Why I won't be using DSL
Forum: User Feedback
Topic: Why I won't be using DSL
started by: Dustpuppy
Posted by Dustpuppy on July 12 2005,16:12
I think DSL is a fantastic idea. I was hugely impressed by the slick, unfussy startup of the livecd, everything was detected perfectly including my internet connection, and there was very little of the time lag that often comes from using livecds. I think it's fantastic that it can be used within another distro or on its own, and I would love to have this as something I keep in my bag.Unfortunately, there's one thing that renders it unusable for me. I can't change the monitor refresh rate. 60hz is physically painful, and having to download XF86 every time I use the cd is ridiculous.
So, bye bye DSL - hopefully just for now. I'll keep an eye out for if the option appears, but until then I simply cannot use the distro, end of story. Which is a shame.
Posted by cbagger01 on July 12 2005,16:16
You don't need to download XF86 every time that you use the cd.Instead, use the mkmydsl script to build a custom livecd that contains the base DSL along with XF86 or any other additional extensions.
The new livecd will be larger than 50MB but you have plenty of room available if you use a 3inch CD-R disk or a fullsize CD-R disk.
Posted by clivesay on July 12 2005,16:49
If you are using backup/restore, just backup the etc/X11/xf86config-4 file and location along with the revised .xserverrc file in your filetool.lst file. Load the xfree.dsl file at boot and have the backup place your config files in the proper place. I actually created a mydsl extension of my xfree config to load at boot time. If you do that you can have a mkmydsl CD as cbagger01 suggested. Look in the pdfdocs section of the downloads/current folder of the DSL site for howto's on how to create an extension and how to use mymydsl.Good luck
Chris
Posted by andrewphoto on July 12 2005,17:06
I don't like running from a CD, I don't like the heat & the wear & tear.There aren't many distros that are compact enough to run in 'little' RAM, but DSL is one of them.
I'm pretty green to computers, up until last week I thought spam was just pork luncheon meat.
I installed, XFree86.dsl, &, xf86config.dsl, followed the instructions, < http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub....sl.info > , and voila. I vaguely remember that you may or may not have to change the name of the xf86config file generated, from, xf86conf, to xf86config-4.
Note: before I installed, xf86config.dsl, I successfully used a 'generic' xf86config-4 file, that came with XFree86.dsl.
Search the forum with the keyword, mkmydsl, and you will see that the DSL team have done a FANTASTIC (& since way back,) job in providing the mkmydsl facility. I've just posted a business card cd to my brother-in-law, with a photo of his baby son as desktop background, he's only heard of Linux, when he boots from the biz card, this will slightly blow his mind!
This last two weeks, I am now the proud owner of an inexpensive 128MB pendrive, & 128MB is ample for incorperating XF86 scripts.
Unfortunately, at the moment, my laptop won't boot from USB, I can't be bothered sorting that out at the moment, so I use a bootfloppy which jumpstarts the pendrive.
I'm a newbie to computing and a newbie to Linux and a newbie to DSL, and I don't speak for DSL, just posting this from my own experience. I bet there are other possible methods than the above, as well.
I think DSL is, quality, crafted, and I've found this forum to be good & bustling & massively helpful, and most of all, I cherish what I am learning.
Best Regards and Wishes Friend, andyp.
Posted by ke4nt1 on July 12 2005,18:39
I guess "Dustpuppy" wanted the 5 minute tour..I suppose most folks just don't take the time to learn
that there are little "secret" gems hidden within the
50MB distro that have to be found to be appreciated.
( and who'd expect to find them in a lil' distro like DSL? )
mkMyDSL is one of those "gems" ..
Not a " run this as I will you to " OS..
but a " craft this how you wish to run this " OS..
Set your DSL session up how you like it.
Burn it .. Run it ..
Since laptops now outsell desktop machines...
CRT's are becoming a dying breed..
LCD's will assume their place..
The 60HZ issue will die with the CRT's .. \o/
73
ke4nt
Posted by Dustpuppy on July 12 2005,19:11
Actually, I spent rather longer than 5 minutes trying to find a workaround. I was really disappointed that I couldn't find anything that would help, and am very pleased that there seems to be a way to make my own cd. The problem with hidden gems is that they're hidden
Thankyou everyone for your directions, I shall give them a go.
Posted by ivrobi on July 13 2005,06:37
| Quote (ke4nt1 @ July 12 2005,20:39) |
| Since laptops now outsell desktop machines... CRT's are becoming a dying breed.. LCD's will assume their place.. The 60HZ issue will die with the CRT's .. |
Well, don't forget, that there are some (or should I say: many?) people -like me- running older PCs with CRTs... One thing that I like in DSL is that it fires up the older machines and you don't need some hyper-confs to run it. I run it as a liveCD with the 'toram' option on my 600MHz Celeron and -yep- I have a CRT monitor...
Greets!
Robert
Posted by RoGuE_StreaK on July 13 2005,07:14
And don't forget that as the CRTs become "obsolete", we'll be able to pick the "you beaut" ones for dirt cheap!(Just this instant picked myself up a good 17" for Aus$20, now gotta see if I can install an old PCI vid card as well as my FX5200, and get dual-monitor setup with the 17" and 15"...)
Posted by mikshaw on July 13 2005,15:48
You should be able to change the refresh rate with the '-screen' parameter in .xserverrc:-screen widthxheight[xdepth[xfreq]][@rotation]
use a screen of the specified width, height,
screen depth, frequency, and rotation (0, 90, 180
and 270 are legal values).
for example:
exec /usr/bin/X11/Xvesa -screen 1024x768x32x75
should give a refresh rate of 75hz
Posted by cbagger01 on July 13 2005,16:33
NopeXvesa will only accept standard VESA 2.0 display timings (60Hz refresh rate).
Unless someone here has compiled a new version of XVesa that suddenly added support for VESA 3.0 refresh rate adjustment.
Posted by Curious1 on July 16 2005,03:45
I am very interested in Clivesay's custom dsl extension of the xfree config file. If it can be used on a wide variety of machines than it would be awesome to see it posted for download. 
Posted by clivesay on July 16 2005,04:43
All I am using is the nvidia based xf86config-4 file that's in the xfree.dsl. That gives me xfree with 3d acceleration. Chris
Posted by ke4nt1 on July 16 2005,04:55
Curious1,He means he has a config file for HIS unique setup,
built into an extension, that loads at boottime.
It's not a universal one..
Try using the xf86config.dsl tool in the testing area
to create one for your individual setup, then copy the
/etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file and the /home/dsl/.xserverrc file
into your own custom-built extension to use at boottime.
73
ke4nt
Posted by Curious1 on July 16 2005,05:04
Thank your for the polite and prompt response! 
Posted by Curious1 on July 20 2005,00:53
Well, how do you add two files into one dsl extension?And possibly in windows as well.
Posted by Curious1 on July 20 2005,01:10
Also, where is ".xserverrc" at?
Posted by cbagger01 on July 20 2005,12:59
Open emelfmPress the "H" button at the top of the window pane (to allow the viewing of Hidden files. All files that start with a "." are hidden)
Go to /home/dsl
and it should be there.
Posted by Curious1 on July 20 2005,19:58
How do you add two files into one dsl extension?And possibly in windows as well.
Posted by mikshaw on July 20 2005,21:17
It can't be done in windows, since windows does not know how to properly handle file ownerships and permissions (and probably can't build a suitable tar file).If you know how to make an extension, you know how to add files to it. Basically you'd just be adding /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and /home/dsl/.xserverrc to the xfree86.dsl package.
I'm not going to go into the steps again until the forum database gets broken or purged
since the "how do I make a dsl extension" question has been asked here several times...a search should come up with enough info, and there are also some howtos in the documentation section of this site.I have, however, been planning a gui which will assist in editing DSL extensions, to accompany my extension builder (that currently needs to be fixed =oP). It won't help you right now, of course, but it's something that may help with future projects.
Posted by cbagger01 on July 21 2005,02:52
Don't bother hacking up the existing xfree86.dsl extension package.Instead, create a small new custom package zzz_myxfree86.dsl
and put your two files inside.
Because the "z" extensions get loaded after the "x" extensions, your custom files will be loaded last.
Posted by Curious1 on July 21 2005,23:28
Thanks for all the help.
Posted by richard9965 on Aug. 14 2005,05:42
I've started using DSL on an IBM 380ED, which is a Pentium 1. I'm happy with it, although I haven't set it up as fancily as the other correspondents suggest. Not many systems run on the IBM 380ED because it's so old and so limited. Only 80MB memory, no USB, no cd writer, and only PCMCIA version 1. Still, I like a good challenge, and it was the cheapest way to get an LCD screen.Richard.
Posted by loell on Aug. 14 2005,05:56
i'm a newbie, but i do understand the things that your talking here..
i guess, i just wnated to say
when i tested dsl, i knew i will be loyal to the these distro..