Ubuntu Linux Software [Archive] - QiQ's Net4Now Forum

John

26th February 2007, 14:25

I have no idea what happend mate, i just let it run off the CD, took a look at it and thought right i will turn it off now i know it works and come back to it later and when windows came back on it went mental and that fecking Windows genuine advisor thing went all crackers telling me my PC was not activated and would i like to buy a genuine licence for £62.50, a bit of a cheek if you ask me cos notice it said it my XP was not activated not that it was not genuine, i wonder how many people fall for that and give Bill even more cash, it could have at least offered me Vista the tight wad :lol anyway a power down and leave it for 5 minutes saw the return of the network card and Windows activated at the first attempt so no harm done.

Ill try that live install thingy in a few weeks as i will be installing XP again when i put a couple of new hard drives in so i wont have owt to lose if it knackers anything up.

Phaedrus

3rd March 2007, 11:32

I installed Ubuntu on Rob`s desktop yesterday and had another crack at putting beryl on...................WOW!
Its brilliant!
It makes Vistas attempts at 3d effects look silly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpIhoLzDOTY
Lots more beryl vids to drool at on youtube.

Trev.

Gina

3rd March 2007, 15:14

That's good Trev :):)

I'm looking for software to record TV from my DVB tuner and codecs to play DVDs and MPG files. So far I'm getting errors about missing parts which I'll be chasing up. I'm just hoping I can find something that works a bit better than Cyberlink Power Cinema :lol

Furby

4th March 2007, 16:04

This looks interesting for those who want to try it - handy tool for network peeps out there:

http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html

Gina

5th March 2007, 22:49

Thanks Sarah :)

Been getting to grips with GIMP. Pretty powerful photo editor :) Just used it to make a montage of my moon shots :) Layers actually work! :):) I've tried various other photo editors and found them quite confusing.

Furby

6th March 2007, 19:36

Thought some might be interested in this media player - it has the ability to go far. It supports Linux and Windows and Mac and has several plug ins like ipod support etc.

Watch the screencast video (but ignore the voice in the last 10 seconds :lol) It is pretty impressive :)

The screencast video (http://www.songbirdnest.com/screencast/)

List Of Add-ons/Plug -Ins (http://addons.songbirdnest.com/)

If you are viewing the video via Linux and cannot see it, try the you tube version available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIGvEOHWCg4

Or the Google video version here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3459741980389960498&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

The web features are pretty neat :)

Gina

6th March 2007, 21:57

Thanks :) Looks interesting :)

Furby

6th March 2007, 22:07

Thanks :) Looks interesting :)

It does, doesn't it :) I am giving it a go anyway :)

Gina

6th March 2007, 22:13

I will too - when I figure out how to install from a tar.gz package rather than the simple install methods I've been using :lol

Phaedrus

7th March 2007, 00:18

Another Ubuntu script install from psychocats :)
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/songbird

Trev.

Gina

7th March 2007, 00:34

Thanks Trev :) I'll try that tomorrow :) Currently in Windows recording TV.

onomatopoeia

7th March 2007, 10:51

I will too - when I figure out how to install from a tar.gz package rather than the simple install methods I've been using :lol

tar xzvf filename.tar.gz

unpacks the archive into a directory below where the archive file was saved, normally (but not always) the directory will be called the same name as the .tar.gz file, without the extensions. There will normally be a file named INSTALL and another named README included when it is upacked. Read both, that should give all the information you need.

Normally there are four steps to installing a linux program after unpacking :

change to directory where the unpacked files are
./configure
make
make install (must be done as root)

Complex software can require additional configuration, but this is always explained in the INSTALL file.

Gina

7th March 2007, 10:58

Thanks Mark :) Very helpful :) I didn't think it was very difficult - I just couldn't find it when I had a quick look :lol

Actually, jusk clicking on the tarball unpacks it in the GUI :) The same way as Windows for zips. There isn't an INSTALL file in Songbird package so will try the script posted by Trev. But the info is useful for oterh times :)

Gina

7th March 2007, 11:57

A bit later and I've installed Songbird and playing my music with it :):) Delightfully easy to do using the script :):) Also added the bluebird theme which a touch better than the default black background :) It all just works! - nice change from Windows :) Pity it doesn't play WMA files but I wouldn't expect it to as that needs a M$ license! But MP3 is fine.

That makes several music players that work - now I want a DVD player that works properly.

onomatopoeia

7th March 2007, 12:11

Actually, jusk clicking on the tarball unpacks it in the GUI :)

Clicking? Most of my linux boxes don't even have a screen attached, never mind X windows :lol

Still nice to see you are using all the terminology, tarball indeed, we'll turn the whole of N4N into geeks eventually :cool:

Phaedrus

7th March 2007, 12:26

Clicking? Most of my linux boxes don't even have a screen attached, never mind X windows :lol

Still nice to see you are using all the terminology, tarball indeed, we'll turn the whole of N4N into geeks eventually :cool:

Get X on you uber geek! You know you want to. :rofl
You can still use a terminal in Gnome and KDE you know. :evil

Trev.

Gina

7th March 2007, 12:31

Indeed! And it works better than the Windows cmd window which has a really silly way of copy/paste - Linux works as you'd expect :)

Still, if Mark prefers to type everything in then.... :lol But he's young and energetic - I'm just old and lazy :rofl

Phaedrus

7th March 2007, 13:00

Installed GnomeBaker and burned a CD and a couple of DVD`s without problems. Nice interface and simple to use. Recommended.

Had another success with Usenet downloads. In Windows I download NZB files and open them with Newsbin Pro. Then use QuickPar to check and repair the Rar files, then WinRar to unrar the finished download.
In Ubuntu I installed Hellanzb (from a tarball via a terminal Mark, after installing python also from a terminal) following this guide:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=169749
Now I just download an NZB to a folder, Type hellanzb.py into a terminal and everything else is done automatically. The finished (downloaded, par checked and repaired unrared and extracted) file appears in another folder.
I downloaded Heroes episode18 this way (took less than 10 minutes) and burned it to disc using GnomeBaker :cool:

Trev.

Gina

7th March 2007, 13:14

I copied a home movie DVD the other day - I just looked in the drive menu, saw "Copy" and used it to make a copy from 8cm DVD to 12cm in the burner - perfick!! A direct image copy. I am thinking I might d/l GnomeBaker though. There's so much to exploere and so little time! :lol I'm having a ball :lol

Jill

7th March 2007, 13:57

You've become my guinea pig Gina ... I'm reading your comments with great interest because I'm thinking of sticking Linux on one of my machines ;)

Gina

7th March 2007, 15:28

Happy to lead the way Jill :):) I'll also be happy to try to sort out anything you have trouble with :) Just one thing I would recommend to anyone trying an installation of an operating system to work beside their current one - and that's to make sure you have everything you value backed up. But I'm sure you're aware of that :lol I just have to make that proviso before recommending such an installation.

Gina

7th March 2007, 15:30

Re. Songbird - it's just stopped working for me :( But seems OK now after a reboot. Playing some nice soothing Pan Pipes music as I type :)

Not much later... hhmmmppfff - it's stopped again. Was playing from the library and after 4 tracks it gave up. Back to Rythmbox now (which was installed with the system). Maybe Songbird needs a bit more development.

John

7th March 2007, 17:27

a couple of questions :)

my drives are all ntfs (now i know you lots wont be using fat 32 up to the point of install so what did you do)

my boot drive is RAID 0 (raid drivers not a problem?)

Phaedrus

7th March 2007, 17:43

Gina

7th March 2007, 18:32

To install Ubuntu (or any other Linux) you have to make space for it. Either clear a drive or resize a partition to use the available space. It doesn't matter whether it's FAT or NTFS. The space is then divided into two partitions, one main one and one for the Swap file. On my laptop I cleared some space, used defrag to move all the files to the beginning of the drive and used Linux to resize the partition and allocate 4GB to Linux and 400MB for Swap. The Linux installation detected Win XP and provided dual-boot automatically.

Linux uses a different format from either FAT or NTFS and will make the appropriate type. Windows will not recognise either the main or swap formats of Linux but Linux works with FAT or NYFS though I'm not sure if the earlier problem of writing to NTFS has been fixed. Linux is quite hapt to read/write FAT (in any size) and to read NTFS.

I don't know anything about RAID.

John

7th March 2007, 18:46

Dunno what difference it makes for install having fat or ntfs? Linux can see both types and you can mount either fat or ntfs drives.

As for the RAID issue you might want to take a look here:
http://www.ubuntu-in.org/wiki/SATA_RAID_Howto

Trev.

Last time i tried to instal linux it wasnt happy i had a NTFS drive and wouldnt install.

The raid thing looks like hard work at the minute, i guess ill wait until it is foolproof.

Phaedrus

7th March 2007, 23:50

Its probably best to put it on another pc. Not your new dual-core raid0 monster!
Stick it on B`s pc, that way if it fecks up you can still play golf! :rofl
Or whack it on the mrs lappy and don`t tell her! :lol
No seriously, I wanted to put it on an external drive just in case it went pear shaped, but my lappy won`t boot from usb.
I ran it from the cd for a bit, but couldn`t get beryl on, ( I got beryl on Rob`s machine and fell in love with it), so I bit the bullet and installed it.
I finally got beryl on the lappy today after upgrading to 6.10. I`m a happy chappy now. :)

Trev.

Gina

11th March 2007, 10:51

While looking up info on setting up local networks I found this suggestion for seeing what's going on - EtherApe. Go into Synaptic Packet Manager and search on etherape then install it. The app appears in the menu - Internet > EtherApe and EtherApe as Root. I found the non-root version didn't work but the as root version is fine. Looks useful :)

Furby

13th March 2007, 07:26

Thought this tool would be handy for those who dual boot Windows and Linux - not sure if it would work accross a network, but I can't see why not (although I have not read any notes)

It allows you to access Linux drives from Windows rather than Windows seeing Linux as an unknown partition:

http://www.fs-driver.org/

Gina

13th March 2007, 10:50

That looks brilliant :) Thank you Sarah :):) Will give it a try.

Furby

14th March 2007, 10:13

Jus thought I would add, been using Songbird on the PC and the Mac without any issues at all. Apparently, it is more popular with Linux users too - so not sure why it messed around for you Gina.

Hopefully the next release may solve some issues :)

Gina

14th March 2007, 10:23

Seem to get almost daily updates for Linux software so I expect you're right Sarah :) Must say, I'm very impressed with support generally for Linux software :):)

Gina

17th March 2007, 01:07

Used GAIM (Instant Messenger) for "real" tonight - chatting to two friends, both individually and in Conference mode. They were using Yahoo Instant Messenger in Win XP. The compatibility is fine :) The format of the user window is different from Windows but perfectly understandable and easy to use :) GAIM uses tabs, whereas YIM in Windows uses separate windows, for the different conversations.

Gina

17th March 2007, 21:57

Just installed gftp, (an FTP app) set it up to access my AOL webspace and succeeded in uploading a file :) This is a very simple FTP app with two windows - one onto the local HD and the other the remote site. To tranfer a file you click to highlight it and then click a button between the windows.

Not very sophisticated but it works! I'll be looking for something a bit better - I would like to be able to drag and drop a selection of files from any file window into the FTP window to upload multiple files.

OK so I want to run before I can walk :lol But at least I can upload files to my AOL webspace without booting into Windows and running the AOL software :):)

Phaedrus

17th March 2007, 22:34

I`ve used gftp as well. (to upload those sexy ubuntu screenshots). Gets the thumbs up from me.

Trev.

Gina

17th March 2007, 23:16

:) Well, it works :) And that's really what counts :) :lol

Phaedrus

18th March 2007, 21:01

This is a good one for Unbuntu noobies. It makes it super easy to install and set up the most popular apps, codecs and tweaks. i.e. the licenced stuff that doesn`t come installed with Ubuntu.
After running Easy Ubuntu you will be able to play encrypted dvd`s, xvids etc. It can install and set up Flash and Java for your browser etc with a couple of clicks.

I had trouble on my laptop setting up Totem to play commercial dvd`s by trying to install xine engine via synaptic. Dunno what I did wrong coz it was fine on the Desktop? Anyway I installed the codecs via EasyUbuntu and all was well. :)

http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/

Trev.

Gina

18th March 2007, 21:11

That looks interesting Trev :):) I haven't yet pursuaded DVDs to play or MPG video files either. But I have got MP3s to work having installed various add-ons, codecs or whatever. I'll give it a try :)

A bit later... I've downloaded it and run the Terminal line then tried to run EasyUbuntu but it gives an error about "Fix broken packages first" :( I have a suspicion that I've installed so much that things are clashing. Nothing new there then - often had that with Windows - why should I expect Linux to be different??!!

I'll try it on the other PCs.

onomatopoeia

19th March 2007, 10:46

That message generally means you have a dependency problem, is package A needs v3 or earlier of a library and package B needs version 4 or later of the same library.

Generally apt-get will give a load of text output telling you more information about the conflict, although it may not be particularly meaningful to you (or me for that matter :lol ).

Phaedrus

19th March 2007, 11:44

I found (and read) that Easy Ubuntu can fix a borked codec installation.

You might have to remove the codecs you`ve tried to install via the terminal. I can`t remember the exact command to remove stuff you`ve tried via terminal, but you`ll find it by searching remove codecs from ubuntu or similar.
Then try EasyUbuntu again. One more thing I found with Easyubuntu, is to install one thing at a time. I taked a friend through using it and he was getting errors. When he tried one at a time no problem. (I`d just ticked everything I wanted and it put them all on in one go without issue).

Trev.

Gina

19th March 2007, 15:13

I got no error msg with apt-get but I gathereed it might be a conflict with something I've installed so planning to remove things that don't work. Also planning to try it on my other Ubuntu systems. Haven't had time to try either yet.

Thanks for your replies Mark and Trev :)

Gina

19th March 2007, 17:10

Been playing about with what \i've already got installed ie. on best desktop. Removed a couple of apps that didn't work then tried running EasyUbuntu and taking one checkbox at a time. Had a problem still with the free codecs but many other things installed OK. I'm a bit further forward without losing any previous functionality - MP3 still works. Now so does WMA which I'm very pleased about since I have ripped most of my music CDs to that format. So audio is GO :):) As for video... an advance there too - I can play MPG files, mainly TV recordings but also some home video :) But I still can't play DVDs (even my own recordings) even though the codecs for that seemed to install.

More experimentring required :lol

Gina

19th March 2007, 20:06

Later...

After booting up again and running VLC Media Player I was able to play DVDs at last :):) Progress :lol

Now I want a video editor that works :lol

Phaedrus

19th March 2007, 20:19

I installed xine for video. I found it plays better than totem (even with xine backend).
Don`t know if it would sort out your dvd playing (though it could well do), but I`d recommend xine anyway.

Trev.

Gina

19th March 2007, 20:25

I have gxine but not got it working yet/

Just installed xine and run it but won't play my home video DVD - says inpot plugin not available

Phaedrus

19th March 2007, 21:29

Ah. That`ll be the libdvdcss thingybob that EasyUbuntu would normally put in for you. See if you can remove libdvdcss [sudo aptitude remove libdvdcss] and then let EasyUbuntu put it on. (I`m thinking you may not have to remove all media codecs first?)

Trev.

Gina

20th March 2007, 00:41

Ah yes, I remember installing that :lol Thanks :)

We've just watched a TV recording off my external USB drive using VLC Media Player :):) Nice not to have to reboot into Windows :) Recording app (to work with DTV tuner) and video editor to find and get working next on that front :)

Getting there - slowly :lol

Oldun

20th March 2007, 16:23

Perhaps one or two of you could clear up a point for me .

I installed Linspire Linux on my system and it was dead easy .It asked me which partition I wanted it installed on C, D ,F or G. I just clicked the D radio button and it installed no problem.
Now You Ubuntu enthusiasts have me wondering, so I want to try it ,BUT reading up on the ubuntu website I get the impression that it goes for the first partition deleting anything in it`s path.
Can you please tell me if it gives you a choice of where to install??

Phaedrus

20th March 2007, 16:58

No it doesn`t go "for the first partition deleting anything in it`s path". It gives you a choice
of either:
Erasing the entire disk.---- If you just want a Ubuntu only System.
Resizing a current Windows partition and installing in the free space.--- For those wanting a Windows/Ubuntu dual boot system.
Manually edit the partition table --- For those who want manually create partitions.

I guess Resizing a current partition would be the most popular choice. It offers a slider control to adjust your Windows partition. Remember though that the Left half of the slider is what will be remain for Windows and the Right side of the slider is what you want to allocate for Ubuntu.

Not put it on a system with more than one drive, so I dont know if you will get a choice of drive for the Resizing option, or if you will have to go for the manual install.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing

Trev.

Oldun

20th March 2007, 17:31

Thanks Phaedrus .I only have one hard drive but it is divided into four partitions .So it sounds as if it is safe for me to go ahead and instal Ubuntu.
cheers oldun

Gina

20th March 2007, 18:49

Yes, you do get a choice of which drive to either resize and install or wipe and install. I have installed on three PCs. One had a single HD with partitions for Windows and Recovery another with two HDs where I let Ubuntu grab the whole of the 2nd drive and the third where I used the spare space and resize partition option to keep my data and let Ubuntu install in the space I allocated from the spare. The data was unaffected by installing Ubuntu but for some strange reason a Windows prog got upset by the size change and marked the NTFS Data partition as unformatted. What this demonstrates to me is to be sure you've backed any important data. There is always a risk that changing partitions can go wrong.

In both cases of resizing the drive was formatted to NTFS. And in all 3 PCs I let it automatically install the dual-boot system. On my laptop I resized and set up partitions manually - being more confident in doing it carefully myself than relying on automatic partitioning. Ubuntu is sitting happily on the same physical drive as Win XP and both OSs work fine :)

I you have a spare partition you should be pretty safe letting Ubuntu delete it and install itself there.

Hope that all makes sense :lol

Gina

21st March 2007, 17:15

Since it's sitting there asking to be used, I thought I'd check out Evolution email client. So I set it up - very easy and works fine with my POP account. It also works with AOL for download using IMAP4 but the SMTP outgoing email requires port 587 according to the error msg. I could set this in OE (in Windows) and Thunderbird but can't find the option in Evolution. Of course, I can use Thunderbird or webmail but Evolution is otherwise so nice and simple, Anyone found what I seemingly can't? :lol

onomatopoeia

21st March 2007, 18:15

I've never seen evolution but I find it very strange that it needs port 587 for SMTP. SMTP works on 25 - ie your MUA talks to port 25 on the server via any source port (normally >1024 for source port), anything else is non standard.

Gina

21st March 2007, 18:32

It's a non-standard feature of the AOL email server not Evolution. Not a real problem - just a little annoyance. I'd have though AOL would have made that standard by now they've got rid of practically all other non-standard features.

Phaedrus

21st March 2007, 18:34

Apparently just adding a colon and the port number after your smtp server should do the trick.
ie. smtp.aol.com:587

Trev.

Gina

21st March 2007, 19:31

Ah, thanks Trev :) I'll try that.

Done... It worked :):) Cheers :)

Oldun

22nd March 2007, 15:40

Thanks Gina and all of you other helpful people for your reassurances .I shall give it a go .
cheers oldun

Gina

22nd March 2007, 17:58

Good luck :):)

Phaedrus

27th March 2007, 18:40

I had to get some photo`s off my Canon A95 and was a bit apprehensive plugging it in to Ubuntu. I`ve had hassles in the past connecting digital cameras to linux.(mandrake) and had to create scripts to make linux see the cameras` memory card as another hard drive.
No need to worry. I switch on and up pops a little window saying "A Camera has been detected" and asks me if I want to import the photos :) It creates a folder for the pics and shows another window correctly identifying my camera and displaying all the photo`s as thumbnails for selection and import.
Nice. So thats another common hassle sorted by Ubuntu.

Trev.

Gina

27th March 2007, 23:32

Good init? :lol

Oldun

31st March 2007, 13:32

Hey ! you Ble**ing lot .your costing me money>:lol .I guess I must be serious about this Ubuntu thingy .I have just bought the Official Ubuntu Book , and have ordered a Linux Commands and phrase book from Amazon via one of their market place sellers Got £23 book for £15 with postage.
oldun

a much poorer Oldun:)

Gina

31st March 2007, 16:11

Goodness me! That's keen! :lol I used to buy books whenever I got a new OS or application software, many years ago. (In the days of MSDOS and DRDOS and WordPerfect etc. - also Suse Linux and several Windows books) Then I decided it was too expensive and stopped doing it. Now I make use of the 'net for such info. Main websites, user websites, main help forums and user support forums - plus places like this and Google. But I do buy the occasional magazine - for example, when I was in town last I bought a copy of Linux Format.I also bought my first dedicatewd Ubuntu special last year (ready to have a go once I'd set up my spare PC ready to use again) - 3 CDs and a magazine with installation and app info. That was helpful and worth the ten quid it cost IMO. Not like the fifty I spent on some book or other many years ago - but I was earning then I think!

Re-reading the above, I had a thought... I wonder if that old Suse book would be any help with modern Linux - I also wonder if I can find it or if I chucked it out long since :lol Nah :lol Too much effort :rofl

Oldun

1st April 2007, 13:40

So far I have managed just 30 pages but have found them immensely interesting regarding the history behind the Ubuntu project .

Phaedrus

1st April 2007, 20:46

Ubuntu is a cool project and its moving fast! 6.10 (Edgy Eft) is out as stable now and Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) is due for release this month!
New features in Feisty Fawn

* New Gnome control center
* Faster searching with Tracker
Tracker is a search tool much like Beagle. Both programs will be available in the repositories.
* Easy codec installation
When trying to play a multimedia file, Ubuntu will try to install the necessary codecs automatically.
* Inclusion of NetworkManager
Connect to wired and wireless networks with the click of your mouse!
* Kernel Virtual Machine
Built in virtualization in the Linux Kernel.
* Migration assistant
Migrate documents, files and settings with ease from your previous operating system.
* VPN
Easy VPN access with NetworkManager.
* Desktop Effects
Bring up cool desktop effects that make Vista and Mac OSX pale in comparison.
* And much more!

Nice to see the "Desktop Effects" will be installed as standard (but not enabled by default). This is basically a version of Compiz, (the forerunner of Beryl) with all those 3D effects, cube desktops and animations that make other OS`s seem boring and limited.
I have read that Beryl (which offers more features than Compiz) will come as standard in future releases of Ubuntu :cool:

Trev.

Gina

1st April 2007, 21:56

Interesting Trev :) I've been installing umpteen progs trying to find something to access my Digital TV card without success :( Each one fails for different reasons :( ASctually, I now have two DTV adapters attached - the built in SAA7134 Philips and ext USB Hauppage USB-Nova-t box. Both are recognised by the system - neither actually work in Ubuntu as yet.

I would like to find a replacement for the Windoze progs that provide watching TV and recording to HD. That's just about the last thing I need in Windoze. Oh... and a video editor/DVD writer that works!

Gina

1st April 2007, 23:06

Looks like Feisty may solve some of my problems with improved multimedia support :) I've been looking at the Ubuntu website and reading more about it HERE (http://www.ubuntu.com/news/Ubuntu704Beta) and I'm downloading the Beta as I type this :lol May try it on my laptop - keeping this Dapper version on my desktop. I think it should be possible to triple-boot - Win XP, Ubuntu 6.06 and Ubuntu 7.04 but dont think I'll risk it on my no.1 PC :lol I'm not too bothered about the laptop - I'm not using Win XP on it now and it's all backed up anyway :).

I'm almost amazed how little HD space all this Linux stuff takes. I keep installing dozens of packages and still only using less thab 4GB. I can easily manage another partition of 5-6 GB on the laptop HD, so I'm going to resize the Win partition again and install Feisty in the new space. If a complete disaster occurs (unlikely) I shall have nearly 30GB for Ubuntu :lol

Phaedrus

1st April 2007, 23:20

Sounds good. I`ll probably install Feisty on this laptop as well :)

This looks interesting for those that want a bigger fully pimped up version:
http://ubuntusoftware.info/ultimate/
Its Edgy Eft with lots of packages pre installed.

Trev

Gina

1st April 2007, 23:36

Also very interesting :):) May download that tomorrow - have a good stock of CD-Rs :lol

Halfway through Feisty download now :lol (looking forward to promised speed upgrade from my ISP in due course :))

Gina

2nd April 2007, 11:28

It's 1.7GB so won't go on a CD so will put it on a DVD. Downloading now - it's downloading rather slowly, limited at the source end to around 70KB/s - bit slower than my usual 120KB/s. On the point of d/l speeds... Ubuntu is faster than Win XP - 120 versus 112 - strange :lol Both using Firefox.

Been downloading since breakfast time and still got over 3 hours to go! No problem - can do other things at the same time. Currently defragging Win XP on laptop. On the 2nd go - I think it'll need 3 or more goes at it. Why not dump Win XP altogether I hear a little dicky bird saying :lol Must be coz I'm an old stick in the mud :lol

Oldun

2nd April 2007, 17:55

I have just logged on to the download page to download Ubuntu 6.10 and the download box said 28+hrs to download it .Is this about right ?? .It seems an awful long time for such a small download .Admittedly I only have a1GB connection .(crappy old BT line will not take any more.) . I did not think it would take much more than an hour and a half . I will get withdrawal symptoms if I go 28 hours without using my puter:lol

Gina

2nd April 2007, 20:53

I have a 1Mb/s connection and download of 700MB takes about an hour and a half or so as you say. Try another mirror d/l site. Download of Ubuntu Ultimate 1.2 at 1.7GB took about 6 hours today but the source site was not very fast and there was only one. A faster connection my eend would not have hrlped. Standard relaeses are being handled by a number of mirror sites :) There is one in Kent I think - I got 120KB/s from that.

No, 28 hours is NOT right there's something wrong with that link. BTW - You don't have to do nothing whilst downloading - you can run progs or even use the net. I often read/write on boards whilst downloading.

Gina

2nd April 2007, 21:17

Been testing 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) Beta runnung from live CD and I'm very impressed. I tried playing MPG videos and it ran Totem which then proceeded to ask for codecs and I only had to follow the prompts to get everything installed and working in a couple of minutes. Same with WMA audio files - it played MP3 without problem too. In 6.06 (Dapper Drake) I had had no joy at all with codecs but did get things working in VLC.

I've also been trying Ubuntu Ultimate 1.2. That has an enormous number of apps preinstalled so there's a good chance one or two of them will do what I'm looking for. Being preinstalled and set up they are more likely to work than my piecemeal attempts.

One thing I did wonder when I was downloading was whether the ISO writing feature would work with DVD rather than CD - I needn't have worried :lol Just right clicked on the ISO file with a DVD in the burner and chose write to disc and it just did it! :) And it took much less time than burning a CD :)

Gina

2nd April 2007, 23:24

Well after trying the Ubuntu Ultimate DVD in my laptop (see above) and thinking it should be good, I tried it in the desktop - but no joy. It ran the DVD check OK but refused to fully boot up even in safe graphics mode - stopping at the point where it changed graphics mode. So I'll probably upgrade to Feisty on the desktop.

Anyway, I have more testing to do on my laptop and will be persuing that tomorrow. Probably install Feisty on HD.

Gina

3rd April 2007, 18:09

Feisty installed - now doing updtates and upgrade. I couldn't get the partitioner to make me another partition - said there were too many - so I deleted the Dapper partition and created a new partition to make use of the extra space I'd made from Windoze and installed Feisty into that. I had to instal the Gnome Partition Editor to do all that as the install partitioner didn't have the facilities. So I think that's something for the developers to look at. But it is a Beta and I got round it so I'm quite happy.

One big addition in Feisty that anyone migrating from Windoze will find useful is the ability to carry over My Documents and settings to Ubuntu. I let it do that for my main XP account to see the result. Will report on that after all the updating has finished :lol (The usual update said some things were'nt able to be updated and that a Parttial Upgrade was required so Im' letting it do it). Installation is still a darn site quicker than Win XP :lol

Phaedrus

4th April 2007, 09:48

They had to remove Disk Manager from Edgy Eft. I read it was to do with the kernel uppgrade and Disk Manager wasn`t being maintained or something?
You can use gparted (which is apparently better), but you have to install it so thats no good for a fresh install.
I guess you could use the disk manager from a live Dapper cd.

I`ve ran into problems partitioning for ubuntu where you already have partitions. If you already have 3 (including any hidden or recovery) partitions you`ve had it, because you can`t have more than 4 primary partitions. (and you will need one for Linux plus one for the swap partition).
I don`t know if you can make swap partitions as extended or logical partitions??? Maybe thats the way round it?

A friend wanted me to install Ubuntu on his Dell Laptop. It turns out it has two hidden partitions. A small fat16 partition plus a recovery partition. So with his xp partition making the third, meant I couldn`t install Ubuntu.

Trev.

onomatopoeia

4th April 2007, 12:28

(and you will need one for Linux plus one for the swap partition).

Linux doesn't need a swap partition. Some installers may prevent you from installing if you don't have one (I've never encountered this), but swap is not necessary for it to work.

I have done single partition linux installs before with no problems.

Gina

4th April 2007, 13:11

I installed gparted while running from the 7.04 live CD - no problem there, just ran Synaptic did a search, found it and downloaded/installed it. I was then able to use that to delete the exp3 partition from 6.06, use the now bigger free space to make a new partition, set it to / (root) mount point and mark for format. Then when I ran the Install it's partitioner found the new partition and installed 7.04 (Feisty) into that. Laptop now running Feisty but still needs the wireless setting up.

Gina

7th April 2007, 19:26

No joy with the wireless setup in Feisty - it works fine in Dapper. I installed the Ubuntu Ultimate Edition which is based on Edgy but same problem - after blacklisting the bcm34xx driver (that doesn't work with my card) and installing ndiswrapper and windows driver, the wireless card is not recognised.

So either I run Dapper and forget later upgrades or buy another PCCard wifi adapter. I've been all over the place to find a solution without success.

So.... anyone got any suggestions for a card that does work with Edgy and Feisty? I also have a Netgear USB adapter - WG111T - that came with the router but that seems to be even more of a problem. Though with only USB 1.1 on the laptop, a PC-Card adapter would be better.

Oldun

9th April 2007, 18:43

Well I plucked up my courage (did not really think I had any) I downloaded Kubuntu then placed it on a disc with no problems .Used the University of Kents mirror site . I did not think it would be so easy .Now just got to install it on an empty partition that I have made on my Hard Drive .Hoping that I will not mess up my windows XP in the process .In a month or so I hope I will be able to dispense with Windows altogether .
Why Kubuntu and not Ubuntu I hear you ask?? .I am sure the Ladies will understand when I say "I thought it looked nicer":lol .I think maybe start with that then move on to Ubuntu.

Phaedrus

9th April 2007, 18:56

You can easily install Ubuntu in Kubuntu (and vice versa) if you want and you will then have the choice of window manager. KDE or Gnome :)

Good luck with it. I`m sure you will enjoy using it.

Trev.

Gina

11th April 2007, 15:48

Finally got the wireless working with Feisty on my laptop :):) The problem with the in-built driver for the bcm43xx chipset (used in the wifi card) is that the card needs the firmware installed every time it is run. Now, the chip manufacturers (Broadcom) haven't released the firmware into the public domain, so copyright prevents distribution of the firmware in the GNU repositories. Consequently, users have to extract the firmware from the Windows driver and arrange it to install on the card every time. The technique is to use an application called fwcutter to extract the firmware files from the Windows driver .sys file and save them for use by the system when setting up the wifi card.

My thanks go to members of the Ubuntu Forums for posting links and how to do this. :):) I have to say, the support for Ubuntu is second to none. There may be many more people running and giving advice on Windows but the Ubuntu help seems easier to find.

I'll post a HowTo shortly as there are several wifi adapters that use the Broadcom bcm43xx chipset including many built-in adapters in laptops.

shazam100

11th April 2007, 16:55

Any idea how to identify which chipset is on which pci wifi card Gina ?

mine's a Safecom type in the desktop and a built-in Atheros adapter in the laptop.

Gina

11th April 2007, 17:30

Dapper (v6.06) has Device Manager (much like Windows which shows a list of devices with details. Later versions don't have it but you can use a command line app to list devices and info. I'll have to look it up. OTOH you can use the Windows Device Manager I think.

Also, you can find a list of supported wifi cards ON THIS WEBSITE (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessCardsSupported) -- It gives a list of cards/adapters by manufacturer and model and also the chitset and how much support and/or how to get them working.

shazam100

11th April 2007, 19:56

Thanks for the link Gina. Tried my Tosh Atheros which according to the site should be automatically detected....it wasn't though. The PCI card (Safecom) isn't mentioned but it may be TI based chipset as in their router/s so may play around with it a bit longer.

Should I go for the later beta version which you're trying (7.04) rather than the 6.10 I have ?

Gina

11th April 2007, 20:22

I had a couple of problems with 6.10 also 7.04 Beta seems to work rather better particularly with regard to installing codecs for playing video and music. In addition, if you want it wiill import stuff from Windows such as Documents, IE Favorites etc.. So - yes - I think so. It may be a Beta still (for the next week or so) but seems pretty stable and an improvement on earlier versions. It is also said to have better wifi suppport.

I've been having "fun" installing and reinstalling different versions on my laptop but now I've got Feisty, v7.04 Beta running with wireless I'm sticking with it.

Oh, and I'm planning to install it on my desktop shortly. I'm currently running Dapper (6.06).

BTW - Have you installed Ubuntu or just running the live CD?

shazam100

11th April 2007, 22:38

I tried installing it on my PC, but just couldn't get any further with the wireless connections or even the ethernet one, so couldn't get online. I also couldn't find the .inf files or even how to invoke ndiswrapper...dummy or what ??

To compound things even more, I uninstalled it from the second hdd the hard way (is there a proper uninstall and where is it located? ) which immediately screwed the main drive since it was dual booting beforehand. I won't bore you with the tortuous process of reformatting and reinstalling I went through, just say after a day of it I'd had more than enough, and gave it a rest !

Anyway, I'm feeling better now and ready to have another go sometime soon :)

Gina

11th April 2007, 23:01

OK :) Sorry to hear you've had a lot of trouble with it :( Actually, it was probably only the MBR that was upset and that can be fixed. I presume from what you've said that you've reinstalled Windows and now nearly ready to have another go with Ubuntu. So - I gather you have 2 HDs , one containing Win XP and the other free for installing Ubuntu onto. Are you going to use the whole of the second HD for Ubuntu? If so the installation is quite straightforward and you can leave the partitioning up to the installer - just choosing the second HD to wipe and install onto.

I'm in the process of writing an "easy walk through" for installing Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) and will post it shortly. After I started I found a good HowTo for Edgy (6.10) just slightly different from Feisty.

If you have problems with your wifi adapter there are a couple of lines of attack and I'm pretty sure it can be sorted out :)

Oldun

14th April 2007, 14:50

I am being a real old woman here:confused: .I just cannot make up my mind between Ubuntu and Kubuntu .I decide on one then read something in their forums to put me off that one . Start reading up on the other then something there makes want change back .i would say the odds are slightly in favour of Kubuntu .I have everything ready otherwise.
And they say you ladies are the ones who cannot make up your minds.:lol

Phaedrus

14th April 2007, 15:09

Oldun I would say go for Ubuntu. :)
I was a big fan of KDE previous to using Ubuntu, but I`m a Gnome convert now.
Its just the main interface, and you can easily add Kubuntu to your Ubuntu installation.
Ubuntu is the main distro and the Kubuntu version was added later, so you would probably be better off from a support and info point of view going for the default Ubuntu version.

Trev.

Gina

14th April 2007, 15:41

I think so too :) Though I haven't tried Kubuntu. I'm currently running the Feisty 7.04 Beta here (on laptop) having done a full clean install a few days ago. Installation is easy - especially if you're giving a whole drive over to Ubuntu. I've done that on one PC but this one shares with Win XP ATM and the newer desktop with data. Don't need the whole 160G for Ubuntu :lol

I'm in the process of backing up prior to upgrading the desktop to Feisty. It's amazing just how much stuff I've collected since installing the Dapper 6.06 version about a couple of months ago. I'm getting all the gen and creating script files to automate backing up. I'll post here when I've sorted it out. I have quite a lot of emails and other data in Evolution (mail reader) and it took my a while to find the info on where all it's data was put. Anyway, I think that's sorted out now and I have a compressed backup file that I've successfully restored to the laptop so that's ready for the desktop upgrade.

Gina

15th April 2007, 10:07

I have a HowTo Install Ubuntu almost complete but I've found a better one with more detail and screenshots. It is for the 6.10 Edgy version rather than Feisty 7.04 Beta but most of it is the same. Feisty is better (even before full release in a few days). The differences in installation are:- Feisty Beta doesn't show the progress text on startup - only the progress bar. Also Feisty lets you import various stuff from your Windows installation (Documents, Favorites, OE settings etc.) as the last part of the installation - handy for those migrating from Windows. This assumes, of course, that you haven't already dumped your Windows system. Whatever you do you should make sure you've backup up or otherwise have a copy of any data you want to keep.

It's here:- Installing Ubuntu (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installing)

It goes without saying that you will want to use your own settings rather than following these instructions to the letter (eg. they use a US keyboard layout - if you're British you'll want the British English keyboard) Also, they use the whole drive for Ubuntu - this may not apply to you and if you use the drive you have Windows on (and maybe a reinstall hidden partition) you will lose the lot and the option to import Windows info later will not apply (I presume). I'm planning to post more info on partitioning shortly but any questions are very welcome.

The psychocats Ubuntu webpage (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php) gives a lot of useful info about Ubuntu in general, including partitioning.

For those upgrading Ubuntu by using a full install, overwriting your current system, I have developed scripts to backup Evolution mail reader (only) and also the whole user section. I still have some testing to do and will post later.

One thing I must add - although I have systems and programming experience, I'm still learning about Ubuntu and Linux generally - there may be better ways of doing things.

Gina

18th April 2007, 13:58

Been trying to create a separate /home partition as a recommended way of keeping data and settings when upgrading the OS. I'm about to upgrade my Dapper to Feisty on this desktop. I tried the method given in THIS LINK (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/separatehome) but got permission denied errors when trying to copy my home directory to a new partition. ( as in :- find . -depth -print0 | sudo cpio --null --sparse -pvd /new/ )

The instructions tell you use a live CD but with this I found you haven't got the right permissions to copy some of the files. I did use the live CD (and gparted) to create extra partitions on my 2nd drive. It now has 8 partitions :lol But doing the copy while in my normal system worked fine (because it was this system that created and owned the files, I guess). Changed home to home2 using mv and created a new home dir. Added the new /home place to fstab and rebooted. (All as per the info given in the link above) . . . It worked!!!.

Phaedrus

18th April 2007, 20:15

A result. Nice one. :)
I haven`t made a partition for Home. I was in the habit of backing up my Linux Home directory to Windows and My Documents to Linux.
Might start that practice again.
How is Feisty BTW? Have you got Compiz or beryl on by default in Feisty? (Labeled "desktop effects" or something)?

Trev.

Gina

19th April 2007, 00:36

Using Feisty on the laptop - mostly works fine :) Still not yet upgraded the desktop - need to make quite sure I've got everything I want backed up (about three times :lol ) I don't trust anything to do with computers! :rolleyes: Unfortunately, higher priorities get in the way. It's rather frustrating!

Desktop effects include "Windows Wobble" and "Workspaces on a Cube". The latter doesn't work with this laptop and I lose the ability to move a window to another workspace when enabled. Probably a display driver issue. There is a box displayed saying it's only experimental, won't work on all computers and may cause unwanted side effects. Not quite Beryl it seems - I gather Beryl has other features too.

Gina

19th April 2007, 15:37

The wait is over - - Feisty Fawn v7.04 Full version is now available for download. :):)

I'm downloading it as I type :)

Phaedrus

19th April 2007, 15:42

It looks like they have just included bits of Compiz. You would probably be better off installing beryl (and that might even go in via synaptic in Feisty?).

Not all features work an all machines. Depends on your graphics card, driver etc.
I have the Trevino`s svn versions on mine and luckily most of the features are working. By chance i just stumbled across some talk of beryl svn in Feisty.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=363278

Also a flash of the new beryl wall plugin.
http://tinyurl.com/2cuntc

ps. Honest I didn`t create that tiny url myself! Thats just what it gave me! :blush

Trev.

Gina

19th April 2007, 15:53

Thank you Trev :) I'll have a read of that :) May try Beryl later - lots of other things to sort out first. It's all go :lol But I'm enjoying it :)

BTW - if you just missed my previous post... Feisty Fawn Full bersion is out and available for download. :):)
Download Site (http://releases.ubuntu.com/feisty/)

Phaedrus

19th April 2007, 16:19

I`m running Dapper on one pc and Edgy (updated from Dapper) on the Laptop. Both are working well so no need to change them.
I`ll download Feisty and put that on next install.

Trev.

Gina

21st April 2007, 14:23

Now have the latest version (Feisty full release 7.04) installed in multi-boot on this desktop PC :) Using it now.

I used gparted in Dapper to shrink my DATA partition and create a new ext3 partition. Then used the Feisty live CD to install leaving the old Dapper system on /dev/sdb2/ and changed /dev/sdb9/ to / and /dev/sdb6 (my home partition) back to /home. I had backed up my whole Dapper system (using partimage from a rescue live CD) just in case and the /root dir separately expecting to have to edit GRUB to add booting for Dapper - but the installation did it all automatically. I was amazed and delighted.

I can now boot into Feisty, Dapper (two versions) or Windows :):) So if you have plenty of HD space you can have two or more complete versions of Ubuntu eg. try a new one and not lose any functionality of the old one. Using a separate /home partition means that the data and settings from the old system are there on the new one :)

These Ubuntu developers seem to be really clued up :):)

Gina

25th April 2007, 18:38

Just got Kaffeine working with my TV Tuner card after mucho faffing about :) The problem was getting the correct card settings. Kaffeine is a TV viewing and recording app. It has an EPG too. Good video and sound with my digital freeview tuner :)

I've tried various other TV apps but this is the only one I've managed to get working properly. MythTV works after a fashion but the video is jerky so I'm not bothering any more with that.

Phaedrus

25th April 2007, 18:40

Another win :)

Trev.

Gina

25th April 2007, 18:46

Yes :) Getting there :lol Just need to sort out a good TV and video editing app now :) XP is gradually but inexorably disappearing into the distance :lol

BTW - I've installed Beryl. Lots of setting up options but I'm missing something... How do you actually make it work??? :lol

Phaedrus

25th April 2007, 20:47

Glad you got beryl. You lost me on the how do you make it work bit? :lol
Launch it with beryl-manager from a terminal or better add beryl-manager to the start up programs tab in session manager (preferences>sessions).
I`m thinking you know this already and I`m missing your point. Are you simply asking about the myriad of options you get with beryl?
Its just a case of clicking the ruby icon in the panel and wading through all the options in Beryl Settings Manager..
The basic window options are under Window Management. Under Desktop you`ll find the cube options etc. Under Visual Effects you`ll find the animations and window effects.

I take it your have emerald themes installed? You can (from the ruby panel icon) select Emerald Theme Manager and browse and click on the theme you fancy.

Trev.

Gina

26th April 2007, 00:17

Thank you Trev :) It's often the blindingly obvious that gets missed I find :lol .... Er... no, I don't think I do have emerald themes installed - I'll have to check. On laptop ATM and Beryl is on the desktop. Prob install it on here shortly - think I need to sort out the right display driver for 3D.

Gina

26th April 2007, 09:19

RE. Beryl... Just tried on the desktop - says beryl-manager not installed The Applications menu entry is Beryl Settings Manager which just launches the setup part.

Gina

26th April 2007, 12:45

OK... loaded beryl-manager and ran it - set windows manager to Beryl and the screen flashed 2 or 3 times with the other workspaces then back to square one! :( Then tried Compiz - flashed once and back to before. I have the ATI 3D Linux driver installed but it seems my system is not compatible. Graphics card is ATI Radeon X740 XL.

Found Kaffeine wasn't finding one MUX so fiddled with the settings and got it working :)

Phaedrus

26th April 2007, 13:48

If beryl can`t run, it defaults back to your standard window manager (Gnome metacity).
You could probably get it running by using the latest svn version and following the ATI instructions.
I couldn`t get it to run on my laptop (intel) `till I tried Trevino`s repository svn version.

This might help:
http://wiki.beryl-project.org/wiki/Install_Beryl_on_Ubuntu_Edgy_with_AIGLX

Trev.

Gina

26th April 2007, 14:38

Thanks Trev :) I'll try that later :)

Odyssey

26th April 2007, 21:20

Gina, Interested to read of your experience with your home partition. I did not do this when I first installed Ubuntu, but subsequently decided to always have a /home partition-mainly to be able to reinstall a pear-shaped O/S without risking the data, but also to facilitate upgrades.

Several questions here. I will have /, /swap, and /home partitions. Do you know if the order makes any difference at all, e.g., are there reasons why the / partition should always be the first partition, or not, etc?

Secondly, can you write to and read from a single /home partition from more than one version (e.g., Ubuntu and Suse, or U6.06 and U7.04, etc, or even two different computers running the same install)? I.e., is it your understanding that one can think of the \home partition as simply a data directory without creating permission issues?

Reason for asking this relates to the two questions above. When I had only one partition, I had planned to just repartition and set up a /home, then transfer everything in my existing /home directory to the new /home partition and then make the mounting adjustments to Ubuntu so that it would just look to the new partition same as it had previously looked to the the home directory. Others advise that it is not as simple as just copying. One needs to create a tarball of the home directory and copy it to another location, then move it to the new home partition and open the tarball, etc. Can't recall exactly why it needs to be done this way but something to do with permissions (another post on permissions soon). Anyway a bit complicated for this old head. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

Gina

27th April 2007, 10:58

I will have /, /swap, and /home partitions. Do you know if the order makes any difference at all, e.g., are there reasons why the / partition should always be the first partition, or not, etc? AFAIK the order is irrelevant. I have a primary partition containing the Dapper system and an extended partition divided into several partitions where I'm running Feisty /, /home and /swap.

This is my setup :-
sdb1 - Extended (divided up as follows with logical partitions)
- sdb5 - ntfs - Windows Data (This was resized to make room for the others)
- sbd6 - linux-swap
- sdb7 - ext3 - Linux Backup Data
- sdb8 - ext3 - /home
- sdb9 - ext3 - /
sdb2 - ext3 - (mountpoint /media/sdb2 used as Dapper system /)

So... far from the / being first, it's the last on my setup :lol
Secondly, can you write to and read from a single /home partition from more than one version (e.g., Ubuntu and Suse, or U6.06 and U7.04, etc, or even two different computers running the same install)? I.e., is it your understanding that one can think of the \home partition as simply a data directory without creating permission issues?I'll come back on this when I've checked read/write across versions. I've had no problems with Feisty and not needed to go back to Dapper so I shall probably be deleting that before long. However, I can leave it for now so I can check such things - I don't need the space yet.

What I can say is that the /home partiton was created and copied to using the Dapper version and that Feisty is now happily reading and writing to it. I just have to reboot into Dapper and check I can still do the same from that.

Odyssey

27th April 2007, 14:00

Gina, Looks like your hdd got hit by a hurricane! :lol

The methodology of getting data into the /home partition is particularly important to me as I have a ton of stuff from years of windoze use that I want to transfer into /home and permissions is another one of those Linux "black art" areas. It sounds very simple and logical when you read an explanation, but making it work requires mucho tiempo. I have spent a lot of time already and still haven't cracked it.

The problem for me is that one of our office computers is used by several people (whoever happens to be on duty at the time) so it requires the correct construction of a group with each person being authorized to read and write to files originally created by one person on a Win$ machine. Sounds simple (and I hope it is, i.e., that I am just being dense), but I have yet to make it work.

Gina

27th April 2007, 14:41

Edit... You posted the above as I was constructing my reply :lol So please bear with me... :)

Secondly, can you write to and read from a single /home partition from more than one version (e.g., Ubuntu and Suse, or U6.06 and U7.04, etc, or even two different computers running the same install)? I.e., is it your understanding that one can think of the \home partition as simply a data directory without creating permission issues? Right... Booted into Dapper and could read the files in /home no problem. Created a file and saved it into the /home/gina directory. Back in Feisty I can read the file fine. So no problem with two versions of Ubuntu. I don't know about other versions of Linux - not sure if the application options would be the same but I think they probably would. I am not familiar with other Linux distros.

As for other computers... I presume you mean on a local network? I don't know the answer to that. But from what I've learnt in the last couple of months about Linus in general and the way it treats everything as a file or directory tree, I would think you could probably use a network drive on another computer on the LAN. We need more of a Linux expert to answer that. :lol

Regarding permissions, I think the special way of copying the files across from the local home directory to the one in another partition takes care of that. A simple copy is known NOT to work.Reason for asking this relates to the two questions above. When I had only one partition, I had planned to just repartition and set up a /home, then transfer everything in my existing /home directory to the new /home partition and then make the mounting adjustments to Ubuntu so that it would just look to the new partition same as it had previously looked to the the home directory. Others advise that it is not as simple as just copying.As I said above, you need to copy the special way to take care of the permissions, then, yes, set up the mount points.One needs to create a tarball of the home directory and copy it to another location, then move it to the new home partition and open the tarball, etc. Can't recall exactly why it needs to be done this way but something to do with permissions (another post on permissions soon). Anyway a bit complicated for this old head. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.Well, that may work - I haven't seen that method but I think I've read somewhere that archiving solves the permissions problem when opening files by a different user or system. Certainly sounds a feasible alternative - especially as it provides a backup at the same time (assuming you save the tarball to another drive).

I did use that method to save all my Evolution emails and settings and use on another computer so why not the whole /home tree structure. (rhetorical question) Should be fine :)

Gina

27th April 2007, 15:25

Gina, Looks like your hdd got hit by a hurricane! :lol Yes, been having fun with gparted :lol Great app. :)The methodology of getting data into the /home partition is particularly important to me as I have a ton of stuff from years of windoze use that I want to transfer into /home and permissions is another one of those Linux "black art" areas. It sounds very simple and logical when you read an explanation, but making it work requires mucho tiempo. I have spent a lot of time already and still haven't cracked it.There is no problem using the /home dir tree for ordinary data storage - it's the recommended place I believe. You can also read Win partitions from Linux though you need a special piece of software to write to NTFS from Linux. FAT32 is fine either way. ext3 needs a special driver in Windoze.The problem for me is that one of our office computers is used by several people (whoever happens to be on duty at the time) so it requires the correct construction of a group with each person being authorized to read and write to files originally created by one person on a Win$ machine. Sounds simple (and I hope it is, i.e., that I am just being dense), but I have yet to make it work.Win XP Home and previous versions don't use permissions I don't think - never had an issue with it anyway. I think it may be available in the Pro version and NT but not used either. Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn can import the complete My Documents folder into a Documents one in Ubuntu during installation. Any files copied will have full permissions for the copier but not sure about groups or all.

I'm the sole user of my computers so I haven't investigated the multi-user aspect (except between user and root). I have picked up a bit of info about Permissions though. There are 8 bits in the Permissions byte that goes with each file. The 1st indicates a directory or file, next 3 apply to the owner (user who created the file), next 3 to the current group and last 3 to all. Each set indicate Read, Write, Execute. But what you need to know is how to use it, not what bit's which :lol

Now going to see what I can find on the subject :) I'll be back...

OK Try looking HERE (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FeistyFawn?action=fullsearch&context=180&value=permissions&titlesearch=Titles) (The Ubuntu Wiki)

Odyssey

27th April 2007, 16:28

Thanks for all that good input. The problem that I ran into was that I had written all the windoze files to a DVD, then copied them from the DVD into the /home directory (in a single partition system). Some time ago and I can't recall if there was an issue with Read Only (i.e., the windoze RO bit gets set when you write to a CD or DVD) or not, and I think there was no problem resetting the ownership of all the files to myself. The problem came in trying to create a group and give everyone in the group (none having admin privileges) read/write access to those files. When a member of the group would sign in, the files were not visible.

If I can recall correctly, I think that the solution involved setting up a group "above" me, of which I would be a group member. But often I go off on a long trip or get busy with other projects and lose the thread, and so never actually got the solution implemented. Hopefully will get back onto this soon and will report results.

If you want to see what I'm talking about, try creating another user without admin privileges, and try to give that user access to your files. Sign in as the new user and see if that user can see your files.

As for other computers... I presume you mean on a local network? I don't know the answer to that. But from what I've learnt in the last couple of months about Linus in general and the way it treats everything as a file or directory tree, I would think you could probably use a network drive on another computer on the LAN. We need more of a Linux expert to answer that. If Sil is still present maybe he will comment?

Also are you using the same user name and password in both your Ubuntu. I think that the issue will arise if you are not the same entity.

You mentioned a "special" way of copying. Sounds great. I looked back but couldn't find an earlier reference to it. Can you post a URL reference to it?

onomatopoeia

27th April 2007, 19:16

chmod +wa filename

will make filename writeable by all

chmod -R +wa *

will make all files in the current directory and all subdirectories recursively writeable by all.

Is this what you want?

You can do it with groups as well if you don't what absolutely everyone that can log on to be able to write the file. I've not played with group permissions though so would be in the same position as you, ie having to read man chgrp

Gina

27th April 2007, 20:15

I've set up a couple of extra users and a group :) Very easy to do using System > Administration > Users and Groups. I put myself and one other user in the group and one user not in the group. Have been swapping users and checking who can see/read/write what etc. I'm now learning about users, groups and permissions for files, directory trees, etc. :)

Gina

27th April 2007, 20:44

Thanks for all that good input. The problem that I ran into was that I had written all the windoze files to a DVD, then copied them from the DVD into the /home directory (in a single partition system). Some time ago and I can't recall if there was an issue with Read Only (i.e., the windoze RO bit gets set when you write to a CD or DVD) or not, and I think there was no problem resetting the ownership of all the files to myself. The problem came in trying to create a group and give everyone in the group (none having admin privileges) read/write access to those files. When a member of the group would sign in, the files were not visible.I suggest setting up (mkdir) a directory tree off /home for the group of users. Just as each individual user has access and read/write priveliges to everything in his/her own area, the group can have theirs - common to the group but with either no or limited access from non-member users. You can set up permissions that apply to a directory and all sub-directories off it. I'll be finding out just how to do that shortly :)

What I've done so far is to set up a number of users without admin privileges - entering name, username and password. Then I set up a group (which I called ginagroup in my case). At that point the system asked me to say which users should be in the group with a checkbox against each user. Very simple and easy. So now have several users with some in a specific group.

So that's users and group(s). You must have already set up your users (to give them any access) so you can now set up a group for the ones you want to give access to the group data files.

Must admit, this was a lot easier than I expected :)If you want to see what I'm talking about, try creating another user without admin privileges, and try to give that user access to your files. Sign in as the new user and see if that user can see your files.Good suggestion :) Done that - will "play" :lolAlso are you using the same user name and password in both your Ubuntu. I think that the issue will arise if you are not the same entity.Yes, they are both the same. I see your point.You mentioned a "special" way of copying. Sounds great. I looked back but couldn't find an earlier reference to it. Can you post a URL reference to it?I'll go and find it again :)

Odyssey

27th April 2007, 20:47

Ono,

You mentioned writeable and presumeably readable as well?

And so in the case where files are copied to a new /home partition and "chmod -R +wa *" is applied from the top of the partition, then any user on the system can read and write to these files?

I don't mean to sound doubtful, but have you actually done this? In my dim memory, I seem to recall trying that or something like that (although it was in the /home directory in the single linux partition, but this shouldn't matter) without success.

Gina, are finding any problems for any of your users accessing any files?

Did you find anything on the "special" copying technique that you mentioned?

onomatopoeia

27th April 2007, 22:37

I typed the command wrong, it's

chmod -R a+w *

I just tried it from /home as root user and it worked, everything under /home is now writeable by all

Gina

27th April 2007, 22:40

I'll answer the last part first, Odyssey :lol

Yes, found my earlier post and the link :)
This is the original link (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/separatehome)
And the page containing my post (no.102) (http://net4nowtforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25215&page=7)

As you'll see from my post, the method didn't quite work for me from the live CD as specified. The following line gave errors :-
find . -depth -print0 | sudo cpio --null --sparse -pvd /new/

Problems with permissions again. However, I think I may have the answer - I think the find needs sudo as well as the cpio. The command line has two parts - the find results are passed to cpio using the pipe |. I might be wrong but I think it was probably the find that threw up permission denied errors.

So I think it wants sudo find . -depth -print0 | sudo cpio --null --sparse -pvd /new/ (Don't miss the dot after find - this takes it back one level in the directory tree.)

If you'd like more explanation of this command, I've been right through it to understand it myself. I wanted to know how it worked and why I had trouble with it.

Gina

27th April 2007, 22:56

Gina, are finding any problems for any of your users accessing any files? Yes, Some files on other user's areas are not readable - as expected.

I'll try to sort out the group permissions later - maybe tomorrow :)

Oldun

29th April 2007, 19:04

Well I finally did it here I am courtesy of Kubuntu without any problem so far just now have to read up to get Mail sorted .I was amazed that it went without a hitch mind theres a lot of configuring to do.
thanks for giving me the confidence to do it.:)

Gina

29th April 2007, 19:15

I recommend Evolution for email - easy to set up and works fine. Or alternatively, if you've been using Thunderbird in Windows you can simply use the Linux version. But I found it more complicated to set up for multiple email accounts than Evolution.

Very pleased you've got Kubuntu working :):) Welcome to the Club :):)

Phaedrus

29th April 2007, 20:17

Brilliant. Well done Oldun ! :)
You are now the official n4n Kubuntu guinea pig. When any of us decide to add KDE it will be you we`ll be asking when we can`t configure it. :)

Let us know what you think of it and how you are getting on with it. Keep us posted.

Trev.

Gina

30th April 2007, 19:40

Re. Permissions :-
I have been reading up on this subject and doing some experiments.

Users & Groups
Firstly, using menu System > Administration > Users and Groups I created several extra user accounts without admin priveleges and also created a group and put some users in the group and some not - I found this easy and straightforward :) Next I made a directory off /home for the group to have sole access. Off that I created sub-directories and files within them to test access by the various users once I'd set up the required permissions.

Setting Permissions
Since I had created dirs and files as root using sudo, the owner of all these was root so the first thing was to reassign ownership to myself and the group. In the examples I'm using my username is gina and the group is called ginagroup. The group directory tree is called ginagroupdir.

Now to the code
Firstly to change ownership :-
sudo chown -R gina:ginagroup /home/ginagroupdir # change user and group ownership Recursively in ginagroupdir and sub-dirs
Then permissions (since I now own what I want to change, I don't need sudo):-
chmod o-x /home/ginagroupdir # Remove access permission to everything in ginagroupdir directory for others (not owner or group)
chmod -R g+w /home/ginagroupdir # Make all files in sub-dirs off ginagroupdir writeable by group members (Recursive)

That achieved the desired result - access to group members and root only - although files and sub-dirs within ginagroupdir were visible, access was denied to non group members.

See man chown and man chmod for more (rather cryptic) info and also File Permissions in Ubuntu Docs (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FilePermissions). Also, if there are any questions I'll give more explanation.

Odyssey

1st May 2007, 04:53

Impressive! I'm going to diagram that and apply to our office. Many thanks.:beer

Gina

1st May 2007, 12:39

No problem :lol I learnt something myself in the process and I like learning new things. :) Keeps the old brain active :lol

Oldun

4th May 2007, 19:21

Well now you can all have a good laugh and say "I told you so". I don`t like Kubuntu . It does not seem as comprehensive as Ubuntu .So I am going to uninstall Kubuntu and follow the crowd so to speak .I shall Install Ubuntu .They say Kubuntu is easier than Ubuntu but I dont think so .So lots of backing up tonight then tomorrow it is all change .
I believe it is possible to install just parts of one onto the other , but I think a clean install would probaly be better.
cheers oldun:lol

Gina

4th May 2007, 20:35

The more experienced Ubuntu users recommend a fresh install :) I'm not saying Kubuntu is no good or necessarily worse - it's a matter of personal preference I think. I've not tried Kubuntu so don't really know - I got a copy of Ubuntu on a mag cover CD and tried that, liked it well enough so stuck with Ubuntu for upgrades. :)

Good luck :)

Oldun

6th May 2007, 14:29

I have to say how much easier Ubuntu is compared to Kubuntu .It`s great, and I am enjoying all the extra work immensely.

Gina

6th May 2007, 18:31

Great for keeping alert and active in the brain department :lol I was feeling rather stifled and "out of control" with Windows. I'm glad you're finding Ubuntu better - and enjoying it :)

One thing I'm finding is that once I've got things set up properly, Linux apps are much easier to use and more efficient than the equivalent in "bloatdoze". Don't get me wrong - many things work "out of the box" as 'twere - it's the more esoteric things I'm getting to grips with now.

Jill

8th May 2007, 13:33

Just seen this on BBC News website - thought you might be interested :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6634195.stm

Gina

8th May 2007, 15:10

Yes, very interesting Jill :) Thanks for the link :)

Oldun

8th May 2007, 15:45

I know I probably sound like a kid with a new toy (wifey often says I am in my second childhood) but yesterday and so far today I have not been near the dreaded Windows .. I am at the moment trying to feed in the code to protect it in case of a power failure but seem to be doing something wrong .will come back for help if I cannot do it , but I must try.
Apart from the odd website most seem to load much quicker than Windows .have not timed the start up but closing down is far far quicker.

Gina

8th May 2007, 17:06

Oh it's much quicker than Windoze!! Even my very old desktop boots faster in Ubuntu than my newer one does in Windoze! 450MHz AMD vs 3.6GHz P4 and much faster and bigger HD in the newer one. I too find webpage loading faster and a direct comparison on download speeds shows a max of 120MBps in Ubuntu as against 112 - why that should be I just don't know. I'm on a fixed 1Mbps ADSL line.

I'm currently doing online upgrade on old desktop but if that doesn't give Feisty I shall try a completely new install. Then hopefully, I can complete that HowTo :lol