Re: [gentoo-user] Is Gentoo still on the right path?

[Bill Roberts <billbalt@eyeofthequark.com>]

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On 11:20 Wed 16 Nov     , Derek Tracy wrote:
>    After restarting I noticed that ipw2200 did not load properly was posted
>    in my boot mesg WTF.  I distinctly remembered during the install that I
>    waited until after I installed the kernel, then I went ahead and installed
>    the external modules.  (NOTE: I did not use the built in kernel modules
>    for ipw2200 or ieee80211 I had read too many horror stories about
>    incompatible versions of ipw2200-firmware and I have always had good luck
>    with the external drivers)  One other thing, instead of going for pure on
>    the edge goodness of using a Nitro-esque kernel (one optimized for speed
>    over stability) I decided to use Gentoo-sources again trusting the
>    developers judgement.  After searching through tons of articles regarding
>    ipw2200 drivers not working with the latest "Stable" Gentoo-Sources I
>    decided to go with the kernel drivers and give them a shot.  I recompiled
>    rebooted and low and behold the drivers still weren't working.  After
>    trying all sorts of different combinations Unstable versions of this
>    stable versions of that.  Nothing worked, so I proceeded to reboot back
>    into the livecd and re-chroot into my system so I could get a network
>    connection and install the Madwifi Drivers, for a pcmcia card that I have
>    laying around.  Also note that the Madwifi drivers are considered
>    Unstable.  I rebooted the computer and the drivers actually worked (Yea
>    Unstable).  So I got the network connection up, then I decided to go ahead
>    and install X (I thought that it would be easier to troubleshoot the ipw
>    drivers from a graphical environment copy, paste, multiple xterms.).  Well

Maybe this will help a little. I am using the ipw2200 drivers, and they
work fine. I am using the gentoo-sources kernel, 2.6.13-r4, with
ipw2200-1.0.6-r3. My eix shows ipw2200-firmware 2.3 and 2.4 installed (I
guess they are slotted), I'm not sure which one is being loaded. I tried
upgrading to 2.6.14, wireless broke (I think that's when I tried loading
the 2.4 firmware), so I went back to my current kernel. I'll hang out here
for a while, 'til they get the bugs worked out of 2.6.14.

I have an ati video, so no help there.

My intial approach to my new laptop was a bit different than yours. Though
I've been doing Gentoo three years, I've never done it on a laptop, never
done Linux or wireless on a laptop. I've had good luck with Ubuntu, wanted
to try their newest, so I loaded it up first, to get info on hardware, get
a working xorg.conf, etc. Had a fully functional laptop in less than an
hour.

I then set up a dual boot gentoo, used the xorg.conf from Ubuntu,
cherry-picked a few ideas from the nicely done Ubuntu. I've added
additional functionality to my Gentoo build as I've needed it. So now,
every time I fire up, I always have a choice. I can use the fully loaded
Ubuntu, which I love for its ease of installation and administration, or I
can use Gentoo, my stripped down hot rod, which on occasion gives me fits.
Gentoo gets the nod every time, unless I'm looking for a bit of freecell.
Why?, I ask myself. I think it's the same reason I liked to take watches
apart when I was a kid. I want to know how things work. I love the Zen-like
aesthetic, starting with a blank slate, and adding only what is absolutely
essential. No cruft.

It's not for everyone, and it's not the "only true way". But it works for
me.

Good Luck

Bill Roberts

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