Mandrake 7.0,KDE,desktop screwed up

[noclue]

First off. I'm stupid. I don't know command line yet. That will come after I get used to the "easy" stuff. I have Mandrake up and working in X. I guess. Gimp installed before I knew what I did. So did Railroad Tycoon. Star Office still won't install off the Mandrake disc. I can't figure out where to log in as root for the graphic install. Anyway, that's the least of my problems. Somewhere in doing that stuff or configuring monitor, mouse, etc. I made my desktop overlap itself. Some of the buttons on the lower task bar come up twice in the same area. I have buttons for desktop 1,2,3,4,3,4. only 1 and 2 work where they are supposed to. The others work if you click to the left of them, sometimes over a different button. The mouse pointer won't glide over that area without breaking up or accelerating. There is distortion in a vertical band about 2" wide. This is the overlap area. Please help. I can't figure out what I may have done or how to reverse it using KDE. I don't know enough yet to use console. :confused:

[slapNUT]

Try hitting <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<-> to toggle thru your different resolutions to see if there is one your graphics card likes. Do you have another OS on that computer you can verify that the graphics card and monitor are not the problem?

[slapNUT]

In mandrake open an xterm su to root then type kpackage. Now to install packages you just need to use Konqueror to browse the cd and find the package then just drag it onto kpackage and select install.

[noclue]

Thanks slapNUT, I'll try that tomorrow night. I've had it for now. It works fine in 98SE. It has to be something I did in Mandrake.

[noclue]

Hello again.slapNUT. I did get my display back right. It just took some fiddling with the resolution in Drakeconf. Thanks. I think I got StarOffice loaded into Kpackage but that's as far as I can get it. I used the drag and drop method out of the CD file. Then I found the INSTALL button and it hummed for a long time then it stopped but told me nothing. I guess it's loaded but I don't know how to open it or get an icon to my desktop. Anyway, I'm a little further into it now so being stumped again doesn't seem so bad now. Do I really have it loaded properly. If so how do I get it to open and get an icon for it? :rolleyes:

[slapNUT]

Kpackage is funny that way. If it installs OK it does nothing. If it doesn't install you get an error message telling you why.

It doesn't put an icon on the desktop. You should have an Office on your Big K menu. If you click on Office you should see StarOffice in there.

[noclue]

Hello again, slapNut. There is no Office in the big K menu or any other menu on my desktop. StarOffice has a program description under properties and a complete file list under files in the Kpackage window. I can't find a way to move it to where I can open and use it. I tried printing the package install info from the helps button above the Kpackage frame, then my printer had a nervous breakdown. First it showed no ink. There was ink, but I put a new cartrage in to cover the bases. Then it showed out of paper with about 20 sheets sitting in the tray. Now it prints jibberish continuously while alternating out of ink or out of paper. I have the midas touch. How do I clear the printer of this mindset? It still works fine in 98. I read the info and wrote it down from the helps button. It said to click the file in KFM and start a new copy of Kpackage. Where is KFM. I didn't see it in any of the menus or submenus. I see why so many give up on Linux. I don't intend to. But it is frustrating, with so little documentation. I do appretiate the help you've given. :p

[bdg1983]

KFM is the KDE File Manager. Should be in the System Menu.

[noclue]

Thanks md. I did figure that out after I posted that question. It's still not showing up anywhere but in Kpackage. Anyway, while I was poking around in root looking for it, I screwed up my desktop again. Somehow, I've got Gnome desktop icons loaded over the top of the KDE desktop. A while back, I had tried to boot up using the Gnome option at login. All that I noticed was a triangle button on my lower KDE task bar that was new. I honestly don't know what other things may have appeared in the menus because I didn't (and still don't) know what belongs there in KDE. Anyway, I logged out and went back into KDE ever since. There is a warning box appearing on my screen that says "you are running the Gnome file manager as root. As root, you can damage your system,and the file manager will not stop you..." This is bad. Yes, very bad. I've been bad, yes very bad. Hopefully, some very nice and patient person can rescue me from the dreaded reboot. Perhaps with a little undo that I am too stupid to figure out on my own because I am in over my head in something that possibly a child could have figured out.