Wanting to switch.

[dequire]

the Nvidia problem you linked to (one problem discussed in to places)is a tad old and was fixed quite fast + it turned out it was more a QT problem than Nvidia



VINNY

Yea but the point still stands IMHO... Linux + AMD GPU > Linux + nVidia as far as stability and F.O.S.S. go

[vinnywright]

Yea but the point still stands IMHO... Linux + AMD GPU > Linux + nVidia as far as stability and F.O.S.S. go

well ,,,I have no AMD hardware so I have no way to form an opinion on this ,,,,I have 1 Nvidia box and am happy so far with it .

VINNY

[GreyGeek]

My 2012 Acer V3-771G with NVidia GT 650M as the secondary GPU runs perfectly as if it were the primary using nvidia-378 on KDE Neon User Edition. I have that driver and its associated apps locked so they don't update. Oh, I am running Plasma 5.11.4.

[jglen490]

At this point, it literally makes no difference. Each installs easily, each has its strengths and of course weaknesses. Both allow you, the Linux user, to do exactly what Linux is about - choosing the best platform that supports your needs. The other guys define that experience for you, with Linux you get to define that experience.

[mastablasta]

with a bit of planning you can actually "move" from Mint to Kubuntu painlessly. i did that 4 years ago and i bet i could do it again now if someone asked me to. i prefer LTS releases - they stay on same kernel for their life cycle, so things are not likely to break. before moving to new LTS i test it in live session. if all works i do the move (after planning and backup of course).

make sure you save config files you value and at least a list of apps you use.

do a fresh install, install the apps (if necessary) and add the config files. you should be good to go.

last year the USB running my server suddenly died. i reinstalled it all within 45 mins using a very old backup image and configs i pulled from it. the only thing i had to recreate were the SSH keys (turns out the old backup also wasn't a perfect OS image). desktop and it's apps can be a bit more complex, but as i understand your biggest worry is server software you run on it. that one likely has configuration files.

Just few days ago (maybe it was here) i read about user having issue with running upgrade. upgrade in bunts work well with stock install. add PPAs and other stuff... the easiest method is then backup fresh install and restore of config files (where necessary). it can be a lot faster. not sure why, but then again i do not know the process itself and the magic behind it.

[chimak111]

... i prefer LTS releases - they stay on same kernel for their life cycle, so things are not likely to break. ...

One point is that a user stays on the same kernel only if the install is via the first release (and maybe the first point release). If, for example, one installs the latest 16.04 LTS, there will be newer kernels provided by default.

I installed Kubuntu 16.04.2:

$ cat /var/log/installer/media-info
Kubuntu 16.04.2 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20170215)
$

and I'm now on kernel 4.10:

$ uname -r
4.10.0-42-generic
$

Maybe there's a way to "lock on" to a particular kernel.

[mastablasta]

[QUOTE=chimak111;407889Maybe there's a way to "lock on" to a particular kernel.[/QUOTE]

there is (muon package manager should have this option and synaptics definitelly has it). but it is not feasible, because you will miss out on the security updates.
it is easier to either install original release or have the kernel upgraded using the HWE stack.

issue was more noticable in 14.04 i believe where the original varsion allows you to install and use AMD proprietary driver (fglrx) while the later point releases do not as the new kernel, xserver and such is used for which the drivers were no longer maintained.

[mastablasta]

Maybe there's a way to "lock on" to a particular kernel.

there is (muon package manager should have this option and synaptics definitelly has it). but it is not feasible, because you will miss out on the security updates.
it is easier to either install original release or have the kernel upgraded using the HWE stack.

issue was more noticable in 14.04 i believe where the original version allows you to install and use AMD proprietary driver (fglrx) while the later point releases do not as the new kernel, xserver and such is used for which the fglrx drivers were no longer maintained.

this meant some users of 14.04.3 with specific AMD GPU chip could only use some basic functions at the time (open source Radeon drivers were nowhere near the AMD fglrx driver at the time). while if they installed 14.04 they could simply load the proprietary driver and enjoy the Linux experience.

[jglen490]

One point is that a user stays on the same kernel only if the install is via the first release (and maybe the first point release). If, for example, one installs the latest 16.04 LTS, there will be newer kernels provided by default.

I installed Kubuntu 16.04.2:

$ cat /var/log/installer/media-info
Kubuntu 16.04.2 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20170215)
$

and I'm now on kernel 4.10:

$ uname -r
4.10.0-42-generic
$

Maybe there's a way to "lock on" to a particular kernel.

That is true, but since everything after the initial release is a "bug" release, you are getting the current kernel upon load of that bug fix release package within your point release. You will continue to get "bug" updates, security patches, and other updates pertinent to what you have installed at the time. You can, as you want, continue to progress with kernel "point" releases that pertain to your current animal (i.e., 16.04, 17.10, etc). You can reach out to further kernel releases, which may increase your risk of incompatibilities showing up; your choice, your platform, your Linux!

[GreyGeek]

I would recommend two things, Kevin:
1) create an sda1 partition with no swap partition, and
2) use Btrfs as your file system, NOT EXT4.

Btrfs makes backing up and restoring a breeze. Backup in seconds. Restore in a couple minutes.
No more spending days trying to recover from a bad update, an experimental install or some inadvertent change you might make.

[mr_raider]

I would recommend two things, Kevin:
1) create an sda1 partition with no swap partition, and
2) use Btrfs as your file system, NOT EXT4.

Btrfs makes backing up and restoring a breeze. Backup in seconds. Restore in a couple minutes.
No more spending days trying to recover from a bad update, an experimental install or some inadvertent change you might make.

Be warned that btrfs does not support swap files, if you should choose to add one in later.

[vinnywright]

Be warned that btrfs does not support swap files, if you should choose to add one in later.

+1 depending on the amount of RAM you have ,,,if you have over 8GB you may not even need any swap ,,,,I have 16GB and my swap partition has never been used (that I have ever seen) .

If you do a lot of RAM intensive tasks like video editing/creating then do add a swap partition or if you know you have seen yous (on the box in question) being used before.

if you decide to use BTRFS do some reading up on it ,,,@oshunluvr has some great rite ups on it hear on the forum (I use it ) and I agree it has great backup features ,,,,you can take a "snapshot" of the system ,,then do some dangerous stuff and if it goes south just delete or rename the subvolume the system was in and name the snapshot the same as the original subvolume and BOOM you are rite back where you were .

VINNY

[mr_raider]

+1 depending on the amount of RAM you have ,,,if you have over 8GB you may not even need any swap ,,,,I have 16GB and my swap partition has never been used (that I have ever seen) .

If you do a lot of RAM intensive tasks like video editing/creating then do add a swap partition or if you know you have seen yous (on the box in question) being used before.

if you decide to use BTRFS do some reading up on it ,,,@oshunluvr has some great rite ups on it hear on the forum (I use it ) and I agree it has great backup features ,,,,you can take a "snapshot" of the system ,,then do some dangerous stuff and if it goes south just delete or rename the subvolume the system was in and name the snapshot the same as the original subvolume and BOOM you are rite back where you were .

VINNY

Funny thing is Mint now includes "Timeshift" as a default app, and Mint devs recommend users get in the habit of making restore points. Yet Timeshift reaches it's maximal potential in btrfs setups, not using ext4!

FWIW my Ryzen system has 16gbs of RAM, and I still create a 2gb swap partition just to be safe.

[kevin3331]

Thanks for all the Replies and Advice.
I am going to switch soon. I will just have to do it late at night on a weekend cause of my living situation . atm everyone at home uses my plex
so need to get it done for the most part at night. but don't see a issue with that. Just have to pick a day I guess. Going to use a different drive so if all goes to
hell i can just connect my old drive and be up and running on mint again. mint is on a ssd 120 gig drive. i want my os drive for kubuntu to be on my 1 tb. 7200 rpm wd black drive. so i have lots of room
all my plex media is on a 3tb wd 7200 black drive.

so no worries there. but oviously plex program is on 120gig drive. along with all the meta data.
as for the video card. i don't have the money to switch out atm. but i have never had issues with drivers for that card so far. i do prefer amd cards but this one was on sale when i build this pc.
and was running out of money . so went cheap on the card. I am not much of a gamer so this one suited my needs.
Hopefully i will be up in running in a week or so learning more. and trying to help others on the forum like you all helped me soon. I am not a expert in kde mint but
i was starting to get alittle above novice.

so hopefully the learning curve will not be to high for me. and i can just jump right in.

Thanks again everyone for Making Me Feel at home here. Have a great weekend comming up

[GreyGeek]

I have only 6GB of RAM and I stopped using a swap partition or file because it was never used. Btrfs doesn't need or use one. If, by chance, you begin to run out of HD space you can plug in a 64Gb or 128Gb USB stick, or larger, and add it to the pool. When you resolve your space problem you can remove the USB sticks from the pool. Very easy commands do it.

With the advent of USB sticks 8Gb and larger the CDROM has fallen on hard times. I replaced mine with an HD Caddy and stuck a 750Gb HD into it. My laptop now sports three 750Gb HDs. Two are combined into a single pool (Converted from a RAID1 pool) and the third is the backup of my backup snapshots.

Speaking of "Timeshift", there is an app called Snapper which creates automatic snapshots when the apt update is run and others on a regular basis according to settings in the config file. I found it overkill. I removed snapper and do all my backups manually because it is so easy to do. I wrote a script to automatic the process but I don't even use that. I generally "sudo -i" to root and use the up arrow to call previous uses of the commands to make timely snapshots or to move them to the backup HD.

Oshunluver has written some excellent tutorials for Btrfs in this forum. You can search for his name & Btrfs and find them.