OMG I love Ubuntu !

I just tried Ubuntu off the CD and I absolutely love this OS.

I love the fact you can actually try it without installing it on your hard drive. It found every driver on my Vostro 1500 with the exception of my Nvidia drivers and just two clicks from the top menu bar and I was told there were 2 Nvidia drivers and it recommended the latest. I was able to access the net with zero configuration. The office suite looks awesome as well.

It took me 5 minutes minutes to figure out how in the hell to shutdown Ubuntu. Well duh that's what the "power icon" is for in the upper right hand corner is for.

Ubuntu sort of reminds me a lot of OS X and it's layout. It looks like an OS I can figure most of the stuff out on my own. What should I set the partition for on my 160GB HDD? Ubuntu 64 absolutely flies on my system. One of the mods recommended x64 and it was the right choice. I forgot your name but thanks for the recommendation.

I'm going to install Windows XP on partition 1 and Ubuntu on partition 2. Oh does anyone know where to get some cool free legal games from?

 

Glad to hear you like it so much!
Free games? for Ubuntu? There's a few in the software repository(Applications>Add/Remove Programs>Enable all Available software from the dropdown.)
Also you'll probably want codecs and such for mp3, in which case install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package using the above method.

 

What you'll really like is the package manager. I forget if you change any options, I haven't used Ubuntu specifically for a while, but find the Synaptics Package Manager and from there it lists thousands of programs you can download. Including a TON of free open source games!

An actual really decent one IMO if you like the old point and click adventures is Beneath a Steel Sky. You can download it free from gog.com (Good Old Games), but it's been available for free for a long time, and it's even easier to find in Linux World.

 

same here. been using linux only for a few weeks and have completely switched over from windows. i've tried pclinuxos, opensuse, debian, mint, fedora... but i always come back to ubuntu. it just fits my needs. now if i could only figure a way get my middle scroll button to work properly.

 

Same, i just got my free live CD a few days ago. Too bad they shipped 8.10 and not the new 9.04, but i still love it.

 

It works in Firefox, but maybe not everything:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=119500

This might have some more info, although the thread is from 2007.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=478418

Basically any question you have, just type it simply with ubuntu at the end and you'll usually find quite a bit of information on the subject. All I typed in was "middle mouse scrolling ubuntu" and those were the first two links.

 

Yeah I had already saw those, I should have mentioned that. I Googled and found a few links i'll try out later. Btw I meant to say Ubuntu reminds me of Mac OS 9 Classic, although I didn't follow through with the Nvidia drivers so i'm sure the OS UI won't look so 2D bland.

Oh what's an acceptable partition for Ubuntu? I've read that the OS takes up 2.5GB but I want to leave room for games, updates and apps.

Another question I have is when say Ubuntu 9.05 (example) gets released does 9.04 get updated from the CD or do you have to do a clean install of the OS/Kernal?

 

It'll be 9.10, they do it every 6 months, and you can technically update it from 9.04 -> 9.10, but it sometimes messes up your installation, so many people don't usually recommend it.

 

Usually about 10-15GB is alright. You can manually partition and make a partition mounted as /home to store files and settings.
There is no 9.05, there is a release every 6 months in April and October.
9 = Year 04 = Month, when the next version, 9.10 is released you will be able to upgrade automatically by downloading the latest packages.

 

Hahaha... torrents FTW. I got 32-bit and 64-bit Jaunty downloaded overnight. Can't wait to upgrade.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10226746-92.html

 

I'm going to download ubuntu 9.04 also and use that instead of windows.
But when I go to ubuntu.com to download it, it says "desktop edition" does that mean it's specifically for a desktop?

thanks

 

Is there a way to partition a drive as the primary Ubuntu OS and then use an extended partition for apps and such? That would suck having to reinstall everything all over again with an OS update.

Is this acceptable?

Partition #1) Primary OS (WinXP) 100GB - Primary partition
Partition #2) Ubuntu OS (20GB) - Primary Partition
Partition #3) Ubuntu Apps and Games (40GB) Extended Partition

 

Oh just realized there was a laptop picture next to where it said desktop edition so I just decided to download it.

 

Correct me if I am wrong. But isn't OS X also a unix base system at its very roots ? This is what I recall.

 

Yes that would be correct. OS X is based on Unix.

 

No, that means it's used for web browsing, email, and the such. Laptops or Desktops.

You don't have to, unlike updating to the next version of Windows all your apps remain installed.

IT is not based on Unix nor is Linux, rather, they are based on unix like OSes and are unix like in design. respectively.

 

actually, i've tried numerous solutions without any luck. in firefox, the middle scroll button acts as a "open in new tab" for me. it's no big deal... i use my bluetooth mouse most of the time.

 

check out Alien Arena, it's a fun, free, FPS game that is sort of like Quake 3

http://icculus.org/alienarena/rpa/aquire.html

it's in the Ubuntu repo's too although I forget what the package name is right now.

 

Thanks I will.

OK I got a HUGE question. I read the installation guide and it was pretty straight forward. I aborted the Ubuntu install because I want to install it on a "raw" partition which I have set aside partition #2 as the Ubuntu installation partition. How do you tell Ubuntu you want to install it onto another partition? I don't want it installing on drive c: as that's where Windows XP sits.

 

Go to manual partitioning, it's the last option. From there you can choose to resize partitions, format, create, etc. If you already have it sized just choose that one, and select the type of partition.

 

I'm not sure where that is?

When I got to the main installation page it had F-Keys on the bottom which I don't recall now. The other picks were:

1) Try Ubuntu
2) Install Ubuntu

And there were a few others I forgot now. I'll look again.

 

OK I booted off the CD and these are the choices i'm presented with.

1) Try Ubuntu w/o any changes to your computer
2) Install Ubuntu
3) Check Disc for Errors
4) Test Memory
5) Boot from First Hard Disk

F1 - Help
F2 - Languages
F3 - Keymap
F4 - Modes
F5 - Accessibility
F6 - Other Options

I selected every F-Key combination and did not see where to manually install it to drive d:/ partition #2.

Oh, i'm running the x64 version. Is the install procedure different from the 32 bit version?

 

choose install Ubuntu. After it asks for your timezone, name etc you will be presented with the partitioning options. Select manual as a prior poster said, and you will see the partitioning information.

 

OK I sort of figured it out. You can manually select a partition from the "Install Ubuntu" pick. But I got to another roadblock. When I select partition d:, I get the message that says: "No Root File System is Defined, Please Correct from Partition Menu".

I selected XFS Journaling File System but i'm puzzled by what Mount Point to give it?

Here are my choices:

/
/boot
/home
/tmp
/usr
/var
/srv
/opt
/usr
/local

Any suggestions and would it be better to run Ubuntu within the Windows XP partition?

 

just mount up the whole thing, so

/

would be your choice

 

I decided to just wing it and i'm up and running. I selected XFS Journaling File System and / as my mount point. I didn't select a swap file as a) I didn't create another partition and b) I have 3GB of memory.

I was able to download and activate both the Broadcom Wireless and my Nvidia graphics drivers. I went into system prefs and changed the appearance to reflect a 3D graphics card. Don't see much of an improvement. How does everyone get all the cool effects. Please let me know. So far i'm just messing around in Ubuntu.

 

Beat me too it LOL.

 

Why XFS? I think the last time I tried it it wouldn't boot GRUB.

 

I have no idea what Grub means, LOL. Remember i'm a noob at this.

I selected it because when I deleted the partition and then created another one that was the default. It works though.

Oh and i'm posting this from Ubuntu Firefox.

 

XFS is NOT default in Ubuntu.....lol, use ext3.
GRUB is the boot loader that loads the kernel and boots the system.

 

Go to

applications --> add/remove --> system tools --> compizconfig settings manager

Download and install it and then go to

System--> preferences --> compizconfig settings

Set up your fancy eye candy and enjoy!

 

Wow thanks, i'm downloading it as I type. So far i've downloaded Ubuntu themes which are pretty cool. So as Thomas mentioned earlier do I need to start over since I selected XFS Journaling File System or can I let it go since everything appears to be working fine? Also do I need to create another partition for the swap file?

 

I'm not sure because I have no experience with XFS, currently using ext4.

I would add a 1GB swap file at least.

 

OK I downloaded compizconfig and I don't see it under system/prefs -> compizconfig settings.

I'll try a reboot.

 

OK I got it working. I had to double click on compizconfig once it finished installing. Once I did that I was brought to another screen where I can download more special effects.

Dang this OS os sweet. It's so customizable.

 

I just got it burned to a cd
I am gonna run it off the CD to try it out first.

Also is linux 32bit and 64bit? Does linux even deal with the bits?

 

Swap is not really necessary if you have at leat 2gb of ram... I'm using 0mb of 500mb(set by ubuntu) with my 4gb...

 

i'm not sure (still learning), but i was under the impression that your computer uses the swap partition to hibernate to.

 

I'm fairly certain it doesn't. The swap partition is used like a page file.

 

You are right.
If you want to use hibernation, you need a swap space at least as big as your RAM as explained on this Ubuntu Help/FAQ page.
The same still goes for hibernating under 9.04.

Again, if you want/need the hibernating function, make the swap at least as big as your RAM.
If not, 500 MB has always been more than plenty for my situation/program use.
Cheers.

 

I tried the LiveCD and noticed two bugs.

When you try 'Hardware Drivers' and click to Activate, nothing happens. I have to hit 'Enter' and I have to move the cursor to the highlighted section. Really smooth, Ubuntu!

Then there is another bug in which I have to press 'enter' when installing software. If I click 'OK', the program utility just closes. Wow, great job!

To make things even more interesting, my wireless won't work after installing the wireless drivers. So, Ubuntu is no better than any of the other distros I've tried for my wireless. They just try to make it look better but fail miserably. So, basically, it's just a lot of hype by fanboys. Nothing new...

 

What wireless are you using? I have 9.04 on 3 different laptops (Gateway 6860fx, Dell Inspirion 1720, and HP dv9815) And it was pretty much click to turn on wireless.

 

And my EEE and old Inspiron also installed wireless drivers fine...

 

What do you mean, 'what wireless?'

What card? What drivers?

I have a Broadcom chipset in the card, BCM4318. There are a lot of various instructions to get it to work. I think I found a decent site but it is just out of the blue. It's not on any Ubuntu support site. That's okay but I have to say, I did not try the solution yet. I really wanted something that works out of the box before I install on my laptop.

K/Ubuntu works fine on my desktop as I have a USB wireless adapter that works fine with it.

But, my laptop only has a 40GB HDD right now and I don't want to switch to one of the *buntus unless I know my wireless will work.

You know anything about this?:

http://ubuntu.cafuego.net/dists/intrepid-cafuego/broadcom/

I think it may be the last chance to see if my broadcom mini PCI card will work. I know it works in other Debian distros with the wireless utility, ceni. But, if I use *buntu, I need a different utility like wicd, I guess. I prefer it working out of the box, though.

I might swap my mini PCI with another one that has open source drivers, like the intel-based cards.

 

Just install the b43-fwcutter package and it should work.

 

Have you tried ndiswrapper? It basically utilizes Windows driver in Linux.

 

There's no need unless the native driver + proprietary firmware and the new Proprietary Broadcom STA driver both fail.

 

OK i'm loving this OS more and more.I performed a system update, then I installed my Nvidia drivers, then I installed compizconfig and applied it. I double clicked on it to start the app. I then went and installed the graphics enhance packages. I still don't see compiz in my "preferences menu". What am I doing wrong?

Oh per Thomas I reinstalled 9.04 using an etx3 partition and I created a 1.0GB swap file as I don't use hibernation.

I searched for some cool Tux wallpapers but they seem to be in 1024x768 format. Anyone have some links for 1280x800 Tux walls?

 

You can right click the desktop > Change desktop background > Visual effect and hit custom and see if that works.

 

just google image:

"1280x800 tux"

or something like that and then use your right click to set that image as wallpaper