These are the steps I generally perform when I install linux (Mandrake). I
sometimes try different distributions/kernels and then need to re-start with a
vanilla MDK distro; also I sometimes help people to set up linux - in all these
cases I have to recall the important issues/steps while installing - isn't it
better to have the steps listed somewhere...
- Perform normal installation by CD
Specific points:
- 3 partitions - / (ReiserFS), /usr (ReiserFS), /home (ext3). /home was already there and I did not want to format it. The reason for ReiserFS is just this article (I did not do a detailed investigation; I just wanted a good Journal FS).
- Small screen issue - found out Dell has released a BIOS update A29. Flashed BIOS. There was some problem
during the first boot - but it was fixed after a reboot.
- Small console (text screen/framebuffer mode). Modified the boot line to add vga=773
(mode=0x305 - check in src/linux/Documentation/fb/vesafb.txt). Also removed acpi=ht from boot options.
Set the default lilo option.
- Remove unnecessary softwares (using Software manager).
- Install
kdeutils-common (for the laptop utils)
- set the power options, throttle
levels, low battery warning etc...
- Installed mplayer, gmplayer, Realplayer, Acroread, openoffice, xmms,
xmms-arts
- Installed wireless tools
- Installed synaptics driver. Added evdev to the modules preload list (check
in /proc/config.gz if EVDEV is compiled or used as module).
- Adding nice startup sound (took the ogg
files from Knoppix CD, changed them to wav, and added them).
- Set the
lookandfeel options, made the menu transparent, set the number of workspaces,
added mouse gestures
- Changed the link to dm in /etc/rc5.d/ to a small number
so that it starts quickly (before some other process like sound, pcmcia etc). By
the time I actually login, sound and others get enough time to load so this
effectively gives a quicker boot.
- Install software for pctel modem ... oops!
Recalled that it wont run of box, need to play and see if I can compile it in
kernel 2.6.
- Synaptic touchpad had the horizontal and vertical scrolling messed up! Commented the xmodmap line in /etc/X11/xinit.d/mouse_buttons and set both the mouse and touchpad to have ZAxisMapping of "4 5".
- Installed kbiff (its not in the 3 CDs - so have to add a Mandrake-ftp-mirror as urpmi source.
- Stand by works. Did not try suspend - heard it does not work - the display does not come up. Anyway I am more interested in hibernate. pmdisk did not work. swsusp (echo 4b > /proc/acpi/sleep) worked as follows: in text mode, without X running, hibernate works. In text mode, with X running (i.e. the infamous chvt solution) as well as in X itself, it writes to swap and then turns off, but when powered on, gets stuck at "Waiting for DMAs to settle down..." and reboots. Installed the new kernel 2.6.7-rc3 (co-exist with 2.6.3) - now hibernate works perfectly (though sound doesnot; everything loads perfectly only no sound is emited with the pc speaker, with headphone sound is emitted - UPDATE - unmute External Amplifier for kernel 2.6.5).
- A few updates and all kinds of problems with sound.
- Updated alsa to 1.0.5 from 1.0.2 and arts started crashing. Outright! Had to rollback (btw - the easiest way to rollback, in case you generally remove and install, is 'rpm -Uvh --oldpackage old_package_name.rpm').
- Being ambitous, upgraded arts to 1.2.3 and kmix to 3.2.3. Sound did not stop but 'System notifications' stopped. kbiff wont 'announce' new messages, knotify wont work etc. Found 'ALSA lib pcm_hw.c:494:(snd_pcm_hw_start) SNDRV_PCM_IOCTL_START failed: Broken pipe' and 'mix: ERROR: Alsa mixer cannot be found.' in the .xsession-errors file. After some searching, came to know that this is a common issue with kmix and arts and bla bla. Had to rollback arts to 1.2 and kmix to 3.2 - everything is fine now.
- Added contrib and PLF sources to urpmi sources (PLF). Then removed the original mplayer which comes without faad support and installed the PLF mplayer.
