how to log in to Ubuntu server

[TheFu]

When you are new to Linux, many things that are possible aren't really recommended. If you want a desktop, the best answer is to install the desktop variant you want, wiping the disk during the installation.

This will get a system that follows online guides for how things work and limit surprises. A mixed server-desktop system will lack packages that desktop users will expect. That is only an issue if you need the desktop. Server people will be fine managing the system like a server. I actually prefer that for my desktops, but that is me. I'm odd. People tell me that all the time.

[mastablasta]

Last night I found commands to install Xfce, and several hundred files installed, but it did not end
in the Xubuntu desktop Gui that I expected, but the command line. I searched in vain for a command line
to open Xubuntu. When I boot the computer today it seems to run through all the Xfce installation from yesterday,
but it does not end with the usual command-line, just a blinking cursor.
I am unable to write anything, so how do I get on from here?

don't know how to get from blinking cursor (could be a GPU driver issue?!). try booting into older kernel (hold shift on boot to get grub menu selection) or boot to recovery mode. form the data porvided it is imposisble to say what you did and what the error was.

you were supposed to install xubuntu-desktop package not just XFCE. if you installed only XFCE then you need to manually install the display manager a.k.a. login manager (probably gdm but there are others available). the manager then loads after boot and this is the point where you select username and enter password. remember linux is a modular system. this means whole parts of the OS can be changed. windows just has one display manager, but linux has a couple of them and you can choose the one you want. if you install the desktop package all this is installed for you. but you only installed the desktop environment (XFCE).

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/choose...play-managers/

[karebo]

Thank you mastablasta.
I had Ubuntu server already installed, and if I got it right, Ubuntu + Xcfe = Xubuntu.

There is no GPU issue. I had an older 2,5" HDD that I exchanged with the SSD in question, and there was no problem
setting BIOS to boot and install from USB to the old HDD.

I will try your suggestions for getting the command line and hopefully enable the SSD to load an OS from USB.
I have realized that it will be too time-consuming for me to get acquainted and familiar with Ubuntu, so maybe I should try
Plex or Amahi

[TheFu]

Thank you mastablasta.
I had Ubuntu server already installed, and if I got it right, Ubuntu + Xcfe = Xubuntu.
<snip>

I have realized that it will be too time-consuming for me to get acquainted and familiar with Ubuntu, so maybe I should try
Plex or Amahi

Xubuntu is a group of programs plus the core Ubuntu and XFCE desktop. In theory, the programs installed would be tuned for the XFCE theme and not as heavy as the suite of programs installed with a full Ubuntu Gnome3 desktop.

Plex is a program, not an OS. BTW, you don't need a plex account or need to use any plex clients to access the media it manages. I've been running plex media server on a server system here for at least 4 yrs now. It is accessible from anywhere in the world - all without a plexID.

Amahi? Looked it up. Seems it is a group of media-centric programs installed over either Fedora or Ubuntu OSes. Think I'll load it into a VM today and check it out. Many of the things Amahi is trying to accomplish to make adding more programs/features are solved using either snaps or containers on standard Ubuntu.

Regardless, choice is a good thing. Perhaps if you say what it is you want the system to accomplish, someone here can make suggestions more to your skill level and needs?

[mastablasta]

I had Ubuntu server already installed, and if I got it right, Ubuntu + Xcfe = Xubuntu.

correction - in this case it would be Ubuntu desktop + XFCE = something similar to Xubuntu

Xubuntu uses a few other applications/programs.

Ubuntu server on the other hand is command line only version of Ubuntu operating system. it also preinstall many things needed for server.

Zentyal server for example (by default - or at least it used to do it by default) installs desktop, but it also installs WebGUI (which means you can access the server from another PC via browser).

i am not sure what you are trying to do or what you will use the server for. but if you plan to use this as media server then i suggest you look into Openelec or Kodi. both should be easy to install. there are others there as well. if this is a media server then you definitely do not need any desktop.

[TheFu]

"Media Server" means different things to different people. Usually, what people want is a mix of place to store their media AND a playback machine. Some want a way to record TV as well. If that is your goal, and you don't mind the noise from the PC, then something like Kodi is an excellent choice.

If you want to record TV, then you'll need a tuner device that works in your location with either OTA or whatever paid TV service you have. I have antennas in the attic and use a few network-based TV tuners from Silicon Dust. The tuners are available to any computing platform on the same subnet using DLNA. I can watch TV (sports) on an Android tablet while smoking ribs out back, for example. Where I live, there are over 90 channels "broadcast" OTA.

OTOH, if "media server" means a place to store and stream media FROM, not actually consume, then something like Plex Media Server or miniDLNA or one of the 10 other "servers" would be better. You can still use Kodi as a client, I do, to play the media. I use OSMC for playback from a plex server. OSMC is a raspberry-pi distro of Kodi designed for silent media consumption from 10 ft away using just a TV-style remote control. I don't use any plex client software, just DLNA-capable software from PC, Linux, Android, and Kodi client machines.

But the Plex Server is on a headless (no monitor) "server" running Ubuntu.

[karebo]

Thank you
1) The services I want my server to render are: store, primarily videos, playback (that is viewing on my TV screen

cabled to the computer), and remote access over the internet.
so that would mean that I should install both Kodi (for playback to cabled TV) and Plex (for internet Access)?
2) I am stuck in a curious problem though: My SSD is blocked. After installing Ubuntu server and adding Xfce, I am unable to boot from USB, that is, I am unable to install any other software
or erase the disc. When I set BIOS to boot from USB, this message appears for some Seconds: " error: cant find command hwmatch", then Ubuntu server starts.
Any suggestions to what I could do to make BIOS boot from USB?

[mastablasta]

Thank you
1) The services I want my server to render are: store, primarily videos, playback (that is viewing on my TV screen

cabled to the computer), and remote access over the internet.
so that would mean that I should install both Kodi (for playback to cabled TV) and Plex (for internet Access)?

remote access to files is best done via sFTP (using SSH). remote playback (streaming) is another thing.

Kodi will play the media on cabled TV.

i don't know about the other issue. i am not sure what xfce has to do with booting from SSD or how it would even block it. are you saying it doesn't boot at all?
and from USB - are you saying you can't boto into any OS from USB as well? not even a live desktop linux?

[karebo]

The other issue, 2): I would like to install Kodi, on the same SSD where Ubuntu server is now installed.
To do that I will of course have to download and "burn" Kodi on a USB stick and set BIOS to boot from it.
This is impossible, because after having set BIOS to boot from USB, the computer boots from SSD-Ubuntu (starting with this error Message I mentioned)
Could this be an UEFI/BIOS issue? I believe Rufus "burned" Ubuntu in UEFI mode.
Preferably I would like to keep Ubuntu, if I succeed in accessing USB on booting, hopefully being asked in the process to create a New partition,
but that is another matter, now the problem is to be able to install anything at all.
I have tried putting in another, empty HD in the computer, and booting from USB Works fine.

[TheFu]

Plex isn't necessary for internet access, but it can make it easier if you don't mind that organization having access to your media.

For streaming over the internet, there are multiple solutions to access the plex webGUI without a plex account/ID. You can either setup a SOCKS proxy via ssh or setup a VPN using any of the VPN solutions like openvpn, WineGuard, AlgoVPN (IPSec), whatever.

With a VPN, android clients can have easy access to your entire home network, which is secure, and can be handy. If you setup a nextcloud instance, then you have sometime like dropbox + calendaring + contacts under your control that doesn't need some outside "cloudy" provider.

You can install kodi with apt-get install. No need for a separate boot setup. Kodi is a DLNA client/renderer which will connect to any DLNA server like Plex, miniDLNA, whatever. It can also connect directly to storage, but if you have multiple clients, having a central plex server really is nicer.
I use Kodi from multiple places in the house with the PlexBMC addon to have nice access to a headless Plex Server. Remote streaming of music, I use multiple different methods, nextcloud, plex webGUI, or just a local copy on a microSD card in the phone. Streaming video over the internet is more of a trick to me. I try to respect other people's bandwidth. It is just easier to put video onto a flash drive for playback later.

I can't help with the boot issue besides check your BIOS boot settings.

Had an SSD go read-only a few weeks before it died completely. I was lucky. Sometimes they just stop working, no warning. It never worked again after that. Get your daily backups perfect and either replace it ASAP or start planning to replace it for when it never works again.