Recovering My GUI
I managed to recover my Graphical User Interface under the new Mandrake installation. I thought it was probably hopeless when the configuration tool Mandrake provided, XFdrake, proved totally useless and I learned that the standard Linux configuration tool, XF86Configurator, was no longer included or available in the distribution. But there was another configuration tool, far more basic and versatile, xf86config, still on the system and working. It even allowed me to specify that my video card was a generic nVidea card. The only catch is that the user has to know enough to copy the configuration file it produces, XF86Config, to the file that actually gets used, XF86Config-4.
A Linux purist, having made these changes, would be able to activate them without rebooting the system. I'm forever rebooting the system anyway, to swap the hard disks with the different operating systems on them, so, after a quick test, I just rebooted. I had a very nice graphic screen ... but the mouse didn't work. I went through the process again, specifying a slightly different mouse setup, and tried again.
Bingo!
Unfortunately, even with the full graphics capability restored, I was unable to convince Mandrake to allow me to dial my ISP. They kept asking me to insert CD-ROM after CD-ROM, apparently never reading the contents when I did. I never approached the point of being able to specify my modem setup.
The Gnome PPP setup was equally useless. I entered all of the parameters, as well as I could figure them out, and the damn thing went through the motions of dialing, but it wasn't set up to allow me to specify CHAP authorization procedures, so the connection never got made. I know that the KPPP program works but Mandrake deleted it during the upgrade.
I'm torn. Should I even bother with the modem? Or should I go ahead and compile the programs I need to connect to the router with my USB wireless device? At this point, it should be just as easy to go high speed.
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Comments (1)
It all sounds more complicated than it should be.