Upgrade to 12.04: Pure Disaster

[fvillars]

No doubt Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer sleep very soundly at night. That is because Linux will never ever knock Windows from the top spot.

Why? Consider my latest experience upgrading from 11.10 to 12.04. The actual upgrade went smoothly, but when I rebooted, all I got was a black screen. A week of rooting around in forums and other discussion threads revealed that the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects." Apparently the prior driver (version 295.33) works fine. I haven't checked. I'm worn out.

A week or reinstalling, checking and recheckng hardware, head scratching....What a waste of time. And who knows when NVIDIA will release a bug fix.

It takes a uniquely passionate hater of Windows to put up with this degree of nonsense. Most people would just walk away, and indeed do just that.

Sweet dreams, Bill and Steve....

[homeuser1]

I have to agree with you. However, I've never tried using Linux on a new machine. I only use Linux when I'm trying to save putting a tired computer in the landfill.

[collisionystm]

No doubt Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer sleep very soundly at night. That is because Linux will never ever knock Windows from the top spot.Please rephrase. No doubt Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer sleep very soundly at night. That is because UBUNTU will never ever knock Windows from the top spot.

Linux is its own and is already out doing ballmer and gates just fine.

[OpenSourceRules]

Linux has its own user base, and people switch to Linux for various reasons.

[GnuSense]

Interesting. I was wondering why I couldn't get Unity 3D or Gnome 3 to work at all on a "fresh" install (well, actually I did retain my old /home directory from Hardy on this box). I was actually very surprised that Ubuntu installed the Nvidia driver by default, then I upgraded the the latest version, but still couldn't use Unity 3D or Gnome. Unity 2D works fine, as does XFCE. KDE wouldn't initiate properly until I logged in to another working desktop and disabled Desktop Effects (and Virtuoso, a useless pile, anyway). Neither XFCE nor KDE look particularly spiffy, not a big deal. I was kind of hoping for a more polished LTS release. Luckily I've been using Linux almost exclusively for 7 years so I knew how to work around the issues, but it was puzzeling to say the least.

I think Ubuntu should have done what it did for Dapper Drake, delay the release for a couple of months until they'd worked out more of the bugs. I installed the last Beta on a box and it was still getting huge package churn until I gave the box away a couple of weeks ago. But at least the Unity 3D desktop worked with older Nvidia. I should probably downgrade to the 19X series driver for this card, anyway.

[jadtech]

problem is many have been sitting and supporting micro soft obsolete junk for so long the world of technology has moved on by them and they cant under stand it ..

first your blaming Linux for something they cant control the software for someone else hardware they wont share the source for nivida divers that don't work on this OS are nivida fault they cant write software for there own stuff ..

the thing for people to do is to pull the nivida video card and refuse to buy or install them use others that support Linux no matter the what name it goes by if enough people start doing that then it wil start to gain more respect it should have had all along ..

anyone who thinks linux hasnt got microsoft on the run is kidding them selves why do you think the big change for win8 to touch screen type environment and by win 9 most likely desk top will be out near altogether from Microsoft..

people are willing to spend more for there tablets and smart phone then they are there computers Ios and android based and you can bet these platforms are not having issues with drivers from these same companies this is where the $$ are today ..

[Rath-]

very much agreed ... and although Ubuntu may not be the most common choice for os , it sure took away a ton of my headaches. this computer was originally using win xp and i had been downloading driver after driver to get it to the way it was supposed to be ...after two weeks of messing with it i decided that windows was to much of a hassle and downloaded Ubuntu ...immediately after the install everything worked just as it should .. no problems , no headaches , no drivers . and my comp runs so much faster and more efficiently now as well :guitar:...long live ubuntu

[Frogs Hair]

A week of rooting around in forums and other discussion threads revealed that the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects." Apparently the prior driver (version 295.33) works fine.

I haven't experienced this and I beta 2 tested and preformed a clean installation of the final yesterday. I have used the shell , classic , and unity 3d today . I have to add that after a failed upgrade with 9.10 I have never tried again .

[skompier]

threads revealed that the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects." Apparently the prior driver (version 295.33) works fine.

I must be lucky because I run Unity 3D, Gnome Shell and Cinnamon with an Nvidia 430GT and 295.40, just fine.

[basilwatson]

I tried to upgrade from 10.04 to 12

Nightmare , broke most of my packages ( CAElinux)

gave up , will try again in JULY when its stable ( as noted in release notes )

The question then is; why release it now?

I did a fresh install of 12.04 on a amd , radeon laptop and its worked , except netgen isn't working ,big hole in the window

I personally "like " unity , but would prefer rock solid stability and ease of use rather than the current state of affairs

Stephen

[Qu4rk]

I tried to upgrade from 10.04 to 12

Nightmare , broke most of my packages ( CAElinux)

gave up , will try again in JULY when its stable ( as noted in release notes )

The question then is; why release it now?

I did a fresh install of 12.04 on a amd , radeon laptop and its worked , except netgen isn't working ,big hole in the window

I personally "like " unity , but would prefer rock solid stability and ease of use rather than the current state of affairs

Stephen

Yes. I'll be waiting for stable too. I've had some broken upgrades & I've actually began to anticipate the need for a fresh install. But its better to not have to fresh install.

[QIII]

Three things:

1. Microsoft does not support your hardware. The OEM spends a lot of time and effort making their drivers work in Windows so that it can be approved for inclusion in the driverbase. OEMs support their hardware, not Microsoft.

2. One should not assume that their experience is shared with an entire population. Also, assuming that there are universal problems based on "a lot" of posts on a forum is fallacious. Forums suffer from "referral bias", which renders any conclusion drawn from them void. People come to forums seeking help when things go wrong, not when things go right. Drawing a conclusion from 100 failures misses the millions of successes.

3. I usually do fresh installations. But I always do upgrades on a couple of machines to see how it goes. I did that twice this time and had absolutely no problems.

It is easy to say something sucks when it doesn't work for you. But the only conclusion you can draw is that it did not work for you.

[jadtech]

Three things:

1. Microsoft does not support your hardware. The OEM spends a lot of time and effort making their drivers work in Windows so that it can be approved for inclusion in the driverbase. OEMs support their hardware, not Microsoft.

2. One should not assume that their experience is shared with an entire population. Also, assuming that there are universal problems based on "a lot" of posts on a forum is fallacious. Forums suffer from "referral bias", which renders any conclusion drawn from them void. People come to forums seeking help when things go wrong, not when things go right. Drawing a conclusion from 100 failures misses the millions of successes.

3. I usually do fresh installations. But I always do upgrades on a couple of machines to see how it goes. I did that twice this time and had absolutely no problems.

It is easy to say something sucks when it doesn't work for you. But the only conclusion you can draw is that it did not work for you.

absolutely right

[Johnny3]

No doubt Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer sleep very soundly at night. That is because Linux will never ever knock Windows from the top spot.

Why? Consider my latest experience upgrading from 11.10 to 12.04. The actual upgrade went smoothly, but when I rebooted, all I got was a black screen. A week of rooting around in forums and other discussion threads revealed that the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects." Apparently the prior driver (version 295.33) works fine. I haven't checked. I'm worn out.

A week or reinstalling, checking and recheckng hardware, head scratching....What a waste of time. And who knows when NVIDIA will release a bug fix.

It takes a uniquely passionate hater of Windows to put up with this degree of nonsense. Most people would just walk away, and indeed do just that.

Sweet dreams, Bill and Steve....

Known how you feel. I never have any trouble with windows.(I have the Brooklyn bridge for sale cheap) 295.40 works find for me. Been using 12.04 for a little over 2 months. Had one video but problem that has been fixed. Got a new hard drive last weekend did a clean install went as smooth as a baby's bee hind.

Good Luck and God Bless Johnny3 65+++

[jaws222]

Please rephrase. No doubt Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer sleep very soundly at night. That is because UBUNTU will never ever knock Windows from the top spot.

Linux is its own and is already out doing ballmer and gates just fine.


Have you seen Windows 8? Microsoft's days are numbered.

[GnuSense]

This really is an Ubuntu problem. What other distro installs the proprietary driver BY DEFAULT? Not Debian, Fedora, Slackware, CentOS, Mandriva, openSUSE (at least the last time I installed them). The nouveau driver is semi-adequate for 2D desktops and will at least give you a functioning computer. But it won't handle Unity 3D (or KDE desktop effects) very gracefully. Ubuntu wants the bling so it installs the proprietary driver out of the box.

And it works well (apparently) if you have a relatively modern nvidia adapter. But one of the features of Linux is that it will also run on older hardware (although I noticed that the upgrade to 12.04 strips out a bunch drivers for older hardware). The machines on which I did a fresh installs had somewhat older stuff on them, I believe Gefore FX5200 & Geforce 6100 onboard video. These cards are ancient, barely better than a high end TNT or radeon 7000, a fraction of the speed of even current low end onboard graphics. But these cards work great WITH THE RIGHT proprietary driver. I won't use desktop effects or compiz fusion on a day-to-day basis, but they work and play at least 720p. The problem is that Ubuntu doesn't appear to be installing the correct driver. If lspci says the card is too old the installer should install a 19X or 96 series driver.

As to folks doing a fresh install instead of updating, I'm sure that makes all kinds of sense. Less time, fewer bugs, more up-to-date features. But it is a point of honor to me to upgrade. I have a system that I've updated every 6 months since 5.04 until 8.04, then directly to 10.04, where is still runs fine. I'm not sure it is much buggier and slower than it would have been if I'd done a fresh install on a 7+ year old low end box. Almost every damn upgrade required some tweaking and CLI-fu, but every one succeeded in the end, at least with Ubuntu. I'm not sure what I've learned from these exercises, but it is possible. A system ought to be upgradeable.

[dbombtek]

I feel your pain as I had issues with broken packages with 12 so im back to 11.10 and all is great. I expect the ubuntu experience to be ready and running out of the box and for the most part they do an exceptional job. Out of the box I am able to tackle almost any task that I would normally accompolish with win7 minus games and some issues with driver. Ubuntu has come along way but they still need to cover the gap (and yes there is) before they can match win in all aspects. Ubuntu is simply awesome in its own right and the developers and testers deserve a pat on the back for all the hard work they put into it.

[fvillars]

Here is the point. The Ubuntu developers, with their fancy "now you see it, now you don't" desktop environment called Unity, wish to announce to the world that they they are playing in the big leagues.

But if you want to play in the big leagues, then at least make an effort to act like a big league player, and not as if you were running a corner hot dog stand.

Who sends out a major distribution with a video driver that does not support large numbers of video cards provided by arguably the most forward thinking manufacturer of video cards (NVIDIA)? Who did not do some basic homework? Who are these yahoos?

My computer is an off-the-shelf HP Slimline desktop. OK it's six years old, ancient by today's tech standards that declare anything older than six months to be outdated. Nonetheless it has kept up with every Linux distribution -and I have loaded most of them onto this machine- and every upgrade without fail.

I am so fed up with Ubuntu -and for that matter with Fedora, and Gentoo, and Mint, and Xandros, nd all the other 29 flavors of ice cream out there- that have had years and armies of developers to work on their product. Very basic mistakes and problems still exist with all these distributions.

Believe me, I know how to work "under the hood" with Linux, but this practice is growing old and tiresome. I want it to work out of the box.

The only reason to stick with Linux is that Microsoft over the years has done immeasurable harm to consumers, in my opinion, with its miserable, bloated, buggy, unreliable, attack-prone, unstable and overpriced products, while working tirelessly to root out and eradicate any hint of innovation and competition. There has to be a decent alternative.

So, Ubuntu developers, get to work! Great to have innovative thinking but don't forget the basics.

[gavfranc]

I had same problem with my Dell Precision t5400 running Nvidia Gt8800. Fixed by turning off "allow flipping" in opengl settings. Worked for me but may not be work around for all.

[VanillaMozilla]

the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects."
Makes no sense (I think). You should still be able to still boot.

You didn't say how far you get, but if you get as far as a logon screen you're probably in pretty good shape. Log into a different desktop if you have one, or else:

Boot into a safe start, or safe mode, or whatever it's called (without the X11 graphics system), and apt-get a desktop that's not Gnome (Unity is based on Gnome). You could try KDE, or in your case I would suggest XFCE or maybe even LXDE. At least you would recover the ability to start the computer. You'll have to do a little searching to see how to apt-get the right desktop, but it shouldn't (hopefully) be hard.

In the future, though, it's best not to start out with an angry comment. You may have noticed you have diverted attention away from solving your problem.

[haresear]

It is easy to say something sucks when it doesn't work for you. But the only conclusion you can draw is that it did not work for you.
To be fair, the reverse is just as true:
When something works for you, the only conclusion you can draw is that it did work for you.

[Derek Karpinski]

This really is an Ubuntu problem. What other distro installs the proprietary driver BY DEFAULT?

Not true.

Just don't check the 'install 3rd party software'.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JVHIQ9G8zzk/T5md7hfkrII/AAAAAAAAACg/tsiYOjAm7c8/s1600/Step2+Install+Ubuntu+12.04.jpg

[tinker123]

Why? Consider my latest experience upgrading from 11.10 to 12.04. The actual upgrade went smoothly, but when I rebooted, all I got was a black screen. A week of rooting around in forums and other discussion threads revealed that the new NVIDIA driver (version 295.40) is incompatible with Unity and with Gnome and apparently with all environment that uses "effects." Apparently the prior driver (version 295.33) works fine. I haven't checked. I'm worn out.

I'm going trough a similar frustration.

Maybe the installers could be altered such that they might detect these problems BEFORE the install goes forward, warn the user, put relevant data into a file to be retrieved later and tell that user where to find the file?