andycrofts
05-27-2003, 10:03 AM
Hi, all!
Been happy with Linux for a year or so. But, digging out my old files in Outlook (yep, gotta use it at work) I found this old mail after repairing a busted archive....
(Harry Homeowner is www.theregister.com 's name for a typical non-geek user.
I guess we've all been here, huh???
Enjoy! Written Nov. 21, 2001 :D
Linux vs. Microsoft – Harry Homeowner’s view
Following the “Harry Homeowner” thread, I thought, as a H.H. I’d have a go at installing Linux.
Here’s what I found.
Computer. Donated, thankfully - Intel Pentium, 200 MHz, 64Mb Ram, 2Gb disk, CD rom.
Enough to run a few hundred thousand websites, using something called Geronimo, or some such, if I believe what I read.
Company-supplied “linux ks=floppy” disk (customised version of RedHat 7.1). Connect to LAN, and run it. Eff me old boots, it worked. Until I tried to use KDE, at which point, it appeared to hang. Knowing that one should never, ever turn off a Linux computer by using the main power switch, I left it alone.
For a weekend.
Came back, to the same frantic inactivity. Now, I said I know that I should never, ever turn off a Linux machine (or even worse, an NT machine) but I’m not adverse to turning off a bloody room heater. OK, it’s –5 outside, but I got work to do…
Result? Told to run something called “fsck”. A thousand times. I’m sure the ‘s’ in ‘fsck’ is a typo now…
OK, let’s try downloading the RedHat disks. Downloaded, burnt, (HAH! That thing about making a disk from an ‘iso’ got me. For awhile. OK, just a day…and a few disks…and created a boot disk (now, already out of the H.H realm - Harry couldn't do this!)
Start the loadup, in ‘workstation’ mode. OK, after 1½ hours, asks for second CD. Fine. Give second CD. After about 30 minutes, spits second CD out, telling me it’s safe to reboot my computer. H.H does so. Dead machine. Use dos/fdisk/format etc. to create clean hard disk (again!)
Try procedure again. 5 times. Only a few hours each. I've nothing else. Much, except a life.
Same result each time – except closer look at screen tells me ‘exited abnormally’ with loads of
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
messages, telling me exactly what the problem is. Or, would do, except they’ve scrolled off the screen. Harry – go 'bother' the wife.
Not I. I’m made of sterner stuff. Following the Register’s keen advice , I try to download SuSE. Except you can’t. SuSE site don’t wanna know, and nowhere is it in Hary’s format (Course, Harry knows a .iso file from geekware. Doesn’t he?) Oh, yes. Quick question..Why don’t Amazon.com allow shipping the boxed set out of the US? It's cheaper than the UK variety ($39 vs. £39 - rip-off Britain at it's best) It’s German, (That's German, Europe, not German Louisiana) innit? Run that one by me one more time…
So, (My ‘round filing cabinet’ is filling up with disks fast’) Let’s try BestLinux. After all, their office is located a couple of Km from where I live. Can’t be all bad…
Ho Hum.
You guessed it. Installation procedure sooo slow, that the keyboard testing utility had such long feedback delays that it mislead me to believe I had some Infra-red enabled Logitech device..Result? Same. No boot. No start. Back to the roomheater. Comfy?
So. "‘MyCompany.fi’-tried" RedHat version nor RedHat itself (7.2) don't do owt. I've tried SuSE (impossible – download not there), and BestLinux. They went all in the same bin as Windows 3.11, Windows 3,54, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows 2000. Or, would be keeping Linux company, if the last two products (starting with the letter ‘W’) hadn’t worked. First time. Immediately, straight out of the box
Linux? It's pure GeekWare. Sorry, folks. Another 2 years maybe. If yer lucky.
Keep yer Winders clean, Harry. You’ll need ‘em.
(Aside. I run Win ME at home. It’s the Finnish edition. Error messages are just as clear as Linux........…)
If you've made it so far, the problem turned out to be a duff RAM stick. That machine's my webserver/ DHCP server /Firewall now...and has been perfect for the last year.
Been happy with Linux for a year or so. But, digging out my old files in Outlook (yep, gotta use it at work) I found this old mail after repairing a busted archive....
(Harry Homeowner is www.theregister.com 's name for a typical non-geek user.
I guess we've all been here, huh???
Enjoy! Written Nov. 21, 2001 :D
Linux vs. Microsoft – Harry Homeowner’s view
Following the “Harry Homeowner” thread, I thought, as a H.H. I’d have a go at installing Linux.
Here’s what I found.
Computer. Donated, thankfully - Intel Pentium, 200 MHz, 64Mb Ram, 2Gb disk, CD rom.
Enough to run a few hundred thousand websites, using something called Geronimo, or some such, if I believe what I read.
Company-supplied “linux ks=floppy” disk (customised version of RedHat 7.1). Connect to LAN, and run it. Eff me old boots, it worked. Until I tried to use KDE, at which point, it appeared to hang. Knowing that one should never, ever turn off a Linux computer by using the main power switch, I left it alone.
For a weekend.
Came back, to the same frantic inactivity. Now, I said I know that I should never, ever turn off a Linux machine (or even worse, an NT machine) but I’m not adverse to turning off a bloody room heater. OK, it’s –5 outside, but I got work to do…
Result? Told to run something called “fsck”. A thousand times. I’m sure the ‘s’ in ‘fsck’ is a typo now…
OK, let’s try downloading the RedHat disks. Downloaded, burnt, (HAH! That thing about making a disk from an ‘iso’ got me. For awhile. OK, just a day…and a few disks…and created a boot disk (now, already out of the H.H realm - Harry couldn't do this!)
Start the loadup, in ‘workstation’ mode. OK, after 1½ hours, asks for second CD. Fine. Give second CD. After about 30 minutes, spits second CD out, telling me it’s safe to reboot my computer. H.H does so. Dead machine. Use dos/fdisk/format etc. to create clean hard disk (again!)
Try procedure again. 5 times. Only a few hours each. I've nothing else. Much, except a life.
Same result each time – except closer look at screen tells me ‘exited abnormally’ with loads of
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
“//ah---df6ad+gf# error 0x7308135626594”
messages, telling me exactly what the problem is. Or, would do, except they’ve scrolled off the screen. Harry – go 'bother' the wife.
Not I. I’m made of sterner stuff. Following the Register’s keen advice , I try to download SuSE. Except you can’t. SuSE site don’t wanna know, and nowhere is it in Hary’s format (Course, Harry knows a .iso file from geekware. Doesn’t he?) Oh, yes. Quick question..Why don’t Amazon.com allow shipping the boxed set out of the US? It's cheaper than the UK variety ($39 vs. £39 - rip-off Britain at it's best) It’s German, (That's German, Europe, not German Louisiana) innit? Run that one by me one more time…
So, (My ‘round filing cabinet’ is filling up with disks fast’) Let’s try BestLinux. After all, their office is located a couple of Km from where I live. Can’t be all bad…
Ho Hum.
You guessed it. Installation procedure sooo slow, that the keyboard testing utility had such long feedback delays that it mislead me to believe I had some Infra-red enabled Logitech device..Result? Same. No boot. No start. Back to the roomheater. Comfy?
So. "‘MyCompany.fi’-tried" RedHat version nor RedHat itself (7.2) don't do owt. I've tried SuSE (impossible – download not there), and BestLinux. They went all in the same bin as Windows 3.11, Windows 3,54, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows 2000. Or, would be keeping Linux company, if the last two products (starting with the letter ‘W’) hadn’t worked. First time. Immediately, straight out of the box
Linux? It's pure GeekWare. Sorry, folks. Another 2 years maybe. If yer lucky.
Keep yer Winders clean, Harry. You’ll need ‘em.
(Aside. I run Win ME at home. It’s the Finnish edition. Error messages are just as clear as Linux........…)
If you've made it so far, the problem turned out to be a duff RAM stick. That machine's my webserver/ DHCP server /Firewall now...and has been perfect for the last year.