Windows or Linux?

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 12 Sep 2009 4:34 am

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a spare computer, I had sound and now nothing, it's sound blaster live 24 card, any ideas ??
I like this so far,

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 12 Sep 2009 5:06 am

Mitch,

Thanks again. Those download/save explanations are much clearer.

One item I lost (in the past) that kind of bugged me was FAVORITES/BOOKMARKS.
I really tried but could not remember even half of what I had Faved/Bkmked.

Where are those found on the HDD, specifically?

As I mentioned previously, the black & white menu screen to choose either Windows or Ubuntu now pops up right after the BIG Acer intro screen, on boot up. Even if the Linux CD is not in the tray.

I got about less than 10 seconds to choose; otherwise the PC just goes on to Windows. No Problem.

Maybe I best wait and get Win7 squared away before I attempt the Ubuntu install (as Steve suggested). The Win7 CD should be here in about 7 weeks. Seven weeks would really give me more time to read about, and monkey with, Ubuntu (as pokey as the CD is - although in a few instances, I caught glimpses of probably just how fast the install version will be, and it's FAST). I mean if that's any indication, it's like this: Tortoise=WINDOWS; Hare=UBUNTU.

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 12 Sep 2009 8:43 am

Have a computer here for a few minutes,

sound issues:

first think to check is if you are muted, top right of the screen is a speaker icon, right click it for options.

In a terminal type alsamixer and toggle mute on off with the m key.

that failing :

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... ght=audigy

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=205449

Chip that is weird that you have boot options with no cd in there. did you start to install by accident?

BTW Ubuntu linux is lightening quick, and ubuntu is one of the slower distros. There are more advanced distros that will blow you away with speed, but they are nightmarish to install.

Its very common after an install to not have 3d graphixs or sound. For laptops you almost never have wireless after an install. Thats because if a driver for a piece of hardware like a sound card is proprietary linux will not include it by default. Also since linux is free a lot of companies dont bother to write drivers for linux as the profit motivation is not there, and in some cases they get pressured by windows to not make one.

the good news is, those dark times are behind us, and there are linux drivers for most hardware that exists, you just have to find it. The ubuntu forums are the best place to start looking for them, and also the "top 10 things to do after a linux install" type blogs as well.

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 12 Sep 2009 8:52 am

Also guys dont forget google is your friend. The problems you guys face will have already been dealt with by a ton of people, just remember to include the distro, so a sound card search could start with

"no sound, ubuntu 9.04"

and its a good idea to do searches in the ubuntuforums.org

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 12 Sep 2009 9:04 am

One item I lost (in the past) that kind of bugged me was FAVORITES/BOOKMARKS.
I really tried but could not remember even half of what I had Faved/Bkmked.

Where are those found on the HDD, specifically?

In firefox :
Bookmarks>organise bookmarks>import and backup

chose backup, then save to a usb stick or one of your external drives. After a new install you can do the same thing but hit import instead of backup.

I use xmarks extension for firefox, saves your bookmarks to the Internet, where you can access them from any computer that runs firefox.

alright be a few days before Im back on. Have fun!

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 12 Sep 2009 9:20 am

Steve,

No I did not try to install Ubuntu, either dilberately or by mistake. I've been very careful as what I click-on when in Ubuntu.

Can I download Wine in Ubuntu? The thing is, it goes away on the next Ubu bootup.

It's a good thing I read a little about Wine. It explicitly warned: do not attempt to download any software program that is already installed on Windows. It basically said BIG problems will happen and your entire Windows could go bye-bye.

Those black & white option screens popping up just after the PC's logo screen has happened to me in the past.
I was able to manually correct it, but I couldn't begin to tell you now, how. This particular one goes away pretty quick, so it's not really on my nerves; as ones in the past got to be.

Thanks again, Steve...play well.

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 12 Sep 2009 2:22 pm

Chip:

Firefox itself is installed to C Program Files like most everything else.

You can backup your bookmarks alone using Steve's method.

Your Firefox "profile" (including bookmarks) is separate from the C Program Files portion and is at (in my case) C users mitch appdata roaming mozilla firefox.

Your profile would be at C users ?? appdata roaming mozilla firefox. ?? is whatever your user name might be. You have to turn on the viewing of system files and hidden files to see that location.

I'm not a Firefox expert, but I think if you copy this Firefox folder to a backup location periodically, you can then simply paste it into any new Firefox install in the same location and you will then have your bookmarks, custom settings and everything. Of course, if you reinstall Windows, you would still have to reinstall Firefox to C Program Files. That would create a new profile, but you could then replace that profile with your backed up profile. In your case, it might be simpler to just save the bookmarks.

If you use Internet Explorer, those bookmarks should be at C users ?? favorites. You can back them up directly from the IE file menu.

John Cipriano · Post by **John Cipriano** » 12 Sep 2009 4:39 pm

It's a good thing I read a little about Wine. It explicitly warned: do not attempt to download any software program that is already installed on Windows. It basically said BIG problems will happen and your entire Windows could go bye-bye.

That doesn't sound right to me. Can you link us where that's being said?

What you shouldn't do is use your existing Windows and Program Files folders in Wine. You can think of Wine as just the core of Windows. From there you use a program like winetools to download other things you need, like fonts, dlls, and exes that the system needs. Since you have Windows, You might be tempted to just point Wine at your existing c:/windows. This is dangerous as it can mess up your system files and registry. The good news is that a typical Wine install does not do this, you have to go out of your way to get that setup.

But don't worry about Wine yet. Your goal should not be to start running Windows program in Linux right out of the gate, and Wine takes some time to set up anyway. For instance, if you want to audio editing, you can try Audacity, which I think already comes packaged on the Ubuntu CD.

As for your question, yes you can install Wine while using the Live CD. However, it takes a while and you will lose it when you reboot. If you are this far along I'd say just install Ubuntu to the HD and worry about Wine once you are settled in.

edit: I had some instructions for formatting the disk with the F: drive on it in GParted and splitting it into a linux "/" and linux swap partition. It can wait though. I wanna hear more about this "linux loads without the CD in" thing...uh oh

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 12 Sep 2009 5:05 pm

Mitch Drumm wrote:Chip:

Your Firefox "profile" (including bookmarks) is separate from the C Program Files portion and is at (in my case) C users mitch appdata roaming mozilla firefox.

Your profile would be at C users ?? appdata roaming mozilla firefox. ?? is whatever your user name might be. You have to turn on the viewing of system files and hidden files to see that location.

I'm not a Firefox expert, but I think if you copy this Firefox folder to a backup location periodically, you can then simply paste it into any new Firefox install in the same location and you will then have your bookmarks, custom settings and everything.

Yes, this works; I've done it.
In my case, on Windows XP, Firefox keeps its data in a folder called
C:\Documents and Settings\[my name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\qwertyui.default
where "qwertyui" is a random name that Firefox invents. So yes, back up this folder now and then, and you can get your Firefox back after a crash. The folder contains a few dozen files including bookmarks etc.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 12 Sep 2009 7:29 pm

John,

That's exactly what i'm trying to say. Don't import any Windows files to Ubuntu/Wine and then try to install them in Wine.

OK - I'm getting ahead of myself. I just jump in. Like WC Fields teaching a kid how to swim.

I found the warning here:
www.winehq.org

I just tried now to zero in on the exact page, but I had no luck. But it's on that website.
They just said, do not try to take a program you now have installed on Windows and try to copy it to Ubuntu via Wine.

...Thanks EB

John Cipriano · Post by **John Cipriano** » 12 Sep 2009 10:49 pm

Oh sorry Chip I mistook your meaning before.

And then what I was warning against was turning your entire c: drive into a Wine folder. Now making a *second copy* would not be so bad if you didn't touch the original. But that's hypothetical...you wouldn't do that anyway.

It should be mentioned of Wine that it's not really a drop-in Windows replacement. It's good for simpler programs but not everything works perfectly and (for example) it can be hard to get sound working in it.

Half the fun (if you consider this sort of thing fun, anyway...many of us do but maybe that's a bad influence I don't know

) of using linux is trying out the various linux programs and seeing how they suit you. For instance, I just posted a tutorial on using ffmpeg with a frontend to make MP3s to this forum. On linux, the whole first half of that tutorial literally becomes typing "apt-get install ffmpeg" into terminal. When in Rome, you gotta roam, or however that goes.

BTW "shall not partition the Lord"...brilliant!

--

David...you said you had sound working, right? Did it stop working after a system update? There was a new kernel release this week, that might have had something to do with it.

Then again, it could just be a mixer thing. There are a few commands in a post in this thread:http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p= ... ostcount=2

The second one will restart the audio system and the third will let you take a look at the mixer. Try those out, let's see if we can figure out what it is. I should mention that I'm not an expert on getting sound going in linux as I've always had good luck with my M-Audio card and I use Arch rather than Ubuntu. But there are other more knowledgeable folks here anyway.

And for anyone who doesn't already know, ubuntuforums.org has become an amazing resource, not just for ubuntu but computers in general. Occasionally as with all forums you get "blind leading the blind" posts but there are enough people there now that if you search enough you almost always will find an answer that works.

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 25 Sep 2009 9:36 pm

good little tutorial here

http://www.nixtutor.com/linux/general-t ... -in-linux/

pop in the live cd and explore with this a little

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 5:52 am

still no sound...I'm all up to date on the system ...

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 5:56 am

what do you see when you type

Code: Select all

alsamixer

at the command line?

you should see some bars on a mixer. if one is muted you have to arrow to it and hit m, then use the arrow up keys to turn it up. Alsa mixer looks like this:

the bar on the left is usually the culprit. note he has his cd muted on the left, if your master looks like that you need to toggle it on with the m key.

here is a trouble shooting thread about sound

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/sound-solutio ... #more-1301

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 6:03 am

i see a mixer board, not sure how to do a screen shot on this..

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 6:40 am

OK got cd sound, but no you tube , and sound is only on left side, I have surround sound, SB live card...any more ideas??

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 7:13 am

use tab and make sure everything is even. sometimes there are more options off screen you have to scroll to

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 7:18 am

also make sure your speakers are plugged in correctly, not to insult your intelligence here, one time I put a network card in and basically rebuilt my kernal trying to get ti to work, when in fact I didnt have the cable in all the way. I would try taking the cable out and reinserting it. also a reboot may help.

type this in the terminal

Code: Select all

speaker-test -c2 -l1 -twav

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 7:19 am

do you mean in you tube?

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 7:31 am

no open a terminal and type it there, it is a speaker test. Have you been using the terminal for alsamixer etc?

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 7:36 am

no i don't thin so but will try the speaker test

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 7:39 am

heres what is said

speaker-test 1.0.18

Playback device is default
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 2 channels
WAV file(s)
Rate set to 48000Hz (requested 48000Hz)
Buffer size range from 96 to 1048576
Period size range from 32 to 349526
Using max buffer size 1048576
Periods = 4
was set period_size = 262144
was set buffer_size = 1048576
0 - Front Left
1 - Front Right
Time per period = 3.058338

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 8:40 am

readout is good,
did you here that woman's voice?
she should speak through both speakers one at a time

David Wright · Post by **David Wright** » 5 Oct 2009 8:58 am

no i didn't

Steve Norman · Post by **Steve Norman** » 5 Oct 2009 9:42 am

Id try it again making sure both speakers are up load. do your speakers work ok with windows?