This install was done on an HP dv8000 (part no. ex177av) with the following basic specs:
After downloading disks 1,2, and 3 from Suse's website I put disk 1 into the laptop’s dvd drive, booted the laptop and chose the “Installation” option. Basically I clicked next, next... with the following choices:
I chose the default partition scheme with the options to have a separate home partition:
| designation | mount point |
|---|---|
| root | / |
| home | /home |
| swap | swap |
For desktop gui I went with GNOME. Of course, no other comes close ;) Seriously I’ve tried 10.2 with both KDE and GNOME and have found GNOME to be far batter: more stable and more functional. Thereafter just let the installer do its thing. Insert CDs 2 and 3 when prompted.
At some point towards the end of the install process you will be prompted to test your network connection and add repositories. I skipped this process for reasons mentioned below. Also I accepted the default options for the video card and other hardware.
When creating my default user I made certain to uncheck “Automatic Login” or some such option that lets the system boot straight into the gui (?!).
With that done and the root password set I was greeted by a nice, clean Suse-fied GDM. Since most things work just fine after install, here’s what does not work after login.
The following bits of hardware/functions were not fully operational out of the box:
In order to gain access to the software needed to make the laptop software work (and to get some nice bells and whistles) I added sources to YAST software manager. In order to do that I opened the YAST Control Center:
click: Computer -> Control Center -> YaST -> Software -> Installation Source
then click “Add”, then select “HTTP“, then click “Next”, then input the following line in the “Server Name” field:
download.opensuse.org
then in the “Directory on Server” field add:
/distribution/10.2/repo/oss/suse
then click “OK”.
That adds the official main Suse 10.2 open source software pool to YaST. This process should be repeated with the following entries:
| Server Name | Directory on Server | Decription |
|---|---|---|
| download.opensuse.com | /update/10.2 | The Suse updates pool |
| download.opensuse.org | /distribution/10.2/repo/non-oss/suse | Non OpenSource pool |
| ftp.gwdg.de | /pub/linux/misc/packman/suse/10.2 | The packman megapool |
| download.nvidia.com | /opensuse/10.2 | The Nvidia driver pool |
I don’t use the CDs once I have access to the online repositories so I disable the CD source. To do this click on the line that reads:
On Off YaST cd:///?devices=/dev/sr0
Then click on “Source Settings” and select “Enable or Disable” and the status should change from “On” to “Off”.
Once the repositories are added and configured click “Finish” and let it Synchronize with whatever ZENworks is. It may take some time but just be patient.
You will then be taken back to the YaST Control Center. From there we can install the software required to enable the Wifi and 3D acceleration.