SP moves to Ubuntu Linux, and help question, please

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Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:36 pm

@ SP
Sorry about the confusion. I thought you would know the .exe was for the windows laptop. K3B is a great burner for Linux! On the other hand getting a good simple free burner for windows has been a problem.

Most of the Live distros have the ability to install from the CD. Puppy linux will also let you do an install from a USB version. Again I am recommending puppy for the older machine.

Download Puppy on the vista laptop, Burn off to a live CD at a low speed. Remember not all CD/DVD media is compatible so check what type you are using. Then see if you can boot the desktop from the puppy CD. Once in puppy there is an option to create a live bootable USB key which also works well at times.

Currently I am starting 2 projects with puppy. One is converting an old VAIO laptop to a compact flash based web terminal. The second project is getting a bunch of Gateway Profile 3 desktops and setting them up in some B&B's as public terminals. In both cases I'll be using Puppy.

If you like Ubuntu give it a go. However for P3 hardware I'd recommend one of the distro's that is optimized for older hardware.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

I found another DVD that I didn't know we had, gave it a good clean and burned Ubuntu on to it at the slower speed of x2, ran it on the old desktop and it installed fully with no problems at all Cool

I have 205 Ubuntu updates currently installing, then I will go and get Opera browser installed, I managed that earlier, it said it was installed and I set the browser to use Opera, but it was not displayed anywhere, maybe due to the installation error, I'll see what happens when the updates are finished.

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 7:28 pm

Good chap, I knew you'd get there.

If opera doesn't appear in the applications menu you may have to create a custom launcher for it. This is pretty easy. Right click on the panel at the top - add to panel - add custom launcher - and fill in the details. for "command" it should just be Opera or opera (remember Linux is entirely case-sensitive).

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Nailgunner, I was just about to post asking how the hell I get the Opera icon on my menu, as the only way I could get it open was by right clicking an html file on desktop and choosing "open with Opera".

Cheers for that, now got it on the menu bar, got all my original faves installed and ready to start catching up, just need to go through dozens of sites and save all my login details again Rolling Eyes

, Linux is going to be a steep learning curve, now to see if it will let me install my old version of Paint Shop Pro from CD.

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:27 pm

^^^

Not unless you have a Linux version of PaintShop, or you're running a Windows emulator.

As far as I'm aware nothing that runs in Windows will run in native Linux.

My version of Ubuntu came with Gimp, which is the freeware equivalent of Photoshop. I use it for all of my chopping now - had to learn its commands, but I've not even loaded Paintshop on my new desktop (I installed a Windows version of Gimp instead)

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:37 pm

It is steep ... the nice bit is that there are loads of people using it and they're all very willing to help. Open Source is very community monded, even below the level of those actually doing the coding. Stick with it, it's well worth doing for the stability and security it offers.

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:43 pm

If you want to start using Windows programs you're going to need this:
http://www.winehq.org/site/download

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Rodus, what am I supposed to download from that page? This one?:

http://www.winehq.org/site/download-deb

Once that's downloaded, what is it supposed to do, does it just let you install stuff from disks automatically, like Paint Shop Pro?

Another question, I tried to view a page which needs Adobe flash Player 9, I downloaded it expecting the GDebi package installer used for loading Opera to install it, but it didn't, how do you install things, I find this infuritating, Windows is so much easier and quicker to do simple downloads like that.

[edit]

I now find that GDebi Package Installer is not installed in the add/remove section Confused

[edit]

Forget that, there are 2 different types of GDebi Package Installer, one is installed, the other isn't.

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:35 pm

This is an interesting thread. I've been thinking about installing Umbuto Linux on an old machine for some time. I'm starting to wonder now! Let us know how it goes SP.

Shocked

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

There is an error on the Wine page for downloading the Ubuntu version of the Wine program, the text says, Now you can install Wine by clicking this link. Alternatively, you can install by going to Applications->Add/Remove and searching for Wine

Except the link is obviously wrong, way to go, Wine Rolling Eyes

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 10:16 pm

Okey dokey, try here for the download: http://linux.softpedia.com/progDownload/Wine-Download-148.html

and here for some assistance
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine

this is why I'd only ever dabble in Linux under virtualization. I nearly did swap at one point but it's just too beardy.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Rodus, that still doesn't work, after clicking the "Wine 1.0 Final - FREE DOWNLOAD", that takes you to another page, at the bottom it says "Wine Download", which takes you back to the same previous page, where I have to use the "Ubuntu 7.10 DEB mirror 1", which takes me to that page with the broken link posted above Confused

[edit]

Actually, forget about Wine, I just read this on the Ubuntu community link in your post above:

Quote:

Initial Setup

Before using Wine, it is necessary to create the fake C: drive where your Windows applications will be installed. To do this, enter the following command into a terminal:

winecfg

This will create a hidden folder (.wine) in your home directory containing the fake C: drive as well as registry files similar to those used in Windows. Once this directory is created, the Wine Configuration window will appear. This window will allow you to customize a variety of settings for Wine, including the Windows version that is being emulated, drive mappings, DLL overrides, as well as application specific settings. Click the "Ok" button to close the window.

That might as well be written in bloody Dutch, I have no idea what any of that means, I like how they tell you to enter winecfg in to a terminal, but can't be arsed to tell you what a terminal is or where to find one to enter it in to, if people want you to download something, they should write down what you are supposed to do, and not assume that everyone is an expert with computers or the workings of Linux.

All I will do now is use Linux for my normal browsing and baiting, anything else will have to be done on my laptop where it's a piece of piss to do it, Linux is a pain in the arse as far as I'm concerned.

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:01 am

^^^^^ Stick with it. You'll enjoy the lack of viruses and exploits.

as far as wine goes I've had no trouble with it in Ubuntu. I'm going to assume that you are not familiar with apt-get at this point. So take a look over at

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine where they have this info:

Ubuntu versions of Wine (Recommended)

1, Add the Universe repository (see Repositories if you need help)
2, Update the package listing.
3. Install the wine package. (see InstallingSoftware if you need help).

Ok so you will need to do a little bit of reading but it's not really difficult just different from windows XP.

Wine will let you run, MS Word, Photoshop and IE6. There is a lengthy list of other software that it runs but those were the three that I ran under wine.

//Pause On// Donning flame retardant suit //Pause Off//

You might want to take a look at Xandros for your first Linux release. You can download the free community edition. These are the people behind the Asus eeePC and many people hate them for their non FOSS attitude. However, the Distro is tweeked to be very windows like, Runs good on older hardware and has a central repository for software upgrades. I have a Xandros server running and have purchased most of their software over the years. I buy their software for the simple reason that it is the most painless way to get someone started on Linux.

On the downside you will have to pay for the software and the Xandros Networks will not have all of the Linux software out there. However what it does have almost always runs flawlessly.

Edit Note: The free Open Circulation Edition is available here:

http://forums.xandros.com/viewtopic.php?t=33666

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Ok, I now have Wine installed from the synaptic package manager, it wasn't listed when I searched for it last night after updating the lists, now it is.

I put my Paint Shop Pro CD in and it installed it, it's listed under, applications >> Wine >> programs >> Paint Shop Pro.

When I click to start the program, an icon appears at the bottom of the screen saying, starting paint Shop Pro, that stays there for about 10 seconds and then it vanishes, and it doesn't load up, any ideas why not?

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:46 pm

^^^^ I googled, wine paint shop pro and found two sites of interest.

First Wine's App database where support for different versions of PSP varied from Silver to Garbage. Meaning mostly supported to not at all.

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=76

Then I found this post about installing psp8 and getting it to work.

http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112195.

Personally I've had more luck with Photoshop. Coppies of photoshop 7 (wine platinum support) can be found on ebay fairly inexpensively.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Oh great, mine is Paint Shop Pro version 6.0:

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=9592

Which says:

6.x, Released by Jasc in 1999. Garbage

Quote:

Selected test results (selected in 'Test Results' table below)

What works
Installation.

What does not
Application does not start.

I still need to be able to download Adobe Flash Player 9, I have done Google searches for how to do it, and it talks about terminals and paths blah blah blah, I found this page:

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/28470

Now, on there, that person says he is saving Adobe Flash Player to his desktop, I went to download if yet again and for the options on where to save it to, it gives me "archive manager", "gnome-open" and "other applications", so I click other applications hoping to change it to "desktop", it has desktop listed along with all the other things, but when you click desktop, it lists the files I already have on there, which will save flash player in Paint Shop pro for example, how do I get it to simply save it to desktop, this is another reason I don't think much of Linux, this would have taken literally a couple of minutes on Windows computer, talk about f*cking long winded procedures to install something so basic, f*cking ridiculous Rolling Eyes

[edit]

tried again, this time, from "other applications" I clicked the "type a file name" button and typed in desktop, then it saved it there.

[edit]

It's still a load of bollox, it's on the desktop, I open the terminal and type in what's on this page:

http://www.howtoforge.com/native_linux_flash_player9_in_ubuntu

Such as, open teminal, type "cd /home/linuxbox/Desktop/", then type in "tar xvfz install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
cd install_flash_player_9_linux/"

That brings up errors Evil or Very Mad

, everything on Linux gives errors, hours and hours wasted yesterday and today to do something that take 2-3 minutes on Windows, Linux is f*cking time wasting sh*ite, all i do is sit here swearing at the f*cking computer, Linux is great ain't it? No, it's crap!!!

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:58 pm

@SP - why not get VMPlayer it is FREE and will allow you to run a virtual machine. I run it on my linux box with a windows XP virtual machine for when I need it. PM Me if you need more info,

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Rover, doesn't that do the same as the Wine program that I downloaded? Oh, and if I downloaded it, would Ubuntu even let me run it without having to do this, do that, type this, type that, run terminals blah blah blah, is this the one I need?:

http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/1224

[edit]looking at the descriptions for that one, it mentions 512MB RAM and 8GB hard drive expanding, I only have 256MB RAM and about 6GB hard drive, of which I think I only have about 2GB left[/edit]

Just for the hell of it I double clicked the Flash Player file on my desktop, that opened something else and I clicked that, then the terminal starts up on it's own, asks a couple of questions for which I have to click Y or N, clicked Y both times and it said Flash Play now installed, but in the terminal there was this error text:

Quote:

NOTE: Please ask your administrator to remove the xpti.dat from the components directory of the Mozilla or Netscape browser.

I'm not using Mozilla, I'm using Opera browser, been back to a page where flash player is needed and it's not working, asking me to install flash again, FFS Mad

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:32 pm

I had some trouble with Flash player. Worth running Update manger again, sometimes it updates thing 1, then thing 2, and then foinds something else that can be updated due to the previous updates being applied ... takes a couple of goes sometimes. At some point it just started working again.

Terminal is like a command prompt.

applications - accessories - terminal. This is good under-the -bonnet stuff.

If WINE doesn't let you do what you want it may be easier to find an open source equivalent that does the same as PSP. It's not something I've used but can you use GIMP for whatever you need? It's pretty capable. Windypops knows a lot about it too.

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:20 pm

Can I ask how you are connected to the net SP? I downloaded Ubuntu and installed it but it refused to find the wireless in my laptop.

I spent three hours trying to get it working, but no joy.

I'm thinking of treating myself to one of these when my laptop is past it's best and money allows:
http://eeepc.asus.com/global/1000.htm

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 5:39 pm

Hey Windy,

I've got the same problem, I've been running Hardy Heron for a while now
with no problems, however, I've just changed my distro to Ubuntu Studio.

The installation was fine but I also can't get online. It finds my 802.11g
wireless card but reports it to be disabled, how the hell do you enable it?

Anyone out there help please?

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Windy and Ivor, I connect using a USB cable, it connects automatically without having to do anything else.

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:10 pm

Thanks SP, I ripped out all the phone wires once I got wireless. Guess I'll stick to MS for the foreseeable.

@Dr. Ivor Bollockov, Here's the relevant page. I tried all the suggested solutions but nothing worked.
https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/internet/C/index.html

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Windy, what do you mean by you ripped out phone wires, I didn't understand that bit?

What I meant was, I run a USB cable from my BT Home Hub to my computer,

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:29 pm

Thanks SP but my router is to far away to wire.

I've just found this Windy, might help.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WirelessTroubleShootingGuide?highlight=(wireless)|(802\.11g)

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