Ubuntu-doze?

[Odyssey]

My Ubuntu 7.04 has suddenly developed "Windoze", i.e., the type of slowdown in screen refresh, tab changes, window changes, etc, that happens with Windows when it needs a restart to clear it's head (registry/ram muck). In Windows, I call up the task manager to see what is consuming which resources.

I have restarted my computer several times with, unlike Windoze, no improvement.

Is there a Linux (ideally an Ubuntu) equivalent to the task manager? Without something like this, I am unsure where to start looking for the cause, and probably will just reinstall.

TIA

[onomatopoeia]

'top' or 'ps aux' will show you running tasks. top shows you the amount of cpu each task is using.

top also shows you the load averages. If you aren't doing anything demoanding these should be under 0.25. If they are over 1.0 then it would be worth investigating why.

I have absolutely no idea if there is a graphical equivalent, none of my ubuntu servers have X installed.

[Odyssey]

Ono,

Top shows some very interesting things. Firstly it says there are two users: me and some ghost perhaps? Is this normal?

The top line further shows load averages of: 1.35 to 155 for the first figure, 140 +/- for the second, and a fairly steady figure of 1.26 for the third. Are these the load figures you are thinking about?

I tried to copy and paste the numbers but they change so fast it isn't possible.

Any further guidance? Thanks.

[Gina]

Look at System > Administration > System Monitor - that shows which apps and services are using what - Resources tab. Click the header of CPU to sort the lines by CPU usage etc. You can also put System Monitor on a panel to watch resource usage continuously. Use Preferences to select which you want to monitor. This is one of the first additions I make to my top panel - I like to see what's going on.

[Odyssey]

Gina, Just what I was looking for! And it was right there for the looking. LOL!

It is Firefox that is consuming all the resources. I have fewer windows open than normal, so I suspect that there is one tab that is somehow creating a bottleneck. Will close them one at a time and see what happens.

Many thanks.

[Gina]

:) I often find I'm on a website that's gobbling resources - look out for streaming sites such as YouTube and radio/TV - and anything running Flash etc. They may still be streaming data to your computer even if you're not looking at them.

[Odyssey]

This is interesting, when it is running, the system monitor consumes 50-85% of CPU resources with FF consuming 15-25%. If I terminate it, my computer is so sluggish, next to dead, that it requires a restart.

Time for a restall?

Might as well go to 8.04, no?

Is the panel configuration at top of screen something that can be saved as a file, or must one set up each icon again after a reinstall? Fairly sure I know the answer, but the Ubunutu seem to have thought of a lot of good things.

[Gina]

A reinstall wouldn't hurt :) Yes, install 8.04.1 - there are several improvenents over previous versions and it sounds like an appropriate time to upgrade.

If I remember correctly, if you have /home in a separate partition the panel info is retained as with other settings. I think I'll be reinstalling on my oldest PC tomorrow so I'll be able to tell you.

[Gina]

I did a test on my P3 desktop today. I didn't have a separate /home so I reinstalled Hardy with a separate /home partition, set up the top panel with launchers and options then installed a second Ubuntu system using the same /home. I can confirm that the panel items are retained and show exactly the same in both systems.

It was a bit tight with a nominal 10GB HD :lol 4GB for one system, 3.5GB for the other and 2GB /home partition. (10GB nominal drive is actually 9.5)

[Odyssey]

Got diverted onto another project.

Interestingly, when running, the system monitor consumes an enormous amount of resources, sometimes 50-80%. This can't be right and is another indicator of something gone pear-shaped with the current 7.04 install.

Gina, I like your idea of installing 8.04.1 in a separate partition and migrating this way. I already have my /home in it's own partition, so all I need do is repartition, then install 8. Do you advise using gparted for this, and if so, can I use it from my current ver 7 System/Admin while ver 7 is running, or should I shut down and reboot into a gparted CD?

If the lattter, I seem unable to boot my gparted CD in any of my computers. Do I remember correctly that it should be self-booting, or is it a two step process wherein gparted is step two? In which case, what is step one?

On the other hand, if not, would you imagine that my cd is knackered? If so, do you like gparted or should I consider another partition manager?

You were able to put me onto the System Monitor. Is there a GUI that shows partition info that is less of a project than gparted? Not that running gparted is a big deal, but I always get nervous when I run anything that might result in a clean plate.

Also, do Linux computers need de-fragging, and if so, is there a utility in Ubuntu? If needed but no utility, what do you recommend?

As a separate question, but sort of related, I have a UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD) utility CD, which has lots of freeware utilities on it. But when I run it, I really don't know what to do with it. Have you or anyone reading this found a tutorial for the various programs on UBCD?

[Gina]

Got diverted onto another project.

Interestingly, when running, the system monitor consumes an enormous amount of resources, sometimes 50-80%. This can't be right and is another indicator of something gone pear-shaped with the current 7.04 install.Just checked the System Monitor. Mine (in 8.04.1) mostly uses under 10% but just occasionally goes up to 50% ish - this is with a Pentium 4 HT 3.2GHz processor. But it shouldn't be using CPU excessively all the time it's running. I'd recommend upgrading anyway but keeping your current 7.04 as backup system just in case.Gina, I like your idea of installing 8.04.1 in a separate partition and migrating this way. I already have my /home in it's own partition, so all I need do is repartition, then install 8. Do you advise using gparted for this, and if so, can I use it from my current ver 7 System/Admin while ver 7 is running, or should I shut down and reboot into a gparted CD?Yes, I can recommend GParted, I use it all the time for changing/adding/deleting/resizing/moving/etc. partitions. Though I have occasionally done it with the installation partitioner. As long as you don't want to resize either / (root) or /home partition you can use GParted from your current system. That is what I've always done (well nearly always). You can also use the partitioner in the installation process to create/resize partitions but personally, I prefer to set up partitions first, though I have no definite reason for that. I suppose one thing is that I quite frequently install or re-install development versions and with these there is always a slight possibility of the partitioner giving problems.If the lattter, I seem unable to boot my gparted CD in any of my computers. Do I remember correctly that it should be self-booting, or is it a two step process wherein gparted is step two? In which case, what is step one?

On the other hand, if not, would you imagine that my cd is knackered? If so, do you like gparted or should I consider another partition manager?The latest GParted CD boots straight into GParted but I have a vague idea that earlier versions did take two steps. If your CD won't boot itself it does sound knackered. OTOH GParted is supplied ready to use on each Live CD installation CD (in case you haven't got a working one already).You were able to put me onto the System Monitor. Is there a GUI that shows partition info that is less of a project than gparted? Not that running gparted is a big deal, but I always get nervous when I run anything that might result in a clean plate. The System Monitor shows mounted partitions (though not partitions that are not mounted) in the File Systems tab. GParted is perfectly safe as a way of displaying partition info - I think there may be another way but can't remember now. Changing anything is a two step process with warnings so it's extremely difficult to alter anything inadvertently. You need to specify the changes, then click on Apply, then agree to apply the changes. As long as you're reasonably careful and are able to concentate on what you're doing, it pretty simple really. The only way you'll actually lose data is to either delete a partition or format it. I've never had any problem with resizing or moving partitions - gparted checks the integrity of the file system on the partition before resizing or moving and rechecks it afterwards. Also, do Linux computers need de-fragging, and if so, is there a utility in Ubuntu? If needed but no utility, what do you recommend?ext3 file systems are inherently much more resistent to fragmentation than NTFS (or worse FAT) but a certain amount of fragmentation can occur after a very long time though this is rarely of any consequence. There is currently no defragmenting app for ext3 file systems, no doubt because it isn't a problem.As a separate question, but sort of related, I have a UBCD (Ultimate Boot CD) utility CD, which has lots of freeware utilities on it. But when I run it, I really don't know what to do with it. Have you or anyone reading this found a tutorial for the various programs on UBCD?I haven't tried that one, though I have heard of it. You could try their website (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) for more info - I've just had a look and it seems interesting.

[Odyssey]

My hdd is currently set up as:

/dev/hda1 /home 27.35GB (5.72 used)
2 / 8.74 (2.99)
3 /swap 2.20

Since I prob will not go back to ver 7 after installing 8, I wuld like to use part of the 8.74 for ver 8, but I gather from your comments that I would be better off using part of the /home.

Any thoughts on this?

[Gina]

I see no reason not to grab some of partition 2 (8.74) - say 5GB leaving 3.74 for the old system. Then if/when you no longer want 7.04 you can delete that partition and resize the new one if you want.

Just run gparted and resize the 8.74 partition using the slider - move it to just above the contents shown. That will give a little leeway for updates if you want to run 7.04.

[Gina]

Alternatively, if you don't want 7.04 then you can simply install 8.04 onto the same partition. Mark partition 2 - 8.74 for use as ext 3, format it, assign it to /. Mark partition 1 as use for ext3 and assign it to /home (no format, of course). thus it will say - Format partitions 2 and 3 (/ and swap).