[lightnb]

how do i get a graphic interface for Gentoo Linux?
(then how do i load it?)

[lynch]

First try logging in as a regular user and after your password has been accepted,type startx.
If you get error messages like "no screen found" gather up info about your monitor(vert and horiz refresh rate,max resolution etc,) and exact chipset for your vid card.You'll need that to run the X configuration utility.Hopefully startx will work
lynch

[lightnb]

how do i creat a normal user?
i belive that when i start, im in "Root" mode. it just says: "press enter to activate this terminal"

[lynch]

You can try killing 2 birds etc, by typing useradd.This will create a new user if you're starting as root(which I think you are-sorry but I have'nt tried Getoo )and if you're not it will return a command not found message. You were asked for a root password werent you?
Anyway,the command useradd lets you create a new user.
lynch

[lightnb]

it did not ask for a root password, or any name/pass for that matter. all it says is "press enter to activate this terminal".
then, i get a pound sign prompt "#" where the c:\ would be in DOS. i assume that the pound means root.

[lynch]

Looking at thier FAQ the root password is blank and you are logged to root automatically. To add a regular user you type:
#useradd gentoo
Apparently,this is a power-users distro and participating in this thread has got me curious about it
For instance,you cant do an su to root for security reasons but you can start from a cold boot and enter the root account. Of course this is most likely for the installer's benefit-assuming you change the root password when installation is complete and you're booting for the 1st time.To do that,type:
#passwd
And you are prompted for the new password.
But I digress
Once you get the prompt-#-type startx or startx kde and let us know what happens.
lynch

[lightnb]

every one of thoses commands that you told me to try, dont work. im thinking that perhaps it only loaded a minimal command set, and i really havent finished the installation yet. if this is the case, im not sure what to do to finalize the installation.

[lynch]

I went back and looked over that site again and it seems the minimal root prompt you're getting is the starting point of installation.
Man,you sure picked a doozy !
Anyway,I would go to the gentoo site and check out the :install x86 link there for finishing the install.Print out the instructions if you can and double-check the commands you type at the prompt.
Sorry for not reading that FAQ more thoroughly.
BTW the useradd gentoo command only creates a user named gentoo .Once you get this thing installed you can do a:
#useradd lightnb for instance to create a user named lightnb.After install is complete all the commands above should work.
I see Cheapbytes has the cds for $5.
lynch

[lightnb]

ok, i went and looked at the setup instructions, and now im even more confused!

i know i need to load a network driver, but when i give it the comand to list them, i have a feeling that some scrool of of the screen before i can read them. can i do a " /p " command to view by page? (i acctually tried ussing ?p, but it didnt work)

My network card is a "SMC ether 10"

thanks again,

Nick

[lynch]

Sorry for the late reply.
I dont know if the "less" command is available during the install process,but you could try this:
ls /lib/modules/*/kernel/drivers/net/* | less
then scroll with the up/dwn arrow keys.
Or if that doesnt work,you can try hitting the pause/break key when the results of the ls command come up.
That nic is an eisa card,is it not? You may want to get a cheap pci nic and save yourself some headaches.I use Linksys lne100tx cards with the Tulip driver and they work fine.Also,any pci nic with a Realtek RTL8139C chip are known to work well.
It says there is a pci probe but nothing about probing for legacy devices,so you may not have a driver module for the SMC nic.HTH
lynch

[lightnb]

how convienint. i just happened to have an "lne 100tx" in this machine. and you know what the cool thing is? when i installed the other card in this machine, i didnt have to do any of that BS instalation that im used to. as soon as i turned the comp back on it came up and said "your network card is installed successfully"
thats what i call true "plug & Play".
(sorry, if i sound to excited, but i just recently upgraded to XP from 98, so im used to the usless wizzards that detect somthing, but don't know what it is).

[lightnb]

i get an error that says "cant locate module tulip.o"
(after i finish typing 50 pages of command line)
i went and double checked the command, and it appears corect

# modprobe /lib/modules/2.4.19-gentoo-r7/kernel/drivers/net/tulip: tulip.o

[lynch]

Try typing:
modprobe tulip.o
The Gentoo instructions show it that way.Or try without the .o extension.
Keep us posted
lynch

[lightnb]

tulip.o did not work.
tulip w/o the "o" returned something, which was about 8 lines long, but the jist of the message was "No Such Device"
and "insmod tulip failed"

it also said it could be caused by invalid IO, or IRQ peramiters.im going to check and see if that card slot is turned on in Bios.

the other card i had was the long black slot kind (i forgot the technical term). the Lynksys one is PCI (i belive thats the correct term for the short white one )

[lightnb]

ok... i checked the bios screen, and i found that there is a "PCI Network Adapter" error. i found my problem, its on the hardware level now i just need to figure out how to make it work correctly....