Recommendations for another program.

wlbates · 07-19-2011, 01:06 PM

I have been using Ubuntu for 3 years, and I loved it before this latest upgrade. I am thinking about going back to 10.10 or trying something else. Is there anyway to go back to 10.10 without having to reinstall all my files from scratch, and is there another program that is just as easy to use as Ubuntu?

I am not familiar with all the computer lingo, so please, plain English.

Thanks.

tekhead2 · 07-19-2011, 01:13 PM

I can't vouch for the validity of this documentation, nor do I endorse downgrading because it's really a nightmare, but here is the downgrade documentation for Ubuntu

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DowngradeHowto

TobiSGD · 07-19-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlbates

Is there anyway to go back to 10.10 without having to reinstall all my files from scratch

No, not without real problems.

Quote:

and is there another program that is just as easy to use as Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is not a program, it is a Linux distribution. There are many distributions out there, I would recommend to try at least Mint, simplyMepis and PCLinuxOS.
I also recommend to have a look at Distrowatch and try some of the top ten list, most of them have Live-CDs.

baldy3105 · 07-19-2011, 01:43 PM

Why do you need to, specifically? Chances are there is a way of working around whatever problem you have

MTK358 · 07-19-2011, 07:12 PM

If it's because you don't like the new Unity interface, just install a new desktop environment. To install the Xfce desktop (which is the most similar to the GNOME 2 desktop in previous Ubuntu versions):

Code:

apt-get install xfce4

When it's done, log out, and you can now choose it at your login screen.

thund3rstruck · 07-19-2011, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlbates

I have been using Ubuntu for 3 years, and I loved it before this latest upgrade. I am thinking about going back to 10.10 or trying something else. Is there anyway to go back to 10.10 without having to reinstall all my files from scratch, and is there another program that is just as easy to use as Ubuntu?

Sure thing; dump Ubuntu and install Linux Mint 11. Mint is a alternate version of Ubuntu but focuses on stability and ease of use. Mint has rejected the Ubuntu Unity interface (as well as gnome v3) and is sticking with the gnome v2.x series of desktops (the same as you are used to from Ubuntu 10.10).

wlbates · 07-20-2011, 10:37 AM

Thank you all for your responses.

Ok, downgrading is out.

The desktop environment is not the problem. Since upgrading through the upgrade manager to 11.04, my system is very sluggish. My pages take longer to open, I get interference with video and audio streams, and some times a complete disconnect when I open a document or even open emails at the same time. FB is now a nightmare, I don't even want to bother anymore because of the sluggishness. While writing papers, and viewing pdf files, my pages don't scroll like normal. I have to wait until the computer catches up with my direction. Switching desktops is even a problem, using the graphics is out of the question. I did not have any of these problems before this upgrade.

Here is what I have, is there a way to work around this? Is Mint easy to adjust to? What about Lubuntu, is that any better?

AMD Athlon64 X2 4400++ Skt Am2
512 MB PCI-E GeForce 8400GS Video Card
500GB SATA2 Hard Drive

Thank you for your help.

thund3rstruck · 07-20-2011, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlbates

Thank you all for your responses.

Here is what I have, is there a way to work around this? Is Mint easy to adjust to? What about Lubuntu, is that any better?

AMD Athlon64 X2 4400++ Skt Am2
512 MB PCI-E GeForce 8400GS Video Card
500GB SATA2 Hard Drive

Thank you for your help.

In my personal opinion Mint is the greatest thing to happen to Linux since Ubuntu came on the scene. Everything works out of the box (flash, java, etc) and require no tedious setup or administration.

I don't know the speed of your CPU but I'm running Mint 11 on a 5 year old Acer Aspire 5672 (Dual Core T2300 1GHZ) and it runs smoothly and perfectly.

I have a ten year old laptop that I run Fedora 14 XCFE on, and I love Fedora but it requires some setup and configuration to really be usable.

Be sure that before you do anything, make a full copy of your /home directory to an external drive so you can just restore all your application settings when you switch to Mint (or another Ubuntu based distro)

mark_alfred · 07-20-2011, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlbates

I have been using Ubuntu for 3 years, and I loved it before this latest upgrade. I am thinking about going back to 10.10 or trying something else. Is there anyway to go back to 10.10 without having to reinstall all my files from scratch, and is there another program that is just as easy to use as Ubuntu?

I am not familiar with all the computer lingo, so please, plain English.

Thanks.

You might be able to downgrade by changing your sources.list and creating a preferences file. It's described here in the Downgrade HowTo page (the second method). In your case, you wish to go back to Maverick (or maybe it's Meerkat -- I'm not sure, but I'll assume it's maverick) from Natty (or maybe it's Narwhal -- I'm not sure -- again, I'll assume it's natty). I'm assuming you did upgrade to natty (11.04) and wish to go back to maverick (10.10).

So, make a preferences file (/etc/apt/preferences) that states:

Code:

Package: *
        Pin: release a=maverick
        Pin-Priority: 1001

        Package: *
        Pin: release a=natty
        Pin-Priority: 60

Then, make sure your sources.list (/etc/apt/sources.list) only contains maverick and natty sources, and run update and upgrade processes. Note, it may be quite a messy process that breaks stuff, so make sure you have a back up of your system just in case.

The Downgrade HowTo site also has a script that you can run to downgrade. The script might be better to try first. It seems it will do a test run on your system, so that you can see what will be done first before deciding. Then, if you wish, you can "uncomment the relevant line. Run it again, and presto! your system is downgraded." I believe the line that's being referred to is

Code:

# system(@args);

Simply remove the hash-mark to uncomment it.

bivinsj407 · 07-20-2011, 03:38 PM

I have just gotten into Linux, and started with Ubuntu 10.04 and then upgraded to 11.04 and had a lot of problems with it. I have reinstalled the 10.04 and am very happy with it. One day I might try one of the others but for now I'm very happy with the 10.04 .. jim