Intrepid is irritating me. I think I might need a new OS...

So, for the past two weeks or so my clean install of Intrepid has become nothing but a pain. Sound randomly stops working and doesn't start again until I reboot (...bad flashback to Windows...), various programs that did work now refuse. For example, starting Cairo-Dock does, well, nothing.

And on top of all that, Firefox has been nothing but a massive ball of suck. (I detailed those issues here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1000533 )

I thinking at this point, another clean install is my best option. Thing is, while I'm willing to give Intrepid another chance, the fact that it got mucked up this badly after less than two months has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth and I'm considering something else.

I should add that this is running on a Dell Inspirion with generic hardware. Hardy worked beautifully once it as tweaked to my liking aside from some annoying Flash glitches.

There's a Windows XP disc within arms reach but as I move towards it, I suddenly remember my 12-hour marathon installation session and start twitching.

Besides, if it finally installs properly, I know I'm going to spend a few more hours trying to get it to look and act like a Linux distro.

I've got a Vista trial disc somewhere which could work for me since it has a time limit on when I have to stop using Windows...though I'm loathe to go back to that world and be constantly reaching for features that don't exist there.

Anyone have any opinions on the current release candidates for new Mint or OpenSUSE? Are either stable enough for daily use?

I like the idea of Mint though the fact that is has an Intrepid base kinda worries me since that's the OS I'm so frustrated with right now.

The new OpenSUSE looks nifty but again, I am concerned about how stable the current release candidate is and don't really want to take a step backwards to an older version.

Thanks.

Debian Lenny is pretty much finished at this point and runs perfectly for me. i've never had such a solid install. although Hardy comes close. it's worth a look, as debian is legendary for its stability.

True, I didn't like Intreprid either so I switched back to Hardy like yesterday... I'd recommend just to stick with Hardy since it's an LTS release, it's still being updated and I think it will be till 2011 or something.

If you really want to switch distro have a look at fedora, it worked well for me and has a big community also + I really liked the installer where you can choose the packages you want before installing:D

Well anyway this is just my opinion and I'm not an expert, but I hoped this helped you:) Cheers

Skatertjah said: True, I didn't like Intreprid either so I switched back to Hardy like yesterday... I'd recommend just to stick with Hardy since it's an LTS release, it's still being updated and I think it will be till 2011 or something.

If you really want to switch distro have a look at fedora, it worked well for me and has a big community also + I really liked the installer where you can choose the packages you want before installing:D

Well anyway this is just my opinion and I'm not an expert, but I hoped this helped you:) Cheers

But is Hardy getting any backports from Intrepid like the latest version of Gnome? That and I've noticed that the flash glitches from Hardy are pretty much gone in Intrepid...if only it didn't introduce a pile of other issues.

if you keep hardy updated and use the new flash 10, you should have no issues.

It all depends on how much configuration you want to do, otherwise take a **distro quiz**! And if you don't like that one try this **one**

C!oud said: It all depends on how much configuration you want to do, otherwise take a **distro quiz**! And if you don't like that one try this **one**

Heh, the first one suggests OpenSUSE and the second Fedora.

Nice links, thanks.

shatteredmindofbob said: Heh, the first one suggests OpenSUSE and the second Fedora.

Nice links, thanks.

That first one is just a bit outdated but the new release for Fedora was really excellent and OpenSUSE just had a new release too but I haven't tried it since I'm not too big of a fan of OpenSUSE.

I have to say that as a loyal Ubuntu user..I have the same complaints.

But...I love Ubuntu..

linux mint is geared towards people who want to do less work for their os, moreso than ubuntu and linux mint is lagrely based off off it.

either goto 8.04 or mint

C!oud said: That first one is just a bit outdated but the new release for Fedora was really excellent and OpenSUSE just had a new release too but I haven't tried it since I'm not too big of a fan of OpenSUSE.

I have to admit, I'm intrigued by this allegedly glitch-free PulseAudio that Fedora claims to have...(and if it exists, why hasn't Ubuntu been updated? That's another complaint...I don't understand this business of waiting 6 months for updated apps...)

Though, I hear a lot of people complain about RPM package management...is it really THAT bad?

shatteredmindofbob said: I have to admit, I'm intrigued by this allegedly glitch-free PulseAudio that Fedora claims to have...(and if it exists, why hasn't Ubuntu been updated? That's another complaint...I don't understand this business of waiting 6 months for updated apps...)

Though, I hear a lot of people complain about RPM package management...is it really THAT bad?

I was toying with Fedora 10 last night--and I tried for a few hours and could not get Fedora10 to bootup with my /home partition. I finally said screw it and am back in Kubuntu Ibex land.

shatteredmindofbob said: I have to admit, I'm intrigued by this allegedly glitch-free PulseAudio that Fedora claims to have...(and if it exists, why hasn't Ubuntu been updated? That's another complaint...I don't understand this business of waiting 6 months for updated apps...)

Though, I hear a lot of people complain about RPM package management...is it really THAT bad?

Try it for yourself to find out. I personally love the latest Fedora release. RPM package management with yum/PackageKit isn't bad, it's just different. It has improved a lot since Fedora 9, which a a huge letdown after Fedora 8.

Sorivenul said: Try it for yourself to find out. I personally love the latest Fedora release. RPM package management with yum/PackageKit isn't bad, it's just different. It has improved a lot since Fedora 9, which a a huge letdown after Fedora 8.

Just finished burning a live CD, so I'll be rebooting and doing just that!

You know, it wouldn't hurt to learn how to use tools like prevu or pbuilder to backport what packages you want from Intrepid to Hardy. We still run a Feisty based setup for 30 laptops in one of the classes I help with, but with a good deal of backporting work.

No distro can satisfy everyone, but you can pick a close-to-perfect distro and customize it to your tastes -- that's a much better use of your time than to distro-hop looking for that elusive hard-to-find perfect distribution.

I still run Hardy on all but one system; I like its stability and the only reason my Intrepid system runs Intrepid is because its hardware requires the newer kernel and Bluetooth stack.

FreeBSD.org

jdong said: You know, it wouldn't hurt to learn how to use tools like prevu or pbuilder to backport what packages you want from Intrepid to Hardy. We still run a Feisty based setup for 30 laptops in one of the classes I help with, but with a good deal of backporting work.

No distro can satisfy everyone, but you can pick a close-to-perfect distro and customize it to your tastes -- that's a much better use of your time than to distro-hop looking for that elusive hard-to-find perfect distribution.

I still run Hardy on all but one system; I like its stability and the only reason my Intrepid system runs Intrepid is because its hardware requires the newer kernel and Bluetooth stack.

Now there's an idea I might just run with, especially since my attempt at Fedora turned into a bad burn and I can't find any more blank discs.

Too bad since I was looking forward to at least sampling the new OpenSUSE and Mint tonight.

Hey! Don't let sensible ideas get in the way of playing around with new distros. But whatever distro you settle on, learning its tools for customizing the system just the way you like it will be a valuable asset. After all, that is, in my opinion, the #1 benefit of using a FOSS operating system.

As much as I respect some aspects of OS X or Windows, I can't, for example, run half-Tiger half-Leopard or half-XP half-Vista in a mix-and-match way the way I like it.

Yet on my Hardy machines a good chunk of my daily applications are backported from Intrepid repositories.

Skatertjah said: True, I didn't like Intreprid either so I switched back to Hardy like yesterday... I'd recommend just to stick with Hardy since it's an LTS release, it's still being updated and I think it will be till 2011 or something.

If you really want to switch distro have a look at fedora, it worked well for me and has a big community also + I really liked the installer where you can choose the packages you want before installing:D

Well anyway this is just my opinion and I'm not an expert, but I hoped this helped you:) Cheers

i did the same

The new OpenSUSE looks nifty but again, I am concerned about how stable the current release candidate is and don't really want to take a step backwards to an older version.

The release date is not for now if you want to wait a while and 11.0 is still updated regularly so you could use the old version until the new year or perhaps even later if you want.

I wouldn't recommend that you try something you may not confident with, for example in Fedora i've found that it's not easy to get the ATI Graphics cards working as the driver is still not completely ready, though that is ATI and not Fedora, the point is it's still difficult.

FreeBSD Is a good OS But again it is quite difficult to get up and running especially if you're moving right from Intrepid to FreeBSD it may gave you the wrong impression of BSD.

I'd say it would be a good idea for you to download the current version of OpenSUSE but the Gnome LiveCD version as you're used to Gnome.

Debian is way better than Ubuntu, in my opinion. Although Debian might not be the best choice for everyone.

i have downloaded and tried opensuse 11 in the past few days, and to be honest.... it sux.... in a big way, dont wate your time

linux mint 5rc1 is dman nice, cant wait for the final. have installed it and been playing with it flat chat all day long and its very, very good

i also suggest you have a look at mandriva 2009 one , im really impressed with it as well

It depends on what you are looking for. No one can really say what is best for you. If you're looking for a distro that just works out of the box with regular updates similar to Ubuntu, openSUSE is a good choice. I am running it on my laptop atm and it's brilliant. Everything was detected and worked right out of the box for me. Not even Ubuntu got that right. Debian is also a great choice and a rock solid distro though not as frequently updated which isn't necessarily a bad thing but some people don't like that. You could go the Debian testing/unstable route if you're feeling adventurous. My recommendation is to install VirtualBox and try out various distros and pick whichever one you like best.

plb said: , openSUSE is a good choice. I am running it on my laptop atm and it's brilliant. Everything was detected and worked right out of the box for me. Not even Ubuntu got that right.

I should point out that, of course, even the above is a your-mileage-may-vary situation. On my test machine (ICH7M macbook, GMA950 video) neither Fedora 10 nor OpenSuse 11.1RC1 detected my hardware correctly out of the box or worked as well out of the box compared to Ubuntu Intrepid or Hardy. SUSE incorrectly identified my resolution at 800x600 and Fedora would freeze when I enabled desktop effects. Neither woke up successfully from suspend-to-RAM in 10 tests.

That isn't to say these two distributions are inferior to Ubuntu -- I love the work that Fedora and OpenSUSE folks do, and I try out their distributions whenever they make major milestones.

What I am saying, though, is hopping around to find that distro that works out of the box the best with your hardware is probably one of the least efficient ways of ending up with a well functioning Linux machine. Stick with a distribution that has a large support community and large developer community and has a long support cycle, then fix the things that don't work and add the things that you'd like to the system. Linux is all about your ability to customize the OS in this fashion. Sure Windows and OS X users can always imitate the desktop effects or favorite application interfaces, but they can never imitate our level of flexibility when it comes to making our OS do exactly what we want!

jdong said:

What I am saying, though, is hopping around to find that distro that works out of the box the best with your hardware is probably one of the least efficient ways of ending up with a well functioning Linux machine.

All the larger distros typically have pretty good support. I mentioned hopping around to see what he likes best not to see the best out of box experience.

I actually tested to install OpenSuse myself on a laptop a couple of days ago and it wasn't possible to install it. It just freeze after I choose the install option from the menu.

This was tested on pretty modern PC hardware (Laptop with X2 processor with ATi Radeon 3200 HD). Debian was installable and both Ubuntu Hardy and Intrepid was able to run on this hardware without problems, although both Hardy and Intrepid was very unstable so I installed Debian "testing" Lenny on it instead.

khelben1979 said: I actually tested to install OpenSuse myself on a laptop a couple of days ago and it wasn't possible to install it. It just freeze after I choose the install option from the menu.

This was tested on pretty modern PC hardware (Laptop with X2 processor with ATi Radeon 3200 HD). Debian was installable and both Ubuntu Hardy and Intrepid was able to run on this hardware without problems, although both Hardy and Intrepid was very unstable so I installed Debian "testing" Lenny on it instead.

Sounds pretty similar to my machine I have a turion x2 laptop with radeon card as well...everything went smooth..Which version did you try? I went with 11.1 RC1

Intrepid irritated me and made me switch to Debian Lenny. If you had been a long-time Ubuntu user and you have some knowledge on how to customize your system, probably Debian is the best distribution for you. Of course, Ubuntu != Debian: some stuff won't work out of box (wireless), many things you'd expect to have them installed by default just aren't (OpenOffice.org), other need to be customized (sudo, the default browser is Epiphany, etc.).

Sincerely, Debian Lenny is way much more stable even than Ubuntu Hardy. Not to mention Intrepid. Don't get afraid because of the "testing" label...

plb said: Sounds pretty similar to my machine I have a turion x2 laptop with radeon card as well...everything went smooth..Which version did you try? I went with 11.1 RC1

I tried the latest stable version of Open Suse: version 11.0.

To all:

Saw this msg and couldn't help but chime in.

The original msgs discusses how 8.10 causes issues. I am experiencing the right now and would very much like to go back to 8.04 or Hardy as was mentioned...problem is how can I do that??

Will the install allow me to revert back to an older version?

Many thanks for your assistance

With Debian it's easy.

With Ubuntu: read this guide.

DDurcsak said: To all:

Saw this msg and couldn't help but chime in.

The original msgs discusses how 8.10 causes issues. I am experiencing the right now and would very much like to go back to 8.04 or Hardy as was mentioned...problem is how can I do that??

Will the install allow me to revert back to an older version?

Many thanks for your assistance

It is EXTREMELY discouraged to use APT pinning to downgrade Ubuntu or Debian. Colin Watson, a Debian Developer and Ubuntu Core Developer, has said this several times extremely explicitly in IRC. Few if any packages on Debian or Ubuntu are tested for the downgrade route, and there's nothing in Debian or Ubuntu policy that mandates they support this path...

The best recommendation I can give is to restore your 8.04 system from backups. But if you're like 99% of people out there who should've but didn't make backups before attempting a major OS upgrade, I'd recommend using the install-preserve-home mechanism of the desktop installer -- choose to mount your old root partition as / in setup but don't check Format, and the installer will then tell you it's going to remove everything except your /home directory (where your documents and settings reside) and do a fresh install.

shatteredmindofbob said: So, for the past two weeks or so my clean install of Intrepid has become nothing but a pain. Sound randomly stops working and doesn't start again until I reboot (...bad flashback to Windows...), various programs that did work now refuse. For example, starting Cairo-Dock does, well, nothing.

And on top of all that, Firefox has been nothing but a massive ball of suck. (I detailed those issues here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1000533 )

I thinking at this point, another clean install is my best option. Thing is, while I'm willing to give Intrepid another chance, the fact that it got mucked up this badly after less than two months has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth and I'm considering something else.

I should add that this is running on a Dell Inspirion with generic hardware. Hardy worked beautifully once it as tweaked to my liking aside from some annoying Flash glitches.

There's a Windows XP disc within arms reach but as I move towards it, I suddenly remember my 12-hour marathon installation session and start twitching.

Besides, if it finally installs properly, I know I'm going to spend a few more hours trying to get it to look and act like a Linux distro.

I've got a Vista trial disc somewhere which could work for me since it has a time limit on when I have to stop using Windows...though I'm loathe to go back to that world and be constantly reaching for features that don't exist there.

Anyone have any opinions on the current release candidates for new Mint or OpenSUSE? Are either stable enough for daily use?

I like the idea of Mint though the fact that is has an Intrepid base kinda worries me since that's the OS I'm so frustrated with right now.

The new OpenSUSE looks nifty but again, I am concerned about how stable the current release candidate is and don't really want to take a step backwards to an older version.

Thanks.

mandriva 2009 one may interest you

http://www.mandriva.com/en/product/mandriva-linux-one

i took it for a spin a few days ago, i really liked it. one thing i really liked is on startup of the live cd you can pick compiz and when it boots to desktop you can see compiz running and make sure it works *BEFRE* you install the o/s and it does it all so hassle free. i wish Ubuntu would do this. would eliminate so many threads about people having dramas with compiz

also Linux Mint may interest you. its based on ubuntu and i found it to be very , very good as well

http://www.linuxmint.com/

i look linux mint "elyssa" v5 rc1 for a spin.... top stuff it is based on ubuntu 8.04

try this for sound solution to Ibex sound quitting. simply install everything he recommends and set it up as he recommends and see if your sound issues are gone.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=997506

Linux Mint is certainly the best Ubuntu derivative i've tried, it actually manages to improve on Ubuntu, especially if brown isn't your colour.

If you fancy something completely different try Sidux, it's based on Debian Sid, installs and boots very quick and has a clean, polished look and feel.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. After losing most of my distro-hopping attempts to bad burns, I sucked it up and reinstalled Intrepid. Worked beautifully...for a week. Today, everything that was pissing me off is back and in my face (especially the Firefox issues...)

With a few more CDs, I'm gonna give Mint a fresh spin though I fear it may have the same issues, what with the Intrepid base.

Mandriva will be next, though.

KDE: Mepis 8 Gnome: Ubuntu Hardy

Mepis 8 is Debian Lenny set up nicely with great hardware recognition.

My Two Cent's:

Intrepid didn't pan out for me either. It started off slow and glitchy and went downhill from there. I was shocked at how snappy and responsive Hardy felt when I reinstalled it.

IMO, the Devs really *NAILED IT* with Hardy Heron.

OpenSuse has never been anything for me BUT a nightmare. I don't mean to take anything away from the distro itself, it's just been nothing but a battle for me and that's the last thing I'm looking for from my distro.

I might suggest you take a look at Fedora 10, though, if you're really wanting to shop around. It's a fresh release but by now I'm thinking it should have had some time to settle in and stabilize. I tried it whole-hog for a couple weeks and liked it well enough. YUM is painfully slow, though, compared to Synaptic. Where it lost me was that it's not as configurable as Ubuntu. That and the package management kinda left me wanting.

I'm back on Hardy and loving life.

I think people are overlooking something here -- the problems width the OSs that he describes point to a more serious problem.

If I were you, I would open up the case, and check the connections are all tight, the system is dust free (a good spray with some compressed air....), and the RAM is seated properly.

What leads me to this is the fact that you are having problems of a similar nature in Windows AND Linux.

So, a hardware check is in order I think. Also, run memtest off the installer CD, and check that everything is functioning normally.

C!oud said: **distro quiz**!

oUCH.... a little out dated.

C!oud said:

And if you don't like that one try this **one** Well, according to this quiz, my top five would be:

1. Debian GNU/Linux
2. Slackware Linux
3. KateOS
4. Gentoo Linux
5. FreeBSD

I don't recall much about KateOS, but the Debian and Slackware picks are right on target. :guitar:

Antman said: oUCH.... a little out dated.

Just a tiny bit outdated :D. Although the distros listed there have changed a lot their overall goals are mostly the same thus making it still applicable.

Well, according to this quiz, my top five would be:

1. Debian GNU/Linux
2. Slackware Linux
3. KateOS
4. Gentoo Linux
5. FreeBSD

I don't recall much about KateOS, but the Debian and Slackware picks are right on target. :guitar:

I get:

1. Gentoo Linux
2. Slackware Linux
3. Archlinux
4. FreeBSD
5. OpenBSD

The top four are my favorite operating systems pretty much in exact order too :KS so that's right on the money. Never tried OpenBSD though...

bonzodog said: I think people are overlooking something here -- the problems width the OSs that he describes point to a more serious problem.

If I were you, I would open up the case, and check the connections are all tight, the system is dust free (a good spray with some compressed air....), and the RAM is seated properly.

What leads me to this is the fact that you are having problems of a similar nature in Windows AND Linux.

So, a hardware check is in order I think. Also, run memtest off the installer CD, and check that everything is functioning normally.

Actually, I don't have any of these problems with Windows. I'm not reinstalling it though because frankly, it's a painful process.

Anyway, I haven't spent much time trying new distros since (although I've denied hardware issues above...) I think there's an issue with my burner, since I keep getting bad burns that kick out into a terminal when trying to boot. In the meantime, I have chased down my Firefox issues (turns out it's a Compiz glitch, Legacy Fullscreen Support to be specific) and apparently my audio issues are happening to almost everyone and somehow I'm not sure a different distro, aside maybe from Debian (they were the ones who dumped PulseAudio, right?)

tdrusk said: KDE: Mepis 8

Mepis8 is looking nice. Once it goes final I will have it on one of my boxes for sure.

Antman said: Mepis8 is looking nice. Once it goes final I will have it on one of my boxes for sure.

Yeah it didn't pick up my hotkeys for my soundcard. I honestly am not a big fan of KDE.

tdrusk said: Yeah it didn't pick up my hotkeys for my soundcard. I honestly am not a big fan of KDE.

And for me, it's the mounting of harddrives on the live CDs, often times it can't find my harddrives, but Ubuntu and GNOME can, funny, huh.

I've just been sticking with hardy. I like ubuntu but ibex has some wierd things to it (mostly with sound) thats prevented me from upgrading to it on my non-test systems.

shatteredmindofbob said: The new OpenSUSE looks nifty but again, I am concerned about how stable the current release candidate is and don't really want to take a step backwards to an older version.

Just wait six more days for the final release :-)

mikko

Antman said: oUCH.... a little out dated.

Well, according to this quiz, my top five would be:

1. Debian GNU/Linux
2. Slackware Linux
3. KateOS
4. Gentoo Linux
5. FreeBSD

I don't recall much about KateOS, but the Debian and Slackware picks are right on target. :guitar:

And mine:

1. Fedora
2. Mandriva Linux
3. openSUSE
4. Ubuntu Linux
5. MEPIS Linux

Fedora surprises me a bit, as I have never really enjoyed it. Mepis is the only one I have never used, the others have been at some time or another my main desktops for at least six months each.

mikko