[ale] Installation of SUSE 9.3 advice

Thu Sep 29 00:47:30 EDT 2005

Jeff,
You can actually just use the first CD to get a ftp install from the ALE 
ftp server going.  Or choose the minimal install first and then 
configure Yast2 to point to the ALE ftp server for it's sources instead 
of a CD or DVD.  If you don't need non-gpl based software and do have 
ACPI issues then the suse 10 RC1 candidate distro is available from 
mirrors off the opensuse.org site.  I found my laptop was much better 
understood by the ACPI modules and thereby the kernel when I tried it.  
I think SUSE 10 hits the market around the end of October or early 
November.  If your machine is a 64 bit then suse 9.3 runs great and has 
a option during initial booting to install 64 or 32 bit.  I think one of 
the function keys switches the mode.  The Bitstream fonts (which I like) 
are not installed by default.  Also, the DVD or ftp install will make 
some packages available that aren't on the CDs.  Another tip, Suse will 
allow user control of interfaces such as wifi and lan.  If you have both 
enabled for DHCP and to be initialized at boot then the default route 
gets assigned to the lan and not the wifi.  So, don't initialize the lan 
at boot and do initialize the wifi to fix this.  Or, go static IP and 
set the default route for at least one of the two.  Powersaved is the 
package that runs all the ACPI and powersaving functions.  It runs as a 
wrapper accepting all the modules messages and processing events, the 
config files are all under /etc/sysconfig/powersaved.  Suse uses the 
/etc/init.d startup scripts sys/V style with symlinks in the rcX.d 
directories.  They've got a plan and methodology outlined in the Yast2 
manuals so install the books and help files so you can read up on it.  
You should use the checkconfig command and the insserv command for 
dealing with runlevel at the command line.  Yast2 will do users, groups, 
modify runlevels, recover a damaged MBR, configure NFS, and bunch of 
other stuff.  There are updated versions of mozilla and other software 
projects, not just security patches, available on the suse ftp server.  
I hope they will continue with this as they transition to the 
opensuse.org staging.  You can elect, after you get your installation 
finished, to add nvidia accelerated graphics, all kinds of multimedia 
related stuff, and important Openoffice.org patches in addition to the 
security patching when updating with Yast2 Online Update, called YOU.  
If you don't install the xine stuff via YOU, you can go to 
http://packman.links2linux.org/  and get a bunch of rpms such as 
Mplayer, the dvd decrypt code and so on.  There is a nice script that 
will download the decrypt source for you and compile and install it.  
The win32 codecs are there as well.  I usually download all that stuff 
into a directory and point Yast2 to that as well as the ftp site in the 
Change Installation Sources Yast2 module.  It saves trouble with 
dependencies since you can get into a problem with xine packages 
interfering with your install of other multimedia stuff.  Checkinstall 
is available to use for source to rpm convenience in Suse.  Also, Bob 
reviewed the Suse firewall scripts for his last book and found they were 
adequate for what they do.  I've used them when necessary and the basic 
config script is in /etc/sysconfig as well.  There are links on the 
Opensuse site for suse based forums and resources.  Autoupdate for YOU 
is available and will auto install typical security patches that don't 
require a confirmation such as the kernel or any patch you've marked 
previously as taboo.  One last point, the nvidia driver downloaded by 
YOU is a outdated one now that has some bugs in it.  I would download a 
later one, either by hand, or by modifying the fetchnvidia script 
downloaded and used by YOU to do the install.  Kernel updates require a 
recompile of the nvidia driver, so I've just used the nvidia native 
installer script to handle that.  I've got six 9.3 machines I manage so 
appreciate the Yast2 and YOU stuff.  There is a lot of SUSE related help 
for each package in the help files for a package under 
/usr/share/doc/packages.  Usually a SUSE.README exists for a package 
with suse specific info, sometimes not.  I bet Geoffrey can add advice 
here too!  Sorry about this email being a bit of a ramble!

Nedit is missing now from the distro.  :-(

I like its spreadsheet like copy and paste in a text processor.  Best 
wishes,
Dow

Jeff Hubbs wrote:
>John -
>
>Bear with me, as I'm not used to the SuSE way of doing things (anymore) -
>
>Did you have to download and burn ISOs to CD-R?  Is there a way to boot 
>to just one CD and then do the rest from a local NFS/SMB/FTP server or 
>from an Internet source?
>
>I've got my wife's laptop running on Gentoo but things like CDs, Wifi, 
>USB, etc. are not managed well (yes, it's because I haven't explicitly 
>*set them up* to be managed well - an acknowledged Gentoo bugaboo) and I 
>wouldn't mind setting her up with a different distro.
>
>Jeff
>
>Mills, John M. wrote:
>
>  
>>ALErs -
>>
>>Having re-sized my WinNT partition dramatically (40->10Gby), I decided to
>>try Linux installation. I installed SuSe-9.3 from a downloaded CD set ... 
>>
>>Results were even better than I hoped.
>>
>>1) No problem setting up my partitions, including 8GBy as Fat32 for mutual
>>WinXP and Linux use.
>>
>>2) No problem identifying the peripherals in my Fry's house-brand laptop.
>>
>>3) X11 delivers a _better_ display than WinXP on the same machine.
>>
>>4) SuSe and 'linmodem' correctly identified the low-rent, AC'97 codec-based
>>~modem, configured it without complaint, and seem to manage it perfectly!! I
>>expected to fight with this, and only gave myself 50-50 odds of _ever_
>>having it work from Linux!
>>   YIPPEE!
>>
>>5) Dual WinXP/Linux boot setup through GRUB dropped in and works fine.
>>
>>6) When the partitioning and installation were done I re-tried
>>SystemRescueCD and it worked fine. (What's life without the occasional
>>mystery, if it comes out OK at the end?)
>>
>>It's my first SuSe installation; I doubt it will be my last. So far, I'm
>>_definitely_ a happy camper!
>>
>>- Mills
>>
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>>
>> 
>>
>>    
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