Chapter 2. Starting Novell Linux Desktop

The boot loader provides options for how you want the system to boot.

NLD then communicates with the computer's memory and other hardware components as it readies the system for use. As these events take place, the kernel writes them to the screen, so you will actually see messages related to hardware initializations and other boot events.

The NLD boot process is displayed as messages on the screen.

Tip

If you even bother to watch the boot messages you will probably find that they don't make compelling entertainment. However, you actually can get troubleshooting tips from these messages if there is a problem with your system. As the kernel displays a message for a particular boot task it then adds the "done" tag. In cases where hardware fails to initialize or other problems arise, a message will be followed by the "failed" tag.

After the system is loaded, the Logon Manager appears. This is where you enter your username and password to log on to NLD.

Enter your username and password in the NLD Logon Manager.

However, before walking through the actual logon process (which is only a couple of steps), let's briefly explore the options that the Logon Manager provides. These options come in the form of three menus :

• Language— This menu allows you to select the language for your NLD session. The default language will be the language selected during the NLD installation. To change the language, make a selection and then click OK.

• Session— This menu allows you to choose the GUI desktop that is loaded when you log on for this session. Choices include GUIs such as GNOME (the default desktop for NLD) and KDE. Two choices also are provided that can be used to troubleshoot problems with your NLD installation: Failsafe GNOME and Failsafe Terminal (the terminal provides a command shell only).

Note

Typically, you will want to use your default Session setting; this provides the desktop GUI you use on a regular basis (GNOME, for example).

• Actions— This menu includes options for shutting down the computer, rebooting the computer, or configuring the Logon Manager. Select the appropriate option and then click OK to proceed. The configuration possibilities revolve around the look of the Logon Manager and allow you to change the "graphical greeter" from the default greeter to other greeters such as the Happy GNOME with Browser greeter. To change the configuration (including the graphical greeter screen), you must know the root password.

Other graphical greeters can be configured for the Logon Manager such as the Happy GNOME with Browser greeter.

Whether you take advantage of any of the configuration possibilities provided by the Logon Manager menus is really up to you. This book discusses NLD in terms of the installation defaults.