Linux

IanDanKilmaster · September 17, 2007, 11:53:33 PM

Okay, I must preface... these are all programs I have running under GNOME. The reason why I have so many programs that seem to do the same thing is because, for some reason, I encountered an issue with a program not playing a certain file or not being able to edit a certain file or something like that. So yeah, instead of tackling the problem head-on, I just went for an easy out. As a result, I'm now confronted with the issue of having loads of wasted space I could be using for por... I mean, very important documents (I kid, I kid). So without further ado, my multimedia programs: AcidRip, Amarok, Audacity, Avidemux, BEAST, Cecilia, Cowbell, EasyTAG, GXine, LiVES (2 Versions), Mixxx, MKV Files Creator, MPlayer, Ogle, Pitvi Video Editor, Realplayer 10, Rhythmbox, Serpentine, Songbird, Sound Juice, sound konverter, sound recorder, Sweep, Thoggen, Totem, VLC, XMMS. Feel free to suggest any GNOME-friendly alternatives to the programs on the list (as for Kaffeine, it works well in my KDE, but I don't remember it doing so good in my GNOME).
Thanks,
Stanbert

C-Chan · September 18, 2007, 09:39:22 AM

Alrighty, IDK, let's get this show on the road shall we?! ^v^

[oh dear GAWD, please Kaffeine! I never liked Totem... ^^']

VLC: VLC, Kaffeine
[You have to keep VLC around for the reasons I mentioned earlier. If nothing plays in VLC, it's either a realplayer format or unplayable. ^___^]

XMMS: Kaffeine
[Then again, if you want a really fast, cheap little music player, I might recommend Audacious. It's like XMMS, but less buggy. -v-]
[/list]

As you can see, I'm gonna need some elaboration on a few of these, but I think so far I've done okay. ^^

Bear in mind that you can always try out these KDE apps from your Gnome, so feel free to install them and give them a go just to make sure you can like them. ^___^

Once you're ready for full-blown migration to a new platform, I'll try to help you out with that as well. Rule of thumb in case I'm not around,... backup your Home Directory so you can keep all your files and settings intact. ^.^

IanDanKilmaster · September 18, 2007, 11:58:16 AM

Thanks for the detailed response, it helps alot because a large portion of these programs I wasn't sure about (I was concerned some were around to do things the others wouldn't). I've already installed KDE, so the base programs are already available in GNOME (I just have to use Alacarte so I have that nice little graphic to select in the menu ^_^').
BEAST is a tagging program...
Cecilia, haven't used it yet ^_^', I believe it was for editing video
LiVES, video editor - does formats that Avidemux won't, has nice WMM/Adobe-esque effects available, just two downsides: RAM-hog, f'n slow (I have two versions because one is an old version I compiled... for some unknown reason, the other was a .deb package that was actually NEWER than the one I had compiled... shocking, huh?)
Mixxx, DJ/mixing program, probably stick with Sweep or something else
Realplayer: AGREED! although I have to admit that real files are superior in that they offer hi-quality video in a smaller file than .avi (700MB < 1.4GB)
Rhythmbox, yeah it's GNOME's AmaroK
SongBird, installed during my "I'm going to try out every freakin beta program there is" phase
Sound Juicer, yeah, another ripper... the default one in fact... the only reason I use it is because it auto-tags using teh internets
Sound Recorder, used when I only want to record (Audacity is X-Box huge on RAM, very selfish program)
Sweep, see Mixxx, nice mixing program
Totem and MPlayer can kiss off, hates 'em
XMMS, see Totem and MPlayer

So as you can see, my main issue has been compatability problems. Despite your suggestion, my love for AmaroK is undying, I very rarely make playlists, so having all my music catalogued is a must. I might just get rid of Rhythmbox, I think the only reason I kept it was because it could rip CDs and interfaced better with GNOME (despite the fact that I didn't have nearly the control I had with AmaroK). Once again, I have to thank you, you've been a real help, I'll let you know when I'm ready to go full on KDE. btw. Have you heard of the distro Musix? It's a multimedia distro, but it's based in Spain. Sure there's an English version and English help available, but I'm always a tad concerned when it comes to where a distro is native. I think there's a more well-known distro called dyne:bolic that does the same things but I'm not sure about it. Anyway, just wanted to know your thoughts.
Thanks.

C-Chan · September 18, 2007, 01:41:04 PM

Yo IDK. ^__^

No problemo, always glad to help a fellow Penguinista! ^v^

QuoteI've already installed KDE, so the base programs are already available in GNOME (I just have to use Alacarte so I have that nice little graphic to select in the menu ').

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention,....
One of KDE's biggest selling points for me was the ease with which you can modify the application (aka, the "Start") menu. ^^

With just your regular, XP-like right-click, you can edit a menu entry or add/delete them, or link them elsewhere on your taskbar or desktop. In contrast, editing the XFCE menu is nightmarish at best (Dream Linux implements it's own tool to alleviate this, but sadly this does nothing to help all the other XFCE distros... ^^').

QuoteBEAST is a tagging program...

Ah yeah, we can get rid of that sucka.

I do recall it required half-a-gajillion dependencies. Why, don't know, but you don't need that crap. ^__^
Not installing anything with Mono in it is also a good defense against possible future issues. ^__~

QuoteCecilia, haven't used it yet ', I believe it was for editing video

Yeah, in that case Kdenlive for simple stuff, or the more professional Cinerella if you want Adobe Premiere- like tasking.

QuoteLiVES, video editor - does formats that Avidemux won't, has nice WMM/Adobe-esque effects available, just two downsides: RAM-hog, f'n slow (I have two versions because one is an old version I compiled... for some unknown reason, the other was a .deb package that was actually NEWER than the one I had compiled... shocking, huh?)

I guess you can keep this one if it really is an issue with Avidemux. Course, it could also mean that you need a particular workaround to get Avidemux to work whatever it is you need worked. ^^

QuoteMixxx, DJ/mixing program, probably stick with Sweep or something else

We don't like pr0n here anyway. ^.^

QuoteRealplayer: AGREED! although I have to admit that real files are superior in that they offer hi-quality video in a smaller file than .avi (700MB < 1.4GB)

Bah! I prefer OGM's to all of them anyday. ^__^
I'll change my mind the minute Realplayer opens up their file formats. ^__~

[and when that happens, I,... a pig,.... shall fly.... ^.^]

QuoteRhythmbox, yeah it's GNOME's AmaroK

Ah sou sou. ^.^
*strikes off list*

QuoteSongBird, installed during my "I'm going to try out every freakin beta program there is" phase

It's actually not bad in Windows, but it does feel like a beta program. Now I use Zinf at work (one of the many descendants of FreeAmp), and can't wait till Amarok gets ported to Windows/Mac OSX. ^^

QuoteSound Juicer, yeah, another ripper... the default one in fact... the only reason I use it is because it auto-tags using teh internets

Should mention that K3B has CDDB connectivity also. ^.^
Very valuable when making copies of Audio CDs.... ^v^

QuoteSound Recorder, used when I only want to record (Audacity is X-Box huge on RAM, very selfish program)

Yeah, the K applications are cute little things,... remind me of the old Windows accessories back when they were still useful and plentiful, only better AND more plentiful. ^.^
(KolourPaint, for example, is like Windows Paintbrush on major 'Roids! ^___^)

I would've KILLED to have something free and cool like Krita on my Windows back in '96. -v-

QuoteSweep, see Mixxx, nice mixing program

In that case, Kleansweep is more like Disk Cleanup in Windows, so I was WAAAAY Off. ^^;
I don't do much mixing, so you'll have to use your judgement there. ^v^

QuoteTotem and MPlayer can kiss off, hates 'em

In fairness, Gxine is really good for computers with low RAM. But in fairness to Kaffeine, it still performs well in computers with low RAM. ^^

QuoteXMMS, see Totem and MPlayer

I like how some distros skin XMMS, but for some reason I just could never really love it. ;__;

QuoteSo as you can see, my main issue has been compatability problems. Despite your suggestion, my love for AmaroK is undying, I very rarely make playlists, so having all my music catalogued is a must. I might just get rid of Rhythmbox, I think the only reason I kept it was because it could rip CDs and interfaced better with GNOME (despite the fact that I didn't have nearly the control I had with AmaroK).

Well then,... you'll be glad to know that Amarok is not only bundled with KDE, but it's also integrated into the Konqueror file manager! (at least the pre-4.0 versions)
KDE loves Amarok, and Amarok loves you, so it's like a match made in heaven. ^___^

QuoteOnce again, I have to thank you, you've been a real help, I'll let you know when I'm ready to go full on KDE. btw. Have you heard of the distro Musix? It's a multimedia distro, but it's based in Spain. Sure there's an English version and English help available, but I'm always a tad concerned when it comes to where a distro is native. I think there's a more well-known distro called dyne:bolic that does the same things but I'm not sure about it. Anyway, just wanted to know your thoughts.

Well, I guess that could apply for distros like AltLinux and Pardus and stuff, but you'd be surprised how readily they support English. ^^

Still, as far as Musix is concerned, I have tried and failed to run the liveCD in my VirtualBox and I've been too lazy to burn it on a CD and try it on a real machine. It sounds like an interesting distros if only because it is custom-made for musicians. ^___^

However, most of these custom distros are really just repackagings of major distributions with some preexisting applications available for immediate usage on the LiveCD. With some work, for example, you can get Ubuntu to look and work exactly like Fluxbuntu, Red Hat Linux to look and feel exactly like Scientific Linux, and so on..... ^.^

That's why when something new comes along, I make sure it will provide me with:

A) Some exciting new software custom-built for the distro (e.g., Elive).

B) Some exciting new functionality enhancements that make its parent distro a pleasure to use (Linux Mint to Ubuntu)

C) Some exciting new graphic artwork that makes me want to drool over my keybarod (e.g., Elive and Dream Linux compared to Debian)

That being said, if you're hesitant about it or the weird-sounding dyne:bolic, you might want to try out 64 Studio, Ubuntu Studio or even the new kid on the block, JackLab, which actually features JACK connectivity support and uses the awesome Enlightenment Windows Manager:

http://www.jacklab.org/

Downside is that it's based on OpenSUSE, which I never quite liked. ^^'

Speaking of which, I guess I should take a few moments to talk a little about Window Manager speed. They often say that desktop manager A will run better on older hardware than desktop Manager B, and to a certain degree they're correct. But what I've also noticed is that a lot is also dependent on how efficiently the kernel of that distro is compiled. For example, Linux Mint Cassandra XFCE edition (which is just Xubuntu with a complete makeover) barely chugged along on my old Gateway 600Mhz celeron with 192MB of RAM (and this meant for older hardware!), and yet for some strange reason the same machine ran Knoppix (which uses KDE!!) surprisingly smooth! @o@

And this isn't necessarily a Debian thing either, since Elive and Dream Linux also ran very well on said machine. I really don't know what they put into the *Buntus to make them more memory intensive, but one of the things that I hated to admit about my beloved old *Buntus is that they were mysteriously bloaty. (Same goes for OpenSUSE, which REALLY made KDE live up to its reputation.... ^__^')

In any event, you knew when you first made the plunge that using Linux will be a learning experience, and I guess now you'll have to seriously debate whether Ubuntu +KDE, or just plain ol' Kubuntu are right for you, or whether it's time to see if other distros can offer you the performance you crave. ^___^
All the while, not losing sight of the benefits of the *buntus, of course, which consists of a HUGE and helpful community base and software up the wazoo! ^o^

(trust me, I do miss just simply pulling down synaptic and downloading Moto4Lin or Bugswatter with ease... ^.^)

IanDanKilmaster · September 18, 2007, 03:17:25 PM

Awesome, I just found out how to get K3B to find tags... YAY! FYI, what service do you use to find tags? I use MusicBrainz.

Yeah, so right now I'm going through and just clicking the hell outta my Synaptic Package Manager. I'm probably going to go ahead and sudo the hell outta the programs I installed myself.

Oh yes, moto4lin, so happy when I finally got it to operate my v235. YAY!

C-Chan · September 18, 2007, 03:31:47 PM

QuoteAwesome, I just found out how to get K3B to find tags... YAY! FYI, what service do you use to find tags? I use MusicBrainz.

HAHA!!! That's great d00d. ^__^
But yeah, bear in mind that this pig has near to zero knowledge about music apps (only enough to create Ogg files), so I don't know how it gets me those tags only that it just seems to magically put them in for me (at least whenever the CD is recognized).

Then again, I was reading more about JackLab, and it really does look like something you'd be interested in. ^___^

QuoteYeah, so right now I'm going through and just clicking the hell outta my Synaptic Package Manager. I'm probably going to go ahead and sudo the hell outta the programs I installed myself.

Funny,... when I used Xubuntu/Kubuntu, I remember that there were three or so package managers, but somehow I always ended up using Synaptic. Guess it just can't be beat (although I wish it were a little more,... you know.... "graphical"..... ^^;)

QuoteOh yes, moto4lin, so happy when I finally got it to operate my v235. YAY!

Fufufu.... hopefully you didn't take as long hooking that up as I did my RAZR V3. Both in PCLOS and in Xubuntu, I had to wrestle around with this and that and P2K settings, etc,... until it somehow worked when I fired up KMobileTools alongside it. Very weird, but as long as it worked AND it was free (Mobile Phone Tools in Windows is not cheap), I took it any day.... ^.^

Besides, I know where the fault lies with (companies that use Linux for their phones' OSes, but don't have the decency to make it work with Mac/Linux), which is why I can't wait for the OpenMoko to arrive! ^v^

IanDanKilmaster · September 18, 2007, 03:41:25 PM

The reason why I asked is because I actually had to configure K3b for some reason. Anyway, it works now, so I'm happy.

Indeed, I had the same problem with moto4lin, I eventually got around to a tutorial on how to compile it myself... it was a bitch and a half but I got it done, boy was I happy (we're talking from 4pm-4am with no success). Apparently, my phone was only compatible with an older version of moto4lin whereas with KMobileTools it was few clicks to set up.

extra late edit: question:
Is there any way to get K3b to handle other file formats? I would like to know so that I may burn an audio CD without having to convert my .mp3 files to .ogg (I have several files that I just ported over to this computer from my old one so I wouldn't have to deal with re-ripping).

pardon the re-edit, but I found the solution... sorry.

C-Chan · September 21, 2007, 01:05:08 PM

Fufufu,... you really got to make your reedits more visible, cause I missed this entirely. `v'

Yeah, there's definitely a way and you found it. ^__^

IanDanKilmaster · September 21, 2007, 04:27:41 PM

Oops, I hope you understand this isn't the same problem I'm having right now. While this one was certainly easy to fix, my new problem seems to be a bit more... persistent. I think your diagnosis about the xorg.conf is right on the money, but given that I have limited experience in fixing issues like these, I'll need you to walk me through. Once I backtrack and figure out all the f-ups I made, I'll try and give you a more detailed account of how I messed up. Let it also be known that I posted this problem in the ubuntuforums as well, so it's entirely possible (but not quite probable) that I'll get the solution there, I'll keep you posted.

As for the edit and re-edit, yeah, I didn't want it to look like I was just trying to build my post count so I just amended updates onto the last post.

btw. C-Chan, sorry about telling you I'd be back about an hour later, turns out practicum ran on a little longer than expected, but I appreciate you taking the time to make a response ^__^. Thank you.

C-Chan · September 21, 2007, 09:35:45 PM

*trots in and puts on surgery gown*

Okay, I'm back. Mac Store was very fun, but it's time to help out my fellow Linuxers. ^___^

*puts on latex-free gloves*

Posting on the Ubuntu forum was a good call, although I can't guarantee they respond fast enough, so let's see if we can apply a bandage to the problem. -v-

Here's what I recommend,...

/etc/X11/ directory.

D) Once there, copy Xorg.conf (or if you want to play it safe, anything that begins with Xorg-etc...) and paste it (or them) into your USB stick.

Good, now you have a copy of your Xorg.conf file safe. ^___^
If you'd like, post up its contents here for me to see, although the Ubuntu people might be able to dissect it better. ^.^

E) Now then, time for a little practice surgery. ^v^
Open up Nautilus using root access (hit ALT+F2 to invoke the Run Command, and type "sudo nautilus" or something like that). ^__^

F) From here, go back into the root directory OF THE LIVECD and try to find its own copy of Xorg.conf. It creates it when you run the LiveCD session, so it should have already autodetected your hardware and listed it in the file.

G) Copy this Xorg.conf, find your way back into your hard drive's /etc/X11 folder, then overwrite the existing Xorg.conf (or to be even safer, rename that Xorg.conf into Xorg.bak or whatever, then paste the LiveCD's Xorg.conf.

H) Restart your machine and pray. ^__^
[/list]
Well,... don't pray too hard, cause this kinda worked last time I had troubles with Xubuntu. It happened a lot more often than I wanted to back in my *Buntu days, although admittedly I had a very crappy ATI Radeon graphics card at the time. ^.^'

IanDanKilmaster · September 27, 2007, 04:48:38 AM

First off, sorry for the delayed response...
Okay, so I tried overwriting the xorg.conf file just as you told me, but that didn't work. So I did what I should've done to start with and checked the history in my browser to find the thread in the UbuntuForums whose solution I attempted and killed my sound (btw, my thread in the UbuntuForums has YET to be answered). Anyway, I found it and it turns out all I had to do was a little editing to the ~/.asoundrc file. So now my sound works, just really crappy, and not in my browser (well, flash vids don't work). So, backtracking some more I can tell you that I've edited the /etc/esound/esd.conf, /etc/asound.conf, and the /etc/libao.conf files before I got around to the ~/.asoundrc file (which I had to create along with the /etc/asound.conf file, hmmm). As far as I can remember this whole thing started with me editing the output modules in LiVES and causing K3b to no longer load sound using aRts (I refuse to use the other option because it sounds horrible), then I just kept piling problems on with my attempt at finding solutions. As soon as I find some additional time (probably this afternoon), I'll post the output of said files (since they're all text anyway). I really do appreciate your help thus far.
Right now I've been struggling with the idea of dual-booting, I've wondered whether or not I'd have to do it in order to Kubuntu/Ubuntu on the same computer, but I've also been venturing other avenues. I'm currently running a custom LiveCD of NimbleX on my computer, and I have to say, I'm loving it. I really didn't expect such full-features from a distro based on Slackware. So yeah, now I'm wondering on whether or not to dual-boot NimbleX/Ubuntu or NimbleX/Kubuntu. Problem is, I don't really know all that much about partitioning or dual-booting or anything like that... I've never even installed an OS myself. Undoubtedly, I'm worried, but chief among my concerns to start with should be my small 30G hard drive. Now, I'm pretty good when it comes to managing space, but I'm not sure how feasible running two OSes side-by-side would do with such a small computer. I plan on adding some stuff on next semester that'll surely make this entirely realistic, but I'm concerned if I'm being a little over-zealous right now. Anyway, I get ribbed alot because of how much space I lack and I was wondering what your thoughts on this was. Advice?

C-Chan · September 27, 2007, 09:59:30 AM

Iyaaaaaaaaaa,.... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. ^^;

I actually reread your PM and realized I misunderstood you. When you said "I can only get sound on the login screen right now", I thought you meant that there was nothing on the screen BUT audio (which I sorta kinda experienced before with AMD64 Kubuntu). But if you meant that audio didn't play anywhere BUT in the login screen, than yeah that was supposed to have been a sound problem, not a Xorg video problem like I thought. ^v^;

Do wish you had replied back so I could've tried and save you some trouble, but in any event it's great that you hunted down the solution (or sort of one) all on your own. -v-
I wouldn't think too hard about people not replying to your thread, cause after all it is a HUGE BIG@#% FORUM, filled with people like yourself trying to find solutions to problems that they shouldn't have had to put up with to begin with. ^.^

See,... while I do respect the *Buntu's and appreciate what they're trying to do, I do now realize that the legends were true about their instability. Whereas releases 6.04 and below were closer to the more stable branches of Debian, all releases since then (I suppose in order to maintain that "cutting edge" feel) have had to delve into Debian Unstable, as well as some proprietary technology. Hence 7.04 is very buggy under-the-hood, and I definitely saw that with Kubuntu and its inability to shutdown properly or register my scanner the way older *Buntu versions did (plus it also introduced Automatix, which I hear is a good way to break your system... ^^;).

That's why I now hesitate to say it's user-friendly, as this is not necessarily the case. A large community and a huge software library can be good points, but I see you had to put up with viewing them as kind-of liabilities. ^^;

In any event, 8.04 is meant to be LTS, so let's hope that means Canonical will get it's act together by then. Even though it's kinda low to complain about something free, they DO intend to sell something at some point in the future, so they should treat these as "preorders". ^v^;

QuoteAnyway, I found it and it turns out all I had to do was a little editing to the ~/.asoundrc file. So now my sound works, just really crappy, and not in my browser (well, flash vids don't work). So, backtracking some more I can tell you that I've edited the /etc/esound/esd.conf, /etc/asound.conf, and the /etc/libao.conf files before I got around to the ~/.asoundrc file (which I had to create along with the /etc/asound.conf file, hmmm). As far as I can remember this whole thing started with me editing the output modules in LiVES and causing K3b to no longer load sound using aRts (I refuse to use the other option because it sounds horrible), then I just kept piling problems on with my attempt at finding solutions. As soon as I find some additional time (probably this afternoon), I'll post the output of said files (since they're all text anyway). I really do appreciate your help thus far.

Admittedly, sound is a bit of an achilles heel for me, since I never had problems with it (on the other hand, thanks to that wretched ATI video card (DNRIP!!! `v'), I have become adept at jiggling video back to work. -v-

But I'll see what I can do. ^.^

QuoteRight now I've been struggling with the idea of dual-booting, I've wondered whether or not I'd have to do it in order to Kubuntu/Ubuntu on the same computer

Well according to my old *Buntu sources, no. Kubuntu and Ubuntu are identical, so it'd be a waste of space to install both on the same machine, when you could simply change the desktop environment (along with the corresponding artwork) on the login screen. Course, this requires some tinkering (almost as if you're converting Ubuntu to Ubuntu CE.

On the other hand, installing Kubuntu/Ubuntu on separate partitions, then creating dedicated partitions for your /boot, /tmp, /home, and /usr partitions, might work. That way, even though you do have two separate OSes, your programs and user settings will be shared by both.

I never actually tried this with two different OSes, though, so I'm just quoting what I heard was possible and not what I actually know. For example, while it does sound feasible, how would one prevent the installer from overwriting the contents of an existing /usr or /home partition?

I should warn you, that while you may be attached to Ubuntu now, you may undoubtedly end up just using a single OS (Kubuntu or some other KDE-based system). I kept Xubuntu alongside PCLOS for a LOOOONG time, until I realized I hadn't touched it in eons and eventually got rid of it to make some space. ^^;

Quote, but I've also been venturing other avenues. I'm currently running a custom LiveCD of NimbleX on my computer, and I have to say, I'm loving it. I really didn't expect such full-features from a distro based on Slackware.

Slackware can surprise you, although traditionally it's major "unfriendliness" traditionally derives from the fact that all (or most?) Slackware distros don't use any form of package management system. You want an app installed, get down and compile some tarballs! `0'

*whiplash*

But still, it's great that you're opening your doors to many more new and exciting options. ^___^

If it weren't so damn outdated (aka, based on Debian Stable), I'd recommend DreamLinux. ^.^
Linux MInt might also be up your alley, since it takes *Buntu and improves it here and there.... -v-
Elive may not be the safest thing to use, but by GAWD does it really know how to make good use of Enlightenment. ^v^
The JackLab thing is definitely worth a try, as I found it kinda nifty and fun. ^___^
Now that it's gone back to Debian, MEPIS should perform very nicely by now. ^v^
ANd you know of course how I feel about her.... ^.^

http://ostan-collections.net/imeeji/albums/userpics/10570/PCLOS-tan.jpeg

QuoteSo yeah, now I'm wondering on whether or not to dual-boot NimbleX/Ubuntu or NimbleX/Kubuntu. Problem is, I don't really know all that much about partitioning or dual-booting or anything like that... I've never even installed an OS myself. Undoubtedly, I'm worried, but chief among my concerns to start with should be my small 30G hard drive. Now, I'm pretty good when it comes to managing space, but I'm not sure how feasible running two OSes side-by-side would do with such a small computer. I plan on adding some stuff on next semester that'll surely make this entirely realistic, but I'm concerned if I'm being a little over-zealous right now. Anyway, I get ribbed alot because of how much space I lack and I was wondering what your thoughts on this was. Advice?

Trust me, 30GB is a massion compared to the machines I worked with. ^__^

And especially if you're talking about Nimblex, the thing does not (or should not) take up much space. `v'

Essentially, your average modern distro takes up 2GB for its base installation (including all programs accessible from LiveCD). And up to 5GB for all the free applications you need + a whole @&#$load of stuff you'll probably never use (if you say you're frugal, than only 1GB of space will do). ^___^
If you plan on burning dual-layer or encrypted DVDs, add an additional 10GBs for your /tmp directory, otherwise only 5GBs to make sure K3b has enough space to copy those ISOs. Then again, you can tell your burning app to use your /home directory as temporary storage, meaning your /tmp can well fit within your base installation.

So with this frugality, you can probably cut down one of your system's size to just under 4gigs, with another 4 gigs for the second system, and 1 gig for swap, leaving you still with about 20GBs for your /home directory. Plenty of space there for all your stuff. ^.^

Now the issue with partitioning is a whole different ballgame, and I do understand your concern since this isn't something you can just crash right into. ^__^

And I'm assuming you don't have a junk computer to test out with like I had. -v-

Sooooooooooooooooooooo...........

*smiles*

I ask you,... how much RAM does your machine have? ^__^

If the answer is 512MB, then WOOHOO!! we can try this to practice partitioning with.... ^v^

http://www.virtualbox.org/

(BTW, try to find out if this is availble in the *Buntu Repo first.)

IanDanKilmaster · September 27, 2007, 02:00:03 PM

It's cool, man, my fault for not being more lucid in my description. I didn't want to key in the same post as I did in the UbuntuForums, so I just got kind of lazy and threw out something general and vague, once again, my bad. Yeah, I'm really just pissed that my timing was off, apparently alot of other people were having the same problem as me, it's just theirs was caused by a kernel update on FF. I wouldn't be surprised if my post was just overlooked due to all the "I have sound problems!" posts out there, the only thing that separated mine from theirs was I didn't threaten to leave Linux/Ubuntu, I at least provided a somewhat detailed account of what happened, and I tried to search the forums for a solution. Oh yeah, and I never bumped my post... just don't agree with that. Anyway, it's a big forum and I can understand how mine could get lost in all the commotion, I'm just a little bitter about how it happened (being overruled by a bunch of neophytes).
I liked Linux Mint, but I heard it was less stable than Ubuntu, so I was pretty much turned off. If what you say is true, I could totally go for Linux Mint/NimbleX OS or even PCLinuxOS/NimbleX (yeah, I tried the LiveCD not too long ago). As far as partitioning goes, that kind of sounds like what I'm looking for, separating the core OS and allowing access to the same personal files. Sounds good, now only if I knew how to do it. Okay, my machine is running 256M of RAM, it's quite the coincidence you mention VBox 'cos it's on the NimbleX LiveCD I have. Just lead the way. Great pic of PCLinux-tan, now where's the pic of Amarok-tan I've so desperately wanted ^__^, lol. Okay, so onto my acutal problem, so I had already deleted the esound.conf file (since it was one I had to create) and I tried to return the other files to their defaults to fix my problem here's the text of asound.conf:

and for libao.conf it just says: default_driver=alsa09

Something I'm still disheartened about is that I really have no idea how my aRts soundserver was disabled to begin with, so even if all this is fixed, I don't know how to patch that up. Do you know why aRts would be acting up, despite the fact that I only ever tampered with LiVES?

C-Chan · September 27, 2007, 11:37:24 PM

Hmmmmmmmmm..... T____T

...

Well... installed LiVES myself, but having trouble initializing it from the start (and didn't continue trying cause it looks so darn ugly... ^^;)

Funny that I got this message before it just kept repeating a JACK message endlessly:

Code Select


LiVES 0.9.8.5
Copyright 2002-2007 Gabriel Finch (salsaman@xs4all.nl) and others.
LiVES comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details.

/home/username/.gtkrc-2.0:56: Clearlooks configuration option "menuitemstyle" is not supported and will be ignored.
/home/username/.gtkrc-2.0:57: Clearlooks configuration option "listviewitemstyle" is not supported and will be ignored.
/home/username/.gtkrc-2.0:58: Clearlooks configuration option "progressbarstyle" is not supported and will be ignored.
/usr/share/themes/Clearlooks/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:34: Invalid symbolic color 'fg_color'
/usr/share/themes/Clearlooks/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:34: error: invalid identifier `fg_color', expected valid identifier
JACK tmpdir identified as [/tmp]
jackd 0.103.0
Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Davis and others.
jackd comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details

JACK compiled with System V SHM support.
loading driver ..
creating alsa driver ... hw:0|hw:0|1024|2|48000|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
control device hw:0
the playback device "hw:0" is already in use. Please stop the application using it and run JACK again
cannot load driver module alsa
no message buffer overruns

So right off the bat, I can see it messes with something related to ALSA, which also regulates sound in Linux concurrently with OSS.

Not that my system is the same as yours, but I did notice that libao recognizes ALSA as your audio system even though the other conf file refers to OSS.

Can't research this further since my brain is currently mush, but I'm tempted to ask you to try two things to see if it helps us shed some light on the problem. These are all self-contained solutions, so you can try out anyone one whenever you want depending on how convenient it is for you:

1) Log into your system as Root, and see if you get sound there or not.

2) Since you do have sound in the login screen, try to get a hold of the system log entry for when the system boots into your user account. That way, we can see your audio driver trying to initialize and fail, or something along those lines.

3) Do the ol' LiveCD thing and compare fresh clean conf files with the ones you have in your system. You might have done this already, though, but if so try installing LiVES and ARTs in the LiveCD session (and log out instead of restart, of course) to see if you rebreak the system and narrow down the problem. Certainly easier to keep track of what goes wrong when there are fewer things installed. ^.^

4) Do a Complete Removal of both LiVES and ARTs if possible, logout, then go back in to see if you have sound back or not.

As for why ARTs would cause this,.............. I hear ARTs and ALSA don't mix.... ^.^

QuoteI liked Linux Mint, but I heard it was less stable than Ubuntu, so I was pretty much turned off.

Baaaaah,... that's like saying Windows XP is less stable than 2000,... it's true, but can you really tell the difference? ^.^

Admittedly, Minty-chan does put you in a very precarious legal possession if you're an American, but then you did PAY for all those DVDs, so why should you not be allowed to play them? -v-;

QuoteIf what you say is true, I could totally go for Linux Mint/NimbleX OS or even PCLinuxOS/NimbleX (yeah, I tried the LiveCD not too long ago).

Now we're cookin' with FIYA!! ^v^
I'd love to have you on-board, although bear in mind it will be one helluva culture-shock. ^__^
(You'll have to get used to a lot of green and blue color themes, rather than browns. ^.^)
No, but Minty-chan and PCLOS-san I love because they both provide very efficient and very user-friendly control centers, from which you can modify almost everything you need without diving too much into conf files. ^__^
Not to say it doesn't happen, but it's rarer certainly. ^^

QuoteAs far as partitioning goes, that kind of sounds like what I'm looking for, separating the core OS and allowing access to the same personal files. Sounds good, now only if I knew how to do it.

Oh, we can Google that later. ^___^
For now, the most important part is to get that virtualbox going, so we can set up some practice runs! ^v^

QuoteOkay, my machine is running 256M of RAM, it's quite the coincidence you mention VBox 'cos it's on the NimbleX LiveCD I have. Just lead the way.

256megs of RAM, eh? Hopefully enough SWAP to cover it, perhaps? ^^'

In any event, since we're not using Windows here, I guess that'll do. Only one way to find out. ^___^

Here's a quick tutorial for you to read on how to set a VM (and coincidentally, a Linux one) up:

http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/using_virtualbox_to_run_ubuntu

Try to use very light distros as your first practice runs,... that way, you reduce the risk of VBox running slowly, and you also won't have to create a very large virtual hard drive (and eat up precious hard disk space). Consider Puppy, Damn Small, Zenwalk, DreamLinux, Feather, Knoppix, SLAX, SAM, PCLOS TinyME, or even your Nimblex. ^__^
Remember, you could either stick in a CD or save on plastic and use the straight ISOs.

Once you get a virtual LiveCD system up and running without any problems, look to see if the distro you use has GParted, and if not install it using its respective repo. You're free to play around with Gparted all you want in a virtual environment, but more than likely you'll want to wait for me at that point. ^___^

QuoteGreat pic of PCLinux-tan, now where's the pic of Amarok-tan I've so desperately wanted ^__^

Thank you, and sorry only Kami-Tux felt the need to create an Amarok-tan. I kinda think she would be like San from Mononoke Hime, but never really considered drawing her myself (not with so many commissions to work on)..... ^___^;

IanDanKilmaster · September 28, 2007, 01:55:31 AM

Good news, everything seems to be on the up-and-up!

Just so everything is clarified, sound has been working for the past two days... it's just been sounding really, really crappy. So I just went out on a limb and did just what I said I would do (deleted both /etc/asound.conf and ~/.asoundrc) and now the sound works great. I still have one teency weency problem, and it's the one I actually started with and should've asked help for to begin with (instead using the ubuntuforums and effin everything up). K3b refuses to preview sounds using aRts (I'm not using alsa 'cos it sounds like s*** on a b****boat with K3b) unless of course I run artsd in the terminal while I'm doing it (which I find to be a little inconvenient given I didn't have to do it until I reconfigured LiVES). I'm assuming the solution would involve shutting down alsa so aRts can stay up... I'm assuming. Anyway, things seem to be working fine save that minor inconvenience, so I'm happy.

I'll get back to you on that VirtualBox thing, once I've tried it.

QuoteThank you, and sorry only Kami-Tux felt the need to create an Amarok-tan. I kinda think she would be like San from Mononoke Hime, but never really considered drawing her myself (not with so many commissions to work on)..... ^___^;

Yeah, I know you've got to be busy, I'm surprised you've had the time and patience to work with me on this. Still no response on ubuntuforums (as if I needed it anyway), so yeah, you've been my sole source of support this entire time... I'm truly grateful. I think Amarok-tan would be kinda wolf-like (definitely wolf ears since it is an audio program), she'd probably be quite a popular -tan given that characteristic. Regardless, I look forward to seeing more of your work (despite the fact I've never posted in your art thread).^__^