I just installed Ubuntu on my home desktop computer this morning, and I am having fun exploring this new alternative to Microsoft. I originally tried to install Kubuntu, but after multiple unsuccessful attempts I gave Ubuntu a try and it worked like a charm. I would still like to try Kubuntu, and I was wondering if anyone can tell me why it wouldn't install.

Here's what I did:

First, I burned the installation CD.
Then I booted from that CD and began the installation process.
When the Kubuntu desktop came up, and the icons started to appear, the screen suddenly went black.
After that it flashed back and forth between the partially loaded desktop and the black screen.
That's as far as I got.

Any ideas as to what went wrong?

Here's what I know about my system:

NTFS file system
74.5GB HD
Intel Pentium 4
2.66GHz
960MB RAM
Paging File Size 672MB

If there is any other information that will help in answering these questions, let me know and I'll do my best to find it for you.

Thanks,

Jason

I have no idea why Kubuntu didn't work for you but you can easily add the KDE desktop to your Ubuntu install.

Log out and then from the login screen, select Sessions, KDE.

Once you're satisfied KDE is right for you, here are the instructions to remove the Ubuntu Gnome desktop and have pure Kubuntu: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/purekde

Are you running Ubuntu inside Windows (through a Wubi installation)? Or how comes "NTFS filesystem"? Could that be a possible KDE breaker (just guessing here, never tried Wubi myself)

I was running windows xp before, and used wubi to install ubuntu. Now when I boot up my machine asks me which os I want to use. I don't know if that means that ubuntu is running through windows, or separately, but I did not create a separate partition first, as I was under the impression that was not necessary when using wubi.

Okay... I installed the KDE desktop in Ubuntu, and nothing much changed. The login screen is different, as is the mouse pointer, but nothing else changed. Did I do some thing wrong? How do I uninstall the KDE desktop to go back to Ubuntu?

Jason

Did you do this step?

If you decide to remove KDE and go back to pure Gnome: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/puregnome

No... I didn't know to do that.

Tried it, and I get the same problem I had when trying to install Kubuntu -- the desktop screen starts to load, then goes black and kicks me back out to the login screen. KDE doesn't seem to like my machine very much. Any ideas why? Could it be that my graphics card isn't up to the task? The only problem I have had with Ubuntu so far is that I can not activate the advanced visual desktop effects, which is what makes me think that I may just have a bad graphics card.

Any thoughts would be helpful. This is only my second day with Ubuntu.

Also, is there a way to uninstall the KDE component that I installed yesterday?

Jason

Your graphics card, what kind is it??

I'm not even sure how to check that...
The computer was given to me by a friend. I originally wiped it clean and did a fresh install of windows, and have now added Ubuntu, but I don't know much about the hardware.

I successfully removed most of the KDE elements that were added when I tried to install the KDE desktop. I had to go through the list in the synaptic package manager and remove everything that said 'KDE' in it, but it worked. The mouse pointer is the only thing that didn't change back, but that isn't so bad. I kind of like the new one.

Log back in to a Gnome Session, go to the System menu, choose Administration, Hardware Drivers. This will check if there are any drivers available for your graphics card.

My post #6 has instructions if you want to completely get rid of KDE.

"No proprietary drivers are in use on this system." is the message I got. So I assume I need to download some drivers somewhere. Will that enable me to use the advanced desktop effects in Ubuntu?

Thanks for the Kubuntu removal instructions. Very helpful.

Jason

This message means Ubuntu believes it is using the correct drivers for your hardware; no additional drivers are available or needed.

If you have older hardware it is possible your graphics card does not support Compiz desktop effects (especially if it's cheap integrated graphics). The next step is to figure out what kind of graphics card you have; without that information you're at a dead end. The terminal command 'lspci' (without the quotes) will tell you, or you can consult your computer's manual.