Ubuntu 11.10 has the shakes

[andrewf58]

Hello,
Another new guy here with a question. I installed Ubuntu 11.10 on my Windows machine partitioned next to Windows XP Professional. This is my system:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
System Manufacturer AOPEN_
System Model AWRDACPI
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 8 Stepping 1 AuthenticAMD ~1303 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix/Award Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG, 8/13/2003
SMBIOS Version 2.3

I'm sure the installation went fine, the dual boot works fine and Ubuntu boots up. That's where it goes down hill. The screen has horizontal white lines streaking across and it has a bad case of the jitters. Also, my courser does not match up with icons. I have to be above the icon and click to open. Any clue as to what is causing this?

Thanks in advance,
Andy

[Rubberman]

What is your video hardware? All the other info is nice, but without knowing what your video hardware is (AMD/ATI, or nVidia, or whatever), there isn't much to tell. For nVidia gear, the default open source Nouveau driver sometimes has problems and the solution for that is to install a proprietary driver from nVidia. If the gear is AMD/ATI, then updating the driver may do the job. Also note that 11.10 is very much bleeding edge. Myself, when I need to install a reasonably current Ubuntu distribution, I would stick with 10.04, which is an LTS (Long Term Support) distribution, hence more stable.

[andrewf58]

I think this is what you are asking for?

Name NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_01F0&SUBSYS_0301A0A0&REV_A3\4&1B1 97270&0&00F0
Adapter Type GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU
Adapter RAM 32.00 MB (33,554,432 bytes)
Installed Drivers nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version 6.13.10.4114
INF File oem0.inf (nv4_Crush11 section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1280 x 1024 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
Memory Address 0xEC000000-0xEDFFFFFF
Memory Address 0xE4000000-0xEBFFFFFF
Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xE807FFFF
IRQ Channel IRQ 16
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF
Driver c:\windows\system32\drivers\nv4_mini.sys (6.13.10.4114, 1.13 MB (1,180,282 bytes), 8/31/2005 12:35 PM)

Thanks,
Andy

[Rubberman]

Pretty close, and good enough for government work!

Ok. You need to do the following (high-level view):

1. Download nVidia driver .run file from the nVidia web site.
2. Uninstall Nouveau
3. Blacklist Nouveau
4. Boot into text mode (runlevel 3 on Red Hat systems).
5. Install proprietary nVidia driver
6. Reboot into graphics mode (runlevel 5 on Red Hat).

Unfortunately, with the manually installed nVidia driver, you will have to reinstall it whenever you update the kernel. A bit of a PITA, but you only need to do items 4, 5, and 6, which on my system (laptop) takes about 5 minutes.

FWIW, you can try just blacklisting the nouveau driver. I usually uninstall it as well. The blacklisting is just in case it is hardwired into the kernel (often is - I had that problem with Scientific Linux 6.0, a Red Hat clone, when it was first released).

[andrewf58]

Rubberman,
I can't thank you enough for your input and advice. The world needs more people like you who are willing to help people they don't even know. I hate to put you through the work of replying to my post when in the end, I can't use your advice. I haven't a clue on how to do what you have outlined above. I'm not that computer savvy. Are there tutorials out there on how to do what you are telling me? Or, should I uninstall 11.10 and install 10.04? Would I have the same issue with 10.04?

Andy

[rokytnji]

Would I have the same issue with 10.04?

Try Ubuntu 10.04 as the Gnome 2 Desktop is not as graphics intensive as Ubuntu 11.10 Unity Desktop is. I run 10.04 LTS on one Desktop computer with a Nvidia pci card with no problems.

If wanting Ubuntu 11.10 like setup . Might I also suggest Lubuntu 11.10 or Xubuntu 11.10

Personally I think Xubuntu may be a easier transition for a new Linux user vs Lubuntu.

[Rubberman]

Roky, as always, gives good advice. FWIW, 10.04 is a "Long Term Support" version, which 11.x is not. That means that it is more stable and should not have so many problems with ancillary hardware. It is late and I am headed soon for a visit with Morpheus (bed), so I will address your issues regarding what to do in detail tomorrow (hopefully).

[elija]

Also with *buntu, you can use the "Hardware Drivers" or "Additional drivers" tool to install the proprietary drivers in a manner that will keep them updated with kernel updates. And it's as easy as clicking a button.

I would second Xubuntu as a fine choice. 11.10 has a couple of quirks on my PC regarding suspend / resume and a non-functional screensaver password but other than that, it has been smooooth

[andrewf58]

I found a tutorial on how to go into systems and harware to update nvidia driver. All is well. Thanks everyone.