[TriLUG] Mandrake frustrations

[Jason Tower]

mandrake does have a few slightly goofy idiosyncracies, here's a few off 
the cuff notes of mine:

- i always do a net install via nfs, rather than use physical media.  
obviously you need to have the ISO images and a working nfs server, but 
since i always have at least one linux machine handy that's not an 
issue.  eliminates bad burns as a problem source.

- at the end of the install, you have a screen where you can configure 
various system options and settings.  if you -ever- want printing to 
work, always click on "configure printer" even if you want to do it 
later.  clicking that option installs cups, if you do it post-install 
cups won't be there and you'll have to install it.  ditto for X, you 
must click on "configure display" for the X server to be installed.  
ditto for firewall, it will install shorewall.  goofy and a pita, but 
that's how it works.

- urpmi will be automatically set up to use the install media for 
installing additional packages.  if you installed via cdrom, and you 
want to install additional packages using urpmi or the gui tools, it 
will assume that's the media to use by default.  similarly, if you 
install via nfs and want to install additional packages, it will mount 
the original mount point (check /etc/fstab, it will be listed 
as /mnt/nfs) and install tree.  that's another reason i like nfs 
installs - it's a snap to install packages that otherwise get skipped 
during a regular generic install (like ntp, gkrellm, and so on).

- urpmi.org has a easyurpmi utlity that will help you configure urmpi 
sources for internet-based repositories.

i've installed mandrake many times on lots of different hardware but 
have never experienced your mouse issue, can't shed any light on that 
problem.  sorry.

jason

On Sunday 26 December 2004 19:36, William Sutton wrote:
> Mandrake experts (particularly Lovelace), I started installing MDK
> 10.1 today (downloaded from a mandrake linux mirror site, 3 CD isos,
> all burned to 700 MB CD-R disks under Red Hat 9 via command line
> (sorry, exact utility escapes my pea brain at the moment but it's a
> standard CLI CD-writing tool).
>
> Install has been somewhat painful to this point.
>
> The good:
> - MDK installation automagically recognized my video card (Matrox
> G450) and provided a chance to configure it as such, including
> Xinerama, as well as for my two ViewSonic E90fb monitors.  Easiest
> time I've ever had doing that, especially compared with Gentoo where
> I actually had to write a Gentoo FAQ on the subject...
> - mp3 playing works (hurray)
>
> The bad:
> - During installation, 3 different packages were reported as being
> unable to install, one of which was XScreensaver (didn't make a list,
> but the reports were the same during two separate and differently
> customized installation processes (first one I tried deselecting
> individual packages, when that didn't work so well, I installed a
> second time (fresh install) by starting small and adding extra
> packages))
> - On initial boot and graphical login, I discovered the mouse didn't
> work. Investigation revealed that the XF86Config file was referencing
> /dev/mouse but the only mouse device MDK had created was /dev/mouse0.
>  This was rectified by the simple expedient of editing the XF86Config
> file (simple if one knows where to look, a real pita if one doesn't;
> fortunately I do) - On logging in after setting the mouse up, I
> discovered that there's no configuration option for the printer (!)
> (so I didn't select office productivity...geez ya think it would
> still be a default item!) so I tried to "install" the files from
> CD...woops, message 'Please insert the medium named "Installation CD
> 1" on device [/dev/sr0]'.  Unfortunately I have no /dev/sr* devices
> in my system...(what's going on here?) - To get around the /dev/sr0
> problem, I went to download the various dependencies from
> rpm.pbone.net (google search for the various file names from the
> rpmdrake gui tool)...found the ones I wanted but about every other
> search I did crashed mozilla....
> - once I had the various dependencies I (thought I) needed, I
> installed CUPS...logged out of X, logged back in....still no gui
> configuration options (!)
>
> frustration is beginning to mount...
>
> I can put the CDs up online as iso images (I think...if I can figure
> out httpd under MDK) for inspection & verification but I don't think
> the problem necessarily lies with the images themselves...
>
> I've got a lot of issues listed above and would dearly appreciate
> some help and a sense that I'm not completely stupid here.
>
> William