why people grumble in changing to linux

[yourdeadin]

recently i got a cd of PCQUEST linux
http://www.pcquest.com/content/linux/default.asp
now i had made to change my os to linux no matter what .
i backed up my hdd and started the installation

its installer was anaconda ( weird name) and i started the install
now it had a disk utility called disk drud. i had a nite mare with the partion ,i created a partion ,it won't take it,ERROR "/ primary not specified ", by god i had to make a 21 partions and delete 20 partions the 21st partion worked .
now the installition moved forward and the installer formatted my disk.it took more the 1 hr to format it ( 40gb) and now it began copying the important files, an hour passed and i was asked to insert the second cd which i did .

another hour passed ,and after that another and another
"6 min left"
i tried to eject the cd ,but it wont respond,i checked the "num lock",it was also not responding.so i restarted and now iam struck witha command called

grub>
and now i don't know what to do????

on the other hand when i installed win 98se it asked me only
the drive to install (only one drive was left) ,serial key ,next....next.....next ,plz wait and whola!!!

if linux was just as simple in installtion then most of the home users might have changed to it by now
won't you say so!!!

[hypronix]

Although I am not under-appreciating any Linux distro out there, maybe you should've tried out some of the more mainstream ones for starters [if you are just starting with Linux]. They have huge community support and better installers. With some of the 'common' distros there is a similar interactivity from the user as that mentioned Windows 98.

However Linux is not as easy to install/use because it gives you a lot of options... sometimes more than most people are used to. So in that sense, if you just want to use the OS, straight from the box, you're definitely better off with FC or Mandrake or something like so.

And always read the installation instruction

[MrLinus]

I'd have to agree with Hypronix on this. Additionally, you can find lots of resources and help for specific distros at Linux Questions Forums.

[cgkanchi]

Meh, PCQ-Linux is nothing but RedHat 9 with the name changed. Piece of crap distro, if you ask me. Try SuSe.

Cheers,
cgkanchi

[hypronix]

Originally posted here by MsMittens
I'd have to agree with Hypronix on this.

Sounds like you don't _really_ want to agree with me, for some reason, MsM [j/k]

yourdeadin I saw you posted something up about Knoppix... I would switch to that instead of this, but be aware that Knoppix distros are built as LiveCDs, so you should really look into properly securing it after you install it, as it is not one of it's strongest points.

[MrLinus]

Sounds like you don't _really_ want to agree with me, for some reason, MsM

Naw. I agree with you. I just wish I had said it earlier.

yourdeadin, you might want to also visit Linux ISO to get Suse or Mandrake. Personally, I'd take Suse over mandrake (especially after those issues last year with the CD/DVD roms)

[chsh]

Originally posted here by yourdeadin
its installer was anaconda ( weird name) and i started the install
now it had a disk utility called disk drud. i had a nite mare with the partion ,i created a partion ,it won't take it,ERROR "/ primary not specified ", by god i had to make a 21 partions and delete 20 partions the 21st partion worked .

You *had* to create 21 partitions, and delete the first 20? Perhaps you could have looked up a guide on how to use Disk Druid, or simply used FDISK if you could have done it better with that?

now the installition moved forward and the installer formatted my disk.it took more the 1 hr to format it ( 40gb) and now it began copying the important files, an hour passed and i was asked to insert the second cd which i did.

It didn't take me that long to format my 60GB partition on my 80GB drive, at least with EXT3. What partition type did you select?

another hour passed ,and after that another and another
"6 min left" i tried to eject the cd ,but it wont respond,i checked the "num lock",it was also not responding.so i restarted and now iam struck witha command called

It crashed during the install, some of your packages may be borked, but it shouldn't be anything core to the system, so you should be okay if you can get it booted.

grub>
and now i don't know what to do????

Are you asking if you don't know what to do? My guess would be yes then.
Anyway, boot off your linux CD and enter recovery/rescue mode, and then try and run the grub configuration off your system, after having mounted it, which I would guess to be beyond your abilities if you had problems with disk druid. Better idea here, just boot with an alternate and more recent distribution's install CD, and overwrite your existing linux partitions. I would suggest SuSE if you are looking for raw ease of install, or perhaps Fedora Core.

on the other hand when i installed win 98se it asked me only
the drive to install (only one drive was left) ,serial key ,next....next.....next ,plz wait and whola!!!

Yep, and Win98SE can't do the following things that linux can:
- Use more than one processor.
- Have an uptime longer than 50 days.
- Run bleeding edge hardware -- most support is dropping from 98 in favour of XP.
- Install drivers for everything just off the install. My last slack install involved adding NVidia drivers (they're proprietary closed source), while my last win98 install involved adding drivers for my mouse, my keyboard, my sound card, printer, TV tuner, NICs, etc..
- The list keeps going, if you want, I can expand on it.

if linux was just as simple in installtion then most of the home users might have changed to it by now
won't you say so!!!

Keep in mind though, Linux, while being very user friendly, is still designed to give you options. A lot of your complaints seem to be from not understanding being given so many options (something common in the Windows-only world). Personally, I'm of the mind that if a person can't repartition their drives, they probably shouldn't be installing Linux. That doesn't mean Linux isn't very user friendly, it's just not installer-friendly because it gives you a bit more control than Windows does.
May be more home users might have switched to it, but given your attitudes and approach to it -- which IMO reflects pretty accurately the "it won't do what I want but it's the one with the problem because I know how to do everything" attitude that many home users have -- is that really a good thing?

[yourdeadin]

thanx for you reply cshss

Yep, and Win98SE can't do the following things that linux can:
- Use more than one processor.
- Have an uptime longer than 50 days.
- Run bleeding edge hardware -- most support is dropping from 98 in favour of XP.
- Install drivers for everything just off the install. My last slack install involved adding NVidia drivers (they're proprietary closed source), while my last win98 install involved adding drivers for my mouse, my keyboard, my sound card, printer, TV tuner, NICs, etc..
- The list keeps going, if you want, I can expand on it.

yes but i also mentioned home pc.

not that i am against linux , but the distro i used gave me sever nite mares

quote:
grub>
and now i don't know what to do????

Are you asking if you don't know what to do? My guess would be yes then.
Anyway, boot off your linux CD and enter recovery/rescue mode, and then try and run the grub configuration off your system, after having mounted it, which I would guess to be beyond your abilities if you had problems with disk druid. Better idea here, just boot with an alternate and more recent distribution's install CD, and overwrite your existing linux partitions. I would suggest SuSE if you are looking for raw ease of install, or perhaps Fedora Core.

no iam just telling it as i felt ,yes i did reboot the system and reinstall the os (PCQ)

quote:
Originally posted here by yourdeadin
its installer was anaconda ( weird name) and i started the install
now it had a disk utility called disk drud. i had a nite mare with the partion ,i created a partion ,it won't take it,ERROR "/ primary not specified ", by god i had to make a 21 partions and delete 20 partions the 21st partion worked .

You *had* to create 21 partitions, and delete the first 20? Perhaps you could have looked up a guide on how to use Disk Druid, or simply used FDISK if you could have done it better with that?

well thanx , i din't know i coud use f disk for linux
thanx for you post

[steve.milner]

Did you look on the CD for any installation notes or read me files...

The distros that I've worked with have all had enough info to get you going.

Steve

[yourdeadin]

actually pcq stands for PERSONAL COMPUTING QUEST.they for some reason decided to take up linux and they gave a free copy of their distro ........................

i for some reason picked it up and tried it

well i seemed easy as they has explained it in the manual

some thing like this

1.insert the cd
2.boot from cd rom
3.follow the install screen
4.keep pressing next
5.use "Disk drud" to do the partion
6. give user name and p/w
7.click nxt and Anaconda will copy the install files
8.And whola you are done

they did show some screen shots ,and weel.it seemed so easy!!!!