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Step 1 Done!

Woohoo! Well, after working on the linux system for three days (off and on), I finally built the kernel to my system. You know, the last step in the LFS book? (http://www.linuxfromscratch.org) I booted the system after compile and for the first time ever - it booted successfully on the first run! That has never happened in my time using LFS! WOO! The whole thing boots in less than a minute - which is surprising since it is only a 366MHz machine. Now I have the bare minimums, just the absoulte CORE of a linux system. No fancy stuff, no remote stuff, just the basics to get it loaded and have a shell running. My next step tomorrow will be to boot off of Knoppix again and download and compile the tools and programs needed for me to get SSH running (in fact, other than the inital boot and using samba to get the packages copied over, the entire system was built through SSH, it was headless that entire time). Once SSH is going, the next few are (in no particular order) Samba, FTP, Apache, X, Audio Libraries (oo crap, need to find an ISA modem/sound card for my anime... if it can handle it), codecs for all different types of files, MythTV, and a few other things I can't think of yet. When I am done, this little thing is going to be maxed out! Here are its specs:

  • Genuine Intel Celeron 366MHz

  • 256MB PC100 RAM

  • 8GB Primary Hard Drive (installed as root)

  • 250GB Secondary Hard Drive (installed as /var/mythtv - for the recordings/live tv)

  • SMC EtherPowerII 10/100 NIC

  • ATI Radeon 7000 32MB (which runs the console at 1600x1200@85Hz by default - woo!)

  • Serial port adapter to communicate with the D10-200 receiver

  • (Pending) Parallel port adapter to use with an IR receiver for remote control

  • (Pending) Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-350 for video capture/output

  • (Pending) ISA Modem/Sound Card for CallerID and potential anime playing

Well, that brings you up to date on this little box, I just realized that I don't think the PVR-350 can play native linux sounds... only what is passed through it. Also I don't think its little CPU can handle playing of .mkv and .ogm files... but time will tell!