On Mon, Apr 23, 2001 at 11:09:47PM -0500, Jerry Kreps wrote:
On Monday 23 April 2001 21:34, Rafael E. Herrera wrote: <snip>
I use 2.4.x on a 7.0 system. I had problems with the VIA chipset, but none from the init system. People's hardware varies a lot, what may work you/me may not work for me/you.
<snip>
I have two PC's here at home. SuSE has always slipped onto the 5 year old Sony VAIO (P166 -64MB) like a silk glove. My new Beast, on the other hand, fights SuSE like it was possessed with the spirit of Bill Gates.
A new Vaio, perhaps? I've heard about these. And in fact a bunch of newer systems have this issue. You can't use FIPS any more because Windows ME doesn't have DOS. So you have to get a new version of Partition Magic, move your partitions around, and then boot from the CD-ROM. Come to think of it, oh, yes, now I remember. The new Vaio's are even more special than this. I haven't gone through this myself, but (banging my head against the monitor), I remember the story. The Vaio's CD-ROM drive was on a controller that wasn't supported by Linux (it might be now) so you couldn't boot Linux off the CD-ROM. I forget the exact details. If only Bill Gates had a soul that could infest a machine... I honestly think the world would be a better place. So you actually had to open the Vaio up, take out the hard disk and install on it using another machine.
One of the problems is the VIA chipset, and I've yet to hear of any successful BIOS upgrade being successfully burned in. The newest 2.4.x kernel is supposed to have a kernel workaround, but I'm not moving to the 2.4 kernel until SuSE makes it their primary kernel. I doubt there are many newbies who could get SuSE to install on my Beast without getting bite by something.
Come to think of it, my neighbor has one of the new Vaios. It's all kind of weird. I don't remember which is which, but for his wireless network connections he has to boot under one kernel and for his actual ethernet connections, he has to boot under the other. One kernel is a 2.2; the other is a 2.4. (Boo... Hiss... EVIL!!!!) He belongs to the church of Debian, though.
In fact, if I had not been using SuSE for 4 years, and as my only OS for 1 1/2 years, I would not have had the knowledge and skill to install it. As I used to tell my Engineering Physics students, "Everything is easy once you know how", but learning how takes time. Merely saying how easy something is to do doesn't teach HOW to those who don't KNOW how to do it. I would have given up and installed about any version of WinXX. The VIA chip, the AC97 sound chip, the wheel mouse, the r128 video card, the cdrw and the zip250 were all bears to install and even now I am simply using the cdrw as a cd because of the VIA problem.
I thought all this stuff was supported with the 2.4 kernels.
The Beast is running, although not exactly as I would like it. Were I to spec the Beast again I would require all storage perhiperals to be scsi, and I wouldn't use the ATI r128 or the wheel mouse.
Is it a Logitech wheel mouse? Under XFree86 version 4? (More booing and hissing...) Run down to the store and get (even more booing and hissing...) a Microsoft Intellimouse. Those work.
People with machines like my Sony don't need 'installation help". People with machines like my Beast can't be helped by support staff unless the support person is physicall setting at the machine. There are too many subtle problems and disjoints with the hardware and software for a newbie to adequately describe the problems to a support staff.
Most people own machines between my Sony and my Beast. Some can be helped. The trick SuSE has to learn is to figure out which ones can be helped without making all of them angry or insulting the ones they can't help.
This thread demostrates a lot of frustration, some by SuSE staff but most by SuSE's customers. SuSE would do well to listen.... carefully.
But the fact is that SuSE does a far better job with uncooperative hardware than any other distribution. Even my Debian-loving neighbor concedes this. This is an installation that just won't quit. -- David Benfell benfell@parts-unknown.org --- Resume available at http://www.parts-unknown.org/resume.html