# New to Ubuntu (8.04) - major problems already



## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

Have installed Ububntu 8.04 on my wifes computer. Was working alright, but then she's developed problems with the desktop, Nautilus, etc..

May have been caused by her not shutting it down properly on several occasions.

Computer boots alright and you can log in. The desktop has reverted to a black background and the toolbars have gone. The X on the top-right of applications has vanished. Also Evolution seems to have lost it's profile and acts as if you are running it for the first time.

Several error messages have popped up:

*"An error occurred while loading or saving configuration information for Nautilus. Some of your configuration settings may not work properly"*

If you click on the details button it gives the folowing info many times:

*Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error:
IDLmg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0*

I'm a total novice at Linux, so would be very grateful for any help. Thanks.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Try:

sudo apt-get install xorg

Or see if there is a repair option among the boot options. I;m not sure what 8.04 has since it is still sitting on my desk, uninstalled. But if I recall, earlier versions had a repair option on boot.


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## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

Ok, I went to X-Terminal emulator window (via Computer - File System - Usr - bin) and typed that command.

Says xorg is already the newest version.

One thing I have tried is creating a new user in the Gnome Control Panel. That new user is fine. I think all I can do for now is delete her user and re-create it (or just leave that user alone for now and create a new one). I don't know how to recover the mailbox in Evolution, that's something else I need to learn, not that she has any important email that needs backing up, but would be nice to know how to recover it so I can transfer it over to her new profile.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

You'll need people more knowledgeable than me for those.


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## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

A stroke of luck when I set up her email in the new profile was that all of her email was held on the server! Only the contacts are missing now.

Another problem she's been having is that Firefox (version 3 Beta 5) occasionally bombs out with no warning or no error messages. It's been happening in both her old and new Ubuntu profiles. Can anyone recommend a different web browser?


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

computertechie said:


> May have been caused by her not shutting it down properly on several occasions.


Why was she doing this? She might have caused some important files to become corrupt, which is causing all of your grief. Hopefully others will chime in but I'm suggesting a re-install of Ubuntu 8.04. I believe you can re-install it without losing your user data. *DO NOT* do this until others have posted their comments.

Peace...


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## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

Think in some cases she's just being impatient waiting for it to shut down when it's late at night and she needs to switch everything off at the wall socket. A couple of other times its because the monitor is a bit dodgy (one I pinched from a disposal pile) and hasn't displayed anything so she's had to switch off at the wall during bootup.

I take it Linux isn't as robust as Windows with reagrds to not doing a proper shutdown?


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

computertechie said:


> I take it Linux isn't as robust as Windows with reagrds to not doing a proper shutdown?


I wouldn't consider Windows to be "robust" if you repeatedly turn the computer off without shutting down but that aside, yeah, not properly shutting down a Linux system CAN cause problems. It's just hard to know what kinds of problems will be caused.

Since she's been turning off the machine without properly shutting down AND given the broad range of problems you seem to be having, I have to question the integrity of the Ubuntu installation. Fortunately, you won't need to "nuke" the machine and lose your user data if you decide to go the re-installation route.

Again, *DO NOT* attempt a re-install until others have had a chance to read this thread and respond. 

Peace...


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

computertechie said:


> Uh, Linux is very much more stable than any Windows OS - just compare all of the problems the Windows users have compared to here in the UNIX/Linux forum - lots more problems all over the place.-- Tom


Considering the vastly greater number of Windows users, that statement may need some qualification. Vista, in particular, suffers very little from improper shutdowns.


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## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

The computer is behaving itself, apart from Firefox (v3 beta 5), which just keeps bombing out (about 5 times per hour). I've done diagnostics checks on the hard drive.

Can someone please recommend another web browser for Ubuntu? Firefox has got to go.


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## golddust (Jan 2, 2005)

If by "bombing out" you mean getting stuck every so often, I've had the same problem. My first install, the entire computer would get hung up after 20 minutes regardless what I was doing. A friend came over with a copy of Ubuntu 8.04 which he had just downloaded (my download was from when it first became available, but I hadn't had the nerve to do a dual boot yet.), and we installed it yesterday. Now I get a now and then hang up which only lasts a few seconds. I'm hoping the system just needs to get settled in.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

computertechie said:


> The computer is behaving itself, apart from Firefox (v3 beta 5), which just keeps bombing out (about 5 times per hour). I've done diagnostics checks on the hard drive.
> 
> Can someone please recommend another web browser for Ubuntu? Firefox has got to go.


You must keep in mind Firefox 3 hasn't been officially released yet, so you're NOT running a "stable" version. You can always use the Epiphany browser that comes with GNOME. It should already be in the "Internet" category of applications. It's also a Gecko-based browser so it will render pages like Firefox.

Wait until Firefox 3 is officially released before coming to any formal conclusions about Firefox 3. 

Firefox 3rc1 (which should have been updated on your system to, by now) has been quite stable for me as has Firefox 3b5. Please make sure you're actually running Firefox 3b5 and not Firefox 3rc1.

Peace...


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## computertechie (Jul 10, 2007)

Freezing means stuck. Bombing out means it just suddenly vanishes without warning. Has been driving my wife mad, she wants me to put XP back on the computer.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

I understand that completely. The thing is Firefox 3 isn't "finished" yet, so things like freezes and crashes aren't unusual or unreasonable. What IS questionable is why a non-GA version of Firefox was made the default browser. I've had problems with Firefox crashing as well BUT that is usually when I'm viewing a particular site with a TON of multimedia plugins trying to load. Flash sites don't tend to crash Firefox for me but not all Flash sites work. I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit native. Do you have a URL of a site that causes Firefox to hang or crash on the system?

Peace...


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## fuzebox (Jun 4, 2008)

Hardy heron is a long term release. So there shouldn't be any rush to try it out.
Why dont you use gusty for now. All SW seems to work flawlessly even after installing every add on i could think of(from compiz to wine to AMP and postgreSQL) & i "over work" firefox 2 by viewing all sorts of multimedia content without experiencing any lockups (or Bomb outs).

If i were u i would downgrade (for now).


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Hi computertechie,

Since Firefox Release Candidate RC2, just came out, I would replace FF 3.0b5 with it, and toward the middle of this month in another week or so, Firefox 3.0 is rumored to being released - at any rate it won't be very far off.

See my other thread on where and how to install Firefox 3.0 RC2 in this forum if you decide to take that path Installing Firefox Release Candidate 2 in Linux.

Under no circumstances will you be able to survive if you let your wife win this one argument.  If she were more of a computer geek than you, she would not be clamoring for Windoz!

-- Tom

P.S. When I saved my browser profile environment last night, I was pleasantly surprised that the size of the compressed (bzip2) tarball (.tar file) of it, was reduced by some 6 MB.


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