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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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Adventures with Ubuntu 8.04

By | April 25, 2008, 6:27am PDT

Summary: Yesterday saw the release of Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” so I grabbed myself a copy of the .ISO and took a look. So, what’s it like?

Yesterday saw the release of Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” so I grabbed myself a copy of the .ISO and took a look.

So, what’s it like?

First impressions

Hardy Heron is what I’ve come to expect from an Ubuntu release.

Check out the Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Hero gallery!

First off, installation is a snap, and the addition of wubi and umenu makes it easier for existing Windows users to experience Ubuntu. This is bound to be a good thing for Ubuntu and I expect other distros to follow suit.

Overall, the OS is better and faster, has new features and applications, but without any unnecessary brain-bending remix of the UI. I like the fact that I can refresh an Ubuntu install and pick up where I left off without having to re-learn the basics.

Testing Ubuntu 8.04

I haven’t spent as much time with Ubuntu 8.04 as I would have liked because I’ve been neck-deep in XP SP3 testing. However, when I was done with that I decided to upgrade my XP SP3 test machines to Ubuntu 8.04 and see what happened.

I had two test systems, a high-end system and a very low-end one.

High-end - AMD Phenom:

  • Phenom 9700 quad-core processor
  • ATi Radeon 3850 graphics card with 256MB RAM
  • ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe motherboard
  • 2GB (2 x 1GB) Corsair Dominator CM2X1024-8500C5D RAM
  • Western Digital Raptor 10,000RPM 150GB primary hard drive
  • Western Digital Caviar 7,200RPM 500GB secondary hard drive

Low-end - Intel Pentium III (vintage mid-2001):

  • Intel Pentium III 800MHz
  • SIS 6326 AGP card with 8MB RAM
  • Gigabyte 6A-6VX7-4X motherboard
  • 512MB of no-name RAM
  • 60GB Western Digital 5,400RPM primary hard drive
  • 60GB Western Digital 5,400RPM secondary hard drive

Mixed results

My testing yielded mixed results.

The Phenom system took to Ubuntu well. The install was quick and painless and the system was up and running in under 20 minutes. At the end of the install everything seemed to work just fine without having to install any additional drivers. Ubuntu is fast and snappy.

The old PIII system is a different story. The process seems to get as far as telling me that the graphics card and monitor can’t be detected and that the system will use low graphics and then that’s as far as I get because the system seems to hang. I’m guessing that the age of this system is against it.

Thoughts?

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Topics

Ubuntu, Western Digital Corp., PIII System, Video Cards, Memory, Processors, Hardware, Components, Semiconductors, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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good point
yschoo1@... 3rd May 2008
This is a valid and a good point.
View in thread
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If Ubuntu is aiming for mainstream
Michael Kelly 25th Apr 2008
then it's no surprise they're neglecting PIII systems. As much as some Linux fans like to boast how well Linux works on old hardware, the trade-offs needed to get it to run on the low end aren't going to appeal to the mainstream. Considering that and the fact that Canonical is supporting this thing for five years, it makes sense to keep this thing as tight and maintainable as possible.

For those who want to use old hardware there is plenty of other distros out there that will meet their needs.
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Ubuntu works fine on PIII, it's the SIS video card
pjotr123 25th Apr 2008
(NT)
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Of course anything based on i686 will "work"
Michael Kelly 25th Apr 2008
The question is whether the user will be satisfied with their experience. And considering the hanging Adrian was experiencing at the end, well, it could have been a scripting error on Ubuntu's part, or it could have been the PIII's incapability to keep up with all the instructions. Without further feedback that's tough to tell.

Either way I would still not recommend a modern GNOME or KDE running on anything older than three years old. Even that's pushing it. I would recommend XFCE for anything older. And while XFCE is certainly functional and zippy, it lacks the eye candy and widgets that the mainstream consumer loves to have.
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Xubuntu 8.04
dpnewkirk 25th Apr 2008
Using the XFCE desktop with Ubuntu means using Xubuntu, the 8.04 version of which is also newly released. Visit http://www.xubuntu.com/.

Issues of eye candy aside, a plus for Xubuntu with older, slimmer systems is that it can install with considerably RAM installed than Ubuntu or Kubuntu.

That said, the computer I use for electronic circuit analysis--Ansoft Serenade SV 8.5 and Microsim DesignLab (PSpice) 8 run fine under Wine!--and creative writing is a Pentium III running Kubuntu.

Ubuntu *rocks*.
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Real World Usage
pj_mouse 25th Apr 2008
Just as a real world example, my current computer at work is a PIII 1.0G with 192M (old Gateway Professional midtower). It started out with Ubuntu and I installed XFCE on top of it. I honestly don't remember the performance of Gnome on the system since it's been so long but I do know my home-brew Xubuntu works great. I stream music from my home server (Rhythmbox) while keeping several web pages open (Firefox 3.0b4) for reference and have several ssh sessions open to various servers and the only time it hiccups is when my connection at home gets saturated and that's only a pause in the music, not the system.

I started installing 8.04 on it before I left work last night so I expect it'll run even better when I get back there today. I can't wait to see.
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I believe you
Michael Kelly 25th Apr 2008
My point is, however, that yours is not a mainstream application. I would consider people who still use old PIII computers with 256MB or less memory to be a niche group. Yes they are real world users, but they are not mainstream.

So while I am sure Ubuntu can be made to work, I wouldn't expect seven year old computer support to be an area of focus on Ubuntu's part. You may get lucky, or you may have the skill to make things work, but don't expect the bigwigs promoting Ubuntu to be spending a lot of time thinking about old computers.
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I think I understand your point....
LazLong 25th Apr 2008
If you define the term "mainstream" entirely based on sales & marketing demographics..

You have a fair point, and it would seem to be wise for Ubuntu to keep in touch with that.
Still they (the comunity) provide their own alternatives, or Ubuntu can be a POD (point of departure) to other Distros.

Yet there is a Long (& Wide) tail, along with what may be considered mainstream, that more are becoming aware of. Both end users/consumers, ODM & OEM's, and even ISV & VAR's.

Consider actual availability in common channels. Big Box Stores, Brick & Mortar or Online.

The only ones I have seen are the ASUS EeePC,
And they seem to be doing well.
And they are only 800(2G) or 900(4G+) MHz Pentium's.

And yet Still if I have an old box or the newest Dual Quad Core, one can still Download and use Linux for free, Ubuntu or Any of the others.

Mainstream can be rather vague?
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It certainly isn't the processor or ram
Eapache 26th Apr 2008
I'm running a P3 with 256MB ram, and I just installed Hardy fresh. Everything worked perfectly. My video card and monitor resolution were detected correctly, and it hasn't crashed yet.

Considering that it boots in under a minute on my machine, my bet is on the video card causing problems. There's no way it's the speed of the processor.
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I have to agree with you
yschoo1@... 26th Apr 2008
It is definitely the video card. My old Dell dimension L800r with intel integrated card cannot smoothly play music video on RealPlayer while my HP Pavillion 7945 with an ATI radeon 32MB SDRAM is a different story. Running other applications is ok as long as it is not graphic intensive. My new Dell Inspiron 530 with OEM Nvidea 8300GS on Q6600 quad core processor is superb in performance with Ubuntu 8.04.including having Compiz Fusion turned on.
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Also agreeing
istari2ve2002@... 28th Apr 2008
I also agree with you. I have a friend with a very old portable (think is a PII or III) with a faulty system clock. He got it from a friend who left it for dead. Then he gave it to me to see what I could do. I couldn't install Windows XP (hanged on setup), I couldn't set up Ubuntu either, but then I downloaded Xubuntu (7.04 I think) and all went well. He got to reinstall recently, and he is not an expert (he's basically a power user), but he did it with the iso I burnt for him, and told me everything was going fine. So, as the kernel is basically the same, if in doubt with your graphic card, go to Xubuntu (anyway if your software needs gnome or kde, Synaptic will download the needed libraries without messing with your desktop).
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I guess mine is mainstream
bobsherrill@... 28th Apr 2008
since it is a P-IV 2.0 GHz that is only 5 years old. Everything works fine. It has been running Xubuntu (now the 4th version)for 1.7 years without a problem. It updates painlessly.
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You shouldn't assume from one review....
devlin_X 27th Apr 2008
I have PC's between 4 and 9 years old. All are running just fine with-in the Ubuntu family of desktops. The oldest our Toshiba Satellite 1735 laptop P3 w/ 384MB and the newest my custom rig a P4 2.8Ghz w/ 1.5GB and nVidia FX5200 graphics card. The desktops are running KDE and the laptop is running both Gnome and Xfce (depending on who's using it). KDE is a little heavy for the 384MB RAM but Gnome and Xfce run very well on it.



We have a Ubuntu Studio set up running on a Dell 4100 running a 1.0Ghz P-III. I see nothing wrong with running it on older machines.



As mentioned Adrian's problem could have been the SIS graphics. I know I had a similar problem when I upgraded my video adapter to a FX5200 and the system kept wanting to look at the onboard graphics adapter even when I told it to look at the slot. A quick Google and my problem was solved happy

Just upgraded the laptop to 8.04 NICE!....now to the rest lol it's going to be a fun afternoon happy
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My experience
bbbaldie_z 28th Apr 2008
Little headaches, detailed over at http://www.baldguyweb.com/blog
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Exactly
starcannon99022@... 28th Apr 2008
nt
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Not so quick there, pjotr123
Billsey 28th Apr 2008
I have a Dell Optiplex 100 with integrated graphics (which 7:10 recognized and supports at 1400x1050 with no problem). Even running the LiveCD of 8.04, I can only get 800x600 with zero option to use a higher resolution. It ain't the PIII and it ain't the graphics. It's the OS release. Something got futzed that needs to get fixed.
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OS X Leopard will run on any Mac circa 2001
frgough 25th Apr 2008
So that's not an excuse.
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Try throwing that SIS video card in the Mac and see how it does.
ajole 25th Apr 2008
Yeah, I know you can't, that's the point. If Linux had to support only 10 or 20 video cards like Mac OSX does, they'd all work too; but in the real world there are several thousand possible video cards, and some of them don't get supported. Its not an excuse, its reality; deal with it.
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good point
yschoo1@... 3rd May 2008
This is a valid and a good point.
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I don't think so
markbn 26th Apr 2008
It won't install in several PowerBook G4 (2002). Maybe using some hacks but if Apple decided that Leopard should not install in those computers it may not be a good idea to try to force things.
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True
Furiousrog 28th Apr 2008
My daughter's G4 was out of luck. It just would not install at all.
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Aternate install cd
cpushrink1@... 28th Apr 2008
There is an alternate insall cd designed for older slower system. If you use this to install Ubuntu, there are usually no problems. The disadvantage with the Alt Cd is that it does not come as a live version, you have to install it to use it. However there are people out there, that modify the installation to pen drives and smaller footprints for quick runs.
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Use the Alternate Install
svarejm@... 28th Apr 2008
I had a similar problem on a similar no-name Taiwan-built PIII machine my daughter purchased. The graphical install wouldn't run, but the alternate did just fine. The only real drawback was that it took longer. Installing Ubuntu added years of usable life to an otherwise doomed-to-the-scrapyard laptop.
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I?m so dissappointed with Ubuntu
a foot in both camps 28th Apr 2008
I?ve read a lot of positive things about Ubuntu so I decide to try it out.
I use a spare desktop PC, bought in 1997, as a test machine.

I had previously installed XP and Fedora 8 on my desktop PC and tested dual boat XP and Fedora 8 successfully on that desktop.

On 25 April I reformatted the hard drive on my desktop PC to ext3 using Partition Magic.
I downloaded ubuntu-8.04-desktop-i386.iso, burnt the image to a CD and then attempted to install Ubuntu.
A message:
8139cp ? this (id 10ec:8139rev10) is not a 8139cr compatible chip
8139cp trying the ?8139t00? driver instead .
Some 20 or so seconds later a message stating ?starting Gnome? a message ?? deferred execution ?? appeared very briefly. The monitor screen went blank and the install hung.

What information about my desktop PC does the team need to determine what may be wrong with Ubuntu.

Regards, Mike
P.S. I?ve since installed Fedora 8 on my desktop PC where it is running successfully.
A listing of the hardware obtained from lshw is here: http://www.eacott.org.uk/hardware.txt
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VIA based computer
starcannon99022@... 28th Apr 2008
It may be running Fedora, but its not performing to its fullest potential. VIA has not released decent drivers for Linux. Until they do results will be varied from VIA chipset, across all distributions, some will kind of work, some will choke, best bet is avoid the noid and just don't try to do Linux on a VIA until VIA decides we are a worth taking care of.
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If Fedora can operate on VIA why not Ubuntu?
a foot in both camps 29th Apr 2008
If Fedora can install and run successfully on a PC with a VIA chipset why can't Ubuntu?
Being a retired technical mainframe system software developer I'd like to learn more about GNU/Linux such as what is common to all distros and e.g. where are the software components in each distro that deal with chipsets? Is this a good start http://learnlinux.tsf.org.za/courses/build/internals/ ?
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It wasn't the PIII CPU that was the problem
starcannon99022@... 28th Apr 2008
SiS is the problem, they won't release a decent driver for linux. I have run 7.10 on PIII using Nvidia 6600gt with no problem at all.
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SIS-cards are bad
pjotr123 25th Apr 2008
SIS video cards are about the only video chipsets that won't work well in Linux.

The only solution is to replace it with another card, preferably an Nvidia.

Happy testing, Pjotr.
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RE: Adventures with Ubuntu 8.04
Magikx21 25th Apr 2008
I've never had a problem with any video card including SiS. I got an old Inspiron 1000 running Mint and the video works fine. I had Ubuntu 7.04 on it before it it worked well too maybe there were changes made in 8.04 that cause SiS to have problems.
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video card memory requirements
cpushrink1@... 28th Apr 2008
I have seen everyone say just about every avenue but one. Its crucial. Before 1998 most video cards had less then 8 mb or ram. This is one of the requirements for Gnome. If you do not have at least 8 mb preferably 16 mb or better, try using the Alternate install cd. For sure fire win try using xubuntu with those video cards.
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RE: Adventures with Ubuntu 8.04
Linux User 147560 25th Apr 2008
Change to an old ATi RagePro or nVidia card. Check your RAM as well as other hardware components. Linux should install on this system, but if there is any failing hardware, forget it. One thing Linux is less tolerant of faulty hardware than Windows is. And any time I have had issues with Linux (not due to me futzing about...) it has always proved to be due to faulty / failing hardware. devil
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In agreement.
cpushrink1@... 28th Apr 2008
I agree with the previous statement. Linux is highly intolerant to faulty or failing hardware. However, I do want to note one thing. Many Windows hard drives that have failed are do to a fault on the platters themselves. Linux does great with these as it can reformat them and either fix the problem or ignore that area of the hard drive. I have rejuvenated at least 20 dead hard drives this way.
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Not if the
bobsherrill@... 28th Apr 2008
number one sector is dead. I have one with a lot of valuable data but not enough to pay big bucks to have it disassembled and read.
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RE: Adventures with Ubuntu 8.04
amaughan 25th Apr 2008
I had similar difficulties installing Feisty Faun. The P3 machine worked running ME but hung when installing Ubuntu. I checked the memory and one of the 256 memory cards had errors. Funny, seemed OK for windows but not for Ubuntu. Feisty Faun needed 384 meg to install but only 256 meg to run. I went through the video card question, but it finally was not the cause of the slow installation. It was the faulty memory.
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Faulty memory and Faulty HD drive motors.
cpushrink1@... 28th Apr 2008
One of the biggest reasons people choose to switch to linux is that their Windows installation is crashing. More often then not, the problem is hardware related. A blue screen or freeze up can be caused by memory error or hard drive motors going out.

If faulty memory exists and it happens rarely, check to ensure the memory modules are firmly seated. Take them out and put them back in. If a hard drive motor is going out, replace the hd with a low cost one, used or otherwise. Linux can fix most problems are hard drives, however it can't fix the bad drive motor.

So if you are switching to Linux due to problems with Windows, keep in mind to check your hardware. Then switch to Linux, as Ubuntu and openSuse 10.3 are some of the best stuff out there. Learn how to use a few commands are you can be a expert in no time.
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Has anyone ugraded from 7.10 yet?
btidwell 25th Apr 2008
As opposed to doing a clean install. I tried upgrading last night using Synaptic but I cancelled when the updater told me it would take more than a day to download the packages at my download speed. That machine is connected to my home wireless network (24 mbs, thanks to the madwifi driver I'm using) which is connected to cable. Normally I have pretty zippy downloads, so I suspect the bottleneck was demand on Canonical's FTP server. Anyone else had trouble?
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Yes
druid99999 25th Apr 2008
Downloaded the alternate CD/DVD iso via bittorrent burned it and used it to do the upgrade.

Rebooted

Let update manager download an additional 180 packages over night then finished the upgrade this morning.

Haven't had much chance to use it yet, so my only impression thus far is that the fonts look better on the desktop and in Firefox.
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Let's get this straight
CreepinJesus 25th Apr 2008
So to upgrade, you download an upgrade CD iso instead of doing the auto-update packages. Then, you install this upgrade CD. Finally, you have to download an extra 180 packages... overnight!? Wasn't that the whole point of not downloading the packages in the first place?
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Not Quite
druid99999 25th Apr 2008
The key issue for me was to ensure that I got from Feisty to Hardy as smoothly as possible.

By downloading the iso I got a working version of 8.04 on my pc more quickly and I didn't have to worry about the effect network congestion would have on the upgrade process.

Once I was finished with the upgrade CD the additional downloads were updating my 8.04 system, not upgrading my 7.10.
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No, they were upgrading your 7.10
macoafi 28th Apr 2008
There were definitely NOT 180 Hardy upgrades available. It was updating all of your non-default Feisty packages because their updates aren't on the CD.
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Just run the upgrade
fr0thy2 27th Apr 2008
and be patient if the servers are still being hammered.
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Damn Straight!
The Rifleman 27th Apr 2008
This is the whole problem with the Ubuntu family upgrading system. The ISO's are not kept current! - And your lucky when they work as an upgrade and not as a train wreck that will require you to run the install from scratch, loose all your settings and added programs so you have to download and install everything all over again! Headache anyone?
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Good Experience
istari2ve2002@... 28th Apr 2008
I'm actually with Ubuntu since 6.10 and I have not had lot of problems with the complete system updates, except once when I had just enough hard disk capacity to do the upgrade, (that was from 7.04 to 7.10) so the upgrade was kind of messy so, although it work, I preferred to start from scratch and install 7.10 from the beginning. Then, yesterday night I upgraded to 8.04 (my job, wife and kids didn't let me do it before), and it took a lot of time, but it when through it with no problems. I still use Windows, for my family and all the programs that don't do well in Wine, but for the rest, I'm very happy with my Ubuntu.
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Hmmm.... Not in my experience.
awasson@... 29th Apr 2008
On Sunday morning, I upgraded my Toshiba Satellite PIV 1.8GHz (circa 2002) with the lowest common denominator nVidia 16M Graphics card and it was fine. Took about an hour to upgrade all through WiFi on my Linksys PCMIA card. This is the 3rd Ubuntu auto upgrade I've done on this machine since I put Linux on it a little over a year ago and it has been flawless each time. The only thing I've had to do is turn the driver for my wireless back on after the reboot (restricted driver). The video card sucks so no fancy pants effects.
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AFAIK
kwacka 1st May 2008
there isn't an 'upgrade CD.

A full install CD was downloaded & burnt to update.

As you say, Update can be carried out using update manager within Ubuntu.

Update/installation on other machines can now be carried out without "downloading 180 packages".
0 Votes
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Download the Alternate CD
Mykal73 25th Apr 2008
When I did that I managed to upgrade from 7.10 a lot faster. It still took a lot longer than a clean install but I have the advanced desktop enabled with ATI cards so I'd rather take a bit longer on the upgrade than mess around with reconfiguring everything.
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Thanks
btidwell 25th Apr 2008
I downloaded the alternate .iso at work. I'll take it home and try the upgrade tonight.
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Running 8.04 Updated Now
pj_mouse 25th Apr 2008
I started the update process last night before I went to bed. At that time it was getting about 100kpbs on the download rate. I'm not sure how long it took but this morning I just had to answer a few questions about custom configs, let it install them and rebooted and it's all working great.

When I updated my machines to 7.10 it took quite awhile. It's just all the demand on their servers so the previous poster's suggestion for BitTorrent is probably best. I would have gone that route if I had an optical drive on my system.
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Yes, I upgraded but no trouble
richard.williams4177@... 25th Apr 2008
Yes, I did the upgrade, I was surprised to see it state anything from 6 hours to 3 hours (seemed to alter according to net tragic).I'm with Virgin on cable broadband
Anyway, I left it to 'do its thing', it took about 3.25 hours in the end and 30 minutes to install the packages.
All went smoothly, automatically and to my delight it has a new 'bit'(ndisgtk) for getting your wireless modem installed.
That was my main concern with the earlier Ubuntu as I am a novice and could not get my Acer Travel Mate to connect by wireless.
Well that is all 'history' now, I have wireless up and running (I had resorted to cable network.)
Now very happy with the results and thank you too all those concerned with giving us this great OS (and packages of course).
Richard Williams (A committed newbie).
0 Votes
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Did the PC last night and the laptop is upgrading righ now.
storm14k 25th Apr 2008
The laptop is installing at the moment. I had some trouble trying to get a server at first and I had a couple of repositories that were causing problems so I removed them. I didn't use them any more.

The PC had some user caused problems from not reading before trying the alternate cd upgrade. I finally got it going and finished it off this morning. I went ahead and let my manual install Nvidia driver error out and decided to try the restrcited driver. I rebooted again after that was installed and it was all gravy from that point. The resolution setup was better and I even got choices of higher refresh rates this time around. I haven't had a chance to play with it yet but I should be able to play with the laptop in about 15 minutes.
0 Votes
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Did a new install
elderlybloke 25th Apr 2008
No Ubuntu on my machine. Download of 8.04 to about 6.5 hours on my min.spec broadband (256kb/sec).
Couple of false starts-the NZ mirror clapped out, used the good reliable Aussie one.

The OS is on the CD. It is now onward and upward.

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