Desktop Linux

fordracerguy":6vemjywr said:
Here is a little glimpse into my world:
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Sweet looking desktop, Chris...I see you're using Beryl as well.

I've got it going on my home and work PC, although the work PC has a few "issues". At home I have a single widescreen monitor, and it works great...at work, I'm using a pair of flat panels. Dual monitor support under Beryl works, but it's still missing a few features that Windows and Macs take for granted in that environment.

For anyone interested, there are a ton of videos over at YouTube, showing off some of the features of Beryl. Just search on "beryl", and have a peek. A lot of it is just very impressive eye candy, but the functionality aspect of the environment is every bit as impressive.
 
Well, Ubuntu installation woes continue at Birch Bay. I thought maybe there was a CD drive alignment problem or something, with the PC not able to read the CD burned on the MacBook, so I downloaded and burned a new CD on the PC - no such simple solution. The CD spins, the HD whirs and chugs (??), the installation program runs at a crawl, mouse freezes up...the only difference between this PC and the one in Fall City is that this one is an AMD processor and the one in Fall City is Intel. Could that matter? Some BIOS system setting? What? Why would an installation program running from CD be causing the HD to be chugging away? This one may just have to stay a Windoze PC, a thought that really bums me out...all suggestions welcome!!!! (I reinstalled Windoze and obliterated the Debian installation, I guess I could go back to that, but never solved how to get right video card / monitor settins anyway, and Ubuntu is just a lot cooler for the desktop).
 
AMD is not the problem...must be something else hardware or driver related.

I just did a few quick searches, and it appears you are not alone...Ubuntu on older hardware has known issues with the installer. Which is a shame, as those who have hacked their way around it on this older hardware, are quite satisfied with things once it is installed.

The "Live CD" configuration of the install CD appears to take the blame, and the issue seems most prevalent on older PC's with small amounts of RAM.

My suggestion - turn this ugliness into an opportunity, and burn some OpenSUSE CD's. OpenSUSE has a nice GUI installer, that is every bit as intuitive as Ubuntu. However, if your system doesn't have the resources to run the GUI install, you can easily drop back into a console mode install - uglier, but still very simple, and it will work on virtually anything.

This will also give you an opportunity to try out both distributions - assuming the OpenSUSE installation works on your hardware.

If you go this route, I'd suggest following the instructions in this article after the installation is complete. Doing so, will configure your OpenSUSE install to have access to many more cool and updated applications, than are provided by the default online update sources.
 
Thanks, Bill. I will try OpenSUSE. Right now I have the Ubuntu "alternative desktop" downloading via Transmission (Mac bittorrent client), and will try that, as it mentions AMD and says use it if you are at all unsure. But I will also try the OpenSUSE, heck, this is just plain fun on these dreary Saturdays!
 
OK, this is coming at you from the Ubuntu box at Birch Bay! The 6.10 alternate desktop install CD functioned perfectly! It is not a graphic installer - took me right back to the days of MSDOS in its appearance, but this is the way to go for anyone else who has been encountering installation issues. Now to get the Epson Stylus 600 printing, set up printer sharing, and finally see if I can get Mac - Linux file sharing going...the latter, from a lot of Google research, is NOT a piece of cake, unlike Linux - Windoze, which is easy. Strange, too, for two ..nix OSes.
 
OK, maybe everyone else already knows this - but THE absolutely coolest accessory for Ubuntu, in my book, and an absolute necessity for us Windoze / Mac types, is Krusader, a two panel file manager and a lot more! Definitely will ease the transition to Nerd status when all we every will use is the command line!
 
Pat Anderson":hjhmpj9u said:
OK, maybe everyone else already knows this - but THE absolutely coolest accessory for Ubuntu, in my book...
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So let's see here. You spend the better part of two weeks, with stretches of utter frustration, trying to get rid of the most popular and successful OS in the world, and then you get all giddy because you find something to make what you end up with look and act like Windows? How many years of schooling to learn this stuff?
 
Bill – thank you very much for the tip with my network speed. It is now as fast as my XP machine. Not sure I disabled it properly because I just started poking around in the system and found ipv6 in the System\Administrator\Network\Network Settings\Host tab. There, I just deleted it. Made a 400% improvement.

I am starting to find my way around Linux/ubuntu, but still a lot I don’t understand. I have not been able to find a way to format the second hard drive. Are there built in disk utilities in the OS?

Two major problems I have with Linux/ubuntu are there is nothing like windows explorer on Windows computers. To me that was the window into the computer. It gave me access to everything (programs, files, services, ect). I can live without it, but the other is the screen resolution. 768x1024 is way too low. I would be using Linux/ubuntu to post the message and read the post if I was able to get it higher, but so far have not figured it out. Hope I don’t have to replace the video card to do it.

The more I learn about Linux the more I like it. I can even see myself installing the server version on my home server sometime down the road. Just because I like Linux does not mean I dislike Windows XP, because I also like Windows and do not have problems with it.

Since I have been using Linux, it has had two program crashes and popped up a bug report window (both were network related and before I deleted ipv6, so that may have solved those problems). Can’t remember the last time I had a windows program problem other than Adobe products and QuickBooks. I find that most of windows problems are from improperly installed software added by users or vendors.
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Dave dlt.gif
 
TyBoo":vsi8q866 said:
Geez, Pat, don't get mad. I was just joking. Let Patty read it - she'll think it's funny.
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Sure didn't make me mad...in fact, given your new-found affinity towards selecting products based on popularity and the manufacturer's success, I was hoping to get a good deal on your boat when you trade up to a Bayliner. :xnaughty
 
oldgrowth":24uni912 said:
I have not been able to find a way to format the second hard drive. Are there built in disk utilities in the OS?
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Yup..."gparted" is the GUI utility that can handle it, but I'm not sure where in the Ubuntu menu it would be located, nor whether it is installed by default. If you can't find it in the menu somewhere, you might try opening up a terminal window and entering "sudo gparted" to see if it starts. If not, use the Ubuntu installer to fetch and install it.

Two major problems I have with Linux/ubuntu are there is nothing like windows explorer on Windows computers.
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Assuming you are using Gnome (you are, if it's a default Ubuntu installation), Nautilus is the Explorer equivalent. I can't remember for certain, perhaps one of the full-time Ubuntu users can help out here...but I think you have a folder on your desktop that opens it up, possibly titled "xxx Home", where "xxx" is the username you are logged on as.

Nautilus is very powerful, but it does take a bit of getting used to for those coming from a Windows background. All of the functions I used in Windows Explorer are there, and more - but it is different.

...but the other is the screen resolution. 768x1024 is way too low.
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I know this can be changed, but again - sorry. I don't recall the details of how it's done under Ubuntu. Did you check out the community forums?

Good luck...
 
...but the other is the screen resolution. 768x1024 is way too low.
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I know this can be changed, but again - sorry. I don't recall the details of how it's done under Ubuntu. Did you check out the community forums?

Good luck...
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Just right-click the Desktop and choose Properties. It's so simple even a nerd could do it. Oh wait a minute - nerds don't do Windows.
 
TyBoo":3bdc6lzo said:
Just right-click the Desktop and choose Properties. It's so simple even a nerd could do it. Oh wait a minute - nerds don't do Windows.
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Hey, smart guy - had I been asked about the environment I use, the answer would have been "three mouse clicks".

Which, while one more click than the Bayliner OS provides, would have displayed something even a millwright could figure out.

desktop.jpg
 
Da Nag":2uqw85ui said:
...in fact, given your new-found affinity towards selecting products based on popularity and the manufacturer's success, I was hoping to get a good deal on your boat when you trade up to a Bayliner. :xnaughty
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C'mon Bill, that's about as goofy as comparing the new CD interior to the advent of the transistor. There is a fine line between nerd and dork. Watch your step.
 
It has been four days since I installed Linux on one of my computers and the more I learn about it the more I like it. However it will never be used for anything except experimenting with and learning the OS unless I can increase the screen resolution.

I have not been able to find any application for my video card and monitor properties. I found a video driver that was suppose to help but didn’t. Had to reinstall the OS to correct the driver problem.

Bill thank you for the info on “gparted”. I did manage to find it on my own, but it locks up the computer tighter than a nailed shut casket buried six feet under. I found a hidden file that is suppose to end a program that has crashed but even that would not help. I do believe it has something to do with the hard drive because when I replaced it, I can partition and format the new one, but only as NTFS. For some reason Linux does not recognized it as a local drive, so it is unusable.

There is suppose to be a program/service to un-mount and mount a hard drive for Linux, but have not been able to find it. Other programs I have installed from the ubuntu site do not show up anywhere on the computer after the install. They have to be started through the terminal service (if you happened to remember the program file name) or you have to add it to (what I call the task bar) the top of the desktop. Not user friendly.

I could go on and on but know some of this is just my lack of knowledge about the OS. I am not really asking for help, just venting my frustration. I learn by experimenting and eventually figuring things out. However, I wouldn’t mind help on the monitor resolution, then I could use the computer as well as experiment with it.

I have a Labtec WinFast GeForce2 MX64 (MX200) 32 meg video card. Highest resolution I can get is 1024x768.

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Dave dlt.gif
 
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