PCLinuxOS Synaptic

Roger99 · 05-22-2008, 10:34 PM

As a newcomer to Linux, I recently installed PCLinuxOS.

Although I've been disappointed with the number of problems I've had, including most of my hardware (printer, wireless, screen resolution) not working properly and lots of application crashes, I've decided to persevere.

Now I find though that I am completely unable to update the OS by using Synaptic. I've attempted it several times over three days, but managed to download only 10 of the packages listed. I have tried ticking all the listing repositories, but only one actually worked.

Is there a fix for this, or should I dump PCLinuxOS for something more reliable? I have tried Ubuntu, but couldn't get decent screen resolution with my NVidia graphics card.

lensman3 · 05-23-2008, 10:18 PM

Try Fedora Core 9. Redhat has very good mirrors for downloading fixes. I use NVidia, but the drivers suck. Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. Turns out about 1/3 of the Vista crashes were can be traced by to NVidia. I'm running Core 9, but the Nvidia driver was hard to setup and had a mind of its own. It took quite a while for me to get the screen resolution correct. I was watching a DVD using last night with mplayer and happened to hit some key combination. NVidia switched to VGA mode and wouldn't go back to my 1200x800 resolution. Even with a "alt-cntl-backspace" which kills the X11 window system. I had to reboot to get the card to return to a stable state. I'm disappointed with my Nvidia.

Core 9 using the "yum" update system. Works very well for me

Hope this has helped..

Roger99 · 05-23-2008, 11:55 PM

Thanks for your reply lensman3. I have now reloaded Ubuntu. Although I still haven't sorted out my screen resolution problem, it definitely feels more solid and robust that PCLinuxOS.

"Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. " I didn't know that. Sounds like I'm having a NVidia problem, and not a Linux problem.

I think I'll look around for a Fedora Core 9 liveCD and give it a try.

lensman3 · 05-24-2008, 11:32 AM

I would like to suggest that you go to vmware.com and download their free Vmware client. Install it as per instructions. Then go get your favorite Linux install and install it. Download the iso file and put it on your XP desk top. When you start up vmware, there is a place where it asks for the Linux version (Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat, etc). Pick the one your are installing (or pick other Unix/Linux). Then in the tab for the virtual CD/DVD hook the CD reader to the iso file you just downloaded and have it install the Linux you want to try. The vmware will boot the virtual machine from the iso).

This way you can run Windows and Linux at the same time. Eventually, you will want to do this. I actually have as my VMware host Fedora Core 9. I run windows XP SP2 under that. When you run windows you have to have a fully licensed version of the XP Operating System. My XP only is installed on a Virtual Disk of 12 Gig (the virtual disk is just a 12 Gig file). Since the XP machine "talks" to my host Linux using an ethernet connection, I have all the disks space available that Linux has access to.

If you get tired of Linux and want the disk space back, then you just delete the vmware disks which are found in a folder in XP. You don't have to reformat a hard disk and possibly have to reinstall your XP system.

If you go this way, be sure and install the vmware-tools that are supplied free. It will significantly speed up your Linux (better mouse, HDD, and graphics drivers). There is a full screen mode under vmware. When you go into full screen you don't even know that there is a Windows OS under everything.

Try it. It is free.

gallup · 05-26-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger99

Thanks for your reply lensman3. I have now reloaded Ubuntu. Although I still haven't sorted out my screen resolution problem, it definitely feels more solid and robust that PCLinuxOS.

"Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. " I didn't know that. Sounds like I'm having a NVidia problem, and not a Linux problem.

I think I'll look around for a Fedora Core 9 liveCD and give it a try.

Did you update your system with synaptic before installing new packages? Need to have a fully updated system before installing new packages to avoid problems. I run both Ubuntu and PCLOS mini-me08 and prefer the latter. Use PCLOS 2007 to have a complete o.s. as Minime is a minimalist distro. Everything worked right out of the box, even played all video and audio I tried. They also have an excellent forum, did you try that out? Lots of info on setting and troubleshooting xorg.config file, which is responsible for your video settings.
I have heard of a lot of folks having nvidia problems, and most of it came from using nvidia drivers directly instead of downloading them via synaptic. I never changed a single repository other than default and was able to keep up to date right from the start even with a dial-up connection.
I barely run windows at all at this current time.
I think there is a reason that Distro Watch has Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS as the top two for so long. Good support and they work well. Make sure you have a good disc to start with! You will find a lot of nvidia info on the pclos forum if you don't get any help here, or just want another opinion.
I was referred to PCLOS from a member here and am grateful, I love it. I think it runs faster than ubuntu, but I do like ubuntu as well. Gnome is a nice desktop, but Kde just seems to run faster.

gallup · 05-26-2008, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger99

Thanks for your reply lensman3. I have now reloaded Ubuntu. Although I still haven't sorted out my screen resolution problem, it definitely feels more solid and robust that PCLinuxOS.

"Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. " I didn't know that. Sounds like I'm having a NVidia problem, and not a Linux problem.

I think I'll look around for a Fedora Core 9 liveCD and give it a try.

Did you update your system with synaptic before installing new packages? Need to have a fully updated system before installing new packages to avoid problems. I run both Ubuntu and PCLOS mini-me08 and prefer the latter. Use PCLOS 2007 to have a complete o.s. as Minime is a minimalist distro. Everything worked right out of the box, even played all video and audio I tried. They also have an excellent forum, did you try that out? Lots of info on setting and troubleshooting xorg.config file, which is responsible for your video settings.
I have heard of a lot of folks having nvidia problems, and most of it came from using nvidia drivers directly instead of downloading them via synaptic. I never changed a single repository other than default and was able to keep up to date right from the start even with a dial-up connection.
I barely run windows at all at this current time.
I think there is a reason that Distro Watch has Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS as the top two for so long. Good support and they work well. Make sure you have a good disc to start with! You will find a lot of nvidia info on the pclos forum if you don't get any help here, or just want another opinion.
I was referred to PCLOS from a member here and am grateful, I love it. I think it runs faster than ubuntu, but I do like ubuntu as well. Gnome is a nice desktop, but Kde just seems to run faster.

05-22-2008, 10:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
Roger99 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	PCLinuxOS Synaptic As a newcomer to Linux, I recently installed PCLinuxOS. Although I've been disappointed with the number of problems I've had, including most of my hardware (printer, wireless, screen resolution) not working properly and lots of application crashes, I've decided to persevere. Now I find though that I am completely unable to update the OS by using Synaptic. I've attempted it several times over three days, but managed to download only 10 of the packages listed. I have tried ticking all the listing repositories, but only one actually worked. Is there a fix for this, or should I dump PCLinuxOS for something more reliable? I have tried Ubuntu, but couldn't get decent screen resolution with my NVidia graphics card.

05-23-2008, 10:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
lensman3 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Littleton, Colorado USA Posts: 470 OS: xp 64 sp2 Fedora Core 8 (vmware xp core 8 x32) Minix	Re: PCLinuxOS Synaptic Try Fedora Core 9. Redhat has very good mirrors for downloading fixes. I use NVidia, but the drivers suck. Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. Turns out about 1/3 of the Vista crashes were can be traced by to NVidia. I'm running Core 9, but the Nvidia driver was hard to setup and had a mind of its own. It took quite a while for me to get the screen resolution correct. I was watching a DVD using last night with mplayer and happened to hit some key combination. NVidia switched to VGA mode and wouldn't go back to my 1200x800 resolution. Even with a "alt-cntl-backspace" which kills the X11 window system. I had to reboot to get the card to return to a stable state. I'm disappointed with my Nvidia. Core 9 using the "yum" update system. Works very well for me Hope this has helped.. Last edited by lensman3; 05-23-2008 at 10:19 PM.

05-23-2008, 11:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
Roger99 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Re: PCLinuxOS Synaptic Thanks for your reply lensman3. I have now reloaded Ubuntu. Although I still haven't sorted out my screen resolution problem, it definitely feels more solid and robust that PCLinuxOS. "Microsoft is currently suing Nvidia for crappy drivers and Vista. " I didn't know that. Sounds like I'm having a NVidia problem, and not a Linux problem. I think I'll look around for a Fedora Core 9 liveCD and give it a try.

05-24-2008, 11:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
lensman3 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Littleton, Colorado USA Posts: 470 OS: xp 64 sp2 Fedora Core 8 (vmware xp core 8 x32) Minix	Re: PCLinuxOS Synaptic I would like to suggest that you go to vmware.com and download their free Vmware client. Install it as per instructions. Then go get your favorite Linux install and install it. Download the iso file and put it on your XP desk top. When you start up vmware, there is a place where it asks for the Linux version (Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat, etc). Pick the one your are installing (or pick other Unix/Linux). Then in the tab for the virtual CD/DVD hook the CD reader to the iso file you just downloaded and have it install the Linux you want to try. The vmware will boot the virtual machine from the iso). This way you can run Windows and Linux at the same time. Eventually, you will want to do this. I actually have as my VMware host Fedora Core 9. I run windows XP SP2 under that. When you run windows you have to have a fully licensed version of the XP Operating System. My XP only is installed on a Virtual Disk of 12 Gig (the virtual disk is just a 12 Gig file). Since the XP machine "talks" to my host Linux using an ethernet connection, I have all the disks space available that Linux has access to. If you get tired of Linux and want the disk space back, then you just delete the vmware disks which are found in a folder in XP. You don't have to reformat a hard disk and possibly have to reinstall your XP system. If you go this way, be sure and install the vmware-tools that are supplied free. It will significantly speed up your Linux (better mouse, HDD, and graphics drivers). There is a full screen mode under vmware. When you go into full screen you don't even know that there is a Windows OS under everything. Try it. It is free.