Re: Need some Help (fwd)

[Jeff Licquia <jeff@luci.org>]

Kara Pritchard (uh, actually Mike Gatton) wrote:

> Was at last meeting (Nov), think I am a little over my head.
>
> Am trying to get Linux to work on a PC at work... Several Problems...
> Need to know where to look and what commands to use...

Let's see what we've got.  I'll assume you're on Red Hat - it should be
pretty close at any rate.


>
> Getting "X" to work.
>     Doesn't Have my video card listed,
>     can't find one that will work.
>     Documentation says it is recognized, but no luck.
>     Video card is "SiS 6326" AGP 3D w/8MB RAM

I don't see that card in the lists for Red Hat, XFree86, or the Hardware
HOWTO.  There are SiS chipsets in the lists, but they don't seem to be
yours.

You have two options:

 - get another video card.  If you can, bring the old one back and mention
that Linux support was the reason why you're returning it; that's how we
got Diamond support, for example.  There are many high-end video cards
that are supported; 3Dfx, ATI, Diamond, and S3 come to mind as companies
that have been supportive of Linux.
- get a commercial X server for Linux.  XiG (www.xig.com) and MetroLink
(www.metrolink.com) sell these.  See if your card is listed on their
support page.


>     Also, "X" doesn't seem to be able to use my mouse.
>         Standard, three button serial, generic.

Does the mouse work under the console?  Did the mouse autodetect at setup?

Most of these work with the Microsoft or Mouse Systems settings.


> Getting Network Card to work.
>     Won't detect the card.
>     can't seem to force it to access it.
>     Documentation says it is recognized, but not for me!
>     Also is a 'loadable module' for my card installed on HD,
>         but when I attempt to load it (verbose) it indicates
>         that all is ok until the last line which says that it
>         'failed to load'
>     Card is "3COM FastEtherLink XL" Model 3C905B-TX (PCI Card)
>     This card works under Windoze when I boot from that partition.
>     the DOS setup program for this card indicates that it uses the
>     following config:
>           IRQ: 11
>           IO Address: DC80h - DCBFh
>     I have shut off the autodetect for speed (as recomended in the
> HOWTO)

Red Hat's compatibility list mentions that the 3C905B is not supported,
although it is supposed to be compatible.  The report mentions that they
might work in 10MB mode.  Other 3Com cards are supported OK, though.  See
if someone has a straight 905 or something else.


> Getting Modem to work.
>     This just seems to fail.
>     I haven't spent a lot of time trying on this one since I want
>     to use the programs under "X" with the modem, and "X" aint working

Modems can be a little tricky, especially internal ones.  They aren't
autodetected as well.

See if the modem is configured to use a special IRQ.  This is the most
common thing.  If the IRQ is weird, go into Linux and type as root:

setserial /dev/<tty device> irq <irq>

Remember that ttyS0 -> COM1 on DOS, and following.  If your modem suddenly
works after this, add that line to the /etc/rc.d/rc.local file.

Also, make sure that the modem isn't a WinModem.  Those only work under
Windows.


> The computer is:
>     Pentium/266MHZ
>     3GB HD (390MB DOS/WINDOWS) (2GB Linux) (85MB Linux Swapp)
>     Modem is generic Hayes Compatible 33.6Mb
>     Display is TATUNG CM14SBS, not in list,
>          selected 31.5, 50-70HZ Refresh for "X".

The rest of it looks good.


> I think that most of these problems are due to how green I am in the
> Linux environment, however I would appreciate some help or this message
> being forwarded to someone that could be of assistance.

Hope this helps.  Are you subscribed to the list?  See www.luci.org for
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