[CentOS] trying to install 5.2 on a laptop

On Sun, 2009-03-01 at 12:59 -0500, Michael Klinosky wrote:
> Kwan Lowe wrote:
> > Have you verified if the synaptics package itself is installed:
> > 
> >   rpm -q synaptics
> 
> 'not installed'. Is there more to this package than just the library (.so)?
> 
> > If not, is this laptop connected to the Internet?  If so, you can do:
> > 
> >    yum -y install synaptics
> > 
> > This will install the synaptics package, though doesn't install the module.
> 
> hmmm ... I didn't think of that (along with a few other readers!)
> 
> Ok, it's installed ... reboot.
> 
> YES!!!!  :)   :)  It at least boots properly!  Thaaaaaank you!
> 
> Like I mentioned, I'm new-ish to linux. And, I use the gui exclusively. 
> So, it never occured to me to install in runlevel=3. I figured that I'd 
> have to get it to boot somehow, then use Applications > Add/Remove 
> Software. Same with vi - it just occurred to me that I could have easily 
> tried 'man vi'.

That's a heavy read if you're not familiar with regular expressions.
I'll throw a couple of quick most frequently used commands for you at
the end of this post.

> 
> > The main things you need to verify are the following sections in the xorg.conf:
> > 
> > Section "ServerLayout"
> >     Identifier     "Layout0"
> >     Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
> >     Screen      1  "Screen1" RightOf "Screen0"
> 
> One difference from yours -
> Identifier   "Default Layout"
> Does that matter?

No.

> Also, I don't have Screen 1 - I guess because I didn't set up multiple 
> screens.

That's ok too.

> 
> > Section "InputDevice"
> 
> Same as yours.

The basic thing to know about vi is that it has three modes. Input,
replace and interactive. Default on startup is interactive. From here
you can switch modes, move around in the file and search for things. The
most common interactive stuff is moving the cursor around with the
arrows. If you're more comfortable with them, regular letter keys can
accomplish the same movements. I tend to use them as they do not depend
on proper terminal definitions being available (hangover from the old
days when I worked on lots of different systems and terminals).

Another common interactive function is searching for stuff. Without
getting into regex, a slash followed by some text and a slash or <ENTER>
finds the next occurence. Repeat as needed. Replace the slash with ? and
it goes backwards (up the file).

Scrolling through the text file can be done with <PGUP>, <PGDN>, <HOME>
and <END> keys. There's also standard keyboard letter equivalents.

Once positioned, you can enter input mode (which also includes
replacement of text if desired). Hitting the <INSERT> key will insert
characters at the current cursor position. Hitting it a second time
replaces characters. Toggle by hitting as many times as needed. To exit
either mode use the <ESC> key.

To insert a line before or after the current one, O or o (that's "oh",
not zero) for "Open before" or "open after".

I'll leave it to your "man vi" excursion to notice the "i", "I", "a",
"A" meanings and some of the equivalents to which I've alluded above.

Another useful function is the yank and pull functions. Keep an eye out
for them. Marking lines with the letters, e.g. ma, mb, ... is also quite
useful for setting a "bookmark". Used in conjunction with the t (copy)
or m (move) commands, it can save a lot of time.

":w" writes the file (suggested for frequent saves), "ZZ" writes and
quits, as does ":wq".

Notice that ":" puts you in "command mode". Lots of possibilities there,
like changing the file name, splitting the screens, switch the active
window, reading in another file, etc.

Read small sections, test what you read to reinforce your memory and you
should get it quickly.

Happy sailing.

> <snip sig stuff>

HTH
-- 
Bill