Hi all, I just have two problems -- and I'll be sooo Linux. I just tried out Linux Mandriva 2005 and it is so stable and kinda fast too. Anyway, during install: 1. It detected my modem -- right down to its make and model -- and installed it, but when I try connecting to the internet via dial-up, the system says I should re-configure my connection. Easy enough with the GUI and all, but after the configuration, the modem still remains inactive. By the way its an internal PCI (Conexant HSF56K) modem. As if the system can't initialize it. What to do? The hardware is 100% ok. 2. Mandriva detects and configures my Internal PCI-TV card also, but I get no picture or sound. I tried re-configuring it using the built-in Mandriva config manager (forgot its name), but it doesn't seem to do any good. Is there a generic driver I can use for a Philips-based TV/FM Card in Linux? The hardware is 100% ok. Any response is greatly appreciated.
Internal modems or 'WinModems' are not supported by linux, and when they are even remotely compatible they are very hard to get working! Go buy a external modem and your set. Also did you configure the modem as ttys0 or ttys1 or something else? This one, i have no idea, sorry!
I tried ttys0, I think, while tinkering with the configuration. Didn't help any. Okay, I always wanted an external unit anyway. Will Linux autodetect it when it's connected, or should I buy one with a Linux driver included? What's a good model for the external modem? Thanks for the response. Anybody know anything about the TV card?
External units are much better in many ways! First is they are easy to troubleshoot, they have data transfer lights etc.., they are usually faster than internal modems and best of in linux they DONT need drivers 99% of the time! If you do purchase an external modem any brand is good really but D-Link make some good products! Then in linux, assuming it's a Serial interface just configure it at ttys0, set up your account and password and then your set. It's also a good idea to 'query' your modem after configuration to see if it's AT command set is understood.
Any external modem with a serial interface will work fine, or an internal modem that's a real hardware modem (for instance, a Rockwell chipset). Serial modems require no drivers. Soft modems, also called "WinModems", are actually tweaked soundcards. Since all of the real work on a softmodem is done at the driver/software level, they aren't very well supported in Linux... of course, they don't work well in Windows either. As for your video capture issues, I have a cheapy Conexant 4-barrel capture card, and it works fine. Also, I routinely work with Hauppage and Osprey capture equipment in Linux, and I haven't had any problems so far. However, I'm not familiar with your specific hardware. So, for all that, I can't even say for sure if it's a compatibility problem or a simple configurational issue. Sorry. If you post a bit more detail on the chipset, I'll be glad to persue the issue further. All the best, -AT
Okay thanks guys. I'l try to get more info about my TV card. All I know is that in WinXp it uses Philips WDM7131 something. It's PCI and the interface says "QuickTV" -- it has FM and IR remote control. I'll get back to you on this. The Linux Pc is at home. By the way, the guy I got this copy of Mandriva Linux from says he's got a SUSE too. Which one is better for a real noob with only Windows background?
Okay, I'm using the Linux PC now. It's using a DLink External 56K and really needed no setup for the modem. Now for the TV Card -- not much more info except that it's made by kworld. any suggestions on what I should tweak or configure in Mandriva 2005 so I can get my TV stations back?
I like Mandriva. It doesn't take much work to get it setup as pretty ideal desktop or server OS. The default, out-of-the-box look of the Mandriva desktop is the only think I really don't like about it -- I think it's ugly, and starts up with a bunch of junk most people don't need. But it isn't difficult to get it set up exactly the way you prefer it (see the screenshots in my sig), and this is also an issue I've been talking to Mandriva developers about in great length. Future versions are by default going to look nicer and load with less "junk". Mandriva 2006 is already a step in the right direction for Mandriva. So, my rant aside, I'd say use Mandriva. Tweak it to look and behave the way you want it, and don't forget to set up your urpmi repositories. -AT
I don't know what happened, but now I can't boot into Linux. I tried all the choices it presents me at start-up, but the boot-up always ends with a line that says: "kernel panic -- CPU xxxx corrupt" and freezes. This happened just this afternoon. I tried re-installing the entire CD, and the install works well, but then it won't boot and stops with the same message. Is this A HARDWARE error? Everything works well with Windows Xp though. Any suggestions?
It could be that the HDD structure has changed, or possibly a hardware problem, but not likely. The reason I say this is that usually if there is a hardware problem, Linux will boot but not Windows. Is there anything else that changed on your system since the last time it worked properly?
The only thing that changed was when I took out the internal modem to prevent conflicts with the external modem I just bought. Linux worked with the new modem, I even got to post here using the setup, but the next day, that's what happened. WinXP Boots without a hitch.
Strange, very strange! I've never seen this problem before. I will ask around and see what I can discover.
Okay, AT. I've de-installed Mandriva for now. I tried re-installing it ther times. Same kernel panic notice came up each time. Thanks for any info. I'll be waiting.
