Uninstalling Ubuntu and installing another Linux OS
I think the time has come. Yesterday 11.10 'uninstalled' Libre Office off its own bat. Nul points and a bit worrying. So, without wishing to turn this thread into a discussion over which distro to go for, and without installing it over Ubuntu which I'd rather not do, how do I swap? I've used Ubuntu for ages now so I've no idea who to go about this. Bev.
On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:44:16 +0000 Bev Nicolson <lumos60@gmail.com> allegedly wrote:
I think the time has come. Yesterday 11.10 'uninstalled' Libre Office off its own bat. Nul points and a bit worrying.
So, without wishing to turn this thread into a discussion over which distro to go for, and without installing it over Ubuntu which I'd rather not do, how do I swap? I've used Ubuntu for ages now so I've no idea who to go about this.
Bev Pretty straightforward really. Backup /home (even easier if /home is on its own partition). Then load one of the alternatives in your DVD drive, select "install" and choose "install alongside Ubuntu" if you /really/ want to keep the old Ubuntu installation. Personally I'd wipe the existing installation and install the new one. Again, personally I'd recommend Mint with XFCE. But as others have said, Mate is a reasonable alternative (though it uses GTK2 and bonobo which are deprecated) if you really want the "old skool" Gnome 2 look. Cinnamon is OK, but looks just like XFCE to me. You really need to decide for yourself what you are going to be happy with. All the Mint versions can be played with as live distros (as can most others these days of course) before you finally trash Ubuntu. Mick --------------------------------------------------------------------- blog: baldric.net gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
(See the BUT at the end) 1 Backup anything you need 2 Be sure your backup worked and everything you need is available 3 Choose a distro 4 Install This depends on if this is a dual-boot machine with windows on it, or you're devoting the whole disk to Linux, and, the existing partition structure. Simplest - let the installer wipe the whole disk and create partitions how it wants to Dual Boot and/or home partition with data in it: Carefully tell the installer which partitions to format and which partitions to leave unformatted etc, and where the home partition is if you have one. 5 Restore the data As to which distro - I get the impression that OpenSuse is relatively friendly, although it's KDE based, and won't be what you're familiar with. I gather that Mint is quite popular. It has a variety of flavours. There's one derived form debian, and one derived from Ubuntu (which I'd choose if I were you, as you're an Ubuntu user). Then there's desktops - Cinnamon (a Gnome 3 desktop, tweaked to make it nicer), or Mate (a Gnome 2 clone) - I'd probably suggest Cinnamon as I think you prefer Gnome 3. I'd suggest downloading and burning some Live CDs, so you can try without installing. Or buy a few copies of Linux Format magazine, which usually have some multi-bootable DVDs on with various distros to help. Be very sure you have backed up everything you need before installing, and read up on how to install before starting. BUT Are you sure you want to do this? Can't you just reinstall libre office and possibly update to a newer version of Ubuntu? If you format and re-install, you'll have to work out how to configure your scanner again! HTH :-) Steve On 13/11/12 09:44, Bev Nicolson wrote:
I think the time has come. Yesterday 11.10 'uninstalled' Libre Office off its own bat. Nul points and a bit worrying.
So, without wishing to turn this thread into a discussion over which distro to go for, and without installing it over Ubuntu which I'd rather not do, how do I swap? I've used Ubuntu for ages now so I've no idea who to go about this.
Bev.
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On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:49:42 +0000 steve-ALUG@hst.me.uk allegedly wrote:
If you format and re-install, you'll have to work out how to configure your scanner again!
Ah Yes. I'd forgotten that. Good advice Steve. Mick --------------------------------------------------------------------- blog: baldric.net gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you format and re-install, you'll have to work out how to configure your scanner again!
Ah Yes. I'd forgotten that. Good advice Steve.
I had wondered about printing too to be honest (many wrestling matches in past) but yes scanners. Shudder. (May investigate.) Thing is, is a newer version of Ubuntu any more stable? (12.04 1LTS is on offer.) And would I have to re-install the Gnome desktop? Bev.
On 13/11/12 13:58, Bev Nicolson wrote:
I had wondered about printing too to be honest (many wrestling matches in past) but yes scanners. Shudder. (May investigate.) Thing is, is a newer version of Ubuntu any more stable? (12.04 1LTS is on offer.) And would I have to re-install the Gnome desktop? Bev.
TBH I don't know if the newer version would be more stable than the version you're using, but older versions may not be as well supported as newer ones, therefore, you may find your gnome experience improved. I've not used Ubuntu 12.04 except in brief transition to 12.10. Gnome desktop may update itself correctly, but you might have to re-install if it goes wrong. Just to be clear - you'll end up with the new-style Gnome 3 desktop, not the old style Gnome 2, with a top and bottom toolbar. That is what you want isn't it? Steve
Gnome desktop may update itself correctly, but you might have to re-install if it goes wrong. Just to be clear - you'll end up with the new-style Gnome 3 desktop, not the old style Gnome 2, with a top and bottom toolbar. That is what you want isn't it?
Steve
Hunting around, one of the other distros has Gnome 3 behaving like Gnome 2 which would be exactly what I want if I made the switch. Although if that's not possible 'n' years down the line, I'd be prepared to look at KDE. Anything but Unity. Bev.
On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 9:28 AM, Bev Nicolson <lumos60@gmail.com> wrote:
Gnome desktop may update itself correctly, but you might have to re-install if it goes wrong. Just to be clear - you'll end up with the new-style Gnome 3 desktop, not the old style Gnome 2, with a top and bottom toolbar. That is what you want isn't it?
Steve
Hunting around, one of the other distros has Gnome 3 behaving like Gnome 2 which would be exactly what I want if I made the switch. Although if that's not possible 'n' years down the line, I'd be prepared to look at KDE. Anything but Unity.
Bev.
Why not look at xubuntu? I changed after ubuntu 9.04 and since then i've had no problems... none with Openoffice/Libreoffice. As for your monitor if you try CD (run without installing) you'll know. I'm still using a CRT as i find it easier on the eyes. Mint xfce i'd avoid. It is maintained by one person (well was a couple of years ago) who then had domestic trouble and so it wasn't worked on for a year.... i wondered why i didn't get anu updates after a couple of weeks! I've never looked at Unity but a lot of folk have happily switched to xubuntu... yet more seem to switch to Mint to stay with gnome.... which is strange when one can install the xfce desktop on ubuntu. james
On 11/14/2012 09:28 AM, Bev Nicolson wrote:
Gnome desktop may update itself correctly, but you might have to re-install if it goes wrong. Just to be clear - you'll end up with the new-style Gnome 3 desktop, not the old style Gnome 2, with a top and bottom toolbar. That is what you want isn't it?
Steve Hunting around, one of the other distros has Gnome 3 behaving like Gnome 2 which would be exactly what I want if I made the switch. Although if that's not possible 'n' years down the line, I'd be prepared to look at KDE. Anything but Unity.
Bev.
If you're still seeking/considering other distros, then Centos 6.3 is very decent, solid and reliable. It installs as Gnome 2 desktop with top and bottom bars, plus the usual apps but without too many bells and whistles. Whilst I've dabbled in Linux for some 10 years or so, I remain an eternal newbie(g), but I've tried most of the "Top 20" distros in that time, and I've found Centos to suit my requirements very well! The 'Sfw Add/Remove' feature allows you to set up a KDE desktop with attendant K apps and this done you're offered choice of desktops each time at login. Furthermore, its 'Sfw Update' feature allows d/l of all bug fixes, kernel updates, and regular upgrades of Firefox, Thunderbird etc. IMHO, the best and smoothest feature of its kind in any other distro. Finally, Centos versions are supported for 8 years. so I understand. bfn Michael
On Tuesday 13 November 2012 09:44:16 Bev Nicolson wrote:
I think the time has come. Yesterday 11.10 'uninstalled' Libre Office off its own bat. Nul points and a bit worrying.
So, without wishing to turn this thread into a discussion over which distro to go for, and without installing it over Ubuntu which I'd rather not do, how do I swap? I've used Ubuntu for ages now so I've no idea who to go about this.
Bev.
What you do is get a Debian install CD. At this point I would go for 'testing'. Then you just install, being very careful at the disk partitioning stage to mark the /home partition as NOT to be formatted. If you have never done this before, make sure everything is backed up first. Then, use Synaptic to install xfce4, and you will basically have your gnome back. While you are installing gnome, I would install fluxbox as well. Its far and away the best user interface. But, it will take a bit of getting used to. You probably have to hack gdm2 manually to make sure it starts with xfce as default. They seem to have taken all the configuration options out of it. Crazy people. Google for it, it just editing a text file. Personally I use lxdm as the display manager and have got rid of gdm. Here is where to get Testing http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/ Al
What I decided to do was upgrade to 12.04 LTS following Steve's advice. I thought for a while that it had gone horribly wrong (screen went awol) but lots of switching off and on again have calmed and sorted it. Hoping it stays that way... Suspect if I upgrade in 5 years (or less?) I will definitely need a new monitor. (New new not just new to me.) Bev.
On 13/11/12 20:50, Bev Nicolson wrote:
What I decided to do was upgrade to 12.04 LTS following Steve's advice. I thought for a while that it had gone horribly wrong (screen went awol) but lots of switching off and on again have calmed and sorted it. Hoping it stays that way...
Hope it goes OK :-)
Suspect if I upgrade in 5 years (or less?) I will definitely need a new monitor. (New new not just new to me.)
I would think people are practically giving away traditional-style monitors as everyone wants flat screen, that said, I love flat screen! You might find someone giving one away on Freegle, or Freecycle. Good luck! :-) Steve
participants (6)
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Bev Nicolson -
James Freer -
Michael Goddard -
mick -
Peter Alcibiades -
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