ARRG! Redhat 7.3, GNOME, and Nautalis

[SimerinPotpouri]

Hey all,

I'm not new to computers (1985) and have had some experience with AIX and XWindows many years ago, but I recently installed Redhat and I'm having some troubles with the GNOME GUI.

I'm logged into root, for now, to get everything setup and then I will use my newly created user account for the rest of my daily use.

First problem: No Panel. All I have are three ICON on my desktop. At first, I thought it was hidden but no matter where I put the pointer, it no be there.

Second problem: Getting there error, ""Nautilus has no installed viewer capable of displaying "Programs:///.directory" when I dbl click on such application lanchers as Programs. Isn't this an executable? I'm getting this with other applications as well, but not all. The only thing I can figure is that it isn't a exe and needs a MIME association. I would assume this should work right out of the box since this is a fresh install of the OS.

Third problem: Can't change the resolution. I've ran XConfigurator and gone throught most of the steps. According to the user manual on Redhat, I'm going to get to a portion of the setup where I will get an XWindow. At that point I can use CTRL-ALT- + and - to change the res. This works, but I'm also suppose to get a popup that allows me to accept these setting. It's not there, so I have to escape the application, in which it tells me the setup wasn't successful. So, after reading some posts, I went into the XF86Config and XF86Config-4. Virtual is set to 0 0, which is good. Both files have two different res entries for two different color modes. I would assume this was good as well but when I go back to the desktop and attempt to switch resolution, the CTRL-ALT - + and - (on the keyboard as well as the ten key) do not change the res. If this is what I need to do to setup res in GNOME, chock one up for MS Windows. Even NT 3.51 was easier to change res in.

I think that's enough for now. I'd love to hear some resolutions for this or at least a link to where I can read more. I don't mind reading a little but changing the monitor res should be somewhat intuitive. ;-)

Thanks all.

[SimerinPotpouri]

I thought this was a help section. Maybe this is just a HELP YOURSELF section. Well, I did just that.
I got the res working, which just required a reboot. Why there wasn't a message telling me this was required is still something I'm trying to figure out.
I got the panel to display, by just running "panel" from the command line. Again, why this wasn't by default in a GUI I will probably never know.
The only thing left is why Nautalis is giving me that error message.
I'm sure if I don't get response within 24 hours, I'll figure it out myself.

Maybe my questions were a little too difficult. How about this one? Can someone point me to a forum where Linux questions get answered or is this a "Figure it out your own damn self" operating system? ;-)

[heckle]

Originally posted by SimerinPotpouri
First problem: No Panel. All I have are three ICON on my desktop. At first, I thought it was hidden but no matter where I put the pointer, it no be there.
Which Icons do you get? I also have three Icons no my desktop and have no problems. Have you tried the K or G button (linux version of the Start button)?

Originally posted by SimerinPotpouri
Second problem: Getting there error, ""Nautilus has no installed viewer capable of displaying "Programs:///.directory" when I dbl click on such application lanchers as Programs. Isn't this an executable? I'm getting this with other applications as well, but not all. The only thing I can figure is that it isn't a exe and needs a MIME association. I would assume this should work right out of the box since this is a fresh install of the OS.
Can't help because I am not familiar with Gnome. Still a n00b myself.

Originally posted by SimerinPotpouri
Third problem: Can't change the resolution.
I use KDE but when I change the resolution, I right click on the desktop. Just like in that other OS.

Originally posted by SimerinPotpouri
I think that's enough for now. I'd love to hear some resolutions for this or at least a link to where I can read more. I don't mind reading a little but changing the monitor res should be somewhat intuitive. ;-)

Just because your post has alot of views doe snot mean that the people reading it can help with your problem. Yes, this is a place to get questions answered. But, sometimes, you must have some patience!

[SimerinPotpouri]

The three icons are Start Here, Root's Home, and Trash, which is probably what I should see if I was logged into Root.
Nope, those keys didn't bring up the panel. I had to run Panel to get it to come up. All is good now, but I'm wondering why it wasn't there in the first place. It's a fresh install.

OK. Also, since you are using KDE and not GNOME, that's probably why you aren't familiar with it. No prob. I know very little about the Mac. You know what you use. That's cool.

Well, that sounds like KDE is smart in that department. I don't get that option on GNOME. Having just gotten the panel to appear, I'm wondering if I might happen upon a program that does allow me to adjust the res w/o manually modifying the XF86config or forced to use Xconfigurator.
From what I've been reading in this forum, the latest KDE is a little processor demanding. This old box is a, and no laughing now, a Cyrix 6x86MX. It's got about as much processing power as a digital watch and the CPU puts out more heat then the sun. I don't want to drop back to a previous version of KDE due to worries that it might not be supported as well as newer versions. Maybe if I ran KDE 3 with almost no eye candy it might be OK.

You could be right. I could have waited a bit more time when expecting a response but setting the res and getting your panel to show up seem pretty basic questions that everyone using GNOME should know. Since I've seen several questions answered about the same time as my post, I thought it might be because of the length of my post or maybe my musky odor. I'm working on getting both of them down to a bearable level, but this post is failing miserably.

[sgs521]

There is a resolution applet in gnome 2, however if I change anything relating to the resolution, I log into the console as root, type setup. Then select x configuration, your video card will be probed, you'll be asked ot identify your monitor resolution, custom or select your make/model, you'll be asked to probe or don't probe the gfx card, i usually don't probe, then you'll more than likely be prompted to select the amt of video memory your card has, select that.
Then onto clockchp, if unsure about this, select none, Then onto resolutions, I generally just have one resolution set, but this has changed recently with my adventures into the wonderful world of winex and playing games again. So to go with the basics select one resolution. viola problem should be solved.. the only itme i have not seen this correct an issue of gnome having a larger desktop than viewable is when you set gnomes desktop size during install to say 1280x1024, then set monitor and screen res at 1024x768 or something equally off.. but since i don't do too much on the desktop tweaking side.. i'm not sure as to how to correct that issue, but as heckle said.. be patient.. see i probably covered at least one of your questions.. it just took me a day to get here..


additional note.. can't answer your question on why nautilus is giving you that error.. someone else may have better info on that.. but it's late and i should be asleep..

[askrieger]

With regard to your Nautilus problem, try a right click. When you left click on a file, Nautilus thinks you want to view it. As of now, Nautilus doesn't have a hex dump viewer, and besides that's not what you want.

I'm in KDE, right now, so I can't check it, but I believe that after a right click, Nautilus will ask you what program to use to open the file. I think you can choose /bin/bash, or get a single line console to start the program.

[SimerinPotpouri]

Yep, I did just that. I tried to look up my clockchip for this old video beast(a 2 meg S3 Virge). There is a wierd thing with the video though. I set the res to 1152x864 and the viewable area is smaller then the total resolution size. So, I have to scroll around with the pointer to get to other areas of the screen. I checked the settings and the Virtial setting is 0 0. Then, when I set it to 1024x768, I get what bet would be called static when I move windows around on the desktop. This probably has something to do with the car or the drivers but it sucks.

Yes, I thought about that as well. I tried doing that in Nautalis w/o success in the past. I just went to try it again and I can't seem to get Nautalis to open.

I'm kinda getting a laugh out of this whole thing. For a while I've been thinking about installing some form of Linux but I've been pretty busy. One day I fell into one of those Window vs Linux discussions. I found that there were certain things this guy was saying that I couldn't back up from experience. I decided to install Linux and become more familar with it. What you see is this learning process. Although I have to go through the manual more thourowly, I do have first impressions.
Linux is not user friendly, at least compaired to Windows. Of course, I bet the Mac OS's are more user friendly then Windows. At least with both of those OS, the GUI is complete when it's installed. In my case, I have to Panel(task bar) and when I do get the panel, it needs to be configured.
I've already had one packaged program crash on me and one not open.

So, my conclusion so far is that Linux might be a solid OS, but this GNOME is in need of serious testing. This could also be Redhat's fault since I am using their package. I might give the other GUI a shot to see if it's any better.
On the good side, I'm forced to learn the command line, which is probably best.
I'm going to stick with it but I think this is going to be a serious learning curve. :-)

[chris_i386]

To partly answer your resolution question:
2 meg of video ram are just enough for 1024x768 and 16 bit colors. If you want a higher resolution, you either need to use less colors or get a video card with more memory. Otherwise you will only see a 1024x768 portion of your desktop.

Just did a fresh reinstall of RedHat 7.3 and had a few problems with the KDE control center crashing constantly.
But this is still nothing compared to Win95 on my old box!!!