# Kubuntu installation headaches



## zekrahminator (Feb 10, 2007)

Okay, so I decided Windows XP had been giving me enough crap for too long, and shoved Kubuntu on there as a secondary OS. It's pretty, it's easy to use, and it only took minor configuration. I was happy. And then, I decided I wanted things like Firefox/Gaim/Flash Player. Now, I know the story about compiling in linux (or at least FreeBSD). You download source code, and you "make install". However, I try running "make install clean" in a "Konsole", and I get nothing. It can't even find the command. I try to run "install" and it gives me all sorts of various errors. Meh, I can't figure this out...how do you compile in Kubuntu?


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## zekrahminator (Feb 10, 2007)

Argh, I should have RTFM, I don't have a compiler installed at the moment


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## zekrahminator (Feb 10, 2007)

Forget it, Kubutnu + wireless internet = bad. I don't know how to compile in Kubuntu, it won't let me fix it according to *their own handbook,* I have to restart wireless internet every time I log on manually, basically I'm screwed. If you guys ever wonder why you paid so much for Windows, try a Linux distro.


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## gamer210 (Feb 10, 2007)

you might want to try using ubuntu or xubuntu.  I've always had problems with kubuntu.  I don't know why, but that's just it works for me.


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## zekrahminator (Feb 10, 2007)

I'll wait until my headache goes away, then I'll think about it...Fedora Core 5 looks good if I ever bother to buy some blank DVD's .


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## BXtreme (Feb 10, 2007)

zekrahminator said:


> I'll wait until my headache goes away, then I'll think about it...Fedora Core 5 looks good if I ever bother to buy some blank DVD's .



federa core 6 is here btw


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## zekrahminator (Feb 10, 2007)

Errrr yeah that's what I meant .


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## Wile E (Feb 10, 2007)

I ran Kubuntu up until about a month ago. It doesn't have a true root, so compiling can be a pain if you're not careful, not to mention getting full 3d acceleration to work with an ATI card can be a real PITA. I would suggest one of the other flavors of Linux if you're more than just a beginner and want to install things other than what's in their repository. I've been considering Fedora myself. .rpm's can make life so much easier. lol


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## Solaris17 (Feb 13, 2007)

suse 10.1 FTW worked on my wireless great


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Feb 14, 2007)

Solaris17 said:


> suse 10.1 FTW worked on my wireless great



Same.  But Kubuntu is fine.  It works fine.  The desktop enviorment on both are the same (if you see suse to kde)  KDE enviorment is just a little bad.  GNOME ftw.


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## gamer210 (Feb 14, 2007)

If your going to use fedora, I would stick with core 5.  I've had lots of issues with core 6 regarding Gnome, but YMMV.


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## Wile E (Feb 14, 2007)

PVTCaboose1337 said:


> Same.  But Kubuntu is fine.  It works fine.  The desktop enviorment on both are the same (if you see suse to kde)  KDE enviorment is just a little bad.  GNOME ftw.


What makes you say KDE is bad? It's not any worse than Gnome at all, plus it just plain looks better, imo.


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## zekrahminator (Feb 14, 2007)

Methinks it's just an opinion thing, both are beautiful (I like Gnome a bit better though...could just be the FreeBSD version I used with games built in).


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## Wile E (Feb 14, 2007)

zekrahminator said:


> Methinks it's just an opinion thing, both are beautiful (I like Gnome a bit better though...could just be the FreeBSD version I used with games built in).


I use both Macs and Linux, you think I would get along with FreeBSD? How much like linux is it?


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Feb 14, 2007)

Wile E said:


> What makes you say KDE is bad? It's not any worse than Gnome at all, plus it just plain looks better, imo.



KDE has a flawed enviorment at time.  I like how it looks, but it reminds me of windoze.  The GNOME enviorment is more refined.


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## zekrahminator (Feb 14, 2007)

Wile E said:


> I use both Macs and Linux, you think I would get along with FreeBSD? How much like linux is it?



FreeBSD is wonderful, just make sure you are installing it using a box with a wired connection  (and good luck getting flashplayer to work).


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## Wile E (Feb 15, 2007)

PVTCaboose1337 said:


> KDE has a flawed enviorment at time.  I like how it looks, but it reminds me of windoze.  The GNOME enviorment is more refined.


Like Zerk said, I guess it's just down to personal preference. I've never had an issue with KDE(or Gnome, for that matter). And, if by refined, you mean plain, then I agree.  j/k


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## DIBL (Feb 15, 2007)

Boy, as a Kubuntu user for 3 or 4 months now, I'm seeing some serious confusion here.  Maybe I can help a little.

1. No need for compiling anything listed, Zek, as far as I know. You just install it as "packages" from the "repos", aka repositories.  Here's the Kubuntu forum link -- lots of people asking questions and getting help with stuff like ATI cards and wireless connections:

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php

2. KDE vs Gnome vs Xubuntu -- it's all the same, underneath.  It's Ubuntu. There are 2 released versions (6.06 and 6.10) available.  The differences between Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE integrated) Gnome (native Ubuntu GUI) and Xubuntu are just the "desktop environments" -- there are no differences in the Linux guts of them.  So if there's a problem with a piece of hardware, that problem will be the same regardless of the GUI.

3. Doesn't have a true root?  I'm not sure what is meant by "true root" -- Ubuntu uses something called a Super User, and lets you (the PC owner/operator/installer) use the same password for Super User as for your own user account IF YOU WANT TO SET IT UP THAT WAY.  But "./" is there in the system, and can be just as tightly password restricted as any other *nix OS, as far as I know.

4. ATI card issues -- yep, they're fairly challenging. But I was a total noob 4 months ago (and no CS degree around here!) and I was able to set up Kubuntu 6.06 on my Radeon -- it was quite a learning experience, to be sure.  When I built my new system I bought an Nividia card, which is easier to deal with.

5. (K)Ubuntu vs. BSD vs. SUSE vs. Fedora -- hey, they're all fine as far as I know. It's just a matter of picking one and learning to work with it.

I hope this is at  least 95% true, and clears up some of the factual concerns.

Edit: p.s. -- Windows is "user friendly", but Linux is "expert friendly".  That's more important to know than the fine points regarding differences between different Linux distributions.


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## Zedicus (Feb 15, 2007)

ubuntu and ubuntu based distros rely on sudo...  ive never been fond of that aproach.

ubuntu and ubuntu based distros break compatibility with debian, ive never been fond of that aproach.

ubuntu and ubuntu based distros HEAVILY mod gnome and KDE in ways i dont like, ive never been.... u get the drift...

personally i like debian pure, if u want something nice simple and awsome config tools try Elive linux  at http://www.elivecd.org/  its based on an compatible with debian pure and has the best gui for linux ive came across...


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## wazzledoozle (Feb 15, 2007)

It's funny how Ubuntu is supposed to be "Linux for humans" yet they cant collaborate enough to stick with one distro.


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## DIBL (Feb 16, 2007)

Why would all humans want only a single distro???


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## gamer210 (Feb 16, 2007)

Just use Slackware


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Feb 16, 2007)

wazzledoozle said:


> It's funny how Ubuntu is supposed to be "Linux for humans" yet they cant collaborate enough to stick with one distro.



Good point.  Also guys, I'm not saying KDE is bad, but it is less refined than gnome.  Gnome is more functional.  KDE is for people used to windoze.


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## MrW (Feb 16, 2007)

PVTCaboose1337 said:


> Good point.  Also guys, I'm not saying KDE is bad, but it is less refined than gnome.  Gnome is more functional.  KDE is for people used to windoze.



I agree. Every time someone new to linux uses my computers, they get confused by gnome but easily pick up on kde.


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Feb 16, 2007)

Ya, KDE is for learning.  GNOME is for veterans.


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## Wile E (Feb 16, 2007)

DIBL said:


> 1. No need for compiling anything listed, Zek, as far as I know. You just install it as "packages" from the "repos", aka repositories.


What if you want to install something not from their repositories?



DIBL said:


> 3. Doesn't have a true root?  I'm not sure what is meant by "true root" -- Ubuntu uses something called a Super User, and lets you (the PC owner/operator/installer) use the same password for Super User as for your own user account IF YOU WANT TO SET IT UP THAT WAY.  But "./" is there in the system, and can be just as tightly password restricted as any other *nix OS, as far as I know.


It doesn't have an actual /root folder or partition. That can make it a pain to manually install certain programs. I had a hard time with both Beagle and KXDocker, for instance. Took some manual configuration is all, but something to be aware of none the less.


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## DIBL (Feb 16, 2007)

> What if you want to install something not from their repositories?



You can certainly grab an application and compile it for your kernel, same as all *nix.  Don't ask me how to do it -- I went through that kubuki dance a couple of times and have managed to live life with what's available in the repos since then. I think there are close to 3,000 programs in there -- should be able to find something for everything.


> It doesn't have an actual /root folder or partition. That can make it a pain to manually install certain programs. I had a hard time with both Beagle and KXDocker, for instance.



Boy, I'm not following you on that one.  When I first installed Ubuntu, I made 3 partitions (versus the default of 2):

/
/home, and
/{swap}

I'm not sure what you would call "./" if it's not "root" ?


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## Wile E (Feb 16, 2007)

DIBL said:


> You can certainly grab an application and compile it for your kernel, same as all *nix.  Don't ask me how to do it -- I went through that kubuki dance a couple of times and have managed to live life with what's available in the repos since then. I think there are close to 3,000 programs in there -- should be able to find something for everything.



It didn't have everything I wanted.




DIBL said:


> Boy, I'm not following you on that one.  When I first installed Ubuntu, I made 3 partitions (versus the default of 2):
> 
> /
> /home, and
> ...


I'm not actually sure what "./" is called. I'm talking about "/root" That's actually the name of it, as in root user(basically the linux equivilant of Window's Administrator) You can set it up as either a folder, or for more advanced setups, it's own partition. In the Ubuntu variants, you don't have that folder, thus you can't log on as root. You have to sudo everything, and even then, certain programs want that folder to exist, so they create it. The problem with that is, the rest of the os isn't configured to use a "/root" folder, so it doesn't realize you've installed something, or it thinks part of your program is missing, etc., etc.


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## DIBL (Feb 16, 2007)

Wile E said:


> In the Ubuntu variants, you don't have that folder, thus you can't log on as root.



Gotcha.  Yes, I remember that root login from unix, many years ago. Ubuntu uses "Super User", aka su.  There's not a special directory "/root" automatically installed (but it would be easy to make with Super User priviledges).

Thanks.


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## AshenSugar (Feb 17, 2007)

wazzledoozle said:


> It's funny how Ubuntu is supposed to be "Linux for humans" yet they cant collaborate enough to stick with one distro.



i personaly dont care for gnome and havent since the early days, its just not as nice as kde to me, and xfce needs a new file manager(one that dosnt suck) 

as to this issue

zek, get Mepis6.x and try it, i think u will find its better

also try the latest VectorLinux live disk, its got good wireless support built in and runs circles around ubuntu.


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