Linux newbie, please help

[Guest]

Hello,

I've decided to try linux and I just installed Kubuntu 9.10.

Spent hours to figure out a way to install it on my system (partition the disk...) and couple more hours just to make my wireless adapter to work and so to have internet. Solved

Now I need some tips to do the following:

1. I want to install Wireshark (packet sniffer) in my system. I downloaded the source code from the wireshark website (http://www.wireshark.org/download/sr...-1.2.6.tar.bz2 )but I dont have a clue of what should I do with that bz2 file.

2. My system now dual boots to either XP or Kubuntu. At the operation system chosen menu I have only 10 seconds to chose my option. If I ignore it, after timeout it will boot to kubuntu (1st option) automatically. How can I make Windows XP my first option and is there a way to extend the boot counter?

3. Where can i find a device driver to my vid card (Acer Aspire 5672 - ATI Mobility Radeon X1400)?

Thank you very much for any response. Please remember, Im a completely newbie to linux. So i need a guide or step by step solutions.

Bye

[kapil]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

welcome to KFN

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3108924.0
this quick guide may be helpful to you.. just have a look

3. Where can i find a device driver to my vid card (Acer Aspire 5672 - ATI Mobility Radeon X1400)?

go to 2.3 of this guide.. u should find the driver by following that.

[vinnywright]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

1- do NOT try to mess with source code if your a noobey.......I repet DO NOT DO IT.
wireshark can be had with your package manager after enabaling the universe repo.

2-read varey carfuley these

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3106368.0

3-I dont have eney ATI hardware but some of the other peppole do so wate for them

[skunk]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

1. I want to install Wireshark (packet sniffer) in my system. I downloaded the source code from the wireshark website (http://www.wireshark.org/download/sr...-1.2.6.tar.bz2 )but I dont have a clue of what should I do with that bz2 file.

Wireshark version 1.2.2 is in the standard repos. You should be able to install it using your favorite package manager.

2. My system now dual boots to either XP or Kubuntu. At the operation system chosen menu I have only 10 seconds to chose my option. If I ignore it, after timeout it will boot to kubuntu (1st option) automatically. How can I make Windows XP my first option and is there a way to extend the boot counter?

Edit /etc/default/grub as root with your favorite text editor

kdesudo kate /etc/default/grub

The values you need to change are

GRUB_DEFAULT=0

Where the value is the 0-based index of the option that should be default

GRUB_TIMEOUT="10"

After modifying the values and saving the file, run this command from a command line prompt

sudo update-grub

3. Where can i find a device driver to my vid card (Acer Aspire 5672 - ATI Mobility Radeon X1400)?

Search the list for many posts about how to install the proprietary ATI drivers.

Edit: too slow

[Guest]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

hello. thank you for your replies.
I managed to install wireshark and did some updates including ati drivers.

After rebooting, the system crashes. I get an error message saying that KWin had an error and I cant use the keyboard, only the mouse and the graphs get all messed up. I think is something to do with ati driver...

This is very frustating cause im new to linux.

Think ill have to get back to old Windows.

Thx for any solution...

[rfakhrai]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

boot into recovery mode and fix the X server automatically. this should get you back into the stable graphical environment at least. do some more research on the driver you're using. consider using the envyng script. you can install it through your package manager. then run and see what it does for you.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Linux newbie, please help

....
This is very frustating cause im new to linux.

Think ill have to get back to old Windows.
.....

We can understand that. NO ONE was born knowing how to run Windows, so you had a learning curve with it, too. It's just been so long ago that you probably feel like you've known how to run it all your life.

Linux has a learning curve too, although not as much if you use KDE4, stick with the repositories and avoid, during your learning stage, installing alien deb packages or doing fancy configurations. After you've become comfortable with the basic operations in using Kubuntu/KDE4 then is the time to experiment.

However, you never target practice in your home. Likewise, don't experiment in your base Kubuntu installation. You can install VirtualBox-ose from the repository, then install a second copy of Kubuntu as a guest OS with about 10 to 15GB of virtual HD. Experiment in that. IF you blow it up you can experiment in that guest OS and learn how to recover without damaging your primary Kubuntu installation. If your experiments have done more damage than you know how to reverse, you can always delete to guest Kubuntu OS and reinstall a fresh one from the LiveCD or LiveUSB and try again.

BTW, running WinXP as a guest OS in Kubuntu is a safer way to run it than letting it connect directly to the Internet. When I am running the guest WinXP I disable the Internet connection inside WinXP. and transfer files to it via Kubuntu, a CDROM or an USB stick. I also shut down the AV and turn off the firewall in XP. No need for updates and security patches if you aren't connecting to the web with XP.