My problem with Ubuntu and Linux
 

One of the biggest problems for me with Linux, specifically - Ubuntu is the Nvidia GPU Fan. It is killing me. I am a total noob in Linux and have no idea how to make a laptop out of the Toaster that Ubuntu creates. The fan spins very fast because there is no power management for it.

I have Z71v Nvidia Go6600

All I want to begin with is to make my gpu fan work like it should.

I tried several attemtps of asking people to help me and they start talking some bizzare language of Linux that I have no idea what they are talking about. Some time ago I found a officia Ubuntu guide on how to install nvidia driver but it looked scary and when I tired it step by step, it did not work.

Anyhow, I want to give Linux a second trie - Ubuntu Flight 7.

Can someone pelase provide a Noob FRIENDLY guide on how to make the gpu fan work normal.

Also can someone please explain the paradox to why is Ubuntu #1 on distrowatch.com but when I google for gnome vs kde 80% prefer KDE - Kubuntu ???

Kubuntu Flight 7 is also available. I myself like KDE from what I have seen in the pictures..

Thanx.

Despite the reputation, Ubuntu is more of a mid-experience distro than a true newbie distro.

The rankings at distrowatch have nothing to do with how many people actually use a distro, just how many people looked it up there.

Try a more newbie friendly distro like Mepis or SuSE. It could make your experience more enjoyable.

I agree with masonm.

Ubuntu is often touted as a "newbie-friendly" distro, but it really isn't.
It just gets a lot of press and a lot of hits on DistroWatch.

It was one of the first distros I tried, and I got scared off from it--too much command-line got to the Windows-indoctrinated me of last year.

So I went to Mepis and was happy for a while (Mepis and PCLinuxOS are great newbie distros).

Once I got Mepis under my belt, Ubuntu was an excellent second distro.

PClinux is slow on production because of the smal lcommunity behind it. It is great but has some annoying problems like - if a usb flash drive or an external hdd is plugged via USB, it will not boot.

Wireless, could not get it to work, it sees the network but it would never connect to it. - MiniMe 0.93

0.92 - I had to manyally connectto wireless network all the time, very annoying.

Mepis, last time I tried it it had some serious video driver issues, My resolution was all screwed and when I asked for help on the irc channel, people started talking some bizzare crazy comamnd lines and deep resolution changing via txt files.
Maybe Mepis is different now.

Suse 10.1 it is maybe ok, but I uninstalled it becaue of the wireless issue. There are no drivers for wireless. I have IntelProset wireless 2915 ABG and Suse does not have that. I saw some long comamnd lines to get the drivers installed. Also, Suse is kind of bloated and slow on occassion.

Thare is also a problem with Linuxe's ACPI - it is years away from windows. It spins and stops the cpu way too often.

I now think to myself, maybe I should forget about Linux alltogether and stay with Win XP because it is simple and just works. No command lines and plug and play.

Any mroe comments?

Use whatever works for you. Best of luck.

What about this one :

Symphony OS

http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/6982

?

It's officially in Beta now. When I tried it a while ago, it was in Alpha and barely usable. The Mezzo desktop idea sounds interesting. Give it a shot if you have the time.

I must admit that I find Ubuntu a great looking desktop, but ultimately very frustrating because I have failed to get my Speedtoch 330 modem and printer working.

Not being able to play MP3 and DVD's is another bugbear.

I have no problem configuring my modem, printer, playing MP3's and DVD's on Mandriva and PCLinuxOS, which IMHO are a lot easier to configure than Ubuntu.

Unfortunately I find Ubuntu in it's present form doesn't work for me.

"Not being able to play MP3 and DVD's is another bugbear."
When I install ubuntu the first thing I do is remove the crappy media software it comes with and install xmms and VLC.
Due to graphics card issues VLC will be ultra fuzzy for tightly compressed video though (which means it will work with WMVs but not many AVI codecs).

Wow, this topic has wandered quite a bit.

EDIT: When I tried PCLOS it turned me off of linux for a good 4 months or so due to it's snail like speed.

Hardware is still a problem, but you have to realize that they legally can't include the MP3 and DVD codecs.

It's not just legal reasons--philosophical ones as well. Ubuntu wants to promote non-proprietary software.

There are plenty of distros with those codecs, so if people can use those. Or, Ubuntu has a number of automated scripts that will install all the codecs for you: Automatix, Easy Ubuntu, BUMPS.

Ubuntu is definitely a good distribution and is popular with a lot of Linux Users.

Whilst it's true they are legal and philosophical reasons for not including the codecs, most of us want an operating system that works for us.

Where do I find the scripts to load the codecs, are they in Ubuntu or available on the internet?

coolbeing, I think you should try out other distros. I am one of those that believes Ubuntu is hyped up and gets too much press but does not have anything much to differentiate it from other distros. I would suggest you try Suse, Fedora, Mandriva, PCLinuxOS and Mepis.

Hrm, so nobody knows how to regulate a Nvidia GPU fan in Ubuntu, or other distro's for that matter?

I'd like to know too, because in a couple of days I'll get a new actively cooled Nvidia card. Or is installing the Nvidia drivers enough?

It's really not hard nor scary.

read this https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia


Like I said, I don't know if this will fix the fan issue but at least you will have working Nvidia drivers.

With due respect, redazz, I think the hype is justified that sets it apart from other distro's. Ubuntu forums are buzzying with freindly people ready to help (even the most noobie out there), and their documentation on HOWTO do things is unparalled. I have mentioned this beofre somewhere on this forum about this: even SUSE is not that complete when it comes to getting a simple HOWTO. It makes the mew commer feel at home to an almost alien OS. Ubuntu loves new comers. MEPIS is another, but their forums take a good 12 hours to get feedback. Don't even ask about SUSE, FC, or Mandriva. I have a thread posted on SUSE (Open) forum about 3 months ago, I have only gotten 1 reply (about 3 weeks late).

When I came to linux world, suse was the first distro I tried, (because of the hype it created, not Ubuntu (even though I knew about it for a long time), my saviour was this forum (LQ)[and you were there to help each time-I appreciate that), not SUSEforums. When I tried Ubuntu, I was so happy to see the wiki with evrything i needed from start to finish.

In short, Ubuntu hype is made by its users who get what they want when they want. Just my thoughts.

Thanks,
regards
SL