I really like the Ubuntu distro because it have everything up to date version-wise. The default install, though, needs a little adding on to make it comfortable. For instance the absence of mp3 decoding and divx playing are obvious. This is where my observations / issues come into play.

After installing the gstreamer plugins, I get mp3 decoding....crystal clear. After I install the gstreamer-ffmpeg plugin I get video on totem. But the video is not smooth, it is like it is stuttering every second. I install VLC and it is baby-bottom smooth. I have tried the ffmpeg libs without gstreamer, tried the w32codecs. Totem just does not play smoothly. Anyone have an answer?

I tried mplayer for obvious reasons but that desyncs the video and audio surprisingly. So I tried the xine engine (totem-xine). Once the xine engine is installed I have scratchy choppy sound. I tested this on the first installation of Ubuntu, a fresh install of Kubuntu, another fresh install of Ubuntu, and a fresh Ubuntu once again. All on the same machine, all the same results. Didn't have this with SuSE 9.2. Anyone have any answers?

machine:
Toshiba Satellite 5105-s701 p4m 1.8G
nvidia geforce 4 440 go 64M (agp 4x) running 1600x1200 with nvidia accelerated driver
512M ram
Yamaha sound system


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deanmichael.blogspot.com

The only time I had a stuttering video issue, dma was disabled on all of my disks. I have no idea if this is whats causing your problem, but since noone else has any ideas it's worth a shot. Use hdparm to see if dma is enabled, if it's not you can enable it with hdparm as well. Below you can see the first command, shows that dma is enabled for my harddrive and dvd, but if they weren't, I could enable it with a -d1 argument.

Thanks for the tip. I checked my hdparm and originally got:

/dev/hda:
multcount = 0 (off)
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 256 (on)
geometry = 65535/16/63, sectors = 60011642880, start = 0


I changed settings to:

/dev/hda:
multcount = 1 (on)
IO_support = 1 (32-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 1 (on)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 256 (on)
geometry = 65535/16/63, sectors = 60011642880, start = 0

Unfortunately Totem is still jerky. I guess I will just have to use VLC instead of a 'pure' Ubuntu install. Not a problem since VLC is a very robust app.

kingsnake,

i have the same machine - the 5105-s701. i see you classify yourself as a newbie. well i'm an even newer bee that wants to switch from xp. could i ask you some general questions? i'm beginning to understand the code of conduct of the non-windows community, so if this isn't the place, please don't respond and excuse my intrusion.

the hamburgian

--alcohol and calculus don't mix. don't drink and divide.

ask away. I will provide whatever help I can.

thanks, kingsnake.

at the "windows xp is starting up" screen, i started receiving fuzzy lines. i would immediately turn off the machine, then turn it back on, and the lines would always be gone. needless to say, i was worried that the nvidia card may be going, and started troubleshooting by cleaning out what dust i could. there was no change, so i connected an external monitor. the same startup screen on the external monitor shows no lines or fuzz or any problem at all. which led me to think it is software problem. perhaps a problem with the nvidia driver. so now i'm ready to switch to linux, but i have to admit, i'm a little apprehensive, but slowly building confidence the more i read. as a matter of fact, forums like this make me think support for linux is superior to support for windows.

particular questions that i have for the 5105-s701 (which isn't to be found at the linux laptops website, though there are some articles about the 5000 series):

my biggest concern is the toshiba BIOS. i read that it only changes boot order through xp. what's your experience with this? do you recommend leaving a partition of xp on the machine for this reason (or any other for that matter)?

also, i have a 4GB external storage device (USB). would it possible to put a linux distribution on this disk and boot from it?

finally, the age old distro question? i'm leaning towards debian because i like the people. any specific distro you recommend for the 5105-s701?

thanks,

the hambugian

--alcohol and calulus don't mix -- don't drink and divide

Well, here are some answers.

To boot from different devices hold down different keys during boot or, I think F10 (?). One of the F keys will being up a menu. Certain Toshibas CAN boot from USB, mine can't. For instance, to boot from floppy, hold down the F key during boot or from CD, hold down C.

I suggest Ubuntu as a distro. debian based, great, simple, easy package management and installation. Minimal set up and high usability.

Kubuntu if you want KDE but I find it to run horribly slow on my laptop compared to the gnome based (original) Ubuntu.

Have fun and be brave, bye bye M$



Kingsnake

Thanks for the suggestions.

I burned an ISO of Kubuntu Live, but found problems with the 5105-s701 Bios. When I boot from CD by pressing c or the right arrow key over to the cd icon, the screen goes blank, the disc starts spinning, nothing happens and I'm sent to xp.

If I change the boot order in toshiba hardware controls inside of xp and boot, the cd starts spinning, and then I get the following message:

Intel Boot Agent 4.1.03
Media Test Failure check cable.

I'm not sure if you ran into this, Bigsnake. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

thehamburgian