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Hello folks! I'm new to the forum and have a question about Ubuntu 18, in which I did a full install in place of Windows Xp Pro on my Sony VAIO Laptop.
It's a VGN-FE 790P, with a Core2 duo T7200, Nvidia Geforce 7600 & 2Gb RAM. A new 320 GB hard drive as well. I've noticed that it performs well, but struggles to multitask? My gut tells me that Ubuntu isn't designed for having multiple browsers open with lots of tabs etc? In years past I could do that on the VAIO in question with ease. The internet is very fast and hard wired, so that's not an issue. The reason I put Linux on it was because Xp Pro wasn't even letting me go online...saying this needs updated, this is outdated and so on down the line.
So far it's a lot better than Xp Pro and I like the intuitive GUI of Ubuntu. Just wondering why it's so sluggish? Thoughts and ideas are welcomed. Thanks.
-FetZ
Distribution: Currently: OpenMandriva. Previously: openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, among others over the years.
Posts: 3,881
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Given that it's a laptop, and it only has 2GiB of RAM; some of that RAM is probably being used for graphics memory as well, which means even less for everything else. I don't know what desktop environment you are using, but Ubuntu does come with a lot of bloat, and if you're running a heavy desktop environment as well, this isn't going to help matters.
You might consider running a more lightweight Linux distribution in that case, or at least a more lightweight desktop environment if nothing else. At the end of the day, it's the desktop environment you have installed that will take most of the resources, particularly things like memory/RAM.
Given enough resources, Ubuntu multitasks quite nicely.
You don't mention what desktop environment you are using, but, if it's Gnome, which I think is now the default, the footprint of the DE is likely the issue here.
You could install and use a lighter-weight DE, such as LXDE, or possibly a window manager such as Fluxbox. There's also a Ubuntu spin that comes with LXDE as the default called Lubuntu.
And to give us something to go on, install inxi and run "inxi -Fxz" and post the output in [code] tags.
I managed to get inxi going, quite a cool tool! A little learning experience too. I'm a bit newer to command line stuff, although I dabbled in it during tech school long ago. Thanks so much for everybody's help. I smacked the useful button on all who have replied!
I wouldn't advise LXQT (ex LXDE), let alone a window manager, for a Windows refugee. Xfce will run happily on much smaller and slower computers than yours and there's a nice Ubuntu version called Xubuntu that uses it. You could install that, or, if you are feeling bold, you can
> add Xfce using Synaptic
> reboot, clicking on the gearwheel symbol (I hope it's still there!) and tell it to use Xfce instead of Gnome
> if you're happy, you can uninstall Gnome. That's not necessary, but having two GUIs installed does clutter the menu with two of everything: editor, file manager, picture viewer, etc.
Distribution: Slackware/Salix while testing others
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidMcCann
I wouldn't advise LXQT (ex LXDE), let alone a window manager, for a Windows refugee. Xfce will run happily on much smaller and slower computers than yours and there's a nice Ubuntu version called Xubuntu that uses it. You could install that, or, if you are feeling bold, you can
> add Xfce using Synaptic
> reboot, clicking on the gearwheel symbol (I hope it's still there!) and tell it to use Xfce instead of Gnome
> if you're happy, you can uninstall Gnome. That's not necessary, but having two GUIs installed does clutter the menu with two of everything: editor, file manager, picture viewer, etc.
Do you really find Xubuntu that much lighter then standard Ubuntu? I always thought it was partially the *buntu plumbing that added to the bulk not just the DE. Maybe things have changed.
I wouldn't advise LXQT (ex LXDE), let alone a window manager, for a Windows refugee. Xfce will run happily on much smaller and slower computers than yours and there's a nice Ubuntu version called Xubuntu that uses it. You could install that, or, if you are feeling bold, you can
> add Xfce using Synaptic
> reboot, clicking on the gearwheel symbol (I hope it's still there!) and tell it to use Xfce instead of Gnome
> if you're happy, you can uninstall Gnome. That's not necessary, but having two GUIs installed does clutter the menu with two of everything: editor, file manager, picture viewer, etc.
Thanks for your helpful reply!
Where about would the gear wheel be?
And right, I wouldn't want more clutter...i.e. two of everything. I can only imagine that would make matters worse.
Have you actually installed Xfce yet? If you haven't, then you won't get the choice.
Wayland is an alternative graphics system that will eventually replace X-windows, which is as old as the hills. Currently it's still an option, as a few programs may not like it. Ignore it.
PS The clutter is only an irritation to the user. Unlike Windows, Linux doesn't slow down if you have a lot of software installed: that's a Windows registry thing.
@ ChuangTzu. I don't know what you mean by "*buntu plumbing". The performance variation between different *buntus is considerable: I know because I've actually tested them. On my elderly laptop, Xbuntu performs just as well as Slackware with Xfce — it just boots faster.
Last edited by DavidMcCann; 02-06-2019 at 11:07 AM.
Have you actually installed Xfce yet? If you haven't, then you won't get the choice.
Wayland is an alternative graphics system that will eventually replace X-windows, which is as old as the hills. Currently it's still an option, as a few programs may not like it. Ignore it.
PS The clutter is only an irritation to the user. Unlike Windows, Linux doesn't slow down if you have a lot of software installed: that's a Windows registry thing.
@ ChuangTzu. I don't know what you mean by "*buntu plumbing". The performance variation between different *buntus is considerable: I know because I've actually tested them. On my elderly laptop, Xbuntu performs just as well as Slackware with Xfce — it just boots faster.
Just to let you know I haven't abandoned this thread or my trusty Sony VAIO! I installed Synaptic, but have yet to get Xfce. Thanks again for your help and advice! I'm out to do some things, but I'll work on this very soon!
Since you are looking to use Xfce4 instead of Gnome, which is the default in Ubuntu these days, you might consider the Ubuntu side project "Xubuntu", which is Ubuntu with Xfce4 instead of Gnome. You would need to download and write to a CD or thumbdrive, just like you did for Ubuntu, then install it, but you would get a much lighter version of Ubuntu with Xfce4 instead.
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Full install of Ubuntu is sluggish?
