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BOOT CAMP 449
(07/11/06)
Installing Linux part 4
We’ll round off this short series on ‘dual booting’ Linux
and Windows with a brief tour of your new operating system. It begins with the
Bootloader screen that appears a few moments after switch-on. By default
Mandriva will load after a few seconds but if you want to boot into Windows
select it from the list using the up/down cursor key and press Enter. If you
want Windows to load at start up instead of Linux see this week’s Top Tip.
When the ‘Welcome’ screen appears type in your Username but
before you press Enter note that there are three icons along the bottom of the
screen. The middle one, ‘Session’, lets you to choose alternative ‘desktops’.
Mandriva launches with KDE (Kool Desktop Environment), it’s a lot like Windows
but when you get a moment click the Session icon and try the Gnome or IceWM
desktops, these have similar functionality to KDE but quite different
personalities.
After the desktop appears you will see a taskbar with some
icons and a clock display at the bottom edge of the screen. The yellow star on
the left is the Mandriva/KDE equivalent of the Windows Start button. Next to
that there are ‘quick start’ icons for Firefox (web browser), Kmail (email) and
Writer (word processor).
To get a feel for Linux I suggest carrying out a few simple
tweaks. Close the Welcome screen then right-click on the desktop and select
Configure Desktop. It is very intuitive and you should be able to change the
background image (wallpaper) without any problems, if you get stuck just click
the Help button. Try changing your mouse and mouse pointers settings, you’ll
find them in Control Centre on the Star menu. In the left hand panel click
Peripherals then in the right pane double-click Mouse and your will find a set
of options just like the ones in Windows Control Panel.
You are now ready to try something a little more ambitious,
so we’ll set up your printer. Click Printers in Control Centre then Add and
this will start an installer Wizard that asks you how your printer is connected
to the computer and the make and model number; most popular models are listed.
After it has been recognized you can print a test page.
Next, set up your Internet connection. If your PC is connected
to a home network by LAN cable you shouldn’t have to do anything and when you
open Firefox you will be online. If you are using an external broadband modem
Linux may already have installed the necessary driver, in which case all you
have to do is run the new connection wizard by going to Star > Configure
your Computer, enter your Root Password, click Network and Internet then the
Set up a new Network Interface icon. Select your modem type (DSL if you are
using an external broadband modem then Next and your modem should show up on
the list. Simply follow the prompts and enter your broadband account address
and username.
Our last port of call is the Open Org. Office Suite, which
is installed as part of the Mandriva package. It’s a suite of applications including
a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tools, drawing, and graphics
programs and so on. These programs are compatible with pretty well all common
Windows and Microsoft Office file formats and they can open and edit files
stored in other partitions on your hard drive.
For example if you want to work on a Word document stored
in My Documents in your Windows XP partition open Writer (Quick Start icon on
the Toolbar or Star > Office > Wordprocessor > Writer), then go to
Open on the File menu. There are several ways to access your Windows partition
but the quickest method is to click ‘Storage Media’ in the left hand pane and
you should be able to identify your C: drive from the size shown. If not
right-click on the Media icon, select Properties and it will give you the
device name (your C: drive will most likely be sda1 or hda1).
Once you have found the correct partition double click to
open and use the Explorer type interface to locate the file. The path bar at
the top should be: media:/sda1/Documents and Setting/<yourname>/ My
Documents. Double-click the file and opens in Writer. If you want to edit the
file -- and you will find that Writer works almost exactly like Word -- right
click and select Edit. You may or may not have permission to work on the
original document, if not you can choose to work on a copy, which you will be
able to save in your Linux partition, removable media like a USB pen drive
(Linux automatically recognises most types) or you can set up a separate shared
partition.
Most Windows users will be able to find their way around
Mandriva without too much trouble. There are only a few likely stumbling
points, installing new software, for example can be a pain and there are still
a few items of hardware that do not work with Linux but most newcomers like
what they find and some never go back…
Next
Week -- LP and Tape to CD
JARGON FILTER
BOOTLOADER
Program installed
by Linux or used on PCs with multiple operating systems to select the operating
system
LAN
Local
Area Network -- a computer network
ROOT PASSWORD
Equivalent to the
Administrator Password in Windows, required when making any significant
configuration changes
TOP
TIP
To
change the default operating system on your computer you need to modify the
Mandriva Bootloader. Click the Star (Start) icon and select Configure Your
Computer, enter your Root Password and click the Boot Icon. In the right-hand
pane click ‘Set how the system boot’ then Next and you will see the list of
options that appears when you switch on your PC. To set Windows as the default
double-click the entry and on the dialogue box that appears tick the ‘Default’
box, then OK and Finish to exit the dialogue boxes.
---end---
© R. Maybury 2006,
0211
Part 1 2 3
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