Moving back to Kubuntu

[Codekid]

Hey guys, i was using kubuntu about a year and a half ago on a laptop and i loved it, i'm thinking of re-installing it onto my new desktop, due to my dislike of windows and how much it costs, and i've been looking for a page that'll help me find supported features and i couldn't find any, i was wondering if kubuntu 11.10 would support and i3 setup, hoping to move to i7 here soon, with an nvidia geforce 210 series graphics card running 2 monitors. sorry if it's a stupid question but i thought i should ask it before i wipe my comp and make the move lol

[DoYouKubuntu]

Personally, I NEVER check hardware compatibility before installing Kubuntu--but with 27 years of *nix under my belt, my reality is probably different from yours. What I'd suggest is two-fold: 1) Burn a live CD, verify its integrity, pop it in your desktop's drive, boot up off of it and see if everything works, then, assuming it all looks good, go ahead and choose the 'install' option, and/or, 2) Go to somewhere like Linux Hardware Compatibility List and have a look around for your specific hardware.

Again, personally, I haven't seen ANYTHING in the last several years that didn't work just fine with Kubuntu, out of the box. And I'm talking all-in-one printers, assorted USB devices, DSLR cameras, wireless cards, you name it. So I'd be very surprised if you saw any major issues, but I know better than to say it CAN'T happen.

[SecretCode]

For good nvidia support you may need to install the proprietary drivers (the bundled open source "nouveau" drivers are getting better and better though). And that's one thing you can't test with a Live CD since you need to reboot for them to take effect (and obviously the CD doesn't store your changes). Also ... is the geforce 210 an older model?

Two other courses of action you might want to try: burn a Live USB instead, with a good chunk of space reserved for persistent data.

Or partition your drive, instead of wiping, so you can dual boot your new Kubuntu alongside your current Windows. Partitioning is not 100% risk free but it's safer than driving a car*.

* my estimate.

[sithlord48]

remember when setting up your dual monitor use the nvidia-settings program (as root) to set up twinview. this is the case when you install any properitary video driver for amd/ati cards you would use amdcccle instead.

[GreyGeek]

My new Acer 7739 is an i3 box and Kubuntu runs great on it. The video chip is Intel, however. But, Stellarium gives me 30+ fps with it.

[ardvark71]

Again, personally, I haven't seen ANYTHING in the last several years that didn't work just fine with Kubuntu, out of the box. And I'm talking all-in-one printers, assorted USB devices, DSLR cameras, wireless cards, you name it. So I'd be very surprised if you saw any major issues, but I know better than to say it CAN'T happen.

Hi all...

Oh, I have. It's a Netgear WG311 PCI Wireless Card using a Marvell 88w8335 (libertas) chipset. It might work after using ndiswrapper, something I wish to avoid.

@Codekid: It's possible that Jockey (Hardware drivers) will offer you the most appropriate (proprietary) driver after you install Kubuntu, however, if not, dibl has written a nice guide that should help you with that.

Regards...

[james147]

And that's one thing you can't test with a Live CD since you need to reboot for them to take effect (and obviously the CD doesn't store your changes).

Actually you can test it on a livecd as you only need to restart X to enable the drivers (sudo service kdm restart should do that after the drivers have been installed/configured) though all changes will be lost on a reboot so normally its allot of effort if your not actually testing them.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Oh, I have. It's a Netgear WG311 PCI Wireless Card using a Marvell 88w8335 (libertas) chipset. It might work after using ndiswrapper, something I wish to avoid.

But why?! As I recall--and it's been several years now--getting my Broadcom 43xx wireless card working via ndiswrapper was fun. The new-fangled way, that's worked for me now for a few years, is so...boring. :-D

[GreyGeek]

But why?! As I recall--and it's been several years now--getting my Broadcom 43xx wireless card working via ndiswrapper was fun. The new-fangled way, that's worked for me now for a few years, is so...boring. :-D

Ya, it justs works. I have no opportunity to apply my geek skills and impress my friends and neighbors!

[dequire]

But why?! As I recall--and it's been several years now--getting my Broadcom 43xx wireless card working via ndiswrapper was fun. The new-fangled way, that's worked for me now for a few years, is so...boring. :-D

Heh. See, I have to disagree here. I could live without ever hearing that "N" word again...NDISWr....nah...I can't even say it. If there's been ONE thing over the years, and luckily now mostly in the past, that I could go without hearing ever again, it's that word!

[DoYouKubuntu]

Heh. See, I have to disagree here. I could live without ever hearing that "N" word again...NDISWr....nah...I can't even say it. If there's been ONE thing over the years, and luckily now mostly in the past, that I could go without hearing ever again, it's that word!

I hear you! My laptop that required fiddling with ndiswrapper was the FIRST computer I'd ever had that had wireless. So--not knowing anything about Broadcom 43xx issues with Linux, and sticking to my decades-long habit of never checking hardware compatibility before buying hardware--I bought the laptop and plunged right in, wiping windoze off its drive [as always with any new computer], and installing Kubuntu. I think that was...5.04...but I can't swear to it right now. THEN I found out about Broadcom, Linux, and wireless issues! It worked out okay, though, actually giving me a chance to use some of that gray matter that mostly lies dormant since becoming unable to work. So when I say I ENJOYED the ndiswrapper thing, I kind of, sort of, mean it! (But I'm still glad it's no longer necessary.)

[GreyGeek]

Well, using the ndiswrapper was a LOT easier and quicker than getting a hold of the Bazooka tar file for the Tulip etho driver and compiling it. Repositories didn't exist back then, and not everyone was synced on the same library versions. Linux required a lot more Geekiness then than now. In fact, even at 70 it is easy to be "Geeky" with Kubuntu, and I can't remember squat any more.

[ardvark71]

But why?! As I recall--and it's been several years now--getting my Broadcom 43xx wireless card working via ndiswrapper was fun. The new-fangled way, that's worked for me now for a few years, is so...boring. :-D

Hi DYK...

Well, in this case, I've put a fair amount of work in getting everything the way I want it. The last thing I need to do this system is add a PCI wireless card and I don't want to mess it up to the point a reinstall will be necessary, for any reason!

Regards...

[Codekid]

thanks for all the input, and i was able to set up the twinview nicely, the only 2 odd things i've noticed, i can't fullscreen either screen with videos anymore (not a biggy since i decided to keep windows on a seperate drive for multimedia/gaming), and 2nd, when i ran the liveCD test run of kubuntu, it actually handled my two screen exceptionally well, it full-screened in either one and it recognized that their were 2 screen outputs, after actual installation, it only recognizes one screen output and has previously mentioned bug. Also since my screens are off by a 2" inch difference the screen doesn't cover the entirety of my larger monitor. I think the kubuntu built in drivers work better towards multi-screen functionality vs, nvidia drivers for linux systems. I think someone should find a way to get the 2 to collaborate.

[SecretCode]

fwiw, i have different sized screens under NVIDIA twinview and full-screen works fine (the only odd one being virtualbox which sometimes jumps to the other screen when you select fullscreen mode).