h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For those that do not like long posts, it is safe to read the first paragraph below and then skip to the last.

My sanity - which has been hanging from a slightly singed, hair-width length of cotton over a tall cliff with a roaring furnace at the bottom for several months now - has just been met by a hooded figure with a pair of scissors, who goes by the name of SuSE Linux. I have tried Windows 98 and XP, Mandrake Linux 9.1, Gentoo 2004.0, Fedora Core 1, Linspire 4.5, NetBSD and finally SuSE Linux 9. I first tried Mandrake after a series of particularly unpleasant episodes with Windows.

Mandrake worked OK for about the same length of time that I was entitled to free technical support, after which it began freezing up when certain programs were launched, the sound didn't work, and for an encore, KDE suddenly refused to recognise that my image files existed.

Hence I downloaded 6 more OSs to try - a quest for the best OS - comprising Fedora Core 1, SuSE 9.0, NetBSD, Gentoo 2004.0, Debian 3.0r2 and Slackware 9.1 - most if not all of which you will notice are now out of date. I tried Gentoo first, which took a whole day to install, and I made the horrific mistake of using 'genkernel' which seemed conveniently to compile in all of the kernel modules that I happened not to want, and few of the ones I did.

Next, I found Linspire 4.5 free with a magazine, which I decided to take a look at. I tried installing it on one of my PCs, but when it had reached 90%, it produced an error code, and reset uninstalled. When I successfully got it installed on a friend's computer, I found that it wasn't immediately compatible with their - or my - Internet hardware, and it was therefore, to put it bluntly, absolutely useless.

Following this episode of despair, I ventured to install NetBSD, which I realised was in fact Unix. Of course, I made the mistake of trying to install it on the same computer that I had just failed to install Linspire on, and hence, it didn't work either. Coming to the conclusion that I may have a problem with that hard drive, I tried installing it on a different computer of mine; it worked. Unfortunately, even after several days of hard work with it, I could only get to the stage of using 'twm' on X, and I gave up to its sheer complexity.

At the other end of the spectrum was Fedora Core 1, which was very easy to install and run. I was probably too optimistic, because it was barey two hours before... well, suffice it to say: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?threadid=206288&goto=newpost.

And after that, I found a success story on LinuxQuestions that detailed the wonders of SuSE. I tried to install it on the computer of mine with a 550MHz processor, 320MB RAM, and plenty of HDD space, and after waiting 3.5 hours for it to install, I was finally met with this error message:
'Error 18: the selected cylinder exceeds the maxium supported by the BIOS'.
Yes, perhaps I should have tried this on a faster computer, and yes, I still haven't tried Debian or Slackware, but since they are generally regarded as more complex to install, I am frightened that it will all go wrong yet again but in a much more explosive fashion.

Finding myself in the embarrassing situation of having no fully working operating system to turn to in this time of crisis - except perhaps if I buy an Apple Mac - I turn to h2g2 for advice or consolation of any nature. Thank you.

Hmmm...have you considered a position as Jim Lynn's Number Two?

B

Very funny, Master B; very funny indeed.

I've been having a day like that as well. Admittedly, only OS I've been touching is Windows 98, but it has been going weird on me.


Geggs

I'm trying to think of something to say about that, Geggs, and I'm sorry to say that I can't. I remain in the same situation as above, unfortunately.

I will say congratulations, though, on account of your engagement.

Thank you. I've been engaged for nine days now. Strangly enough I actually do fell different. Though I'm having difficulty working out how.


Geggs

Know the feeling been useing windows for years,not that i know what i'm doing, have got copy of suse on cd looks use full just comeing to grips with fire fox(my page looks better in it) like it as a browser once got rid of all those useless pages that come woth it far better than ie browsers
well must get on have fun

Yes, I'm using Firefox; great isn't it?

"Have fun" you say? I fail to see any possible route to this outcome. If you can suggest anything that might help me to have 'fun' with my computer, then it would be welcome.

(Not that I don't have fun with h2g2, of course!)

Being sardonic there,the no of times i have reformated hard disc as a
result of putting two opperateing systems on ,or in effort to get rid of costent fault normaly with msn or outlook exspress!!!

Also this might help or give you usefull suggestions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A1067799

>Admittedly, only OS I've been touching is Windows 98, but it has >been going weird on me.

And that's different from normal how?

Ah well, I have recorded the precise nature of this weirdness in my journal, if you want to look. Wouldn't blame you if you don't, of course.


Geggs

Re; the thing about the Error: 18
Did a google on the error message and found
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/2004-January/msg03535.html
Which seems to imply that this is a Grub error. So you aren't breaking the OS, its the multi boot loader that has problems. Most likely due to the number of OSs that have been installed.
Have a look at the above and see if it helps (probably not).
But have a look at the Grub setup and ensure that what *it* thinks your setup is, is actually what your computer has.
Then once Grub has worked you might be able to get the OS working!
Alternatively there is
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-grub/2001-12/msg00162.html
Which quotes
">From the Grub manual;
This error is returned when a read is attempted at a linear block
address beyond the end of the BIOS translated area. This generally
happens if your disk is larger than the BIOS can handle (512MB for
(E)IDE disks on older machines or larger than 8GB in general).
"


In fact, if you google for the error message *without* the quotes you get a shed load of hits, including SUSE sites. Seems fairly common.

I am assuming since you posted the Q that you have access to be able to google for answers yourself?

Yes, thank you very much for the information. I have asked at various Linux forums about the issue at hand. My thread here was really about all the combined misfortune I get with computers; though I realise that many people have limited success with computer as it is.

Somebody has recommended Slackware to me, so I am going to try that soon. Imagine how upset I'll be if that goes wrong too.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=208251

I really do think that your problems are hardware and not software related. For one person to encounter problems on all those OSs seems mighty odd. Either its you or the computer. And since all you have to do is put disk in puter and press a few keys I'd have to say it was your computer. Also backed up by all the hardware errors you've had. Junk the puter and get a decent one if at all possible.

Firstly, the problems that I outline above are not all on the same computer. Some are on my main computer, some are on the laptop, some are on the old computer upstairs, and the Linspire one was on a friend's computer.

Secondly, I only bought my main computer about a year ago.

Thirdly, I only bought my first Linux distro (Mandrake 9.1) in October 2003, and I did so a lot of research about hardware compatibility beforehand.

These three points are enough to convince me that there's nothing wrong with my hardware. And I always follow installation instructions meticulously, so I can't see any fault in my own methods.

(By the second of my points, I mean that the computer was almost top-of-the-range when I bought it new about a year ago).

And besides, I have problems with _*every*_ operating system. A complete list in chronological order:

- Windows 95 (everybody has problems with that though)
- Windows 98 (ditto)
- Symbian EPOC OS
- Windows XP Pro (hateful)
- Windows XP Home (just as hateful)
- Mandrake Linux 9.1
- Linspire 4.5
- NetBSD
- Gentoo Linux
- PalmOS 5 (nothing major)
- Fedora Core 1
- SuSE Linux 9
- Slackware Linux 9.1

Look closely. I have just written down 13 operating systems.
Coincidence?
Probably.

Hmmm, have you been swearing at any gods recently?