Into.the.Void.

As I’ve said some time ago I wanted to switch to linux for desktop use. I started 3-4 days ago and I now have a fully working system. Until now there’s no application that I need and I couldn’t find a linux alternative. In fact I am using many applications I was using when I my desktop had windows, like openoffice, gaim, firefox, thunderbird, etc etc.
I had some slight problems though that I had to overcome.
A) How to import my firefox settings from windows.
I wanted all my passwords, bookmarks, history, etc etc. I googled for quite some time and I could only find how to import history and bookmarks, not a word about passwords. Anyway I’ve found out a solution, and here it is. Go to your “windows” firefox profile directory and copy:
1) key3.db
2) signons.txt
3) a file with numbers ending in .s (like 3143432.s)

to your linux firefox profile directory. In your linux directory open up prefs.js (while firefox is closed) and add a line to the file like this:

user_pref(“signon.SignonFileName”, “3143432.s”);

Start up firefox and you have probably all your passwords transfered from windows to linux. 🙂

B) Make audigy 2 work!
I supposed that having the latest kernel 2.6.10 and just enabling alsa and emu10k1 as a module would be enough. WRONG! I needed to disable alsa emu10k1 module from kernel and emerge alsa-drivers and alsa-utils. 2.6.10 Kernel provides 1.0.6 alsa driver while in order to make audigy2 to work you need 1.0.7. Hail Gentoo forums.

C) Find out what is going on with the ati-drivers.
I have a Radeon 9500Pro and finding out what drivers I should use in xorg.conf and in console framebuffer was a real pain. What are the proper modules to load in xorg.conf ? What’s needed for opengl ? And so many other questions…Gentoo’s forums were helpfull for once more. I emerged ati-drivers and ati-drivers-extra then fired up fglrxconfig. It created a very nice xorg.conf for me…that I only had to tweak a bit. Now I am enjoying opengl acceleration in X windows (I am even playing tuxracer!). About console framebuffer now…Well, don’t enable ati drivers in your kernel. Go to:
Device Drivers —> Graphics support —> <*> VESA VGA graphics support -> VESA driver type (vesafb-tng)
and DISABLE all ati-crap (at least that’s how it works for me). Then go to HOWTO fbsplash follow it and you’ll have nice framebuffer console support with *splash support. When I had ati-drivers enabled I could not get any *splash to work. Maybe it was my fault…but hey..it works now!

D) How to change from English to Greek keyboard in X ?
First read this excellent guide from www.linux.gr:
http://members.hellug.gr/djart/articles/grlinux/grlinux-1.html#ss1.5
Then read this:
http://members.hellug.gr/djart/articles/grlinux/grlinux-2.html#ss2.8
and finally this:
http://members.hellug.gr/djart/articles/grlinux/grlinux-3.html#ss3.1

Then you’ll have excellent greek keyboard support in your gentoo. If you want to have an indication about which language you currently use I’d suggest you take a look at kkbswitch.

That’s it for now…I’ll go play some tuxracer!

Filed by kargig at 22:55 under General,Linux
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