Too hard. :P

rbanzai · n00b Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 13

I've installed several linux distribs over the last five years but found I didn't seem to be learning anything about linux. I decided it had to be because I was using canned installs and graphic interfaces and needed to spend more time with a command line.

So I tried gentoo but it's just too hard to get it running. Just getting the bootloader configured properly has been impossible. Grub wouldn't work, and now LILO fails to mount something (it doesn't say what) and won't load eth0.

In order to troubleshoot these things you already have to be a linux whiz and I am definitely not.

So anyway thanks to the people who helped me out with my Emerge problem. I'm going back where I belong to the land of the ignorant GUI users. :oops:

lookinin · Guru Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 486

don't give up so easily

Make sure you are following each step in the docs and read carefully... I've done a few linux (gentoo and others) installs, and it gets easier as you go... Why not post your grub or lilo conf and let others take a peek?

rbanzai · n00b Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 13

part of the problem is each time i have to reboot from the CD because of the bootloader failing i'm pretty lost. i know i need to get the volumes mounted and get into the environment so i can give commands but it takes alot of stumbling around.
i read about solving grub problems but everything was about giving commands and displaying files that I have no idea how to do. that's what i mean about having to already know linux well to troubleshoot gentoo.

AllenB · Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:53 pm Post subject:

I feel your pain. I was (still am at times) lost when I first installed Gentoo but this is what I did to make things much more easy.

I installed Fedore Core 3 and got everything up and running. I then printed out the most common and important config files such as ifconfig, fstab, xorg.conf, and many others. I use them as a reference when setting up my config files for Gentoo. This helped to bend the learning curve to my liking.

lookinin · Guru Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 486

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:12 pm Post subject:

rbanzai,

To ease the pain you can boot from the liveCD and run several Virtual Terminals (VT).

If you

ThinkTank89 · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 129

Yes, I waisted 3 days on install gentoo, and its finally up.

Im home schooled thou, and I now fell that I know SO much about how this stuff works that I plan to wright an essay of several pages on the topic, and what I learned; and count it towards computers as an elective credit.

Mayabe ill make it an instructial essay and post it (^_^), with "possiable error" log of the errors I encountered (there were quite a few) and how to fix them.

rbanzai · n00b Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 13

You're all encouraging so maybe after I take a nap and use some eyedrops I will give it another shot. I really want to make it work so I can get around to breaking it.

d_adams · Apprentice Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 223

Keep at it, it's worth it. I just finished a stage 1 install using nptl, and lemme tell ya, it's a LOT harder doing that than it is for a generic gentoo install. Give us a little more info, like your fstab and lilo.conf (or grub.conf) and you will definitely get help here. Maybe even include a little hardware info about your computer. This is one of the best forums I've ever found for breaking/fixing linux. There are some pretty sharp people using Gentoo and it seems like they are always willing to help.
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Lar · Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject: Keep Trying...

Don't give up. I just finished my first install as well, and although daunting, I believe I know more about how the system works now than any other OS I've ever installed.

Things are really wonderful once you are up and running. Portage just rocks. And I'm coming from FreeBSD and their /ports tree.

From one nOOb to another, don't give up yet. Let these fine folks help you out.

Apewall · Apprentice Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 248 Location: USA

When i first tried linux, i started with Gentoo. with the help of the forums and their handbook, Bam, up and running linux in one day, and had Gnome running perfect the next day.
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lookinin · Guru Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 486

Stormblazer · Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:28 pm Post subject:

I have a workaround for using Grub. I already had a Fedora Core installation, so rather than trying to re-install grub and such, I just used the grub installed by Fedora Core.
So, my suggestion is to try and use the bootloader as installed by another distro. Just make sure to reference the Gentoo partition properly, using full paths (Like (hd0,2)/boot/kernel-2.6.10 instead of /boot/kernel-2.6.10 for example)

measureyougive · n00b Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 1

I agree about the difficulty in installing linux, but there is something satisfying about it... seeing that I have reformated and re-tried installing about 10 times over the past month.

The reformatting was required because I don't know what I am doing, so just changed some setting in some config file while trying to make it work.. and then it ends up not even booting at all...

Usually I get to the point after installing a bootloader and rebooting (i follow the handbook exactly) and then it never loads up into a graphical interface... so I emerge KDE for example. this never solves anything... I am currently trying again to see if I can use GRP packages, but I can't seem to find any documentation in the handbook about how to use them...

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:00 pm Post subject:

measureyougive,

You can always recover a non booting system with the liveCD you used to install.
Boot the liveCD, skip the partitioning and making filesystems parts of the handbook, mount your partitions, including swapon /dev/... and do the chroot steps.
Your system is now running on top of the liveCD kernel. You shoul dreally get the GUI of your choice running in easy stages. X using twm, to show that X works, then GNOME/KDE/...box or whatever.
The rule to remenber is make it work first.
Make it faster, more functional later.
You really have to try hard to get a Linux install so badly damaged that the only way out is to start from the beginning
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