works and then just go there.....

I'm beginning to think you have hardware problems such as faulty ram or hard disk.
Have you checked your ram against memtest?

Another thing, try to focus with one distro and one problem at a time.
If something doesn't works at first it can be frustrating, but usually a configuration setting solves it, or a new kernel, or a new driver.


For example, I couldn't get linux working no matter how hard I tried on this machine (altrough I had experience in other machines).
Well, it was because the chipset was really supported on kernel 2.6.11 and up. And at that time all the distros (except Gentoo) had 2.6.11 kernels or lower, so I couldn't even boot.
But then the distros started to come with new kernels, and I tried Ubuntu 5.10, which worked for the first time well.
I had to put some bootup parameters thanks to some chipset idiosincracies, but fortunately Ubuntu forums and Google exists

And then, the last problem was I couldn't get past 1024x768 in this monitor, no matter what option I would choose.
Then, after downloading and installing the ATI propietary driver, everything worked nicely.

You could be right.......it might be a hardware problem......

I mentioned that because I noticed my keyboard was doing some funky things and I switched it during a Redhat install.......before I did it was freezing at every turn.......after the media check, pre-install, just after language selection......it was crazy.......but I switched it and it started working fine until the software freeze......It actually crashed two ways, first was when I tried to install everything, the setup would error whenever the Turkish language support was enabled.......I know, I know, why do you need that, well I don't, I just like seeing the foreign languages show up correctly on the internet.......next was a package that I can't remember but it was right after the DNS is installed on a typical setup determined by Redhat.....I finally did get it to set up after I unselected everything but that just left me a shell...

So, I really didn't want to troubleshoot the problem because I wanted to get things up and running....

No, I hadn't done a memory test.....is there one that your referring to specifically?

I did get Ubuntu to install correctly, and I see why it is exceptionally good for those that haven't experienced Linux.  Its nice and I think I’m going to try to push it for a few days to see what I can do, but I don't think I’m going to be happy with it because I don't see any of the server setup for Apache........but please, for god sakes, no one bite my head off......I only looked at it for 3 minites, I haven't had a chance to run everything down so I don't know what it can do and what it can't.....

But I can understand the glowing review it got from many users and I realize why some would be really attracted to it…..

[BeerSlinger]

Regarding ubuntu, what I also like is the availability of different web-forums (different languages) . If I do not find what I search in the english forum, then I search in the italian, french, German and/or Portuguese one. Normally, I find quite fast an aswer to my query. Naturally, I avoid to cross-post the same question in each web forum .

Best wishes,
Michael

I can understand that but wouldn't that get a little messy if the writer starts using slang?.......I can see how some information could be renderied but it cold get ugly....

[BeerSlinger]

You should also learn to make good use of the resources on the internet the Ubuntu wiki is awesome and full of great answers to almost anything you would want to do with Ubuntu.  Heck, with almost no linux experience I manged to compile and install comedi along with its kernel modules in Ubuntu.  Something that Redhat makes hard with there altered kernel source.

Here is something I am learning the more I use open source: Searching Mailing Lists, Forums, the Web, Wiki's and Manuals will almost always solve your problem and it will be quicker than a forum post.  Almost every issue you have has been hit before, especially in a distro like Ubuntu.  You just have to spend a little time forming some proper google queries and you should get the answer.

Once I get everything setup and running, I should be fine......

After that, most my questions are gonna be about Gnome or KDE...

[thomas]

I did get Ubuntu to install correctly, and I see why it is exceptionally good for those that haven't experienced Linux.  Its nice and I think I’m going to try to push it for a few days to see what I can do, but I don't think I’m going to be happy with it because I don't see any of the server setup for Apache

Start the synaptic package manager, you can install apache from there if it is not on your system (I thought it was default install, though). Just check the small box, and press "apply changes".

[takeshimiya]

No, I hadn't done a memory test.....is there one that your referring to specifically?

Almost any distro comes with something called Memtest86.
You can select it at grub/lilo boot up process, either on your live cd or your hard disk installation.

I did get Ubuntu to install correctly, and I see why it is exceptionally good for those that haven't experienced Linux.  Its nice and I think I’m going to try to push it for a few days to see what I can do, but I don't think I’m going to be happy with it because I don't see any of the server setup for Apache........

Everything is crystal clear explained in the wiki: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/ApacheMySQLPHP

From now, all doubts you could have, try these steps, and you will have very good chances of solve all problems you may have:
-Search at the Ubuntu wiki: http://wiki.ubuntu.com
-Search at the Ubuntu forums: http://ubuntuforums.org
-Search at the Ubuntu help bundled with the distro.
-Search at Google: http://www.google.com
-Search at the Ubuntu mailing lists: http://www.ubuntu.com/community/lists
-Ask for help at the Ubuntu IRC channels: http://www.ubuntu.com/community/irc
-Post at the Ubuntu forums: http://ubuntuforums.org

[BeerSlinger]

I did get Ubuntu to install correctly, and I see why it is exceptionally good for those that haven't experienced Linux.  Its nice and I think I’m going to try to push it for a few days to see what I can do, but I don't think I’m going to be happy with it because I don't see any of the server setup for Apache

Start the synaptic package manager, you can install apache from there if it is not on your system (I thought it was default install, though). Just check the small box, and press "apply changes".

Yeah, found it, thanks....

There is alot to go through....

[Conan Kudo]

Remember this: "LAMP"! If you want to make a feature packed site, you will want a LAMP setup... In case you don't really know what LAMP means, it means: "Linux Apache MySQL PHP"! And another note: On some package listings, it is httpd instead of apache! I also recommend PHP4 along with PHP5!

[RJP Computing]

Everything is crystal clear explained in the wiki: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/ApacheMySQLPHP

I just need to make sure you saw this BeerSlinger. This is the reason Ubuntu is so good. The community is AWSOME. This tutorial is great, plus it shows you how to do the Apache install.

[BeerSlinger]

Forgive my silence.....some have interpreted this as inaction, confusion or bewilderment but I’m really doing my homework at this point….at least for some that have seen me on linuxquestions.org…or on this or other sites because I always use the same user-name on a number of sites.

At this point, I’m running through some distributions that Takeshi has suggested...at this point I’m playing particular attention to Ubuntu and Debian with the focus of C::B and LAMP….I new all of those packages, but I didn’t know that there was an acronym for them…and that was new to me…but it was directly addressing everything I needed in the short term….C::B is only for my personal satisfaction…

To close this out, which I have never done before, I want to thank you all for your help…I’m sure that I will find a Linux format that I’m comfortable with; mostly because I’m determined to switch operating systems….

And thanx once again Takeshi

[takeshimiya]

RJP is right, the best thing about Ubuntu is not the distro per se, but about the synergy between the community and the distro.
And better even is that everything is contributed back to Debian, so it's a synergy between distros and between communities.

Just remember to always search at the Ubuntu wiki and forums whenever you have questions. :wink:

[Michael]

I can understand that but wouldn't that get a little messy if the writer starts using slang?

It is not so easy. Each web forum has several moderators who help users and check for bad behaviour. Naturally a 100% security is not possible and most depend on the users themselves.

Best wishes,
Michael

[Game_Ender]

Remember this: "LAMP"! If you want to make a feature packed site, you will want a LAMP setup... In case you don't really know what LAMP means, it means: "Linux Apache MySQL PHP"! And another note: On some package listings, it is httpd instead of apache! I also recommend PHP4 along with PHP5!

Haven't done that style of web developement, but I would recommend on of the new "dynamic" web framework that make it so much easier to make web apps than with LAMP.  For Ruby there is the famous: Rails, and for Python there are the up and commming Turbogear and Djanjo.  They provide a framework to more quickly build web applications with 10-20% (for ruby at least, the python ones are a bir more verbose) of the code when compared to PHP.