Kubuntu 10.10
On its own partition, not inside Windows
KDE 4.5.1
GRUB2
Dual boot with Windows 7 Ultimate
Laptop (HP Pavilion, dv7 4060us, includes atheros wifi & multitouch pad)
AMD Phenom II N830 (2.1GHz triple-core)
ATI Radeon 5650 GPU
4GB RAM
Internal 320GB HD, with 100GB for Kubuntu
Internal DVD writer (not bluray)
FLUFFY STUFF
Hello Kubuntu Crew. I’ve been a linux fan and user for a few years, since Dapper Drake days though I was using openSUSE. I’m interested in linux as a hassle-free alternative to Windows for daily computing, and I am no “power” user. By daily computing, I mean internet and documents, and by hassle-free, I mean less vulnerability to malware, although any routine problem whose solution starts with “open a terminal and login as a superuser” is also a hassle. I’ve been telling friends for years that even though Mac and Windows had a head start, Linux has been getting better faster. When I got a new computer and had all the same old problems (no wifi, no advanced video, no touchpad, failed one-click install of restricted codecs), I thought I’d have to eat my words, but I decided to give Kubuntu a try. It went much more smoothly but there are a few hiccups, so I need some newbie help.
QUESTION PERTAINING TO WONKY INSTALL
I installed Lucid about a month ago, and then installed all the updates, but didn’t have much time to play around with it. Then this week Maverick came out of beta, so I ran the update, and it crashed at the cleanup step. I tried to re-run the upgrade, and System Settings told me to run a script manually, which I did, and it completed without a hitch. I seem to have a functioning Maverick install, but everytime I start it up, I get a message about a kde command script that couldn’t run. Also, about a third of the time, Kubuntu hangs on boot. Sometimes it accepts ctrl-alt-del (if the wifi light is on) and sometimes I have to do a power cycle (if the wifi indicator light is off). Usually it succeeds on the second try. Any idea why? This happened on Lucid but seems worse on Maverick.
QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO TOUCHPAD
First, since upgrading to Maverick, I’ve lost right-click function. Any idea how to get it back? Second, the buttons on this new multitouch pad are a little weird; they’re UNDER the front edge of the pad. I can press ‘em down, but meanwhile my finger is on the touch-sensitive part of the pad, shifting slightly from the pressing motion, moving the pointer away from the control I’m trying to activate. Worse, if I still have one finger on the pad controlling position, and use another finger to press a button, the pad detects a second touch and the pointer goes wild. Very irritating. As for multitouch scolling, either vertical or horizontal, I have no idea how to do that, and I’d gladly forfeit that functionality if it were the cost of usable buttons.
QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO GRUB2
Okay, I realize it’s in beta, and there’s no point now in griping about an UGLY boot loader since that ship has sailed. Still, I have a second kernel from running updates, and a third from upgrading to Maverick, for a total of 6 entries to boot Kubuntu. That seems a little excessive, especially since I wouldn’t know how to use recovery mode anyway. If I use startup manager to set Windows as the default, then as soon as a new kernel appears, memtest becomes the default. What I’d like is one entry for linux with the latest kernel, one for windows, and one for an “Advanced” sub-menu, with a persistent default. Memtest and all the extra kernel and recovery entries would be swept into the submenu. Is there an easy way to do this, for someone who’s never written a script? Failing that, is there a way to change the bootloader to one that’s more appropriate for a newbie? I’m giving my old laptop to a friend who’s less technical than I, and having the boot menu bloat as a consequence of routine updates will really turn him off.
So far, I have never volunteered on any linux project, for I have no skills. But if there is anything I can do to help make GRUB2 more user-friendly, tell me where to sign up.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with these questions,
GEF
On its own partition, not inside Windows
KDE 4.5.1
GRUB2
Dual boot with Windows 7 Ultimate
Laptop (HP Pavilion, dv7 4060us, includes atheros wifi & multitouch pad)
AMD Phenom II N830 (2.1GHz triple-core)
ATI Radeon 5650 GPU
4GB RAM
Internal 320GB HD, with 100GB for Kubuntu
Internal DVD writer (not bluray)
FLUFFY STUFF
Hello Kubuntu Crew. I’ve been a linux fan and user for a few years, since Dapper Drake days though I was using openSUSE. I’m interested in linux as a hassle-free alternative to Windows for daily computing, and I am no “power” user. By daily computing, I mean internet and documents, and by hassle-free, I mean less vulnerability to malware, although any routine problem whose solution starts with “open a terminal and login as a superuser” is also a hassle. I’ve been telling friends for years that even though Mac and Windows had a head start, Linux has been getting better faster. When I got a new computer and had all the same old problems (no wifi, no advanced video, no touchpad, failed one-click install of restricted codecs), I thought I’d have to eat my words, but I decided to give Kubuntu a try. It went much more smoothly but there are a few hiccups, so I need some newbie help.
QUESTION PERTAINING TO WONKY INSTALL
I installed Lucid about a month ago, and then installed all the updates, but didn’t have much time to play around with it. Then this week Maverick came out of beta, so I ran the update, and it crashed at the cleanup step. I tried to re-run the upgrade, and System Settings told me to run a script manually, which I did, and it completed without a hitch. I seem to have a functioning Maverick install, but everytime I start it up, I get a message about a kde command script that couldn’t run. Also, about a third of the time, Kubuntu hangs on boot. Sometimes it accepts ctrl-alt-del (if the wifi light is on) and sometimes I have to do a power cycle (if the wifi indicator light is off). Usually it succeeds on the second try. Any idea why? This happened on Lucid but seems worse on Maverick.
QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO TOUCHPAD
First, since upgrading to Maverick, I’ve lost right-click function. Any idea how to get it back? Second, the buttons on this new multitouch pad are a little weird; they’re UNDER the front edge of the pad. I can press ‘em down, but meanwhile my finger is on the touch-sensitive part of the pad, shifting slightly from the pressing motion, moving the pointer away from the control I’m trying to activate. Worse, if I still have one finger on the pad controlling position, and use another finger to press a button, the pad detects a second touch and the pointer goes wild. Very irritating. As for multitouch scolling, either vertical or horizontal, I have no idea how to do that, and I’d gladly forfeit that functionality if it were the cost of usable buttons.
QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO GRUB2
Okay, I realize it’s in beta, and there’s no point now in griping about an UGLY boot loader since that ship has sailed. Still, I have a second kernel from running updates, and a third from upgrading to Maverick, for a total of 6 entries to boot Kubuntu. That seems a little excessive, especially since I wouldn’t know how to use recovery mode anyway. If I use startup manager to set Windows as the default, then as soon as a new kernel appears, memtest becomes the default. What I’d like is one entry for linux with the latest kernel, one for windows, and one for an “Advanced” sub-menu, with a persistent default. Memtest and all the extra kernel and recovery entries would be swept into the submenu. Is there an easy way to do this, for someone who’s never written a script? Failing that, is there a way to change the bootloader to one that’s more appropriate for a newbie? I’m giving my old laptop to a friend who’s less technical than I, and having the boot menu bloat as a consequence of routine updates will really turn him off.
So far, I have never volunteered on any linux project, for I have no skills. But if there is anything I can do to help make GRUB2 more user-friendly, tell me where to sign up.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with these questions,
GEF
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