Recently got a new hardrive from a friend and it has OpenSuSE 8.2 pre-installed. But, when I turn it on and stuff it goes to a page where it gives me Boot options, it says. Linux, DOS, Floppy and Linux-Safe. Which one do I choose? And the second one is, when I click Linux it brings me to a terminal type thing and tells me to login, I dont know the Username and password, so how do I reset a password and username?
IMHO, download an updated version and reinstall. 8.2 is really old (over
5 years) as 11.0 is out now.
Like Rs_ss said: an update would probably be a good idea.
With such an old version installed, if you do get it running, it may be hard to find any software support, or application support. With 11.0 just being released only a few months ago, it is basically supported by every major repository and will make finding software and support, such as development packages and debugging packages much easier. If you do decide to take this route, the OpenSUSE 11.0 installation guide (link found below) should be a great help to you. It will walk you through installing OpenSUSE 11.0:
OpenSUSE 11.0 Installation Guide
Hope all goes well. 
I am a new user myself, so i would suggest what they told you… just get a fresh new copy of open suse and with a much improved interface
> when I click Linux it
> brings me to a terminal type thing and tells me to login, I dont know
> the Username and password, so how do I reset a password and username?
i’ve read the responses of several who have recommended you install
version 11.0 on that disk, and i don’t disagree…but i guess you
might think you are not getting the help you want (try out linux) and
i wanna try to explain why you can’t use that friend given drive as it
is to try out linux:
-
we can’t tell you what your friend used as the user ID and password
(only he can tell you–yes, we could tell you how to reset it but that
would not help, because [keep reading]…) -
that hard drive is populated with a linux which is configured
uniquely to the hardware of the machine on which it was
installed…that is, when installed Linux “looks at” the system
(motherboard, graphics card, monitor and many many other things) it is
being installed on and selects and installs the correct drivers for
THAT system… -
so, if you had the password, you would soon run into BIG problems
trying to use the wrong drivers…i’d bet a LOT of money you would
never get a successful boot…no matter how much time and effort you put
into it…
and, if you JUST want a quick look at openSUSE Linux:
go to http://software.opensuse.org/
and click to download the LiveCD, but do NOT install from that!!
now, if after a look you wanna install, and assuming your machine and
hard drive meets the minimum capability/space requirements for openSuSE
11.0 (no, i do not know what they are–but i do know that version 8.2 is
a LOT smaller than 11) i would recommend you download or otherwise come
to having a 32 bit DVD in your hand (32 because it will work fine on a
32 OR 64 system, AND some 64 stuff doesn’t work great yet, easily)…and
(assuming you have a Windows[tm] background) install KDE3 or Gnome (if
you have a Mac background)…
BUT, before you do either: save yourself a LOT of time by doing some
reading:
-
find the minimum system requirements for version 10.3 and 11.0, pick
the one you best fit -
read http://tinyurl.com/5hkyeh and all linked info in that post
and, have fun!
–
DenverD (Linux Counter 282315)
A Texan in Denmark