New to linux

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Not exactly game related... but I figure atleast a few people here have gotta be running linux lol.

I've got a radeon 64MB AGP VIVO (equivalent to a 7200) and voodoo3 3000 in my pc. During the install it was detecting my voodoo3, and I suspect that is still the case, but I want to set it up as dual display, anyone got any idea how to do it in redhat 9 (for xwindows?). Next on the to do list, accessing/mounting my ntfs drives for my dual boot with windows. I'm also looking for a good mp3 player, hopefully one that will let me connect to shoutcast servers. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[antime]

You can get NTFS access (read-only) by installing the drivers from the Linux NTFS Project. There are precompiled RPMs for RH9 that seem to work fine (just remember to get the ones that match the kernel you're running). There are also tools that let you access ext(2|3)fs partitions under Windows, just ask Google.

For your MP3 needs, I suggest finding a third-party precompiled version of XMMS for RH9. I can't remember if XMMS is included in the RH9 install, but in any case MP3 support was removed from the distro due to patent issues.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Looks like I can't write to my ntfs drive *grumble* but that's not the end of the world. I'm wondering if the drivers that let me access ext3 drives in windows make it act like it's just any other ordinary partition (as in can you access it in explorer and save directly to it from applications)? If so would it be feasible to have my data drives that I was hoping to share between the 2 of them be ext3 (fat isn't an option cause of it's limitations).

Also, I'm looking to install firebird. However, since I'm such a linux n00b (I took a unix class 2 and a half years ago and haven't touched linux since then) I can't remember how to use .tar.gz files (we were running a command prompt anyway so red hat 9 and xwindows is a bit different for me lol). Any help on that would also be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Well another question, just tried installing xmms from xmms.org I think it was, it told me that I had a newer version installed.... and the version that came with redhat doesn't have the mp3 love I need. Any suggestions on what to do? (the more step by step the better lol).

 

[antime]

Uninstall the Redhat-supplied XMMS first.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Okay, bear with me here... how do I remove the old one? ^_^;;; also, I installed a firebird rpm I found that someone had made (dag? or something...?) in any case it installed... but I dunno how to run it lol... anyone got any ideas?

edit: spelling

 

[antime]

man rpm

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

already know how to use rpm, I needed help figuring out how to run it once I got it installed... I figured that out. Rumor has it I need to find an xmms Redhat mp3 patch or something like that. So I'm off to do that next.

edit: Okay got xmms dealt with, so I can have music again. Now I'm running into this issue... I'm only getting sound out of the left/right channels... no center, read left, rear right, or subwoof. The soundcard (hercules fortissimo III 7.1) wasn't detected by what it was, but I think by what the audio chip was. Hercules' website doesn't look like it has linux drivers, is there anything I can do to get sound out of the rest of my speakers or am I SOL?

edit: I also figure I better learn to use wine too or whatever... and learn where to get it or if I already have it... but that's an adventure for tomorrow ^_^.

Another suggestion I'm looking for is a good irc client... one that I'll be able to host files and stuff with comparable to mIRC for windows.

edit: (I'm on a roll with this post) Is there a way to defrag in linux? ^_^

 

[ExCyber]

Another suggestion I'm looking for is a good irc client

I'm partial to XChat myself, but none of the clients I know of include good fileserving stuff; you'll have to either get a script for it or use a dedicated fileserving bot.

I'm only getting sound out of the left/right channels... no center, read left, rear right, or subwoof.

Apparently the mixers tend to default to having only the main two channels unmuted. I'm not sure how red hat sets things up, but see if you can get into a mixer app that recognizes the extra outputs (alsamixer/alsamixergui perhaps).

The soundcard (hercules fortissimo III 7.1) wasn't detected by what it was, but I think by what the audio chip was.

You'll run into that sort of thing a lot with Linux. Usually this is because there isn't actually any meaningful difference between two cards that use the same chip(set).

I also figure I better learn to use wine too or whatever

It's actually getting pretty usable. Basically what happens is that when you install and set it up, you get a directory under your home directory called .wine (i.e. it's normally hidden), then under that is various config stuff and the directory fake_windows which contains the fake C: drive including windows, windows\system, Program Files, etc. to run a program you just do something like:

wine notepad.exe

or a bit more realistically, something like:

wine ~/.wine/fake_windows/Program\ Files/jwpce/jwpce.exe

The big killers are trying to get stuff installed that uses odd features of InstallShield for no good reason, and "copy protection" on games.

Is there a way to defrag in linux?

It can be done, but it's only needed in extreme conditions.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Thanks ^_^

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Well I got it running on the alsa sound driver now... can't seem to figure out how to start the mixer... or how to install a gui... but only had a few minutes to screw with it after I got it running on the alsa driver before I had to come to work. Is the gui for the mixer an rpm or something?

found an rpm for it... it installed....

when I type alsamixer I get this error though:

alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such device

any suggestions?

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

next step after getting 5.1 working will be tracking down dvd burning software. Any suggestions on good software for dvd backing up and straight file dvd's? In addition any utilities like the windows program dvd shrink?

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Yet another linux question? Do I need to worry about finding some kind of antivirus software?

 

[ExCyber]

If you need to worry about anything, it's securing your machine. Viruses are not the huge problem they're made out to be; keeping to the scope of your own system, they're downright mild compared to a malicious individual who would use the same vulnerabilities to actively attack your system. That being said, antivirus software is probably also the least effective way of preventing virus infections; really the only thing it's good at is cleaning up after one gets in. The best things you can do to actually prevent virus infection have been known best practice for years and hold for just about any OS:

- Only run software from trusted sources (your distro supplier, authors' sites, trusted friends, etc.)

- Keep your system up to date. In the Open Source / Free Software world, this doesn't necessarily mean running cutting-edge versions of everything; as an example Linux 2.2 is still maintained (the latest release was made in March this year) even though 2.4 has been stable for well over 2 years.

- Disable or remove any server software you're not actually using (telnetd, sshd, httpd, RPC, etc.)

- On server software you are using, read the documentation and configure it for the best security that you can still use it with (disabling unneeded features, running in "safe" modes, etc.)

- Don't use stupid/easy to guess passwords. The truly paranoid will tell you to make the password a random-looking string including at least one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, one number, and one non-alphanumeric symbol. If you're going to use a word that's in the dictionary, do something to it like removing vowels or doubling a letter so that the spelling is not correct. One popular method for creating a password that's hard to guess but easy to remember is to take a semi-obscure line that you like from a TV show, move, play, book etc. and use the first letter of each word.

- Keep an eye on major tech news sites like news.com, or even better, dedicated security information sites like SecurityFocus, Symantec Security Response, and the US Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capability, in order to be aware of newly discovered security issues.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

K, I already do most of those things. Being that I'm having issues with getting the surround working and all... what I figure I'll do is... continue with my set top box plans... which will be running windows. Then I can route my sound through that.