New User and Convert

[mikeyc]

Hi Guys,

Just installed PCLinuxOS in the last couple of days and am well happy (with a capital WELL lol).  I've lost count of the number of distros I have tried over the last few weeks and there was ALWAYS something SO frustrating that I ended up ditching them one by one.  I had seen PCLOS before but the fact that it wasn't 64bit had put me off. Anyway, finally gave it a try and its a revelation after all the previous frustration.  Installed easily and ALL hardware detected and drivers installed and so up and running in no time.  Have now got it configured to my liking, and learning (slowly!!!) my way around.

All I can really say is a huge thanks to the developers etc for putting together a superb OS and making it easy for converts.

I'm very happy and very excited (prob need to get out more LOL) but thanks again.

Cheers

Mike

[uncleV]

Have now got it configured to my liking, and learning (slowly!!!) my way around.

Better slowly but sure than too fast.

Two general things from me the noob:
Avoid installing applications from outside Synaptic. There are plenty of them there and in most cases you'll find the one (or more) you need. If you have to install from outside PSLOC repositories ask an advice in the forum how to do it.
Don't work in root mode if not needed.
 

[Old-Polack]

mikeyc:

We're working on a 64 bit release, but mostly for those that think it delivers more than it actually does. If you have more than 4 GB RAM, install a kernel through Synaptic that has a pae extension. With that your system can see and use up to 64 GB RAM. Other than that, you'll find that PCLinuxOS in its 32 bit form is faster than most 64 bit distro releases.

With a 32 bit release there are less problems with hardware drivers and plugins than with 64 bit releases. I've had 64 bit capability for over 8 years, and usually have  12-16 OS installations on this machine. Not one is a 64 bit installation. I used to have a few, but they were more trouble than they were worth, and run beside the same releases in 32 bit form showed no real advantages I could see, so I dumped them in favor of ease of use and stability.

Once we have our 64 bit release ready, I will install it alongside of the 32 bit version, for testing purposes. Maybe with Texstar's magic fingers doing their thing it will surprise me, but I'm not holding my breath on that account.

In the meantime, have fun with your current installation. Do some exploring, break a few things, ask for help, and we'll show you haw to fix it back to like new. We have to have something to keep us from getting bored. 

[uncleV]

Yeah, old-polack is right: try breaking some things till your install is fresh and there's not much trouble to reinstall.
I did it this way.
But I couldn't break PCLOS   for curiosity because was warned by the system.

[mikeyc]

Hi All

Thanks for the responses.  I hope this is the start of o long association  .  I noticed that when I ran Virtualbox it was only showing a max of 2.6GB RAM whereas I have 4GB installed.

I was interested in that pae extension cos its a shame to have the RAM but not use it.  But I would need a walk thru at this stage if there is any chance.

Cheers

Mike

[Old-Polack]

Hi All

Thanks for the responses.  I hope this is the start of o long association  .  I noticed that when I ran Virtualbox it was only showing a max of 2.6GB RAM whereas I have 4GB installed.

I was interested in that pae extension cos its a shame to have the RAM but not use it.  But I would need a walk thru at this stage if there is any chance.

Cheers

Mike

Open Synaptic, click Reload --> Mark All Upgrades --> Apply, the again Apply in the confirmation window. When the upgrade is finished, click Search, and in the box type kernel. Scroll the left pane of the resulting window, until you see the list of currently offered kernels. Pick the newest that has the .pae extension, click the box in front of it and choose Mark for installation. Another window will pop up to tell you there is a dependency that will also be added. Click the Mark button at the bottom to accept that dependency. Then click Apply, and again Apply in the confirmation window.

Both packages will then be installed. When done, when you reboot, the new kernel will be the default kernel when you select the normal boot option. The first boot to any new kernel will be a bit longer than usual, as all the dkms modules will be compiled to work with the new kernel. Once you reach your normal users desktop, open a terminal and enter;

[<you>@localhost ~]$ uname -r                    <Enter>

You will get a response the tells you what kernel is being used. It should be the new one, and will look something like this;

[mikeyc]

old-polack

Thanx a lot for that. I completed that successfully, but how will I know if the extra RAM can now be seen by the system?

Also can I remove the previous boot option from the boot menu so that I only show the new one?

Mike

[Old-Polack]

old-polack

Thanx a lot for that. I completed that successfully, but how will I know if the extra RAM can now be seen by the system?

Also can I remove the previous boot option from the boot menu so that I only show the new one?

Mike

In a terminal, type free and press the enter key.



The boot options you are showing are all for the new kernel. There is no option for the old kernel unless you add it to your menu.lst.

[mikeyc]

Thanks again.  I have a question about the boot options but I am mindful that this is not the forum for that so I will post it in the correct place.

Mike