I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.

I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.

I installed XP on a new hard drive, then Vista in dual-boot
configuration. What a piece of crap! Boom! Reinstall XP.

Now Linux. Now of my burnt cds worked in my dvdrom, and the one that
started to install (it might have been Debian) fragged my Windows.
Boom! Reinstall XP.

I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the
systems. But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.

Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't
load and I'm stuck at the command prompt.

Any help on what went wrong and how to get the gui up and running?
PCLOS still runs fine, but I've got five seconds to choose it over
Debian. For now, I'd like PCLOS to be default. I've got a big chunk
of space, so I think I'm going to try Fedora and Ubuntu. I put Ubuntu
on my parents computers, (separate hard drive, and I have to go
through the bios to boot to it) and I think I prefer it's interface to
PCLos.

PCLos is kde, and Ubuntu is gnome?

Todd <nobody@nowhere.net>:
> I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.
>
> I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.
> [cruft snipped]
> I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
> second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
> option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
> separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
> ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the
> systems. But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.

"All documents and downloads separate from the system" means you want
a /home ptn. Your install disks provide all the rest. Your data will
be in /home/youruser.

> Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't
> load and I'm stuck at the command prompt.

In Debian as root:

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

If you're new to this, you'll have to iterate through it to learn it,
but it's the best tool I've seen for it. If your video card is
nVidia, tell it "nv" for the driver. No, that won't do what you want,
but it'll work. Sort the rest out later.

> PCLOS still runs fine, but I've got five seconds to choose it over
> Debian. For now, I'd like PCLOS to be default. I've got a big chunk

Run both. At your level, you should be trying out all the various
flavours. I like Debian, Zenwalk, and FreeBSD. Go to distrowatch.com
and search for things that would do what you want to do.

Learn the installer. Install often. The more often, the better you
get at it. Debian's is the best I've seen, but that's me talking, not
you. You may prefer Mandriva, for all I know.

> PCLos is kde, and Ubuntu is gnome?

Once it boots, it's yours to decide. Mine runs neither.


--
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(*) http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html Linux Counter #80292
- - http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1855.html Please, don't Cc: me.

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:37 -0700, Todd wrote:

> I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.

That's a mistake. Should have done some reading first.

> I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.

Okay. But specs would help with diagnosing problems.

> I installed XP on a new hard drive, then Vista in dual-boot
> configuration. What a piece of crap! Boom! Reinstall XP.

You're learning.

> Now Linux. Now of my burnt cds worked in my dvdrom, and the one that
> started to install (it might have been Debian) fragged my Windows. Boom!
> Reinstall XP.

Probably did it wrong. Default installs usually wipe the hard drive.
You'll need to do a "custom" install.

> I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
> second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
> option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
> separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
> ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the systems.
> But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.

PCLinuxOS is a good choice for a Linux beginner. Works a lot like
Windows. Don't need to know the commandline stuff. Everything GUI based
with wizards and such.

/ is the "root" or primary system partition. System files, system
libraries, startup scripts and system configurations go here, organized
in various directories.

/var can be a directory in / or a partition -- temporary files of all
sorts, both user and system, go here.

/home can be a directory in / or a partition. Usually, it's a
partition. This is where all users have their private user directories.
All user files, data and configuration go here.

/usr can be a directory in / or its own partition. This is where all
user applications, application libraries, documentation, etc. go.

swap is always a partition, and it's virtual RAM.

Basically, you can get by with just / and swap; however, /, /home and
swap is more typical for a desktop system. Servers are configured a
little differently for security, and ease of upgrading and administration.

> Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't load
> and I'm stuck at the command prompt.

For now, until you know more, just stick with one distro.

My guess on no GUI is that the Debian installer configured your graphics
settings incorrectly, and the X-server -- that's Linux's graphics server
-- can't load and work with those settings, and quits, falling back to
the terminal. The graphics configuration file is called xorg.conf and is
normally in /etc/X11. Type 'man xorg.conf' in a terminal for more info.

> Any help on what went wrong and how to get the gui up and running? PCLOS
> still runs fine, but I've got five seconds to choose it over Debian.
> For now, I'd like PCLOS to be default. I've got a big chunk of space,
> so I think I'm going to try Fedora and Ubuntu. I put Ubuntu on my
> parents computers, (separate hard drive, and I have to go through the
> bios to boot to it) and I think I prefer it's interface to PCLos.
>
> PCLos is kde, and Ubuntu is gnome?

Yes. However, Kubuntu uses KDE and Xubuntu uses XFCE.

Also, I suggest you go to a book store and buy RUNNING LINUX, 5th Edition
(O'Reilly, pub), read it cover to cover a couple times, then really study
it. After doing that, you should have a better understanding of Linux
and how it works.

Stef

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:37 -0700, Todd wrote:

> I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.
>
> I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.
>
> I installed XP on a new hard drive, then Vista in dual-boot
> configuration. What a piece of crap! Boom! Reinstall XP.
>
> Now Linux. Now of my burnt cds worked in my dvdrom, and the one that
> started to install (it might have been Debian) fragged my Windows. Boom!
> Reinstall XP.

If you burned them as iso disk images, there should have been no problem.
I've never seen a Linux install damage an installed MS setup unless it
was told to. I suspect you did not fully understand what you told it to
do - sometimes the directions are a little cryptic.

>
> I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
> second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
> option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
> separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
> ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the systems.
> But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.

Why? But if you want to, then you simply create another partition and
mount if for your downloads and documents. / is the ultimate top level
directory - with *nix everything on the computer is a file somewhere
within that hierarchy. /home is where the user accounts are normally
placed. /var usually has a bunch of system stuff (logs, etc.) in it.
Normally on a system I install for evaluation, I use a swap and / -
that's all; so the entire system is installed under /.

>
> Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't load
> and I'm stuck at the command prompt.

Did you install a GUI? It is possible to install Debian without one.

>
> Any help on what went wrong and how to get the gui up and running? PCLOS
> still runs fine, but I've got five seconds to choose it over Debian.
> For now, I'd like PCLOS to be default. I've got a big chunk of space,
> so I think I'm going to try Fedora and Ubuntu. I put Ubuntu on my
> parents computers, (separate hard drive, and I have to go through the
> bios to boot to it) and I think I prefer it's interface to PCLos.
>
> PCLos is kde, and Ubuntu is gnome?

Except that there is a PCLOS Gnome edition and Kubuntu which is Ubuntu
with KDE replacing Gnome. It's sometimes better to install the 'default'
system and then add the other desktops you want.

On Mar 19, 4:54 pm, ray <r...@zianet.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:37 -0700, Todd wrote:
> > I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.
>
> > I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.
>
> > I installed XP on a new hard drive, then Vista in dual-boot
> > configuration. What a piece of crap! Boom! Reinstall XP.
>
> > Now Linux. Now of my burnt cds worked in my dvdrom, and the one that
> > started to install (it might have been Debian) fragged my Windows. Boom!
> > Reinstall XP.
>
> If you burned them as iso disk images, there should have been no problem.
> I've never seen a Linux install damage an installed MS setup unless it
> was told to. I suspect you did not fully understand what you told it to
> do - sometimes the directions are a little cryptic.
>
>
>
> > I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
> > second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
> > option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
> > separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
> > ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the systems.
> > But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.
>
> Why? But if you want to, then you simply create another partition and
> mount if for your downloads and documents. / is the ultimate top level
> directory - with *nix everything on the computer is a file somewhere
> within that hierarchy. /home is where the user accounts are normally
> placed. /var usually has a bunch of system stuff (logs, etc.) in it.
> Normally on a system I install for evaluation, I use a swap and / -
> that's all; so the entire system is installed under /.

You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have
your personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal
user. When you change directory, you could change disk, or not.
Anyway, separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to
reinstall or install another linux distribution, you could have access
to you personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the
home disk at /home

I usally have a /var partition as it will hinder log files etc to
swamp out on system files etc. Debian want some size on it, as all
packages that you want to install/upgrade are saved there. I usally
have 3-6 G disk there, as it can get big trouble if you upgrade and
doesn't have enough place for them...

So I usally use this on new installations:
/ 6G
/var 2G
/home rest, unless you want other distributions installed.
(But for real, I use LVM and makes partitions on top of that. Still /
only 6G, as it is hardest to change size on)

> > Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't load
> > and I'm stuck at the command prompt.
>
> Did you install a GUI? It is possible to install Debian without one.

Good question. It would also be good to know what hardware/computer
make and model there is.

> Except that there is a PCLOS Gnome edition and Kubuntu which is Ubuntu
> with KDE replacing Gnome. It's sometimes better to install the 'default'
> system and then add the other desktops you want.

There is three first CD in Debian. Each selects a different "default"
desktop system. Gnome, KDE and Xfce.
And of course, you could change/add the other desktops later.

Good luck.

On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:56:06 -0700, AJackson wrote:

> On Mar 19, 4:54 pm, ray <r...@zianet.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:37 -0700, Todd wrote:
>> > I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.
>>
>> > I got a new computer, because I wanted a dual-core processor.
>>
>> > I installed XP on a new hard drive, then Vista in dual-boot
>> > configuration. What a piece of crap! Boom! Reinstall XP.
>>
>> > Now Linux. Now of my burnt cds worked in my dvdrom, and the one that
>> > started to install (it might have been Debian) fragged my Windows.
>> > Boom!
>> > Reinstall XP.
>>
>> If you burned them as iso disk images, there should have been no
>> problem. I've never seen a Linux install damage an installed MS setup
>> unless it was told to. I suspect you did not fully understand what you
>> told it to do - sometimes the directions are a little cryptic.
>>
>>
>>
>> > I can select which hard drive to boot from, so install PCLinuxOS on a
>> > second hard drive, with the Windows disk disconnected. I used the
>> > option to install three partitions. While I understand why I want a
>> > separate swap partiton, I'm still a little confused about these other
>> > ones. But I want all documents and downloads separate from the
>> > systems.
>> > But I don't know what /, /var, and /home are.
>>
>> Why? But if you want to, then you simply create another partition and
>> mount if for your downloads and documents. / is the ultimate top level
>> directory - with *nix everything on the computer is a file somewhere
>> within that hierarchy. /home is where the user accounts are normally
>> placed. /var usually has a bunch of system stuff (logs, etc.) in it.
>> Normally on a system I install for evaluation, I use a swap and / -
>> that's all; so the entire system is installed under /.
>
> You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have your
> personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
> Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal user.
> When you change directory, you could change disk, or not. Anyway,
> separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to reinstall or
> install another linux distribution, you could have access to you
> personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the home disk
> at /home

I don't see that it's any particular advantage, though I certainly
understand that some folks prefer it. It is no major task to copy to
another installation on the same machine - frankly I don't want a new
distro playing around with my data.


>
> I usally have a /var partition as it will hinder log files etc to swamp
> out on system files etc. Debian want some size on it, as all packages
> that you want to install/upgrade are saved there. I usally have 3-6 G
> disk there, as it can get big trouble if you upgrade and doesn't have
> enough place for them...

Which is another point in favor of throwing the whole thing on one
partition - nothing fills up until all the space is gone - I've never had
that happen yet.

>
> So I usally use this on new installations: / 6G
> /var 2G
> /home rest, unless you want other distributions installed. (But for
> real, I use LVM and makes partitions on top of that. Still / only 6G,
> as it is hardest to change size on)
>
>> > Then install Debian, default multi-partition set-up. The gui won't
>> > load and I'm stuck at the command prompt.
>>
>> Did you install a GUI? It is possible to install Debian without one.
>
> Good question. It would also be good to know what hardware/computer
> make and model there is.
>
>> Except that there is a PCLOS Gnome edition and Kubuntu which is Ubuntu
>> with KDE replacing Gnome. It's sometimes better to install the
>> 'default' system and then add the other desktops you want.
>
> There is three first CD in Debian. Each selects a different "default"
> desktop system. Gnome, KDE and Xfce. And of course, you could
> change/add the other desktops later.
>
> Good luck.

AJackson wrote:

> You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have
> your personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
> Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal
> user. When you change directory, you could change disk, or not.
> Anyway, separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to
> reinstall or install another linux distribution, you could have access
> to you personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the
> home disk at /home

Be careful here. A separate /home partition is very good to have, but
creating access from "foreign" distros can cause permission problems.

Some time back I added an openSuse 10.3 distro to a development PC that
had Windows 98SE, Fedora Core 3, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, Ubuntu 7.10, Debian
3.1, and Debian 4.0, which was the previously installed distro, and had
a very large /home partition. I assigned this /home partition in the
openSuse partition editor thinking I could easily access the same files.

Of course I used the same username, but openSuse used a different UID.
Debian had me assigned a UID of 1000, while openSuse assigned 1001. This
caused all kinds of permissions problems, but thankfully, after I
removed openSuse, I recursively chown and chgrp throughout my ~/ and put
the Debian distro back to normal. I lost nothing but some time.

Most likely there is some method to force openSuse to start numbering
UIDs at 1000, but I didn't have time to research it.

--
John

No Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Trend Micro, nor Ford products were used in the preparation or transmission of this message.

The EULA sounds like it was written by a team of lawyers who want to tell me what I can't do. The GPL sounds like it was written by a human being, who wants me to know what I can do.

On Mar 20, 5:48 am, "John F. Morse" <xanadu....@example.invalid>
wrote:
> AJackson wrote:
> > You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have
> > your personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
> > Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal
> > user. When you change directory, you could change disk, or not.
> > Anyway, separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to
> > reinstall or install another linux distribution, you could have access
> > to you personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the
> > home disk at /home
>
> Be careful here. A separate /home partition is very good to have, but
> creating access from "foreign" distros can cause permission problems.
>
> Some time back I added an openSuse 10.3 distro to a development PC that
> had Windows 98SE, Fedora Core 3, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, Ubuntu 7.10, Debian
> 3.1, and Debian 4.0, which was the previously installed distro, and had
> a very large /home partition. I assigned this /home partition in the
> openSuse partition editor thinking I could easily access the same files.
>
> Of course I used the same username, but openSuse used a different UID.
> Debian had me assigned a UID of 1000, while openSuse assigned 1001. This
> caused all kinds of permissions problems, but thankfully, after I
> removed openSuse, I recursively chown and chgrp throughout my ~/ and put
> the Debian distro back to normal. I lost nothing but some time.
>
> Most likely there is some method to force openSuse to start numbering
> UIDs at 1000, but I didn't have time to research it.

Which is easy to change. Just edit /etc/passwd, and it is solved.

On Mar 20, 4:42 am, ray <r...@zianet.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:56:06 -0700, AJackson wrote:
> > On Mar 19, 4:54 pm, ray <r...@zianet.com> wrote:
> >> On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:30:37 -0700, Todd wrote:
> >> > I've decided it's time to jump into Linux with both feet.

> >> Why? But if you want to, then you simply create another partition and
> >> mount if for your downloads and documents. / is the ultimate top level
> >> directory - with *nix everything on the computer is a file somewhere
> >> within that hierarchy. /home is where the user accounts are normally
> >> placed. /var usually has a bunch of system stuff (logs, etc.) in it.
> >> Normally on a system I install for evaluation, I use a swap and / -
> >> that's all; so the entire system is installed under /.
>
> > You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have your
> > personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
> > Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal user.
> > When you change directory, you could change disk, or not. Anyway,
> > separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to reinstall or
> > install another linux distribution, you could have access to you
> > personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the home disk
> > at /home
>
> I don't see that it's any particular advantage, though I certainly
> understand that some folks prefer it. It is no major task to copy to
> another installation on the same machine - frankly I don't want a new
> distro playing around with my data.

It could be a problem, but I have still to experiance any problems
with that.
If it is an issue, it is a bug.

> > I usally have a /var partition as it will hinder log files etc to swamp
> > out on system files etc. Debian want some size on it, as all packages
> > that you want to install/upgrade are saved there. I usally have 3-6 G
> > disk there, as it can get big trouble if you upgrade and doesn't have
> > enough place for them...
>
> Which is another point in favor of throwing the whole thing on one
> partition - nothing fills up until all the space is gone - I've never had
> that happen yet.

Oh, you have been lucky then.

(Please, remove stuff you don't answer)

AJackson wrote:
> On Mar 20, 5:48 am, "John F. Morse" <xanadu....@example.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> AJackson wrote:
>>
>>> You really want a separate /home partition, as it is where you have
>>> your personal data, like Todd wants. It's just no device letter in
>>> Unix/Linux. All partitions/disks are invinsible to the a normal
>>> user. When you change directory, you could change disk, or not.
>>> Anyway, separate /home partition is a good idé if you want to
>>> reinstall or install another linux distribution, you could have access
>>> to you personal data from all of them. Just tell them to mount the
>>> home disk at /home
>>>
>> Be careful here. A separate /home partition is very good to have, but
>> creating access from "foreign" distros can cause permission problems.
>>
>> Some time back I added an openSuse 10.3 distro to a development PC that
>> had Windows 98SE, Fedora Core 3, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, Ubuntu 7.10, Debian
>> 3.1, and Debian 4.0, which was the previously installed distro, and had
>> a very large /home partition. I assigned this /home partition in the
>> openSuse partition editor thinking I could easily access the same files.
>>
>> Of course I used the same username, but openSuse used a different UID.
>> Debian had me assigned a UID of 1000, while openSuse assigned 1001. This
>> caused all kinds of permissions problems, but thankfully, after I
>> removed openSuse, I recursively chown and chgrp throughout my ~/ and put
>> the Debian distro back to normal. I lost nothing but some time.
>>
>> Most likely there is some method to force openSuse to start numbering
>> UIDs at 1000, but I didn't have time to research it.
>>
>
> Which is easy to change. Just edit /etc/passwd, and it is solved.
>

Thanks. I'll remember that if I should try openSuse again. Hopefully
openSuse isn't using (or won't use) UID 1000 for something else.

--
John

No Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Trend Micro, nor Ford products were used in the preparation or transmission of this message.

The EULA sounds like it was written by a team of lawyers who want to tell me what I can't do. The GPL sounds like it was written by a human being, who wants me to know what I can do.