General Linux Chat and Small Questions v. I broke my Arch Install - Hardware & Software

Honestly, the fact that I can install it and it'll completely work straight out of the box is all that I want out of Linux. I can mess around and configure it later but above all I first want a fully functioning PC, which I don't get with Arch.

Then install Ubuntu or something else? I used Ubuntu from like 2008 to around 2013, where I switched to Debian (I'd been using Debian on the side before that though) and started experimenting with stuff, I only started using Arch this year. Improvement is not instantaneous.

[QUOTE=nikomo;45105660]Then install Ubuntu or something else? I used Ubuntu from like 2008 to around 2013, where I switched to Debian (I'd been using Debian on the side before that though) and started experimenting with stuff, I only started using Arch this year. Improvement is not instantaneous.[/QUOTE] I'll probably stick to Mint or something.

Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Mint, Fedora and OpenSUSE are all good choices for newbies - I probably wouldn't go with the last 2 as a pure newbie, if that's what you are.

I'm pretty experienced with Linux, I just wanted something that had a stable base I can work on top of that I could install easily.

--snip-- I need some fucking sleep

[QUOTE=nikomo;45105363]What modules are you statically building into your initramfs? Do you have FUSE built into your initramfs? What are your Synaptics settings for your mouse or touchpad? Is the audio driver module for your sound card being mounted in Pulseaudio with any special settings? [/QUOTE] In order, - I don't have an initramfs - I don't have an initramfs - I'm just using default evdev settings for my mouse - I'm pretty sure I have my default ALSA PCM as a dmix but otherwise nope Source-based distros: Because who the fuck needs all that extra bullshit?®

[QUOTE=nikomo;45105752]Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Mint, Fedora and OpenSUSE are all good choices for newbies - I probably wouldn't go with the last 2 as a pure newbie, if that's what you are.[/QUOTE] I've installed Arch a couple of times, seen it's quirks, set up everything by hand, solved many problems. Now I know how it's done. I didn't have the time nor motivation to go through that process again, but I still wanted pacman and the AUR. Manjaro is the perfect solution for me. [editline]15th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=MasterFen006;45105039]How can I change the settings? I used Manjaro before and I adored it.[/QUOTE] Read this: [url]https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php?title=Access_the_Testing_Repositories[/url]

[QUOTE=nikomo;45105363]What modules are you statically building into your initramfs? Do you have FUSE built into your initramfs? What are your Synaptics settings for your mouse or touchpad? Is the audio driver module for your sound card being mounted in Pulseaudio with any special settings? You can find out that information on other distributions, but you'll already know the answers without any searching when you run Arch, because you set the options. It's not for everyone, but I kinda like it.[/QUOTE] I use arch, and I don't have an idea what's going on in my initramfs, nor do I fully know what it is. I only know that I have to run mkinitcpio -p linux and it will do it's job.

I've got a simple home server here which is currently being used as NAS, but my dad also wants to watch darts from it, considering this server is on the subwoofer in the corner of our living room, and it's always running. So yesterday I went to a friend to pick up this comb of a GPU, and installed it. [T]http://i.imgur.com/bhx7Kx2.jpg[/T] Now my question is, is there a server-based Linux distro available which also has a user interface available? I want to use this machine as NAS/FTP server and allow some casual streaming in a browser, not really more. Thing is I only have 2 GB of RAM and 2 GB of flash memory for the operating system, is there a distro that keeps low RAM and storage in mind, but also supports my requirements? Thanks in advance.

Ubuntu server doesn't come with a GUI but one can easily be installed. I just use the CLI though as I would have to do most things through the terminal anyway.

Setting X up to an "it's working" state isn't hard at all.

Usually, for minimalism, Arch is best. Though you might hear of some problems you never thought could exist or so. It's your call, though.

Debian Minimal and LXDE? if you want something that just werks and is stable it's what i would go for

[QUOTE=Darkwater124;45112069]Setting X up to an "it's working" state isn't hard at all.[/QUOTE] Setting X up to an "it's working" state isn't hard. Setting X up to an "it's working [I]nicely and without weird bugs[/I]" can take fucking ages. - Setting up synaptic to not be a bitch - Graphics card drivers that can do more than just drawing windows - Configuring your window manager to exactly your likings - [url=https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GNOME_Keyring#PAM_method]Unlock keyring[/url] on login (depends on the WM you use, I still haven't been to do it properly. It still asks for my god damn password when connecting to eduroam)

[QUOTE=FPtje;45112529]- Configuring your window manager to exactly your likings [/QUOTE] I only did this once, and then saved my Configuration. Used around 1 hour to get a nice config that I can use on any distro.

[QUOTE=FPtje;45112529]Setting X up to an "it's working" state isn't hard. Setting X up to an "it's working [I]nicely and without weird bugs[/I]" can take fucking ages. - Setting up synaptic to not be a bitch - Graphics card drivers that can do more than just drawing windows - Configuring your window manager to exactly your likings - [url=https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GNOME_Keyring#PAM_method]Unlock keyring[/url] on login (depends on the WM you use, I still haven't been to do it properly. It still asks for my god damn password when connecting to eduroam)[/QUOTE] I haven't had to mess too much around with X when setting it up in the past. I generally just install it, change the keyboard layout and download the WM/DE I want to use along with a login manager. then I just theme whatever I decided to get and it's pretty functional for me

Is it very difficult to get a windows - linux(Mint) dual boot on one hard drive? I've heard the Linux install may format important windows partitions with it's own so windows can no longer boot or anything. Or do I just shrink the current partition so there's unallocated space then use that during the mint install? Anything important that needs to be configured during the install to make sure it doesn't break anything or is it straight forward?

[QUOTE=Adamhully;45112790]Is it very difficult to get a windows - linux(Mint) dual boot on one hard drive? I've heard the Linux install may format important windows partitions with it's own so windows can no longer boot or anything. Or do I just shrink the current partition so there's unallocated space then use that during the mint install? Anything important that needs to be configured during the install to make sure it doesn't break anything or is it straight forward?[/QUOTE] stuff like mint which has a graphical installation is generally painless. as long as you make sure to leave some unallocated space before trying to install, you should be good (as long as you install in the unallocated space of course)

Thanks, I've only ever used GUI linux OSes through a VM and I wanted to try out a few games on it and experiment a little more. Regarding graphics drivers, do I stick with the ones that the OS uses or get the latest from the Nvidia site?

Talking about Xorg. Holy fuck trying to get Xorg to work on Arch is a fucking bitch. VESA and Vboxvideo drivers are recognised, the Desktop environment (openbox) is corectly declared and Input devices are found. Jesus take the wheel [editline]15th June 2014[/editline] Well, looks like I'm going back to lubuntu/fedora for my distros.

[QUOTE=Adamhully;45112870]Thanks, I've only ever used GUI linux OSes through a VM and I wanted to try out a few games on it and experiment a little more. Regarding graphics drivers, do I stick with the ones that the OS uses or get the latest from the Nvidia site?[/QUOTE] I'm a little outdated when it comes to the graphics drivers, but I'm fairly sure the ones from Nvidia are still leaps better than the open sources ones (at least in 3D, 2D might be a different story)

Thanks Pred, you da man.

Could anybody give me a hint on why Xorg won't start. [url]http://pastebin.com/VMubKCDK[/url] Xorg's log is as useful as a sleeping sloth.

[QUOTE=Merijnwitje;45111505]I've got a simple home server here which is currently being used as NAS, but my dad also wants to watch darts from it, considering this server is on the subwoofer in the corner of our living room, and it's always running. So yesterday I went to a friend to pick up this comb of a GPU, and installed it. [T]http://i.imgur.com/bhx7Kx2.jpg[/T] Now my question is, is there a server-based Linux distro available which also has a user interface available? I want to use this machine as NAS/FTP server and allow some casual streaming in a browser, not really more. Thing is I only have 2 GB of RAM and 2 GB of flash memory for the operating system, is there a distro that keeps low RAM and storage in mind, but also supports my requirements? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE] Honestly, it depends on what you want to do. Thing is, are you streaming, or displaying a VLC window in full screen? Because if you're just streaming something, just smack something like SliTaz on it (which should work pretty much everywhere and is easy as piss to setup, every service script is just a shell script), and then install something VLC on it, and you can quickly whip up a web interface to start VLC headless streaming instances on the machine, or just a web server that allows streaming of the video. Plenty of options, and it requires only about 128MB RAM iirc, and takes up about 40MB of space from a live usb/cd, and about 160MB for a HDD/USB install. It is also the system I use for development, but the stable / 5.0-rc2 packages are by no means "bleeding", but they're rock fucking solid. Almost debian style, but without bullshit. [editline]15th June 2014[/editline] At work we use SliTaz for our internal yet-to-be-released RSS feed reader/parser/whatever-else-you-want-r, internal and external FTP location, as well as a development platform for future web designs and systems. It also holds the company database, which, while it contains next-to-no personal information, should probably be secured elsewhere.

[QUOTE=PredGD;45112914]I'm a little outdated when it comes to the graphics drivers, but I'm fairly sure the ones from Nvidia are still leaps better than the open sources ones (at least in 3D, 2D might be a different story)[/QUOTE] the closed source nvidia ones are better yeah but is it really a good idea to get "the latest from the site"? you'd assume he'd want a version that was packaged for his distro (unless nvidia actually release debs and rpms for specific distros in which case good on em)

[QUOTE=Little Donny;45113932]the closed source nvidia ones are better yeah but is it really a good idea to get "the latest from the site"? you'd assume he'd want a version that was packaged for his distro (unless nvidia actually release debs and rpms for specific distros in which case good on em)[/QUOTE] "Linux 64bit" is about as specific as it gets on their site. Oh and they say: "Note that many Linux distributions provide their own packages of the NVIDIA Linux Graphics Driver in the distribution's native package management format. This may interact better with the rest of your distribution's framework, and you may want to use this rather than NVIDIA's official package."

[QUOTE=Adamhully;45114049]"Linux 64bit" is about as specific as it gets on their site. Oh and they say: "Note that many Linux distributions provide their own packages of the NVIDIA Linux Graphics Driver in the distribution's native package management format. This may interact better with the rest of your distribution's framework, and you may want to use this rather than NVIDIA's official package."[/QUOTE] [url]http://askubuntu.com/questions/18747/how-do-i-install-run-files[/url] here's a good link. it's advised to, as Little Donny said, to install the ones in the repo as those have been tested etc. if you still want the latest though, you could go with installing the .run provided by Nvidia. I've never done it myself and I'm not sure if there are any side effects or not. I'd assume not, but you never really know.

I'll try to stick with the one included in the repo. It's no big deal, like I said I'm just messing around here, trying new things.

[QUOTE=Adamhully;45112790]Is it very difficult to get a windows - linux(Mint) dual boot on one hard drive? I've heard the Linux install may format important windows partitions with it's own so windows can no longer boot or anything. Or do I just shrink the current partition so there's unallocated space then use that during the mint install? Anything important that needs to be configured during the install to make sure it doesn't break anything or is it straight forward?[/QUOTE] Defrag your Windows partition before you shrink it. Even with Win7 I still get BSODs if I shrink its partition sometimes. Defrag should help with that.