I installed SuSE linux 10. However in Graphical

[cchhat01]

I installed SuSE linux 10. However in Graphical mode (KDE/GNOME), as soon as I login, it seems as the tablet locks up entirely. Now, what I've heard is that the prblem is with the nVidia drivers which install by default. Is there a way to update these and get the laptop to function. I have had my brain eaten up by this issue.
I own a Tecra M4 and I know SuSE can work on this machine with the correct display settings.
The problem scenario is as such: I boot into SuSE. Login screen appears. I log in. It start loading the appropriate interface. And as soon as i move my mouse (5 seconds into the loading) things get stuck. Mouse and keyboard seem to have no effect whatsoever.
I've read that the display drivers locks up. How can I update to the latest nvidia driver for 6200TE.

I know many have experienced with SuSE on this forum and I appreciate all the help I can get.

regards,
Chirag

[sshapiro63]

You should be able to login using an alternate type of session.

When you are at the graphical login prompt click on the Session box in the lower left corner and select another login enviornment. If the login still hangs up you can try Ctrl-Alt-F2 to get a command line login prompt. You will then have to upgrade the driver without the graphical tools.

I have not tried upgrading the video driver on my M200 because I run SUSE using VMWare instead of directly on the system. You should be able to get video driver upgrade information/help from www.suseforums.net.

If you decide to try running SUSE in a virtual machine, VMWare server is now free and does a great job. It runs as a service so my SUSE guest starts/stops as the main systems starts/stops. I have found this to be a great way to run Linux on my tablet because I still get all the XP Pro tablet features too.

Steve

[lv]

If you don't mind, sshapiro63, could you please elaborate on the VMWare server setup you have.

I am not that good with computers but basically all the programs I use at work run only on Unix/Linux and I would like to run them on my laptop (m200). Most of these programs are not graphics heavy at all, a lot of them are just run from the shell, but some have graphical interfaces with clicky selection and dropdown menus. Two of the programs do need openGL graphics though. Would the server version run these (I am not sure what "server" means) or would I need VMware workstation for this?

Also, how much memory does the Suse+VMware use when it is just running in the background with no programs running under Suse?

Some other issues I am concerned about are:
Is it easy (as in drag and drop) to transfer files between windows and whatever Linux I have under VMware?

Is it harder to set up networking for the VMWare linux? Does it behave exactly like a normal linux installation?

I would really appreciate it if you (or anyone) could answere any of these question for me. I am very interested in having linux on the m200 but it's a bit intimidating since I don't know anything about linux installation and maintenance, so I figure the VMware virtual installation is the safest option.

sorry for being off topic

[sshapiro63]

I know that VMWare Workstation 5.5 has some support for direct 3D but I dont' know if that means OpenGL is supported. What you might be able to do is run VMWare Workstation or Server for your Linux guest and use a free Xserver such as Cygwin or Xming within XP. That would give you the capabilities of your tablet pc onboard video. I don't know if OpenGL will work with a "remote" X server; just a thought.

I give my SUSE VM about 512MB of memory and it works fine; the total system memory is 1GB. I have another system with 2GB total memory and I allocated the VM 768MB.

Networking is very easy because the guest system only knows about the virutal network card. The host can run wired or wireless and the guest never sees a difference. This makes Linux network setup very easy because you don't need a Linux driver for the actual hardware.

File transfer is very easy with Workstation if you setup Shared Folders. This allows you to identify directories on the host that appear as network drives only to the guest system. I'm not sure if the server version supports it. If not, you can still setup a real share from either the host or guest and exchange files that way.

I have been using both server and workstation versions and there are several differences. You might try downloading each and see which works for you. Server is 100% free and there is a time limited demo version of Workstation.

I think a Linux guest running on an XP host is the ideal situation for a tabletpc since you don't lose any of the tablet features.

I hope this helps.

Steve