Stuck with FC5- Please Help!

[src2206]

Hi Friends,

I'm completely new to linux and installed FC5 in my system's Primary slave 2nd HDD. The other operating system I have is Win XP Pro in the Primary Master 1st HDD. There are some partitions in both my HDD in NTFS and some are in FAT32. The Linux is in a partition formatted as ext3 filesystem.

My problems are:

1. When I try to mount any of the other partitions I get a error massege at the terminal
window. I checked the folder /dev/by-label, all the partitions are showing but all of them
with a RED round mark (striked at the middle, obliquely). So can Linux access NTFS and
FAT32? If not then how can I access?

2. When I try to run "ADD/REMOVE SOFTWARES" it opens up an window showing 'retrieving..."
[exact words I do not remember] and then after a minute or so it shows a Error massege
"softare informations could not be retrieved". I used CDs to install and all of them were
tested OK by the Fedora's inbuilt checking utility.

3. I can't use the "fdisk -l" (EL) comand. It shows an error massege that "bash:command
could not be found". I'm not sure whats happening.

In all the above cases I was logged as a ROOT ADMINISTRATOR.

So could someone please help me?

Thank you.

 

[mehulved]

Hope you gave fdisk -l without the double quotes.
To mount the partition temporarily, give command

mount /dev/<partition name>

For doing this everytime automatically you will have to edit /etc/fstab. But, AFAIK FC5 does automount the partitions.
Linux can write to fat32 partition but you need some tools like ntfs-static or ntfs-3g. But, these tools are in beta so I don't recommend them to you as you're new to Linux.
Well IMO, you should rather try SMART instead of PIRUT to add/remove/update software. I am using SMART on Suse currently and find it really good.
You can get SMART from here *wraptastic.org/pub/i386-linux/RPMS/. Other good tools are apt and yum.
Well, I haven't used FC5 extensively so I can't really help where PIRUT is going wrong. But, did you have PUP or some updated running while opening PIRUT? Try opening PIRUT as non-root user. Many apps are designed so that they do not run as root user for security sake. Of, course that can be bypassed but it's not recommended to run as a root user for newbies.
Running a machine connected to internet as root is a big no no. Use su,sudo, kdesu, gksu, gksudo for root access. First two are used when running in terminal, kdesu is while running KDE and last two while running GNOME

 

[src2206]

Hope you gave fdisk -l without the double quotes.

Yes I used them without quote.
Could you please tell me tell me how can I permanently edit the fstab so that I do not have to mount manually? Moreovr I remembr that sometimes it was giving the error massege mentioning that something could not be found in fstab.

AFAIK FC5

- sorry but what do you mean by 'AFAIK'?
I'll try using the commands not being logged in as root and I'll see what happens.

I haven't yet accessing net via Linux so I'll surely keep your advice in mind when I'll do.

Thanks again.

 

[mehulved]

AFAIK = as far as I know
Please show me the output of /etc/fstab file.
If you are using GNOME type

gedit /etc/fstab

for KDE type

kate /etc/fstab

Post it here.
Also, post the output of fdisk -l if it works in the following way

su
fdisk -l

su will ask for administrator password

 

[djmykey]

ok src2206 by telling u to format, I meant delete the linux partition viz ur Windows XP and then try to reinstall it again. So that u can get a flawless system

 

[src2206]

Hi tyf,
Sorry for this delayed response .
Well, the good news is fdisk -l worked . I had to use "su -" instead of "su" while logging in as root and it worked :O.
Regarding fstab I have edited the file to auto load ntfs and FAT32 volumes. So with your great help and support I have solved atleast one of my problems .

But unfortunately he second problem still remains. I can't install anything (as root even). "yum" also not working. Could you please help me at this front?

The 3rd problem I have repeated in the corresponding tutorial thred *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?p=293535&posted=1#post293535
and Rollercoaster is looking into it. It would be also helpful to get some valuable inputs from you in this matter too.

Please continue your support.
Thank you.

ok src2206 by telling u to format, I meant delete the linux partition viz ur Windows XP and then try to reinstall it again. So that u can get a flawless system

So did I , my friend .
Did you think I was going to reinstall my windows :O ? Phew! the last thing I would go for !

 

[mehulved]

Try adding your username to group root and check if it works.

 

[src2206]

I'm logging in as a root only .

 

[Rollercoaster]

u will have to RnD ur users and groups.

 

[src2206]

RnD

- sorry but what does it mean exactly ? Obviously not research & development .
Anyways please tell me how to do this!
Thank you

PS: Is there any resource available where I can get all the available commands of FC5 listed?

 

[mehulved]

PS: Is there any resource available where I can get all the available commands of FC5 listed?

Open Konsole and press tab twice.

 

[src2206]

Thanks.
But what is RnD, seriously?

 

[mehulved]

I guess he means research and development only. To be exact, he means you will have to play a bit of trial and error with users and groups, to know if something is wrong. But, well I guess, that shouldn't be the problem as you're operating as root. And sorry for overlooking the root part.
You aren't connected to the net, right? If you haven't connected to the net, how will any updating tool work. The big problem is that PIRUT, doesn't install software from cd/dvd. It only installs from the net. It's a big mistake by FC people. Riyaz(desertwind) has given a fix for that. I will search for it and give you.
If you want to install rpm's from some disk, use command,

rpm - ivh <filename>

__________
Or you can install yum with yumex or smart and smart-gui. Both are very good tools for adding/removing/updating softwares.

 

[src2206]

Thank you very much tyf.
I'm eagerly looking forward for the fix.
Well I tried to install yumex but it did not , it simply gave me an error, something like 'base url not found.
So could you please assist me more on this?

 

[mehulved]

These tools are trying to install software from the net. Now, if you don't have a working net connection, these tools will return an error.
There was a fix that lets you enable softwares from the cd/dvd, but I can't seem to find it now.

 

[Rollercoaster]

I think there is something terribly wrong with ur installation. I think u should do a fresh FULL install. after all it is those experiements and reinstalls then make u an expert. When u dont know much abt a problem that most probabley u urself created and then when u try to fix it.. it only gets worse..

Reinstall the OS and then use Yum. it is simple as pie

 

[src2206]

Thanks Rollercoaster,
But when I didn't have any hope of establishing a net connection you helped me out in a perfect manner. So I would like to give it a try. I do beleive the problem lies with the repo files. I am going to try out few more times and then when all my avenues will be closed I'll opt for a reinstall.

thank you again.

 

[Rollercoaster]

that is the best approch. but actually i gave u that suggestion cause i couldnt exactly understand ur problem from this thread. can u sum a bit so I (and others) can give u better help.

 

[romeo_8693]

for pro no.3 : have u tried "whereis fdisk"(w/o quotes)????
for 1st and 2nd this shud help:
*stanton-finley.net/fedora_core_5_installation_notes.html#NTFS

 

[Rollercoaster]

Thanks Rollercoaster,
I do beleive the problem lies with the repo files.

why dont u try to reinstall the concerned rpms. that should clear any config errors with ur repo files. I am not on a linux system right now. can someone tell us what rpms are related to the repository files that src2206 is talking abt, and the reinstall switches for RPM command too