On November 11, 2003 11:33 pm, Melissa Reese wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Hello, > > A few days ago, I ordered the Mandrake 9.2 PowerPack from the > mandrakestore.com site, and I guess it'll arrive in a week or so.
<snip> First set of questions answered elsewhere far better than I could :-) > Apparently, in addition to the LG based CD ROM/CD-RW problem, there > are several other possible unhappy issues listed on that site that can > cause other problems during and after installation. Some of the issues > don't seem so minor. > > I'll be reading up and trying to understand all these issues more > thoroughly, and about the installation patches mentioned, but my > impending installation is making me a bit more nervous as the time > draws closer. I've been at this for years and I always get nervous about these things. I think its a good thing. > > A few more questions: > > 1) Are these sorts of problems just "the way it is" with this > product? Or is it just that this particular version release is > especially troublesome? Either way, I'm not feeling exactly > wonderful about all this. It's not only "the way it is" with Mandrake it applies to every every known OS there is, including Windows. At least with Mandrake, and Linux in general, you get to see the bugs in quick order and they're often repaired very quickly as well. At least in comparison to Microsoft. > > 2) Does any of this mean that my soon to arrive "PowerPack" is > expected to be kind of a "lemon" out of the box? Nah. It's perfectly good. Anything missing can be downloaded with urpmi once the sources are set and you're off and running. > 3) As a total "newbie" getting ready to perform my first Linux > installation, should I be concerned enough about these various > issues that I should perhaps pay my local computer tech to come > over here and hold my hand as I go through this process? You could if your computer tech isn't a Windows weenie who only knows wizards and the MS bible of "reinstall if it doesn't work". A hard habit to get out of, I can tell you. Mandrake should install trouble free. One thing I have noticed is don't let it install upgrades. Skip that part and then do it from a running system. It seems to be much faster that way. > I don't want to sound like a whining Windows wimp, but I really want > to get this right, and at this point, I must say that I'm not feeling > quite as optimistic as I was just a few days ago. Any ideas and/or > encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Be encouraged and be optimistic. Some issues may/will present themselves and that's what this list is here for. Also bookmark Twiki as soon as you get going as it's a wonderful resource. Mandrake installs as easily as Windows, in fact more easily in a lot of cases. And take some time to learn. One of the joys of this operating system is the chance to get under the hood and tweak till it runs just the way you want it to. And don't worry a great deal about the complaints and issues you see here or on usenet. We tend to be hard on Mandrake but that's only because we, as a community, expect a great deal and care a great deal about it. Have fun! ttfn John
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