Hello there, I’m a new convert. I’m attempting to install opensuse 11.1 onto an etower 633ids from a KDE4 Live Cd. I believe I am having troubles setting the xserver. Instead of booting to the KDE gui, I am sent to a login. (I haven’t set a login or password yet). I type “Linux” and get to a prompt. From here I can switch to SU and run SaX2. A gui will then load and I can modify my graphic settings. Upon exiting I type KDE to load the gui interface to begin installation. Nothing ever loads, I get a white screen and a mouse cursor. I’ve done a sum check after downloading the iso and from the live cd. Both pass. I’ve also searched the forms but to be honest the linux terminology still confuses me. So I’m not sure what to do now. Do I have a hardware problem? or am I just ignorant to the ways of the linux? Many thanks! Specs are below…
CPU: Intel Celeron 633 Mhz
Memory: 191 MB
Video: APG 2x
HDD: 15Gb
Floppy: DVD 2x
At the initial boot screen, look at the bottom of the screen and you will see that the F1 - Fn keys allow you to change the setup options. If you choose 800x600 resolution (F3 I think) and select failsafe mode, you should get a graphic login.
pgollum wrote:
> Hello there, I’m a new convert. I’m attempting to install opensuse 11.1
> onto an etower 633ids from a KDE4 Live Cd. I believe I am having
> troubles setting the xserver. Instead of booting to the KDE gui, I am
> sent to a login. (I haven’t set a login or password yet). I type
> “Linux” and get to a prompt. From here I can switch to SU and run SaX2.
> A gui will then load and I can modify my graphic settings. Upon
> exiting I type KDE to load the gui interface to begin installation.
> Nothing ever loads, I get a white screen and a mouse cursor. I’ve done
> a sum check after downloading the iso and from the live cd. Both pass.
> I’ve also searched the forms but to be honest the linux terminology
> still confuses me. So I’m not sure what to do now. Do I have a
> hardware problem? or am I just ignorant to the ways of the linux? Many
> thanks! Specs are below…
>
> CPU: Intel Celeron 633 Mhz
> Memory: 191 MB
> Video: APG 2x
> HDD: 15Gb
> Floppy: DVD 2x
KDE needs a lot more than 191 MB of RAM. With swapping, it will run,
but it will be painfully slow. I have an old laptop with 256 M that I
last used with a GUI on SuSE 9.3. Now it is used as my server and X is
not installed.
Using XFCE as a window manager would help. Otherwise search for
distros that are better suited to your hardware.
there is a vicious lie laid out by many (in and around Redmond
Washington) that Linux runs like the wind on the tiny resourced
machines of yesteryear…[they do that so when you try you are
disappointed and frustrated]
and some versions of Linux (like tiny, slim Puppy Linux) will run in
the described machine…but, openSUSE 11.1 which is a couple of years
newer and light years ahead of either Vista or Win7 certainly will
not…
sorry to break the news to you…but, for you continued Linux pleasure
i urge you to either get some modern hardware or use a lighter Linux,
like (i’ve not actually run any of these more than a few minutes, but
i hear they might do what you need):
[try first!] Puppy Linux. <http://www.puppylinux.org/> Needs 64MB
RAM for versions before 1.0.2. More recent versions need 128MB RAM and
166MHZ CPU
Elive <http://www.elivecd.org/> (has Enlightenment window manager).
Needs 100MHz CPU and 64MB of RAM for one of the older versions. More
recent version needs a faster CPU and more RAM
DSL (D@mn Small Linux).<http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/> needs 16MB
RAM on a fast 486 CPU. But that will be slow!! Better off with 64 MB
RAM and a Pentium with 200MHZ CPU
Vector Linux. <http://vectorlinux.com/> Needs 32MB RAM and 166MHZ
CPU. I suspect much more RAM is desireable.
any of those will get you started in prying that nose ring out, but
none will run KDE4 (i don’t think…heck, i wouldn’t KDE4 if i had a
Cray…but, i do run KDE3)
–
platinum
Give a hacker a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach man and you feed him for a lifetime.
I have an old test machine that has a bit faster celeron and 256 meg. I could no longer reinstall late versions of suse and had to use a net install. I did a zypper up often and sometimes zypper dup.
It ran well until I got to 11.2 M6 and KDE4.3 and then it hit, not the wall, but the mud. It runs, but slowly. I was thinking about converting it to an opensuse education box with the Sugar DE. That is lightweight but still has suse 11.1 underneath.
I was hoping to extend the useful life of a bunch of old machines. Guess that is off the agenda now.