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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>A few comments about my first install of debian using the
3.1 install CD’s … I was hoping for something on the order of Mandriva.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The hardware: P1000, 512 MB RDRAM, 18 GB SCSI 160
system drive, 2 x 40 GB ATA100 RAID -0- extra storage, NV Ti 4800 Video. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Initially I had a problem with the two 40 GB ATA100 IBM
drives connected to a SIIG PCI raid card. First off, I didn’t
expect to be able to configure the ATA drives as RAID 0, and pretty much
expected to configure them as two separate 40 GB drives. After about the
third install attempt, which had nothing to do with the drive configuration
(Grub was not working, more about that in a moment) I discovered the automated
RAID configuration utility, and wham bam, one each, 80 GB RAID 0 partitiion
established. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Things began to look better, and after I scratched Grub and
used Lilo instead the install was off and running. A little while later I
was booting into Gnome and immediately wanted to increase the screen resolution
on my 19 inch Viewsonic analog montior from 800 x 600 to a more acceptable
1280x1024. This is where things got a little sticky again. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>First off, the default installation did not recognize the
fact that I was running a mainstream three year old GeForce Ti 4800 – 64 MB
video card with a 19 inch Viewsonic monitor, and would only allow me a max
resolution of 800 x 600. Next stop, Nvidia.com to download the latest
Linux drivers. After a little while jerking around with the Nvidia
drivers I decided that Debian was probably going to cost me nearly as much time
in configuration as a custom compiled Gentoo install and thus have decided to
scratch Debian and return to Gentoo.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>It is my opinion that between the extremes of a plug and
play installation like Mandriva, and the customised (compiled) installation of
Gentoo, there lays Debian. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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