NForce 2

I have read where linux and the nforce chipsets have not mixed to well. I also read where some new linux drivers came out recently. How well do they work?

Also how well does Photoshop, and windows apps in general, work in wine? I am growing extremely disatisfied with the continuing windows security saga and am considering a change.

I am not new to linux having dual booted in the past but I am looking to avoid windows totally if at all possible. But I need certain programs. Is running a virtual pc possible under linux?

XSwiftX

 

with the latest kernels and distro's the nforce motherboards run quite nice, photoshop runs just at good under wine as it does under windows.

running a virtual pc under linux is possible using VMware

http://www.vmware.com

Enjoy

 

Re: Re: NForce 2

Thank you! I am glad to hear it. Now to decide which distro I want to use.....

 

www.gentoo.org - but I'm biased as I write wireless scripts for it

 

Chipset support is there, though you need to install proprietary drivers.

Photoshop works under WINE, but the various palettes don't minimize along with Photoshop and always stay on top, which is annoying. Well, it did that the last time I checked; not sure if they fixed it. Crossover Office may be a better option, but it costs money.

Right now, I run a FreeBSD server and use Cygwin to make a remote X connection. It's not as nice as running it natively, but this is the easiet option until I can get better application support under FreeBSD. I may switch to using DragonFlyBSD instead of Windows if I get my hand on an Nvidia card, though I may have to reboot everytime I want to play Generals.

 

[OT]Hmm does one need to have a wireless keyboard/mouse to do that?[/OT]

 

I have no idea - my script is for wireless network cards

 

i have an nforce2 and at first i had problems getting my integrated LAN to work and i had some problems with my ATI card too then i realised fsck linux i do everything i need to on a pc and its fast and easy and im not a programmer anymore so screw linux!

edit: but you so know, it IS possible to get nforce2 working with any linux distro just make sure u have all updated drivers etc

 

get SuSE. everything was completely 100% automatic when getting nForce2 working.

 

Anyone seen this Move kind of handy I think, to having a Bootable CD with the LinuxOS on it
Free Download Here (3/4 of the page)http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3

 

yeah you can do that with SuSE, Knoppix, and Auditor flavors.

SuSE is my personal favorite as it has LOTS of functionality. Knoppix and Auditor are just for hacking.

 

Also Mandrake 10.1 has been released. I just finished downloading the Official dvd and installed it tonite. I'm typing from Konqueror now. All the installation problems I had with the 10.0 have vanished, I did a full clean install in 25 min, without having to change any bios settings a HUGE improvement over the last version. It even seems to have correctly configured my vid card, Tux racer ran quite smoothe no slideshow. I'll have to install UT 2004 later and see how it runs. I'm a beginner with linux and I find Mandrake a nice distro to get my feet wet. I'll post more later after I've had time to play around some more.

 

Mandrake is for PPC processors though isnt it? They dont work on x86 procs.

 

no it isn't, why not download the Move CD? burn it, set your rig to CD-Boot and try it, no need for install anything

 

huih I thought it was for PPC. oh well.

I've used LIVE-CDs before. same idea. as I said, I use SuSE alot which is another flavor of linux(the best IMHO)

 

I also use Mandrake and have an NForce 2 (Abit NFS2.0) and it works great. Since I have the Powerpack version it has the proprietary drivers already on the DVD.
Nevertheless you can get them at NVidia. It is pretty simple to update them.

 

The biggest problem is that the nForce built-in networking NIC will NOT work w/o drivers installed, so, if you want to do that:

1)Use a distro w/ the drivers pre-installed, or...
2)Fownload the Linux drivers and burn them to a CD from Windows.

Saves A LOT of hassle latter on.

 

Well, I have an Asus A7N8X-X board, and it's working fine with a fully updated Slackware 10. NICs work off the reverse-engineered NForce drivers (ForceDeth), sound's supported by ALSA via the Intel 8x0 drivers, I2C support is there, and all the other parts (IDE, memory managers, bridges, etc) seems to be fully recognized.

Note: I'm running a custom built kernel (homebuilt 2.6.9, moving to 2.6.10 soon) but to my understanding the 2.4.26 Kernel that is provided as one of Slackware 10's update works too.

Here's a lsmod of the box:

As seen above, Forcedeth is the reverse-engineered NForce2 ethernet driver (said to be experimental, but has been perfectly functional for me to date). Snd_intel8x0 is the Intel sound driver that's compatible with the NForce. Asb100 is the I2C driver for the Asus "Bach" hardware monitor chip. And as seen, the USB 2.0 ports are fully supported as well. There's plenty more devices supported, but these are the main ones that makes my Linux box tick on the NForce2 board.

Hope this helps.

 

the newer drivers nowadays are pretty good both redhat and mandrake reconize my onboard NIC on my nforce2...

 

if yer using a 2.6.X Kernel then everything is supported in kernel..ya just have to make sure you compile your kernel with your hardware...Suse 9.2 Pro supports everything fine..from the sound to the Ethernet by default...just make sure you use the right USB option if your doing a custom config..its NOT the Intel one...the OHCI or something similar is the one ya want...the forcedeth reverse engineered Eth driver is the one to choose.and the I2C has SMBUS support...its all supported nowadays so if you use a newer kernel you got everything covered