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**IndyTim** · Mar 14, 2009, 04:01 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Here's my general recommendation for you.

As a totally new user coming from the Windows environment, I would strongly recommend resisting the urge to install all kinds of apps at the start. Become familiar with your new operating system and what it's core capabilities are first. Kick the tires on the browser, open office apps, games etc. Also explore the various capabilities within the equivalent to the Windows Control Panel.

Once you've gone through all of this, you should have a pretty good idea of what direction and functionality you want to achieve in your Linux ops. Then start to build your additional apps one at a time. Avoid the temptation to just install a bunch of stuff that sounds good until you gain familiarity with each new app individually.

Hopefully some of the above will lead to less stress and frustration as a new user.

Used the boards here for specific questions on installation and use of the apps etc. (remember to title your postings to something meaningful and specific. Avoid the "Help the new user" type of topic titles.

Hope this helps a bit.

IndyTim

**Primoz** · Mar 14, 2009, 06:27 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Originally posted by smilu

Dear all willing to help,

I installed KUBUNTU the newest version on my laptop on dual boot with vista. Also have all the latest updates of KUBUNTU.
Everybody says that KUBUNTU is much more simpler and easier to use than windows but now i cannot say that it is true.
The installation of programs is totally mixed up. Using Adept is simple if it would work properly for all programs.....i can say that half of the installations i made....had to be altered trought the console and still aren't working properly. And to find what i have to write down in the console is totally hard.
For a person who never worked on DOS or Linux as it was 10 years ago....we are just typing some stuff hoping to make something to work - and after trying and trying to write down that stuff that something still isn't working. Would you agree that is very frustrating?
I tried to install KUBUNTU 4 times from the scrach and NEVER made wireless card to work, compiz never works properly - i don't have all of the effects, sound had problems, my widgets leave marks when I move them around....i have a feeling nothing works right.
I totally like KUBUNTU - when i see it working properly, but I really never found a simple solution to set up the system correctly.
Could please someone help? I'm willing to go again from the scratch if necessery but I need help, because it's not simple at all. I can say that i'm not the only one having this problems. Of total 10 friends that have tried KUBUNTU only one has successfuly installed it and he even doesn't know what he did...he was typing some stuff mentioned on the internet, and clicked around over the GUI some stuff that someone telled him to click.

I have it installed on Acer 7520G - AMD Tourion, NVIDIA GeForce 8400M, 2 GB DDR2...

Thank you in advance and hope someone can tell me what is the best thing to do at this moment. Fresh install or can all of this things be fixed?

The installation is a fairly easy way to do but the installation of apps is a bit tricky.
Adept is notorious for it's weirdness I always preferred Synaptic to it. So install Synaptic and to avoid strange Adept the best way to do it is to install it from command line:

Code:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

And the you use synaptic for installs is much more user friendly than Adept.
To continue on. Why do you even need Compiz I find that KWin has everything I need from useful stuff to pure eye-candy.
I guess the main problem is the old nVidia driver.
Look at this topic about how to install the newest nVidia driver: http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3100807.0
To try and make your WiFi work try to install wicd

Code:

sudo apt-get install wicd

Or try nsdiwrapper.

Oh and on Linux there is no escape from CLI (command line) so you better learn it

.
If you don't want to learn it or you wish for your OS just to work Linux is probably not for you.

But all in all your experience is similar to my first experience with Kubuntu I found that upgrading from Adept crashed the whole OS so
I had to learn the commands like sudo apt-get install and sudo apt-get upgrade.

So yeah welcome to "wonderful" world of Linux.

**Qqmike** · Mar 14, 2009, 06:42 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Agree with both the above posts.
For now, (1) get oriented, and if you need some app, (2) use Synaptic (I've never used it but am going along with Primoz because his is a mainstream view and Adept can be goofy at times).

As for learning commands at CLI (e.g., K > System > Konsole), he's my how-to on it for beginners:
-- Commands at Konsole: Beginners: 3 parts
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3091607.0

BUT, for now, don't try to master CLI, just get familiar with your new operating system as the guys have said. Then, somewhat casually, work through Part 1, maybe some of Part 2, having Konsole open as you read. Not a big deal, and most folks only need a very basic understanding of using Konsole. And, you may find it kind of fun

**cleb** · Mar 14, 2009, 06:46 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

As the person above me, I would also recommend you to install synaptic, as adept is really messed up in this new version.
I would also not install compiz, KDE has its own composite window manager that has almost the same effects, but it will surely work better together with your kde and it is installed on your kubuntu by default. To enable these effects, just go to system settings->desktop (or something like that, my KDE is translated to czech so I don't know the exact english name)
What kind of wireless card do you have? You will probably have to install drivers - if they do not supply linux drivers to the card, I think you can use a utility called ndiswrapper which enables you to use windows drivers for network cards.

**GreyGeek** · Mar 14, 2009, 09:33 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

As a NEW user of Kubuntu (Linuix), perhaps you should not be trying an ALPHA (not even beta!) test distro.

Drop back to Kubuntu 8.10. I think you find the sailing smoother. ALPHA's and BETA's are for people who are willing to try software that may ^^^^^ WILL crash their desktop, and will be reporting the problems they have to the developer's bugzilla so that problems may be fixed.

**smilu** · Mar 16, 2009, 02:37 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Hello again

:P

Ok, i've installed the Kubuntu 8.10 for AMD 64

- fresh install,

now trying to get graphic drivers to work.
At startup i get a message that the drivers are not activated

, when i try clicking to activate drivers - it starts to download then stops....and doesn't activate

:-X
trying to install synaptic this is what i get:

kresimir@Wanda:~$ sudo apt-get install synaptic
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Package synaptic is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package synaptic has no installation candidate

Ok now i have tons od ? on top of my head....

I have more questions, but maybe better to go one step at the time....

__________________________________________________ __________________________
i wanna be freeeeee......

**cleb** · Mar 16, 2009, 02:49 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Maybe it is not synaptic, but synaptic-manager or synaptic-something. Install it through adept.
For the drivers, there was a tool called envy, which made the installation of proprietary graphics drivers easy. However that was a few years ago, i don't know if it is still working with the newest drivers, or if there is a new better way directly in ubuntu (now I use an intel graphic card, so I do not need proprietary drivers)

**smilu** · Mar 16, 2009, 03:23 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

YEEEEEY

I've installed the driver downloading it from the net, then sh NVIDIAblabla in terminal, after exiting x server-which was confusing, etc...but done it and now i'm totally happy about that.

Hm seams that my adept is showing only stuff already installed, but no aditional software...hm...so i can't find synaptic.....trying to solve the problem...damn KDE doesn't have that cool cube...but will wait to figure how this GUI works like suggested before installing compiz...

But for now no problems...except the sound which doesn't play the whole melody after logging in...heard that there was an update...but waiting

OK next thing is wireless- hope to get this work like told

...

You guys are great

**muzicman0** · Mar 16, 2009, 05:18 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

OK, so it sounds like you have the wireless working, that's good...once you get comfy with Kubuntu, you can look into installing KDE 4.2 (which upgrades your existing installation of 4.1.2), and it has the cube.

mm0

**The Liquidator** · Mar 16, 2009, 05:26 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Cube:

kmenu/system settings/desktop/select enable desktop effects/all effects and you'll find the cube effect there.

Adept. synaptic should show up in there. Adept can be configured so as to show only the packages that are installed or those that are not. Open adept and type synaptic in the search box. If nothing appears in the panel to the right, click once on the square symbol below the search box. Any joy?

**dibl** · Mar 16, 2009, 07:50 PM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

It's just a computer -- it doesn't deserve strong emotions. Save those for people.

**smilu** · Mar 17, 2009, 08:17 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Nope...didn't get wireless to work

...
when i type:
sudo apt-get install wicd
it starts to install but then stops with the message: no packages found

.
ok afterwards i found somewhere that i have some wireless drivers activated...wich app is best for searching wireless networks? Maybe i'm doing something wrong trying to search the network in the network manager..i don't know

What to do....

Tried to find Synaptic in Adept...and it's not showing there.....
Tried to istall it with sudo comand but get the same message: no packages found.

What to do, what to do...i ask you and myself LOL

**muzicman0** · Mar 17, 2009, 08:46 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

what kind of wireless card is it (model?)...if you are not sure, type

Code:

lspci

into the konsole and look for it.

mm0

**smilu** · Mar 17, 2009, 11:55 AM

Re: Help i'm totally lost - and i'm beginning to hate my kubuntu

Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter (rev 01)
hope this is the information you asked mm0?

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