Linux: problem with display drivers (I think)

So I finally got a comp to install Linux (Kubuntu) on. Everything went relatively well. But I noticed when scrolling through internet pages that there is a lot of 'lag'. My image stutters. This isn't just with image pages but also pdf files and such. Now I don't have this problem in XP, so I assume it's Linux specific and I assume it's due to my graphics drivers. I tried changing the settings in the monitor and display settings menu in System settings, but whenever I select the correct card (Geforce 4) or the correct monitor (MAG Innovision) and run the test I just get grey dots on my screen.

Now I'm really enjoying Kubuntu, but this is just too annoying. Anyone got a solution ?

PS: real time spell check in Konqueror FTW !

Wow, after installing the nvidia-glx package through the 'run command' thingie I can't get into the GUI anymore. Time for a reinstall I fear !

Nevermind... lost my brain for a moment.

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Originally Posted by doc_bean

Wow, after installing the nvidia-glx package through the 'run command' thingie I can't get into the GUI anymore. Time for a reinstall I fear !

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Dumb question... did you try 'startx'?

You may need to reconfigure some of your X settings too if you installed new video drivers.... I havent reinstalled my vid drivers for a long time, so it's hard to remember.

edit: Step 8 of this guide rings a bell for me.

hey. doc, I've had some headbutts with the nvidia-glx package before, though not on Ubuntu. Sometimes, the thing just doesn't install properly, though it doesn't tell you so.

Last time I had problems with it, it was because it wasn't removing all the symlinks to previous .so libraries that were there from previous installs or from the original package. IIRC, once that was done (manually), it all worked just fine. Oh, and btw, the installer always happily claimed "Successful installation!".
Yeah, right.

So keep at it, and it's very unlikely you need to reinstall the whole thing. Try different versions of nvidia-glx packages, too, some may work better than others, as weird as that may sound.

Thanks guys, I did re-install it after all (only takes about 20 minutes anyway, and I didn't lose anything worthwhile, plus it allowed me to re-partition). I fear I'll have to read some newbie guides before I'll be able to find my way around the terminal and its use.

Small question on the side: I only have 256MB of RAM, could this also be (partially ?) responsible for all the stuttering ?

I think I'm going to install another distro on my newly created partition (probably debian, though is just using the first cd sufficient to install ?) so I can mess around with one while not risking losing full functionality.

I only know that I get this scroll-stuttering in XP before installing my NVidia drivers so I guess this may really be a reason, no idea about Linux though.

Well, this was a long and unproductive day :embarassed:

It turns out other distros don't have this problem. i'm still not sure what's causing it, but I did notice I was constantly using 200+ Mb of RAM in Kubuntu, so now I'm more inclined to blame it one that.

Unfortunately, for some reason, I didn't manage to get another distro installed :furious3: I'm not sure what the problem was, they booted up from live cd (well not debian, since it didn't come on live cd) but permanently installing was a no go. Perhaps because I had already partitioned specific parts of my HD for Linux use ? They all seem awfully keen to take space away from Windows...

Ehhh... yes, the RAM might be a problem. See, KDE and Gnome may have their advantages, but they (especially KDE) are HUGE memory hogs.
If you're low on memory, you can try a lightweight window manager, such as:
- window maker (windowmaker.org)
- litestep, nextstep, afterstep, and their flavo(u)rs (all other "steps")
- fvwm
- blackbox
- fluxbox

These are all more or less lightweight, and will use up very little memory. They are also considerably faster. You can also get back quite a bit of the eye candy that the desktop environments offer you, and customize them to a large extent.
Right now X takes up some 41megs on my box, and my window manager only a few k.
Of course, all the little things you run inside the window manager take up their separate amounts of memory, but that's valid everywhere, naturally.

note to self: installing two linux distros on one PC=bad idea.

You know, I was thinking about it and I really can't see how your scrolling problem could be RAM related.... My box is an ancient 700MhzAMD with 512MB of RAM. I have a ton of stuff running on it, and can have GIMP, Mozillia, OpenOffice, ect all open simultaneously and never have a problem scrolling smoothly.

You might wanna check 'KDE system guard' and see how your RAM & swap file utilization really looks.

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Originally Posted by Xiahou

You know, I was thinking about it and I really can't see how your scrolling problem could be RAM related.... My box is an ancient 700MhzAMD with 512MB of RAM. I have a ton of stuff running on it, and can have GIMP, Mozillia, OpenOffice, ect all open simultaneously and never have a problem scrolling smoothly.

You might wanna check 'KDE system guard' and see how your RAM & swap file utilization really looks.

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I'm not sure either. But luck (?) have it, my new computer arrived friday, so I managed to install Linux on that. A bit of a problem seeing as how the kernel doesn't support my motherboard, but I got it to work decently. Now I have to get/install some packages which *should* have been easy (using apt-install) except it's not and I'll have to manually download and install a bunch of them. Not exactly how I like to spend my sundays, so I'll see what i can do about it tomorrow :no:

One of my biggest Linux learning experiences was when I took it upon myself to install the gimp2 from source. That in itself took forever, but it was made even more pleasant when it kept failing because it didn't have required dependancies or the appropriate version of them... So then you have to go DL, compile and install all of those. :dizzy2:

Ya gotta love it. :laugh4:
It all pays off though once you get it all running the way you want. :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Xiahou

One of my biggest Linux learning experiences was when I took it upon myself to install the gimp2 from source. That in itself took forever, but it was made even more pleasant when it kept failing because it didn't have required dependancies or the appropriate version of them... So then you have to go DL, compile and install all of those. :dizzy2:

Ya gotta love it. :laugh4:
It all pays off though once you get it all running the way you want. :2thumbsup:

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I'd rather program my own chimp...:laugh4: ~;)

This is 'fun'. I have to install a program (a library actually), which requires a few other programs to be installed first, the first of which doesn't compile, it requires about 5 other libraries/programs, some of which require other libraries themselves.

Linux==pain

Hmm turns out my sources for updates weren't very good. A bit of reconfiguring really helped me :2thumbsup:

There's no victory like a hard-fought victory eh? :beam:

Ubuntu or even Xubuntu might have been the better choice with only 256 MB of RAM. KDE is a bit of a hog, but I prefer it to gnome. As to your graphics problem, you may want to do sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg and reconfigure it. It may be to do with your monitor in which case sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf and set your monitor's vertical and horizontal scan frequencies manually. I've found this to be necessary whatever the distribution.

Also don't lose faith with Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu and switch to another distro. With an Nvidia graphics card and not an ATI card (like me) which makes all the difference.

Good luck, and if you need any help post here or drop me a pm. :2thumbsup: