CommonQuestions

Revision 5 as of 2006-06-05 19:21:42

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Below is a compiled selection of common questions with answers that may help you.

I didn't set a root password, what is it? What is sudo?

Ubuntu uses the sudo model for administrator and user actions, in contrast to the traditional user/root bifurcation. Check out the RootSudo page for all the information.

Why won't MP3/Divx/DVDs/Quicktime/Realmedia/Flash/Java work?

See the RestrictedFormats page.

Hardware

What hardware is supported/works on Ubuntu?

See HardwareSupport.

How can I view my Windows/Mac partitions from Ubuntu?

Please see AutomaticallyMountPartitions.

How can I get my wireless set up on Ubuntu?

Check HardwareSupportComponentsWirelessNetworkCards first. If your card is not supported out-of-the-box, then consider reading the WifiDocs for guides.

The resolution of my monitor was not detected appropriately, what should I do?

See the FixVideoResolutionHowto page.

I have an AMD64 processor, should I install the i386 ISO or the amd64 one? What are the drawbacks of having an am64 install?

AMD64 is an officially supported architecture with its respective ISO for Ubuntu and all major Ubuntu derivatives. By installing the amd64 ISO, rather than the i386 (32-bit) ISO, there will be some enhancement in performance.

The drawbacks are that Ubuntu, with APT (the package manager for Ubuntu), currently does not support BiArch, which means you likely won't be able to install and run 32bit packages on your AMD64 install. This is a problem for users who wish to use Flash, w32 codecs, and WINE (for example), as they are only available for 32-bit. There are possible methods of getting it running, but they involve creating a chroot (see DebootstrapChroot), for example.

Mark Shuttleworth (see MarkShuttleworth), the founder of Ubuntu, has mentioned that Ubuntu might join other Linux distributions in being BiArch compatible by Ubuntu 6.10 'Edgy Eft'. Stay tuned.

How do I install Ati/Nvidia drivers for my Monitor?

Please see the BinaryDriverHowto page.

Packages and Installation

How do I install things on Ubuntu? Why shouldn't I compile? Why does ./configure give errors?

For the vast majority of applications that you will ever use, you should never need to compile them. Ubuntu provides over 16,000 packages in all of its repositories. Please see the InstallingSoftware page for instructions on how to gain those packages, and the CompilingSoftware if you are convinced (after viewing the previous page) that you do indeed need to compile.

What is a repository? What is the sources.list file?

Repositories are particular locations on the web which contain the thousands of packages (each containing programs, applications, etc) that you would need on your computer. The sources.list file contains the list of all the repositories that will be used to download packages in Synaptic (see SynapticHowto) and APT (see APTPage); it is located in /etc/apt/. Since /etc is the directory for system-wide configurations, you will require root privileges to edit it (see RootSudo).

For a full walk-through on how to add extra repositories please see AddingRepositoriesHowto.

What is a meta-package? Is it safe to remove the ubuntu-desktop package?

A meta-package is a package that doesn't contain applications within itself, but simply depends upon particular versions of other packages, so that when it is installed, it drags all of them in too. APT/Synaptic use it to know which particular packages to install. For example, the ubuntu-desktop metapackage installs the full GNOME desktop environment, with all the other packages that are in a default Ubuntu install. The existence of meta-packages makes it very easy to install other Ubuntu derivatives on your desktop; see below for more information.

It is technically just fine to remove the APT/Synaptic package, if required, and this shouldn't necessary cause any problems. However, it is strongly recommended that you reinstall that package if you decide to manually upgrade to another version of Ubuntu. APT/Synaptic require those packages to be installed for it to successfully perform the upgrade.

Can I browse and search the Ubuntu repositories?

You can access the source code of all Ubuntu packages, as well as view which ones are available for a particular release of Ubuntu at http://packages.ubuntu.com.

Dapper Drake

What is the difference between the Desktop and the Alternate CD?

While Ubuntu 5.10 'Breezy Badger' had a Live CD (an Ubuntu CD that runs directly off your Memory and the Disc, without installing anything to hard-disk) and an Install CD, Ubuntu 6.06 'Dapper Drake' has a "Desktop" and an "Alternate" CD. The Desktop CD contains a Live session with an installer, once started up; it does not have the classical text installer. The Alternate CD has the old text-installer, with no Live session available. If you are trying to upgrade to Dapper by using the CD-rom as a source, then you should use the alternate CD. See below for more information on upgrading to Dapper.

How can I upgrade to Dapper?

For instructions on upgrading from Breezy (Ubuntu 5.10) to Dapper (Ubuntu 6.06), see DapperUpgrades. Trying to upgrade from Hoary (Ubuntu 5.04) to Dapper is explicitly not supported.

A new version of a package I want has been released, but it's not in the repositories. What's up?

The stable versions of Ubuntu will only get security updates. This means no new versions of packages. The current development version will get updates until 2 months before release. The last two months are spent solely on improving stability. You may however, be able to find the new package in backports or in 3rd party repositories. Details can be found at UbuntuBackports.

Where can I find out more information on Xgl/Compiz? Can I install Xgl/Compiz on Ubuntu?

Please see CompositeManager for more information and installation instructions.

Ubuntu Derivatives

Are Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu forks of Ubuntu?

No, they are all official derivatives with changes to the quintessential distribution of Ubuntu. All of their packages are in the same archives.

What is Kubuntu? Can I install it from Ubuntu?

[http://kubuntu.org Kubuntu] is an operating system based on [http://kde.org KDE], the K Desktop Environment, and the Ubuntu base. In contrast to Ubuntu having GNOME as its default desktop environment, Kubuntu has KDE. To get all of the recommended Kubuntu packages from an Ubuntu/Edubuntu/Xubuntu install, simply install the kubuntu-desktop package. For alternative methods of getting KDE, see ["InstallingKDE"].

What is Xubuntu? How can I install it from Ubuntu?

[http://xubuntu.org Xubuntu] uses the Ubuntu base and the [http://www.xfce.org/ Xfce] deskop environment; Xfce is typically a more lightweight desktop environment, and is thus also more suitable for lower-end systems. To install xubuntu from any other Ubuntu derivative, simply install the xubuntu-desktop package. Note that if you are using Breezy you will first need to enable the Universe repository (see AddingRepositoriesHowto), as it was only included in the Main repository (see http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/components for more information) as of Ubuntu 6.06 'Dapper Drake'.

What is Edubuntu? How can I install it from Ubuntu?

[http://edubuntu.org Edubuntu] provides a customised school environment with an Ubuntu base; though it uses the GNOME desktop environment, it includes applications from both GNOME and KDE by default. To install Edubuntu from any of the Ubuntu derivatives, simply install the edubuntu-desktop package.

What is the relationship between Ubuntu and Debian?

Please see http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/relationship, and consider reading some of MarkShuttleworth for more information.

What is the numbering system of the releases about? What is the next release of Ubuntu?

The version number comes from the year and month of the release; the version names are made by MarkShuttleworth.

How can I upgrade to the latest version of Ubuntu?

For instructions on upgrading to Breezy (Ubuntu 5.10) from Hoary (Ubuntu 5.04), see BreezyUpgrade. For instructions on how to upgrade to Dapper (Ubuntu 6.06) from Breezy, see DapperUpgrades. Skipping a release while trying to upgrade (i.e. trying to upgrade to Dapper from Hoary, or from Warty (Ubuntu 4.10) to Breezy), is not supported.

Where can I get support from?

I think I found a bug, where can I report it?

The Ubuntu bugtracker is at http://www.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bugs.

How can I contribute to Ubuntu?

Please see http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate, HelpingUbuntu or EasyWaysToHelpUbuntu.