I am a total noob

Sai · 2007-07-23 07:49:56

Ok, here's the deal. The other day I realized I was really sick of Windows. Everything about it pretty much drives me nuts right now. So I decided to try out linux and see how it'd work.

I am a TOTAL noob when it comes to anything linux related, so with the help of some online guides and naim, I was able to install Arch with xfce4 gui. Things seem to be running ok so far, but there are a few things that I still need to fix.

1.The main problem is, every time I change something on my computer, like a setting, or install a program, or download something to the desktop, it won't show up until I restart X. Thats not normal right? So anyone have any idea what could be wrong?
2.When I connect my digital camera via usb, the camera says its connected, but (as far as I know) I don't have any way of accessing it through the computer.
3.My clock is stuck at the wrong time and I don't know how to change it.
4.I'm borrowing my mother's modem and router right now in order to wire myself to the internet, and she wants it back. I tried to set up my WG111v2 netgear usb wireless adapter using this site's wireless guide, but the driver nesessary doesn't seem to be listed in there. Anyone know which one I should use?

I think there were some more things, but I'm less worried about anything else at the moment. Right now I just want to work on getting my system to work at top speed without kinks so I can get rid of my windows and use the extra hd space. I really don't want to be stuck using M$ through college. X_X I appreciate any help!

mucknert · 2007-07-23 08:37:51

1. Are dbus, hal and fam up and running? XFCE needs those to keep track of changes, for example, on the Desktop. Same might apply to the menu-entries of the Programms.
You can check through looking at your /etc/rc.conf and check the DAEMONS.

2. You will need gphoto2 and some frontend for it to get your photos off the camera.

3. Easiest is probably to install ntpdate or ntpd. Check the Wiki for that.

4. Sorry, no idea. Can't you just put a wire through your place?

chicha · 2007-07-23 09:33:41

Hello mucknert,

First thing : do not be discouraged by all your problems. It get some times and personal investment to switch to Linux. Once it is done, you will be at the paradise

For your wifi card I think you need to use ndiswrapper :

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wir … diswrapper
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/joom … ,list_m-n/

Do not hesitate to come back here if you need any help !
Cheers,

Chicha

chicha · 2007-07-23 09:36:07

f-spot is a good choice to mange your photos and camera under xfce.

http://f-spot.org/Main_Page
http://gnomefiles.org/app.php/F-Spot

pacman -S f-spot
will install f-spot and all is dependencies (among libgphoto2).

Last edited by chicha (2007-07-23 09:36:49)

Sai · 2007-07-23 10:06:00

#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
# - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
# - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond)

Uuuh. This is what it says under my daemons. I'm guessing thats bad, So in that case, how do I fix?

As far as the camera goes, what if I want to get a file off a usb stick instead? Shouldn't a new directory or something pop up when i plug it in?

Ashren · 2007-07-23 10:24:55

Sai>> You have to install hal(d) and dbus if you want automounting.

Read this: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HAL

dolby · 2007-07-23 10:31:49

i suggest u undust all wiki pages and bookmark and read all the ones that might interest you

mucknert · 2007-07-23 10:59:42

chicha wrote:

Hello mucknert,
[...]

I'm not the one with the problems here.

@Sai:

Adjust your DAEMONS so that it also starts the following:
portmap dbus fam hal

HTH

SiD · 2007-07-23 11:11:12

You could set the clock with the "date" command.

man date

If you are dualbooting with windows you should set the HARDWARECLOCK variable in /etc/rc.conf to localtime

HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"

Last edited by SiD (2007-07-23 11:11:48)

tom5760 · 2007-07-23 13:52:41

Yes, as the others have mentioned, you need to make sure hal and fam are started on boot. Just make sure that your DAEMONS list in /etc/rc.conf includes them.

To keep your clock synchronized, you could install the 'openntpd' program, and make sure you also add that to the DAEMONS list in /etc/rc.conf

One last thing! Keep at it! Arch is quite a jump from Windows, so if you are enjoying yourself, keep going, it get a lot smoother once you understand more. Good luck!

Sai · 2007-07-24 01:38:47

Ok so I installed HAL. And I THINK i stuck it in my daemons, but I don't know if I did it right, because ...

Now my cam shows up on the desktop when I plug it in, but

Unable to mount "32M Removable Volume":

(exo-mount:5316): Gtk-WARNING **: Locale not supported by C library.
Using the fallback 'C' locale.
Given device "/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_part1_size_32430592" is not a volume or drive

when I click on it ...

My daemons in rc.conf:

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
# - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
# - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond)
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng hal network netfs)
DAEMONS=openntpd
# End of file

Help please. 8D thanks

Misfit138 · 2007-07-24 01:58:21

You must have only one DAEMONS line, like this:

DAEMONS=(kdm syslog-ng network crond hal fam alsa nscd)
Also, please realize, you cannot put a DAEMON in there, unless you have installed it with pacman first. (Obviously. )

Also, you may need to set your locale. Uncomment the locales you want in /etc/locale.gen (HINT: en_US ISO-8859-1 and en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 are both needed for USA)
Then do:

# locale-gen

Last edited by Misfit138 (2007-07-24 02:05:15)

Sai · 2007-07-24 04:03:18

Oooh. So if i put xfce4 inside my DAEMON= () thing, then i won't have to do startx in the CLI every time I start up my compu?

dolby · 2007-07-24 04:15:26

xfce4 is not a daemon
as i said before if u cant spend a relatively large amount of time to read the wiki and try to understand how things work before u ask questions u will probably go back to windows (or maybe some other distro) in a short while.
be persistant and patient and prepared for hours of reading. help yourself before u ask from someone else to help you

xnooby2 · 2007-07-24 04:31:50

Here is the XFCE4 wiki page:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xfce

xnooby2 · 2007-07-24 04:37:43

Sai wrote:

So I decided to try out linux and see how it'd work.

Sai, if you can stick with Arch Linux, you will be empowered to control your computing destiny. ArchLinux does not do anything for you automatically, but it makes it easy for you to tell it what to do. This is ultimately simpler than Windows or other Linux distributions that try to be all things to all people right out of the box. Setting up you camera might be tough now, but it will be easy later. In time you will be glad it didn't come with automatic-camera-support, since that would mean coming with everything-else-support. Arch Linux is a lean and mean linux distribution because it only pulls in what YOU need.

skottish · 2007-07-24 04:39:53

dolby wrote:

be persistant and patient and prepared for hours of reading. help yourself before u ask from someone else to help you

Sai, it's all worth it. There will be a learning curve, but you will develop real understanding of how things work.

Sai · 2007-07-24 05:55:41

Thanks for all the encouragement you guys. And listen up. When I said I was sick of windows, I meant I was sick of windows. Now that I have Arch installed and functional, I'm never going back. Trust me. I hate windows with a passion. I'm gonna learn and get used to this no matter what it takes, and I'm very enthusiastic about it.

There are still alot of things I have to do. For example, getting the cam to mount. Figuring out how to work gimp. Figure out how to uninstall programs. Figure out how to make my Xbox usb controller work. Manual install. Figure out how to make crap appear on my desktop without restarting x. Also, I need Japanese and Korean input systems (IME was one thing I did like about windows). The list goes on. The beauty of it is, I'm gonna become more powerful with the skills I gain from Arch. And on top of that, its all free.

I gotta be honest though. From a lifetime of windows, linux seems so damn complicated. I was thrown in to this mess of command lines and nano and config files and root and all this stuff. It was really confusing, and still is (though I think I'm catching on ... after all, I've only been doing this for a few days.) I really don't understand how linux 'works' yet. Tutorials and wikis and crap tell you how to do things, but they don't usually explain why it works. I still don't understand the concept of a 'kernel'. I don't understand what a module is or how it works. Mounting is still a vague concept to me. All this stuff is just confusing, and even noob tutorials are hard. And I know there is still so much crap I can do on here that I haven't even heard of yet. 8D Thats why I appreciate the help so don't hate me.

Clocks working, thanks guys. Camera still won't mount though. This time it shows up on my desktop when I plug it in as 32M Removable Volume, which is a step I guess, but when I click I get ...

Unable to mount "32M Removable Volume":

Given device "/org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/volume_part1_size_32430592" is not a volume or drive

No idea how to fix that. Please help. Thanks.

somairotevoli · 2007-07-24 07:51:16

here's the digital cam wiki...lol...it may help http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Digital_Cameras wish I could help you more w/ it, but don't have a cam myself

mucknert · 2007-07-24 08:24:02

Concerning the DAEMONS-Array:

It has already been said that you can have only one in your /etc/rc.conf and that there SHOULD be only one. So, your question is what to put in there. Well, let's split that in some other questions. First: what CAN you put in there? That is actually pretty easy: everything that is in /etc/rc.d/ So have a look at this..

My /etc/rc.d/ has the following

adsl            esd          hwd                        netfs     slim
alsa            fam          jack-audio-connection-kit  network   sshd
avahi-daemon    functions    kadmind                    nscd      svnserve
avahi-dnsconfd  gpm          kpasswd                    openntpd  syslog-ng
crond           hal          mdadm                      portmap   transmissiond
dbus            heimdal-kdc  mpd                        ppp

Of all that stuff, I just need a syslogger, I want the network to be up and I want to mount NFS and stuff like that. I want to have a SSH-Server running and my Clock shall be synced on every startup. Also, I want cron running and and and and. So my DAEMONS reads like this...

DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs sshd openntpd crond alsa gpm portmap dbus fam hal mpd slim)

If you want to have xfce4 starting automatically upon login, you need a Login-Manager (like slim in my config) that takes care of starting X and starting the DE/WM after you have entered your credentials.

Keep on trying! It's worth it!

Mikko777 · 2007-07-24 09:42:51

Why won't ppl link to this:

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners_Guide

Its an overview of "complete" arch installation. Refer to other wiki pages for more spesific information though.

Modules = Drivers in windows.
Daemons = Backgroundapps / processes in windows.
Kernel = Kernel in windows.

Read these for all the essential geekskills:

Kernel changes and explanations:
http://kernelnewbies.org/

Commandline help <-- most important
http://linux-newbie.sunsite.dk/

Every other admintask:
http://brunolinux.com/

And finally programs Win to Lin:
http://www.osalt.com/

Read all that and you ain't a newbie anymore.

somairotevoli · 2007-07-24 10:21:14

and to startx w/o a login manager
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Start_X_at_boot

ataraxia · 2007-07-24 19:54:11

Just adding:

kernel = a large program that starts when you boot and stays up always, the actual OS itself
modules = drivers, in Windows these files end in .sys or .vxd

littleweseth · 2007-07-25 05:01:30

Sai wrote:

There are still alot of things I have to do. For example, getting the cam to mount. Figuring out how to work gimp. Figure out how to uninstall programs. --

The GIMP : If you're a photoshop user, forget everything you know

Uninstalling packages : use pacman -R [packagename]. If you want a list of installed packages, try pacman -Q , and if you want to find installed packages with certain text - say, if you want to find all packages with 'gnome' in the name - try pacman -Q | grep gnome.

See man pacman for more fun tricks.

Sai wrote:

I gotta be honest though. From a lifetime of windows, linux seems so damn complicated. I was thrown in to this mess of command lines and nano and config files and root and all this stuff. It was really confusing, and still is (though I think I'm catching on ... after all, I've only been doing this for a few days.) I really don't understand how linux 'works' yet. Tutorials and wikis and crap tell you how to do things, but they don't usually explain why it works. I still don't understand the concept of a 'kernel'. I don't understand what a module is or how it works. Mounting is still a vague concept to me. All this stuff is just confusing, and even noob tutorials are hard. And I know there is still so much crap I can do on here that I haven't even heard of yet. 8D Thats why I appreciate the help so don't hate me.

nano : Is the notepad of the linux world If you get some spare time, learn to use vi - still very simple, and very powerful.

root/superuser privileges : As a normal user, you have limited (i.e. nearly no) power to make systemwide changes - you can only do things that only affect you. You need to gain superuser privileges in order to do anything more. Most programs will explicitly tell you if you need to be root to continue. If you're trying to modify a file and you fail (permissions error) then you problably need to be root.

Kernel : program that takes care of making sure your computer runs - basically sits just above the hardware and mediates requests between hardware and applications, gives out CPU timeslices and RAM, all that fun stuff.

Module : little driver modules that plug into the kernel, telling it how to talk to bits of hardware (or whatever.)

Mounting : before you can read or write to a drive, you have to know what kind of drive it is, what bus it lives on, what filesystem is on it, etc. When you mount it, you tell the kernel that you'd like to mount [this partition] of some [filesystem type], and that you'd like to make the files on the drive visible in some directory somewhere (the mountpoint.)

hth

-lws
:wq

ataraxia · 2007-07-25 13:51:21

Oh yeah, mounting = "mapping" a drive in Windows.

Arch Linux

#1 2007-07-23 07:49:56

I am a total noob

#2 2007-07-23 08:37:51

Re: I am a total noob

#3 2007-07-23 09:33:41

Re: I am a total noob

#4 2007-07-23 09:36:07

Re: I am a total noob

#5 2007-07-23 10:06:00

Re: I am a total noob

#6 2007-07-23 10:24:55

Re: I am a total noob

#7 2007-07-23 10:31:49

Re: I am a total noob

#8 2007-07-23 10:59:42

Re: I am a total noob

#9 2007-07-23 11:11:12

Re: I am a total noob

#10 2007-07-23 13:52:41

Re: I am a total noob

#11 2007-07-24 01:38:47

Re: I am a total noob

#12 2007-07-24 01:58:21

Re: I am a total noob

#13 2007-07-24 04:03:18

Re: I am a total noob

#14 2007-07-24 04:15:26

Re: I am a total noob

#15 2007-07-24 04:31:50

Re: I am a total noob

#16 2007-07-24 04:37:43

Re: I am a total noob

#17 2007-07-24 04:39:53

Re: I am a total noob

#18 2007-07-24 05:55:41

Re: I am a total noob

#19 2007-07-24 07:51:16

Re: I am a total noob

#20 2007-07-24 08:24:02

Re: I am a total noob

#21 2007-07-24 09:42:51

Re: I am a total noob

#22 2007-07-24 10:21:14

Re: I am a total noob

#23 2007-07-24 19:54:11

Re: I am a total noob

#24 2007-07-25 05:01:30

Re: I am a total noob

#25 2007-07-25 13:51:21

Re: I am a total noob

Board footer