[alt.os.linux.suse] FAQ

From: Kevin Nathan (knathan_at_project54.com)
Date: 05/19/04 

Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 02:48:40 -0600

Summary: alt-os-linux-suse FAQ and desired newsgroup behavior
Keywords: faqs suse linux
Organization: poor
Approved: not yet
Lines: ~883

Archive-name: alt/os/linux/suse/faq
Posting-frequency: monthly
Last-modified: Wed May 19 02:34:00 MDT 2004

        alt.os.linux.suse FAQ and desired newsgroup behavior
                          Kevin Nathan
                     aolsFAQ@project54.com

The latest version of this FAQ can be found at:

   <http://www.project54.com/linux/>

There is also an html version located at:

   <http://www.plainfaqs.org/linux/>

List of Changes:

        1. Feb 2004 - First draft
        2. Mar 2004 - Added Subjects 14 and 15
        2. Apr 2004 - Added Subject 16

------------------------------

Table of Contents

         1. Disclaimer
         2. Introduction and Intent
         3. Where do I find answers to questions not listed here?
         4. Why are my posts not answered?
         5. Accepted practices/behavior on alt.os.linux.suse
         6. Where are the .iso's for SUSE?
         7. I'm getting errors on ./configure for program XYZ
         8. I'm getting compiler errors on program XYZ
         9. I'm having problems with SUSE's FTP Install
        10. When is the next SUSE release?
        11. How do I get Kaffeine/xine to play DVDs?
        12. Samba doesn't work, or
            I can't see my windows shares, or
            I can't connect to my windows computer
        13. Why do I get 'Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server?'
        14: I've found a bug, what do I do?
        15: How do I upgrade to KDE x.y?
        16: Personal, Professional and Update - what's different?

------------------------------

Subject 1: Disclaimer:

This FAQ is written and maintained by Kevin Nathan, but the solutions
come from various sources not the least of which are the members of
alt.os.linux.suse itself. This FAQ is in no way endorsed or blessed by
SUSE. While I attempt to offer the best answers to the most frequently
asked questions, please be advised that anything you try from here is
done at your own risk, and the author/maintainer/contributors of and to
this FAQ cannot accept any responsibility for anything bad that happens
to you or your computer either directly or indirectly as a result of
any suggestion made here. This includes, but is not limited to:
fingernail gouges on your desk, loss of large clumps of hair from the
sides of your head, urges to self-immolation, offering up your
first-born, male child to the gurus of Linux, ad nauseum . . .

------------------------------

Subject: 2. Introduction and Intent

The intent of this FAQ is to provide new readers of alt.os.linux.suse
(referred to also as 'a.o.l.s.' or 'aols') a central place to get
acquainted with the newsgroup's desired and acceptable behavior as well
as providing a list of the more frequently asked/answered questions, in
an effort to reduce the 'noise level' on aols.

------------------------------

Subject: 3. Where do I find answers to questions not listed here:

There are many good information sources on the Internet for Linux in
general as well as SUSE-specific sites. First of all, there is the
SUSE site itself:

   <http://www.suse.com> or <http://www.suse.de>
   
>From there, you can navigate to the SUSE Support Database (SDB) or the
Hardware Database (HDB) for specific questions to research or just
wander the site and get a feel for what they have.

The next site to visit if SDB or HDB didn't answer your question, is
alt.os.linux.suse (aols) itself. If your question is not answered in
this FAQ, search the newsgroup via the Advanced Group Search on google:

   <http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en>

You may need to get creative with your search terms, but if you start
out fairly general you will see some of the results that may give you
hints on how to fine-tune the search. This is more of an acquired art
than it is a scientific process! :-)

If the group search didn't help, a normal Linux search on google may
yield results:

   <http://www.google.com/linux>

And don't forget the man/info pages! While these are sometimes (almost
always!) dry reading, they *do* contain much useful information. It's
another one of those "acquired art" things, though. The more you read
them, the better you learn *how* to read them. I tend to lean towards
the command line interface (CLI), but many newbies prefer to stay in
the graphical user interface (GUI) such as KDE or GNOME. I will try to
show examples from both camps whenever possible.

To access a man page from a terminal window:

   man commandname

If you know it's in a particular section of the man pages, e.g. section
7, you could do:

   man 7 commandname

If you want to learn more about the 'man' command:

   man man

This is also possible from the GUI with several different tools. From
KDE, open Konqueror (the little house icon) and in the location bar
enter:

   man:commandname
or
   #commandname

If there is a matching entry in more than one section, you will be
asked to pick one, otherwise it will just display the man page. You can
also use (if installed) programs like 'xman', 'tkman' and others. Just
press the Alt-F2 key for a quick command line input box and enter the
program there.

The 'info' program is similar, although better supported; man pages are
tending to fall into disfavor with some in preference to info pages. If
you are an emacs fan, this will work great for you:

   info commandname

If you are less than enthusiastic about emacs, consider installing the
'pinfo' program on the SUSE CDs. It's a little easier to navigate than
'info', especially for newbies:

   pinfo commandname

Once again, for those of you that prefer the GUI tools, open Konqueror
and enter in the location bar:

   info:commandname
or
   ##commandname

(Thanks go to Vic Ayres for making me aware of the 'hash' shortcuts.)

And then there are plenty of other sources on the web. They are worth
bookmarking and visiting from time to time. The more you acquaint
yourself with what these sites have to offer, the better chance you
have at solving your own problems. This is *not* a definitive list,
just a sampling -- if anyone out there has their own lists they would
like to have included here, just let me know!

  Linux Documentation Project: <http://www.tldp.org/>
  LinuxQuestions (geared to newbies): <http://www.linuxquestions.org/>
  JustLinux (was: linuxnewbie.org): <http://www.justlinux.com>
  Linux on Laptops: <http://www.linux-laptop.net/>
  Unofficial SuSE FAQ: <http://susefaq.sourceforge.net/index.html>

and a fun read, Eric S. Raymond's "The Cathedral and the Bazaar". I
highly recommend buying a copy, too. It's a very good look at the Open
Source community:

   <http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_3/raymond/>

(And, as a totally unnecessary observation, this book came out about the
same time I first tried Linux. Wow, wasn't *that* exciting?)

And don't forget about good, old-fashioned printed books. Some of the
better publishers, IMHO, are

   O'Reilly Publishing: <http://www.oreilly.com/>
   Wrox Press: <http://www.wrox.com/>

And the books that come with the Pro boxed set -- you *did* buy the Pro
boxed set, didn't you? I thought so . . . :-)

------------------------------

Subject: 4. Why are my posts not answered?

There can be several reasons for this.

The first reason is no one can answer it, or the ones that can answer
it have not yet seen it. If no one responds to your post in about a
week, consider reposting it or find a way to rephrase the question. Do
*not* repost it every day, or even every few days. Some people don't
get on aols every day, so be patient.

Another reason is you've not given enough information or you gave too
much. For instance: "My computer hangs at boot" will not get many
responses other than: "We need more info." Conversely, stating your
problem, whether well-formed or not and then including a 30K log file
without someone asking for it, will likewise generate few responses.
(There is an old standard NG-ettiquette of 25 lines or less as a
target for first post.) To better understand these two extremes,
please read this page, and take it seriously:

   <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>

And please remember: some people have to pay per [time-slice] for their
Internet access, so try to keep questions as short as possible while
still including enough information for reasonable analysis. If someone
requests you to post a log file, or other file, please try to trim it
down to just the relevant areas, if at all possible.

A third reason is asking a question that is either already answered in
this FAQ, or would be found by searching one of the sources listed
above in Subject 3. This shows you haven't done much (or anything) in
the line of researching your problem and just want a "quick fix". For
example, if you ask a question and I do a google.com/linux search and
get a bunch of hits on it, odds are good I won't bother to respond --
as many others will also do.

At a bare minimum, you should search the aols newsgroup for possible
answers to your question before asking it. A part of the Open Source
world is cultivating the habit of doing your homework. Yeah, I know,
it takes time and effort, but instant symptomatic relief is only
reasonable for treating pain, not lack of knowledge. Welcome to the
world of do-it-yourself computing! :-)

------------------------------

Subject: 5. Accepted practices/behavior on alt.os.linux.suse

This newsgroup is unmoderated, so you are free to ignore all the common
standards and practices mentioned herein; however, if you do, please
don't be surprised if flaming is the only response you see. The following
is a list of sites which it would behoove you to read thoroughly before
posting. While not definitive or exhaustive, the list summarizes the
accepted behavior on this newsgroup.

This ng follows the USENET standard of bottom-posting:

   <http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html>

Since there are a lot of questions asked here everyday, and some
threads get to be long-lived, one of the ways I (and others) have of
reducing the load is to simply skip any top-posted msg. While that's
not followed by everyone or, indeed, even all the time by me and
others, it *is* one method of getting quickly through 100+ messages
when trying to get caught up.

Hand-in-hand with bottom-posting, and just as important, is to learn
how to snip the original msg to show just those parts to which you are
responding. Please read this for guidelines on quoting correctly:

   <http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote2.html>

And another (short) site that summarizes it very well, "How not to look
like an idiot":

   <http://www.i-hate-computers.demon.co.uk/>

And don't forget the "How to ask questions the smart way" page, pointed
out earlier in this document:

   <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#rtfm>

This is one of the best documents on how to ask (and answer) questions
in a newsgroup and is worth re-reading every few months.

Some other behaviors, and points, to consider:

   1. Do not to respond to trolls -- it can be tempting sometimes, but
   rarely fruitful. It's gotten to the point where I'm seriously
   considering adding to my kill-file any msg that contains "advocacy"
   or "windows" in the newsgroup list. :-)

   2. Avoid the "this works fine on Windows" comments, unless it's used
   to indicate that the hardware works and you've taken at least that
   step to verify it. Most of us using Linux full-time couldn't care
   less whether software Z works on Windows. For every example you can
   give for Z working better on Windows than Linux, I (or someone else)
   can give the converse examples. This just degenerates into a pissing
   contest barely distinguishable from a troll. Plus, Linux works the
   hardware considerably harder and will find borderline problems
   *long* before Windows will, therefore the "well it works just fine
   on Windows" isn't always a guarantee of properly operating hardware
   either.

   3. Realize that there really *are* stupid questions, and try to make
   sure yours isn't one of them! :-) Yes, there really are -- and I've
   asked my share of them. Conversely, don't be afraid to ask what
   *you* think is a stupid question, others may have the same question
   and are just hoping someone else will ask it -- just make sure
   you've done all the research which you can possibly imagine might
   be relevant. It's that extra effort of *trying* to find an answer
   that will get you more and better responses.

------------------------------

Subject: 6. Where are the .iso's for SUSE?

SUSE does not provide iso images of it's installation CDs. They have a
"live evaluation" CD iso, which can help you decide if you want to try
it or not. The only 'free' option to installing SUSE is by FTP or by
downloading the ftp tree (skipping the big 'sources' dir if you want)
and installing from another computer (nfs). If you don't yet know what
nfs is, then you should stick to either the ftp install or buy a boxed
set.

For newbies, the books included in the Pro edition are well worth the
purchase price. If you are already familiar with Linux admin, then
consider buying the 'Update' version, which is the same as the Pro,
just fewer books. In any case, the User Guide and the Admin Guide are
installable as html (and, I believe, pdf) files.

------------------------------

Subject: 7. I'm getting errors on ./configure for program XYZ

Look carefully at the error msgs, concentrating on the first one or two
only. See what file/library/program it's talking about and then verify
that you not only have that package installed but *also* the '-devel'
version of it. The '-devel' versions have the header files (and a few
source code files if needed) that you must have to compile programs
that use that system.

------------------------------

Subject: 8. I'm getting compiler errors on program XYZ

See the answer in Subject 7: -- it's very often the same solution. If,
however, it's giving a 'command not found' type of error message, make
sure that package is installed. Searching in YaST Control Center ->
Install and Remove software should find it for you; but, if not, try
this command:

   pin nametofind

where 'nametofind' is what's listed in the error msg. The output of that
command will contain several, or many, lines and you will need to find
the line where the match occurred and install the package name as listed
towards the left side of the line.

Remember, compiling on Linux is not hard or necessarily complicated in
most instances; but, it's also not for the easily-frustrated! Examine
the error msgs very closely and stop at the *first* error, to resolve it
before going on to the others -- you often get 'cascading errors' after
the first one and clearing *it* up will eliminate some of the remaining
errors.

To resolve the errors, search this newsgroup on groups.google.com for a
representative phrase from the error. Odds are pretty good you will find
a discussion of your problem, or one very much like it. If you *cannot*
find anything there -- and you have tried more than one search phrase --
try a general google search, using google.com/linux first and then
google.com if the Linux search found nothing relevant. If all of that
fails, *then* as the newsgroup. Remember, as stated above, Linux is a
'do-it-yourself' OS so try to DIY first. Points will be deducted from
your overall score if you don't . . . :-)

------------------------------

Subject 9: I'm having problems with SUSE's FTP Install

Erich Friesen wrote up a very good mini-HOWTO on this. Rather than
include it all here, I've set it up as a simple web page:

   <http://www.project54.com/linux/SUSEftpInstall.html>
   
Erich would appreciate any comments, suggestions, corrections, etc.
at:

   <mailto:erichbf@netscape.net>

------------------------------

Subject 10: When is the next SUSE release?

I've never understood why this is such a frequently asked question. "It
will come out when they release it" is the easy response. Generally,
they release about every six months. Now that Novell has bought SUSE,
we'll just have to wait and see how they change it . . .

------------------------------

Subject 11: How do I get Kaffeine/xine to play DVDs?

Arne Bjørn Henriksen posted a msg recently that seems to cover this
topic very well. Since I don't have a DVD player with which to test
this, I will rely on comments/questions from those of you who do. :-)

You need following from http://packman.links2linux.org/

   The following is a list of the files:

   curl-7.10.7-0.pm.1.i586.rpm
   kaffeine-0.4-0.pm.1.i686.rpm
   libdvdcss2-devel-1.2.8-0.pm.2.i686.rpm
   libdvdnav-0.1.9-0.pm.1.i586.rpm
   libdvdread-0.9.4-2.pm.1.i586.rpm
   libfame-0.9.0-4.pm.1.i686.rpm
   libogg-1.1-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libogg-devel-1.1-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libtheora-0.0cvs20031122-0.pm.0.i586.rpm
   libxine1-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-aa-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-alsa09-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-arts-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-devel-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-directfb-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-dvb-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-dvd1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-dxr3-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-esd-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-flac-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-gnome-vfs-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-ogg-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-sdl-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-w32dll-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   libxine1-xvmc-1 rc3a-0.pm.0.i686.rpm
   xine-ui-0.9.23-0.pm.0.i586.rpm

   In addition i had to download following and create rpm:
   libdvdcss-1.2.8.tar.bz2
   libdvdcss2-1.2.8-0.pm.2.nosrc.rpm

   From those i created: libdvdcss2-1.2.8-0.pm.2.i686.rpm
   and installed this one normal way.

------------------------------

Subject 12: Samba doesn't work
            I can't see my windows shares
            I can't connect to my windows computer

INTRODUCTION

The samba server software allows your client windows computers to use
their built in SMB protocol to connect to the host linux shares.

The samba client software allows your client linux machine to install
and use the SMB protocol to access shares on the host windows computer.

samba server <--windows
samba client --> windows

Suse Professional version includes samba software.

Suse Personal edition does not include the samba software, but it can
be downloaded from:

   <ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/9.0/suse/i586/>
   
fetch:

   samba-2.2.8a-139.i586.rpm
   samba-client-2.2.8a-139.i586.rpm
   samba-doc-2.2.8a-139.i586.rpm

To confirm whether samba is installed, as root type at the command
line:

   smbd -V
   
This should return the message: Version 2.2.8a-SuSE. (Of course, this
will change based on the version you download!)

SETUP

The samba configuration file is: /etc/samba/smb.conf. Be sure to make a
backup copy first before modifying this file by copying the original to
smb.conf.orig.

Open smb.conf in a text editor and make the following changes:

   workgroup = (use the windows workgroup)

beneath workgroup, add:

   netbios name = (use the name of the suse computer)
   encrypt passwords = yes

scroll down and uncomment:

   ;[public]
   ; comment = Public Stuff
   ; path = /home/samba (change to what you will use on your computer)
   ; public = yes
   ; writable = yes
   ; printable = no

SWAT (Samba Web Administration Tool)

Although a direct edit of the smb.conf file is pretty easy and
straightforward, a GUI utility to create and edit smb.conf does exist.
In YAST, network services, enable swat. Access SWAT at:

   http://localhost:901
   
and use root as the user and the root pw to access the utility.
Remember to restart the samba service after any changes. Once again,
remember to back up the original /etc/samba/smb.conf before running
SWAT the first time -- the original file has good comments in it and
SWAT will throw all of them away.

Another tool to use is Webmin -- but that is left as an exercise for
the reader . . . :-)

TEST

At the command line, type:

   testparm

The output will confirm that your smb.conf file is in the appropriate
format.

PREPARING YOUR LINUX COMPUTER

Make sure you are using a user account with a password -- do not run
your system as root!

Make your user a samba user -- as root in a console type:

   smbpasswd -a your_user_name
   New SMB password: [use the same pw as the user account pw]

Restart the samba service -- as root in a console, type:

   rcsmb restart

PREPARING YOUR WINDOWS COMPUTER

Create and use a user account with the same name and same pw as the
samba user created above. Do not run as administrator and do not use a
password-less account.

Make sure file and print sharing is activated. Use TCP/IP as the
dominant protocol. Samba cannot use IPX or Netbios. Share a directory
on the Windows computer.

ACCESSING SHARES

Your linux home directory and public directory will be visible in
Network Neighborhood on the Windows computer. It takes Network
Neighborhood up to 15 minutes to discover new computer shares and a
reboot of the Windows computer may speed up this process.

The shared windows directories can be browsed on Suse using
LinNeighborhood, Komba, Gnomba, XSMBrowser and other SMB gui utilities.

An excellent guide to mounting windows shares permanently can be found
at:

<http://www.justlinux.com/nhf/Filesystems/Mounting_smbfs_Shares_Permanently.html>

TROUBLESHOOTING

An excellent step by step tutorial for setting up a simple samba
network can be found at:

   http://samba.netfirms.com/

A very detailed, comprehensive fault tree to troubleshoot your samba
setup, that is easier to run through than first glance would suggest,
is:

   http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/samba/chapter/book/ch09_02.html

------------------------------

Subject 13: Why do I get 'Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server?'

You are trying to run a GUI program as root while you are logged in as
a normal user. Some distros allow this automatically in their
configuration; SUSE is a bit more paranoid about security. For the
quick answer, instead of doing:

   su
   (enter root password)
   
do:

   sux
   (enter root password)

If you want more detail on what is going on, you can read through this
script file at: /usr/X11/bin/sux. Or, you can learn about 'xhost' by
reading the man or info page.

------------------------------

Subject 14: I've found a bug, what do I do?

First of all, have you really found a bug, or have you misconfigured
something? Check all the documentation you can find. You may find the
software is doing what it's supposed to, but it's not what you expected.

No, I really have found a bug.

OK, have other people found the same bug? Search google to see if other
people have had the same problem, and got round it somehow. Also check to
see if you have the latest version, the problem may have already been
fixed.

No. I think I'm the first to notice it.

Right, is it a package included with SUSE, or is it something SUSE have
created e.g. YAST2. If you are not sure, do an internet search for the
program name, and see if there is a home page for the package. If there is,
they will probably have a bug reporting procedure. Search the site to see
if someone else has already reported the problem.

If you think it is a problem with SUSE created package, then you can report
the bug at

 http://www.suse.de/cgi-bin/feedback.cgi

then follow the link for Technical Feedback.

------------------------------

Subject 15: How do I upgrade to KDE x.y?

There are several methods here. The first one is via ftp online:

   1. yast->software->change-source-of-installation
   
   2. add->ftp ... ftp.suse.com
   
   3. set the directory to:
      pub/suse/i386/supplementary/KDE/update_for_9.0/yast-source/
      
   4. 'enable' this entry and 'disable' all others
   
   5. yast->software->install-or-remove-software, filter->selections,
   click on each section and for each one, on the right-hand pane
   (package selections), right click and "all in this list", "update if
   newer version available".
   
   6. hit 'accept' when done.
   
You could also download the dir structure (above) to another box on your
network and set up an ftp server there.

If you are unable to do an online ftp update, download the same dir as
above (remember to change this as required when versions change) and
download all the RPM files into one directory, then:
   
   su
   (enter root password)
   init 3
   cd /dir/where/you/saved/rpms
   rpm -Uvh --nodeps --force *.rpm
   init 5
   
This is riskier, but often works. You can run the rpm command with
'--test' first to see what errors you might get. This is really only
recommended for a minor version upgrade.

The following method is more detailed and, although specific to KDE 3.2,
should be applicable as newer versions come out. Just adjust dirs and
such as needed:

1. First download, the kdebase3-3.2.0-7.i586.rpm rpm. Place this in a
temporary directory that you have access rights to. You will need to
run this rpm AFTER the install. For saftey sakes, I would recommend
downloading the kdebase3-kdm-3.2.0-7.i586.rom as well. Place it in the
same temp folder that you have access to. You will need the first, and
possibly the second.

2. Launch Yast 2 as root, or you will need the root password once you
launch it.

3. Under Software, Choose the "Change Source of Installation". Click
"ADD" and choose "FTP".

4. For the "Server Name" type in ftp.gwdg.de

5. For the "Directory on Server" type in (all on one line):
pub/linux/suse/ftp.suse.com/suse/i386/supplementary/KDE/update_for_9.0/yast-source

6. For "Authentication" select the checkbox Anonymous. Click "OK".

7. Make sure that both your default installation src (Suse Linux
Version 9.0 URL dvd:///;devices=/dev/..." Status is On. If the status
is not ON, enable it by clicking the "Enable" button. Make sure you new
Name (ie supplementary KDE 3.2 update) "Status" is also on. If it is
not, highlight it and click the "Enable" button.

8. Go back to Yast2 and from the "Software" section, select "Install
and Remove Software". Make sure that your Suse Source DVD or CD-ROM is
installed in your CD-ROM/DVD.

9. From the "Filter" Drop Down List Box Choose "Selections". Find the
KDE Desktop Environment section on the left hand side of the Wizard.
Right click it and select "All in this List" and select the Sub-menu
"Update if newer version available".

10. Go to the "All of KDE" section. Right click on it and choose the
"All in this list" option. Select the sub-menu, "Update if newer
version available" again, as per above.

11. If you are using KDE development environment, find the "KDE
Development" Section". Right click and select "All in this list."
Select the sub-menu item, "Update if newer version available." Click
"Accept".

12. You will go through several screens probably, listing dependency
problems. Try and correct these by either selecting to remove the
offending packages or select update these as well. Click and handle
these listed dependecy problems until the dependency issues are solved.
DO NOT CHOOSE TO IGNORE ALL OF THEM... When the dependency issues are
dealt with, The FTP update will then run.

13. When the update has completed, reboot Suse Linux and use the
"Failsafe option". Login from the terminal, and run "startx". If your
systems does not startx or KDE, you should have a list of which
dependency files are missing. Install these using rmp -ivh *.rpm name,
or load them from the Suse DVD or CD-ROM.

14. You will need to install the rpm kdebase3-3.2.0-7.i586.rpm AFTER
you have upgraded. For some reason the Suse version conflicts with this
one, and it cannot be resolved, until the rest of the KDE is in place.

15. After you install the missing files (from your Suse DVD or CD-ROM,
I had two missing, I cannot remember their names, sorry), I installed
the kdebase3-3.2.0-7.i586.rpm and then tried to startx again. This
time, KDE 3.2 booted and ran perfectly. I did have to reinstall some of
my KDE programs again, from the KDE 3.2 rpm packages (*NOTE : DO NOT
TRY AND INSTALL THE KDE programs from your DVD or CD-ROM AFTER THIS..
YOU WILL FRY THE KDE 3.2). Therefore, after your upgrade or before, it
might not be a bad idea to download all of the KDE 3.2 RPMS and burn
them to a CD-ROM in case you need them again.

------------------------------

Subject 16: Personal, Professional and Update - what's different?

SUSE's website usually lists package differences among these three
forms of each version; just hunt around a little on their site and you
should be able to find it. Briefly, Personal is suitable for first time
Linux users that just want to check it out; it's missing most of the
development stuff and the server stuff, among others, but they can all
be downloaded from SUSE's ftp site if you need them. The important part
is the 'User Guide' which helps new users get it installed and usable!
The Professional includes all of the programs that SUSE provides with
their distro -- and it's amazingly complete when compared to other
distros, at least in my experience. The Update version is the same as
the Professional version without the User Guide.

Related to this question is: 'Do I need a previous version of SUSE to
buy the Update version?' and the answer is NO. This is *not* Windows!
:-) For a general breakdown (may vary a little from version to version
but essentially correct):

   Personal - 3 CDs, User Manual and Admin Manual
   Professional - 5 CDs, 1 or 2 DVDs, User Manual and Admin Manual
   Update - 5 CDs, 1 or 2 DVDs, Admin Manual

It's called "Update" because it's missing some of the books -- which
is also why it's cheaper. If you are a first time Linux user you
should *not* be buying the Update because you will not have all the
books you might need to get you going in it. "Update" implies that
you have a running Linux system, or at least know Linux.

The User Guide and Admin Guide are also included as installable packages
in PDF and HTML -- look for packages named something like:

   suselinux-adminguide
   suselinux-userguide

------------------------------

Subject: Contributors

Most of the solutions and suggestions come from members of the
newsgroup and very few are my originals. I have just compiled them into
this FAQ and hope it's useful for someone out there.

I would like to personally thank Ed Hurst for giving of his time and
talent in editing this document and pointing out some of the more
glaring errors I've made. His efforts make this a much better document
and any remaining errors are my fault (more than likely added after Ed
last looked at the document).

As people offer their questions/solutions, I will list them here; but
only if they request it. I do not want to single anyone out without
prior permission -- the only exception here is if I used a newsgroup
post they made, I will list the name under which they posted it. What
the hey, it's already public info, so don't complain, OK? :-)

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for ... the envelope,
please! (in no particular order)

Ed Hurst
Erich Friesen
Arne Bjørn Henriksen
Vic Ayres
Karen <karensw@spamcop.net>
Dave Clarke
mjt
pdiddy

------------------------------

Subject: The fine print

(c) Copyright 2004 by Kevin Nathan. Redistribution of this document is
hereby freely granted so long as the document is redistributed in its
entirety (here interpreted as all text which were not automatically
generated by software as part of the distribution process); in
particular, with attributions and this copyright notice and as long as
it's done free of charge. Any commercial redistribution will first
require the consent of the author, who can be contacted at:

   <mailto:aolsFAQ@project54.com>

I would also appreciate hearing about any redistributions, if only to
point out alternate sources from where users may read it.

Comments about, suggestions about or corrections to this posting are
welcomed. If you would like to ask me to change this posting in some
way, the method I would prefer would be for you to include the original
"Subject n:" section followed by your suggested changes/additions. If
you simply want to add something to the section, just put the
additional lines in the included section and preface them with a "+" in
column one.

If you have any other comments, changes, additions, deletions, etc.,
and are unsure of how to proceed, simply send me an email at:

   <mailto:aolsFAQ@project54.com>

with a short, descriptive subject such as: "Section X. -- Change" or
"General Comment" or "Error in Subject X." or "How do I . . .". Use
your common sense and imagination -- humor helps get my attention, too!
:-)