How often do you have problems with Ubuntu?

[Macfunky]

I once in awhile have to reboot because my box freezes. Not as often as Windows and admittedly it's when i've been messing about with it. Usually it's well behaved. So in general my questions are (for a production desktop) -

-How often do you reboot?

-How often does your computer freeze?

Also how do you in general find Ubuntu's stability? I find it great and it's only went weird when messing about with it. Left to it's own devices i find it sturdy.

[RabbitWho]

Yes i've upset it a few times by deleting things etc. but i've never had a single problem I didn't cause myself.

It's never frozen or crashed.

[vrkalak]

I have been using Ubuntu for about 2 years now.
And in all that time, I have never had the computer 'freeze' or 'crash' on me . . . no black-screen of death.

I have never had the browser 'freeze' on me either. Been using and testing Firefox 3.5.5, 3.6 Beta 4, 3.7 Alpha 1 ... no problems to speak of. No 'grayed screen'

The only times I have 'had' to re-boot is when I do a dist-upgrade or installed a newer kernel . . after which a re-start of the computer is required. Other than that, rarely, do I re-boot/re-start the computer.

I have upgraded my OS a couple of times to Alpha or Beta versions of the next edition of Ubuntu. For instance, I am now using Xubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 Alpha 2. I upgraded to Lucid when it first went into Alpha 1. I have only had a couple of minor problems with a distro being in such early stages of development. Easily, fixed ... No problems that I didn't cause myself.

I bet, that my computer runs and is usually on-line uninterupted for months at a time. With no 'freezes' or necessary re-starts.

[blur xc]

Sometimes after an update that tells me I need to reboot, but I don't because I'm lazy, it might start acting funny that will need a reboot to make it act normal again.

The fast user switter applet has gone goofy a few times, but I learned how to deal w/ that.

My wife's Dell mini 10 will crash and freeze up sometimes (a lot of times) when resuming from suspend. Haven't figured that one out, and no one on the forums seems to know anything about it either. Best I can tell is' the go home applets fault of the nbr launcher...

BM

[scouser73]

I think that I've never had to reboot the PC because it was acting up, it's always been great for me to use & the odd occasion when I have needed to reboot for updates to complete.

[Kai69]

Sometimes when I switch it on the panel on the top right hand side dosnt work so press the power button a popup appears saying panel not responding so shut down and restart all is ok again I dont know why other than that ive not had any major problems

[Dayofswords]

i've had few programs crash, and never got dialup to work, but nothing that made me reinstall

[ElSlunko]

I was running solid 'till 9.10. Then I would get random freezes. Never really figured out what triggered them but after installing the latest Nvidia drivers for my card (gtx 260) I haven't had a single freeze. I only boot as often as I need to use my computer.

[madmax.santana]

Wow, a question of all questions!

Well when I started using Ubuntu it was 8.10. I guess it was charming, it never did these things with me and it was adorable. One problem was that it took bit long to start, when that progress-bar appears at the Ubuntu splash and it continues filling for literally a couple minutes.

When I upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04, it wasn't a good experience. Drivers didn't seem to work, grub would get damaged (though later I found out that it was indirectly my fault. I dual-boot Win Vista with my Ubuntu and the thing with grub happened only when I messed with partitions in my Windows.) Anyway, that was completely recoverable and I found it fun to crash bootloader and then recover it, made me feel like I was a whizz-kid or stuff, ;)
On average, my experience with Jaunty wasn't good. Sometimes it would freeze without me fidgeting with it... Sometimes it would just say that video driver has crashed and lots of stuff. (I don't know I think I had no part in that but maybe indirectly I was responsible for this.) Anyway, I didn't like 9.04 much.

With Ubuntu Karmic came the grub2, and with grub2 came a very enhanced, better file structure and opportunity to mess with more chance of absolute recovery. I loved Karmic. And it never deceived me. This bro can go on and on for a month, without rebooting even once... I really would try it but I fear my notebook is gonna have some hardware burn-out before Ubuntu feels that it's too late it has been rebooted. In short, Ubuntu is great and the most stable OS I have ever met...

And that is half true for all linux distros and totally untrue for Windows. Geez, it might even display a message after 24 hours "Windows has not been rebooted since past 24 hours, it is critical that you reboot now." Lolxxx.

[mkvnmtr]

I started using Ubuntu 6.06 on a powerpc machine and have used it ever since. I do not believe I can blame the software for the hundreds of problems I have had. They have all been due to equipment or the operator. Sorry but Ubuntu never broke my machine.

[NightwishFan]

I find some odd bugs in the first month of the newest release sometimes. Generally not showstoppers, and they mostly are fixed with updates. If I have a machine with no internet access, I just use AptOnCD to get them. You would think I would just stick with the LTS, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I suppose if you are worried about stability stick to the LTS.

[alwayshere]

whenever i update to the latest version hence why im still on lts

[kentechy]

I've been with Ubuntu a couple of years and running Karmic presently. Getting everything installed again, each time I upgrade, is the biggest pain but it is also the most fun...

Karmic choked a little when I first installed it but after running update manager it has been solid even after many updates.

I fight with XP at work all day and it is so peaceful to just open my Ubuntu laptop, log in, and play...

I am my biggest pain since I have trouble not tweaking something but I have learned to recover from most boo boos now and there is always help on the WEB.

The next rendition is shooting for a 10 second boot... :p

[Ewingo401]

Personal problems - Seemingly every time Canonical announces changes these days.

Technical problems - Almost never.

[seenthelite]

I am quite new to Ubuntu and on my Dell Inspiron 6400 I just install WICD and then I have no problems at all everything I try and install just works. But not so on a new Toshiba Satellite I had so many issues I removed Ubuntu and have only Windows 7, I will try again in April.

[mamamia88]

on my netbook i get an occasional hang of firefox and other applications but nothing really serious

[kgarbutt]

For my two computers:

-How often do you reboot?
Answer: zero times

-How often does your computer freeze?
Answer: zero times

Also how do you in general find Ubuntu's stability?
Answer: excellent

[steveneddy]

I think that I've never had to reboot the PC because it was acting up, it's always been great for me to use & the odd occasion when I have needed to reboot for updates to complete.

same here

[sports fan Matt]

The only time I have issues is when I personally do something to bork it..Probably every other month.

I have no issues with Ubuntu however.

[LightB]

Not much lately. I've been thinking of moving to it at least for my desktop because fedora seems to be increasingly a neglected pet project full of buglets that never get fixed, although I really do not like the ubuntu-specific hacks that it's made of nor the proprietary way they bugfix and then don't send the patch fixes upstream. Basically Ubuntu is becoming Not-Linux.

[Simon17]

Every six months like clockwork.

[CharlesA]

-How often do you reboot?

Whenever there is an update that requires a reboot (server) and whenever I am done with it (VM of desktop)


-How often does your computer freeze?

Haven't had it "freeze" since I finished getting it set up and working correctly.

[mrebanza]

Haven't had Ubuntu ever "freeze" but I have had some problems with third party apps acting up GNOME DO kept asking me for my password repeatably on boot up so i uninstalled it


Wifi doesn't work on my toshiba laptop, so i am stuck using win7 alot of the time :confused:

[llawwehttam]

After yesterdays updates I have had 2 freezes but that is very unusual..... ie I have never ever seen ubuntu freeze before so It could be my hardware ie overheating. I have problems now and then but there generally caused by me and easy to fix.

[RabbitWho]

Sometimes when I switch it on the panel on the top right hand side dosnt work so press the power button a popup appears saying panel not responding so shut down and restart all is ok again I dont know why other than that ive not had any major problems

You can restart the panel without restarting the computer... "killall gnome-panel"
I forget how to start it again.. something with a &.... anyone?

[llawwehttam]

You can restart the panel without restarting the computer... "killall gnome-panel"
I forget how to start it again.. something with a &.... anyone?

It should do it automatically.

You could just do
gnome-panel in Alt+F2 command box.

[Kai69]

Thanks I didn't know that I've only been using Linux since November. I didn't see it as a problem because it only happens now and again. I don't leave my pc's running 24hrs a day. Other than that I once used the Dell 9.04 iso and updated to 9.10 from update manager that caused a lot of problems with things not working so now will only do a full install.
Im still learning new things every day.

[Gorlist]

always having problems with Ubuntu, but I think most of it is caused by fiddling or trying to get certain programs running, or hardware working.

The office machine using 9.10 32bit works fairly good but thats only using OpenOffice and emails, nothing else - but ive found my own 64bit is temperamental.

I would almost hazard a remark that in my normal "PC usage" its no better than windows xp, but allot more fun :p and can be fixed.

Overall I would say allot of the problems come from installing and using other programs, example the "Flegita Scan Utility" always crashes when you try and do a preview (and has never worked properly over the last few years) - but thats not a Ubuntu fault.

The only thing I feel gets irritating is the repos being out of date, good example is at one point the gLabels build on the standard repo was broken and unusable, and if your a new user then it would difficult to install a build from the official gLabels site. I understand in having the 6 month cycle, but does that still apply to a blatant failed build?

Still I recommend Ubuntu to most, and encourage it for first time PC users :)

[audiomick]

I would almost hazard a remark that in my normal "PC usage" its no better than windows xp, but allot more fun :p and can be fixed.

I would second that, particularly the "can be fixed". Having said that, my XP was and now my Vista is quite stable, because I avoid changing or adding anything if at all possible. Despite that, the phrases "consult your system administrator" in the windows "help" and "you have an OEM version. Contact the computer manufacturer" on the "help hotline" were largely instrumental in making me try Linux.

My Ubuntu is stable as long as I don't mess around with it too much. I boot up when I want to use the computer, and turn it off when not in use.

I have seen threads about freezing in Karmic, but have had no problems myself.

[gradinaruvasile]

I use Ubuntu on 3 computers myself - at work on a desktop (Dell Optiplex 755/Nvidia Quadro NVS 285, Nvidia GF 210), a laptop (Dell D630/Nvidia Quadro NVS 135M) and at home a desktop (Asus M3N78-VM mobo+Athlon 3200+ CPU/8200 IGP GPU). I had very few problems (i use Ubuntu since 7.10).
Also i maintain the wife's laptop (Dell C640/Ubuntu 8.10) and at my parent's a desktop (some older Asus board/Nvidia MX440/ Ubuntu 8.10) - those 2 are rock stable.

The home computer was acting a bit weird when i installed Xubuntu 9.10 on it, but now runs smoothly.
The most stable of them all is the work desktop - i have weeks of uptime on it typically (once i had 59 days and 22 hours and had to stop it because of maintenance works on the power grid - Jaunty with the .15 kernel :) ) and its really snappy.
Stability-wise Ubuntu beats Windows (including 7) on these computers.

This doesnt mean that i didnt have my share of problems but none was show stopper and i managed to solve them.
I might add that i did not use Linux before although i saw some distro in the 90's but didnt impress me at all back then.

[Xbehave]

Yes i've upset it a few times by deleting things etc. but i've never had a single problem I didn't cause myself.

It's never frozen or crashed.
+1 I have many problems i cause my self, but when im not fiddling everything is fine (except for one hw problem my laptop has but its definitely hardware)

[Morbius1]

LTS and LTS+2 Very little

LTS+1 and LTS+3 Some problems

So in english:

8.04 and 9.04 - little or no problems
8.10 and 9.10 - Some problems requiring work arounds. In fact I only install these versions in Virtual Box.

I suspect 10.04 will return to the "Very little" category.

[madnessjack]

Everything in Ubuntu for me is very consistent. The errors I have happen everytime (recently in Karmic - user switching breaks mountable drives and sound, I don't have a floppy or CD-ROM drive so why does it say I have?) but they're very easy to live with. A simple restart usually sorts stuff out.

Never had any surprises though

[Dragonbite]

I once in awhile have to reboot because my box freezes. Not as often as Windows and admittedly it's when i've been messing about with it. Usually it's well behaved. So in general my questions are (for a production desktop) -

-How often do you reboot?

-How often does your computer freeze?

Also how do you in general find Ubuntu's stability? I find it great and it's only went weird when messing about with it. Left to it's own devices i find it sturdy.

Ubuntu, for me, has been pretty stable. Older version has destabilized, and my current desktop (9.04) Firefox will slow to a crawl (unresponsive) for a few seconds every so often. I am hoping a re-installation may help with that.

Fedora's, the "bleeding edge" distribution, bug reporter has poppsed up a few times which allows me to submit bugs that have occurred. Often, this only forces a closing of the program, but not of the system itself. The system itself, I haven't had any (many?) problems with yet.

OpenSUSE, I must be doing something wrong. I've had freeze-ups and locks. Currently my first boot results in a blank session (wallpaper and cursor, no panels, menus or options). I have to
#killall --user <username>
and then when I go to log in a second time it works.

[xuCGC002]

The one thing I've had any problem with is Firefox under 9.10. It tends to crash after a couple hours of use.

[WindowlessHouse]

Only when I have to use the floppy-disc drive to get a file over from the DOS computer which I still use for a few things in my work because I have not seen a DOS emulator that allows use of a hi-res monitor, ie, 1024x768, or anything above 640x480, as well as supporting all the DOS/ANSI characters. My Linux computer also does not have the old type of slot needed for my device programmer.

I only re-boot Ubuntu when updates require it.

[sandyd]

each time I get bored... i tinker with it... and... BREAKAGE!!!

luckily, I have a separate computer for that.

[buddyd16]

currently for me I have a constant sound issue other than that though it runs great.

I think my hardware is just too new to have the sound properly work we'll see how the next version goes.

[parn]

>:)

ubuntu 9.10 - freeze once - X died. I believe it to be video card's hardware. Works like a charm 99.99% of the time.

ubuntu 8.04 - never. Not even when my wife who cant tell linux and windows apart is fooling with it. Smooth as silk.

Windwos Vista - umm... never really freezes or blue/black screen -BUT- It does does not need to "crash/freeze" to make your computing experience hellish!!! A marvel of mischief.

Windows 7 - never and it is *gasp* running rather smoothly. Have only used it for a few months though.

[parn]

The one thing I've had any problem with is Firefox under 9.10. It tends to crash after a couple hours of use.

Use Chromium! ;)

[lisati]

I rarely have any problems with Ubuntu that weren't of my own making, usually something like a hasty or misplaced click.

[cariboo]

I suffer from having a computer that works well with all the releases I've used so far. The only time I have problems, are those of my own making. :)

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

Even with the Beta I haven't had many issues which is a first for me. That's more than I can say about Windows 7(works great now though). or many other pre-release Linux distros I've used before.

I'm not suggesting that anyone who isn't prepared for troubleshooting download the beta (obligatory disclaimer).

[pickboy87]

Ubuntu for the most part had given a faulty free system. I did have a good handful of times that Ubuntu froze for no reason at all sometimes. I also ran into the newest version of Ubuntu (9,10) not installing at all. I've also had problems with any of the previous installs failing during install for no reason. It would install sometimes, but others it wouldn't (kept getting an Errno 5 or something error).

I ended up migrating towards Arch after having major problems intalling 9.10. Haven't had a problem so far.

[undecim]

Sometimes, when my laptop boots, my keyboard doesn't work. AFAIK this is a hardware issue though, so nothing to do with Ubuntu.

Anything else are just things I cause from my own stupidity.

[Khakilang]

Most of the problem I had was my own making like manually installing some libraries and delete some gave a lot of broken dependencies so I reinstall the whole thing with 9.10 and uses the Ubuntu Software Centre for most of my need and everything is ok. Now if I could only burn that .avi movie.

[mcoleman44]

I only have problems when using programs, patches, etc... that are not in the repositories. In other words, I muck things up when I am tinkering.
;)

[Shpongle]

yes i've upset it a few times by deleting things etc. But i've never had a single problem i didn't cause myself.

It's never frozen or crashed.

+1

[Shpongle]

Most of the problem I had was my own making like manually installing some libraries and delete some gave a lot of broken dependencies so I reinstall the whole thing with 9.10 and uses the Ubuntu Software Centre for most of my need and everything is ok. Now if I could only burn that .avi movie.

you can convert it to dvd and burn it with DeVeDe in the repos , also if its just an avi you want brasero should do the trick

[befana]

I had some problems with my wireless adaptor and with load/unload cycle counts of my hard drive two years ago, and since then nothing wrong- everything just works! Ubuntu makes me lazy, it wants nothing from me but have fun.

[swoll1980]

When I started using Ubuntu 3 years ago I had all kinds of problems. Once I learned what was causing the problems, and how to solve them it was all good. I haven't had any new problems since then, so I would say never.

[bobmitch]

Only problems I have are of my own making messing around with window managers etc... and even then a restart of gdm usually fixes things.

[MKR.]

No problems in the year I used Ubuntu before, and none in the 4 days I've been back on it.

[NightwishFan]

Most of the problem I had was my own making like manually installing some libraries and delete some gave a lot of broken dependencies so I reinstall the whole thing with 9.10 and uses the Ubuntu Software Centre for most of my need and everything is ok. Now if I could only burn that .avi movie.

Try Devede.
Click here and hit ok to install. (apt://devede)
or

sudo aptitude install devede