Starter Guide

Mandrakelinux 10.0

http://www.mandrakesoft.com

by Camille Bégnis, Christian Roy, Fabian Mandelbaum, Roberto Rosselli del Turco, Marco De Vitis, Alice Lafox, John Rye, Patricia Pichardo Bégnis, Wolfgang Bornath, Joël Wardenski, Debora Rejnharc Mandelbaum, Daniel Gueysset, Mickael Scherer, Jean-Michel Dault, Funda Wang, Lunas Moon, Céline Harrand, Fred Lepied, Pascal Rigaux, Thierry Vignaud, Giuseppe Ghibò, Stew Benedict.

Legal Notice

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  • That this copyright notice appears clearly and distinctively on all reproduced, duplicated and distributed copies.

  • That the “front cover texts” below, the section called “About Mandrakelinux” and the section stating the names of authors and contributors are attached to the reproduced, duplicated or distributed version and remain unchanged.

  • That this manual, specifically for the printed format, is reproduced and/or distributed for noncommercial use only.

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Mandrake”, “Mandrakesoft”, “DrakX” and “Linux-Mandrake” are registered Trademarks in US and/or other countries. The related “Star logo” is also registered. All rights reserved. All other copyrights embodied in this document remain the property of their respective owners.

Front-cover texts
Mandrakesoft May 2004
http://www.mandrakesoft.com/
Copyright © 1999-2004 by Mandrakesoft S.A. and Mandrakesoft Inc.

Tools Used in The Making of This Manual

This manual was written in XML DocBook. The set of files involved were managed using Borges. The XML source files were processed by xsltproc, openjade and jadetex using a customized version of Norman Walsh's stylesheets. Screen shots were taken using xwd or GIMP and converted with convert. All these programs are free and are available in your Mandrakelinux distribution.

March 2004


Table of Contents

Preface
About Mandrakelinux
Contacting the Mandrakelinux Community
Join the Club
Purchasing Mandrakesoft Products
Contribute to Mandrakelinux
About this User Guide
Note from the Editor
Conventions Used in this Book
Typing Conventions
General Conventions
I. Installing Mandrakelinux
1. Installation Warning
2. Before Installation
Configuring your BIOS
Creating a Floppy Boot Disk
Creating a Boot Disk With Windows
Creating a Floppy Boot Disk From GNU/Linux
Supported Hardware
What Is Not Supported
3. Installation with DrakX
The Mandrakelinux Installer
Choosing your Language
License Terms of the Distribution
Configuring your Mouse
Installation Class
Configuring the Keyboard
Security Level
Selecting the Mount Points
Choose Partitions to Be Formatted
Choose Packages to Install
Choose Package Groups to Install
Choose Individual Packages to Install
Multiple CD-ROM Installation
Root Password
Adding a User
Installing a Boot Loader
Check Miscellaneous Parameters
Summary
Time Zone Options
Configuring X, the Graphical Server
Selecting Available Services at Boot Time
Installing Updates from the Internet
It's Finished!
Advanced Options
How to Uninstall Linux
II. Discover
4. Migrating to Linux from Windows®/Mac OS X®
Where's my...?
Start Menu
Applications
Control Panel/System Preferences
DOS Shell
Network Neighborhood
C: Drive
CD-ROM Drives
Floppy Disk Drives
My Documents
A Brave New World!
A Multi-User Environment
Multiple Tasking
Multiple Desktops
Full Desktop Customization
Thousands of Free Applications
No More Reboots!
5. Linux for Beginners
Introduction
The Boot-Loader Menu
Getting Ready for your Session
Beginning your Session
Identifying Yourself
The Mandrakefirsttime Wizard
Some Notes About Security
Using your Graphical Environment
The Mandrakelinux Desktop
Accessing Applications
Opening a Window on the Desktop
Managing Windows and Desktops
Personalizing your Desktop
Closing your Session
6. Where to Get Documentation
The Documentation Included with Mandrakelinux
Mandrakesoft's Own Documentation
The Man Pages
Info Pages
HOWTOs
The /usr/share/doc Directory
General Guidelines for Solving a Problem under Mandrakelinux
Search the Internet
Mailing Lists and Newsgroups Archives
Directly Contacting the Person in Charge
Mandrakesoft Business Services
7. Using KDE
Discovering the K Desktop Environment
The Desktop
The Panel
Virtual Desktops
Personalizing your Desktop
Changing your Desktop's Appearance
Managing Desktop Icons
KDE Sessions
III. Using the Internet
8. Surfing with Mozilla
Mozilla Interface
Surfing the Web
Using the Sidebar
Managing Bookmarks
Tabbed Browsing
Installing Plugins
JAVA
Flash
Real
9. Writing E-mails with KMail
Configuring KMail
KMail's Interface
Composing a Message
IV. Use
10. The Kontact Client
Configuring Kontact
Initial configuration
Kontact Interface
Importing Kolab IMAP Resources
Configuring the Kontact Calendar
Accessing Group Contact Information
Using the Kontact Calendar Features
The Kontact Calendar Interface
Organizing a New Event
Organizing To-Do Items
11. Office Work
Word Processor
OpenOffice.org Writer
Going Further
Conclusion
Spreadsheet
What's a Spreadsheet?
Using the Spreadsheet
Going Further
Conclusion
Managing your Files
Main Window
Sidebars
Copying, Moving, Linking and Deleting Files
Browsing Web Pages
File Sharing
Printing and Faxing from Applications
Accessing KPrinter
KPrinter's Interface
Building PDF Files
Sending Faxes
Multi-Function Printers
12. Audio, Movie and Video Applications
Audio Applications
Using XMMS
KsCD CD Player
Using Aumix
Movie Applications
Introduction
Xine
MPlayer
Other Movie Applications for Linux
CD Burning
Getting Started
Burning Data CDs (CD-ROMs)
Burning Audio CDs (CDDA)
Duplicating a CD
Audio CD Extraction (Ripping)
Erasing CD-RW media
Going Further
V. Advanced Uses
13. Introduction to the Mandrakelinux Control Center
What is in DrakConf
The Drakbug Reporting Tool
14. Configuration: Boot Section
Configuring the Login Mode
DrakBoot: Changing your Boot-Up Configuration
Configuring the Bootloader
Choosing the boot entries
Customizing your Boot Theme
15. Configuration: Hardware Section
HardDrake: Configuring your Hardware
Introduction
Problems/Troubleshooting
Other Information
Controlling the Graphical Configuration
Configuring your Graphical Display
KeyboardDrake: Changing your Keyboard Layout
MouseDrake: Changing your Mouse
PrinterDrake: Configuring Printers
The Printer Configuration Wizard
Reconfiguring an Existing Printer
Expert Mode
16. Configuration: Mount Points Section
DiskDrake: Managing your Hard Drive Partitions
The Interface
DiskDrake's action buttons
From Theory to Practice: Resizing an Old Partition and Creating a New One
Managing Removable Devices
Importing Remote SMB Directories
Importing Remote NFS Directories
Local Disk Sharing: Allowing Users to Share Folders
Setting up WebDAV Mount Points
17. Configuration: Network & Internet Section
Network and Internet Connection Management
New Connection
Internet Access
Manage Connections
Monitor Connections
Remove a Connection
Internet Connection Sharing
18. Configuration: Security Section
DrakSec: Securing your Machine
Setting your Security Level
Customizing a Security Level
DrakPerm: Control File Permissions
DrakFirewall: Securing your Internet Access
19. Configuration: System Section
MenuDrake: Customizing your Menus
Adding a New Menu Entry
Advanced Features
DrakXServices: Configuring Start-Up Services
DrakFont: Managing Available Fonts on your System
Setting your Machine's Date and Time
LogDrake: Searching through the Log Files
UserDrake: Managing Users and Groups on your System
The Interface
Adding a New User
DrakBackup: Backing-Up and Restore your Files
A Practical Example Using the Wizard
Restoring Backups
Automating Periodic Backups
Other DrakBackup Options
20. Rpmdrake: Package Management
Install Software
Searching packages
Mandrakelinux choices
All packages, alphabetical
All packages, by group
All packages, by size
All packages, by selection state
All packages, by medium repository
All packages, by update availability
Remove Software
Mandrakelinux Update
The Software Media Manager
Package Management through the Command Line
Installing and Removing Packages
Media Management
Tricks and Recipes
21. Troubleshooting
Introduction
A Boot Disk
Creating a Boot Floppy from the Console
Testing the Boot Disk
Backup
Why Backup?
Preparing your System
What to Backup?
Where to Backup?
When to Back Up?
Backup Example Using tar
Restore
Restore Example Using tar
Making a Recovery CD-ROM
Problems Arising at Boot Time
System Hanging during Boot
File-System Check on Boot Fails
X Doesn't Start
Boot-Loader Issues
Boot-Loader Reinstall
Backing Up and Restoring the MBR
File System Issues
Repairing a Damaged Super-Block
Recovering Deleted Files
Recovering from a System Freeze
Killing Misbehaving Apps
From the Console
Using Graphical Monitoring Tools
Miscellaneous
Mandrake's Specific Troubleshooting Tools
Final Thoughts
A. The GNU General Public License
Preamble
Terms and conditions for copying,  distribution  and  modification
B. Glossary
Index

List of Figures

2.1. The Rawwrite Program
3.1. Very First Installation Welcome Screen
3.2. Available Installation Options
3.3. Choosing the Default Language
5.1. The Login Window
5.2. The Password Field and the Pull-Down Session Type List
5.3. The Mandrakefirsttime Wizard
5.4. The KDE Desktop
5.5. KDE File Manager
5.6. KDE's Virtual Desktop Buttons
5.7. Maximizing Windows
5.8. Minimizing Windows
5.9. The Task Bar under KDE
5.10. Closing a Window
5.11. KDE Log-Out Confirmation
5.12. Logging Out Using the Pop-Up Menu under KDE
7.1. The KDE Desktop
7.2. The KDE Panel
7.3. Changing KDE's Color Scheme
7.4. Changing KDE's Background Wallpaper
8.1. Mozilla Browser Interface
8.2. What's Related and Search Tabs
8.3. Bookmarks and History Tabs
8.4. Bookmarks Manager Dialog
8.5. Mozilla's Browser Tabs
9.1. Setting General User Parameters
9.2. Setting the Outgoing Mail Server
9.3. Configuring a POP3 Mail Account
9.4. Mail Client Interface
9.5. The Message-Compose Window
10.1. The Kontact groupware Window
10.2. Kontact's Kolab configuration
10.3. The Kontact Configuration Window
10.4. Kontact's Kolab configuration
10.5. The Kontact Summary Component
10.6. Enable Kontact Groupware Settings
10.7. The Search for Addresses Window
10.8. The Edit Contacts Window
10.9. The Kontact Calendar Interface
10.10. The Edit Event Window
10.11. The Edit To-Do Window
11.1. OpenOffice.org Writer's Main Window
11.2. Rows, Columns and Cells
11.3. Simplifying Data Entry Using Auto-Completion
11.4. Using a Function in a Formula
11.5. Choosing the Chart Type
11.6. A 3D Chart Inside the Spreadsheet
11.7. Konqueror
11.8. KPrinter Window
11.9. Printer Properties Window
11.10. Changing Printer Resolution
11.11. More Printing Settings
11.12. Generating a PDF File
11.13. Faxing Main Window
11.14. Fax Settings
12.1. XMMS Main Window
12.2. XMMS Main Window with Equalizer and Playlist
12.3. Loading Files into XMMS
12.4. Options Menu
12.5. XMMS Skins Browser
12.6. Chaos Skin
12.7. Using WinAMP Skins with XMMS
12.8. Opening the Connection Information for a Streaming Channel
12.9. KsCD's Main Window
12.10. Aumix Application
12.11. Xine's Control Window
12.12. MPlayer's Control Window
12.13. K3b's Interface
12.14. Burn CD Image Options
12.15. Selecting Files/Directories to Include on the CD
12.16. Setting Writing Parameters
12.17. Selecting Audio Tracks to Include on the CD
12.18. Setting Copy CD Options
12.19. CD Ripping Options
12.20. Setting CD-RW Blanking Options
13.1. The Control Center's Main Window
13.2. Reporting a Bug with Drakbug
14.1. Choosing the Login Mode
14.2. Choosing the Boot Mode
14.3. DrakBoot Theme Window
15.1. HardDrake –– Selected Device
15.2. XFdrake's Main Window
15.3. Choosing a New Monitor
15.4. Changing your Screen's Resolution
15.5. Choosing a Different Keyboard Layout
15.6. Choosing a Different Mouse
15.7. Managing Printers
15.8. Auto-Detecting Printers
15.9. The Printer Port
15.10. Multi-Function Device
15.11. Choosing a Name for your Printer
15.12. Choosing the Printer Model
15.13. Configuring the Printer's Options
15.14. Test the Printer
15.15. Modifying an Existing Printer
15.16. Configuring a Remote Printer
16.1. DiskDrake's Main Window
16.2. The /home Partition Before Resizing
16.3. Choosing a New Size
16.4. Defining the New Partition
16.5. The New Partition Table
16.6. Confirming the Writing of the Partition Table
16.7. Changing a Criterion
16.8. Scanning the Whole Network
16.9. Authenticating on a Remote Samba Server
16.10. Choosing the Remote Directory to Import
16.11. Controlling Exports
16.12. Choosing the Export Protocol
16.13. Managing WebDAV Mounts Points
16.14. Specifying the WebDAV Server URL
16.15. WebDAV Menu
17.1. Connecting to the Internet
17.2. Choosing the Internet Connections to Configure
17.3. Configuring the Network Connection
17.4. Configuring the Internet Access
17.5. Manage network connections
17.6. Configuring a Client to Use DHCP
18.1. Choosing the Security Level of your System
18.2. Modifying Standard MSEC Options
18.3. Configuring File Permission Checks
18.4. Adding a File Permissions Rule
18.5. The DrakFirewall Window
19.1. Launching MenuDrake in System or User Mode
19.2. MenuDrake's Main Window
19.3. Adding a New Menu Entry
19.4. A New Menu Entry with MenuDrake
19.5. Choosing a Menu Style
19.6. Choosing The Services Available at System Start-Up
19.7. DrakFont's Main Window
19.8. Changing Date and Time
19.9. Browsing and Searching through System Logs
19.10. The Users List in UserDrake
19.11. Adding a New User in the System
19.12. Adding Users to a Group
19.13. Main DrakBackup Window
19.14. Selecting What to Backup
19.15. Selecting Where to Store the Backup
19.16. Setting Optical Media Parameters
19.17. Review Configuration Parameters
19.18. Backup Progress Dialog
19.19. Choosing the Restore Type to Perform
19.20. Daemon Options Window
19.21. Miscellaneous Options Window
20.1. Software Management in the Mandrakelinux Control Center
20.2. The Software Packages Installation interface
20.3. Rpmdrake –– dependency alert box
20.4. Rpmdrake –– package alternatives
20.5. The Software Media Manager
20.6. Rpmdrake –– adding a Media
20.7. Rpmdrake –– managing keys
20.8. Rpmdrake –– configuring a proxy

List of Tables

8.1. Mozilla's Web Browser Toolbar Buttons
9.1. KMail's Toolbar Buttons
9.2. Message Compose Toolbar Buttons
11.1. Konqueror Sidebar Icons
12.1. K3b's Toolbar Buttons
13.1. Overview of Graphical Tools