Subject: Welcome to Linux!

From: Patrick J. Volkerding <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 1994 02:53:04 +0100

Welcome! Glad to see you've made it this far! :^)

Here are a few hints to help you navigate through the Linux operating 
system a little bit better:

-- Remember those screens you saw while each package was installing? You 
   can see all the information (and more) again. The simplest way is to use 
   the 'pkgtool' utility to view the package contents. Another way is to use 
   'less' or a text editor to read the files in /var/adm/packages and 
   /var/adm/scripts (this is the method I use).

-- You may need to make some changes to the /etc/rc.d/rc.serial script if 
   you're using serial ports other than /dev/ttyS0 or /dev/ttyS1 (com1: and
   com2: under DOS), or if these ports use non-standard IRQs.

   I suggest using the section about halfway through that lets you set up
   the ports manually. Here's an example of how I set up the ports on my 
   machine for /dev/ttyS0 and /dev/ttyS2:
   
   # These are the standard COM1 through COM4 devices
   #
   ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua0 uart 16450 port 0x3F8 irq 4
   # ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua1 uart 16450 port 0x2F8 irq 3
   ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua2 uart 16450 port 0x3E8 irq 5
   # ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua3 uart 16450 port 0x2E8 irq 3

   You'll also need to uncomment the line in /etc/rc.d/rc.S that starts the
   rc.serial script.

-- If you're on a standalone LAN without a nameserver, make sure you 
   don't have a nameserver line in /etc/resolv.conf, or you may experience 
   delays with many network commands as they attempt to query the bogus 
   nameserver.

-- Want to run NFS? You'll to run the folllowing daemons in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet2:
   rpc.portmap, rpc.mountd, and rpc.nfsd. Then, edit your /etc/exports to allow
   NFS access.

-- If you have any supported busmouse other than the PS/2 type, you'll 
   need to recompile the kernel to add the driver if you plan to use it.

-- If you installed the F disk, there will be lots of FAQs (lists of 
   Frequently Asked Questions with answers), and HOWTOs (files explaining 
   how to do a particular Linux task), in /usr/doc/faq. These should be 
   helpful in getting you going with Linux.

Have fun!

---
Patrick Volkerding
[email-masked]