Ubuntu 8.10 - help me install the ATI driver

[MichaelD]

I'm a Windows guy, but I like to fool with Linux from time to time. I loaded up Ubuntu 8.10 x64 tonight and got the wireless configured...so I'm not totally ignorant. I booted from the CD I made from the .iso file. It asked me for my name and a password. It never asked me to set a SU password.

I'm running an ATI HD2600XT videocard in this box. Certain video-related tasks like watching a video, etc,get a popup from the system "Driver not installed, blahblah" something like that.

I downloaded the "Linux" driver (A .run file) from AMD.com and put it on the desktop. When I click on it I have several options. None of them do anything except "RUN." It asks me for SU privilages. I type in my password but it says it's no good.

I've already ran the LiveUpdate (or whatever it's called for Linux) and installed 258MB of updates...none of them video related.

How do I install this thing and enable the full functionality of my videocard?

Please, explain in child terms as I know what the command line is and how to get the MAN page for each command, but that's about it.

 

[lxskllr]

Try going to System/Administration/Synaptic Package Manager enter your password and Synaptic will load. Goto File/Add downloaded packages and point it to your downloaded drivers. I'm not sure what'll happen next, but you should be able to feel your way through it :^)

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Try going to System/Administration/Synaptic Package Manager enter your password and Synaptic will load. Goto File/Add downloaded packages and point it to your downloaded drivers. I'm not sure what'll happen next, but you should be able to feel your way through it :^)

Thanks much for the reply. I followed your directions but got thwarted at the end. Note the ATI driver at the top of the list. Everything is grayed-out and I can't click on anything. Now what?

 

[lxskllr]

If you right click the .run file, can you extract the packages? If so, try pointing Synaptic to the extracted contents.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
If you right click the .run file, can you extract the packages? If so, try pointing Synaptic to the extracted contents.

When I right click I get a popup that says "show hidden files?". Even if I check the box, that's all that happens. I can't do anything with anything on that list.

AFTER inputting my username and password (what I entered when setting up the OS) I could download and install updates from the net....so I must be a Super User, no? Again, my knowledge of Linux would barely fill a thimble...but I know you need "Admin rights" to do anything.

Why is it grayed-out? Why can't I run it under my login?

This is just a test system. I'd be more than happy to tell anyone the output/listing of whatever command you tell me to run. As long as it doesn't start with "format."

 

[lxskllr]

That times out after 15 minutes I believe. I'm a Linux noob too, so I'm not the best person to help you :^P

Somehow you need to run the .run package as a superuser. From the commandline it would be sudo password whatever command it takes to run that package. From the command line, try typing gksudo nautilus enter your password, then double click the .run file, and see if that works.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
That times out after 15 minutes I believe. I'm a Linux noob too, so I'm not the best person to help you :^P

Somehow you need to run the .run package as a superuser. From the commandline it would be sudo password whatever command it takes to run that package. From the command line, try typing gksudo nautilus enter your password, then double click the .run file, and see if that works.

Holy crap, that worked!!! Now...if you would PLEASE tell me what the hell I just entered/did that MADE it work, that'd be great.

Wow...I'm totally impressed with something I completely don't understand. I don't know whether to laugh or beat myself.

 

[lxskllr]

As I said, I'm a noob too, but gksudo nautilus launches the graphical interface with root privileges. That allows you to make changes to the system. Once you close that nautilus window(Gnome's Explorer equivalent) root privileges are gone and you're back to being a regular user.

 

[MichaelD]

Dude....thank you very much! :beer: I appreciate the detailed explanations. See, being that I'm Windows guy I don't know the Linux names for the "Windows Equivalent Functional Program"...especially since in Linux, the names change according to the Distribution and even Version number. Going by my knowledge:

GK=graphics?
SU=super user
DO=do

What don't understand is why Shift/Right Click nor right click/properties won't let you "run as" or give you an option to run it another way, etc. THIS is what I don't like about Liinux...totally not intuitive at all.

Everything works great now though!!! Thanks again.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd like to see a little more handholding myself. Maybe make if configurable so you can turn it on or off. In your case, when double clicking the .run package failed, it would be nice to have a help bubble that gave you a solution instead of just erroring out.

I think your translation of the commands are right, but that's just me guessing :^D It seems logical :^)

I'm glad you were able to get your drivers installed :^)

 

[MichaelD]

+1 vote for help bubbles or popups or something that gives me actionable info on what the hell to do or TRY next. That's the thing about these smart guys that WRITE Linux distros. They are "up here" (holds hand above head) and it never occurs to them that if "this thing don't work" that Joe Linux n00b User won't have a clue how to write a fancy command-line command to make it all shiny. Thank goodness for thinktanks like AT.

 

[VinDSL]

OMG!!!

Thanks, I need that...

 

[lxskllr]

Check out this page for a downloadable pdf beginners guide. I've read part of it, and it's a nice books that covers the basics.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Check out this page for a downloadable pdf beginners guide. I've read part of it, and it's a nice books that covers the basics.

:thumbsup: Good stuff. Very easy to read and understand...even for me. Anyone thinking about Ubuntu; download this FREE guide!

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
:thumbsup: Good stuff. Very easy to read and understand...even for me. Anyone thinking about Ubuntu; download this FREE guide!

Good stuff +1

From the 'book'...

How it used to be
To understand why this is important, let me recount an experience I
had with Linux in 2002, before Ubuntu hit the scene. I wanted the
wireless card in my notebook to connect to my network, but I couldn?t
get it working under Linux. So, I asked for help on a popular forum. I
received something similar to the following in reply:

1. ?Getting the card to work is simple! Just grab the
   source code for the module and compile it against
   the kernel. insmod it and then use iwconfig to configure a
   WEP password??

Are you still reading? As you can tell, that?s a complex answer. It
involves working at the command-line, and requires knowledge of how
Linux works on a very technical level. I knew what the poster was
talking about, although inwardly I sighed at the amount of work
involved. However, a newcomer would be baffled.

That?s how it was back then. Linux was ?for techies only?. It was
considered an industrial-strength operating system, and brought with it
a steep learning curve that drove many away.

I was going to suggest something similar last night, but I saw you accidentally solved your problem.

That's how I got my Toshiba A215 WiFi card working a couple of days ago (Linux Mint 6 x.64 distro)!

Your ATI .run file situation is similar. I converted my .run file to a RPM file, then compiled it for openSuSE 11.1. The only problem is: ATI Catalyst 9.2 TOTALLY broke openSuSE 11.1 on my lappy. Linux Mint 6 (a fork of Ubuntu 8.10) uses the ATI 8.543 driver, so no messing around was required. It worked out-of-the-box.

BTW, Debian (Linux done right) -> Ubuntu (Debian done right)-> Linux Mint (Ubuntu done right).

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
As I said, I'm a noob too, but gksudo nautilus launches the graphical interface with root privileges. That allows you to make changes to the system. Once you close that nautilus window(Gnome's Explorer equivalent) root privileges are gone and you're back to being a regular user.

Heh! Wanna hear a 'funny' one?

Last week I used an Ubuntu Live CD to edit some files on my broken openSuSE partitions.

Nautilus wouldn't let me read/write certain files, of course, because I wasn't SU, but if I left the unauthorized Nautilus window open - then opened a couple of more Nautilus windows - all of a sudden Naultilus gave me SU privileges.

LoL! Must be a bug...

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: lxskllr
As I said, I'm a noob too, but gksudo nautilus launches the graphical interface with root privileges. That allows you to make changes to the system. Once you close that nautilus window(Gnome's Explorer equivalent) root privileges are gone and you're back to being a regular user.

Heh! Wanna hear a 'funny' one?

Last week I used an Ubuntu Live CD to edit some files on my broken openSuSE partitions.

Nautilus wouldn't let me read/write certain files, of course, because I wasn't SU, but if I left the unauthorized Nautilus window open - then opened a couple of more Nautilus windows - all of a sudden Naultilus gave me SU privileges.

LoL! Must be a bug...

That sounds like a dangerous bug. You should report that.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
That sounds like a dangerous bug. You should report that.

I'm running openSuSE 11.1 Gnome on this machine - opened 10-15 instances of Nautilus - and it didn't give me SU privileges.

I'll go crank up the lappy and see what Nautilus does on Linux Mint...

EDIT: Nope, Nautilus works fine on Linux Mint 6 too. Must have something to do with the Ubuntu Live CD.

I'll try to reproduce it again later. Gotta run in a few...

 

[MichaelD]

This SU thing certainly sounds like a bug...and a biggie too. You would think the developers and/or beta testers would've noticed something like that, though.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
This SU thing certainly sounds like a bug...and a biggie too. You would think the developers and/or beta testers would've noticed something like that, though.

Yeah, well...

Desperate ppl do desperate things, you know?

Messing with ATI Catalyst 9.2, after it crashed my lappy, I was sort of desperate to get it working again. I had spent several weeks tweaking openSuSE 11.1, and assorted programs, including running Gnome and KDE 4.2 on the same machine - same hard drive, i.e. quad-booting it with Vista HP and Win 7 Ultimate.

At that point, I was basically shoveling various Live CDs into my lappy and trying to eradicate Catalyst.

So, I *suppose* if someone hadn't walked in my shoes, they wouldn't have even thought to try something like that.

I digress...

Sometimes I try to hack into my production web site. I try to think like a hacker, and come up with all sorts of inventive ways to hack my site. And, when I find a "bug", I try to find out a way to patch it.

To the point...

I highly doubt anyone that's involved with the Ubuntu Live CD thought that anybody would use it to hack into openSuSE 11.1 in order to kill the video driver. So, I'm NOT casting any aspersions. I'm just saying it's funny that I could get SU privileges in Nautilus by dancing on the keyboard, in the proper sequence, using the Ubuntu 8.10 Live CD.

 

[lxskllr]

If you have root though, more than the gfx driver is yours ;^)

Edit:
Or I guess you could just open the box and take the HDs :^P If your at the point of hacking with live cds, there's better options :^D

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
If you have root though, more than the gfx driver is yours ;^)

Edit:
Or I guess you could just open the box and take the HDs :^P If your at the point of hacking with live cds, there's better options :^D

Yeah, I know...

I just got tired of jacking with it.

LoL!

I had a perfectly functional quad-boot setup - life became boring - and Linux (on the desktop) shouldn't be boring, right?

So, I decided to mess it up and see if I was smart enough to fix it. Evidently, I wasn't sufficiently versed with Linux on the desktop to pull it off - that's all - but sooner or later I will be, and that's the larger point.

I've been running Linux servers for years - well into the last century. However, Linux on the desktop adds a whole new complexity! This is where 'it takes a village' comes into play. Nothing against Anandtech, but forums like this are pretty worthless when it comes to Linux - all you get is 'cheap shots' like "Why don't you run Windows like everyone else, you Linux hippy?" or (ahem) "There's better options." 99% of running a successful install of Linux is finding an appropriate community that supports each other - and this ain't it. When it comes to Linux, Anandtech is more of a back-alley competition than a support forum. So be it! It is what it is...

Really, if nothing else, I've learned that once you get your hardware working with Linux on the desktop - leave it th f--- alone! It ain't like Windows in that respect. Mess around with updating the core files and assorted apps all you want, but playing around with your hardware drivers is just asking for trouble, in my considered opinion.

I've run openSuSE 10.3, 11.0, 11.1, Ubuntu 8.03, and now Linux Mint 6 - both Gnome and KDE - x.32 and x.64 on the desktop.

Heh! I'm just naturally curious. Some ppl like to play games - I like to play around with operating systems...

I find it curious how differently these distros handle hardware issues. Most of them are a slam-dunk on desktop boxes, but lappys are a horse of a different color. So, I prefer to 'test' them on my laptop. I judge, if you can get a distro working on a laptop, it's worthy of consideration on a desktop box.

Having said that, I sure am loving this Mint 6 distro. It just flatly works!

The sad part is Mint makes me realize how bad the others are... and it makes me wonder if there's something better than Mint.

And, so, my quest continues!

Okay, flame away...

 

[lxskllr]

Why do you like Mint better? After hearing you talk about it, I checked out their site. It seems to be basically Ubuntu, with some GUI changes, and more included software(thinking of codecs specifically). I don't care so much for the gui changes, but I haven't run it yet. I'll probably test it on a spare computer, but it seems like Ubuntu in different clothes to me.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Why do you like Mint better? After hearing you talk about it, I checked out their site. It seems to be basically Ubuntu, with some GUI changes, and more included software(thinking of codecs specifically). I don't care so much for the gui changes, but I haven't run it yet. I'll probably test it on a spare computer, but it seems like Ubuntu in different clothes to me.

Yep, you're right!

Debian begot Ubuntu - and Ubuntu begot Mint - so Ubuntu and Mint are the love children of Debian.

Following the lineage backwards - seeking Alpha - I suppose I should try Debian on the desktop - do the mother/daughter thing, in the vernacular.

Really, the only reason I tried Mint 6 is because Ubuntu makes me *feel* dirty. I've been running Ubuntu on one of my LAN machines for a couple of months. Why? Because many ppl consider it to be The Holy Grail of Linux, and I wanted to spend some 'quality time' with Ubuntu, rather than just dismiss it out of rote for its lack of aesthetics. I ran it on this lappy for a few minutes too - about 10 minutes, if I remember correctly.

The better question is: Why do I like Mint 6 x.64 better than Ubuntu 8.10 x.64?

Mint 6 worked out-of-the-box, for everything I do. Yes, I had to fiddle with the WiFi driver, but that was it. It looks great, and it works great! As you said, all the codecs are installed, I didn't have to import any fonts, it includes the 64-bit version(s) of Adobe Flash and Java, blah, blah, blah.

Ubuntu, on the other hand, looks weird and dirty to me. I h-a-t-e the menus. The default theme is downtrodden and depressing - and changing themes is just putting lipstick on a pig. It's been sufficiently 'idiot-proofed' to be extremely irritating for an advanced user. If I recall, I had to spend several days installing 'restricted stuff', and/or things they didn't (or couldn't) include, as problems cropped up one-by-one, like hemorrhoids. And, through all this tweaking, I still don't like it...

I expected Mint 6 to be Ubuntu in different clothes, like you said, but it's turned out to be a very pleasant surprise! Believe me on this... I don't have ANY problem dumping operating systems that I don't like. As a matter of fact, I enjoy killing them!

Anyway, give it a try and decide for yourself. Don't take my word for it...

I've been running Mint 6 for less than a week. I had NO great expectations for it. I was hoping it wouldn't work so I could try Fedora (which will be my next install), but I'm just having too much fun with Mint 6 right now. Mint 6 x.64 rawks!

Maybe I'll triple-boot Fedora on my Intel Extreme Edition box instead...

 

[MichaelD]

In other news: I cannot get Ubuntu 8.11 to load now AT ALL. I've even installed XP on the HD using the entire space first just to get the HD "overwritten". Yes; I did a normal, slow format on the HD...took 3 hours.

When I run the Ubuntu installer when it comes to "Write partition changes to disk" I get a "Partition mananger failed" or something like that.

Why'd it work yesterday and not now. I tried to DL Samsung's HUTIL but the CD .iso is corrupted. Oh, it burns OK, but when you run it, it flakes on you. DL'd it twice and burned 2 CD's, BTW.

XP installed fine. It's not the HD. I think Ubuntu writes SOMETHING to the disk that is not being erased somehow.

AND, and, and, and I even ran DBAN on it. Same shit. Mike not happy right now.