caution: noob in linux


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hi.. i just installed linux for the first time. red hat 9 specifically. Installed it through MS VirtualPC 2004. Installation went fine, but when it finishes going through the boot process, what I see is in the screenshot below. It almost looks like the res is set really wide for some reason.

when it was installing, it selected a video card out of the list for me and i just went with its decision. The emulated vid card is an s3 Trio i think.

Can anyone help me out here?

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Hmm I'm no linux expert, but it does seem that those videocard drivers aren't 100% compatible :p

Anyways I ran Red Hat 9 in the past in VMWare and that worked fine (far superior to VirtualPC, which was a Connectix product in the past). VMWare is faster and more compatible I found out through experience. Big chance that when you install it in VMWare that it will work fine.

I suggest though that you get Fedora Core 1 (pretty much Red Hat 10, running that myself at the moment in VMWare), it runs like a charm in VMWare and doesn't feel like you are running it in a virtual machine... it is damn fast.

Anyways... not much of a help, but good luck.

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Definately a vid driver incompatibility. If you know the card it is emulating (S3 trio), perhaps try selecting it manually and entering a lower resolution and color depth? It should ask you if you wish to "test" your settings.

I too prefer VMware. Greater speed and compatibility.

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perhaps try selecting it manually and entering a lower resolution and color depth? It should ask you if you wish to "test" your settings.

how and where do i do this?

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Spyder,

When you let Linux "pick" your video driver, that was your mistake. Usually, at least in my experience, you have to scroll through the choices and find your correct video driver from the list. I do not think you need to install any new distro of Linux (unless you want to). You may simply have to re-install the one you have and pick the correct video driver this time. There is a way to change the video driver in the Konsole, but I do not know how this is done.............

Barney

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I've never used MS Virtual PC, but I assume it allows you to install another OS and makes the fact that it is running in VPC transparent? (And, of course, I believe that Microsoft dropped support for running Linux on VPC, saying "it should work") :whistle:

If so, then during your install, you should have been given the choice of video drivers for your card. There should have been an option to test, as well. Did the test go OK, but you end up with this? Seems really odd if the test worked, since it uses the same XFree settings...

Try using a terminal (CTRL-ALT-F2) login, and running redhat-config-xfree86 to see if that works....

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p.s. Usually you can "test" your configuration prior to accepting it......... check and see if this is an option with your distro next go round.

Barney

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okay thanks barney. i just assumed it would pick the correct one... been using windows a long time lol i dont recall a test button or anything but i'll reinstall again to check.

thx

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Sometimes it picks well, sometimes it misses... :pinch: Test is your friend. :)

And, I think that running it through VirtualPC or VMWare makes things tougher, since your install really *doesn't* have control of your video... :rofl:

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well at least i'm at this step. i would have never installed linux otherwise. I got VPC and thought I'd try out different OS's. I honestly must have missed the test button.. so I'm going to give this another go.

thanks for the help guys.

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Just for the record, you could fix it through one of the terminals...

But, you might be more comfortable just reinstalling.

Not like you have any data to lose, since it's a fresh install. ;)

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Just for the record, you could fix it through one of the terminals...

But, you might be more comfortable just reinstalling.

Not like you have any data to lose, since it's a fresh install. ;)

ok reinstalling didnt do it. i know nothing about linux and its terminal so could you explain how

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Hi,

Here is a detailed tutorial on configuring Xfree in Linux: http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/...inuxxwin-i.html

It probably contains a lot of info that you don't need though, and probably tells you do do things that redhat does automatically :(

You could try running: /usr/X11R6/bin/xf86config, which will give you a menu based configuration... you can then test this by running startx, and then if the graphics settings don't work, typing CTRL+ALT+BACKSPACE to quit to the terminal so you can rerun configuration.

Also as markjensen said above, you could try redhat-config-xfree86 - I've never used this so I can't help with that, sorry :(

Finally, if I remember correctly, virtual pc programs emulate video cards and monitors (and other pieces of hardware)... you said up above that you think the emulated card is an s3 trio... are you sure? I vaguely remember using vmware (used it for a day only :D), and having to install vmware drivers for vmware video card access - these were included with vmware and it gave me a menu option to Install drivers... it would then create a virtual drive that contained the driver's install files and mount it. Maybe VirtualPC does something similar.

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I forget exactly *where* the test is... The screenie you attached shows selection. I think the test *may* be after that... Unfortunately, I don't recall :( My most recent install was Mandy, and I know that it's test is right near the end (and, optional, of course)

If possible, find out exactly your video card type and/or chipset. Set up VPC for the same. Maybe that will work better.

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Thanks for all the help guys. I abandoned trying to get Redhat 9 to work. I downloaded and installed Fedora Core 1 and it works just fine. Getting my first ever taste of Linux lol

Anyways.. I'm currently posting this from within BeOS 5 MAX v3 :) Even for an old OS, its pretty neat

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Anyways.. I'm currently posting this from within BeOS 5 MAX v3? Even for an old OS, its pretty neat

Holy macaroni! How the hell did you manage to get it running in VPC? I tried on my mac and it freezes after two second, and it's in black and white nonetheless due to lacking proper video drivers... And yes, I have the Developper Edition;))

EDIT: I just realized you're running VPC 2004. That might be it ;P

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