ubuntu to gentoo jump


Recommended Posts

Gentoo was, and still is, my first flavor of Linux. It's fast, sleek, beggin to be thrown to the very top of the list, and it has great docs on how to install.

Freenode Gentoo channel helps almost as much as the docs do, and the livecd is nice. Just follow the docs, and ask any questions on the irssi premade on the livecd and use links to view pages also premade onto the livecd.

My personaly, I compiled Xorg, Fluxbox, Eterm, and about 9-10 other apps, in about three and a half days total, including the 91 updated dependencies I had to do. After that I was totally ready, totally upgraded, and totally setfor Gentoo.

Oh, and don't fear the install time because I'm on a:

AMD K6-2 (331mhz)

64 MB's of RAM

Quantum Bigfoot 5.59GB HDD

So, in other words, it was fast for me. :p

Some of the other apps were: XMMS, Bluefish, Firefox, Thunderbird, GVim, Vim, Gaim, Gkrellm2, ftpcube, and openoffice.

Trust me, from a computer user on an old machine, Gentoo is the future.

I just wish Gentoo wouldn't trash my hard drive so often, I worry about this laptop sometimes, I've already had one drive die on me :(

Maybe one of those 16GB SS drives would be an investment... mmm...

586052858[/snapback]

drive trashing.............*gulp* :cry:

So I've decided to jump to Gentoo!

I am currently bootstrapping my system... I imagine I have a few hours left of bootstrapping until I can compile the base system and configure my kernel.

When I am done following the instructions of installation guide (ie when I have a stable and working Linux commandline environment), what should I do next?

My aim is to build a Gnome-box similar to Ubuntu's default environment. That being said, I want things like firefox, nautilus, nautilus cd burner, cpu frequency scaling support, etc.

My vague gameplan is to (once base installation is complete) is to emerge X following these instructions.

Next, I'd imagine it would be wise to follow these instructions on installing and configuring drivers for my nVidia 6600.

Next, I'm going to emerge gnome.

That's it as far as my gameplan goes... if any other experienced Gentoo user has any advice or criticisms, I'd love to hear them. Is there anything that I am overlooking?

Like I mentioned above, my goal is to set-up a system which is tailored for the gde and resembles Ubuntu. The truth is I love ubuntu to death, but the prospects of compiling a similar system specifically for my rig (see sig 'Desktop Workstation') is tantalizing.

Thanks for reading, take care

joe

The only place I could imagine a clutter would be the two folders portage uses when it emerges, but they are easily cleaned.

After you emerge something, say a program or world update, do these two commands:

rm -fr /var/tmp/portage/*

rm -fr /usr/portage/distfiles/*

That empties the downloaded files emerge uses, and empties the precompiled program emerge did before it merged those files with the /. They are all deleteable AFTER emerge completes it's merge.

Besides that, smart management of your HDD goes along way. On my 5.59GB HDD, I know all about those commands, I have to. :D

Emerge is a wonderful tool that makes Gentoo amazing. Don't forget, joe1031, you need to --sync before you install Gnome or X.

emerge --sync

That will update your portage to the proper ebuilds and give you the most updated downloads available.

From then on, it's totally up to you as to what you install, have fun with Gentoo, it's awesome.

Well, I'm in!

I successfully emerged x, gnome, nvidia, et all!

Now I'm going to focus on setting up the proper resolution and all that other fun stuff

[update]

The resolution change went fine! Now I'm going to need to set up sound, and install all the software packages I need including xmms, bmp, mplayer, firefox,gimp, oo.o, and hddtemp

Does anyone know how I would be able to initiate cpu scaling? It's supported in the kernel...

Edited by joe1031
Well, I'm in!

I successfully emerged x, gnome, nvidia, et all!

Now I'm going to focus on setting up the proper resolution and all that other fun stuff

[update]

The resolution change went fine!  Now I'm going to need to set up sound, and install all the software packages I need including xmms, bmp, mplayer, firefox,gimp, oo.o, and hddtemp

Does anyone know how I would be able to initiate cpu scaling?  It's supported in the kernel...

586060553[/snapback]

Not really sure to help you, but plz report back when you have all up and running, since you too were an ubuntu fan im wondering how much faster it will run compared to ubuntu. Also which version are you using, AMD64 or X86. If amd64 then plz tell me if your able to get flash on their.

I can't say I've had any luck with Flash, but I havn't bothered to try... from my understanding there isn't a native 64bit flash out yet, so the only way to get flash to operate on any distro would be to set up a 32bit chroot environment which would execute a 32bit firefox and 32bit flash plugin.

Flash isn't really a priority of mine, so I'm sorry I won't be able to help.

I installed Gentoo x86_64... it was pretty snappy (read: fast)... however, I believe the performance increase was negligable considering the amount of time it took to install/set-up.

I reckon I'll move back to Ubuntu after a few more days of tinkering as I truly admire it's approachability and accessability.

Gentoo is a great distro with fantastic documentation, but it just isn't well suited for a relative noob such as myself...

I can't say I've had any luck with Flash, but I havn't bothered to try... from my understanding there isn't a native 64bit flash out yet, so the only way to get flash to operate on any distro would be to set up a 32bit chroot environment which would execute a 32bit firefox and 32bit flash plugin.

Flash isn't really a priority of mine, so I'm sorry I won't be able to help.

I installed Gentoo x86_64... it was pretty snappy (read: fast)... however, I believe the performance increase was negligable considering the amount of time it took to install/set-up.

I reckon I'll move back to Ubuntu after a few more days of tinkering as I truly admire it's approachability and accessability.

Gentoo is a great distro with fantastic documentation, but it just isn't well suited for a relative noob such as myself...

586065696[/snapback]

I figured you would, good try :yes:

I agree that Gentoo is not really any noticeably faster, but it is the flexibility that portage gives the user that is its real advantage. As far as production stable, absolutely not, the portage tree is just too unreliable, I would go with FreeBSD for anything that needs rock solid security and stability. For my desktops, its Gentoo all the way.

There are several ways to make Flash work on amd64, without the need for a chroot:

- Use a 32bit-compiled browser (firefox-bin, Opera).

- Use a 64bit Konqueror with a 32bit nspluginviewer (I brought this to gentoo, search the gentoo-amd64 forum)

- Use gplflash2, compiled from CVS ( http://gplflash.sf.net ) - it's not really perfect, but good enough for quite a few Flash-enabled websites.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Those are some popular multiplayer games. But hardly "all". Just those that don't work on Linux currently due to specific anti-cheat implementations. I think it's also fair to point out the literally thousands of games that don't work on the PS5. And it's not locked at 1080p. That's the default, which you can change.
    • Ubuntu Livepatch arrives on Arm64 to eliminate system reboots for kernel updates by Paul Hill Canonical has just announced that its Livepatch service now supports computers with Arm64 processors. For those who are not familiar, Livepatch allows users to apply important kernel updates without any service interruption or rebooting. While home users will benefit from this, it’s even more important for critical machines that absolutely should not be going offline at all. The feature is available as part of Ubuntu Core 26 for Arm64 and Ubuntu Core 20 and onwards for AMD64. According to Canonical, this will improve the security of systems that aren’t security-maintained daily or weekly, and it helps organizations work towards Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) compliance. If you are familiar with Ubuntu, you probably know that most packages can be updated without having to restart the system. There is one big exception to this, and that’s the kernel; it typically requires you to reload the system to boot into the new kernel. With Livepatch, Canonical has done something so that you don’t need to restart to begin using the new kernel. Aside from Ubuntu Core 26, users with Arm64 chips running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS can also use Livepatch. If you want to learn more about Livepatch, check out its product page. There, you can also find a button to join Ubuntu Pro (it’s free for several home devices) so that you can enable Livepatch. By linking your computer to Ubuntu Pro, you will also extend the life of your Ubuntu install from five years to ten years. If you are running Ubuntu, let us know in the comments if you have been looking forward to this feature on your ARM-based computer. If you’ve had a compatible AMD64 machine for a while and never used this feature, let us know why in the comments!
    • Meta announces a major leadership change at WhatsApp by Pradeep Viswanathan Meta has announced a major leadership change at WhatsApp, with Will Cathcart stepping down after seven years of leading the world's largest messaging platform. CRED CEO and founder Kunal Shah will take over as the next global head of WhatsApp. CRED is an Indian fintech company focused on creditworthy consumers. As part of the transition, Meta is also making a minority investment in CRED through its Series H funding round. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Will Cathcart will remain at Meta and move into a new role focused on building new products from the ground up. Cathcart led WhatsApp during a major growth phase, helping the app reach more than 3 billion users worldwide. He also played a key role in expanding WhatsApp’s business offerings while keeping privacy and end-to-end encryption central to the product. Meta’s Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox, said Kunal Shah was selected after a search for a leader who understands WhatsApp’s global scale and future potential. In a leaked internal memo, Cox described Shah as a “serial founder” and one of India’s most respected entrepreneurs, adding that he brings “entrepreneurial energy” and a strong product mindset to the role. As part of the Series H funding round, CRED is raising ₹8,550 crore, or about $900 million, in a round led by Meta. The funding values CRED at ₹43,239 crore, or about $4.5 billion, on a post-money basis. It is important to note that this investment will not give Meta access to CRED customer information. Kunal posted the following on X regarding his new role at Meta: Although Kunal Shah will be stepping away from his operating role as CRED CEO, he will retain his personal shareholding in the company.
    • It wouldn't be hard for me to turn off my TV, if I had one. For one thing, I never scroll Instagram. The only reason I have an account is because Meta created one when it merged the account systems for its various services.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
    • Dedicated
      tuben earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      501
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      207
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      97
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      88
    5. 5
      neufuse
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!