should I or shouldn't I?

[fidel]

Hi all,
I have been using Ubuntu since 9.04 on my laptop, these are the specs
Processor Intel® Celeron® M Processor 440
1 MB L2 cache | 1.86 GHz | 533 MHz FSB)
Chipset Intel® 943GML chipset
Display panel 15.4-inch WXGA (1280 × 800)
Memory Installed memory: 512 MB (2 × 256)
Total slots: 2 DDR2 slots | Available slots: 0 DDR2 slots
Maximum memory: 2 GB
Video controller Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Up to 64 MB of shared video memory
Audio High definition audio - 2 channel
Hard drive 80 GB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
Optical drive 8X Multi-format dual layer DVDRW
Modem Integrated V.92 56K modem
Network
10/100 Ethernet
Intel® PRO wireless 4965 802.11a/b/g

I got bored of that once I upgraded to 10.04LTS, so I installed Xubuntu, that was good, better boot up times, but again I got bored so I installed Kubuntu from the repos. So far so good, I love the looks and the way the OS just works.

Now my questions are, is it OK to have three different OS on my system?? I am also using Virtual box with XP. I want to keep just Kubuntu, is there anyway I can remove Ubuntu and Xubuntu without having to do a fresh install of Kubuntu? The only problem I have had so far with Kubuntu is each time I login I get the network manager wallet asking for a password (just have to find the post about this) If I have to do a fresh install of Kubuntu is there any way of backing up my settings on Chrome?? Also Iam guessing that I can remove the programs I do not want through add & remove programs?

Many thanks

Andy

[Snowhog]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Now my questions are, is it OK to have three different OS on my system??

You can have as many different OS's as you have space for. There is no problem. I was running three, and a fourth (Win XP Pro) in a VM.

Welcome to KFN and the wonderful world of Linux.

[ANOKNUSA]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Hey, seems you and I followed the same track: I started with Jaunty, and just switched to KDE about three months back. Here's the skinny: you really just have one operating system installed: the Ubuntu core system. Everything else pertains to the three desktop environments, being simply the graphical tools you use to interact with Ubuntu. They won't (or at least shouldn't) interfere with each other; the only issue issues I've ever had (which at first turned me off of KDE, naive as I was) is that XFCE and GNOME are written in GTK+, unlike KDE's Qt base. This means programs meant for one DE will look a little out of place when used in another; again, not a huge issue. Just check out Qt-Curve in the repos to try and integrate better.

As for the wallet asking you for a password on login: if you click on the Network Manager icon in the systray and select "Manage Connections," you'll find that one of your listed networks is set to connect automatically on login; just switch this off, and you should be good. Have fun, learn stuff, and all that buisness!

[verndog]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Not knowing how your partitions are set up its hard to advise on removing Ubuntu, Xubuntu.
Many folks here have multiple partitions per os, I have just one. So I would format or unallocate both of those partitions and then 'sudo update-grub'.

Also if you have a separate "/home" partition for Kubuntu and leave that alone, you Chrome config will be unaltered.
If you only have one partition and "/home" is inside that one, then use manual partition but do not format. It will warn the "/, /var, /etc" will be overwritten - but not /home. I do that all the time.

Snowhogs advice that you can have several OS's installed at once without effecting Kubuntu is correct. I have 4 or 5 including Windows7.

output 'sudo fdisk -l' so we can see your setup.

[fidel]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

My laptop was originally running just XP, but I got so fed up with it constantly needing me to do something to it (scans etc) I just wanted a system that worked and needed minimal input, so I looked around and found Ubuntu, instead of trying out the live CD, I just removed XP and installed Ubuntu and have not looked back since. But as I said in my first post, I just got bored with Ubuntu and felt it was slow on my specs, so I installed Xubuntu from the terminal and tried that out for a couple of weeks before installing Kubuntu from the repos, so I have just one partion.

What is the advantage of "sudo update-grub"?

[The Liquidator]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

If you have installed Xubuntu (and kubuntu) from within a running system then you would appear to have the setup as envisaged by Anoknusa i.e one operating system with 3 different desktops i.e gnome (ubuntu) xfce (xubuntu) and kde (kubuntu).

The main purpose of grub is to enable you to select the operating system at boot - if you only have the one you won't see it without hitting the shift key after the bios post. It's important for you to know it's there though as it also lists the following:

1. Installed kernels - it is feasible that you can download and install an updated kernel, that gives you a problem. Using grub enables you to boot into an older kernel that was previously working (so long as you haven't uninstalled it!)

2. It shows that for each installed kernel there is a recovery mode. If a normal boot fails you can boot into a text-based working system and in many cases a couple of lines of commands will usually fix things.

Running sudo update-grub causes the system to check the list of installed operating systems and kernels to be refreshed and at the same time displayed in the terminal. In the case of dual boot and multiple operating systems the sudo update-grub command has on many occasions provided a solution to boot problems.

HTH

[fidel]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Ok,
I understand the use of updating the grub. I have tried to update the grub before manually, but that was when I was just running Ubuntu, however I cannot remeber where I found the information ( I think it was off the Ubuntu Wki) but the grub update failed but did not cause any problems. So far I have not had any boot up problems only with speed, that is why I installed the three flavours of *buntu.

What is the best way to remove programs from Kubuntu so I can speed up the boot process? I have timed it against Ubuntu and Xubuntu. Ubuntu boots up in about 90 secs, Xubuntu in about 60 secs and Kubuntu in about 50 secs. Is there any way to speed this process up with the specs posted in my first post?

[The Liquidator]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Interesting timings - what surprises me a little is that you are recording kubuntu to have the quickest boot time - I actually thought it would be the slowest.

It may be that having all 3 desktops slows your boot down a tiny bit, or again it might not, but I wouldn't get hung up about it at this point as next month 10.10 is launched which, gives the prospect of faster boot times.

If I were you I would use the next month to play around with all 3 desktops and decide which one you are most comfortable with. Then when 10.10 is released, get the version that's right for you. I would then back up the data you need to keep and then do a clean install, ideally setting up separate home and swap partitions, so in future you can upgrade or install new versions whilst retaining settings etc.

HTH

[fidel]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

I just tried sudo update-grub, when the terminal asked me for my sudo password, I put in the password which I use but the terminal did not recognise my password. Any ideas?

[oshunluvr]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

The sudo password is your admin user password. Since you're the only user, your password should be the only one one it.

When you changed desktops did you change or add a user?

[ANOKNUSA]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Thanks for elucidating, Liquidator; upon reading further replies, I realized my post probably wasn't all that informative.

Fidel: there is a guide @ http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index which, after taking stock of what desktop/apps you wish to use, will allow you to restore your system to a single desktop environment. This will end up essentially removing added applications and restoring your desktop to the state it was in after a fresh installation, so use it with caution! While this shouldn't affect your home folder in any way, it's always a good idea to make backups all the same.

Try looking up "Setting up a separate home partition" or something similar in Google or in the forums; having one's home folder separated from the core system has been invaluable for me, as it means that botching my system doesn't mess up my personal files--only I can do that, through my own carelessness.

Finally, concerning GRUB: if you installed "Xubuntu" and "Kubuntu" from the repositories while logged into Ubuntu, they won't appear on the GRUB menu: they only appear at the login screen, under the "Session" selection box. If you wanted to install all of them separately, you'd need to set up a logical partition scheme on your hard drive: time consuming and a little complex, if you're new to the process. Personally, I tried out KDE three times while using GNOME as my primary desktop, and didn't like it at all; it wasn't until I saw some nice screenshots and tutorials featuring KDE 4.4 that I decided to eliminate the clutter and try out a clean install of Kubuntu 10.04 that I got used to it. Haven't looked back since.

Good Luck!

[fidel]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

The sudo password is your admin user password. Since you're the only user, your password should be the only one one it.

When you changed desktops did you change or add a user?

No I did not add or change a user

[Snowhog]

Re: should I or shouldn't I?

Passwords are case sensitive. Make sure you don't have your CAPS LOCK on or otherwise typing the wrong case.