PCLinuxOS 2009.1 installation

PCLinuxOS 2009.1 installation
Apr 08, 2009

My previous post on PCLinuxOS 2007 installation is here.

Upgrade attempt:

The instructions on the forum or website are not at all easy to find.
Actually I couldn't find a description of the upgrade procedure.
Luckily, our friend Google brought me here.
I've followed this simple guide, but the dist-upgrade command didn't complete: halfway up it started complaining that some packages couldn't be installed due to dependencies conflicting with other versions of the same dependency....

Probably there is a way out, but I was already prepared (=BACKUP important data!!!!) to a fresh install.
And here it goes.

Fresh install:

tot install time ~20min
tot personalization so far <0h10 style="font-weight: bold;">The notebook:
IBM ThinkPad T40
CPU intel pentium M 1300MHz
RAM 512MB
HD fujitsu 100GB
Sound max integrated digital audio from Analog Devices
video: ATI mobility radeon 7500 (32MB shared memory)
modem: agere system AC'97
infrared, LAN, 2 USB 1.1, docking station

BASE INSTALL

note: system is WinXP dual boot and when starting the installation, I forgot to fully switch off winXP and left it hybernated. Not a good idea!

old partitioning scheme:
hda1 (/winXP not automounted, ntfs) (85GB)
hda2 /boot ext3 (100MB)
hda3 /media/scambio fat32 (2GB)
hda5 /media/important ext3 (1GB)
hda6 / ext3 (11GB)
hda5 swap (1GB)

Before starting:
backup of sensitive data
backup of /home (just in case)
backup of netani.inf from /etc/ndiswrapper

I've accepted to "use existing partitions" during install, which didn't gave me the possibility of automounting hda1 and 3. And no way back possible, too (no "back" button, or similar).
So, if you need to mount partitions different from native linux FS, don't "use existing partitions"....!
I've got a hard shake when the systema asked me to install GRUB on hda1.
I've accepted quickly, for it is where it should be installed.
Immediatley after I realized that hda1 is where WinXP resides. And it was hybernated. Therfore not writeable. But pclos WAS actually writing!!! Result: grub has been installed with no problem and winXP resumed from hybernation with no issue.
Lucky me.
Next time I MUST remember not to leave an OS suspended when installing another OS...

Keyboard: UK
Time zone: Europe/Rome


after base install: ~2.5GB used space
TV card Dazzle ?, wireless PCMCIA Belkin Mimo not recognized

kernel: 2.6.26-8 (i586)

Feeling after first install:
Very similar to previous (2007) version.
Removed the eye-dazing dotted black background.
Horrible and awkward splashscreen with PCLOS logos in time....
Compiz Fusion has to be enabled, but it works out-of-the-box, with no need for (ATI) driver download.

mp3 audio works out of the box.
ntfs and fat32 partition read and write to be tested (not automanted during install, my mistake)

PERSONALIZATION

WiFi: setup through control center/network/wireless/ndiswrapper.
inf file used: netani.inf from the previous installation (in turn coming from netgear wpnt511 driver)
--> network working very fine and fast. WPA also OK.
Connection status icon is already in the panel (as opposed to pclos 2007)
Net switching applet was very bad in pclos 2007: it was not really changing connection to the desired SSID when needed. It was picking its own choice from the available SSID. Not very kind from it! Now it seems to work. In case, a simple (from root):

iwconfig wlan0 essid your_ssid_name

makes the magic.

Installed through synaptics (in different sessions):
note: no need to change or add respositories, everything works as it is.
note2: fastest from Milano seems the Swiss ftp repository

1. gcompris, gcompris-sounds-it, ktuberling
2. gramps, libdvdcss2
3. aspell-it, locales-it, mozilla-firefox-it, mozilla-thunderbird-it, myspell-it_IT, myspell-thes-it_IT, openoffice.org-l10n-it
3. timidity++, easytag, rosegarden
4. googleearth, kdegames-suite, ksudoku, skype, wesnoth
5. mercurial
6. lib-dvb

Fonts:
tbd
--> pclos control panel --> "install fonts" --> "import windows fonts" button.

Compiz:
As said, Compiz Fusion works out-of-the-box, with no need for (ATI) driver download.
It has to be enabled in the control center/hardware/3D effects dialog box.
Unfortunately, with Compiz enabled, some system dialogs are not visible.
For instance, the "root password request dialog" is an empty window and when typing nothing is shown (but it is actually typed because if you press ENTER it accepts it).
It can be just annoying or very bad, depending on which dialog is blankened...
I'll see in the future.

DVD play:

next:

TV tuner "Dazzle TV Hybrid Stick":

TV tuner testing: