Tweeking

[shaun]

Hi All,
as an experienced windows user/installer(installer,installer,installer.....) I can find out what programs are running and whether I need then or not quite easily. Being new to the Linux world I would like to have the same sort of information.
The reason is that I have a Win98/Knoppix (hdinstalled) system but under Linux things are just a little bit slower, (although there is a 'solid feel' about the system), how can I find out what programs are running and is there a list anyware of what they all do and how to stop the ones that I do not require. I think that I need to get back to a Linux system that is equivalent to Win98 for comparison and then ass the services that are important to me.
My system basically is used for word processing, surfing and playing music so I am not after anything flash, just a basic solid machine.
If anybody can point me to the appropriate resource it would be much appreciated.

Shaun

[Tech2k]

You can say "top" to see whats running and then kill the pid of one you dont want.For example :

#top (list the running processes)
then hit "k" and enter the PID of one you want to kill then hit "y" to confirm and "q" to exit back to a prompt.

Theres other ways but I use top.

[fingers99]

under Linux things are just a little bit slower

Are we talking a HD install or running off the CD?

If off the CD, the best thing you can do is to resize your Windows drive and create a Linux swap partition. This'll speed things up a bit: you want something in the order of 1/4 to 1/2 gig (nothing more).

If we're talking of a hard drive install, then, at a GUI level, Linux will always appear to be slower than a Windows 9* system built on the same hardware. But the appearances are very deceptive: it'll multi-task properly and stuff like compiles and file transfers will work far faster.

The obvious process for extermination (assuming that you're using SMTP from your ISP) is smail: use the SysVinit editor (Kmenu > system > SysVinit editor) to despatch it. You'll probably see a lot of other services you don't need, but ask here first!