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Fedora Core 3 Tips and Tricks (v1.0)
Last modified: Monday March 23, 2026

This is based on my Fedora Core 2 Tips and Tricks page. Just getting started here, comments welcome. Recent changes are highlighted in yellow. There is also a Fedora Core 4 Tips and Tricks page.

Add support for other repositories

 Fedora comes with a ton of software but there are still plenty of packages of interest to most users that are not included for a variety of reasons. This is where you find the MP3 plug-in and a ton of other packages. Yum is now the preferred update format, however the handy RHN icon on the GNOME task bar that I like (but nobody else does) still seems to be tied to the old RHN method using up2date .

Before you add repositories it's probably a good idea to make sure your system is fully updated first. Right now I really like the FreshRpms repository since it works well and seems to have pretty much everything. Unfortunately there are some things that are still only available via Apt so we need to handle that too. First edit your /etc/sysconfig/rhn/sources  and add the following: 

# Macromedia Flash plug-in only
apt macromedia http://ruslug.rutgers.edu macromedia/apt/fedora/3 macromedia
Now go to /etc/yum.repos.d  and create a file called freshrpms.repo  containing the following: 
[freshrpms]
name=Red Hat Linux $releasever - $basearch - freshrpms
baseurl=http://ayo.freshrpms.net/fedora/linux/$releasever/$basearch/freshrpms
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
For security reasons the packages in these repositories are GPG signed to protect their integrity so you'll need to get and install the public keys: 
# rpm --import http://freshrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY-freshrpms
You can browse the packages available there at http://heidelberg.freshrpms.net//.

Install MP3 Plug-in

 Since you've been following along this next step is about as easy as it gets. Just use yum  to automatically install the MP3 plug-ins for XMMS and Rhythmbox like this: 
# yum -y install xmms-mp3 gstreamer-plugins-extra-audio libmad libid3tag
The -y  flag is to automatically answer yes to any question. If you want to be able to say no you can ignore that flag.

xmms // and go to Options -> Preferences then choose Audio I/O Plugins. // In that list scroll down and find the MPEG Layer 1/2/3 Placeholder Plugin // and disable it. Then enable the new plug-in you just downloaded which is // listed as MPEG Layer 1/2/3 Player. Now MP3s should play just fine. //

?> While you're there I also recommend the XMMS Status Plug-in found at http://newrpms.sunsite.dk/apt/redhat/en/i386/fc2/RPMS.newrpms/xmms-status-plugin-1.0-2.rhfc2.nr.i386.rpm. Just download it and install it with: 

# rpm -ihv xmms-status-plugin-1.0-2.rhfc2.nr.i386.rpm
Then fire up XMMS then with your mouse on the XMMS window hit CTRL-V. Choose General Plugins then click on Enable plugin and hit Configure to customize it to your tastes. From then on you'll have a docked control panel for XMMS.

Install Macromedia Flash/Shockwave plug-in

 If you set up the repositories correctly above you should just need to do this: 
# up2date flash-plugin
You can get more information about this plug-in at http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/macromedia/site_ru.html. Before the plug-in gets installed you'll need to agree to the terms of the license.

Install DVD player

 Currently I find the only DVD player that actually works is the Xine Multimedia Player which is found in the FreshRpms repository so installing it is just this simple: 
# yum -y install xine xine-lib xine-skins
This will install the xine DVD/VCD/CD player. Now to get xine to automatically play a DVD upon insertion, go to the Red Hat -> Preferences -> Removable Storage. Make sure DVD Videos is turned on and put in the following for the command: 
xine --auto-play --auto-scan dvd

Install MPlayer Media Player

 At some point you're probably going to want to play a QuickTime, AVI or ASF file so you'll want the MPlayer media player. Fortunately with the FreshRpms repositories it's also very easy to download and install. 
# yum -y install mplayer mplayer-skins mplayer-fonts
This command line will download the whole kit and kaboodle. Restart your web browser after that whole mess is done installing and you'll also have a plug-in for Mozilla so you can play embedded content. I recommend that if you want to play content from a command line that you use the gmplayer  version which will include a skin-able control panel.

The FreshRpms repository doesn't currently have an MPlayer Plug-in but you can download the FC3 version from http://mplayerplug-in.sourceforge.net/download.php then install it: 

# rpm -ihv mplayerplug-in-2.75-fc3.i386.rpm
The version number may varry of course. This will install the plug-in to play a wide variety of media within your browser window. While you're at it be sure to configure mplayer to use the ALSA sound system rather than the default. It just works better. Edit the file ~/.mplayer/config and add the following line: 
ao=alsa

Install RealPlayer 10 Media Player

 If you have a better way of installing a Real Medial player please let me know if in the comments section below.

Before you install the play you'll need to make sure the compat-libstdc++ module is installed. Download the RealPlayer10 package from the following location:

RealPlayer10GOLD.rpm
Then install the RPM from the command line: 
# yum -y install compat-libstdc++
# rpm -ihv RealPlayer10GOLD.rpm
Then whenever you want to view something just use /usr/bin/realplay . Here is a link to a cute test video to make sure it's working for you.

If audio is working but you have a black screen then it's possible your video card doesn't support XVideo. You can turn it off by clicking on Tools  -> Preferences then choose the Hardware tab and disable Use XVideo .

After you've run it the first time and gone through the configuration screens edit the ~/.realplayerrc  file and add the following line in the [helix]  section of the configuration: 

[helix]
SoundDriver=2
	.
	.
For some reason on my system RealPlayer uses the the old and virtually obsolete OSS sound driver. The line above tells it to use the newer ALSA sound driver instead.

Install Java J2RE and Mozilla Plug-in

 It's also very handy to have the Java run-time environment available and most importantly a Mozilla plug-in so you can view dynamic content. It's unfortunate that Mozilla will actually crash if you go to a site containing Java and you don't have the plug-in installed.

The best site for the plug-in is the Dag Wieers repository. I would normally recommend just putting it in your up2date sources but I've had problems with conflicting packages. In this case I recommend you just go to the site and download and install just the packages you need. Just go to http://dag.wieers.com/packages/j2re/ and download the latest j2re and mozilla-j2re  packages as appropriate for your system. Then just install them as follows: 

# rpm -ihv j2re-1.4.2-8.1.fc2.dag.i586.rpm mozilla-j2re-1.4.2-9.1.fc2.dag.i586.rpm
At the time I wrote this there were no FC3 specific packages but the FC2 packages work just fine.

Install NTFS driver

 If you need access to NT file systems you'll probably want to download the Linux ntfs driver. There is a site that maintains pre-built modules for all released Fedora kernels at http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/rpm/fedora3.html. A pre-built ntfs module usually appears just a few days after a new Fedora kernel gets released. Be sure to match your kernel version and processor type. If you're not sure what version you're running do this: 
# uname -r -p
For example if you're using the latest kernel (as of this writing) which is 2.6.9-1.667 and the i686 (even if it's an AMD) processor then you will want to download it to a local directory and install it as such: 
# rpm -ihv kernel-module-ntfs-2.6.9-1.667-2.1.20-0.fc.1.2.i686.rpm
More detailed instructions on determining which RPM you need can be found at http://linux-ntfs.sourceforge.net/rpm/instructions.html. Once installed the ntfs driver will be a dynamically loadable module and you can mount NT file systems with mount -t ntfs -o nls=utf8 /dev/hdXX /mnt .

Install Other Odds and Ends

 Many people will find it handy to have MS TrueType fonts available to make sure many websites render correctly. You can download the latest RPM from http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc3.shtml#ttf and install it as follows: 
# rpm -ihv msttcorefonts-1.3-3.noarch.rpm
And don't forget that if your Linux system is on the Internet 24/7 and has SSH open to the world you might want to take steps to Protect SSH.

Common Glitches

 New section where common "glitches" in Fedora Core 3 are documented with their workarounds.

PC Won't Turn Off After Shutdown
The workaround for CPU enumeration with HyperThreading CPUs allows shutdown to work properly. Simply add acpi=ht to the kernel boot line in /etc/grub.conf and reboot.

Turn off the ANNOYING Spatial Nautilus Behavior
I don't know if it's the worst feature of Fedora but it's definitely in the top 5. You can get the old more sane behavior by bringing up Edit -> Preferences then select the Behavior tab. Near the top find the option for Always open in browser windows and make sure it is checked.

If you have additions to this section please use the comments section below.

Other Useful Resources

 I've tried to not just copy other people's tips so I've included a list of other people's tips and tricks I've found to be useful. There should be little or no overlap.
The Unofficial #fedora FAQ - Great place that contains a wealth of information about Fedora Core.

Fedora-List Mailing List - The official discussion group for issues with the final releases of the Fedora Core Linux distributions.

Fedora Multimedia Installation HOWTO - I discovered this great resource after I wrote this. This document goes into more detail than mine so it's a great resource.

Performance Tweaking - Make Linux behave more like XP and delay starting services until later to give the appearance of a faster booting system.

Fedora Core 3 Linux Installation Notes - Another great set of installation notes that includes much of what I include here but does include a few things I don't.

Unofficial Fedora Core 2 Guide for Beginners - A very extensive list of how to do various things in Fedora Core 2. Good source for beginners.

Linux.com | Fedora Core 2: Making it work - Here is an article going over a few other suggestions on making Fedora Core 2 work a little better.