# Redhat 9 - Too Slow - Help!



## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

I just got done installing my very first install of Linux. Everything ran fine, and I got it up and running. The problem is, it's wayyy too slow...

I have 64ram (which is way to low, I'm aware, and yes I know ram is cheap, but I'm cheaper right...believe me) I know that there probably isn't much I can do to get it running much faster besides upgrading my ram, but if anybody has ANY ideas of how to increase the speed I'd be happy to hear.

I'm using gnome with 256 colors (and it's icky..)

On average it takes a window 20-30 seconds just to open!... don't even ask how long it takes mozilla =[

Check out my sig for more details on my hardware.

Thanks!


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## tsunam (Sep 14, 2003)

how fast is the processor? Just out of curriosity, and i believe that most gui's want about double that ram. ^.^;; to run decently.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

700mhz


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## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

Try using a different desktop window manager like fluxbox or icewm. I'm sure Gnome is starving for ram.
You could check how your hard drive is configured by running hdparm. You need to open a xterminal and su to root:

```
[[email protected] lynch]$ su -
Password:<[i] enter your root password[/i]>
[i] then type this command[/i]
 [b]hdparm /dev/hda[/b]
[i] You should get some output like this:[/i]

/dev/hda:
 multcount    = 16 (on)
 IO_support   =  1 (32-bit)
 unmaskirq    =  1 (on)
 using_dma    =  1 (on)
 keepsettings =  0 (off)
 readonly     =  0 (off)
 readahead    = 256 (on)
 geometry     = 38792/16/63, sectors = 39102336, start = 0
```
The two most important ones here are IO_support and using_dma. They should both be set to on.
While you're still root, you can run a couple tests to see how fast data is being transferred:
*hdparm -tT /dev/hda* 

```
/dev/hda:
 Timing buffer-cache reads:   1140 MB in  2.00 seconds = 569.23 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads:   98 MB in  3.06 seconds =  32.04 MB/sec
```
This is on my P4 1.6 ghz box that runs Mandrake 10 C with 256MB of ram.
HTH
lynch


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Okay, like I said, I'm realitivly new to linux other than a few things I've read online... but I managed to figure out how to open the terminal, and I changed to root, except when I typed in "hdparm /dev/hda" it told me that the command didn't exist.

I've also tried switching to the KMD, but it's just as bad. I visited the fluxbox and icewm sites, they have pretty desktops.. but I have no way to get them into linux as I have no clue whatsoever on how to get linux online, nor do I have a cd burner or floppy dive installed.

Thanks for the replies, anyway!


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Here is how to get online with dialup <http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/PPP-HOWTO/>

Once you are online just get the fluxbox rpms, or download the source. I agree that it is definatly gnome that is murdering your machine: I'm on a 266, with 64mb of ram, and my set up runs FASTER than win 98se.


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## pfristoe (Mar 17, 2004)

When I try to use the hdparm command as root I get:

[[email protected] pfristoe]# hdparm
bash: hdparm: command not found

When I do:

[[email protected] pfristoe]# man hdparm

the man page comes up, What's going on here?
Help this new comer will you?


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## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

Type the command(as root) like this:
/sbin/hdparm /dev/hda
HTH
lynch


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## comprookie20 (Jan 24, 2004)

Log out and befir you log in check and see you most likely have something already installed I like windowmaker,its pretty neat once you figure it out,just right click on the desktop for your options and if you get in a jam just log out and start over,david


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## liviu (Mar 23, 2004)

Answers:
1) The hdparm utility is in the /sbin directory. Krelian is logged in as su (superuser) not as a root -that's why the system can't find it. So either he goes to /sbin and put the cmmd: 
./hdparm
or loggs in as root.

2) Answer for pfristoe:
at the thread "linux os" we gave some useful links for newbies (like Krelian).

Regards,
liviu

Email: [email protected]


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## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

If you type "su -" and type the root password you are root. Root is superuser.
All the linux installs I've seen put hdparm, a system utility,( not a script!) in /sbin where system binaries go.
lynch


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

And just a side note, while this wont do much overall yet, it might be worth it to think about recompiling your kernel. That can do wonders for your speed (At boot up at least)


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Okay, I managed to get a floppy drive installed and managed to get fluxbox into linux.. and installed. It's much faster now, yet the file browsing windows are still rather slow. I love the simplicity of fluxbox though!

I read the help on getting the internet up, but it wont detect my modem (or my sound card for some reason, even though it has the right one configured) I'm thinking it may be lack of drivers? I'm still learning though! Thanks for all your help, I managed to run linux for longer than 3 minutes without it freezing... I think that's.. A STEP FORWARD! 

Someday maybe I can figure out how to compile my kernel (I've heard that phrase so many times before) It does take forever to boot.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

I ran hdparm and this is what I got...


```
multcount = 8 (on)
IO_support = 0 (Default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using-DMA = 1 (on)
keep Settings = 0 (off)
read Only = 0 (off)
geometry = 2482/255/63, sectors = 39876480, start = 0

also...

Timing buffer-cache reads: 128MB in 1.61 seconds = 79.50 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 64MB in 3.19 seconds = 20.06 MB/sec
```
IO_support doesn't have a 1, does that mean it's off? Thanks!


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Krelian:_
> *Okay, I managed to get a floppy drive installed and managed to get fluxbox into linux.. and installed. It's much faster now, yet the file browsing windows are still rather slow. I love the simplicity of fluxbox though!
> *


 Dont you just! If you ever feel adventerous, try Xfce4. Works quite well, and makes some sense. (Although, funny enough, i want to use a diffrent wm (preferably fluxbox) with it)*



Originally posted by Krelian:
I read the help on getting the internet up, but it wont detect my modem (or my sound card for some reason, even though it has the right one configured) I'm thinking it may be lack of drivers? I'm still learning though! Thanks for all your help, I managed to run linux for longer than 3 minutes without it freezing... I think that's.. A STEP FORWARD! 

Someday maybe I can figure out how to compile my kernel (I've heard that phrase so many times before) It does take forever to boot.

Click to expand...

*What distro are you running again? Redhat correct? If so, then redhat doesnt actually have an special tools to help you compile your kernel. For now, i would reccomend staying with a 2.4.* series kernel (2.4.25 being the latest by my count). Perhaps you wouldnt have the hellish amount of trouble that i have had moving to a 2.6.* kernel, but boy i wouldnt wish it on anyone. Read the Kernel-HOWTO on TLDP.org, and that will cover installing your first custom kernel. The reason i asked about distro, is that some distros (Debian for example) have tools that automate the kernel build process (The shell script that i use to build my kernel is

```
#! /bin/bash
sudo make xconfig
(pwd prompt here)
sudo make-kpkg clean
(pwd)
sudo make-kpkg --append-to-version=.(date) kernel_image
(pwd) (Super long build process)
```
After which i have a debian package in my /usr/src/ directory of my new kernel.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Yes, I am running Redhat 9 with the 2.4.* kernel.

I'd try and attempt to fix my modem, but I don't know where to start.... and...

I'M ADDICTED TO THE GAMES THAT CAME WITH GNOME, HELP!..hehe...


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Ok... first off, might help if we knew what kind of modem you have (Model, Internal/external) 

After we know that, then we can start to help.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Internal.

The computer is from gateway..

But the model that appears in device manager is
"56K AC-Link Voice Modem"


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

also, for audio

"Intel 82801AA I/O Controller Hub - AC'97 Audio Adapter"


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## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Krelian:_
> *I ran hdparm and this is what I got...
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, it's running at default. Try running this to enable 32 bit IO_support:
*hdparm -c3 /dev/hda* 
Then run the the 2 tests again:
*hdparm -tT /dev/hda*
Then compare the results to the first test.


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## utanja (Oct 22, 2003)

i tried you prvious posts suggestions and notice no significant difference....also i try to keep the change permanent but get error message

slackware 9.1


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Krelian:_
> *Internal.
> 
> The computer is from gateway..
> ...


NOthing is certain here, but from what i have seen, i belive taht modem is a "Winmodem" or software only modem. In essence, the actual "modem" is only a stupid little card to convert the modem noises to pci noises, so that the OS can decipher them. Linux has basic support with "win/linmodems" but it may take some investigation.


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Krelian:_
> *also, for audio
> 
> "Intel 82801AA I/O Controller Hub - AC'97 Audio Adapter" *


Take a look here. I belive this is the correct alsa driver. <http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/doc-php/template.php?module=intel8x0>


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Okay, I enabled 32 bit I/O support. It took me awhile but I got it. From what I can see it doesn't really make linux go that much faster.

Thanks for the link to the driver, I'll check it out!

Also, I have another hard drive installed, and I was wondering how I would get that to show up in linux? Transfering files between linux and windows that way would be great, but is it possible? I know windows uses fat32 and linux uses ex3 file systems. Would I have to partition a ex3 chunk out of the second hard drive? Where would the drive show up anyway, in windows they use letters like C:/ and D:/ and E:/ and such, but how do I get to different partitions on linux?

Investigations are fun, yesterday I managed to figure out how to draw a picture in gimp and put it on my desktop !!!

Thanks for all your help!


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## lynch (Aug 3, 2002)

In Linux, you can identify where your IDE drives are if you're familiar with the controller setup for PCs:
Primary Master= C: (windows) = hda (Linux)
Primary Slave= D: (windows) = hdb (Linux)
Secondary Master= E: (windows) = hdc (Linux)
Secondary Slave = F: (windows) = hdd (Linux)
Once you have identified the drive location you can type:
*dmesg | less* 
You can scroll through the output to see if the second hard drive shows up. It probably did.
Then you must create a mount point for the drive. (Be sure to check the /mnt directory and /etc/fstab to see if this has already been done. If RH 9 did it, it's likely to be named /mnt/dos.) 
To create a mount point open a terminal, su - to root and type:
*mkdir /mnt/windows * (it doesnt have to be called windows: you could call it anything you want, eg. /mnt/xp)
Then you need to add a line to /etc/fstab as root with a text editor. (Be sure to make a copy of your existing fstab 1st and rename it fstab.old, just in case )For example, say the 2nd drive is hdb:
/dev/hdb /mnt/windows vfat noauto,user 0 0 (then hit <Enter> to put a carriage return at the end of the line. ) Save the file and exit. Now see if it works:
*mount -t vfat /dev/hdb /mnt/windows* 
Now look in the /mnt/windows directory; if you see windows files then you got it right.
I like to keep my fstab as lean as possible which is why I suggest the above. If it doesnt work try adding umask=0 like this:
/dev/hdb /mnt/windows vfat noauto,user,umask=0 0 0
Try that and let us know how it goes.
HTH
lynch


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

> _Originally posted by lynch:_
> *In Linux, you can identify where your IDE drives are if you're familiar with the controller setup for PCs:
> Primary Master= C: (windows) = hda (Linux)
> Primary Slave= D: (windows) = hdb (Linux)
> ...


Of course, that only works for fat32. NTFS has initial read support, but i still wouldnt write to it yet, using linux.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Well, yesterday I accidentally screwed up parititioning my hard drive and had to wipe my ENTIRE hard drive, including linux AND Windows. Back to square one guys. =\ Might take me a few days to get it back up and running, but thanks for all your support! I'll let you know once I have it all back up.


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Well, now's your chance to go linux only. Then once you put the effort in, you'll love your new linux box (almost) just as much as owning a brand spanking new 2.5Ghz comp.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Maybe if it went as fast as a 2.5Ghz comp =\ heh


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Not quite... but if you put in the effort, and make some choices right, your computer can _seem_ to be much much faster.


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Well, I'm just glad to be able to try linux. It's fun stepping into new grounds.. hehe


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

It is isnt it. It brings the fun back into *computing*, not just web browsing.


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## tsunam (Sep 14, 2003)

yep yep it is. So much fun

I'm currently compiling a 2.6 kernel to see how it does on my system. ANd to play with as well . Just for the heck of it . Will still have my 2.4 so there's no real scare.

YOu can do things like that and not really have a fear. Thats better then windows anytime.


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Make sure you install module-init-tools. That was the one thing that threw me for a curve!

Wow this new TSG layout is... wierd. I was so used to the old one.


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## tsunam (Sep 14, 2003)

Whiteskin said:


> Wow this new TSG layout is... wierd. I was so used to the old one.


thanks for the hint whiteskin, and yeah the new layout is sorta funky ^.^. I guess i was used to the old one myself. so i guess i'm just 
..


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

Everyone loves the new icons though!


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## Krelian (Mar 10, 2004)

Wow, it's...different


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## joelwnelson (Apr 25, 2004)

I am also finding RedHat 9 with GNOME to be far to slow (300 MHz Pentium 2 MMX, 256 MB RAM)... windows take 5 seconds just to draw, Mozilla takes over a minute to load, Gaim takes 15 seconds, etc. I'd like to install icewm but have no idea how to. (Is there a window manager that's faster than icewm but still easy for newbies?) I can download everything in Mozilla but that's as far as I get. Don't see a graphical installer and have no idea how to run a Linux text installer.  (My primary OS is Mac OS X and while OS X has a terminal mode with "Darwin" I haven't had reason to do much with it since everything is available in the GUI.)


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

You are going to have to use rpm. man rpm should get you going. And then, after installing a new wm, you will have to change the windowmanager that loads (either in ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xsession. )


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## PhillyLinux (Apr 24, 2004)

When I open up terminal and type in gedit /dev/hda: gedit says directory doesn't exsist and asks if I want to create it. My IO_Support is set at 0. That is why I am going in through gedit. I want to turn it on per your advice. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

Mark from Philly



lynch said:


> Try using a different desktop window manager like fluxbox or icewm. I'm sure Gnome is starving for ram.
> You could check how your hard drive is configured by running hdparm. You need to open a xterminal and su to root:
> 
> ```
> ...


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## liviu (Mar 23, 2004)

For icewm you can check the page:
http://www.icewm.org/
They had there also documentation - good page !

For reading more about Linux, I added links on my page, PhillyLinux (just check my signature).


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## PhillyLinux (Apr 24, 2004)

Thanks, but this answer relates to another thread. I am still trying to figure out how to change IO_Support to on.


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## tsunam (Sep 14, 2003)

it should be hdparm -c1 /dev/hda(whatever the drive your using is)


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## joelwnelson (Apr 25, 2004)

I tried to install IceWM on RedHat 9 but couldn't get it to work. Any suggestions for a more lightweight distro that would run fast and let me install my own window manager if the provided one is too slow?


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## Whiteskin (Nov 16, 2002)

debian. Gentoo. Slack. Anything BUT redhat pretty much.


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