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Thread ID: 114793 2010-12-17 07:26:00 Moving to Linux ubergeek85 (131) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1162836 2010-12-17 19:13:00 1, you dont have to [re]partition the harddrive to change/add a swap file
2, if you find the swap file is too large/small, you can easily change the size (unmount it, delete old, make new, remount). If you find your swap partition is too large/small, you have to re-size the partition (reboot, boot up another app, resize, ...)
As a swap partition can be used by any number of Linux installs and the fact that you have to partition when installing I can't see any advantage. I have never had a problem with the size of any swap partition I have created over the years.
mikebartnz (21)
1162837 2010-12-17 19:14:00 ...btw, didn't know you did radio. I wounder how many more of us are hiding around

Me too. :D
So does this make 3 PF1 hams?


... I just got a wouxun handheld recently, but I've been into it for a while.

Now I'm waiting for the mobile version to come out, the handheld has 4w Tx on UHF (IIRC) and 5w on VHF. The mobile version has a whopping 40w on UHF and 50w on VHF, plus it will Rx from 3-30MHz and another band that I can;t quite remember.... wow, got OT fast lol.

.

I have the Wouxun handheld. It is superb - especially for the price. I am also waiting for the mobile version; was going to get a low priced Yaesu mobile but the Wouxun has the removable faceplate. BTW the Wouxun group on Yahoo is really good - loads of info and plenty of help.
Strommer (42)
1162838 2010-12-17 22:02:00 I hear Mepis is a good (Debian based again) distro also. I seem to recall a poster here who packages for them.

Yup - that would be me. MEPIS is currently in the middle of alpha testing a new release based on Debian Squeeze. Probably expect a release early in the New Year. Might pay to wait until they release - or at least get to the betas. The latest alpha (4) looks good but still has a few rough edges. It's fast for KDE though.

What I'd suggest (as have others) is to try Ubuntu first - but if it's not quite working for you - or you need more personalised help - try Mint (Ubuntu base - Gnome), PCLinuxOS (RPM - KDE), or MEPIS (Debian - KDE).

The advantage each of them have is in their communities. All geared toward full spectrum of users (especially newbies). Join the forum of whichever distro you settle with. Read their manuals/wikis, and ask questions. You learn a lot quicker. All three forums will give you really good help.
Brooko (8444)
1162839 2010-12-17 22:13:00 1, you dont have to [re]partition the harddrive to change/add a swap file
2, if you find the swap file is too large/small, you can easily change the size (unmount it, delete old, make new, remount). If you find your swap partition is too large/small, you have to re-size the partition (reboot, boot up another app, resize, ...)LVM :D. Very easy to add / remove / change size etc, and you can do it all while the computer is running and doing its usual thing, and even easier than you can with a swap file.

It's also faster, as there is no filesystem layer involved the way there is with a swap file.

That said, if you're experiencing heavy swap load at all (i.e. high swap I/O, [vmstat will show you this] - simply having a lot of data swapped doesn't equate to heavy swap load), then something's wrong. Unlike Windows, Linux doesn't touch the swap until all the RAM is fully utilised; it won't just say "OK, lets swap half of this junk just for good luck" the way Windows seems to.
Erayd (23)
1162840 2010-12-17 23:01:00 As a swap partition can be used by any number of Linux installs and the fact that you have to partition when installing I can't see any advantage. I have never had a problem with the size of any swap partition I have created over the years.
It was an idea for a new user experimenting with Linux - sheesh
Myth (110)
1162841 2010-12-18 01:52:00 You can also have more than just one SWAP partition. For example a 3GB + a 1GB = 4GB SWAP... Chilling_Silence (9)
1162842 2010-12-18 06:00:00 You can also have more than just one SWAP partition. For example a 3GB + a 1GB = 4GB SWAP...
didn't know that. Could be useful as an easy way to increase the swap size.
Was going to use LVM recently but found too many partitioning setups didn't see them correctly after trying it on a spare disk.
mikebartnz (21)
1162843 2010-12-18 08:26:00 Righty-o, finally got some time to myself today. Time to nuke the current partition setup. Going to do a 4Gb swap, 10Gb / and the rest can go to /home. Does this sound like an OK setup?

Also, while I'm at it, etx4 is a good file system, no? And GNOME is having a hard time utilizing my monitor correctly, so far it will only do 1024x768, 800x600 and 640x480 (the native res is 1280x800) - this will probably fix itself by enabling non-free drivers, but I could be wrong, sort of guessing a bit. It's not exactly a huge concern though, after all, I'm free of the shackles of MS! When I decided to go to linux, I knew it wasn't going to be a cakewalk, stuff needs changing, fixing, etc etc. Therein lies the power.
ubergeek85 (131)
1162844 2010-12-18 08:49:00 Yeah I have had a lot of problem with Linux and old CRT monitors. It never knows what the supported resolutions are, and I can never force it to whatever I like.

I'm sure there is a way, I just never found out what it was.

Windows on the other hand can do this perfectly.
Agent_24 (57)
1162845 2010-12-18 09:01:00 Yeah I have had a lot of problem with Linux and old CRT monitors. It never knows what the supported resolutions are, and I can never force it to whatever.

But it's a laptop LCD :( ah well, maybe the updated nVidia drivers I got might do something for it.
ubergeek85 (131)
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