giga+bytes
July 26th, 2016, 11:57 PM
I just ordered the components for a mini desktop PC build (hooray!), so I would like some help writing a list of details for installing Ubuntu (solely Ubuntu, no windows at all) on it while waiting for the components. This includes configuring the BIOS for Ubuntu, then installing, updating and configuring Ubuntu.
The specs: ASRock AM1H-ITX, Athlon 5350, GSkill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3-1600 (single stick), Intel 540s SSD. It will be used exclusively for office-type use. I have a gaming PC for everything else.
I bought a Lenovo laptop a couple months ago for the purpose of starting to adjust the family to Ubuntu (from Windows), and because it has an AMD processor I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (not dual-boot, I replaced the factory HDD with a new SSD for a solely Ubuntu system). This new build is also AMD-based, plus I need to have the same version and flavour of Ubuntu as the laptop so I can manage things more efficiently (I am the house techie), so I will be installing the same Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
Note: the laptop is used for general web browsing and Linux gaming, which is why I figured it would probably be best to get the full Ubuntu, but if another flavour would work fine for the purposes of both of these computers, and provide any worthwhile benefits, then I'll consider making the change.
Unfortunately our initial experience with Ubuntu has not been terrific, for the laptop often freezes with green lines across the screen, sometimes restarts itself for no reason, and will not install Ubuntu base updates because they are from "unauthenticated source". A few days ago Ifound out thatI somehow missed disabling secure boot, but I have not yet fresh-installed Ubuntu to see if that fixes anything. I want to make sure I configure and install everything the proper way with this new PC right from the start, so I can use it for a while to verify it has none of the problems the laptop does, then fresh install Ubuntu in the laptop the same way. Hopefully this will give us the stable reliable Ubuntu computers we were hoping for.
So.. some questions I can think of at this momentare:
>Does BIOS mode (UEFI/Legacy) make any difference at all?
>Should I install the open source or proprietary graphics driver? (originally went with the open source for the laptop, but was having so much trouble I went with the proprietary, which lessened the problems though introduced complaints about third-party drivers)
>Can I select the best server/repository to get updates from straight away? (with the laptop, the first location it got updates from caused problems. I had to search online for a solution, which led me to somehow telling Ubuntu to locate the best place to get updates from, then it finished updating and supposedlyfixed the errors the first place caused)
>Do I need swap space? (I gather from an article about swap that with 8GB RAM and no memory-heavy programs or games, swap is not needed)
>For a backup I plan to use rsync, and only backup the user data, not the entire installation. Is that a good plan, or is there a better program or method?
>For a firewall (for the laptop) I followed an article in the forums about Ubuntu security to configure incoming & outgoing ports, but I am not sure if it is still sufficient or if there is a more up-to-date security configuration I should follow? (I want excellent protection from all possible threats, so please point out any programs or configurations/settings I need or can consider)
I know there is more I have thought of, but do not remember right now. Advice, and experience from members with similar builds, is welcome and appreciated!
The specs: ASRock AM1H-ITX, Athlon 5350, GSkill Ripjaws X 8GB DDR3-1600 (single stick), Intel 540s SSD. It will be used exclusively for office-type use. I have a gaming PC for everything else.
I bought a Lenovo laptop a couple months ago for the purpose of starting to adjust the family to Ubuntu (from Windows), and because it has an AMD processor I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (not dual-boot, I replaced the factory HDD with a new SSD for a solely Ubuntu system). This new build is also AMD-based, plus I need to have the same version and flavour of Ubuntu as the laptop so I can manage things more efficiently (I am the house techie), so I will be installing the same Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.
Note: the laptop is used for general web browsing and Linux gaming, which is why I figured it would probably be best to get the full Ubuntu, but if another flavour would work fine for the purposes of both of these computers, and provide any worthwhile benefits, then I'll consider making the change.
Unfortunately our initial experience with Ubuntu has not been terrific, for the laptop often freezes with green lines across the screen, sometimes restarts itself for no reason, and will not install Ubuntu base updates because they are from "unauthenticated source". A few days ago Ifound out thatI somehow missed disabling secure boot, but I have not yet fresh-installed Ubuntu to see if that fixes anything. I want to make sure I configure and install everything the proper way with this new PC right from the start, so I can use it for a while to verify it has none of the problems the laptop does, then fresh install Ubuntu in the laptop the same way. Hopefully this will give us the stable reliable Ubuntu computers we were hoping for.
So.. some questions I can think of at this momentare:
>Does BIOS mode (UEFI/Legacy) make any difference at all?
>Should I install the open source or proprietary graphics driver? (originally went with the open source for the laptop, but was having so much trouble I went with the proprietary, which lessened the problems though introduced complaints about third-party drivers)
>Can I select the best server/repository to get updates from straight away? (with the laptop, the first location it got updates from caused problems. I had to search online for a solution, which led me to somehow telling Ubuntu to locate the best place to get updates from, then it finished updating and supposedlyfixed the errors the first place caused)
>Do I need swap space? (I gather from an article about swap that with 8GB RAM and no memory-heavy programs or games, swap is not needed)
>For a backup I plan to use rsync, and only backup the user data, not the entire installation. Is that a good plan, or is there a better program or method?
>For a firewall (for the laptop) I followed an article in the forums about Ubuntu security to configure incoming & outgoing ports, but I am not sure if it is still sufficient or if there is a more up-to-date security configuration I should follow? (I want excellent protection from all possible threats, so please point out any programs or configurations/settings I need or can consider)
I know there is more I have thought of, but do not remember right now. Advice, and experience from members with similar builds, is welcome and appreciated!