13.04 is extremely slow

[victorche]

Well, long time since I was here... But inspired by the good reviews about the latest Ubuntu, decided to try it... What can I say?!

This is not the Microsoft's killer and it will not rule the desktop market soon... On a fresh install my Packard Bell Dot S netbook is simply unusable. After the Unity is loaded, it takes 3-4 secs just to display "Firefox" label on hover. I've never seen so slow OS, really!

So I've started reading, searching in Google... Many topics suggest to install "gnome-session-fallback" or something. I've installed this and now I have a gnome-like desktop without even a simple transparency.

Well, "great" work, Canonical! You're ready to win the world market with this "ultra fast" OS. It takes 1-2 mins to start "Software Centre" on my 6 months old netbook with 2 GB of RAM. Next time I'll buy a netbook with 8 GB RAM... I hope it will be enough for your "optimized" Unity...
:mad:

[howefield]

Thread moved to the more appropriate "Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat" forum.

[andrew.46]

Hmmm.... 1.6GHz is not a huge processor but I would have expected a bit more life under Raring. I see that you are a Slacker, I have a relatively vintage Dell (Latitude D520) with a 1.8 processor that screams along with 14.0 and Fluxbox.. perhaps this is the path you might look at?

PS Your kernel is a little dated for -current:



andrew@skamandros~$ uname -r
3.8.8


:)

[victorche]

Thanks but I don't think this is a "Linux in general" chat and talk... This is Ubuntu specific (I am talking about 13.04 here). And I've choosen the "General Help" section, as I am asking for some kind of help here...

[victorche]

Hmmm.... 1.6GHz is not a huge processor but I would have expected a bit more life under Raring. I see that you are a Slacker, I have a relatively vintage Dell (Latitude D520) with a 1.8 processor that screams along with 14.0 and Fluxbox.. perhaps this is the path you might look at?

Thanks for the reply, @andrew.46!

I am using Slackware for some desktop PCs and for a couple of web servers. The reason I tried Ubuntu is because it's more user friendly, with some great reviews and on this netbook I am not doing anything special, except some browsing, chat and video / music stuff. Also used by my wife, so...

Anyway, the reason I am so mad is... Because we're not talking about some small bugs here. It is completely USELESS in my case...

[howefield]

Thanks but I don't think this is a "Linux in general" chat and talk... This is Ubuntu specific (I am talking about 13.04 here). And I've choosen the "General Help" section, as I am asking for some kind of help here...

What part of "Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat" is so hard to understand ?

You haven't asked for helped, the single question in your rant is directed towards yourself. This isn't a support request.

[victorche]

What part of "Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat" is so hard to understand ?

You haven't asked for helped, the single question in your rant is directed towards yourself. This isn't a support request.

Don't want to argue... You're the moderator here.
You can fix the thread position, but I would like if someone else can help me fix this... new OS speed and performance.

[grahammechanical]

I do not agree with you. I have found 13.04 to be fast at loading and fast at running applications. Memory usage has fallen by 15 - 20% against 12.04 according to my reckoning. Ubuntu is benefiting from all the work being done on Canonical's convergence strategy. April 2014 is the target date. Nobody but you has claimed that this release is a world market winner or that it is a Microsoft killer and will rule the desktop market.

Sales of desktop hardware are falling and as a major player in Canonical recently said: "There is a big elephant in the room." So, Canonical cannot see themselves making money out of the desktop. And as for the mobile market, there are two elephants in the room, already. Canonical is taking what it calls "a high risk, high gain" strategy with its convergence plans.

Oh, by the way, I would not call a netbook a desktop machine. But you seem to do so. You claim that netbook performance is equal to desktop performance. That tells me that you are biased to start with.

[goldshirt9]

try a lighter distro for the netbook.
kubuntu / lubuntu / mint nadia xfce / peppermint.
My netbook also ran a little slow with a full install of ubuntu.
Lubuntu ran the worst when starting the software manager, peppermint ran the best

[snowpine]

The nice thing about Linux is you can test-drive Live USB's with no commitment and choose the distro that works best for your hardware, lifestyle, and workflow. I have not tried Ubuntu 13.04 yet so I can't be of specific assistance.

[victorche]

Well, since Ubuntu 12.04.2 still has Unity 2D, I've decided to try it... There are no speed problems, works fast.

But guess what... I've had a perfect view doing live session and now when I've installed this... The screen brightness is so low, that I can barely read your posts :(

And increasing brightness to 100% is not working at all. The screen is dark as hell

[3rdalbum]

If you had asked for help instead of ranting, somebody would have advised you to install your graphics driver.

[victorche]

If you had asked for help instead of ranting, somebody would have advised you to install your graphics driver.

What kind of driver should I install for Intel 3600?

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

PS Your kernel is a little dated for -current:



andrew@skamandros~$ uname -r
3.8.8


:)
so is yours, 3.8.9 is out

[MadmanRB]

Actually the slowness seems to be normal on initial boot on most Ubuntu installs I have done.
Once the first boot gets done its fine, second boot onwards is usually much smoother.
Did you try that?
In the end it may be your graphics card, intels can be flaky.

[pfeiffep]

Well, long time since I was here... But inspired by the good reviews about the latest Ubuntu, decided to try it... What can I say?!

This is not the Microsoft's killer and it will not rule the desktop market soon... On a fresh install my Packard Bell Dot S netbook is simply unusable. After the Unity is loaded, it takes 3-4 secs just to display "Firefox" label on hover. I've never seen so slow OS, really!

So I've started reading, searching in Google... Many topics suggest to install "gnome-session-fallback" or something. I've installed this and now I have a gnome-like desktop without even a simple transparency.

Well, "great" work, Canonical! You're ready to win the world market with this "ultra fast" OS. It takes 1-2 mins to start "Software Centre" on my 6 months old netbook with 2 GB of RAM. Next time I'll buy a netbook with 8 GB RAM... I hope it will be enough for your "optimized" Unity...
:mad:

I too installed Ubuntu with great expectations, but my pc experience since Commodores has trained me to look for alternatives. I decided to stick with Ubuntu - the solution to the sluggishness on my 'Columbus' :KS Dell laptop was to install gnome session fallback and using no effects. This installation has enabled me to use all the user friendly aspects with none of the lag you described!

There are other 'user friendly' distributions that you might consider. I'm in the testing and evaluation phase of Linux Mint 14 on this laptop. There was not quite as much lag using native Cinnamon, but the lack of responsivness still bothered me so I boot it with classic gnome no effects. Linux Mint 14 is based on Ubuntu, there's another Mint available from Debian.

Thanks for the rant and the opportunity to positively respond :popcorn: so other newcomers might have a more balanced view!

[andrew.46]

so is yours, 3.8.9 is out

Actually 3.8.10 is out now :). My point was however that the Slackware -current stock kernel is 3.8.8....

[pqwoerituytrueiwoq]

true, but i was referring to the ubuntu mainline
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/?C=N;O=D

[andrew.46]

OIC. Have a look at the OP's sig:



Proud Slackware Current user
/Kernel 2.6.29.6; KDE 4.2.4; XOrg 1.6.3/
Once you got Slack, you never turn back


This is where I was referring to :)

[Tamlynmac]

victorche
Thanks but I don't think this is a "Linux in general" chat and talk... This is Ubuntu specific (I am talking about 13.04 here). And I've choosen the "General Help" section, as I am asking for some kind of help here...

No where in your OP did you make a support request, all you did was rant.

I'm always amazed when users come here to complain about a new release, after failing to test said release. Just expecting their system to be fully compatible and functional with a new version. Why not try Xubuntu 13.04, I'm testing it on a Zareason mini with a dual core Intel processor (1.1gig) and 2 gigs of ram. It is a little slower than Xubuntu 12.04, but still quite snappy and after removing all the unnecessary notifications, etc. the performance did improved. Still not to the level of 12.04.

I don't recall reading anywhere that Canonical was trying to produce a Windows killer OS. I see all of Linux as a choice, should one be dissatisfied with a distro or version - there's certainly plenty of others to choose from. I'll never understand why a user would install a new version without testing and just assume their system (perhaps not even purchased specifically for Linux) will support the new release. Or, that the new release will meet their needs/expectations beyond what others report. I do find the ongoing excuses (especially regarding video) annoying after reading them for years. ATI, NVIDA, INTEL all at some point since my joining the forums, have been associated here with poor performance. I seriously doubt making excuses will improve a user's frustration and IMHO it only serves to impart failure.

If you truly wish to request support, I suggest you start a thread in the appropriate help section specifically for that purpose. One suggestion I'd make, is not to rant in a support request - but rather just note the issue. It's been my experience that the volunteers helping in those sections don't really wish to waste time reading a rant.

Just my $0.02

[pfeiffep]

No where in your OP did you make a support request, all you did was rant.

I'm always amazed when users come here to complain about a new release, after failing to test said release. Just expecting their system to be fully compatible and functional with a new version. Why not try Xubuntu 13.04, I'm testing it on a Zareason mini with a dual core Intel processor (1.1gig) and 2 gigs of ram. It is a little slower than Xubuntu 12.04, but still quite snappy and after removing all the unnecessary notifications, etc. the performance did improved. Still not to the level of 12.04.

I don't recall reading anywhere that Canonical was trying to produce a Windows killer OS. I see all of Linux as a choice, should one be dissatisfied with a distro or version - there's certainly plenty of others to choose from. I'll never understand why a user would install a new version without testing and just assume their system (perhaps not even purchased specifically for Linux) will support the new release. Or, that the new release will meet their needs/expectations beyond what others report. I do find the ongoing excuses (especially regarding video) annoying after reading them for years. ATI, NVIDA, INTEL all at some point since my joining the forums, have been associated here with poor performance. I seriously doubt making excuses will improve a user's frustration and IMHO it only serves to impart failure.

If you truly wish to request support, I suggest you start a thread in the appropriate help section specifically for that purpose. One suggestion I'd make, is not to rant in a support request - but rather just note the issue. It's been my experience that the volunteers helping in those sections don't really wish to waste time reading a rant.

Just my $0.02

+1

[Hylas de Niall]

@ victorche: I think you may just have a bad install. 13.04 is very speedy on my four year old Atom powered netbook with 2gb of ram. It boots fast, loads programs fast, and is light on resource use as well.

[victorche]

@ victorche: I think you may just have a bad install. 13.04 is very speedy on my four year old Atom powered netbook with 2gb of ram. It boots fast, loads programs fast, and is light on resource use as well.

Well, thanks for your info! Unfortunately I've tried 3-4 installs, then update everything, several restarts... The same slow performance.

As far as I can see (doing some googling) the problem is with the Intel GMA 3600 video. It seems unsupported under Linux. The strange thing is... Ubuntu 12.04.2 is working fine in Unity 3D with the live CD. But when I install 12.04.2 there is a really dark display. The brightness is at maximum, but I can barely see anything on the screen. This is fixed if I install cedarview-drm driver, which is installed with some errors, but after reboot the brightness is Ok.

So my questions are... why Unity 3D is working fine in 12.04.2, but not in 13.04?
And this cedarview-drm... Why it is not available under 13.04?

And one last question... Why 12.04.2 is working fine during a live session and there are brightness problems after install :o

[Baruuu]

I had big problems with Ubuntu and Lubuntu 12.10 and my netbook. The main problem were the drivers for GMA 3600 and it needed my several hours to fix the problems. Last week i killed accidentally my Lubuntu by starting the stupid Windows-Recovery instead of Windows and i was very affraid to try to redo the fix after reinstalling.

But Lubuntu 13.04 worked perfectly well from beginning after the complete reinstalling. The drivers for GMA 3600 seem to be included now. And there are no problems with the speed although i have only 1 GB Ram. (Asus R011cx) It works better than Windows 7 and i always use Lubuntu for normal surfing or working.

For the problems with the brightness ... on Lubuntu 12.10 i had the same problem. I have added something to grub to gain normal brightness. I think it was this: http://askubuntu.com/questions/128463/brightness-controls-dont-work-on-an-acer-4741g (But i am a Linux-Noob, so do not listen to me.)

[victorche]

Thanks, @Baruuu! As I said, my brightness looks fine after installing this cedarview-drm. Anyway, it installs with some errors. And now I don't need to fix it, as it works... The strange thing was that everything is Ok with a live session, but not after installing.

And about 13.04... I think in your case it works fast, as you're using Lubuntu. As far as I know it is a really light DE. But I am talking about the Ubuntu 13.04 here (with Unity). And I think everyone with Intel 3600 is having the same problems.

Yep, I know this is an Intel's fault as they're not providing any up-to-date drivers. But most of the netbooks do use exactly the same video cards. And most of the comments in the internet are... "Contact intel for a fix!".

I am nobody... I mean I am just a single user, who has one cheap integrated video... These things should be fixed by the major linux distributors like Canonical. They have the name and the resource to contact Intel. Not 10 or 20 users like me.

Just my 2 cents...

[mideal]

Some of you don't even THINK about what can HELP Vitorche, it seems.

I guess I know what is wrong, as I had the same on a quad core ASUS 1205 netbook with 12.10 in december (and several versions, distros, gdms, among them Ubuntu, xubuntu, Eeebuntu, Mint 14 Mate, Cinnamon, KDE in 32/64 bit), it felt like 50 reinstalls.
After displaying the deskptop, processor use was 70 to 98 % an ALL FOUR cores. You couldn't even determine if your click on any icon has been recognized (so you start programs twice, which doesn't really help).
I could not unterstand the problem as 11.10 was running on that machine properly and seamless, and, a point you cannot claim as some of you do above, I tried all these distros before with a USB stick (multisystem is really a good practice, I have round 20 OSses/systems on one stick now). Every single USB-booted (test)version did it very well, without any performance lacks, but after installing on harddisk the system was nearly not usable. So any comment like these - I took some similar ones - is pure mockery of a smart-ass.

All I needed was to install a graphics driver - it took some patience, as softwareinstllation on the last 30% of processor capacity is no fun.
After correct installation the system ran or better - it flew. Processor use is at 10% - one of four cores - if you start a programm, the rest - e.g. when doing nothing besides system monitoring is about 2-4%.

[TenPlus1]

I'd recommend using Lubuntu 13.04 on your laptop instead of the Unity driven Ubuntu... Lubuntu is a lot lighter and much faster, especially on older hardware and will still give you a really good desktop environment to play around with...

[victorche]

...
All I needed was to install a graphics driver - it took some patience, as softwareinstllation on the last 30% of processor capacity is no fun...

Thanks, @mideal!

But the question here is... which driver should I use? As far as I can see... Intel 3600 is not supported. Maybe there is an opensource driver or something?

[Perfect Storm]

AFAIK, the intel driver is open source.
According to this the latest intel driver is on 13.04 by default (by a month ago).
But you could try checking the updater anyway: http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/intel-linux-graphics-installer-fixed.html

[craig10x]

Intel is very linux friendly...their proprietary driver is the same as their open source one...that's why no optional driver is offered by ubuntu...cause there isn't one ;)

[Slim Odds]

Actually the slowness seems to be normal on initial boot on most Ubuntu installs I have done.
Once the first boot gets done its fine, second boot onwards is usually much smoother.
Did you try that?
In the end it may be your graphics card, intels can be flaky.

There is a reason for that first boot thing: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/precise/man2/readahead.2.html

[victorche]

AFAIK, the intel driver is open source.
According to this the latest intel driver is on 13.04 by default (by a month ago).
But you could try checking the updater anyway: http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/intel-linux-graphics-installer-fixed.html

Thank you, but this is maybe not my case. According to this link:
https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2012/2012q4-intel-graphics-stack-release

Intel GMA3600 is not supported here. If you google about this, you'll find a lots of topics about Ubuntu and GMA3600.
The problem is in this cedarview-drm package (driver) and I really don't think that 13.04 has a proper support for this video... :(

[3rdalbum]

Okay, so you have a POWERVR GPU and it is not supported. 12.04 uses Unity 2D when there is no 3D support. 12.10 has the ability to render 3D on the CPU.

You can turn off semitransparency and animations in 12.10 and 13.04 so it behaves more like Unity 2D and doesn't use as much CPU power. A quick Google search will help you find the dconf key for this.

[onurrsln]

I am using packard bell dot s too. Applications opening deadly slow. But this is not canonicals fault. I didn't check this device specs before bought it. After 13.04 installation i googled about compitable gma 3600 driver for 13.04 and i noticed this devices GPU chipset provided by PowerVR and device poorer than iphone 4 s. however i installed 13.04 to my desktop (with Nvidia GPU) its fastest gnome distro i've ever seen.

[Rob Sayer]

... As far as I can see (doing some googling) the problem is with the Intel GMA 3600 video. It seems unsupported under Linux....

I'm typing this on a netbook using the Intel GMA 3600/Cedarview video architecture. It isn't exactly unsupported in linux but it's not all that well supported either.

Yes, intel hardware is generally your safest bet for linux. Except for a couple of the atom cpu's like yours and mine, where they outsourced the gpu to powerVR. Who will not release the source code. So it's not open source, which is a problem for linux in general.

You can successfully load video drivers in 12.04 under "additional drivers" ... as long as you run update first. Otherwise you'll bork the video. Additional Drivers does not resolve dependencies as well as apt or synaptic. In fact I prefer to load drivers with synaptic now.

However, these drivers do not use the full performance of the gpu, and I doubt they ever will. You do not get proper 3d acceleration. In kubuntu I can't select opengl. This doesn't bother me ... it's a netbook and I don't use it for watching 1080p video. I realize some people may expect more but I don't.

In 13.04, the drivers have been moved into the kernel proper, and they work much better that way. I switched from 12.04 to 13.04 on the same type of hardware as yours and it's way faster. No comparison.

The thing is, and I kind oof hate to say it, but I think you're using the wrong desktop. I had ubuntu 12.04 with gnome 3 based unity/compiz at first on my laptop with an i3 and 4Gb. In other words, pretty middle of the road performance in general but way faster than a netbook. I yanked it because it was too slow. I'd never install it on a 1.6GHz netbook even if it had more compatible video. And gnome-fallback or unity 2D isn't that much of an improvement because it's also based on gnome 3 and compiz.

So I'd recommend trying another desktop. I haven't used lubuntu ... I don't think it's necessary on a 1Gb netbook,and I've found that saving memory after a point means I'm getting slowed down for lack of features. I've used both the xfce and kde based desktops. I settled on kubuntu. It doesn't use that many more resources than xfce (and a lot less thasn unity) and it's a hell of a lot more powerful.