Installing Linux

[ichwar]

Those three are all really easy assuming you've got one prerequisite. Do you have internet working on your installation?

If you do, then open up firefox and go to a web page that a flash object and firefox should notify you that you have a missing plugin. From there, just follow the prompts it gives to install flash player. You'll then need to restart firerfox, or maybe even the system for flash to work.

You're other two questions I know how to do on ubuntu but I'm not certain about xubuntu. I'll google a tad so that I can give you exact directions and then I'll post back.

mean while, (assuming you've got working internet) go to the terminal and type

sudo apt-get update

it will ask you for the root password. Give it that.

Then

sudo apt-get upgrade

Same thing here also.

Then just wait a bit for it to finish.
Also, if you're tired of the drab look that xubuntu offers, you can always just give gnome a try by typing

sudo apt-get install gnome

Remember that whenever you type sudo infront of a command it will want the root password if you haven't given it yet that session.

That way, before you login, you'll have the option of logging in using gnome or xfce!
Edit:
Add user:
http://linux.about.com/od/xubuntu_doc/a/xubudg26t01.htm

The screen resolution is in either the system or preference menu.

 

[tawma1073]

mean while, (assuming you've got working internet) go to the terminal and type

sudo apt-get update

it will ask you for the root password. Give it that.

Actually with the sudo command, you give it your own password, not the root password.

Sudo was created to both limit what individual users could do as the super-user and to log what activities that are done as the super-user. In addition it limited access to the root password because anyone who knows the root password has complete and total access to the machine.

So you type your own password and the /etc/sudoers file has a list of commands that you can run as root. All the ubuntu flavors gives the first user account created sudo access by default.

But be careful with this power because it can be very destructive. There have been times when I've destroyed file systems as root unintentionally. So as sudo prints when you use it for the first time:

Think before you type!

Then

sudo apt-get upgrade

Same thing here also.

Personally I think adept is a much cleaner interface for installing apt based software than plain on apt-get. I'm still trying to figure out aptitude though.

BTW as for adding users, the command is simple as pie:

From a terminal:

sudo adduser

And answer the questions. Be aware that nothing will show when you type the password, just like everywhere else you have to type the password. There's no need to fill out the location, phone, and other info.

Hope this helps. I'll drop by from time to time to see how this thread is developing.

TM

 

[ichwar]

Actually with the sudo command, you give it your own password, not the root password.

Ok, I just assumed it was the root password since su requires the root password. And since my root and user password are the same, either one works!

Yeah, I know, everyone says you aren't supposed to do that, but I don't like keeping track of a bunch of passwords, and it doesn't really matter asmuch since I'm on a lan.

 

[steronius]

Not to step on ichwar's toes...but i would refrain from installing Gnome since you are running a pentium 3 with low ram. but what's cool is you can install it and if it's slower, then from your login screen options, you can simply choose xfce as your session again.


Also, i too use the apt-get commands to do my upgrades, but if you are uncomfortable, you can do these the GUI way:
1) Install new software: Application->System->Synaptic Package manager (You can find "flashplugin-nonfree" if you want Adobe's flash -- there are other flash players too.)
2) Updates: Applications->System->Update Manager
3) Add Users: Applications->System->Users and Groups


To run your dos games, you could play with VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org)
If you have the DOS diskettes you could install it to a virtual computer. You could run an XP virtual machine too, but your computer is slow and also 3D games won't be pleasant if they run at all.

Maybe wine runs DOS, i do not know. Wine is a whole other can-of-worms that i try to avoid.

 

[taha116]

Wow thanks guys, finished all of it sucessfuly, (except the Flash one was different it gave an error and i had to first run all updates then the flash player installed properly)

Now i dont know my root pass so im gona guess its the same as my user pass right?

Here are things i couldnt solve in linux... and some things that confused me.
I tried AVG for linux, did the debian download (the one that ends with .deb) and installed it using package manager...I found its files but nothing works. Dosent show up in app finder either.

And something of less importance but im sure itl haunt me later. I tried downloang "Battle Tanks" using the add/remove programs and it did everything but when i run it my screen gets all these wierd colors and lines and the game does run in a small window but its almost coverd with the lines and stuff... I think its something to do with color settings but couldnt find that anywere. Any guesses to why it does this?

 

[steronius]

yes, most likely your root pass = your user pass. this can be changed is Users and Groups, but not necessary.

first off, you may not even need an anti-virus... yes you can get them, but it's a lot less likely than Windows. http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/ See the very first link.

It's Possible that it will show up in the menu's in the next reboot.

You can go to a terminal and use the command "ps -A" to show a list of running processes. (Or use Applications->System->System Monitor [Processes tab]

You can also try ClamAV -- I think it's strictly an on demand and not a real-time AV. maybe i'm wrong. i'm used of using the Windows version.

Maybe it's a video driver issue with the Tanks games. Be very careful if changing video drivers. In my experience, mucking with video drivers, even the official ones (i'm talking ATI here) has caused broken installs for me to where i've just reinstalled ubuntu rather than continuing to fail at fixing the video driver.


WARNING OVER-EXPLANATIONS BELOW,
okay, the following can be confusing to a newcomer, so with a grain of salt, i'll say...
Check your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to see if it's at color depth 24 and has all the resolution options your card/monitor support. (You can edit it using the terminal and typing "sudo mousepad /etc/X11/xorg.conf" I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GOOGLING xorg.conf before any attempts. Also you may want to "sudo cp /etc/X11xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.mybackup" -- this would make a copy of you file in case you need to restore it.

etc, etc. i'll be happy to help i've been playing with xubuntu a lot.

also, a great thing, if your GUI is vaporized, you can use the keystrokes CTRL-ALT-F2 (i think all the Fx keys) to get a text only login. F7 is the GUI environment -- so even when it works you can go CTRL-ALT-F2 for text screen and CTRL-ALT-F7 for GUI

with the above, for example you could "sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.mybackup /etc/X11/xorg.conf" to replace your original file. Now easiest would be to restart your pc "sudo shutdown -r now" or you can also just kill your X-server (GUI) and restart it, but i'll leave that up to you googling.

You will have a lot to learn and research, but *I* think that's the most fun to do.

 

[taha116]

Thanks for the recomendation... I believe i saw the anti-virus on the linux site in apps section. Ill check that out.

The color part is what i was looking for what is the right color setting for the game though? I want to try whatever that is.

 

[ichwar]

Hehe, you don't need an av on linux.

Any ways, I can't help you with that game problem, but try asking it over at the http://ubuntuforums.org/
someone there will be sure to help you.

 

[taha116]

Yeah i know why linux is liek 100 times more secure... But you still could use a weekly scaning you know. Anyways I still havent gotten to trying the color issue. I might contact ubuntu
Edit:
_________

So i tried what you said by runing the code in the terminal to open and edit the color settings file with moucepad. It just opens blank and has a warning message that says you are using your root account and may damage your system... something like that.

_________________
Important... I cant figure out how to install apps properly
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/li...aterial/64958-how-install-software-linux.html
I found this but i cant figure out the .bin stuff i renamed javas app v 6.bin (somthing like that) to j.bin and tried it out and got nowere.... It kept telling me no such file or directory exists, the same goes for chmodding... its all on my desktop, were should it be?

-------------------------
Meanwhile im getting an odd glitch at ZShare. When i press pause and play the advertisment stay at the middle of my video. Dont know why so i decided tos see if i could find any other plugins i might need... Ive downloaded java 6... dont know if thats the actuall plugin and adobe reader 9... not sure if that will help.

Both are .bin files and prompt me to select a program to run them with... what program should i use?

 

[ichwar]

Ok, like I said before, really know nothing about your color problem.

But

I can help you install apps properly. The first thing to do is just to delete those two .bin files. In linux you don't download files to your computer to install them. That's windows thinking.
Linux is different, and much easier. Go to the terminal and type

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre

That will install java.
You don't need adobe reader on linux. It should come preinstalled with a much better PDF reader.

To get the actual browser plugin, just go a page that has a java applet on it and firefox will notify you that you are missing a plugin and will prompt you to pick something to install. I would suggest using the java option it gives you, but you could also try installing the iced-tea option it gives you. I've heard that runs java pretty well to.

 

[taha116]

Ok... So about installing stuff how exatly do i know what to type, i mean i cant ask ppl all the time no1 can so how would i know that its sun-java6-jre ?

 

[steronius]

in Synaptic (Applications->System->Synaptic Package Manager) you can search, for example search "Java" and read through the results and narrow down to what you want.

Also, according to the link you provided (here), it shows that you can do "apt-cache search <something>"

and of course you can install downloaded .deb file easily.

 

[taha116]

So i should find the apropriate names from synaptic package manager, and use that, and in other cases i may type in the code + name of the package that synaptic package manager gives and im set?

I should be able to find all Linux aps there?

 

[ichwar]

Yes, use

apt-cache search serchterm

to find names. The other thing to do is just google the app and find the name. For me, I usually find it quite easy to guess the name. Using the synaptic package manager is another way to go. So there are plenty of options for figuring out the exact name of an app!

Two other useful things to know. You should run

sudo apt-get update

once in a while, as well as

sudo apt-get upgrade

That last one is done automatically once a day in ubuntu but I'm not sure about xubuntu.

 

[steronius]

i guess it totally depends on the software, let me go through a few examples:

say i want to install the software "htop" because it's way cooler than "top" -- it's just a process monitor, but i use it none the less.

the command line apt-get and the gui synaptic is basically the same thing, but one's type-type, one's click-click. they both point to the ubuntu official "repository".

so since i already know how to install it, i'll just go my terminal and type "sudo apt-get install htop". done, it's installed, now i can run it by typing "htop" -- yep it works... i go check my menu applications, lo-and-behold, it's there in applications->system->htop. yay.

now i want to install virtual box, well maybe it's in the repository, maybe not. i know the online version is currently 3.0.2. I load up synaptic and search "virtualbox" i see "virtualbox-ose" but it's version 2.1.4. i can rest assured it's stable because it's in the repository. but also, i really want the most recent version, so i exit synaptic and just download the .deb file from virtualbox.org. i double click it to open it and click the install button. cool it's there.

now i want to install a game called "glest" i know it's online, but i see some linux files, that sorta confuse me. i dont feel like messing with all that because i'm still a novice and i'm not sure about it, let me check synaptic . wow, they have "glest" so i'll click the check-box and select "mark for installation", of course it asks id i want to mark the required files. yes i do. then i click the apply button, yay i now have a game to play.

well now i want to try a game i saw called savage2, let me check the repository... nope, not there, so i download the file. double -click, hmmmm, that didnt' work. oaky i been here before, i remember i had to mark it executable. i can do this from the GUI by right-clicking and checking executable. or i can do it from the terminal. in the terminal i type "cd ~/Desktop" to get to my desktop where i downloaded the file. the i type "chmod +x Savag*" i used a * because i was too lazy to type out the entire filename. now maybe i need to own it too, so i'll type "chown myusername Sava*". i double click again, hmmm an error, oh yeah i downloaded the 64 bit instead of the 32bit. crap, well that's a 800+ mb file, so i'll start that and hope this is enough examples to get you going. .... okay next day, i downloaded the correct file. i did the same as above, chown and chmod. but when i double-click it, it has an error. let me try from the command line, i type "Savag*" and it says command not found, oh yeah this is linux i must prefix with "./" so that it looks in the current folder, so i type "./Savag*" .. yay, it's installing!

 

[ichwar]

lol, you're good at explaining things anyways. Hopefully that will be all taha needs because I'm going to be really busy tomorrow and Monday.

 

[hyeclass]

get fedora (l)

 

[benicio]

portable ubuntu is already available.
i use puppy linux. i tend to find them easy to use.

 

[taha116]

(Thanks for the posts!)
Ok so ive got still 1major problem the color issue... wh y wont it let me edit that file? Is there anyother way?

I managed to install wolfinstine ET and its got the same retarded problem .
_______
Wow ive managed to get it to show me something this time the xorg.conf file

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# Note that some configuration settings that could be done previously
# in this file, now are automatically configured by the server and settings
# here are ignored.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Sigh* so ive been googling for a while and i havent found a solution for my problem yet.... Some save the day for me again plz...
I dont see anything about depth and stuff.... any idea what i should try out... googling it as i post this

 

[briapv]

I still want to make my own home server, But i dont get apache to work i have ubuntu 9.04 server edition