Newbies' problems with Ubuntu 7.04

Ghitulescu · 02-13-2010, 02:27 PM

First a bit of background:
I had an experience with Linux some 12 years ago, back then no music/video applications were available, so I switched back to Windows.

Many months ago I followed the advice of a colleague of mine and installed Ubuntu 7.04 (the latest at the time). Of course, the installation went wrong (it hanged up). The FAQ and the forum was filled up with answers like be sure to burn your CDs at 8x or less. The solution was only one and posted by someone that had the same problem, the installation routine forgot to set up a swap partition and this issue caused hang up on PC with less memory (but still within the min specs). I also custom installed a bare minimum, thinking that it wouldn't be a problem to upgrade it later. The second mistake.

Now the problems:

Everything went normal, it appeared that it was a bit faster than the original XP Pro. After a while it slowed down so badly that even now when I'm typing it prints one character a second. Even the mouse moves brokenly. Firefox shutdowns from itself when it wants. The CPU runs at 100% during file transfers (!!!!!!), the System monitor itself takes 30-40% CPU (P4/1700 with 1GB RAM), only the network runs ok (speed). When I save a JPG from internet or a PDF or something, the CPU runs to 100% then there are good chances that Firefox would crash. Sometimes it needs 30 seconds or more to activate a mouse click - so a contextual menu R-click-L-click takes me 1 minute of my life.

I couldn't imagin that its file manager is so stupid: it isn't able to detect the free space on a FAT32 external system, either it's too much or it's too low. There are 2 solutions to this: 1. run dosfsck and restart the drive and 2. copy/delete in linux only. It's a nightmare to transfer files between Ubuntu 7.04 and XP.

Now I ran into another nasty problem: the USB one. It does at least one item at a time if not all three:
1. doesn't mount the HDD.
2. locks the computer (luckily the mouse works, it's USB)
3. send the USB-controller of the HDD into Nirvana : I have to power it off in order to use it again.

I've read all the info in the net concerning the USB issue: # modprobe -vr ehci_hcd # modprobe -v ehci_hcd simply doesn't work.

Are any ideas concerning the speeding up my system, the file system or the USB issues?

For now an upgrade is not possible, but when it will be then it would be a downgrade to XP Pro. I'm sick and tired of Ubuntu and if I can't sort it out then I'll revert to M$ even if I'd need to reinstall it every year.

brianL · 02-13-2010, 02:45 PM

You might have more luck with an up-to-date release, although Ubuntu 9.10 seems to be a bit rough. Try Linux Mint.

Ghitulescu · 02-13-2010, 03:10 PM

No, it won't be another linux of any flavours. The only reason to pick up ubuntu was because of internet, I thought that it would be safer than XP and that colleague of mine prompted me towards Ubuntu as the most user-friendly linux.

So I have to sort out this nasty USB problem, if I can not, I'll wait until my wife ends her office work then switch back to XP. I tried really hard to give linux a chance, it failed miserably ...

I simply cannot understand why an OS at its 7th major revision cannot correctly process the oldest and most known PC file system, FAT, and why it needs 100% CPU time to do a simple file copy.

PS: I am absolutely convinced that it's not a HW-related problem, my PC is an industrial grade PC - everything worked as a charm under XP Pro.

MTK358 · 02-13-2010, 03:25 PM

Seriously, try another distro.

Maybe you did something to it. Did you install any software on it, and how? Because Linux really isn't slow. I've never seen or heard anything like that on Linux before.

And what are that computer's specs?

stardustdk · 02-13-2010, 03:28 PM

Well brianL is absolutely right on this one...

Try to get version 9.04 (Jaunty) or 8.04 LTS (Long Time Support) (Hardy). Both are still supported and surely will work for you.

Of the two you might choose 8.04 if stability is your priorty and 9.04 if you prefer the newest software that still *works*.

BTW: I use 9.04, 9.10 is too rough for me (Skype is a priority for me and couldn't get that working in 9.10).

Best regards

Stardustdk

spampig · 02-13-2010, 03:46 PM

I read this and had to register. I'm still using 7.10 and it's as sweet as a nut, it walks over XP for me so I'm sad to hear that someone is getting such terrible issues. Judging by the processor mentioned (P4/1700) this is not new hardware, but my own box is only a P4/2400 with 1g ram and on top of all the floss I run I have Zoneminder, Asterisk, Postfix, Spamassassin all banging away in the background and the box has been up for over 60 days. In fact I only restarted it to add another PCI card for Zoneminder. So either 7.04 was seriously screwy, or you have something seriously up.

Can I ask, if you've come back to trying Ubuntu because it's 'more secure' for the internet - is it because you are currently having issue with XP? It crosses my mind that perhaps if that is the case there is a hardware issue going on affecting both OS's.

Ghitulescu · 02-14-2010, 02:40 AM

Ok, there's a Fujitsu-Siemens having a P4 of 1.7GHz and 1GB RAM. The HDD is extremely small for nowadays standards,15GB, but it runs 24/7. Every other component is integrated in the mainboard.

I did nothing to it, except surfing the inet (mail,google, some fora, photo services like flickr, youtube), my wife also works on office.

Is there any tool, like RegCleaner, that cleans the system? The Sysmanager helps not, if even starts at all when I need it. Yesterday I experienced something that I thought it was history (well Windows95), the user interface stopped working, neither the KB nor the mouse had any effect.

I assume that's the graphic interface that takes so much from the CPU. Or maybe there's something wrong with the swap.

Maybe you guys know from experience some bugs and, voluntarily or involuntarily, circumvent them, you know, pick another way of doing the same thing, like I know in XP compared to my wife (which constantly crashed W95).

However, my previous experience with linux was a positive one, except for configuring the graphic card (it was the main hurdle back then, which I did), and the system ran faster and smoother on lower PC configurations (386/486). Stability, speed and low resource needs were the key advantages of linux vs NT server. Long gone are these days, if now to run a linux you need more resources than even MS wants. I have 2 systems, one has 1GB and runs ubuntu, the other has 256MB (I don't know now for sure, it may be 512) and runs XP home, doing SAT things, including software decoding of MPEG-2. It never started its CPU fan and ran always 5°C cooler.

Now, about 8.04: I was told that I need to do a clean install (format C:

), which is a no go unless I can however backup some links/favourites and files. I'll give a second chance if I could save my work.

Second question: no, I never had any problems with XP pro, it was a two-fold decision: I have only 1 licence of XP pro so one PC would have MS, the other one then linux. XP becomes slowly an overloaded system and one needs to reinstall it regularly (especially when one installs and deinstalls a lot, more especially various trials and so on). I thought linux would be more safe. Forgot to tell, I'm running both systems without any antivirus but through a HW firewall.

stardustdk · 02-14-2010, 04:03 AM

IF you do a dual-boot install next, CCleaner for XP is recommended, nothing of that kind is needed in Ubuntu

.

Before you make a clean 8.04 installation, insert a knoppix CD/DVD while having a external harddrive/USB key inserted (the easy way, I have used it several times). You might even be able to backup your data with the 8.04 CD inserted, give it a try

.

That is only possible if there is nothing wrong with wth the disk. Else try to insert your XP CD and start in command-mode and use the CHKDSK command. From within Linux it is: ntfsfix /dev/sda* (typically).

IF you thereafter install 8.04 remember to use the command: sudo ufw enable. The buildin software-firewall will then be activated.

----

IF Ubuntu 8.04 takes to many ressources, check out Xubuntu 8.04 http://www.xubuntu.org/get
(XFCE desktop).

There might even soon be a Lubuntu 10.04 (LXDE) that can be used on older hardware.

Hopes this helps.

Best regards

Stardustdk

spampig · 02-14-2010, 04:06 AM

To get an idea of what is killing your system, can you post the output of the command:

Code:

top c n 1 b

Or if that flies by too fast:

Code:

top c n 1 b > topoutput

This will save the output to a text file called 'topoutput' that you can then paste here.

Just touching on your questions:

Quote:

Is there any tool, like RegCleaner, that cleans the system?

I'm not aware of one, or the need for one. There is no registry on Linux - things are far more efficient in my view with simple text configs called as needed.

Quote:

I assume that's the graphic interface that takes so much from the CPU. Or maybe there's something wrong with the swap.

Any X Desktop is going to use resources, but not to a point where the system is unusable. Gnome is pretty mature and stable and should be the default with 7.04

As for swap, the output of the top command will give this away when you post it. My P4 is currently using a tiny amount at 3080k used.

I agree there are hardware issues, but it's much better than it was. I certainly find getting hardware working with Ubuntu much less of a PITA that I did with XP and Vista. Currently there is a bit of an issue with ATI cards and Ubuntu 9.10 - but then when I think back there were issues with Vista and just about everything :-)

Your small drive is no major issue, but I'm guessing you have windows on it too so I'd be interested to see the output of the 'df' command.

XP With just a hardware firewall is probably not something I would do. This is going to give no protection from the kind of exploits that get downloaded and call }out{ through that firewall - but you don't need me to tell you that.

Let's see the top and df output and see if anything jumps out.

MTK358 · 02-14-2010, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Is there any tool, like RegCleaner, that cleans the system?

No. Linux does not have a registry or anything of that kind.

If it is used properly Linux does not fill with junk and conflicts like Windows.

Ghitulescu · 02-14-2010, 05:20 AM

1. first, sorry for any missunderstandings, I know that the registry system in linux is hold in etc, RegCleaner was given as a generic term.

2. now, the system runs ok, here's the output of top

Code:

bogdan@Internet:~$ top c n 1 b
top - 12:10:45 up  1:32,  2 users,  load average: 4.71, 3.91, 2.93
Tasks: 102 total,   6 running,  96 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
Cpu(s): 39.4%us,  7.8%sy,  9.6%ni, 37.5%id,  4.7%wa,  0.4%hi,  0.7%si,  0.0%st
Mem:   1027584k total,   852168k used,   175416k free,     3452k buffers
Swap:  1919756k total,    33828k used,  1885928k free,   394780k cached

  PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND            
 5905 bogdan    21   0  687m 141m  11m S 42.1 14.1  14:56.69 java -Xmx512m -Xms6
16762 bogdan    25   0  173m  61m  19m R 32.5  6.2  11:56.50 ktorrent --icon=kto
 4633 root      15   0  237m  34m  11m R 15.3  3.4   5:30.29 /usr/X11R6/bin/X :0
 5064 bogdan    15   0  116m  37m  21m S  7.6  3.7   4:35.71 nautilus --no-defau
19573 bogdan    15   0  2312 1060  796 R  3.8  0.1   0:00.03 top c n 1 b        
    1 root      22   0  2908 1844  524 S  0.0  0.2   0:01.60 /sbin/init         
    2 root      RT   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [migration/0]      
    3 root      34  19     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:03.09 [ksoftirqd/0]      
    4 root      RT   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [watchdog/0]       
    5 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.03 [events/0]         
    6 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.02 [khelper]          
    7 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [kthread]          
   30 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.06 [kblockd/0]        
   31 root      20  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [kacpid]           
   32 root      20  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [kacpi_notify]     
   95 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [kseriod]          
  118 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:04.86 [kswapd0]          
  119 root      11  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [aio/0]            
 1935 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [ksuspend_usbd]    
 1936 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [khubd]            
 1943 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.86 [ata/0]            
 1944 root      14  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [ata_aux]          
 1979 root      14  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [scsi_eh_0]        
 1980 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:02.05 [scsi_eh_1]        
 2301 root      10  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:01.22 [kjournald]        
 2500 root      18  -4  2904 1236  356 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.55 /sbin/udevd --daemo
 3379 root      20  -5     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [kpsmoused]        
 4060 root      18   0  1652  512  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4061 root      18   0  1648  508  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4064 root      18   0  1652  512  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4066 root      18   0  1648  508  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4067 root      18   0  1648  504  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4068 root      18   0  1648  508  440 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /sbin/getty 38400 t
 4303 root      18   0  2256 1168  656 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.01 /usr/sbin/acpid -c 
 4409 root      18   0  1704  648  536 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.07 /sbin/syslogd      
 4462 root      16   0  1792  524  432 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.06 /bin/dd bs 1 if /pr
 4464 klog      18   0  2424 1368  400 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.11 /sbin/klogd -P /var
 4485 messageb  15   0  2848 1064  736 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.24 /usr/bin/dbus-daemo
 4501 haldaemo  15   0  5476 3804 2528 S  0.0  0.4   0:00.65 /usr/sbin/hald     
 4502 root      15   0  2880 1040  884 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 hald-runner        
 4508 haldaemo  15   0  2108  900  776 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.03 hald-addon-keyboard
 4509 haldaemo  24   0  2108  896  776 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 hald-addon-keyboard
 4516 haldaemo  25   0  2108  888  764 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 hald-addon-acpi: li
 4521 haldaemo  16   0  3048 1184 1032 S  0.0  0.1   0:01.71 hald-addon-storage:
 4534 root      15   0  1944  696  608 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.05 /usr/sbin/dhcdbd --
 4549 root      15   0  4136 1876 1640 S  0.0  0.2   0:00.02 /usr/sbin/NetworkMa
 4567 avahi     18   0  2672 1368 1160 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.02 avahi-daemon: runni
 4568 avahi     25   0  2672  468  288 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 avahi-daemon: chroo
 4581 root      25   0  3028 1144  992 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/NetworkMa
 4594 root      25   0  2868  800  692 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/bin/system-too
 4595 root      25   0  2716 1216 1060 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 dbus-daemon --sessi
 4627 root      19   0 12216 1404  852 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/gdm      
 4628 root      15   0 12576 2396 1772 S  0.0  0.2   0:00.25 /usr/sbin/gdm      
 4698 cupsys    18   0  4816 2068 1464 S  0.0  0.2   0:06.00 /usr/sbin/cupsd    
 4722 root      25   0  6416  836  516 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/hpiod    
 4731 hplip     15   0 10060 4996 1036 S  0.0  0.5   0:00.01 python /usr/sbin/hp
 4834 root      25   0  2696 1000  888 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/hcid -x -
 4851 root       9 -10     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 [krfcommd]         
 4886 daemon    18   0  1908  420  300 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/atd      
 4900 root      18   0  2280  900  720 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/sbin/cron     
 4994 bogdan    15   0 30464  11m 8488 S  0.0  1.1   0:00.47 x-session-manager  
 5032 bogdan    18   0  4256  528  276 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/bin/ssh-agent 
 5035 bogdan    18   0  2660  628  516 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/bin/dbus-launc
 5036 bogdan    15   0  2844 1040  768 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.05 /usr/bin/dbus-daemo
 5038 bogdan    15   0  6580 4132 1872 S  0.0  0.4   0:05.24 /usr/lib/libgconf2-
 5041 bogdan    19   0  2756 1000  868 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 /usr/bin/gnome-keyr
 5043 bogdan    15   0 29284 9720 7752 S  0.0  0.9   0:02.30 /usr/lib/control-ce
 5050 bogdan    18   0  1712  480  412 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.00 /bin/sh -c /usr/bin
 5051 bogdan    15   0  4952 3320 1268 S  0.0  0.3   0:00.03 /usr/bin/esd -termi
 5055 bogdan    15   0 17084 9.8m 7332 S  0.0  1.0   0:33.34 /usr/bin/metacity -
 5058 bogdan    15   0 61416  16m  12m S  0.0  1.7   0:38.87 gnome-panel --sm-cl
 5067 bogdan    15   0 39624 3168 2384 S  0.0  0.3   0:00.30 /usr/lib/bonobo-act
 5068 bogdan    15   0 18876 4828 3684 S  0.0  0.5   0:00.10 gnome-volume-manage
 5073 bogdan    15   0  8476 3416 2808 S  0.0  0.3   0:00.08 /usr/lib/gnome-vfs-
 5077 bogdan    22   0 67932 9856 8196 S  0.0  1.0   0:00.28 /usr/lib/evolution/
 5079 bogdan    15   0 50920  10m 9084 R  0.0  1.1   0:00.74 nm-applet --sm-disa
 5080 bogdan    16   0 56464 8240 6708 S  0.0  0.8   0:08.76 gnome-cups-icon --s
 5081 bogdan    15   0 50816 6096 4228 R  0.0  0.6   0:00.56 gnome-power-manager
 5094 bogdan    15   0 36476 9444 7860 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.24 /usr/lib/evolution/
 5103 bogdan    18   0 83716 9108 7072 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.24 /usr/lib/gnome-appl
 5116 bogdan    15   0  2460  888  772 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.01 /usr/lib/nautilus-c
 5118 bogdan    15   0 58300 6288 5016 S  0.0  0.6   0:00.12 /usr/lib/evolution/
 5154 bogdan    17   0 52528  10m 8464 S  0.0  1.1   0:00.33 /usr/lib/gnome-appl
 5169 bogdan    15   0 54096  12m 9152 S  0.0  1.2   0:00.83 /usr/lib/gnome-appl
 5173 bogdan    15   0 15932 4376 3364 S  0.0  0.4   0:06.02 gnome-screensaver  
 7646 bogdan    15   0 49580  10m 7104 S  0.0  1.0   0:01.86 /usr/lib/notificati
16536 bogdan    15   0  303m  91m  26m S  0.0  9.1   1:35.64 /usr/lib/firefox/fi
16760 bogdan    15   0 76168  15m  10m S  0.0  1.5   0:00.77 gnome-terminal     
16772 bogdan    18   0  2460  728  608 S  0.0  0.1   0:00.00 gnome-pty-helper   
16773 bogdan    16   0  5580 3100 1444 S  0.0  0.3   0:00.31 bash               
16821 bogdan    21   0 25600 5804 4268 S  0.0  0.6   0:00.09 kdeinit Running... 
16827 bogdan    18   0 25440 4796 3612 S  0.0  0.5   0:00.15 dcopserver [kdeinit
16830 bogdan    15   0 25876 7136 5900 S  0.0  0.7   0:00.06 klauncher [kdeinit]
16838 bogdan    15   0 27368 9632 7884 S  0.0  0.9   0:00.81 kded [kdeinit]     
16862 bogdan    15   0 29984  13m  10m S  0.0  1.3   0:00.91 kio_uiserver [kdein
16866 bogdan    15   0 25900 7088 5488 S  0.0  0.7   0:00.07 kio_file [kdeinit] 
17096 bogdan    15   0 33144  11m 8840 R  0.0  1.1   0:00.54 knotify [kdeinit]  
17100 bogdan    15   0 10912 5300 4044 S  0.0  0.5   0:00.31 /usr/bin/artsd -F 1
17165 bogdan    15   0 51736 7340 5680 S  0.0  0.7   0:00.11 kio_http [kdeinit] 
18910 root      15   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.01 [pdflush]          
18921 root      15   0     0    0    0 S  0.0  0.0   0:00.06 [pdflush]          
19532 bogdan    34  19 37276 7424 5824 S  0.0  0.7   0:00.35 /usr/bin/gnome-vide

Diskfree I run constantly to have an idea of the space left. So here's its output roo:

Code:

bogdan@Internet:~$ df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1             18145092  11317344   5906024  66% /
varrun                  513792        96    513696   1% /var/run
varlock                 513792         0    513792   0% /var/lock
procbususb              513792        84    513708   1% /proc/bus/usb
udev                    513792        84    513708   1% /dev
devshm                  513792         0    513792   0% /dev/shm
lrm                     513792     33788    480004   7% /lib/modules/2.6.20-17-generic/volatile

A dualboot is not an option. It would be either linux or XPPro.

Now, if I'm going to change the system, I don't need something fancy (like Aero for Vista) but something that runs stable in graphic mode (no terminals) and can support a simple and efficace webbrowser, maybe a torrent client (I use ktorrent now).

Additon:
Maybe the sloweness is and the frequently crashing of firefox is due to heavily loaded webpages (like Amazon) with all this ads and popups (javscript, java applets and stuff). It hapens always on pages that are full of such items (most fora are ad supported).

spampig · 02-14-2010, 05:41 AM

Jumping right out:
5905 bogdan 21 0 687m 141m 11m S 42.1 14.1 14:56.69 java -Xmx512m -Xms6
16762 bogdan 25 0 173m 61m 19m R 32.5 6.2 11:56.50 ktorrent --icon=kto

Top one using 42% cpu, bottom 32%.
I would ask if this is reasonably constant on the box?

From memory - and I'm hoping someone will correct me if I'm wrong - ktorrent is the KDE bit torrent client, but does 7.04 not ship with Gnome? Have you added ktorrent or other KDE parts to to a Gnome desktop at all? I'm not sure what is making use of the JVM (Java) on your box but it's hogging 42% there. I'm not sure you have running in Java, but between that and ktorrent - you are loosing a notable amount of CPU. I suspect if you kill these off you'll notice the system become more responsive. That would be my starting point.

As far as BT goes (which I've always found to slow the box down unless it is set up carefully), I use 'Transmission' which is with Gnome - or on occasions the Opera built in BT client.

spampig · 02-14-2010, 05:47 AM

Just adding to this - is the Kubuntu 7.04 or Ubuntu 7.04 - there are lots of KDE processes running there I think. Was 7.04 KDE????? I'm sure the vanilla was Gnome (hence the creation of Kubuntu).

MTK358 · 02-14-2010, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

1. first, sorry for any missunderstandings, I know that the registry system in linux is hold in etc, RegCleaner was given as a generic term.

2. now, the system runs ok, here's the output of top

Code:

bogdan@Internet:~$ top c n 1 b
top - 12:10:45 up  1:32,  2 users,  load average: 4.71, 3.91, 2.93
Tasks: 102 total,   6 running,  96 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
Cpu(s): 39.4%us,  7.8%sy,  9.6%ni, 37.5%id,  4.7%wa,  0.4%hi,  0.7%si,  0.0%st
Mem:   1027584k total,   852168k used,   175416k free,     3452k buffers
Swap:  1919756k total,    33828k used,  1885928k free,   394780k cached

  PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND            
 5905 bogdan    21   0  687m 141m  11m S 42.1 14.1  14:56.69 java -Xmx512m -Xms6
16762 bogdan    25   0  173m  61m  19m R 32.5  6.2  11:56.50 ktorrent --icon=kto
 4633 root      15   0  237m  34m  11m R 15.3  3.4   5:30.29 /usr/X11R6/bin/X :0
 5064 bogdan    15   0  116m  37m  21m S  7.6  3.7   4:35.71 nautilus --no-defau

What are you running in Java here? KTorrent and X seem to be taking more than I would expect them to, too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Now, if I'm going to change the system, I don't need something fancy (like Aero for Vista) but something that runs stable in graphic mode (no terminals) and can support a simple and efficace webbrowser, maybe a torrent client (I use ktorrent now).

I'm not sure what you mean by "no terminals", but you can try using a plain window manager instead of a desktop like GNOME or KDE.

Options include FVWM, Openbox, Fluxbox, PekWM, etc...

Note that some of these don't even have a taskbar, you can use one like "tint2".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghitulescu

Additon:
Maybe the sloweness is and the frequently crashing of firefox is due to heavily loaded webpages (like Amazon) with all this ads and popups (javscript, java applets and stuff). It hapens always on pages that are full of such items (most fora are ad supported).

Get "AdBlock Plus". It removes annoying ads and makes pages load much faster since it doesn't have to download each ad at a time from different sites.

Ghitulescu · 02-14-2010, 06:50 AM

Well, I'm a newbie in linux, I installed what I was suggested to install.
The ktorrent was the only client offered at the time of install, or I wasn't aware of anything else. It's awfully slow but it works well when I don't "click" it steadily.

Java VM runs right now a copy of jdownloader. It's a brand new addition, it's not the cause, the system is slow like this for months, I simply cannot change it as my wife still works onto it.

Yes, 43% is normal, often goes up to 100% and stays there. The CPU fan runs like hell, then pauses, starts again, its twin PC (less memory though) is absolutely silent even when decoding MPEG-2 (DVB-S) in software.

By no terminals I wanna say I don't want to type in commands to do things, I keep however a terminal open for df and chkfsk, just in case.

Is it as KDE or a gnome? No idea at all, it starts as a crème (light brown) colour with Nautilus, a taskbar up (like the Windows one) and another one down (with all the open windows and the trashcan). How to find what is what? From what I've seen in google it is a gnome desktop.

Yes, if I work only in office the system is ok. But this is the internet PC so it should do mainly inet jobs. Lauching Firefox would slow the system visibly, luckily there's this "recovery system" so I don't have to type in all the web adresses again when it crashes.

Thank you guys, I really appreciate your efforts. The problems that I have can be solved by having to install a new fresh system then to consider your suggestions, as I cannot update myself anymore (end of cycle).

So, by now, your suggestions would be Xubuntu 8.04 (is it LTS?), Opera as the webbrowser (I thought it is adsupported???), adblock plus, and maybe another torrent client (Transmission???) and RS/MU downloader (I started to like jdownloader). In addition it would be nice to have an office and a multimedia player.

One last question: your forum loads ads from at least 4 sites before loading the posts, would it work if I'd employ such ad-blockers?