U_10.04LTS updates until when ... ?

nss000

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Gents:

Running legacy U_10.04LTS on AMD965/MSI-gd70. Either the Hanns 28" screen or BFG gtx9800+ is "gimpy", but after 5 years I can't complain.

Canonical just automagically updated my home usrland 10.04 OS. Bet it's more than just **security** fixes; have no idea what backporting they may do. Support should have stopped last April, but like the HW function I can't complain. Will anyone speculate how much longer this Ubuntu version will be updated?

 

nss000

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Canonical is obviously treating all loyal U_10.04LTS users to the same long-life support as the guys with servers. Quite a bit of security with a long-working, understood system. I feel prompted to find a prudent modern replacement for my GTX9800 graphics card.



 

stillblue

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Is there a problem with the new versions and your card? You can always make the new version look like the old, no gun to your head to use Unity. KDE is pretty close so is Mint and any command line work that I've done is unaffected and all these newer versions have reduced incompatibility issues. I myself have grown to really like unity, particularly the searching of the computer for files in 13.04. For me the only really annoying thing is that I can't right click to sort a folder, I still keep forgetting that.
 

nss000

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SB:

I explained my system experience poorly.

The updates that Canonical has provided since April to my U_10.04LTS are **completely** traditional GNOME-2.xx based software. No UNITY no silly HUGE icons no balony; just the traditional Ubuntu 2.6.32-52 and menu-driven GNOME_2.30.2 and the supporting cast of Canonical and 3rd party tools.

The issue with my display subsystem: Hanns-28"/gtx9800+ is prolly a HW failure & aside from the OS. After mobo & Ubuntu SPLASH screens display just fine ... the screen goes black and it takes about 10 minutes for the **login** screen to appear. Strange indeed.



 

stillblue

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As I am sure you are aware, gnome2 is still an option. Now on to your problem. One could be the RAM which you can upgrade or you could install Lubuntu and then add goodies after. All ubuntu software is available to Lubuntu. Lubuntu also looks a lot like you are used to. If that fails then there was something changed in the install and some older systems are not supported, I can't bring it up in my head as I am still on my first cup of coffee but it simply requires that you install 10.04, which you have and then upgrade to the new version. If you don't want to risk the copy that you have then install remastersys and make a new installable iso copy to put on a separate partition and do the upgrade there leaving the original intact. I've been using remastersys for years because our internet is sooooo slow. I Install the new version on a computer then add the goodies and make a copy that I use to distribute to others without using bandwidth. It works great.

Here's a good tutorial on doing the upgrades https://library.linode.com/upgrading/upgrade-to-ubuntu-12.04-precise
 

nss000

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SB:

In the legacy AMD965 I just upgraded RAM from 6 --> 12 Gig CRUCIAL, so now it's 6-G 1066 & 6-G 1333. But, the graphics weirdness predates that change.

I would **like** to believe the graphics issue is related to my using a "legacy" Ubuntu OS on my legacy HW (MSI:790fx-gd70/AMD965) . I mean, how can SPLASH screens instantly display perfect , and then display craps-out for 10 minutes ?? Must be a SW issue! But I got a good spanking from Ms AMDgurl about a year ago when I suggested upgrading to U_12.04. She argued 'why mess with a rock-solid system and exchange it for a pig-in-a-poke U_12.04?' She had a good insight.

Anyrate I left my legacy system alone, and built-out a new HW: a XEON/MSI-gd55/hi-rez.Auria system on which to install
U_12.04. That new system has had graphics issues also, needs an updated BIOS, but that's matter for a different post.

I still use my legacy AMD965 for everyday business ( and prefer the Hanns 28" 1920x1200 screen to the 27" Auria 2560x1440) , so I need to be **very conservative** with that legacy system ... it's still **my baby**.



 

nss000

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Sorry for obscure description. Craps-out = black screen, no display. I wait 5-10 minutes until the login screen "flickers" back on.

To repeat the sequence of behavior:

1) Turn on monitor & turn on computer.
2) Watch MSI splash screen quickly appear, and then Ubuntu splash screen. Both OKey.
3) Immediately after Ubuntu splash display the monitor screen turns black. Weeks ago I got a flicker of login-screen. Not now.
4) Wait 5-10 minutes for the login screen to appear. Jump in! Perform login without issue. System performs all functions normally all day long.
5) But , if I **MISS** the new appearance of the login screen and make it wait around displaying for yet another 5-10 minutes then the black-screen returns and I must reboot & start all over.



 

1991ATServerTower

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That's odd. Sounds like the boot process is waiting for something before it displays the login screen, then it seems that the computer fails to come out of suspend. To see what's happening on boot up, press the ESC key and it will show you line by line what it's loading. Most likely it's the graphics driver. Being that it's an older Nvidia card you should be able to install their proprietary driver version 174 without too much trouble and it should work well.

Have a look at this page and see if it helps you,

http://askubuntu.com/questions/162075/my-computer-boots-to-a-black-screen-what-options-do-i-have-to-fix-it

scroll down and look for this heading, "Black/purple screen after you boot Ubuntu for the first time".

 

nss000

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I have been running NVidia driver 280.13 for as long as I remember.

I will try the ESC-key thing next boot.

Hitting the ESCAPE-key just-before/during the blackout period gives me **nothing** at all. I get no response for that key-stroke. No screen output, no error messages no trash. Just a blacked-out display until the LOGIN screen flickers into existence.




 

nss000

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Linux Login mangers .... Seemingly **lightdm** and **gdm** have no user-facing GUI wizards to let the casual-lusr poke and prod without risk of **bricking his install** and **even** tell which software was running the LOGIN function. Sad case.
 

amdfangirl

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success.png


Hang in there. Upgrading is hard. :)
 

nss000

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Very funny cartoon: thanx for the sympathy AMDgurl. Both of my systems are limping along, showing strange graphics behavior so I fear trying to make anything better lest I make everything worse! I can feel vibrations from the circling sharks ...





 

amdfangirl

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Always a good idea to use Clonezilla to make a backup of your primary drive before you try a drastic change.

Pop in a random LiveCD and see if the problem with the GPU is hardware or software.

Nvidia 8xxx series and 9xxx series had the most bizzare problems:


http://semiaccurate.com/2010/07/11/why-nvidias-chips-are-defective/

My trusty 9600GSO was a victim of bumpgate. That's ok, I have a GTX 660 now :).
 

nss000

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How I envy your GTX660. I attempted to install an NV_650 when my Xeon build was fresh ... and I failed with an unfixable BLACK SCREEN.

Only after I **killed** the NVidia driver and installed the native Linux (Neauvo ??) driver from U_12.04 could I get any display at all. Even that **glitches** a temp noise-streak at-the-top upon boot.

Folks at MSI claim my Z77a-gd55 BIOS is too old(V-1.2) ... but flashing BIOS ( on a semi-working system) is beyond my risk boundary.

On my legacy AMD965 system with the 5-minute black-screen boot I don't even think of flashing BIOS ... following your warning these many months ago. U_10.04 is regularly updated by Canonical and excepting boot runs smooth as Persian lambie-pie. I really need to flip-in a different monitor and different GPU to see which guy ( if either) is the evil troll.




 

amdfangirl

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I certainly don't use my GTX 660 under Linux.

Perhaps you can find a nice old GPU a friend might give away to you for free.

I know from personal experience that the X1650PRO and the HD 4770 work well enough for 2D with the open source driver.