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241 lines
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<title>LIGS: SuSE Issue 16</title>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#EEE1CC" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0020F0"
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ALINK="#FF0000" >
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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SSC is expanding Matt Welsh's <i>Linux Installation & Getting Started</i> by
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adding chapters about each of the major distributions. Each chapter is
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being written by a different author in the Linux community. Here's a
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sneak preview -- the SuSE chapter by our own Larry Ayers. --Editor
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<center>
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<H2>Installing the SuSE Distribution</H2>
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<H4>By Larry Ayers,
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<a href="mailto:layers@vax2.rain.gen.mo.us">layers@rain.gen.mo.us</a></H4>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<H3>Contents:</H3>
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<ul>
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<li><a HREF="./suse.html#introduction">Introduction</a>
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<li><a HREF="./suse.html#beginning">Beginning the Installation</a>
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<li><a HREF="./suse.html#post">Post-Installation</a>
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<li><a HREF="./suse.html#running">Getting X Up and Running</a>
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<li><a HREF="./suse.html#upgrades">Later Upgrades</a>
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</ul>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<a name="introduction"></a>
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<H3>Introduction</H3>
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The SuSE distribution began a few years ago as an adaptation of
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Slackware. Patrick Volkerding of Slackware helped the SuSE
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developers at first, but before too long, the distribution began to
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assume an identity of its own. Several new features intended to aid
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the first-time user increase the probability an installation
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won't need to be immediately redone. Given the cross-pollination
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endemic in the free software world, I wouldn't be surprised to
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learn some of these features have shown up in newer Slackware
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releases.
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<a name="beginning"></a>
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<H3>Beginning the Installation</H3>
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When booting your machine from the single installation disk, you are
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really booting a miniature Linux system designed for this purpose.
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A colored screen appears, ready to ask a series of questions which
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with any luck will guide you through the process.
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<P>
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YAST (which stands for Yet Another Set-up Tool) shows its Slackware
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ancestry inasmuch as it uses the Dialog program; this tool enables
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shell scripts to present dialog boxes, radio buttons, and check lists
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which allow a user to make choices and direct the course of an
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installation.
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<p>
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While no distribution can guarantee a painless installation, the
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developers at GmbH have managed to anticipate several problems new
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Linux users are liable to have. One of the more frustrating
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problems is finding your CD-ROM drive isn't recognized. Copying
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the packages needed to get started to a hard drive and installing
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them from there is a solution, but it's awkward and time-consuming.
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<p>
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Rather than provide a selection of several disk images, one of which
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probably has the CD-ROM drive support you need, the single SuSE boot
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disk contains a small, basic kernel with all drivers available--if
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needed--in the form of modules. The kernel daemon is a background
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process which ensures the relevant module will be loaded if a modular
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function is needed. This helps to eliminate one stumbling block.
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<p>
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Another common trap is underestimating the disk space you need which
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forces the installation to abort itself due to lack of room. When
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this happens, the crucial final steps (such as installing LILO)
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haven't yet been reached and starting over is usually necessary.
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Script-based installations are necessarily sequential in nature; you
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may know skipping one step won't hurt anything, but it's hard
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to anticipate every eventuality in a shell script, and if things go
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awry the script usually aborts.
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<p>
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During the SuSE installation, a running tally of partition space
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remaining is displayed on the YAST screen; while selecting packages,
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you can try various combinations while keeping in mind how much
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free disk space you would prefer to remain free.
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<p>
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Partitioning and formatting disks, as well as creation and
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activation of a swap partition, are processes which aren't much
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different than in other distributions. They all use the same
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underlying tools to do these tasks; the procedure has become
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more or less standardised.
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<p>
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The use of "dependencies", which consist of information included in
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a software package concerning what other packages are necessary for
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it to run, has spread rapidly among Linux distributions.
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Unfortunately no universal format for dependencies has arisen, with
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each distribution now using a different format. Redhat's RPM
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format, used in several distributions, is powerful and effective,
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but has a few drawbacks. It works best on an all-RPM system, as the
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dependency checking done by the RPM program only knows about RPM
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packages. SuSE uses an adaptation of Slackware's *.tar.gz format,
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which has the advantage of flexibility. The dependencies are only
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checked if a package is installed from within the YAST program,
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allowing the option (for a skilled user) of unarchiving a package in
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another location, then checking out the files and configuration
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before final installation. Dependencies are most useful during the
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initial setup and while becoming familiar with a new installation.
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Once you've used the system for a while, you'll have an idea of what
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libraries and programs are available. Most software packages for
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Linux also contain information as to what needs to be present on a
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system in order for the package to function. It is wise to read
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through the entire rc.config file before running SuSEconfig and
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committing any changes you may have made. Some of the default
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actions the script will take you may prefer to handle yourself, but
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they are easily disabled by editing the file.
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<p>
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Users familiar with the Slackware layout of initialization files
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will need to make some adjustments; the files usually found in
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/etc/rc.d are instead in /sbin/init.d.
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<a name="post"></a>
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<H3>Post-Installation</H3>
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YAST is also intended to be used after installation for routine
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system maintenance. The multiplicity of resource files necessary
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for Linux to boot and run can be bewildering to the beginner. YAST
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offers a menu-driven interface to these files, including the
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sendmail configuration file, the cron (scheduling) files, initiation
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scripts, and various networking files. The changes made within the
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YAST session are written to a single file in the /etc directory,
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rc.config, which can also be edited directly. These changes are
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then written to the various "real" configuration files by a script
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called SuSEconfig. This script is automatically run by YAST at the
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end of a YAST session; if /etc/rc.config is edited directly
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SuSEConfig must be started manually. This sounds like a complicated
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procedure, but it's much easier than tracking down the individual
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files, learning the correct syntax needed for editing them, and
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actually making them do what you want.
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<p>
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Once you have SuSE Linux up and running, it's a good idea to install
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the kernel source (available on the CD-ROM, it's an optional package
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which can be installed during initial set-up). SuSE installs a generic
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kernel, and you probably need only a few of of the accompanying
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modules. This is an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with
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the mechanics of source code compilation, and you'll end up with a
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smaller customized kernel with only the capabilities you need.
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<p>
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The GCC compiler and accompanying tools must be installed in order
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to compile a kernel; these tools are a near-necessity on a Linux
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system even if you're not a programmer. The YAST dependency
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checking will help insure all required compilation tools are
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installed.
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<p>
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Kernel compilation can seem daunting to a beginner, but it is a fairly
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intuitive process. Three interfaces are available for the initial
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configuration step. The first (and oldest) is a console-mode script
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invoked via the command <TT>make config</TT>. This script asks a
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series of questions and uses the results to write a file which guides
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the compiler in its work. You need to know some basic facts about your
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hardware such as what type of hard disk and CD-ROM drive you have. If
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you want sound support you'll need to know the IRQ your card uses, as
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well as a few other parameters which can be gathered from the card's
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manual or the output of the DOS <TT>msd</TT> utility.
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<p>
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The other two interfaces are menuconfig and xconfig. The first uses a
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modified version of the Dialog program mentioned above, which runs in
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the console or an xterm and resembles the YAST setup tool. Xconfig is
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a Tk-based version, designed to run in an X Window session. All three
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accomplish the same task; the latter two let you make choices without
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typing much. The kernel sources are well-documented. The README file
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in the top level directory contains enough information to nearly
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guarantee a successful build.
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<a name="running"></a>
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<H3>Getting X Up and Running</H3>
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<p>
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Successfully configuring the X Window System (specifically XFree86, which is
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included with SuSE and most other distributions) can be a stumbling
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block. There is such a multiplicity of monitors and video cards
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that each installation of X must be individually configured. The
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difficulty has been eased somewhat with the release of XFree86 3.2,
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which is included with the most recent SuSE release. A Dialog-based
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configuration tool can now be used in place of the previous
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xf86config. Both are based on shell scripts similar to the one used
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to configure the Linux kernel. Nonetheless, you will still need to
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know your monitor's horizontal and vertical refresh rates as well as
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the chipset installed on your video card. It helps to initially set
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your sites low, i.e., get X functioning at a low resolution first
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before attempting to make full use of your video card's
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capabilities.
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<p>
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The SuSE developers have taken some pains in configuring the various
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window-managers supplied. The first time you start X many of the
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applications you elected to install will be available from the
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mouse-activated root-window menu. Another entry on the menu allows
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you to change the window background. Many well-designed icons are
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supplied. This gives the new user a bit of a reprieve. After
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getting Linux and X finally running, there is enough to do just
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learning how the system works without feeling compelled to customize
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the environment in order to make it tolerable to look at!
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<p>
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<a name="upgrades"></a>
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<H3>Later Upgrades</H3>
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<p>
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The minute you've finished installing even the most up-to-date
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distribution available it begins to incrementally become outdated.
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This is a slow process, but eventually you will feel the need to
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upgrade some part of the system. Some distributions work best when
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the native format of upgrade file is used, but SuSE works well using
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the standard *.tar.gz format. SuSE follows in Slackware's footsteps
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in this respect. The majority of software packages will compile and
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install well (on a reasonably current Linux system) from the tarred
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and gzipped format most developers use. There are a few tricky packages
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out there; in these cases RPM can be used. The dependency checking
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won't work, but RPM allows you to take advantage of a more
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experienced user's makefile editing and configuration skills.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1997, Larry Ayers <BR>
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Published in Issue 16 of the Linux Gazette, April 1997</H5></center>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif"
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ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
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<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
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ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
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<A HREF="./new_xemacs.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
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ALT=" Back "></A>
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<A HREF="./uniforum.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
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