fun with linux...

[WaWAR_FA]

ok, so i got home the other day with my brand new copy of redhat 9.0 and went and installed it on my HP ZE4420US laptop.  install went fine no real problems.

went to boot up and i get to this section:

Starting Pcmcia:

and then,

I8253 count too high! Resetting.
I8253 count too high! Resetting.

and then i hung......

Weird... i had the exact same problem with my mandrake 9.1 boot......

oh well.

so i went back to install windows so i could figure out how to fix this problem so i could get linux to work.

installed from my repair disks

booted up and got:

LI

thats it just LI.

great i didnt remove the bootloader.

so i went back and installed redhat again.

thought i got rid of the boot loader

same Pcmcia error of course.

installed windows (again)

boot

GRUB

crap....

installed mandrake 9.1

hung at starting Pcmcia

anyway.....

after installing redhat 3 times mandrake 2 times and windows 6 times im where i am now.

10gig of windows 30 gig of mandrake

now how do i disable starting pcmcia without useing interactive startup (my keyboard dosent work until after noninteractive startup begins)

and i cant use expert install bacause again my keyboard isnt recognized.

anybody know what i can do to fix this?

[wargames_guru]

Please, gid rid of roothat and manfake and get Slackware!! and don't use lilo, grub, or loadlin. just boot from a floppy, alot less headaches than having to deal with windows MBR!!  :eek:

[Faust]

STFU dude, he can use what he wants to.

[Calum]

yes, that's not exactly helpful is it?

lilo and grub are very good, and usually a system's installer will do a seamless job of installing them. it's people who dumbly try to continue using their dumbass PQ or MS bootloaders that usually run into problems.

slackware won't necessarily solve any problems a person is having with mandrake or red hat (although this is what i tried when mandreck and red hat were stuffing up on me and it worked) and trying slack could easily be a waste of time for someone unused to a unix type environment.

[WaWAR_FA]

i know dick about unix.


anybody know anything about killing the pcmcia on boot?

[Faust]

My debian install gives the option to "remove the pcmcia package" at boot.  My thoughts are that it may be a kernel module - if so editing /etc/modules and commenting out any "pcmcia" looking lines would help, but you have to boot up first to get there.  Try toms root boot to get in and change things.

[Windows_SuX_@$$]

Im planning to install Mandrake 9.1 I think I know how root works. Any tips on instalation? or what to use ? KDE,WindowManer,Gnome ? Thanks

[Faust]

Installation : Choose "expert install", *read what the screen says twice or more*, know about partitioning.

What to use : I just installed one of everything then played around until I found the ones I liked.  The other option is to stick with the defaults and get comfortable with them before trying new programs.  This way you get accustomed to Linux, then you get accustomed to new window managers rather than having to learn both at once.

Don't be afraid to just take your time, it's better than rushing.