This Is Strange

[cybergrunt69]

OpenSuse is a good OS for beginners to Linux, as is Ubuntu. Don't give up quite so easy and run back to Windows just because "it's easier" - you said that you are learning a lot of stuff, and running a Linux OS can help you learn quite a bit more on how the computer works.

 

Many times, the video card drivers and wireless network card drivers are the biggest sources of frustration. The video drivers are often listed as "restricted" meaning that they aren't open source. If you go to the video card manufacturer's site, you should be able to find the driver if your hardware installer process doesn't list it.

 

If you don't know exactly what video card you have, or what driver you have, try one of these to get the name:

 

me@laptop:~$ lspci |grep -i nvidia
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Quadro NVS 140M (rev a1)

or

me@bottom1u:~$ lspci |grep -i vga
0000:00:03.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Rage XL (rev 27)

[dat93]

thanks cybgrunt, although ive tried this, i put got the nvidia driver for linux and my gpu, put it on my memory stick, put in into ubuntu but i still could not click on it or anything. i recon this is a compatability issue?

Edited October 19, 2008 by dat93

[cybergrunt69]

Just to backtrack a little bit, is an updated video driver required for your system? Many times an appropriate driver is already loaded, and an updated one isn't necessary. We might just be over-thinking this...

 

Also, as was stated previously, it is probably going to be easier (and quicker) asking google than trying to get ALL of your questions answered here.

Check out this google-ishous linkage. The first response might be exactly what you're looking for, even though the file name may be wrong (and it's kind of old).

 

Also, this search points you to some good info.

[scr4wl]

Download W.I.N.E.

Put the disk in

Run it through W.I.N.E

[cybergrunt69]

Download W.I.N.E.

Put the disk in

Run it through W.I.N.E

 

Please don't... You can install stuff through WINE, but you can then only run them through wine. Wine is fine for apps that require windows, but not for apps/drivers that need to run on Linux.

[dat93]

its all well putting these commands into ubuntu but i dont know where the command promt is! where would it be, i assume i need to type these codes into the command promt to get what i want. also, no there isnt any drivers installed and ubuntu telles me this everytime i go on, i want to do some light gaming on it so im going to need a driver to be able to accelerate 3D graphics.

[Crazy_Nate]

Applications > Accessories > Terminal

 

I think... There are numerous ones in SuSe, I use console.

 

Most consumer games are written for Windows...you're not going to be able to run them straight from Linux, but you can if you emulate windows (using Wine).

 

Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. Wine provides both a development toolkit for porting Windows source code to Unix as well as a program loader, allowing many unmodified Windows programs to run on x86-based Unixes, including Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris.

 

Here's the "how-to:" http://www.winehq.org/site/howto

[cchalogamer]

In ubuntu you should have a notice for restricted drivers at the top of the screen, if you open that you'll find the info on any non opensource drivers that wernt auto installed for your system (such as ATI/nvidia GPU drivers, many wireless cards, etc) however if nothing's there and you don't get laggy window movement, and all your hardware works, then drivers should already be installed.

[dat93]

yes, i do get that, saying about restricted drivers, however it cant fetch the drivers for me as i havent got access to the internet for it yet. i havent even got its own mouse, keyboard and dvi/vga cable for it. i have to nick them all from my downstairs computer i using to type on this forum just to use the computer.

[dat93]

oh yeah, thanks crazy nate im going to check out the terminal. from what ive found out linux, unlike windows needs you to type in many commands-am i right?

 

what i mean is as you mentioned in a previous post, unlike windows linux doesnt hold my hand and requires me to imput code rather than depending on the GUI.

[Evilweetabix]

Your best bet for a starting point would be just to try the update repositories

 

open up the terminal window (the one that looks a bit like a DOS prompt)

 

then type: Sudo apt-get update

 

hit enter, pop in your admin password and hit enter again

 

This will grab all of your updates from the ubuntu repository (similair to windows update). I think the newer versions of ubuntu have a windowed application that does this too, although i cant be certain - its normally the best place to go first of all just in case the drivers are included on a newer version than the one you are running

 

You can also get games and programs through this too, eg [sudo apt-get install gimp] downloads the gimp image editing program and installs it for you - this then gets updated every time you use the [apt-get update] command in the future.

 

btw the [sudo] command puts you into super-user mode - it gives you admin rights so you can install stuff but also lets you play with pretty much any aspect of your OS (can be dangerous if you play about with it on without knowing what you are poking )

 

try the ubuntu help wiki for general questions as there is almost always someone in the same boat as you here

 

Also, the o'reilly linux handbooks are a brilliant helping hand with the basics and commands and wotnot - pretty reasonable though amazon marketplaces normally (

Edited October 24, 2008 by Evilweetabix

[dat93]

thanks for the help, right now ive only got one wired router for this computer. im going to try and get a wireless router so i can connect upstairs. the advice you gave me, do i need the internet for it? if so i i cant really do much at the moment.

 

why is it being stubborn and not running the graphics card driver on my usb stick! garr