Is There A "Complete Linux Noob Walkthrough"?

[linuxnoob117]

I've never been able to find clear directions for getting compiz to show up on any computer. Yes, I am a linux noob. I also realize that there's no cure for stupid, but still, I'd like as much help as your patience allows.

My cpu is an AMD X4 Black Edition, video card eVGA 460. OS is Ubuntu 10.

I think I already installed the nvidia driver, but I can't change my resolution beyond 1280 x 1024. I have a 22" monitor, so the gui looks kinda weird; so I guess that might be another problem (i.e.- can I get Ubuntu to display in my monitor's Native Resolution?)

Nvidia's links aren't very helpful for a noob like me. I'd like some (or lots of) screenshots to walk me through the process of getting compiz to run on ubuntu 10 with the newest drivers (256.53). At the very least, I'd just like to say that at one point in my life, I was able to run compiz on a computer of my very own for a couple of minutes, just to see what it was like.

Recap:
1.) Yes or no, Is There A "Complete Linux Noob Walkthrough"?
2.) Is someone willing to make one?
3.) Is there a stupidly easy way to get compiz to run on a fairly powerful computer that has just freshly installed Ubuntu 10?
4.) Can I get Ubuntu to display in my monitor's Native Resolution?

[NvFuchs]

Originally Posted by linuxnoob117

Recap:
1.) Yes or no, Is There A "Complete Linux Noob Walkthrough"?

No.

2.) Is someone willing to make one?

No.
But there is a huge load of distribution specific documentation out there, for Ubuntu as an example: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Video

3.) Is there a stupidly easy way to get compiz to run on a fairly powerful computer that has just freshly installed Ubuntu 10?

Yes. Activate "Desktop effects", it will even install the drivers for you if needed. This is a four-click thing, which I consider rather easy.

4.) Can I get Ubuntu to display in my monitor's Native Resolution?

Yes. What we can't do is give you any good support without any information. Please read the sticky on how to generate a bug report and add it here. Otherwise you expect a mechanic to repair your car over a telephone line, with all information from your side being "it doesn't work".

I think that either

a) your monitors EDID is wrong or
b) your monitors EDID can't be read by the driver or
c) the nvidia driver is not active.

By submitting a bug report here we can check which of the above applies and give you specific help.

Fuchs

[Licaon]

Originally Posted by NvFuchs

Yes. Activate "Desktop effects", it will even install the drivers for you if needed. This is a four-click thing, which I consider rather easy.

I'm not really sure, as i did not update my secondary system that runs Ubuntu in a while, but Ubuntu still has the 195.xx.xx drivers in their repo, hence the issues maybe.

@linuxnoob117: run the Nvidia X Server Settings app and tell us the "NVIDIA Driver Version"

[Ulukai]

There is a complete manual for Ubuntu 10.04, find it here: http://ubuntu-manual.org/
This should help you with your setup and most questions.

[linuxnoob117]

Thanks for the help. I appreciate your patience. Incidentally, when I was searching for this forum, I found a link to the Ubuntu Help Forum(s) that listed a very similar (if not exact) problem that I am running into. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9849961

I will try to follow the advice in the Ubuntu post #9849961 and hopefully that will work.

[linuxnoob117]

x

[linuxnoob117]

Originally Posted by Licaon

I'm not really sure, as i did not update my secondary system that runs Ubuntu in a while, but Ubuntu still has the 195.xx.xx drivers in their repo, hence the issues maybe.

@linuxnoob117: run the Nvidia X Server Settings app and tell us the "NVIDIA Driver Version"

I was wondering about the 195.xx.xx drivers: are they automatically installed during a fresh install of Ubuntu 10? I "uninstalled" ubuntu (from Win 7's Remove/uninstall Programs section), so I'm wondering if I try to install the ver. 256.53 again, will there be a conflict, as the ver. 195.xx will be there before the 256.53.

Also, how do I run the Nvidia X Server Settings app?

[ViN86]

One of the best things you can do (in general) if you're starting with Linux is to learn to use the command prompt (aka terminal). Learn some basic commands for file management/manipulation and how to find files/strings/etc.

Here's a good tutorial for Bash that's good for any distro:
http://linux.org.mt/article/terminal

The sooner you learn to use the terminal and get comfortable with it, the better. This will help with any linux distro you use.

[Ulukai]

Originally Posted by linuxnoob117

I was wondering about the 195.xx.xx drivers: are they automatically installed during a fresh install of Ubuntu 10? I "uninstalled" ubuntu (from Win 7's Remove/uninstall Programs section), so I'm wondering if I try to install the ver. 256.53 again, will there be a conflict, as the ver. 195.xx will be there before the 256.53.

Also, how do I run the Nvidia X Server Settings app?

When installing Ubuntu, proprietary drivers like Nvidia's will not be installed by default. Ubuntu will use the open source Nouveau driver for your card and normally Ubuntu will detect after a couple of reboots that there is a proprietary driver available for your Nvidia hardware and prompt to install it. If not, you can search for them via System --> Administration in your upper Gnome panel and install them manually (195.xx.xx).

Or you can download the latest driver from the official Nvidia website and install that one from the terminal. If you're going to do so and you're serious about using Linux, please take your time to read this: http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree8...256.53/README/

In this article you will also find how to use the Nvidia X tools:
- after installation you can run "nvidia-xconfig" to generate an xorg.conf
- after booting in a working X environment you can change the Nvidia settings like AA and AF or monitor temperatures with "nvidia-settings".