Gentoo-ites, I am ready to be converted...

[DarkJedi9]

...but I have a question first. Just need to make sure I got this right before I start. To install, I download the live-cd and boot it then I can choose which of the tarballs I want and I get the one optimized for my processor, correct? I feel kinda dumb asking such a simple question but I'm intrigued by this Portage deal and I don't want to be scared off by a botched install. Thanks!

[Hayl]

make yourself a LARGE pot of coffee. the gentoo install takes a LONG time to compile everything.

:)

[DarkJedi9]

Originally posted by Cybr099
make yourself a LARGE pot of coffee. the gentoo install takes a LONG time to compile everything.

:)

So I hear.:) But, um, do you have an answer or was that just a friendly snipe from a Debian user?

[GaMMa]

Follow the installation instructions word for word... you'll be all set. Use the stage 1 tarball, it'll compile everything and be fully optimized for your system. Portage rules, so easy to install stuff. emerge foo and poof you're set... all the dependencies installed too. It takes a while to get a good system up and running, but you'll love the outcome :).

Edit: anyway questions feel free to email me, I've been through most of the gentoo related problems. BTW use fluxbox, kde and gnome take a day to compile. You can get fluxbox up and running in about 2 hours (not including bootstrap and emerging system). Once you switch to Gentoo you won't want to go to any other distro, this is my Linux distro for life, unless this dies and something is based off a similar portage system comes around superior to Gentoo, but right now Gentoo rules.

[Hayl]

Originally posted by DarkJedi9
So I hear.:) But, um, do you have an answer or was that just a friendly snipe from a Debian user?

not a snipe at all.

i'll probably end up trying gentoo again in a few months. i think it is cool.

[DarkJedi9]

Okay...I just printed off the (18 page, sound right?) Installation Instructions for Gentoo Linux 1.4; I think that should be what I need. I also have the LiveCD ready to burn. It's all going down tomorrow, though. It's 11:11 PM; that's early enough to start my now very polished Slackware install routine, nevermind a notoriously long (but effective) Gentoo one.

Hehe, I've broken Slack so many times now...you should see me reinstall it. I barely even need to see the menus anymore:D

[sarah31]

gentoo is a silly distro.

[z0mbix]

Originally posted by sarah31
gentoo is a silly distro.

lol, I've never heard that term used towards a distro before :)

[DarkJedi9]

Wow, that really sucked.

My primary HD (8 hours old) died while I booted from CD to install Gentoo. I have no idea if the Gentoo install went correctly at all. (Every single time I did an emerge it would finish by yelling about these two files that needed to be updated and telling me to type emerge -help config or something, which displayed some not very clear instructions that I think I followed but it wouldn't stop bugging me about it so who nows). Then when I rebooted; obviously having a dead HD as primary master doesn't work, so I had to move hdb (the one Gentoo was going on) to hda and use an XP disk to recover the Windows install I thankfully had left on hdb. Of course, now my (working? not? I don't know...) Gentoo install that took about 4 hours to complete is gone from the MBR. And now I get to pay to ship the crapped out HD back to California and get a new one. I'd rather just throw it out and get a refund for it. Ugh.

[GaMMa]

Of just ignore the update your config files, I know they're stored in a folder, with a bunch of numbers before them, you're supposed to look at the config files, and replace them to overwrite the old config files.

[DarkJedi9]

Originally posted by GaMMa
Of just ignore the update your config files, I know they're stored in a folder, with a bunch of numbers before them, you're supposed to look at the config files, and replace them to overwrite the old config files.

So it's nothing really important then? I figured since they kept yelling about it there was something important there, but if it's no big deal that's cool, especially since I keep doing it wrong or it's not working, one or the other.

[DarkJedi9]

Okay, I tried another install and this one went rather well. There was a slight issue the first time I tried to compile the kernel where I had selected some stuff for my USB mouse as modules and some as compiled in, but I resolved then.

Then, I saw that the default bootloader was grub. I'm much more comfortable with LILO, so I did emerge lilo, which worked rather well. Then I setup my /etc/lilo.conf, ran lilo with no errors, finished the last couple steps of installation, and rebooted. Hooray! It's my LILO prompt. First, I tested to make sure I hadn't messed up my Windows XP install...success! Then I reboot and check the Gentoo install. I select Gentoo, press enter, see that first line about unpacking the kernel or whatever it says, the dots start scrolling...and then...blank.

But not really blank, more like that kind of blank you get when the monitor is displaying, but has nothing to display. I'm thinking it's posssibly something with framebuffer (I though I set it up right in the kernel), but I don't know for sure and even if I did I'm not sure how I would go about fixing it when I can't see anything (plus I don't actually know if Gentoo itself would've worked; I'm just sort of hoping/assuming). Any suggestions?

[DarkJedi9]

Okay, I got past that blank screen problem (went and looked at my kernel; I'd messed up the framebuffer configuration stuff) but have a new problem; my fonts look like crap! I don't know why, but it seems like with Slackware my fonts were a lot better than with Gentoo. Did this happen to others, or did I just mess something up somehow?