[Resolved] gentoo USE flags

[thorpe]

ok... by the time anyone reads this i will have more than likely fumbled my own way through this anyway, but hear me out.

i think ive a basic undestanding of how these USE flags work, but obviously because its all up to personal choice there is limited tutorials on the subject.

ive managed to find a list of use flags with a little more info than the manual here (http://gentoo-wiki.com/USE_Flags_explained), and ive been going through this list trying to create my make.conf file (based on the make.conf.example) by adding and removing things.

now my main concern is... im only new to linux, and even when im 100% sure im not going to need something im really only 96% sure... if you know what i meen.

what i have been doing is going through this list, if i know i want something i include it, if im 100% (96%) sure i - it out, and if im not certain, i leave the option out completely.

really, and i know this should be my descision (im just not sure im educated enough to make that descision), all i want is a setup that will.

enable most of what php, python, perl and ruby have to offer.
enable most audio formats (mp3,wave)
enable cd / dvd burning, ripping

im looking for a minimal desktop (fluxbox), to witch i can add things like file managers, without the need for gnome or kde.

i realise this is something i should probably need to figure out for myself, and oneday im sure i'll get it. but at the moment im just not sure if im enabling or disabling too many features in my make.conf file.

anyway, im just after a little advice. my make.cong file currently has around 60 option enabled / disabled, most of the tutorials ive seen have like 2 - 3 enable / disabled. if i could maybe see a make.conf from a more experienced user.... would be much appreciated.

should i just let the defaults reign untill i know more about what im doing?

ps: i forgot to metion... at the time of me writting this, im still part way through a stage two install.

[thorpe]

ok... trying not to let this get to me, but pulling my hair out. ive been working on this install for 4 days now, finally got it to boot time.

as a booted for the first time i got an error (at work now so not 100% sure on the wording), something about eth0 not found.

read a few hundred posts on the gentoo forums. seems i have no modules loading into my kernel.

anyway.... i think im going to re-do this whole thing. starting with a stage3. might come back to a stage2 when im a little more knowledged.

frustrating but fun at the same time. why do i torture myself so? :-P

ps: im still interested in seeing someones USE flags, if anyone is keen to share.

[goldbug]

Originally posted by thorpe
ok... trying not to let this get to me, but pulling my hair out. ive been working on this install for 4 days now, finally got it to boot time.

as a booted for the first time i got an error (at work now so not 100% sure on the wording), something about eth0 not found.

read a few hundred posts on the gentoo forums. seems i have no modules loading into my kernel.

anyway.... i think im going to re-do this whole thing. starting with a stage3. might come back to a stage2 when im a little more knowledged.

frustrating but fun at the same time. why do i torture myself so? :-P

ps: im still interested in seeing someones USE flags, if anyone is keen to share.

What network hardware are you using (use lspci or cat the pci stuff in /proc), and what kernel? Note that when booting off a live cd and installing, it loads like every network module imagineable, to make sure it can reach the internet. Most likely you'll need to recompile your kernel to add in what modules you'll need, then add the modulename to the autoload file.

[thorpe]

ok... im nearly two weeks into this thing now, and loving it. i managed to get my network working after recnfiguring and recompiling my kernel.

all software has been real easy to install, though i did have a few dramas with php-5.0.4 being masked. managed to get it working though, so now im pretty happy with my system.

so far ive installed;

fluxbox
firefox
firebird
gaim
mplayer
xmms
apache
mysql
php

im pretty well convinced that this is all im going to need on this machine, though thinking about it just now i realise im still yet to emerge some cd/dvd burning software.

very happy with gentoo though.