What's it like being a newbie?

I have just installed Knoppix 3.1 as a dual boot on my laptop. While I appreciate that the hard disk howto was probably a voluntary effort, an aspect of Linux that I find appealing, as a newbie I was also irritated once again by what is missing. Everything went fine except for the setting up networking section. I want to wordprocess, access the internet and email. Do I need samba at startup? What is it? What is the default setting?

This is my third go at Linux. The first (Mandrake 7.2 and Running Linux O'Reilly) I gave up because I got fed up searching for answers to simple questions. The second (Mandrake 8.2) ended with Knoppix 3.1 on the DVD of LinuxFormat, the Mandrake manual stating "just load the hotplug module" but no mention of how to do it. Mandrakeonline did not work and there was an updated version but no instructions on how to install it. Loads of complicated webpages.

Knoppix detected most of my hardware and cardmanager and hotplug worked straight away. I know my IP, subnet mask etc but what is ssh? Oh no here come those questions again!

Open a console window and type netcardconfig then enter to configure the network card just enter your settings there. The console is the clam shell icon on the task bar.

ssh is a secure way of connecting to a computer from any other computer on the network using encryption.

You do not need samba on start unless you want to connect to a windows network share.

Good luck and post back with any problems.

KH, Knoppix is real simple to use.. Like you I also failed several prior attempts to integrate linux 100% in my computing needs, until I discovered Knoppix. This was all I did to get it running.
1) In dos command prompt, cd e:\knoppix , mkfloppy (sp?) .
2) Reboot

Like in your case, Knoppix detected every single hardware that I use.

Like in your case, my network was not working on 1st boot. My pc had 2 nics, it was used as a adsl router (slackware) to my home network. The second card is not used anymore since I purchased a hardware router. so the make the simple story short, I attempted to configure the network (to my new adsl router) automatically and manually but failed. I concluded that the kernel that knoppix3.2 use were having problems with my particular combinations of nic cards.. 2 minutes later, after removing the redundant nic, EVERYTHING works.

the way you asked about samba and hotplug tells me that you were attempting to install on hardisk. Hardisk installation also works for me but because it is troublesome to delete my tracks after surfing the internet, I prefer to boot from compressed Knoppix option unless I need to install new linux software.

The thing about Knoppix is , now I spend most time doing productive things on my comp instead of hacking,reading faq to just get simple things to work.. my opinion is: a person is great if he is technically capable to solve the nitty gritty issues to get his pc working, he is even greater if he is technically capable but choose not to waste time on things that can be done for him automatically.... just my 2 cents...... Knoppix is IT, other distros has to follow if they know what is best for Linux. Linux enthusiast got to lose the "I can do it, therefore I'm greater than thou" attititude.. imho

Thanks for the posts.

I obviously did not make myself clear. Perhaps I should have titled my post Newbies, What are your experiences of Linux? As Subarus hinted in his last paragraph, I dual boot with Windows XP. I use XP to get my work done and Linux when I have the time to battle with it. I was just wondering if other newbies spend their time trawling the net for answers?

At first look, Knoppix is a great piece of software and Knoppix.net is simple to navigate and well laid out but after attracting newbies with a great CD what a shame, for example, that the Knoppix install to hard disk howto does not take that little bit of extra time to explain what ssh, samba, send mail etc are so a Newbie knows how to answer the Do you want this service to run at boot questions that are asked during the network setup and if you change your mind, you can change the services that are run at startup by logging on and doing so and so...

With Knoppix the only issue I need to get up and running is my wireless pcmcia network card but I know how to do this because I spent two weeks on and off sorting it out in Mandrake. I needed hotplug just to get my USB mouse working to save my trak pad! Oh and why are printers such a pain in Linux? I had to load modules to get my parallel port working with Mandrake and then I finally got my Canon BJ200 to work on my wireless print server when I discovered that the dip switch was set to Epson LQ mode and not BJ mode!

Stephen, you say ssh is a secure way... but is that another computer on the same network or over the internet? Does the other computer have to be running Linux and ssh? In short, I don't think I need it.

The first time you got on a pc did you know everything about windows? Did it take time and searching and asking questions? The same is true of any OS. There are many places to glean info about Linux. Here is one of my favorites: G4L

Here are some great Linux forums:
LQ
JL

Remember, in Linux most every app will have its own site or at least a page or two on someplace like Sourceforge. You don't have to go looking through hundreds of pages of worthless shareware apps on 25 different sites.

As far as "what does app X do?" When you downloaded the .iso there was also another download called 'packages.txt' and it contains a brief snippet of what each of those packages does. You weren't left hanging.

You mention having to use 'hotplug' to make USB work- well of course, what do you think windows uses? You see that's just it- MS has been treating people like idiots for so long that they don't know what's REALLY going on. Ask a windows user about the kernel and he'll think you're talking about KFC! When you make a 'shortcut' on the desktop in windows you are really making a 'symlink' but MS thought they'd be smart and rename it. Shortcuts are not MS's bright idea- they come from UNIX.

Why is Linux printing such a pain? With HP & Epson it isn't but with companies like Lexmark who make junk and refuse to cooperate with people who want to write drivers for their products then yes it is a pain. Lexmark had better wake up though and really soon.

What is Samba- it's for file sharing w/ windows as Stephen said. Go here: http://www.samba.org/ Notice the big corporate logo in the upper right hand corner. That will indicate which OS that company is betting on.

You're right- everything written about Knoppix was a volunteer effort as is Knoppix itself. Are you aware that you can take Knoppix and sell it if you so desire? You can write your own how-to and sell that as well. That is what free software is REALLY about, not free like in windoworld where with every other free app you also get a free piece of spyware and you cannot legally modify the code in any way!

If you want a pc that has Linux and everything already setup then you can buy one of those too. If you want to just click, drool and pray then I'd suggest sticking w/ windows since that is what it's best at.

If you want to continue to support a company that routinely raids public schools and fines them for not paying for every license on all machines then be my guest.

If you want an app that performs task 'X' use G4L or post in a forum but generally it's best to post one question at a time and this way you have a better chance of getting the response you want. You will find that what annoys most people in the forums is when you post a question that has been answered many times over and you obviously didn't do a search for it. The Knoppix forum is perhaps slightly different in that noobs are expected and encouraged, none the less the search function is useful. I use it myself daily.

I would suggest looking around this site to see the latest of nasty b.s. stunts that MS is pulling right now with XP updates. ;)

Linux is here to stay- Even Macintosh uses a flavor of UNIX for its latest greatest OSX. Windows has its place and yes there are some things that you cannot do in Linux, but just wait........

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Stephen, you say ssh is a secure way... but is that another computer on the same network or over the internet? Does the other computer have to be running Linux and ssh? In short, I don't think I need it.

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The windows client for ssh is PuTTY. SSH allows you to connect to your computer securely from anywhere in the world, you can be sitting on the beach in Tahiti with a wireless device listening to your favorite tunes steaming over the internet if you wanted too.

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Originally Posted by Stephen

SSH allows you to connect to your computer securely from anywhere in the world, you can be sitting on the beach in Tahiti with a wireless device listening to your favorite tunes steaming over the internet if you wanted too.

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Yeah and with Linux you can get a great martini sent via email too. Can windows do that??? :)

Oh yeah...........the real reason I posted was this:
Lin-Win Equivalents OK sure most Linux apps are far superior to anything on the windows side but I use the word 'equivalents' for lack of something better.

rickenbacherus, thanks for the forums. Your right, when I started I did not know everything about windows but because Microsoft owns the desktop I got taught it at school, courses at the local college etc and anybody with a computer was using the same OS. If Linux wants to compete for the desktop with Microsoft then ease of use has to come close to the top of the list. I think it is only a question of time before it succeeds.

Secondly, I did not download Knoppix so I was unaware of packages.txt. I got it off a DVD with Linux Format so I will check the DVD.

As for USB, why should I have to set it up? I would like to find out about Linux when I am in the mood not when I have to to get something working. As I said earlier, Mandrake 8.2 had it but did not install it, Knoppix had it and installed it, so Linux is moving in the right direction. Just wait........

Printing, yes well a dip switch on an old printer is rather obscure but parallel ports are still fairly common and should work from day one.

With Samba, as I said, I did not make my point clear. I know what Samba is but Knoppix is unusual in that in runs straight off the CD. If a newbie finally decides to have a go at Linux and tries Debian, for example, a string of unexplained questions could put them off especially when they have windows to fall back on unless, of course, you want to keep Linux for those in the know.

While I am not a fan of Microsoft's policies towards dealing with the competition or their prices, when I want something in a shop, I usually have to pay something for it so why should software be any different. The fact that Microsoft are using their position to keep the price of their software high and insist that PC manufacturers bundle Windows is not on. I am also looking at Linux because I don't like it when buying something new means upgrading something else!

OK so yes I should have searched to see if their was a similar topic to this one but I was disappointed to read that this forum is different in that noobs are expected and encouraged. I should hope so if Linux wants to grow. Being called a noob and sent a not entirely positive post is not really the way to encourage people to stick with Linux and become one of the cognoscenti.

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Originally Posted by KH

rickenbacherus, thanks for the forums. Your right, when I started I did not know everything about windows but because Microsoft owns the desktop I got taught it at school, courses at the local college etc and anybody with a computer was using the same OS.

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Monopolistic ruthless nazi tactics got them there.

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If Linux wants to compete for the desktop with Microsoft then ease of use has to come close to the top of the list.

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You are absolutely right.

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I think it is only a question of time before it succeeds.

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I agree completely

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Secondly, I did not download Knoppix so I was unaware of packages.txt. I got it off a DVD with Linux Format so I will check the DVD.

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I see.

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As for USB, why should I have to set it up? I would like to find out about Linux when I am in the mood not when I have to to get something working. As I said earlier, Mandrake 8.2 had it but did not install it, Knoppix had it and installed it, so Linux is moving in the right direction. Just wait........

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USB worked immediately for me.

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Printing, yes well a dip switch on an old printer is rather obscure but parallel ports are still fairly common and should work from day one.

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Slowly printer companies are building not only Linux friendly printers bu t they are also writing drivers for them. It will take a while yes.

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With Samba, as I said, I did not make my point clear. I know what Samba is but Knoppix is unusual in that in runs straight off the CD.

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Cool isn't it?

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If a newbie finally decides to have a go at Linux and tries Debian, for example, a string of unexplained questions could put them off especially when they have windows to fall back on unless, of course, you want to keep Linux for those in the know.

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If a newbie tried to install Debian he would forcibly remove all of his/her hair! This is a long running cmplaint about Debian. Now that Knoppix has made an easy to use installer for Debian the pressure is on the developers to incorporate it into their distro.

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While I am not a fan of Microsoft's policies towards dealing with the competition or their prices, when I want something in a shop, I usually have to pay something for it so why should software be any different. The fact that Microsoft are using their position to keep the price of their software high and insist that PC manufacturers bundle Windows is not on. I am also looking at Linux because I don't like it when buying something new means upgrading something else!

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Would you believe-no kidding- that I just got a virus on this wimpdoze machine I am now typing on?

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OK so yes I should have searched to see if their was a similar topic to this one but I was disappointed to read that this forum is different in that noobs are expected and encouraged.

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Don't get me wrong- anyone is welcome at any Linux site- it's just that you won't find much about writing BASH scripts and the like here- it is to get people started really. Other Linux forums however are for anyone but that comes at a price for a noob in that if you do search you will find hundreds, nay thousands of posts. Where do you start then?

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I should hope so if Linux wants to grow. Being called a noob and sent a not entirely positive post is not really the way to encourage people to stick with Linux and become one of the cognoscenti.

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It is just irritating to spend so much time trying to help people out and ofen times it is apparent that they didn't even TRY the search function or they want to know "Where are the cheat codes" and they are on the front page of this site! I also spend a great deal of time answering email about Linux. I don't expect a pat on the back or anything. I just want to help put M$h*t in its place and promote the use of a VASTLY superior OS.

Well KH I can appreciate your position but I will say this: I have spent maybe half the time getting Linux to work compared to the time I spent fixng windows oh and let's not forget rebooting every time you make a change or add software. I NEVER reboot my Linux box unless I want to boot another distro. I have windows machines in my home but I don't use them I just fix them over and over again. They are so easily broken. My linuxbox NEVER crashes- no kidding. Sure applications crash but so what, my desktop still works just fine (when I'm using it that is). If you get into Linux you will find that things are SO mush faster from the command line. I can have a cd started burning by the time you click through the menus to find NERO. I can play DVD's from ANY region in my DVD player (w/ Linux of course). I can type "apt-get install application name" and VOILA! it is done. No error messages- Oh sorry you need this or that as apt-get is smart enough to tell you before hand. I ramble on....pardon me. I really didn't mean to steer you away.

Oh yeah- I just remembered, I do use windows- their 3.1 floppy disks make GREAT bootable floppy distro disks for my Linux router!

Stick with it KH- you won't regret it. And if I piss you off- ah well just ignore me then eh? gluck

KH,
Hank in there. We want to help you. We were all noobee's once. hell I am still a noobee. :lol:

As rickenbacherus says, do a lot of searching and trial & error and soon you will be helping out the next generation of noobee's comming up.
Make learning this new OS fun. Don't let it frustrate you!

Have fun,
paul 8)

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just want to help put M$h*t in its place and promote the use of a VASTLY superior OS.

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superior in what way ? I have spent over a month on configuring this and it is still no where near XP in terms of user friendliness.

I experienced more 'hanging' than XP, fonts on X looks uglier than XP, I tried one of the games and found no way of quiting it(including issuing kill at a prompt).

So in what way is Linux superior to XP ? I would still continue to venture only because I want to see how much I can get from a completely free installation, comparing with XP.

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Originally Posted by garyng

superior in what way ? I have spent over a month on configuring this and it is still no where near XP in terms of user friendliness.

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Security, Stability, Standards Compliance, Portability and you'll still be configuring a year from now.

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I experienced more 'hanging' than XP, fonts on X looks uglier than XP, I tried one of the games and found no way of quiting it(including issuing kill at a prompt).

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As opposed to the doz forced re-boot you are running a mixture of testing, unstable and experimental software you do realize that don't you and fonts are a multi-million dollar industry and those people don't exactly give them away.

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So in what way is Linux superior to XP ?

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You actually have people that care about the work they put out and will fix it or someone else will there's no sitting around pretending that you working on "Trustworthy Computing" it's already there built in by default or trying to figure out how you are going to screw your customers out of more money or ram some bunch of proprietary junk down your throat so they can lock data into microsoft formats and continue to screw you forever.

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I would still continue to venture only because I want to see how much I can get from a completely free installation, comparing with XP.

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Good luck with your venture.

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Originally Posted by garyng

superior in what way ? I have spent over a month on configuring this and it is still no where near XP in terms of user friendliness.

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Exactly garyng! M$ doesn't think you're smart enough to make your own decisions so they have made them for you and there is nothing you can do about it. Linux freaks people out because it is SO configurable. It doesn't attempt to tell you what kind of OS you can and cannot have.

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I experienced more 'hanging' than XP,

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My machine never hangs but maybe that's because it's older and Linux loves old hardware.

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fonts on X looks uglier than XP,

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Again, M$ may be pretty on the outside..... BTW- I have some great looking fonts on my desktop (when I use it).

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I tried one of the games and found no way of quiting it(including issuing kill at a prompt).

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Yeah that Bubble Puzze game does that to me all of the time too. Open a term, become root (or sudo)
top
k
<enter PID to kill>
h
That'll kill it. I know it isn't as easy as just closing the window but I don't know anything about writing software.

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So in what way is Linux superior to XP ? .

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Our local school district just spent $360,000 on licensing for M$- that doesn't buy ANYTHING but the right to use software. BAH! Think about what our kids could have w/ Linux, & old recycled pc's for $360,000. You are right on one thing, to gather a following things must be easy but let's not forget who made it seem like all you need do is plug it in and turn it on. That as we all know, no matter the OS is FAR from the truth. How about intuitiveness (is that even a word?)? In M$ you click 'Start' to stop, you get worthless error messages that only tell you that something is wrong not how to fix it. Have you ever solved a real problem w/ the M$ troubleshooter? Give me a break! All it ever did was run me through the obvious that anyone w/ a year's experience on pc's would have and then it would say "We're sorry but the troubleshooter cannot fix your problem." Cmon garyng- don't tell me you have never seen that.

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I would still continue to venture only because I want to see how much I can get from a completely free installation, comparing with XP

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Well, I don't use M$ at all for anything ever. (well OK here at work I do but that's not my choice). Linux is more than capable of doing anything and everything. And don't give me that crap "I want to see what I can get from a free OS"- you love Linux already, you're hooked and you know it! :D Nobody would post as much as you have otherwise. I have seen some very good posts by you in fact. You've figured alot of it out already. Me, I'm still learning Linux, always will be I think.

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Linux is more than capable of doing anything and everything. And don't give me that crap "I want to see what I can get from a free OS"- you love Linux already, you're hooked and you know it!

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Depends on what side of me we are talking about :)

I have some idea about what I want to see in the PCs down the road which cannot be met by Microsoft stuff and I am attempting to do it through linux. This is the hobby side of me who played with GEM, Smalltalk, OS/2.

However, I am typing this on XP because I still need a reliable environment to do my other stuff and I maintain my view that for average person, XP is a better OS than linux because Microsoft(as evil as it is) has ironed out a lot of minor details for a typical desktop, especialy the usability side. Not that many people is interested in tweaking an OS. But Linux can be a viable alternative as it is getting better and better and the gap(in terms of user friendliness) between it and Windows is closing fast.

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Originally Posted by garyng

I have some idea about what I want to see in the PCs down the road which cannot be met by Microsoft stuff and I am attempting to do it through linux.

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Ah just imagine.....a BIOS that can boot the entire system, browse the web, install software and several other things. Terrabyte hdd's, one bus for ALL connections, stuff that hangs off your head and in front of your eyes and LINUX for everyone! Of course we don't want the competition to die (just M$). A little competition is healthy, helps maintain an even keel.

Here's a little article I found about which is the faster install; XP, 2k or Redhat. You may draw your own conclusions from there.

i am completely new to Linux and have begun to step by step move towards it.

And knoppix has been a huge step in this. Just the ease of installing it from a single cd and exploring the desktop that soon came up...i am hooked.

right now, i just want to thank all the great folks who have made this possible-...All the GNU/linux people and the free software people...and the developer of Knoppix too...for this great OS..

very soon i am going to move to the next step and make a permanent installation.

i will use knoppix all the time (i think) as soon as i can find a way to get online :( my modem is not working. it's a little pain restarting and tring something that does not work and restarting and signing back on line to look for a new way to do it....


i will restart again and see if it works... wish me luck LOL

What can I say about Knoppix that hasn't already been said. Basically I stumbled accross Knoppix after I tried about 30 other GNU/Linux builds and variations, and YES, a newbie installing Debian is quite scary and frustrating (it was the 3rd one I tried). But it also made me learn lots real fast, I come from a Macintosh enviroment, but it's funny because we hear of all these "GNU/Linux switchers" to OS X. OS X made me switch to GNU/Linux, I got tired of Apple's fake rhetoric about free and open source software. It is NOT in their or Adobe's best interest to see The Gimp suceed. Right now the two GNU/Linux variations I am running are Mandrake 9.1 PPC on an iMac and Knoppic 3.2 on an old i686 I got for free. Why am I rambling? who knows, I am just glad to be involved in the GNU/Linux community and have never had such support before, everyone has helped me willingly. It is my goal to produce the next book (I work for a publishing Company) 100% on a GNU/Linux enviroment.
Everyone points at Microsoft but Apple is as much part of the problem too.

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Originally Posted by Rono64

Everyone points at Microsoft but Apple is as much part of the problem too.

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I agree. Recently I acquired an old UMAX ppc. I've never had an interst in Macs previously and I'm still not interested in their OS. I am glad to see them switch to NIX but open source is a swear word in Macland it seems.

ive tried a number of linux distro's and then went on to freebsd which was quite good exept all the partitioning was getting a bit annoying as i was dual booting with xp untill i tried knoppix, it installed every thing straight away and was running in under 2 min's from getting the cd burnt :>

Great stuff and quite a user friendly distro...

Hmm...
I know all the reasons that Linux is superior in every way, and am desparately trying to migrate away from Win, but honestly, installing any Linux distro on my computer is driving me insane. Knoppix livecd works great, but as soon as I try to actually install it, everything stops working, and i have to spend days plugging away at text files in a fruitless hit or miss attempt to get the thing to behave. I know the problem lies with my lack of understanding, but I'm busy, and don't have that much time to become an expert. I don't want anyone to have to give up the flexability of being able to configure absolutely everything, but having an option to automatically set everything up (which, frustratingly, Knoppix seems capable of, but unwilling to do on a real install) would be of great comfort to some of us...
Trying, but feeling glum.

Tortoise,

Most things are setup on the hdinstall like the cd, but of course some aren't. Perhaps if you listed issues that you need addressed, we could better help you out. I have been able to tweak my hdinstalls to work pretty much as I wanted them too and it's not too hard. Is the main issue getting access to other partitions? Just let us know.

A good trick to set up partioning is using the Mandrake installer to set up your partitions, it's autoallocate function is perfect.
Then force kill it or shut down the comp, and install Knoppix.
No mess and worries about partitioning.

>Most things are setup on the hdinstall like the cd, but of course some aren't. >Perhaps if you listed issues that you need addressed, we could better help >you out. I have been able to tweak my hdinstalls to work pretty much as I >wanted them too and it's not too hard. Is the main issue getting access to >other partitions? Just let us know.

Thanks, I was just venting...
I guess the main issue is that when I installed RedHat a while ago it started up in such a state, none of my hardware worked, and I just got so dispirited that I got rid of it. Then I saw Knoppix LiveCD, and it worked wonderfully, but when I installed it, it was back to the nothing works stage. OK So, concretely:
My Crystal WDM sound card (IBM Thinkpad A30) isn't recognised.
My Lucent soft modem isn't either.
Where are my partitions, and how to I find them?
Thanks for putting up patiently with a rant!

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Originally Posted by Tortoise

>
Thanks, I was just venting...
I guess the main issue is that when I installed RedHat a while ago it started up in such a state, none of my hardware worked, and I just got so dispirited that I got rid of it. Then I saw Knoppix LiveCD, and it worked wonderfully, but when I installed it, it was back to the nothing works stage. OK So, concretely:

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So everything worked from CD it's just a matter of getting the correct config files on the HD.

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My Crystal WDM sound card (IBM Thinkpad A30) isn't recognised.

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Try in a root console window sndconfig to configure the card.

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My Lucent soft modem isn't either.

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There are many post on winmodems and getting them to work in the forum, use the search box the solution is there already.

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Where are my partitions, and how to I find them?

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In a root console fdisk -l /dev/hd? will show you the partitions on the drive you select. If you would like your partitions mounted on boot then edit the file /etc/fstab, knoppix put your partitions it found during HD install in the file commented out.

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Thanks for putting up patiently with a rant!

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We're here to help. An easy way to do most of what you would like to do is boot from the CD check what config is used and mount your HD install and copy the config files that the CD is using to the HD and everything should work like it does on the CD.

Thank you - yes, everything worked from the CD, so I have a blank desktop with a floppy icon and a trashcan on it.
When I click on the floppy, I get an error. I suspect this may be to do with the fact that it is an external USB floppy, and the os thinks it is another kind of drive.
My network adaptors also don't work any more (one wireless, the other wired, one at least works on the livecd)

>We're here to help. An easy way to do most of what you would like to do is >boot from the CD check what config is used and mount your HD install and >copy the config files that the CD is using to the HD and everything should >work like it does on the CD.

How would you feel about walking me through that step by step, since it sounds like what I need to do.
1. How do I 'check what config is used? Is it one file? If so which one and where do I find it, or is there one file for each device? If so how do I identify and find them?
2. Can I copy the whole file across, or do I need to cut and paste the commands manually?

Thank you! Sorry to be such a pain!

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Originally Posted by Tortoise

Thank you - yes, everything worked from the CD, so I have a blank desktop with a floppy icon and a trashcan on it.
When I click on the floppy, I get an error. I suspect this may be to do with the fact that it is an external USB floppy, and the os thinks it is another kind of drive.

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Look at this thread

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My network adaptors also don't work any more (one wireless, the other wired, one at least works on the livecd)

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As root:
netcardconfig

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1. How do I 'check what config is used? Is it one file? If so which one and where do I find it, or is there one file for each device? If so how do I identify and find them?

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There are a few files to look at- here are two you may need:
/etc/fstab
/etc/X11/XFree86Config-4

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2. Can I copy the whole file across, or do I need to cut and paste the commands manually?

Thank you! Sorry to be such a pain!

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Yes you can copy- always make backups first in case you bork a file. Learn to use Midnight Commander- it's pathetically easy. As root do:
mc

How do you edit with mc?
mcedit /etc/fstab
Look at the 'F' keys that are used in mc.

To copy files:
Boot your Knoppix cd, mount the partition you installed to and copy on over.

Check out this thread too.

Amazing - what a revelation!
My network cards work now, my drive icons are back!
You're a hero!
I still think it's a shame that the extra fussing (which isn't as bad as I thought it would be) puts so many people off - it's so close to being friendly enough! Still, I'm hooked now!
Thank you!

Just a couple more quickies!:
1. How do I change which programs appear on the bottom bar (I want to add Mozilla)?
2. How do I create shortcuts to directories or files on the desktop?
3. Why do my screen fonts look clunkier than on windows? Can I fix this?
Thanks!

Oops! Plus:
My cd rom / dvd drives? How do I make those appear on the desktop?
How do I install a network printer?
If these questions are answered elsewhere, please just tell me to shut up!
Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tortoise

Oops! Plus:
My cd rom / dvd drives? How do I make those appear on the desktop?
How do I install a network printer?
If these questions are answered elsewhere, please just tell me to shut up!
Thanks

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Right click on the desktop and choose the device you want to create, the same with the taskbar. All the others Kmenu -> Settings -> Control Center. Nice to see you got it going good luck.

ps. for the fonts check to make sure anti-aliasing is turned on.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tortoise

Just a couple more quickies!:
1. How do I change which programs appear on the bottom bar (I want to add Mozilla)?

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You can right click on an open part of your taskbar in KDE which will bring up a menu. Alot of things are no different than what you're accustomed to. IMHO kde is MUCH more configurable than wimpdoze ever thought about being although I have never used XP. I plan to keep it that way.

Look at this:
Kmenu>Quick Browser
A very fast way to see what's on your machine and another way to see what the file tree looks like. It's a good habit to open a terminal or three when you boot Linux. You're going to be using them- trust me. Soon you'll discover that many things are easier and faster from the CLI, or Command Line Interface.



You have multiple desktops- use them to your advantage.

Well, I really feel like I broke through the pain barrier, with a lot of help from some great people on this forum (I think I am still going to need a bit more!). It takes a while to work out as a noob what things you just need to work out the new name and location for (like control panel), and what things are just different (like how drives are handled). Not getting the drive thing, and hunting about for an equivalent to C: was doing my head in until I worked out that it's just different.
I think I now have my system to the stage where I can use it for nearly everything that I use win2000 for (except my softmodem, which I haven't started working on yet, and one of my cd drives, but that is just going to take a little fiddling).
It's immensely satisfying to get it working, and I do feel I'm starting to get the hang of it. Thanks to everyone who helped me get this far, I hope I can return the favour to someone else!