Author Topic: Installation Suggestions ( $$ moving to Help Wanted $$ )  (Read 6246 times)

Armor Gnome

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Installation Suggestions ( $$ moving to Help Wanted $$ )
« on: December 31, 2009, 05:53:29 am »
Good Evening,

I have been trolling the forums and the wiki for some time now while shopping around and preparing to set up my system.  I wanted to introduce myself to the community and to thank everyone for the information I have already come across.

I am 31 and I stumbled onto LinuxMCE doing some Google searches for easier ways to manage my media.  I have toyed with different Linux distros over the years but still rely on a lot of reading every time I tackle something new.  For now while I am still working on getting a solid core up and running I find myself in the user_setup section of the wiki copy-pasting hardware into my own build list.  Hopefully once my basics are up and running I will be able to contribute and test out some hardware of my own to try and help other people like I have been helped.

My System (half in boxes, half plans)

Since I am remodeling my house anyways right now I decided to run 1.25" schedule 40 pvc under my crawlspace and up into the walls of the rooms I plan to have MDs or other wired devices.  I live in a single story building so this is a pretty simple task.  I am taking photos of this process and can link them after its finished.

Lowe's carries some and has access to products from OnQ who I will be finishing my wiring with.  I don't know if they have been mentioned here on the forums but it's priced reasonable and they make some slick items for clean installations like plug covers and mini-service panels to mount patch panels and other connections inside walls.

green = have it now
,  black is planned

Core / Hybrid ?
Black 4U ATX case
MSI p45 Neo3-FR mobo

Core 2 ??  (watching prices currently,  I may go duo and later move up to quad)
2g  RAM  **EDIT_00 below**
HDD ??  (I need to weigh the benefits of having my media stored here verses on NAS)**Edit_01 below**
Tuner Card(s)  ??  (after I have my core and first MD up I will add this along with Satellite HD service)
Video Card ??  (probably cheapo as this will basically be headless, it will KVM to a monitor on my desk normally running games off a windows box)

Secondary External Network Windows PC ( KVM share with core )

Black 4U ATX Case in a custom cabinet with core
Primary External Network Windows PC
Vertical Desktop Tower

ASDL Modem + Router Combo (provided by ISP, wireless G only and 10/100 ports)

NetGear RangeMax WNR3500 (with gigabit wired ports, this will have dhcp turned off and act as my switch to begin with)
?? Port 10/100/1000 Rackmount switch

WebDT 366 (didnt get the charging base so will make one to semipermanently install in the Living Room as primary remote control of that MD)
iPhone 3G (web orbiter control and point of contact for future IP cameras)
Fiire Chief / 3 button gyro remote   ( would love to find fiire but any working gyro remote to run my bedroom MD )

HP R1500 XR UPS (rackmounted under my core, it will be backing up the external network for sure and the core if it can handle the VA)
Nucool 1.7 cu. ft. Compact Fridge Black (17 inches wide so will install in my rack on the very bottom,  this will chill the resivour for my liquid cooling and store beer)

Living Room MD (first MD project)
- No hardware decided yet, only a list of what I want to do with it -

Bedroom MD
(will not see alot of use, would settle for standard def video setup here and may go with a pre-configured box hidden out of site)

Future Plans-
Cisco 7970 (for my office so I can use it as an orbiter while gaming on both windows PC without hitting the KVM)
Multi-zone audio controlable with iphone web orbiter in the backyard
z-wave?/IP?  controlable thermostat
IP cameras and sensors to replace an archaic security system
Remote Lights in at least the living room
Remote Window Treatments in the living room and bedroom

Voice Recognition and Control, everything I have read says forget it.  If I get serious about adding this I may have to run it through my windows (external) network.  If I can't make it work with LinuxMCE I hope to at least find a way to 'share' control of some of these devices with windows equipment.

If you took the time to read through all of that thanks and I will be more concise and specific in future posts.  Nice to meet everyone and hope to see everyone here as often as I am able.



EDIT_00  Some good info on the forums about this,  2gig seems to be plenty, I will save the $ and put it elsewhere
EDIT_01 I will be putting my media on a ubuntu9.10 based NAS.  http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6798.0 answered my question about the path of media on the network.  If I understand this correctly the only task the core would play here would be dhcp traffic cop and would not have to compress/compile/send the media itself.




« Last Edit: February 05, 2010, 11:30:34 am by Armor Gnome »
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Armor Gnome

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Re: Hello Message
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2010, 04:53:32 am »
I have been all over the forums here and on the wiki and have not been able to solve my install issue with 8.10 DVD install.

msi p-45 neo3 MB
intel core 2 duo 6600
nvidia 7600 GT pcie
2 gig OCZ reaper hpc (two 1 gig dimm)
onboard eth0
second NIC 10/100/1000
bluetooth dongle
two 250gig seagate barracuda sata drives
floppy
dvd rom drive

First Try: 
set up raid 0 using bios configuration
attempted install
hung as system couldnt find hdd

Second Try:
took down raid in bios
installed using dvd and got to kubuntu desktop
went right to LMCE install icon ( did not update my drivers or kubuntu)
reboot and got to "regenerating orbitor -> transperancy failed" loop

Third Try:
Disconnected one sata drive and installed to the only one hooked up
got to kubuntu desktop and avoided the LinuxMCE icon
activated driver for NVIDIA (190)
restarted as instructed
selected software upgrades but said no to getting a full upgrade to 9.04
restarted again
ran the LinuxMCE installer via the icon
.....
.....



It got too late for me to do more tonight.  I will check the install tommorow morning before work.
This will be my core/hybrid for now,  as I add MDs around the house this will become more and more a dedicated core.
Does anyone see any glaring mistakes or problems other than the first raid0 install attempts?





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Armor Gnome

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Re: Hello Message
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2010, 02:03:58 am »
Lost count of attempts: Somewhere around 7 or 8 I think

I have ran every script and instruction set I could find here, on the wiki and even from YouTube.  Sadly at this point I am unable to remember how for I got with each to report what got me the furthest to a working install.

With the latest version of 8.10..
Install Kubuntu or Install Linux MCE at the initial dvd prompt?
Once at the Kubuntu desktop.  Upgrade all but the 9.4? version or all including 9.4?

At this point following a reboot, should I apt-get something or run the script on the desktop ?

**The "quick install dvd" refered to all over in the wiki and on other install guides,  can I install 710 using that and then update to 810?**
« Last Edit: February 03, 2010, 02:10:12 am by Armor Gnome »
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tkmedia

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Re: Hello Message
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2010, 02:20:45 am »
Quote
**The "quick install dvd" refered to all over in the wiki and on other install guides,  can I install 710 using that and then update to 810?**

No

What kind of error messages or condition are you getting ... you don't give us much to go on

Tim
My Setup http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/User:Tkmedia

For LinuxMce compatible  systems and accessories
http://lmcecompatible.com/

Armor Gnome

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Re: Hello Message
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2010, 03:37:02 am »
Thank you so much for your response.  I truly am trying to get this going on my own by following directions but that is where I am getting lost.  I have installed and reinstalled several times with many different methods and steps.

Going through slowly this time and writing down the steps I take to report my current failures.  I was hoping for advice on which path to install I should use prior to going through all of this again the wrong way.

Some fails so far:  AV wizard too large on the screen so I couldnt select options,  sara going techno on her openning phrase looping the first 3 words over and over but I could only see the top of her head,  grey/black screen full screen message prompts about regening orbitor followed by error messages at the top of the screen ( I cannot read the orbitor configuration from the server, transperancy failed, a few others )  scrolling script failures -->  start domain name service... bind 9  [fail] , starting NFS common utilities [fail],  I got to the flicker orbitor once but it was locked to the upper left corner of the screen and reported errors to a seperate window about failure to load bluetooth, mythtv, and media "indentification?" something like that,  my kde desktop panel stuck half way across my screen once and would not resize when I changed resolution ( which was now limited to 540x4?? ) ,  went into webadmin to raise my resolution back to 1280x960 and got a black screen.

So I have run into a few issues.  On top of this my webdt366 hangs at the splash screen and the progress bar will not move.  I think that may be a case of needing to remake my thumb drive image though because I cant get into terminal on it.  That can wait though for after I get the core working.

** Edit

Selected Install LinuxMCE from Kubuntu initial screen
entered my loc and info
got to kde desktop and activated driver 190
ran LinuxMCE script on desktop
rebooted when prompted
av wizard came up
VGA/1280x768/60, UI2, Analog ( no sound came through )
-- the top half of sara came up, sound worked and I got her prompts but could not see the buttons to progress, could not get out of her screen so had to reboot--
rebooted again,  noticed some fails " staring NFS common utilities [fail], start domain name service... bind9 [fail] "
grey screen with full screen prompts about starting core services
sara came up again but this time I could select kde desktop.  her voice still came across and I could not kill her wizard
When I try to get to 192.168.80.1 it tells me the server has it blocked, and desktops 1 and 5 if selected will put me back into the loop
« Last Edit: February 03, 2010, 04:30:18 am by Armor Gnome »
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Armor Gnome

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Re: Installation Suggestions
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2010, 02:32:07 am »
I was for a while excited to report I had somehow got my 9th install attempt to work.  It held up for almost 24 hours. Today when got home from work I was greeted with a flickering grey screen I could not get out of.  I came to the forums and searched for solutions and learned to crtl+alt+f1 to get to command interface.  After following 10-15 help suggestions with commands I gave up.  Having the night before downloaded and burned a copy of 7.10 quick install DVD I attempted to install that but got an error message that it could not detect my harddrives.

Although frustrated I am not discouraged.  Daily more and more packages show up with more hardware for my future plans involving some release of lmce.  I tell friends at work about the system but now have to preface everything with " when I get it working "...

My Core is as follows:

msi p45 neo3
intel core 2 duo e6300 (1.8g)
1gig ddr2 OZC Reaper HPC
1gig ddr2 OZC Reaper HPC
250gig seagate barracuda sata
250gig seagate barracuda sata
usb bluetooth dongle
cd/dvd rom - burner
3.5 floppy
nvidia 7600 GT pcie vid card
ps2 mouse
ps2 keyboard
vga crt monitor connected by adapter to dvi out on vid card
onboard 10/100/1000 nic
secondary nic 10/100/1000 connected via pci slot

*haapauge pvr-150, arriving by fedex sometime this week**

(I researched each piece before selecting and purchasing specifically for 8.10 but if any of my hardware is to blame I will pull it in a heartbeat and buy more supported equipment)


Questions:

Is there an install option of any version that gives me core only and not av-wizard/ hybrid setup?
What version would run best on my hardware setup?  Where can I find older versions?
If I install kubuntu and attempt to install lmce8.10 through terminal, which version of kubuntu should I install?
Is there a terminal install option to get core only after __ version of kubuntu is running?


I realize everyone is busy and I appreciate any help anyone takes to answer some of these questions.  If nothing else I guess by the time a newer version of 8.10 is released I will have a full home worth of MDs waiting.  :)

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Armor Gnome

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Re: Installation Suggestions ( $$ moving to Help Wanted $$ )
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2010, 11:31:44 am »

Not getting any farther on this so decided to open a thread in Help Wanted.  Please message me if interested.
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Kezza

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Re: Installation Suggestions ( $$ moving to Help Wanted $$ )
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2010, 09:48:06 pm »
Have you tried going through the web install? http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Installing_0810

Exactly per instructions. I have been using that as never had luck with desktop script in the past.

There is an issue with KDE not working that a few people are having including myself (unsure if all new installs) but there is a bit of a work around. http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=9541.0