I am just so used to using it in Windows and wondering if Linux has an equivalency.

Some people find it annoying, literalistic, pedantic to be reminded "Linux is just the kernel" but it is so very true, and this fact keeps coming up in questions like this.

So the answer of course is 'no', there is no one utility which will work on all linux based distributions the way that msconfig works on windows.

Msconfig is mostly about controlling startup programs and services, right? In linux-based systems I think this is usually controlled by configuring your run-levels, and there have been utilities created to make this easy/streamlined. Those tools are usually built for one system first (say, debian) and might get ported/adapted to another, like fedora.

Which linux distro are you using? What in particular would you like to do? I think on linux-based system, some of that msconfig functionality is not all in the runlevels, but in the window manager's configuration.

Edit: to be clear, i didn't mean runlevel selection, but the configuration of your 'normal' runlevel.

Edit 2: I've heard a lot about YAST, and wondered if this was the answer to your question. After looking it up, I'm still not certain, but it might interest you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yet_another_Setup_Tool

The closest thing would be WebMin, which is available for just about
any Unix, FreeBSD, or Linux distro: http://www.webmin.com/

It's a web-based admin tool. For whichever distro you're using,
check its software library for WebMin before downloading from
the WebMin website. It supports 80+ distros.

(FWIW, I'm an author for a Linux book and have been using
Linux since the very first version of Slackware - 1993? and
before that Yggdrasil Linux).

Linux is the kernel proper. GNU/Linux is the kernel + GNU utilities.
A "distro" (distribution) is GNU/Linux + other utilities + software.



Yes there is ... it's called WebMin



YAST was a proprietary setup tool developed by SuSE (I've been using
SuSE since it's first release (4.2) in 1996), which was released with
SuSE's first release - it was proprietary in nature, giving SuSE a slight
edge over other distros. It's now available under the GPL license.

WebMin is the better choice, until such time that YAST is made available
across the board for [most] all distros.

Exactly.



I see merit in this nomenclature, but it is disputed by some. For example, should you call it GNU/Linux/X11 ?



Webmin is excellent, but does not truly work on all linux-based operating systems. Quite literally, the answer is still no. It is the nature of linux-based systems that people will build unusual and unique systems - it would be nearly impossible to have a truly universal config tool.

Perhaps this question would be better phrased in the context of LSB compliant OSes.

Say, if a system works on 97% of all linux based OSes in use, then in practical terms you could say its a 'universal' config tool.




I definitely believe that; I don't think YAST duplicates all the functionality of msconfig.

Ah! Now we are talking! I would not be surprised if 80+ distros covers over 99% of all server and desktop linux machines. Universal in practical terms. This doesn't address handhelds and the embedded space, though, which might run a true "linux OS". Android is a linux-based OS. Is maemo supported?

Thanks for the info. I actually found that it was in the Firefox Web Browser that I had the program I wanted to shut down. It was under View, Toolbars then uncheck Free Radio Toolbar. I thought this page was interesting.

http://www.mcmcse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7878

Oh, I am running Fedora 12. I just love it.

Well, part of the beauty of Linux is that since its open source, there's no need to hide things about proprietary technology. So, most of the configuration can be explored by looking at the text files in the /etc directory.

Be careful what you edit-- it can give your install a pre-frontal lobotomy in short order. Or, better yet, get a removable hard disk drive tray assembly, an old hard drive and load it with an install of a disto for experimentation purposes. I call that 'making a Kenny', a la South Park (OMG, they killed Kenny!). That way, you won't destroy a good working install on a drive that has data on it.

Alternatively, I guess you could run Knoppix from a CD/DVD and look/change the /etc files on the ramdisk, but I've never tried that.

-Kerry O.

Hi, Kerry. I have an old copy of Knoppix from college days way back in 2004. Also bought a copy of Linux Complete second edition copyright 2002 by Sybex. It goes on about Red Hat 7.1. Of course, Fedora is a part of Red Hat so some of it is useful. Oh, yeah, being careful is why I got the associates degrees in computer repair and networking. I kept having to take my computer to the local guru because I had deleted some important file that Windows needed. Being a wav sender in the wav rooms on AOL in 1995 we use to say when we were saving thousands of songs; "I need more room so I will just delete Windows." But all we got on Linux back in 2004 was that the college called it DOS 2. Microsoft was DOS 1 and Linux was DOS 2. Kind of reminds me of the section in the AA big book entitled "More will be revealed." Or when they told me in Basic Training in Fort Leonard Wood basic in electronics. At the end of the lecture the drill instructor told us, "Now you know enough to be dangerous." One thing I like about Linux is I haven't had to worry about .dll files.

That's pretty funny, given DOS's heritage in relation to Unix. Definitely a case of putting the donkey before the cart. I still remember the late 80's and SCO Unix being the operating system of choice for multi-user database systems based on PCs and Wyse terminals.

I doubt that Linux will ever garner much more than single digit percentages of the desktop market. That's not a bad thing, I guess, although it would be nice to see some better applications software come down the pike.

Still, computers have gotten cheap enough so that the average person can easily afford hardware and software to run both Windows *and* Unix-based OS's.

-Kerry O.

If you click on "System" and then "Startup Applications" you can control what you want to have to boot.

Hey, thanks, Atlantis. Good information for me to remember. I especially like the Gnome Login Sound because I like to know if my sound is working.

Is there anyway to change the login sound to something different?

I was also wanting to run multiple sound cards because I want to be able to run headset with microphone and desktop speakers when I am not using the headset without having to plug and unplug.

Menu -> Control Center -> Hardware -> Sound, Sounds tab,
under Desktop -> Login ... click on Default, then select Custom
from the pop-up menu, finally, choose a sound file.

Yep there is a way, I think I saw it, but that was under KDE, it comes installed with certain OS-es (haven't really checked that part of GNOME) , but I'm sure there is a sound card control menu, if not you can easily download it with any packager (add remove software or Yast, or whatever is installed with your OS)

Just search for "volume control" or something similar in the depositories.

I saw quite sophisticated sound control and sound editing software that costs thousands of dollars for windows, or not even available.