Welcome, and feel free to introduce yourself

[BrunoPT]

Hello,
My name is Bruno and I am Portuguese.
I use Linux as my main OS since 2009, the first distro I've used was Caixa Magica 12 (it was a Mandriva Fork in that time), since then I've used a lot of distros including (Arch, Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, OpenSUSE, TinyCore...).
I have some programming skills with some experience in Python2, PyQT, C++(QtCreator), PHP and a little Java.
I'm thinking about contributing to the community as soon as I have time for it, I just don't know were to start yet.

That's it, sorry for the English

[benmc]

Hi Bruno,

Welome to the Mageia forum and community.
Most of us have had a journey to Mageia, I hope you enjoy using Mageia.

As always, any and all contibutions are welcome.
Look here for suggestions : https://www.mageia.org/en/contribute/

Regards

BenMc

[cmit37bagw]

Hi you all,

A bit about myself. First got involved with computers while in graduate school in 1963. First programming experience was on an IBM 1620 Mod I with 20K bytes of memory. What a great machine to get introduced to computing! Went from that to an IBM 709 with 32K word memory, 7 track tape at 200 BPI, & innumerable vacuum tubes (valves for the Brits who speak the British dialect of English!). First professional job at Boeing working with a group that created mathematical definitions of curves & surfaces for the 747 using an IBM 7094II. Then to IBM S/360 & S/370 , Honeywell 58 & 2020 systems, HP 3000 & in the late '80s an IBC mini-computer running UNIX SVR1. Fell in love with UNIX & the UNIX philosophical way of doing things. In the early 90's, became aware of Linux. WOW!!

Currently using Windows XP on my desktop system & am looking at Linux as a replacement for XP. I like Fedora, but it's too bleeding edge for our use. Mageia looks very nice, so I am seriously looking at it as the XP replacement. Does anyone know of any Mageia users here in eastern Washington state? I have NO actual Linux experience & it would be nice to know someone nearby that could help me get started.

[benmc]

Hello and welcome to Mageia.

The forum is a good place to start learning about Mageia. Have a read here if you are unfamiliar with this type of forum viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2731
Unless you have an urgent issue that can't wait, most times a response will be in a few hours.
Or just search the forum for your problem. Search box is at the top of the page.
A lot of topics have already been addressed so any problems you have may already been solved by someone.
Have a look under MAQiea viewforum.php?f=36 for skype, flash and dropbox issues.

As not everyone lists their locality, you wont know if your neighbour is using Mageia.
Your background with Unix will put you in good stead.
I have been using Linux for about 10 years and currently have about 15 OSes in virtual boxes running on a Mageia base - from Debian to WinXP just to compare but prefer Mageia.

Enjoy using Mageia, I look forward to seeing you on the forum

[CutRightSharpening]

I gave it a -5 stars on day one at the end of this post. At this point on day 3 I am ready to give it a + 3 Stars.
Major negatives.
The default settings for "core release medium" and "external storage" were HUGE stumbling blocks.
The description of the package should make it clear that even though a different desktop is selected during the initial installation, you may not get it with a link to the WIKI to change it that specifically addresses how to change the default settings above.

But, At this point I think I can help a few friends.

Hi all,,
Just got started with Mageia 4. on a Gateway LT3120u

So far it has fought me every step of the way.

Even though I specified Cinnamon during the setup, it defaulted to KDE and on top of that it spread the desktop between the external monitor and the netbook display thereby hiding all the controls. Only figured that out when I noticed that the mouse would disappear off the side of the screen and opened the netbook and found them. Spent almost an hour hunting down the display settings and getting everything on the external monitor.

Had a flashing red ! mark that took me to an update screen so I told it to update. 4 hours of downloads!! Really?!? On top of 2 hours to download the ISO and make the boot-able USB and 3 hours to install??

A couple hours searching the wiki and I finally found instructions on how to switch the desktop to Cinnamon but I keep getting told to "insert core release medium". So far I have found nothing useful in the wiki about "core release medium".

Gave up and decided to install Chrome so I can keep all my devices synchronized. 2 hours later and I keep getting an >>> Unexpended error caused software not to install. Please report the bug through something that I don't even know how to find.

Really hope I can get this working since the videos I have watched make it appear to be the best way to replace all the functionality of a Windows XP machine with none of the expense.

So, after over 12 hours on this I have it barely functional.

I am going to take a hot bath and put the "core release medium" thing and the "failure to install" on the support forums tomorrow and see if someone there can point me in the right direction.

So far I give this -5 stars.

[benmc]

Welcome to Mageia

Sorry to hear you are having troubles

4 hours of downloads!! Really?!? On top of 2 hours to download the ISO and make the boot-able USB and 3 hours to install

Currently I am attempting to download a distro myself -the downloader indicates a download time of approximately 33hrs- and yes, I'm on a broadband connection.
Download speed from the mirrror can be slow if there is a lot of traffic between you and the mirror.
Not sure why the install took so long, I have a 10yr old AMD / 512Meg desktop unit that takes less than 30min to install from a usb stick from start to reboot into KDE , so maybe a dud iso write.
try writing large file to and from the usb - speed should be 4-20MiB/s, depends on the stick

Regarding

So far I have found nothing useful in the wiki about "core release medium".

this is referring to your usb that you made.
If you have a look at the Mageia Welcome there is a link to set up online repos. You can also uncheck the core release medium there and add non-free and tainted repos if you want.
You can also choose to select a different mirror that is faster / closer if required under the file option.

Mcc.png (88.7 KiB) Viewed 8439 times

regarding the Chrome failing to install please start a post on the forum as you have indicated.

Unexpended error caused software not to install.

, is there any other text, and what steps are you taking to perform the install?

looking forward seeing you on the forum

BenMc

[CutRightSharpening]

I also started with a 30+ hour download time. Aborted that and selected the mirror in Canada and got it down to 4 hours.

I I think I setup the online repos including the nonfree and tainted. I will check.

I tried the USB stick, It didn't seem to work. Maybe I didn't wait long enough. . Surely it doesn't need more than two hours??

[BrotherAdam]

sounds like you got a bad download or a bad burn to usb image... it should have booted up and given you the option to use within minutes...at least my copies did. Make sure you untick the box for the cd roms as well... You may be able to do that, and find a local board to mirror from, and from that, the computer may fix itself... Once I had done that with a UK server Mageia did something on mine that fixed the keyboard and screen issues I had originally...

[CutRightSharpening]

I did a full install, not trying to do a Live USB

[CutRightSharpening]

Welcome to Mageia
Regarding

So far I have found nothing useful in the wiki about "core release medium".

this is referring to your usb that you made.
If you have a look at the Mageia Welcome there is a link to set up online repos. You can also uncheck the core release medium there and add non-free and tainted repos if you want.
You can also choose to select a different mirror that is faster / closer if required under the file option.

Mcc.png

BenMc

If I NEED the Core Release Medium,, why would I want to "uncheck" it?

I did already turn on the "non-free" and Tainted".

Had to go into setting for "removable storage" and turn on the automatic mount settings. Not a default setting??

Now the USB shows up there as "Mageia-4-x86_64." Clicking the "HOME" does not show the USB as one of the "DEVICES".

As things were happening during the installation I was following this https://doc.mageia.org/installer/4/en/c ... roups.html

I think we have exceeded to bounds of a "Welcome Message" so if someone that knows how can move everything so far to the appropriate "support" group and let me know where it got put, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Thanks.

[CutRightSharpening]

Hi all,,
Just got started with Mageia 4. on a Gateway LT3120u
So far it has fought me every step of the way.
So, after over 12 hours on this I have it barely functional.
I am going to take a hot bath and put the "core release medium" thing and the "failure to install" on the support forums tomorrow and see if someone there can point me in the right direction.
So far I give this -5 stars.

OK,
Hot bath, some sleep, food and I am ready for battle again.
A bit about why I am willing to do the fight.
I have a lot of older friends that are on fixed income using older Win XP machines. They cannot afford a new machine and don't have the patience to learn a radically new system even if they had the money. They aren't power users. Just word processing, spread sheets, basic photo editing, printing, email and a bit of web surfing. Most are also still on older, slower wired connections. I would like to help them out.
My first Linux installation was Mint 15 Cinnamon on a MSI Wind u100 netbook. Loaded up, booted up, connected to the web and updated in about 3 hours from a purchased DVD. A little tweaking and the same background on the cinnamon as is on the XP and my older friend was right at home using the MSI on Mint 15 Cinnamon.

Next was a Dell B310. Not so easy because the older USB WiFI adapter wasn't supported on the DVD and I had to figure out how to setup an Ethernet connection to get to the web only to find out there wasn't any drivers for the adapter anyway. Ordered a Panda ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EQT0YK2/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1 ) so I could get rid of the wires and all is well.
Problem is, I am not having a lot of success getting the Mint to work on some of the machines. Especially Laptops.
Started researching and found out that I already owned what might be the best machine to pretest Distro compatibility on. The Gateway because it is according to this list >> http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/gateway.html impossible to put LInux on so, if I can get a distro to run on it, that distro should run on almost anything.
So far Mint 15 and 16 failed.
Fatdog worked pretty well but I am looking for a distro that offers a 32 bit version.
Bodhi went right on. Recognized that the BIOS and the Video on the Gateway is non-standard and offered 5 possible boot options. Two of them worked. Once booted it offered multiple profile layouts including one for a touch screen tablet but the Enlightenment desktop would drive my older friends nuts. Big turn off for me was that I could never figure out how to get the clock set to the right time. Never managed to get it to connect to the internet either.
Mageia Genome failed but KDE loaded with the weird spread out display setup.
So, I want to try out the other desktops to see if there is one that is even closer to XP/win classic using Mageia.

My goal is to be able to walk into their homes with a couple live DVD or USB, a Panda WiFi USB adapter, an external cd/dvd drive, a powered USB hub, my 20 GB MiFI on Verizon LTE and when I leave have them on a secure familiar functional system without spending any money.
Enjoy
P.S. I don't do terminal stuff.
Thanks

[benmc]

Hi again

Yes we may have gone overboard on this welcome post.

Thanks for persevering.

For the most part, your problems can be posted in basic support here: viewforum.php?f=7
There are specific sub headings for printing , video , networking and sound.
Please make a new post for each of your problems for clarity.
Eg The " always wanting to insert core release media " would probably just go under " Basic support "

BTW, it sounds like you are doing great with helping people see a different world of computing.

Benmc

[CutRightSharpening]

Hehehe,, Actually, If I could get them to see a different computing world, the Bodhi would be the easiest way to go. I have also tested it on the MSI and the Dell and both times it offered more than one boot option.

Whatever the developers put in the loader does a fantastic system analysis automatically.

[CutRightSharpening]

Alright, Day 2 about 10 hours and the progress was good.
Tested several different desktops and I still think Cinnamon setup for visually impaired in the accessibility settings is the way to go.
Got it set up so it boots right into the cinnamon without need to remember username or password which is what will work well for those who live alone or have family members monitoring them.
Got it to print to a wifi printer. No luck getting it to print on a LexMark 1185 all-in-one. Going to test on an HP D2660 Sunday.
Still cannot get Chrome to actually load. Says it loaded but it doesn't appear in the application list. Try again on that on Sunday.
But, may end up loading the Opera Browser as the default. One of my old friends likes it better than Chrome or Firefox. Loves being able to have a nice big button to click for his favorite pages. He found and used the settings to make Opera more low vision friendly. I didn't even know they were there.

[benmc]

Hi again

Good to know that positive progress is being made.


Re: Where are the Browser-Updates? e.g. Opera 12.17

have a look here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7552#p47957

for the chrome issue a new post in basic support is the way to go.

regards

Benmc

[benmc]

But, may end up loading the Opera Browser as the default. One of my old friends likes it better than Chrome or Firefox.

have a look here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7552#p47957

[CutRightSharpening]

Hi again

Good to know that positive progress is being made.


Re: Where are the Browser-Updates? e.g. Opera 12.17

have a look here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7552#p47957

for the chrome issue a new post in basic support is the way to go.

regards

Benmc

Humnnn,,,
Followed the link and was surprised to see that it appears that Opera has stopped updating the Linux Browser. Now the question is, what is the actual risk for someone that is only using it to access a web email service, say Yahoo or GMail, Facebook to keep up with family, and some major News sites?

I still want to get the Chrome thing sorted out but my work van is back on the road and I need to make money to do good with so probably won't start that before Sunday afternoon and actually work on it on Monday.

[BrotherAdam]

chrome may be listed as chromium in your depository... just same stuff...I had trouble getting chrome to work... but then a freind showed me chromium...and that they were the same thing but one for windows etc and the other for linux...

[CutRightSharpening]

Huh?? Since when did Chromium get the ability to synchronize with my Chrome browsers on other devices?

Update.. OK, Chromium DOES synchronize. Did not know that but this will make things a lot easier since many of my elderly friends are already on Chrome ( I put many of them there starting about a year ago when it became clear that IE8 simply wasn't up to the task of keeping them safe.) and have it set-up the way they want it.

So, I think I have all the pieces of the puzzle.

A Linux Distro that should load on anything since I was able to get it on the Gateway LT3120u with it's weird BIOS and low end graphics.
A Desktop environment that is close enough to WIN XP that my old friends will not feel completely lost.
A Browser that will pull their current Chrome settings onto it so they hit the ground running.

Probably need to spend some time looking at how to set-up for automatic updating. I think I saw something about that on day one as I was just trying to get something functional.

Now I can spend Sunday afternoon and some of Monday making 32 BIT live DVD's to do the initial test with, and a 32 BIT USB full installer. Test those on the MSI and the Dell B310.

When the Panda USB WIFI gets here put my kit together and do a little bit to help keep the internet safe by getting some XP machines offline.

[doktor5000]

Guys, please - this is not meant to be a discussion thread. If you have issues, please post in one of the support subforums,
and if you feel like discussing something, please use The Wizards Lair

Thanks for your understanding.

[petr]

Hello, the name is Pete, though I spell it differently (no real reason). Been an off and on Linux user until about 2-3 months ago where I am now full time . Am an unabashed beginner . Love all things Linux. Have ADHD meaning it's hard to focus, so I learn at a slower pace. That aside, I love this distro.
I have on my computer Ubuntu Studio (cut my teeth with), Manjaro (different type of system Arch which I am trying to learn), Sabayon (same reason), LMDE (same), and Mageia (same). I have to say this is definitely a good one. Am a private guy but hopefully friendly, willing to learn if you have patience, and willing to help if you have patience . Now...what to learn first...

[isadora]

Very welcome to the Mageia forum and community Pete!!!!
Great you have found your way to our magical distribution, which strength is to be found in it's community.
Mageia is set up and maintained by a large group of volunteers. Their ways to communicate vary, but the forum is the main place where most of the questions and ideas are discussed.
What to learn first? Maybe a short introduction might give some insight:
https://wiki.mageia.org/en/Newcomers_start_here

Have magical times around!!!!

[petr]

Thank you isadora for the kindness, and I'll do my best

[rene91]

Hi there,
My name is René (in France it's a male first name ). I have been using Mandrake, then Mandriva distro for years now at home and for my job as well. I just switched from OpenMandriva 2014 to Mageia 4 a few days ago because it sounds more stable to me. The only drawback is I had to install all DVB stuff that is included by default on OpenMandriva. DVB is the main reason why I wanted to stick to Mandriva flavour as a distro...
I am retired now but I use to work as an installation and support engineer for Pay TV Conditionnal Access systems with Canal+, NAGRA and Logiways. I am not a devoloper but I have also been working as a QA test engineer with NAGRA in IPTV domain. So if you need someone with free time to test sowtware, just ask.

Cheers

[isadora]

Rene, a very warm welcome to the Mageia-forum!!!!

I know Rene is a males first name in France, as it is in Holland. Though we also have women wearing the name.

Anyway, great to have you around. Wish you the finest of times with the distro and the Mageia-community.