Linux Corner

[Saab Dastard]

I find this a pain on my Asus

You can get an ointment for that...

SD

[le Pingouin]

In a terminal window execute the following command:

lspci |grep VGA

Drivers aren't retained across versions.

[rans6andrew]

the system reports

nVidia Corporation GT215 [GeForce GT 240] (rev A2)

hope that helps,

Rans6....

[rans6andrew]

I installed a new video driver (yesterday) and some of my problems have gone away. The system has not crashed since but it has ground to an impossibly slow crawl just once. It took 3 mins to slide the mouse pointer across the screen and a further 5 mins to open the system monitor. A couple of mins later it showed everything normal, just gnome and firefox using up to 8% of cpu, everything else sleeping. Still only 9% memory, no swapping, no network activity.......

It was like the clocks had all been changed from GHz to KHz!. A hard reset cleared it and everything seems OK now.

I have noticed that if you leave a Youtube tab open in firefox the network traffic ramps up until it consumes all of our broadband. You have to kill all of the firefox windows to stop it. Anyone know what is happening when this happens?

Rans6....

[le Pingouin]

Sorry, been out of action for a few days. Google didn't turn up any specific issues with your video card for me.

The single case of sluggishness sounds a lot like your RAM was maxed out. Not what you'd be expecting in 6GB under normal use.

I'm not using 11.10 but I know a few people who are & haven't heard any screams of outrage with Youtube & FF yet. I'd try another browser & see if you get the same thing happening.

[FullOppositeRudder]

I have noticed that if you leave a Youtube tab open in firefox the network traffic ramps up until it consumes all of our broadband. You have to kill all of the firefox windows to stop it. Anyone know what is happening when this happens?

It may not be specific to the Linux version. Herewith a brief digression and a cautionary tale:

Last week I left a tab open on my XP /Firefox box - monitoring one of the Prague webcams at the time. Visitors called - hospitality took priority.

When I next checked about 3 hours later, nearly 20% of my monthly quota had gone in that exercise. ( I am a miserable sod and usually get by with 5Gb a month - but this was a real shock )

I use the nifty little Net Usage Item for FF, but it doesn't help if you don't monitor ....

Back to the specific Linux issue now ....

f_o_r

[rans6andrew]

could any of you Linux Gurus answer a couple of (OK, 3 then!) questions for me?

1) how do I make any application open in "less than full screen", ie so that it does not cover the task bar/launcher bar?

2) how do I make the volume of all sounds come up at the setting it was when the machine is shut down? I find that sounds always launch virtually muted. I want system sounds low and stuff that plays (Youtube, on line radio etc) with soundtrack medium volume.

3) how can I open more than one folder to allow "click and drag" file moving. It doesn't let me have more than one "home folder" (Icon in the launcher bar) operating at a time.

the system is Ubuntu 11.10.

Thanks,

Rans6.....

[mixture]

could any of you Linux Gurus answer a couple of (OK, 3 then!) questions for me?

Real Linux Gurus don't need a GUI....

[rans6andrew]

when I can type as fast as I can click I won't use a GUI either!

Rans6...

[le Pingouin]

Rans6, with regards to Q3:

You can get four if you click rapidly enough. I thought you said you were a demon clicker

Slightly more sensibly, once you have a file viewer window open right click on the "Home" icon on the left & click "Open in New Window".

You can also press F3 to give a split window view - panes you can independently change directories in. More useful IMHO.

Not sure about the others - I'm not a regular Ubuntu user & really don't like Unity

[mixture]

I'm not a regular Ubuntu

I tried Ubuntu. Until a round of updates corrupted my install. I then abandoned Ubuntu.

[le Pingouin]

Can't say I've had that sort of problem with Linux. No OS is immune.

[mixture]

No OS is immune

Indeed, I know that. But it is an indication of very poor QA testing if that sort of thing happens on a cleanly installed OS.

Have never had that issue on Windows, Mac, Redhat Linux, SuSE Linux or OpenBSD.

The point is, I reckon Ubuntu are too busy feature chasing to concentrate on getting a decent OS.

[rans6andrew]

Does anyone know if it the size of an application window (Firefox, Libre Office, Adobe etc) on opening is determined by the application or by the GUI? Referring to Ubuntu 11.10.

I have tried to find it in the Firefox preferences without success. Where else should I look?

Rans6...

[mixture]

The application is responsible for remembering the size and state of the window and restoring it at startup. The window manager (e.g. GNOME) is responsible for the position.

Never used em' myself, but have seen reports of others having luck working around the "problem" by using CCSM (CompizConfig Settings Manager) and/or Devil's Pie.

[Bern Oulli]

I have been playing with "live" Linux CDs for some long time now, but never quite had the nerve to commit to installing a Linux distro. Until now. My aging VAIO laptop, complete with WinXP, was showing signs of age, i.e. slow, occasional freezes, etc. A more than idle moment recently at Sydney International Airport led to the purchase of a copy of "Ubuntu User" magazine, with Ubuntu/Kubuntu 11.10 on a double-sided DVD. On arrival back in the now grey and damp UK I gave it a go in "live" mode and was totally impressed. Having backed up what few files I wanted to keep onto a memory stick, I did the install thing, overwriting XP (Yeehah). Installation was fairly painless - the only sticking point was that it refused to continue to completion until I entered a user name and password, despite selecting the log-in without password option. No big deal. It found my wireless router immediately, ditto my ancient Epson printer. The only thing I haven't managed yet is to persuade it to see my desk-top PC (Windows Vista), and vice versa. Again, no big deal. My lappy is now fast and far far less cluttered. So for anyone debating the wisdom of going down this road, it ain't as daunting as you might think.

[le Pingouin]

You need an account name & password so you can administer the system - helps prevent you doing something silly & the nasties having free reign.

[mixture]

You need an account name & password so you can administer the system - helps prevent you doing something silly & the nasties having free reign.

What he said. Sudo is your friend.

[Bushfiva]

Sudo make me a sandwich

[seacue]

Using XP printer from Linux Mint

I want to use the Brother HL-2140 l.ser printer on my XP PC from Linux Mint. The printer is set for sharing and I can use it from a different XP PC.

I add the printer to Mint using the screen dialog. When I submit a test page from LibreOffice Writer it "prints" a dozen or two dozen blank pages but never the text I wrote. I have changed from the postscript (recommended) driver to another. Only one page "prints", but it is blank.

I also tried printing from "gedit" with the same results.

Please offer suggestion(s).

seacue

Edited 2011 11 27 00:00 Z to add:

A Giggle search revealed lots of problems with printing from Mint over Ethernet to a Windows PC. None I found addressed a case like mine.

s.