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[BeefontheBone]

If the Debian installer didn't prompt you to install a GUI, you should be able to run aptitude (assuming you're connected to the internet) and download either gnome or KDE (or fluxbox for that matter) - it should sort out the dependencies itself.

[Ioncannon]

for the win3.1 cdrom problem. Try entering the cdrom from DOS first (d. If it dosn't enter,then you have a prob with the drivers. And for sound, I don't think 3.1 detects onboard hardware.

[plix]

Originally posted by Javaguy+Jan 4 2006, 11:26 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Javaguy @ Jan 4 2006, 11:26 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> debian isnt a nice GUI then?
can I install a GUI?
...
anyway I will look, I still hate debian for killing windows though [/b]

You have a lot of reading to do. Debian is in no way shape or form a GUI, it's an operating system (specifically is a GNU/Linux distribution). At the most fundamental level, all that implies is that you've installed an init system, a kernel, and a few other things. The GUI is a separate package entirely.

I'm not sure what Debian packages were installed, but there's a pretty good chance you installed at least X (be it XFree86 or X.Org; the windowing system). Now, X by itself is pretty much useless for what you need, so you'll probably also want a window manager and, in your case, probably a full-blown desktop environment. Personally, I'm a die-hard fluxbox user, but it's only a window manager, and a skimpy one at that. For a first-time Linux user such as yourself I'd suggest using GNOME.

When you're logged in at the command prompt try running `startx` (sans backticks, of course). If something kicks up (a bland gray gradient) you'll know that you have an X server installed. To get back out hit ctrl-alt-backspace. If you have an X server installed it's just a matter of checking to see what WMs or DEs you have installed and running one.

<!--QuoteBegin-Javaguy
nono I didnt delete the file myself, nor did I tell the installer to. It just uh, went..
...
<windows root>\system32\hal.dll[/quote]
Debian didn't kill that file, it was currupted by something else, a hard-shutdown probably. That file is the Windows hardware abstraction layer which is responsible for abstracting hardware from software. If you have the Windows XP install CD you can probably repair it using the recovery console.

[Javaguy]

well thats a shame as I said, my windows cd got broken
Ill try startx but I dont think it works.. EDIT: no it doesnt
oh and I dont know how to access the CD drive or anything in debian... I cant find any tuts. I found a big installation guide (good) but nothing about actually using debian.
unless the CD with GNOME on is bootable? If it is then thats fine, I can do that

oh and on debian im not on the net. I use wireless so I need to find WINE so I can install the drivers for the USB adapter.

edit- looking on the gnome site now..
it says debian comes with a version of GNOME..... but I cant find anything telling me how to start GNOME

as for packages, these worry me a little
in the debian installer it gave me a whole load of things to install that "may be of interest"
some of them looked interesting.. or important but I found I couldnt get my cursor to the okay button.. so I only installed basic debian.

Im sorry for these stupid posts.. as you can see Im a linux newb :tnx:


edit again:

1) I installed sarge debian.. does that mean I cant have GNOME??
2) does gentoo linux install the desktop automaticly?
3) can anyone lend me windows xp ? LOL


okay another edit after a fruitless hour of googling

I need a post that
1) shows me where to get a file for a GUI (gnome? KDE?) for debian sarge
2) shows me how to install said file onto debian from CD rom.. bear in mind I know nothing of this linux stuff and am confused beyond belief. TYPE THIS commands would be nice.. all the tuts seem to know its OBVIOUS what fhfhfsa;hefg/fdhfhdsfjnbgf/fsgjsdbf means and its OBVIOUS I have all the right stuff. I dont.. and I dont know what to do or how to get it. This is a stupid whiney post but I feel I really am out of depth here

[win98]

Sorry we can't really legaley lend you windows xp cd-rom because of microsoft who seem to think that even somthing like lending the cd to someone so the can use there oem code to reinstall windows is privacy because they will want you to order a new disk.

[Javaguy]

yeah.. I know that :not_ok:
but its the linux I really need help with
badly!

im getting to the begging stage now
can anyone reccomend a book saying how to work debian???

[SixApes]

How critical is it that you use Debian? I have used Debian in the past, its solid as stone as far as OS'es go, but lacks ease of use for the linux newbie. Its like learning to ride a bike without the training wheels.

I suggest you install a distro like Fedora Core 3 or FC4. Depending on your hardware, they take to a system often with little error. They are great ways to orient yourself in the linux environment. It is simple to get DVD playback and MP3 support working also. The fedora disc usually includes Gnome, KDE, XFC or other managers with an easy to use install interface. It rivals the windows installer in my opinion.

For instance, I have my Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem 1500c working with FC3. It took about 10 minutes to set up.

As for bootloaders, if you run into the problem of windows manipulating GRUB, which I have ran into in the past, Fedora comes with a CD bootable rescue mode much like the windows XP rescue prompt. That can come in handy.

If you insert the fedora CD wait until prompted for instructions, then type rescue. After you get the rescue prompt, type grub-install (linux boot device path)i.e. hda,hdb,hdc....etc...etc.. Its just as easy as the windows XP fixmbr command. So it really matters very little which OS you install first. If you dont mind getting a little techincal.

[plix]

Originally posted by win98+Jan 5 2006, 02:35 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (win98 @ Jan 5 2006, 02:35 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Sorry we can't really legaley lend you windows xp cd-rom because of microsoft who seem to think that even somthing like lending the cd to someone so the can use there oem code to reinstall windows is privacy because they will want you to order a new disk. [/b]

He's not using the OEM code to reinstall Windows, he's using the install disk to run the recovery console. Very different things, the latter not requiring a CD key. Javaguy might have better luck trying to get a replacement install CD from his OEM, though.

Originally posted by Javaguy@
Ill try startx but I dont think it works.. EDIT: no it doesnt

I'm fairly certain that you don't have X installed. To get into GNOME you'd need not only to install it, but also to install X. Considering your experience level with Linux your best bet would be to install more than just basic Debian (install full if you can).

<!--QuoteBegin-Javaguy
oh and I dont know how to access the CD drive or anything in debian...[/quote]
I don't have physical access to your machine, so that makes this difficult to easily teach you. Try out the following, but know that it's the best anyone could really do without a lot of back-and-forth:

• First, determine what's mounted and where by running `df`. This can be accomplished in other ways, including checking fstab or just running `mount`, but they all put out a lot more information than you really need.
  
• Next, see how many distinct devices are mounted in that list. This is a little tricky since I don't know if your drives are being mounted as SCSI or IDE devices. The general format of df will be something like:
  

  Filesystem * * * * * 1K-blocks * * * * Used * * *Available * *Use% * Mounted on
  /dev/hda3 * * * * * *55566012 *30653840 * *22089552 * * 59% * * * * * * /
  /dev/hda1 * * * * * * * *101089 * * * *9202 * * * * *86668 * * 10% * * * * * * /boot
  /dev/hdb1 * * * * * *55566014 * * 567043 * * 54998971 * * * 1% * * * * * * /usr/home

  The /dev/hda* listings are the same (in this case IDE) device. That device has two mounted partitions, 3 and 1 (hda3 and hda2 respectively). The CD drive is going to be one of several devices listed in /dev. If it's an IDE drive (or uses the IDE driver rather than the SCSI driver) it's probably going to be hda, hdb, hdc, or hdd (if you have more drives it may be a later in the alphabet). We're going to assume from here out that it's hdb.
  
• Next you have to mount the device to a mountpoint somewhere on your filesystem. Generally, distros like to mount things in /mnt (I personally mount them elsewhere, but that's just me). So create a directory called /mnt/cdrom if it doesn't already exist.
  
• Now actually mount the drive. This can be accomplished with `mount /dev/hdb /mnt/cdrom`. Remember that "hdb" was used for example -- your drive may actually be a different device. If you get an error there's a fairly good chance that you tried to mount the wrong device. You will probably also have to do this as root since your fstab probably isn't configured to let regular users to mount devices.
• If it worked you can just `cd /mnt/cdrom` and browse the directory just like the rest of the filesystem (it will, however, be read-only for obvious reasons).
  

That all seems a lot more complicated than it really is, and once you've learned how to do it you'll find that it all boils down to one command and once you get GNOME or KDE installed they both take care of everything for you.

Originally posted by Javaguy
oh and on debian im not on the net. I use wireless so I need to find WINE so I can install the drivers for the USB adapter.

No, you don't need WINE as it does not handle drivers. What you're probably looking for is the Windows wireless wrappers (NDIS wrappers). However, you first need to figure out if there are open source drivers available or if NDIS even supports your card. Wireless on Linux is quite complicated and it's well out of your abilities at the moment to get it working (since it may very well require recompiling your kernel).

[plix]

Originally posted by Javaguy@Jan 5 2006, 02:33 AM
2) does gentoo linux install the desktop automaticly?

Gentoo is for ricers.

Seriously, don't even bother with Gentoo. My own feelings for it aside (which are quite negative and we need not get into), Gentoo is not for you and wont be for some time. If you really want easy-to-use, walk-me-through-it use a distro like Xandros. Ubuntu is another good one, though a bit more technical. Both are far easier to use and get setup relative to Debian and Fedora.

[Javaguy]

ohhhhh dear
Ill have a go at mounting the CD-rom drive then.. will it automaticly stay mounted or will I have to mount it every time? a la DOSbox
its unlikley I will find any open source drivers for my wireless adapter as its a DELL one and dell like windows.

Ill have a try at mounting it then ! Thanks for your help.

Im still a little worried about the internet as from what I have been reading you search using the advanced package manager on the web for packages and it auto-installs them and sorts dependencies... eg if package A needs package B it will install both..

ill edit here when/if I get my CD rom mounted.

so should I uninstall my debian (its fine I can as I have some partition manager recovery disks that can wipe and fiddle with partitions)
and try to re-install it again? Im sure I downloaded and installed the full version but I didnt select any packages as I couldnt get to the ok button and I couldnt select any to install.. It sounds insanley stupid me saying "I couldnt reach the ok button " but I couldnt! it just scrolled down the list if I pressed down and went to the top again if I reached the bottom. Anyway thats not hugley important I spose.

Thanks plix for your patient idiots guide, I will have a go. Im the biggest newb at linux (as is obvious) but im willing to learn and when I actually (when? IF) I get GNOME to work it will be uh, rewarding

so my main 3 questions in roundup

1) can i use my SARGE version of debian too run KDE or GNOME
2) did I somehow install a mini version of debian? :blink:
3) do I need to have net access/will I ever be able to have net access with wireless?

ooh, I will look at fedora too but I somehow want to persevere with this...