Re: new to linux, trying to get netscape to work
Peter Christensen wrote:
>I'm so frustrated with Windows frequently "freezing up" that I'd really
>like to get Linux to work on my machine. I bought a release of Debian
>about two years ago from Cheap*Bytes. The disks say that it's release
>2.1, though when I was installing it I noticed a message that seemed to
>imply that I had Debian 2.0.34. (But I don't remember the exact
>message, unfortunately.) I ended up not using Linux back then because I
>had a "Winmodem" on my machine. Now that I have an external USRobotics
>modem I'm trying Linux again.
2.0.34 is a Linux kernel version number; 2.1 is a Debian release number.
Debian is a collection of software that includes the Linux kernel; the
Debian release number doesn't mean very much because you can upgrade
individual packages; it doesn't do much more than identify the CD's
approximate age.
>The installation went fine, and I was able to dial my ISP using "PON"
>In the windows manager FVWM95 there's a button on the taskbar for
>Netscape. Nothing happened when I clicked on it. This also happened
>for the Files, Editor, and Xview buttons. But the Xterm, Xcalc, Kill,
>and Ghostview buttons do work.
Look into the manual pages for fvwm95 and learn how it's put together. It
is quite configurable, and you can change the buttons or the commands they
run or both. If the package containing the command linked to a button has
not been installed, the button will do nothing.
>I installed Netscape from my Netscape 4.75 CD, using the instructions
>that came with the CD. (copy the .tar file, issue the tar -xvf command,
>then run ns-install.) I assume everything went OK since there were no
>error messages. But I still couldn't start Netscape!
On your CDs you may well find a Netscape installer package. But what you
have done is pefectly valid; it may just need a bit more effort on your
part to learn what is happening. The problem is probably that fvwm95
expects Netscape to be in a particular place, but you will have put
it somewhere else. You would do best to look at a basic tutorial on using
Debian such as http://www.newriders.com/debian/html/noframes/debian-tutorial.ht
ml
and learn about search paths.
Somewhere under the directory where you installed Netscape there should be
an executable program called netscape; if, in an xterm window, you change
into that directory and type ./netscape it should start up, or give an
error message that will explain what is going wrong.
>Where did I go wrong? Was it a mistake to buy Debian from Cheap*Bytes?
>Do I just need a newer release? Is Netscape normally included with the
>Debian release?
You do have a fairly out of date CD set, and it would be worth spending a small
amount of money or a large amount of download time in updating it. (All
Debina packages are available on the net.)
--
Oliver Elphick Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
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"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain
in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58
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