Looking to use Linux (Ubuntu?)

KNiVES

KNiVES

KNiVES

Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2005
Posts
14,951
My Windows 7 RC expires in a couple of days, and instead of sticking with it, I'm considering making the move to one of the Linux operating systems, namely Ubuntu. I'm well aware of the compatibility issues, but I only use my PC for internet browsing, instant messaging and music, so why waste money on Windows.

Is it possible to download Ubuntu or the like and simply reformat and install over W7 or do I have to burn it to disc and reformat from bootup? I'm basically just looking to do a quick download-install deal but if I need to burn to disc I'll do that.
 
I found a Windows installer for Ubuntu that makes a partition for itself so I'll try that in the meantime :)

I'm not too worried about old data, I'm looking for a new OS with the intent of starting completely from scratch with a blank slate anyway. Am I right in assuming most modern Linux OS' have a general variety of network card drivers included? I'm worried that I may have to figure out a way to get my wireless network card to work.

edit: never mind, this page shows that my wireless network card runs out of the box with it :)
 
Last edited:
Having slight issues - I downloaded the iso and burnt it to disc. Thing is, I get as far as the Ubuntu menu on bootup, but selecting any of the options such as demoing it or installing it makes it freeze. I tried the boot helper option inside Windows, and that freezes on bootup too. So I'm trying installation inside windows as a last resort now.

edit:

Well, nothing works. Booting from disc doesn't work, using boot helper doesn't work, trying to install doesn't work. Not a great start. Either it freezes or it gives an error, all on bootup. Errors like unaligned pointer, or something along the lines of ms skip or something like that. Totally vague and unhelpful.

Freezes when I select any of the options here
GraphicalInstall

(taken from here)
 
Last edited:
core 2 duo 6300
4GB memory
4870
7200rpm 250GB hdd

That's all I can remember. It's been such a long time since I cared about PC gaming that I've long forgotten the specifics.

Would it help any if I just took the plunge, reformatted the HDD and took a try at installing from scratch? I may as well, as Windows will stop working completely in a couple of days.
 
Woohoo!

I got it working. I am now posting from Ubuntu - completely reformatted and started from scratch. It installed and picked everything up like a dream, including my wireless network. It's very smooth and responsive I must say, and the image is astonishing clear.
 
I can't get any of the IM clients to work with my windows live account. I've tried empathy, pidgin and amsn. They all simply don't connect, as if the email address account never existed in the first place. Some sites say I need to install SSL for pidgin but I have no idea where to start. The documentation is in complete jargon and is essentially useless for a beginner like myself.
 
Thanks for the help dude - I entered those commands in, a bunch of lines appeared and such. But unfortunately it hasn't fixed the issue - I still get authentication failures. It's a nice OS though and I would be over the moon if I can get the instant messaging to work.
 
I'm very sure. It works on the Windows laptop downstairs.

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Click to expand...

That's what happens when I enter your command. It seems everything is up to date. It still doesn't work :(

When it says update manager on that page there, does that mean the synaptic package manager?
 
Believe me, I must have tried that like a hundred times now :p
It came with Empathy by default - which didn't work so I removed that and installed AMSN which didn't work, then I moved on to Pidgin, which isn't working either.
So it seems like there's a fundamental underlying problem which has nothing to do with the instant messaging clients themselves.

Could it be that the problem lies with the msn protocol itself? Any packages or software that could be updated or changed for it?

Another problem seems to have crept up on me as well, none of my usernames and passwords for websites are being saved, for Firefox
 
Last edited:
Yeah I copy pasted all those commands so far.

I tried using the facebook plugin for pidgin... guess what. That doesn't work either! So it's not just MSN protocol. Something's fudging all these IM clients up.
 
I have done 8+ hours of reading through the Ubuntu forums since I got it last night! Hundreds of people have had the same issue as me, with hundreds of different solutions. It shouldn't have to be like this. With every hour that passes that this simple little task becomes herculean, I become more frustrated and more inclined to spend £70 on Windows 7 and simply forget Ubuntu ever existed. Right now I don't want to do that if I know the alternatives are just as good, but I am extremely discouraged.

This is such nonsense.
 
It's not just MSN accounts, facebook and AOL accounts don't seem to work either. I've given up on it for now, as I can still use the facebook site chat. Been looking around the OS' other features as I haven't properly done that yet. So far I've got Wine downloaded, and managed to get Spotify working :D

Hopefully I'll be able to get WoW working on it too - I've seen people run it successfully. I'd be in Nirvana then.
 
Might try that sometime. I'm currently trying to figure out how to disable the bass speaker for my sound set up - it's a 6.1 surround setup but I only have the three front speakers plugged in plus the bass. When I play music, it comes from all of them which is nice, because Vista and 7 only used the front left and right ones. So now I'm stuck with 4 speakers instead of 2, but I want to disable the bass, any ideas? It's absolutely thumping down even on quiet songs.

I go on to system - preferences - sound, but it's not very customizable at all. Output only lets me select HDMI or Analog Stereo (which is currently enabled). Any programs out there where it would for example, graphically display my speaker setup and I can pick the ones I want to disable? Much like Realtek's programs for Windows.
 
Tried that, there's a myriad of speaker options, for front, sides, the lot but not the bass speaker :confused: funny that, as the bass speaker is considered the most integral of the bunch. I can't exactly just unplug the bass speaker either, it acts as the central unit for the other speakers.
 
I tried sorting the whole instant messaging thing again. It gets extremely super weird now. I tried both of my MSN accounts - one gmail and one hotmail - on all the online web messengers on the first page of the google search for them. Every single one of them got an authentication failure. All the IM clients on Ubuntu got an authentication failure too.

Yet on my sister's Windows laptop, I can log in her Windows Live messenger and on the web messengers just fine. How bizarre :confused:
 
I think they both have their good and bad points. I've been using Windows for years, and only ever gave Linux a small shot every now and then. I'd like to try the other side now. Despite the very bad start I'm willing to put more time into it.

I have to agree with the easy access to new features and programs on the Linux side of things (Ubuntu at least) - you can go either into Software Centre or Synaptic, do a search and every program that's available for the OS is there for the taking, instead of doing individual website and program searches. It's something Windows really could use. Ubuntu also came with a myriad of programs, such as a media player, bittorrent client, web browser, office software, image editing software, and so on. So I haven't actually installed anything that I would need to get back to my old Windows routine.

If I had the minor problems sorted, such as the instant messaging conundrum and the inability to specify which speakers should and shouldn't play - I really could not justify spending money on any alternatives, unless it was for gaming. It's just that compared to Windows, it's nearly impossible to see exactly where the problem lies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom