muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I don't think I'm cut out for this Linux game ... can't seem to get anything to run after a basic setup from any Distro. I'm now using Kubuntu on the Old Girl, installed it yesterday late afternoon and by bedtime had the thing running with all hardware, and no blanking screen. Took the easy way and used Automatix2 ... installing that IS different to Ubuntu ... with a lot of moaning & error fits from Konsole I also got me screen res sorted.A pause here ... I would have though, wrongly as it turned out, that command-line instrucktions would be the same ... oh no they ain't.So, today I thought I would get some 'updates' done and install some of those "toys" I can't seem to live without ... Well, been at it two hours and not got a thing done.1. Installing LiquidWeatherIts easy, open SuperKarama, klick the "New Stuff" button, choose LiquidWeather and press install ... the website opens and you download the .skz fileWell that has been the way I have done it and it has always worked ... however, Kubuntu opens up Kate when downloading that file, err, I don't want Kate I just want the bloody download ... of course Kate tels you this is a binary file and will be corrupted if saved ... yep, Kate is right ... BUT I DON'T WANT KATE TO OPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE ... 2. Updating KDE to KDE 3.5.5Again, it's easy ... Add the suppository, via Adept Package Manager, refresh and you have all the 'updated' files ready to install ... press the button and off we go ...... until you get an error that something is not right and, that is as far as you is gonna get. Now I have 97 updates waiting in the 'Auto Updater' which will not run 'cos ... You will not be able to change your system settings in any way (install, remove or upgrade software), because another process is using the packaging system database (probably some other Adept application or apt-get or aptitude). Please close the other application before using this one.... and there we have it. Another day another great achievement by ... nobody.Thanks for reading ... have a nice day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Mucks, I ask myself what have you tried on this machine, which distros ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Hi Muck,I've always found Kubuntu to be a "pain in the neck". Whenever I install this distro I get a different reaction from my computer each time. One minute the graphics are "up the creek", next time a different problem arises. To quote Forrest Gump "It's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get"My big gripe with Kubuntu - and some other Debian-based distros - is that if I use an 800X600 resolution the font size suddenly becomes minute and unreadable. If I use a 1024X768 the font size in Thunderbird is too small. Can't figure out why this is, especially as I try to adjust the settings in the Control Center.I haven't used Superkaramba - would you please clue me in on what makes it special for you ? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 ... until you get an error that something is not right and, that is as far as you is gonna get. Now I have 97 updates waiting in the 'Auto Updater' which will not run 'cos ...... and there we have it. Man... you do get around...Have you tried dpkg --configure -a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Man... you do get around...You can say that. Mucks, wouldn't it be better to just settle on on distro and focus on that one only?Or are you just still looking around and searching for a distro which gives you most bang for this particular machine ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Striker nailed it, kinda sorta...Case Ubuntu: it froze... "I put the freezing down to overheating ... fixed also" -- OS related? SuperKaramba... have you toyed with Gdesklets et al in Gnome? i'm not criticizing, mind you... this distro galore is utterly entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 I got a fan club. : Mucks, I ask myself what have you tried on this machine, which distros ... Actually, not a lot ... DOS, Win95/ME/2000/XP Suse 9.3, Mandrake ??, Suse 10, Mamdriva 2006, Suse 10, Mandriva 2007, Suse 10.1, Ubuntu, Kubuntu ... Hi Muck,I've always found Kubuntu to be a "pain in the neck". Whenever I install this distro I get a different reaction from my computer each time. One minute the graphics are "up the creek", next time a different problem arises. To quote Forrest Gump "It's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get"My big gripe with Kubuntu - and some other Debian-based distros - is that if I use an 800X600 resolution the font size suddenly becomes minute and unreadable. If I use a 1024X768 the font size in Thunderbird is too small. Can't figure out why this is, especially as I try to adjust the settings in the Control Center.I haven't used Superkaramba - would you please clue me in on what makes it special for you ? Thanks What is SuperKaramba? SuperKaramba is, in simple terms, a tool that allows you to easily create interactive eye-candy on your KDE desktop. Currently, only linux is officially supported. How does it work? Theme writers create themes, or text files that define their widget. Then, they can optionally add python scripting to make their widget interactive. The possibilities are endless! Here are just some examples of the things that can be done: Display system information such as CPU Usage, MP3 playing, etc. Create cool custom toolbars that work any way imaginable Create little games or virtual pets that live on your desktop Display information from the internet, such as weather and headlines The possibilities really are endless!http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=5810 Man... you do get around...Have you tried Sorry, but it seems when me, myself & I follow simple "cut-n-past" in a Konsole ... I'm the one who gets the error ... You can say that. Mucks, wouldn't it be better to just settle on on distro and focus on that one only?Or are you just still looking around and searching for a distro which gives you most bang for this particular machine ? : That bad it shows? ... Well, err, I suppose yes ... Looking for something that will play nice with the Old Girl AND one I can easily use ... I think what I need is someone like Bruno to come visit ... setup the PC and lock it down. I'm learning, that, Distro's are a flavour of Linux, but one should learn Linux before attempting to 'learn' a distro ... ... a frustrating 'game' and I'm still at it. I do really like this Kubuntu ... I think this is install # 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havnblast Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 You had problems with Mandriva? I would think that would probably be your best distro.Kubuntu is evil - it installs how it wants to if at all. If you have an older machine, have you looked at VectorLinux? The new beta is looking really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
striker Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Which of those distros you really did like the most, which one did suit your needs the best ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 You had problems with Mandriva? I would think that would probably be your best distro.Kubuntu is evil - it installs how it wants to if at all. If you have an older machine, have you looked at VectorLinux? The new beta is looking really good.Yes, me myself & I had problems with Mandriva, tried several new releases hoping this one would be better ... BUT, I really got fed-up of looking through 15 'fly-outs' to find a setting/program ... and ... the stability, ie: crashes, were just unacceptable. This PC is 4 going on 5 ... has had Vista installed and got a 3.5 rating ... all the bells-n-whistles were no problem, quite a nippy program ... I quite enjoyed it, and I will be purchasing VISTA when available.However, this is supposed to be my Linux box ... I'm a stubborn Scot who will exhaust all avenue's until I find ...1. A distro that likes my PC2. A distro I like No insults intended, my sarcasm is hard sometimes to curtail, but as I have said before ... computers are not new to me, been "in the game" 20 years, still learning, but I can build a pretty D*** good PC, when I do, they will last a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Which of those distros you really did like the most, which one did suit your needs the best ?Suse 10.1I have gotten quite good at using YaST to 'fix' & install what was needed ... the straw that broke that back was/is the inability of Novell to fix their broken updater/installer ... nobody should be jumping through hoops of fire just to install the bloody thing to start with ... unacceptable from the likes of Novell ... IMHO. Sad to say ... I'll probably 'have another go' and re-install 10.1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 (edited) 1. A distro that likes my PC2. A distro I like You find 1. -- 2. will follow automagically. No insults intended, my sarcasm is hard sometimes to curtail, but as I have said before ... computers are not new to me, been "in the game" 20 years, still learning, but I can build a pretty D*** good PC, when I do, they will last a few years. One of my favourite quotes:The ex-Windows Power UserShe knows Windows inside and out. She can edit a few things in the registry. She defragments. She does disk scans. She knows all the free but good anti-virus, anti-spyware scanning tools. She has a list of about ten or twelve programs she uses and loves to use in Windows. She also gets called to solve her friends' and relatives' Windows problems. Something happens one day, though--she's tired of all the maintenance she has to do on her Windows computer, she's tired of her Linux-using friends always talking about how great Linux is, or she just wants to try something new. So she installs Linux. Very likely, she will encounter problems. Either her wireless card won't work, or the CD burning program doesn't do absolutely everything that Nero does, or the Linux fonts "look ugly" to her. Then, there are two ways she can go. She either throws her hands up and screams (virtually or actually), "I can't take it any more. This OS sucks. I'm going back to Windows. Linux is not ready for the desktop" or she rolls up her sleeves and says, "I'm going to make this work. This is fun figuring this out."http://www.psychocats.net/essays/linuxdesktopmyth.phpSad to say ... I'll probably 'have another go' and re-install 10.1 Or... "Edgy Eft" (K)Ubuntus are to be released very soon... not Long Time Support, mind you... that's Dapper, BUT:https://wiki.kubuntu.org/EdgyEft/Beta/Kubuntuhttps://wiki.ubuntu.com/EdgyEft/BetaOh: The first development snapshot of KDE 4, codenamed Krash, has been released and packages are available for Kubuntu Edgy. These are intended for developers only.They install to /usr/lib/kde4 and can be installed alongside your existing KDE 3. Edited October 17, 2006 by Urmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 "I'm going to make this work. This is fecking driving me nuts figuring this out." ... and, try as I might I can't turn this text back to black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 ... and, try as I might I can't turn this text back to black. A finite, but unbounded universe can still leave one looking for a satisfactory answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 OK, joking aside for one minute ...We have, that's a Royal We, you can call me Sir mucks ... we have1. kubuntu installed (install #6)2. Updated suppositories to get all goodies needed3. Installed Automatix2 ... 4. Installed nVidia drivers5. Hacked the xorg.config file to reflect the correct monitor6. Had 9 cups of coffee7. Installed Firefox ... why that is not a default install I do not know.8. Only taken 6 hours ... so far.Now, if anybody needs any assistance in installing kubuntu ... please ask now, as I'm about to delete any and all knowledge on how I achieved such a great task from my brain. Need space for the next steps. The next step involves ...1. Install KDE 3.5.5 ... 'cos I want it2. Install SuperKaramba ... 'cos Linux ain't no fun without it3. At least 5 more cups of coffee ... may need some food too4. Install Boinc ... must get the Old Girl crunching again, however, when this is done, she get a wee bit hot. Need a better HSF me thinks5. Eat some food6. err, forgot ... so that will do for now7. go to bed before 11pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 (edited) The next step involves ...1. Install KDE 3.5.5 ... 'cos I want it2. Install SuperKaramba ... 'cos Linux ain't no fun without it3. At least 5 more cups of coffee ... may need some food too4. Install Boinc ... must get the Old Girl crunching again, however, when this is done, she get a wee bit hot. Need a better HSF me thinks5. Eat some food6. err, forgot ... so that will do for now7. go to bed before 11pm 1. http://www.ubuntuforums.org/search.php?sea...11369&pp=252. (Go Gdesklets!) , but:"Installing themes is a simple as launching superkaramba, downloading the theme file (usually in a .skz compressed format), clicking on "Open Local Theme" and pointing it to the file you just downloaded. Alternatively, superakaramba also has a "Get New Stuff" button which will show you the most popular / most downloaded themes from KDE-Look.org and let you install them with one click."3. Happens.4. From repos, right?5. Advisable.6. Not so fast, young man! 7. Hawk caught the red bird soon in the morning. Edited October 17, 2006 by Urmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 I'm not scared ...http://kubuntu.org/announcements/kde-355.php... can always re-install, I can do it blindfolded with one arm tied behind my back dancing on a bar stool singing ... "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside" ........... Automatix2 two has it listed ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 ... can always re-install, I can do it blindfolded with one arm tied behind my back dancing on a bar stool singing ... ... "As Johnnie arose, he banged the door openSayin cursed be the tavern that e'er let me inAnd cursed be the whisky that makes me so thirstyso fare thee well whisky, I'm awa' hame." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Mucks,Is saikee your hero or what? A grub menu booting 100+ systems of Dos, Windows, Linux, BSD and Solaris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Back again ... dinner was crap. OK, in one of my posts I asked a quick question, how do I open xorg.conf in Kubuntuwell, I found the answer ... kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.confhowever ... X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceX Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceX Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceX Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceLink points to "/tmp/ksocket-root"Link points to "/tmp/kde-root"X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceX Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169 Major opcode: 147 Minor opcode: 3 Resource id: 0x0Failed to open devicekbuildsycoca running...Reusing existing ksycocakio (KSycoca): ERROR: No database available!ScimInputContextPlugin()QObject::disconnect: Unexpected null parameter~ScimInputContextPlugin()mucks@mucks-linux:~$... and Kate will open. No, I haven't done any updates to the OS that I'm planing ... no point if I can't get it to work anyway.Next is ... Kate's insistence to open when downloading a file. I don't want Kate to open and tell me I cannot save the binary, I just want the file downloaded.Now, I did notice it used Konkore to download the file and not Firefox which is what I'm using. If I use Firefox direct I get the file AND THEN Kate opens.Is it really worth me carrying on, or do we finally give this one up as a bad deal also? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Mucks,Is saikee your hero or what? A grub menu booting 100+ systems of Dos, Windows, Linux, BSD and Solaris <-- Click to see what I mean. No, but I read that story when it first "hit the web" ... I only want one OS on one PC ... I'll build another PC for any other OS.Don't know how long I'll keep this up ... but I do nothing else in a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Is it really worth me carrying on, or do we finally give this one up as a bad deal also?This is a harmless one:http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=185930If you want to get rid of it, here's the deal:In xorg.conf, comment out the following lines (as shown)#Section "InputDevice"# Driver "wacom"# Identifier "stylus"# option "Device" "/dev/wacom"# Change to # option "Type" "stylus"# option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY# # /dev/input/event# # for USB#EndSection#Section "InputDevice"# Driver "wacom"# Identifier "eraser"# option "Device" "/dev/wacom"# Change to # option "Type" "eraser"# option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY# # /dev/input/event# # for USB#EndSection#Section "InputDevice"# Driver "wacom"# Identifier "cursor"# option "Device" "/dev/wacom"# Change to # option "Type" "cursor"# option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY# # /dev/input/event# # for USB#EndSectionThen find ServerLayout and comment out the lines containing "stylus", "cursor " and "eraser":Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "Default Layout" screen 0 "Default Screen" 0 0 InputDevice "Generic Keyboard" InputDevice "Configured Mouse"# InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"# InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"# InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"EndSectionReboot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Sorry Urmas, I do not know what you are refering to ... : Next is ... Kate's insistence to open when downloading a file. I don't want Kate to open and tell me I cannot save the binary, I just want the file downloaded.Now, I did notice it used Konkore to download the file and not Firefox which is what I'm using. If I use Firefox direct I get the file AND THEN Kate opens.You can scratch that on off the list ... I can now download off the nett using Firefox. I knew it was "hidden" somewhere ... Kmenu/System Settings/KDE Components ... Web Browser/default component/in the following browser ... firefoxEasy innit ... Need coffee now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Sorry Urmas, I do not know what you are refering to ... :This:X Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169Major opcode: 147Minor opcode: 3Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceX Error: BadDevice, invalid or uninitialized input device 169Major opcode: 147Minor opcode: 3Resource id: 0x0Failed to open deviceaaaaand so onHarmless snafu, and can be fixed as per instructions. Need beer now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 oh, right ... :">phew, I thought I broke it ... I was just happy that Kate opened in that instance ... two down, 9 to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 What is SuperKaramba? SuperKaramba is, in simple terms, a tool that allows you to easily create interactive eye-candy on your KDE desktop. Currently, only linux is officially supported. How does it work? Theme writers create themes, or text files that define their widget. Then, they can optionally add python scripting to make their widget interactive. The possibilities are endless! Here are just some examples of the things that can be done: Display system information such as CPU Usage, MP3 playing, etc. Create cool custom toolbars that work any way imaginable Create little games or virtual pets that live on your desktop Display information from the internet, such as weather and headlines The possibilities really are endless!http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=5810 Thanks, Mucks. I must have a go at this . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 You're welcome ... Two "must have" are ...http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=24626no need for lm-sensors for me on that oneandhttp://liquidweather.net/... does British UK weather, not all work, easy enough to bin though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 You're welcome ... Two "must have" are ...http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=24626no need for lm-sensors for me on that oneandhttp://liquidweather.net/... does British UK weather, not all work, easy enough to bin though. I'm having trouble getting the "pyQt " Is it open source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Yes, it is open sauce ... welcome to LinuxNo 'problem' on this Distro ... Is you using, cough cough, Mandriva? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckshifter Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 A little update for all my fans ... All done and dusted ... how many times have I said that before. Did not go down the route of trying to install KDE 3.5.5 ... we will leave that for another week or two, when I've done some more readin.Not installed Boinc just yet, though I have done that so many times before it is second nature, I decided to give the Old Girl a wee rest ... and go get a nice new shiny HSF for her.Have a nice day, err, night ... TTFN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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