Anyone else triple booting with XP, Vista and Ubuntu?

[Bernie]

Once you get the retsricted 386 or 686 Linux kernel, then the restricted
nvidia drivers installed and then load your specific monitor drivers,
find then use your max supported refresh rate, then your monitor will
display correctly. It's a little bit of work. Like I said, I use the
KDE desktop and not very familiar with Gnome in Ubuntu but you should be
able to get to your system settings to tweak your display after the
hardware is setup correctly.

Are you ok with installing programs? This app is very helpful:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=80295
There are a few steps to installing Automatix and a few involve the
command line but once installed becomes a good front end to install your
best video drivers, the restricted kernel to run them, get all the
audio/video codecs to run Windows formats, plus it helps to install
programs that would be difficult for some to install such as Adobe
Reader, Real Player, Wine to run Windows apps, Java, Nvidia settings and
a few other useful apps. But if you get Automatix installed it will
save you a lot of time and/or headaches.

To just cut to the chase with the graphics you will need to from command
line:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-kernel-common
sudo nvidia-glx-config enable
You may need to enable extra repositories:
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Dapper#How_to_add_extra_repositories

Then you will need to restart X and experiment with refresh rates and
maybe activate the proprietary driver. Here's a link to the wiki:
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Dapper

Thanks for that Bob. I'll be doing the bits I haven't yet done.

 

[Bernie]

Yeah. We test a LOT of things with linux for our show. Video card and
monitor combos are probably the hardest to deal with on a realistic basis,
because they tend to either be setup for people that don't realize they CAN
have a different refresh rate or for HUGELY specific systems setup for
people (as a poster recently posted) who are doing some VERY expensive
animation/video applications. I think there are a total of 20 computers
running those specialty apps though, so it doesn't fit into this convo in
the slightest.

My LFWPT says to simply try using the generic VESA driver with generic
monitor drivers and see where you get with that. After that, make your way
up with the drivers and see which ones have the best looking desktop. Her
view on it is: if you REALLY run those specialty applications and NEED to
have 32-bit depth, then you need to have a system which is custom made to
run those applications just like the folks at dreamworks do, because the
computers they had were built around the applications, not the other way
around, like most people have.

I occasionally do some video editing but very rarely and am happy to do
it in Windows anyway. I do want to use graphics apps like maybe Gimp.
But other than that I just want as good a refresh rate as I can get and
preferably for the screen to remain centered for each O/S.

 

[Bernie]

You can try the KDE desktop, essentially convert Ubuntu to Kubuntu.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingKDE
BTW, the command line gets easier the more you use it. I still use it a
lot in Windows.

Me too in Windows. I'm happy to use it in Linux too as I become more
clued up. My point was that regular desktop users like office and home
users who just want to run their apps shouldn't ever need to see a
command line in any O/S if they don't want to and most of them don't.

 

[Bernie]

The dns is another example where the KDE system settings provides a
front end for network settings. I just don't like Gnome in this regard
but bailed on it before I really knew basic stuff with Linux.

Gnome does have a front end for it and it is very easy to use but.... it
doesn't save the information in the config file and it doesn't let you
know that the changes you just made will only last about 15 minutes!

 

[Bernie]

Getting to the point I can find a GUI for most things now.
Unfortuantely all the help given in the forums are from power users who
are very command line centric and competant. The addins available from
the repositories are worth looking at. If you have a whole lot of time
sometime check out all that's available in Synaptic. Can be worth it.

Thanks Bob. You're right about the old hands. I was much like that
myself when using DOS. I remember resisting the move to Windows 3.1
until there were very real advantages to it. I think it is worthwhile
knowing an O/S from that level when it is relatively immature but I
think it is high time for Linux to grow up into a real alternative on
the desktop. And that means GUI front ends for everything. MS pulled the
rug out from under Novel with not much more than good GUI front ends.

I am nowhere near knowledgable enough to come up with my own distro but
I think in a couple of months I'll quite possibly know how to install
and setup a comfortable and workable desktop for non technical users who
just don't want to pay very much for software but don't want to use
illegal software either. I think there might be a business opportunity
there perhaps....

 

[Bernie]

Ouch! Looks like a permissions think. Can you sudo to the front end?

I have it sorted out now after searching the forums.

 

[Bernie]

Thanks for the heads up on Automatix. Solved the screen position thing
just by getting a better driver.