grub: update
Darn, I just found
this page which possibly has a fix to the problem mentioned below! Omigosh, what would people do without the Internet?! Format the C drive and re-install Windows probably!! Just like the dunce did on my home PC :`-(
grub: WinXP/FC3 combo problems
A major
problem cropped up on the PC at home.
Grub stopped booting WinXP, saying:
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
Error 13: Invalid or unsupported executable format
They got a technician, who knew zilch about Linux. He tried repairing WinXP, which I knew wouldn't work. Finally, he had to format C drive and re-install Windows, overwriting the MBR n' removing access to FC3.
My advice: If you're installing Fedora on a system which already has Redhat, do NOT upgrade grub- leave it as it is..
strtod
Funny..
strtod doesn't support hexadecimal in
FreeBSD. Use this instead:
/*************************************************************************
* NAME: strtodec
* SUMMARY: Converts string to decimal number
* RETURNS: Returns the decimal number.
* AUTHOR: Sankar N.
************************************************************************/
int strtodec (const CHAR8 *src) {
/* Integer to hold resulting value */
int dec;
/* Check if the string contains a hexadecimal number */
if ( ('0' == *(src)) && ( ('x' == *(src+1)) || ('X' == *(src+1)) ) ) {
sscanf (src, "%x", &dec);
} else {
/* String contains decimal number */
sscanf (src, "%d", &dec);
}
return (dec);
}
smp
I read that a Linux kernel suffix of
smp implies a multi-processor system. Funny.. FC3 installed 2.6.9-1.667smp on my Intel P4 @ 2.8GHz (with HT)..
(Listening to Temple of the dog - Say hello to heaven...)
automount
Have been battling with /etc/fstab to automount the ntfs partitions at startup and make them accessible to ordinary users. Almost had to admit defeat, when I came across
the key.
/dev/hda1 /mnt/C ntfs ro,user,umask=0222 0 0
/dev/hda5 /mnt/F ntfs ro,user,umask=0222 0 0
(Listening to Collective Soul - The world I know...)
Music
I was stunned when XMMS didn't play MP3, popping up some message about copyright/patent issues. Well, I found the solution by doing an
rpm search for xmms-mpg123. The XMMS site showed me
where to get winamp equalizer presets. Useful!
(Listening to Eric Clapton - My Father's Eyes...)
FC3
I was home last week. I didn't have Linux, so I thought I'd install it. The ISO images were there at the
Fedora site.. for 3 CD's! My connection doesn't let me download that much, so I went to a shop and found just what I wanted!
LFY were giving a
Fedora Core 3 DVD with their mag! Everything worked fine- sound, cable modem, etc. all detected..
What's more, my dream came true.. It packaged Ximian Connector (MS Exchange support) with
Evolution. Back at work, I had to check it out pronto, so with the CDs, I installed it over Redhat and got the usual problem with the sound card, resolved from the
ALSA site.
Next, the
mount: ntfs not supported by kernel. I followed instructions and downloaded the rpm from the
Linux-NTFS site. Now thats working too! :)
Put the icing on the cake by configuring the drives to automount by editing the
/etc/fstab file. Ready to rock n' roll!!
