After HDinstall Howto
Forum: DSL Ideas and Suggestions
Topic: After HDinstall Howto
started by: Vacendak
Posted by Vacendak on Jan. 15 2004,06:47
I am in the process of writing a Howto for after you get your HD install done. It will not have stuff like How to get X working. I really want to do things like how to enable virtual terms without X. How make su- work in rxvt without restarting X. How to install and configure new window managers. Most of this type of stuff has been covered in the forums and on the main site but it is kind of scattered here and there and since I see more and more people doing HD installs which is not what John intended for DSL, I think it would be a good idea to Document how to make DSL work a lot more like a full distro without all the problems that you get with a full distro. I have used many distro's and have come to love DSL. I have 8 boxes at home all old handme downs and DSL is the only distro that just works(except on that 286 box) and I am wondering what kind of things do you expect to have on a HD install that DSL doesn't do?Thanks
Vacendak
Posted by davmac on Jan. 15 2004,14:38
There are a lot of questions and answers about how to get DSL and LILO working on a dual boot machine, might be worth covering?How about info about using apt-get and particularly downloading and using synaptic.
The possible post dsl-hdinstall process is also covered at < DSL Review >
Dave Mac
Posted by davide on Jan. 15 2004,15:53
i.e it would be lovely to know how to speed up recognition process on boot.say..no video card setting and so on..detection of hardware once you've done it the first time, should be skipped when done, shouldn't it?
I know that you may have installed a new hardware, but in that case there could be a cheat to type at boot....
this kind of things I suppose would be appreciated.
Posted by guido on Jan. 15 2004,21:07
Hi , That will give a message like ....
"Damn small linux had found new hardware"
How do you wanne try to find the right drivers ?
No , no not absolute possible for me. I think that the power of a distro like DSL the automatization is . It's easy , it's no so slowly and if you try some new hardware you haven't the Windows installation problems.
My personal opinion, but maybe John and the team will make it possible.
Regards, Guido
Posted by guido on Jan. 15 2004,21:15
Hi Vacendak,< I think it would be a good idea to Document how to make DSL work >
Great to doiing this part of the job , but let us remeber that new people will have always problems .
So even if there will be a manual , we may not begin to answer read the fuc... manual.
But do the job ! I will read it and i'm sure many people will found there the answer to there problems.
Regards ,
Guido
Posted by clivesay on Jan. 16 2004,04:50
Vacendak - Here is my input:
I am a true beginner to Linux. Not only am I a beginner but I am also strictly a user. I have no programming/development background. I think the real key in creating documentation is making sure that it is written in a way that is very basic so that a USER can decipher what is being explained. My experience in the Linux forums is that when answers are given to problems, some steps are left out because a programmer/developer makes an assumption that the person has a basic knowledge of programming. For a user, that creates quick frustration. The fact is that developers and users are very different animals. They speak different languages. I see it first hand because I work as a kind of liason between the two every day at work. For many users, the thought of typing a command at a command prompt can cause an increased heartbeat and sweaty palms!
I really love learning DSL not only for the distro itself but for the people that support this forum. All of you have been great to me. With my NFP organization, I have a real drive to find a Linux solution.
My recommendation is to make your documentation as detailed as possible. I hope everyone is patient with people like me! I am telling you that when Linux gets to the point that regular users feel comfortable with handling configurations of drivers and WM's people will migrate by the millions! Word of mouth is the most powerful type of advertisement there is!
clivesay
Posted by cbagger01 on Jan. 16 2004,04:59
I agree and think that the best thing for a person giving an answer to do is:If the answer is a series of command-line instructions, then give the answer in the form of a script.
In this way, the use will receive the EXACT steps required to resolve the problem.
Posted by hasty on Jan. 16 2004,19:44
Good idea.......I hope you can carry it out.I agree with cbagger
>If the answer is a series of command-line instructions, then give the answer in the form of a script.<
Especially if you annotate the script with lots of rems.
That way newbies can understand and learn at the same time. The fact that DSL is so pared down and easy to reboot/install makes it a great learning tool for beginners.
It doesn't matter if you make a complete balls up as you can just reboot. Try that with one of the larger distros that come on three CDs
Posted by Vacendak on Jan. 16 2004,21:10
OK guys here's my plan. First off most of the stuff I will be talking about is command line stuff and I am assuming the reader has no command line or linux experience so it will start off by explaining how to get to the command line. In fluxbox right click on your mouse then left click on Xshell then left click rxvt from there I intend to explain exactly what to put in type "sudo dpkg-restore" without the quotes I will be explaining exactly what that does and what is happening when you do that. Does this sound like a good idea or should I try something different? I want this be helpfull and not cryptic and your experiences will help me to make this better.Thank You
Vacendak
Posted by clivesay on Jan. 16 2004,23:03
Sounds good to me. I admire what you are trying to do. Documenting drives me crazy!!
clivesay
Posted by davmac on Jan. 19 2004,10:58
Sounds excellent, and if you need a gormless newbie to test it out on I'll be glad to proof read and/or assist in any way I can. Just give me a shout.Some other things that occur to me that would be useful post HD install;
- Editing the lilo.conf to set the right video mode etc
- Amending the .fluxbox/menu file
- Turning off the MOTD and defaulting to "Enhanced"
Dave Mac
Posted by TiYogi on Feb. 04 2004,16:17
Hi Vacendak,How are you doing with the "Howto"?
I am also new to the world of Linux and need some extra help with even just loading DSL to the harddrive.
Good luck and thanks for the effort to help others.
Posted by Rapidweather on Feb. 06 2004,00:32
The speed of DSL is improved quite a bit by setting it up on the hard drive like I haveoutlined here:
< http://www.angelfire.com/ms/telegram/general_howto >
I am keeping the original DSL as is, and only add to it through the restore process,
with my filetool.sh (modified from robert's original):
< http://www.angelfire.com/ms/telegram/filetool_Storage >
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Because of this, I do not expect much upgrade problems when there is a new
CD of DSL available from John. I will just copy the new /knoppix folder to the
hard drive, in place of the old one, and go from there. I'll look at the menu that is
provided on the new DSL, and if need be, edit it again with Scite, and back up all
that to the Tarball, backup.tar.gz
----
I wonder if it would be so easy on a "real hd install"
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Posted by alien2thisworld on Feb. 11 2004,08:02
One of the most interesting aspects of DSL to me is the loading into and running from RAM. If that can be done on bootup with a HD install, I would love to read about it in your documentation -Daniel
Posted by dmoisan on Feb. 13 2004,04:19
Also items for the FAQ:* Networking: How to configure, troubleshoot.
* Changing the host name (asked by me and answered a few weeks ago)
* .xinit
* Really Advanced: Making a new kernel (what is the canonical DSL .config?)
The best part about bootable CD distros for me is not so much that they can be run off of CD (though I do this with DSL and the FIRE forensic CD quite often) but that they represent a lightweight and very easy installation on surplus machines. I have Debian on my main Linux box and love it but I *never* want to go through the installation again!
There's a bunch of little things I did when I installed to HD that should be in there, if I can remember the exact things I did...
Take care,
Dave