Source-based Linux distributions from a beginner's perspective
(contributed by Arvan Reese)
Source-based Linux distributions
from a beginner's perspective
(contributed by Arvan Reese)
I
recently decided to build a Linux installation from scratch. I am not a
programmer or a professional writer. I am however, very enthused with Linux and
want to offer my experiences to other non-programmers in the hope that it will
inspire or invite them to take the plunge from Windows to Linux. I also hope
that my comments will be read by programmers, to see opportunities for
themselves to make their Linux creations more available to
non-programmers.
To preface
this article, I want to say that I don't believe that any one distro is better,
worse, good or bad. I really know very little about Linux and this story should
be proof of that. So, to the programmers that read about my mistakes with their
creations, please don't be
offended.
Why did I want to
compile from source?
I've been
using PC's since 1989. I used MS DOS, Win 3.11, Win 95/NT4.0/XP. Back with DOS
and Win 3.11, I grew used to constantly tweaking the system files and memory
settings in order to install a new program. I think that experience actually
gave me the perseverance to dive into the OS repeatedly. A trait that is really
helpful in Linux. Or, as my spouse says - I like messing with things and I'm a
control freak. No need to comment further on that
subject.
I started using Linux
about 15 months ago. I built a working PC from the scraps of three discarded PCs
I found when walking the dog. I named this PC 'the frankenputer' because I
created life from the parts of dead PCs. I thought that if I had a free PC, I
might as well try a free OS. So...Linux it
was.
I used Mandrake for almost
one year. I loved how easily it installed. However, my NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400
didn't work as well in Linux as it did in Windows XP. (Note to beginners -
create a dual-boot system! It was extremely helpful for getting drivers, .iso
images to burn and access to the User Forums to get questions answered. Don't
cut your umbilical cord to e-mail, web surfing and games. You may need to blow
off some steam in Castle Wolfenstein.) Mandrake is great, but I couldn't get the
graphics to perform as quickly. Yes, I do know that the NVIDIA drivers are a
'challenge'. Still, I have what I have and I want what I want. Also, with
Mandrake I noticed that while installing programs from source, Mandrake
sometimes had locations for files that differed slightly from the source code's
expectations.
Then, I jumped
into Slackware. I chose it because Red Hat's package management was similar to
Mandrake and because I wanted to learn a little more about how Linux works. I
also heard that Slackware is very UNIX-like and that intrigued me. I got along
with Slackware pretty well and had better luck compiling programs. Still, I
didn't get the video performance that I wanted. I also ran into some of the same
installation problems when compiling from source. I had been reading about
getting the best performance by using a source-based distro for months and
decided to take the plunge. Actually, I had heard about source-based distros
from this web site early on in my Linux adventure. I even tried Lunar, Source
Mage, Sorcerer and Gentoo in my first month. However, as a beginner I was in way
over my head! My knowledge gap was too big and installing from the prompt or
ncurses was too scary.
How did I
prepare?
As I said, I had a
dual boot. I downloaded a free program for Windows called the Belarc Advisor. I
used it to verify my hardware. I printed the manuals for all my hardware, MB,
graphics card, NIC, Monitor, HDDs,
etc.
I backed up my e-mail and
saved files on a separate drive and configured my e-mail program to leave mail
on the POP server of my Internet provider. Then, I printed the installation
documents for the distro that I would use, punched them into a 3-ring
binder.
I also gave myself two
mental tools. First, I set a goal of success in 30 days. This is good practice
because most CD-ROM installations (Mandrake, Slackware, Windows, etc.) all
happen pretty quickly. Compiling is slow and if someone like me is doing it, it
goes REAL slow! I make many mistakes and there's a lot that I don't know about
Linux. Which leads to my second gift to myself - I gave myself permission to
make lots of mistakes. The files were saved, e-mail and addresses wouldn't be
lost, so all I needed to do was keep at it and be patient. Expect the process to
take a long time - longer than you
think.
What
happened?
Remember, none of my
experiences and challenges are distro based. They're me based. What I know and
really - what I don't know are the main factors in how things turned
out.
I started with Lunar Linux
1.4.0. After a few stops and starts inside the installation, I was able to boot
into the Lunar Linux. The installation instructions were OK. I definitely
recommend access to the user forum for this one. I started the basic lin process
(lin perl, lin moonbase, lin lunar, lunar update) but I couldn't get GNOME to
compile completely. There were some broken dependencies with Gconf. I spent a
couple of days on the forum looking for help and decided to try something else.
I did learn something that I found helpful and a little more familiar. I
installed and configured XFree86, my mouse and then installed XFce4 and Mozilla.
These both compile pretty easily and allowed me to surf the user forums without
having to reboot into Windows. I used this technique on every install afterward
and suggest it to everyone when compiling a source-based distro. I felt that if
I knew a little more about Linux, then I would have been fine with this
distro.
I went to Source Mage
0.9.2. I had a few botched installs and then got a bootable Linux. However, I
ran into trouble getting my NVIDIA drivers to work. The NVIDIA program was
looking for kernel headers and the CD-ROM kernel didn't install them on my HDD.
I checked the forum for this problem and there was a bug open, but I didn't know
how to work the solution. There was also a broken depend on hdparm. I had some
more trouble with GNOME compiles being incomplete. There was one 'spell' that
needed an extra line break at the end of the file for it to compile correctly. I
got GNOME up, but getting OpenOffice.org to install was real hard. After about a
week, I moved on. Once again, my lack of Linux skill hampered me. The
installation instructions are nearly identical to Lunar. In fact, by reading the
two of them, I was able to get further along with both installations. I did
manage to get the nifty little audio program to work and every time I
successfully compiled something, Captain Kirk told me how happy he was. That
broke up the install monotony and made me laugh every time. Still, I wanted
more.
My third stop for
compiling from scratch was Gentoo 2004.0. Their installation document was
DETAILED!!! It covered everything. I got frustrated when I installed everything
exactly as they mentioned - but I couldn't boot into Linux. I did it over and
over until I found the problem - Gentoo uses Grub as a bootloader and I was
dual-booting with my Linux partitions on the second hard drive. Only by
researching Grub did I find that it only wants to be on the first hard drive.
This detail wasn't in the Gentoo installation documents. (I hope that they put
it in for rookies like me.) I reinstalled, this time with Lilo and voila! I was
in Linux. Gentoo has other documents for Desktop configuration, printing, ALSA
and more. I do recommend reading the documents on Portage, USE=options,
rc-update, ALSA and more. I made a mistake that forced me (from knowing any
alternative) to rebuild. However, since I learned the Lilo vs. Grub trick, it
has been smooth sailing. I have installed GNOME, KDE, AfterStep, XFce, Xsane,
Evolution, Mozilla, Setiapplet, GIMP - all without
fail.
Conclusion
My graphics are faster. I'm still playing with AGP options to see where I'm most
satisfied. I've got some games programs to install, but Gentoo has a forum
devoted to games, so I am sure that I'll be OK. My choice is Gentoo because I
got it to work. I really wanted Source Mage and Lunar to work, but I just needed
a little more help at install. Gentoo provided that and, outside of the Grub
issue, I will bet that anyone who follows the Gentoo instructions will be able
to get a Gentoo Linux up and running. I'm really happy with the
results.
I feel a great sense
of accomplishment by compiling my own Linux, from source, just the way I want
it. I learned more about Linux and I haven't booted into Windows in 3 months.
Posted: Thu - May 13, 2004 at 05:30 PM