Is 9.04 for noobs?

[tsuchang]

Hi, my name is Tsuchang and I'm a noob. I have been a noob for a long time and struggle with deep seated noobosity. I have some friends who are noobs and some that are proficient at what ever my particular noobiness pertains.

I am having issues with Ubuntu 8.01 and have been encouraged to switch to 9.4. Is that a good idea for a 64 year old computer playerwither?

Acutally....I have some skill but feel totally out of my element when I switched from windoz to linex.

Will installing 9.4 on my machine wipe the drive like windoz or will my programs still be there and be usable?

[Captain_tux]

Will installing 9.4 on my machine wipe the drive like windoz or will my programs still be there and be usable?

If you install 9.4 no, but if you install 8.1, your drive will most certainly be wiped, warped, deleted, perhaps even executed.

Proceed with caution!

:lolflag:

[bennachie]

Could you give us some very general idea of the problems have you had with Ubuntu 8.10? Are you currently dual-booting (that is, do you have Windows and Ubuntu on your computer, and are you able to choose at boot time which you want to run)?

[jerome1232]

Even advanced windows users are lost when they first try out linux :)

you can just upgrade your 8.10 installation to 9.04 via the update manager, It should be fine but I always recommend backing up your personal data before attempting major system changes.

Have one of your proficient friends help you with the upgrade/re-install if you do decide to do it.

[-kg-]

Oh! Please! You're confusing this old computer user! :lolflag:

First, you're wanting to upgrade to 9.04, not 9.4! I read that and thought, "Is he talking about Karmic? If that's the case, then no, that's not for noobs since it's still in testing." But then I realized that Karmic is 9.10, so no, it has to be 9.04 they're talking about.

And I believe tsuchang is talking about upgrading from 8.01, not 8.10. Big difference! <edit> See? Now you got me doing it! Yeah, a digit typo one way or the other. :p

It's a lot less confusing if, instead of the numbers of the releases, you use the names. 8.04 is Hardy Heron, or Hardy. 8.10 is Intrepid Ibid, or Intrepid. 9.04 is Jaunty Jackelope, 9.10 is Karmic Koala, etc. That ends the confusing by forgetting a digit in a number.

IMHO, Jaunty is no harder than any other Ubuntu release as far as "noobie factor" is concerned. It might even be a little easier, as I found that more things were fixed in the package. More things fixed (i.e., that work) means less a user has to mess with to get things working.

But that's just me and, of course, my particular computers.

[raymondh]

Hello Tsuchang,

Why not download, burn and try the livecD of Jaunty ..... and see how it reacts to your systems' specs? It is a good indicator of things to come.

When comfortable, why not dual-boot. It allows you to have your windows' whilst learning Ubuntu, as well at tweaking it.

The forum has lots of good thread about dual-booting. Google will also show you some good tutorials. Let me share a few.

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vista_with_linux_vista_installed_f irst.htm
http://members.iinet.net.au/~herman546/p17.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=282018&highlight=separate+%2Fdata+partition
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/gparted.html

Have fun and happy ubuntu-ing.

[trucker33377]

Ubuntu 9.04 is a no brainer if your hardware meets it specs.

[Ian Ferguson]

I'm a noob and I'm getting along fine with 9.04. Oh, and I'm only 4 years younger than you, Tsuchang!

[Nervouswreck]

I'm an Ubuntu noob and 9.04 is great. My wifi card works better with it than with Intrepid Ibe[u]x[/x]. Try a dual boot first, the tools on the install cd make it fairly simple.

[QIII]

Careful, folks.

One of his questions was

"Will installing 9.4 on my machine wipe the drive like windoz or will my programs still be there and be usable?"

Installing WILL wipe the drive as it creates partitions. This will destroy any added programs he may have installed as well as any saved files.

Upgrading will not.

For the original poster -- Do you want to upgrade or do a clean install?

An upgrade can be done without changing what you have installed and without destroying your personal files, but some complain about the results. I've never had a problem, personally.

[tsuchang]

WOW! What a response.
I am only using Ubuntu on my computer, not windoz and Ubuntu.

I don't want to wipe the drive, it took too long to get the programs working as it is. I don't want to reinstall Warcraft and have to do alllll those stinken updates again.

What are the problems folks are having with the upgrade?

sorry for the confusion -kg-, but you got it right in the end.

bennachie asked for the specific problems. well...right now my internet sound isn't working. Even my w of warcraft shoud is not working. I can listen to videos that i have taken tho. That is the bigie right now. I have a thread in the absolute beginners area on that as well as some other solved stuff.

Thanks. you are all champs.

I better study somemore before I take the plunge.

[ahndoruuu]

It's really not so much of a plunge, more like an ascension.

Unless your computer is very...challenged...in the hardware department Jaunty will work just fine for you if not better. Hardware compatibility and whatnot has dramatically improved.

If you don't want to lose your files you can just upgrade as others have mentioned (and i recommend), or backup all the things you'd like to keep and do a fresh install.

It won't bite.

[egalvan]

Careful, folks.

One of his questions was

"Will installing 9.4 on my machine wipe the drive like windoz or will my programs still be there and be usable?"

Installing WILL wipe the drive as it creates partitions.
This will destroy any added programs he may have installed as well as any saved files.

Upgrading will not.



Installing will ONLY wipe the drive if you choose this option....

I have installed Linux on many a machine with Windows already installed,
and the ONLY time it came out wrong was when I did not pay attention to the partition option...

Please, no FUD about Linux WILL wipe your drive

It's YOUR choice... just be sure to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

[aysiu]

bennachie asked for the specific problems. well...right now my internet sound isn't working. Even my w of warcraft shoud is not working. I can listen to videos that i have taken tho. That is the bigie right now. I have a thread in the absolute beginners area on that as well as some other solved stuff. If you're having these problems on 8.10, upgrading to 9.04 won't solve them.

The best thing to do is to start three separate support threads--one for each problem (sound, internet, World of Warcraft) so folks can help you suss out your issues.

[Mark Phelps]

If you're having these problems on 8.10, upgrading to 9.04 won't solve them.

The best thing to do is to start three separate support threads--one for each problem (sound, internet, World of Warcraft) so folks can help you suss out your issues.

+1 on ALL of the above!!

Given the recent disasters with Xorg and ATI cards, I would be very hesitant to suggest ANYONE upgrade to, or install, 9.04 without first booting the LiveCD and confirming that their video card will work with restricted drivers.

And, it's great to finally see someone else who also feels that upgrading is not a miracle cure. As a matter of fact, based on the number of posts I've seen about 9.04-upgrade-related problems, I tend to think that upgarding to 9.04 is more likely to cause new problems than fix them.

And, finally, it's also great to see someone else trying to discourage these "shopping list of problems" posts where they throw everything in they can think of, instead of starting a thread for each problem.

[QIII]

Installing will ONLY wipe the drive if you choose this option....

Please, no FUD about Linux WILL wipe your drive



I believe the OP has Ubuntu installed without a Windows partition. He said he "made the switch".

I know that installing a dual boot with Windows is simply a matter of taking care when partitioning.

But I don't think that is his situation.

If he is making a "clean" install, is not saving his current partitions and is, as he said, a "noob" then there is not FUD about it.

[-kg-]

Careful, folks.

One of his questions was

"Will installing 9.4 on my machine wipe the drive like windoz or will my programs still be there and be usable?"

Installing WILL wipe the drive as it creates partitions. This will destroy any added programs he may have installed as well as any saved files.

Upgrading will not.

For the original poster -- Do you want to upgrade or do a clean install?

An upgrade can be done without changing what you have installed and without destroying your personal files, but some complain about the results. I've never had a problem, personally.

Uh, not necessarily. It WILL if you choose the wrong installation method. You don't want the default "Use The Entire Hard Drive," but if you choose one of the other options (and if you have sufficient space on your hard drive) it won't.

If you have sufficient unallocated space on your hard drive, you can choose to "Install to Largest Contiguous Free Space." If you have sufficient space in one (or more) of your existing partitions, you can choose to "Shrink existing partition and install." And you can choose "Manual Partitioning" and shrink your existing partitions and create your partitions for the new installation.

Just some non-destructive installation options. Upgrading is a viable option, but understand that once you upgrade, you will not be able to go back without reinstalling. If you can do a dual boot type clean install, you will still have your old installation. Then once you determine that Jaunty is going to work for you (and your computer), you can go with it whole-hog.

[Maheriano]

Wow, you got got played by the stealthiest of the trolls. Ubuntu 8.01? 9.4? Linex? This has to be deliberate.

[QIII]

Uh, not necessarily.


True for you and me, I will grant that.

And I did say that upgrading doesn't give satisfactory results for some. The fact that you see a lot of posts here to that effect does not mean that it is that way for everyone. It's about like the stories you hear about dolphins saving a swimmer from sharks. You hear those stories because someone lives to tell them. You don't hear the stories from those who got eaten by sharks while the dolphins looked on.

You don't get people on this forum complaining about upgrading when an upgrade goes right.

If you want to send a noob out to the woods and tell him everything will be alright if he sticks to the safe path, be my guest.

When he's out there and has no idea how to stay on the safe path...

See assumptions in my post above re: noobs.

Which is why I asked everyone to be careful.

[tsuchang]

Jeepers! I didn't mean to cause trouble here, I just wanted some answers. And I got em.
I didn't know I could just upgrade instead of re-installing. Upgrading seems to be the best bet for the moment. I may change my mind as things progress.

Who's the "stealthiest of the trolls"? What's that about. I play a troll mage in warcraft but I'm sure that isn't what Maheriano was writing about. heheh!

Thanks again.

[aysiu]

Yes, you can upgrade instead of reinstalling. As I stated before, it's highly unlikely that upgrading will solve your problems, though.

[raymondh]

as many have commented ... try out the liveCD first.

[QIII]

Yes, you can upgrade instead of reinstalling. As I stated before, it's highly unlikely that upgrading will solve your problems, though.

Or, it may solve one or two problems if they were bug fixes going into Jaunty, but might cause several more when he starts to use Jaunty.

I'm sorry to have gotten into what we old Army gray-hairs call a "p*****g match" with other posters. My intent was not to flame.

I just don't think it is wise to tell the uninitiated to "install" without considering the fact that he may not know the risks. It is easy to give advice from our perspective. Difficult to make that sensible from someone else's perspective.