Ubuntu 18.04LTS full - chaos! a lot of customization problem even fr a fresh installation

[andrewysk]

hii,

i am kind of new ubuntu user, not that new, i know and have used many terminal commands.. but when i comes with customization of newly installed ubuntu, i am really hopeless.. i have in 2 months broke 3 fresh ubuntu 18.04lts installation..

the last one, i have made a 4 partitions for /boot , /root , /home and fat32 partition for data share between windows in the future.
installation was smooth as ever at the beginning. but raw ubuntu without customization is really not that comfortable to use. hence, i installed most of the 30 things (as i have already tweaked a bit before this) that this guy in youtube has recommended.

everything is good initially, but one time it started to freeze when i use ubuntu generally.. just internet and normal stuff..
then i have to reboot from terminal.. and when i am at login greeter screen, it just a piece of pink color .. only mouse is visible.. nothing else.. i tried to reboot many times using tty, it still got stuck there.

after that i installed a new desktop environment from tty and managed to login into gui.

i have delete the default desktop environment that freezes.. and i am able to login using other desktop environment.

but there are still problem here and there. for example i can now login into wayland of ubuntu (default installed), but i can't run GPARTED, it just not appearing.
some other desktop environment also got bugs here and there. some softwares ( that i installed before this system got problem) just hidden in "all applications" but is available in ubuntu software center. there is one time .... many problems.. i have my head burst thinking of solving one by one.. IMPOSSIBLE. why ubuntu so unstable.. the core is very stable, but gui is totally sucks..!!

i think the problem lies with a few of the 30things to do after a fresh ubuntu installation (

) could be the culprit. mainly dash to panel gnome extension.

can someone help me ? pls. i don't want to reinstall the whole ubuntu. can pls me to troubleshoot my system from DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT onward ? because the only problem is with desktop environment and some installed pkdg does not show up or run.

added note:
i have multiple desktop environment on the ubuntu, there are :

taken from greeter screen:
gnome classic
LXQT desktop
ubuntu
ubuntu on wayland
unity (default)

result from $gnome-shell --list-modes:
gdm
user
ubuntu
initial-setup
classic


what info can i provide to let you guys assist me to trouble the system. at the end, i want to remove all desktop environment that i have and reinstalled it, but i want to keep my core and partitions. i do have timeshift installed, but i reluctant to use it, because i am skeptic it won't cause more harm than help. because i don't undertand how to recover it totally, even after i watch youtube several times..

pls troubleshoot with me. i want to learn what info is required if i am asking other ppl to troubleshoot, so i can learn also.
i believe required os info for troubleshooting should be:
shell info
desktop environment info
gui
..what else ? can you also show me the best command line for it ?


*************************************************************
&gnome-shell --version
GNOME Shell 3.28.4
****************************************************************************************************************
$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 232,9G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 2G 0 part /boot
├─sda2 8:2 0 28,2G 0 part /home
├─sda3 8:3 0 15,6G 0 part [SWAP]
└─sda4 8:4 0 187,1G 0 part /
sdb 8:16 0 232,9G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 232,8G 0 part
******************************************************
$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 232,9 GiB, 250000000000 bytes, 488281250 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xd6444252

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 4098047 4096000 2G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 429225984 488281249 59055266 28,2G 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 396457984 429225983 32768000 15,6G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda4 4098048 396457983 392359936 187,1G 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order.


Disk /dev/sdb: 232,9 GiB, 250000000000 bytes, 488281250 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 8C404006-5817-4C76-8EE9-154772FF70CE

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sdb1 2048 488280063 488278016 232,8G Microsoft basic data

*******************************************************************
$ sudo cat /proc/partitions
major minor #blocks name
8 0 244140625 sda
8 1 2048000 sda1
8 2 29527633 sda2
8 3 16384000 sda3
8 4 196179968 sda4
8 16 244140625 sdb
8 17 244139008 sdb1
********************************************************************
$ sudo lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS
Release: 18.04
Codename: bionic
*****************************************
$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 5.3.0-40-generic (buildd@lcy01-amd64-024) (gcc version 7.4.0 (Ubuntu 7.4.0-1ubuntu1~18.04.1)) #32~18.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Mon Feb 3 14:05:59 UTC 2020
*********************************************************
$ uname -mrs
Linux 5.3.0-40-generic x86_64
*****************************************************
$ cat /etc/*release*
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=18.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=bionic
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="18.04.4 LTS (Bionic Beaver)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="18.04"
VERSION_CODENAME=bionic
UBUNTU_CODENAME=bionic
***********************************************************
OS: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS x86_64
Kernel: 5.3.0-40-generic
Shell: bash 4.4.20
Resolution: 1280x1024
DE: GNOME 3.28.4
Theme: Ambiance [GTK2/3]


if any other data or info required, pls tell me.

thanks
andrew

 

[Deleted member 58530]

Here's what I suggest.

Please don't take me the wrong way.

Obviously what you are doing isn't working so first do a new clean install and let the Ubuntu installer partition the hard drive and install Ubuntu.

When the installation is complete update the system and then restart the system and go into settings and configure what needs to be configured.

Then give it a try and see how your new install works OOTB.

No need to reinvent the wheel.

Also when posting system specs are helpful.

Welcome to Linux.org andrewysk

 

[andrewysk]

Also when posting system specs are helpful.

hi , thank you for replying.
my system specs is not enough ? i thought i have listed tons of related info on my system and os.
which spec is required ? and what the command list is ? i can provide that.

also you said "let the Ubuntu installer partition the hard drive and install Ubuntu. "
ubuntu 18 just make a big happy partition mixing /boot,/root/ home all together and swap as a file instead of as a partition. what i have learn from linux community was, it is still better to go with traditional partitioning scheme, separate for each , /boot /root /swap and /home.
i have go thru so much to learn to do the correct way of those linux users advice, and ... did i go the wrong way ? why ?

"When the installation is complete update the system and then restart the system and go into settings and configure what needs to be configured."
i did do clean installation, (just that i set the partition separately during linux installation ) and sudo update and upgrade, and configured what i think is good according to other linux user's advice, hence after the configuration, the desktop environment crashed.. because (i suspect) of bad gnome extension.

my previous ubuntu was in a big happy partition, becuase back then i have no idea of anything of linux. but it ruined after i was playing with 'sudo parted"

hence , after a lot of reading and advice from other linux user, i installed this ubuntu according to proper linux partition scheme, which is to separate them all.

regards,
andrew

 

[Deleted member 58530]

System hardware specs are important for the sole fact that if the hardware is not capable of supporting Gnome3 then that might be the reason why your install crashes.

Running multiple desktops isn't advised due to one desktop can conflict with the other desktop.

Being a new to Linux user it's best to install and use Linux OOTB until more Linux experience is learned although not mandatory.

I install and use Linux as it comes OOTB and have zero problems on any of my 2007 Frankenstein builds.

Good Luck.

 

[andrewysk]

ok, these are my hardware spec:

$ lshw -short
WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
H/W path Device Class Description
=============================================
system Computer
/0 bus Motherboard
/0/0 memory 7824MiB System memory
/0/1 processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GH
/0/100 bridge 82Q35 Express DRAM Controller
/0/100/1 bridge 82Q35 Express PCI Express Root Port
/0/100/2 display 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller
/0/100/2.1 display 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller
/0/100/19 enp0s25 network 82566DM-2 Gigabit Network Connection
/0/100/1a bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4
/0/100/1a.1 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5
/0/100/1a.7 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2
/0/100/1b multimedia 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller
/0/100/1c bridge 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1
/0/100/1d bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1
/0/100/1d.1 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2
/0/100/1d.2 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3
/0/100/1d.7 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1
/0/100/1e bridge 82801 PCI Bridge
/0/100/1e/0 enp3s0 network 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100
/0/100/1f bridge 82801IO (ICH9DO) LPC Interface Controller
/0/100/1f.2 storage 82801IR/IO/IH (ICH9R/DO/DH) 4 port SATA Contro
/0/100/1f.3 bus 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller
/0/100/1f.5 storage 82801I (ICH9 Family) 2 port SATA Controller [I
/1 scsi4 storage
WARNING: output may be incomplete or inaccurate, you should run this program as super-user.



*************
$ inxi
CPU~Dual core Intel Core2 Duo E8400 (-MCP-) speed/max~1996/3000 MHz Kernel~5.3.0-40-generic x86_64 Up~8:42 Mem~2977.9/7824.0MB HDD~532.0GB(10.3% used) Procs~222 Client~Shell inxi~2.3.56

*********
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 23
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz
stepping : 10
microcode : 0xa0b
cpu MHz : 2096.384
cache size : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 2
core id : 0
cpu cores : 2
apicid : 0
initial apicid : 0
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cpuid aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 xsave lahf_lm pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority dtherm
bugs : cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2 spec_store_bypass l1tf mds swapgs itlb_multihit
bogomips : 5985.14
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor : 1
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 23
model name : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz
stepping : 10
microcode : 0xa0b
cpu MHz : 2118.572
cache size : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 2
core id : 1
cpu cores : 2
apicid : 1
initial apicid : 1
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl cpuid aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 xsave lahf_lm pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority dtherm
bugs : cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2 spec_store_bypass l1tf mds swapgs itlb_multihit
bogomips : 5985.14
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:
***************************************
$ cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 8011784 kB
MemFree: 1769708 kB
MemAvailable: 5281320 kB
Buffers: 814848 kB
Cached: 2328416 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 3703320 kB
Inactive: 1350288 kB
Active(anon): 1992532 kB
Inactive(anon): 190084 kB
Active(file): 1710788 kB
Inactive(file): 1160204 kB
Unevictable: 79560 kB
Mlocked: 48 kB
SwapTotal: 16383996 kB
SwapFree: 16383996 kB
Dirty: 728 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 1989956 kB
Mapped: 624528 kB
Shmem: 272280 kB
KReclaimable: 945888 kB
Slab: 995972 kB
SReclaimable: 945888 kB
SUnreclaim: 50084 kB
KernelStack: 11184 kB
PageTables: 46216 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
WritebackTmp: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 20389888 kB
Committed_AS: 6045808 kB
VmallocTotal: 34359738367 kB
VmallocUsed: 26048 kB
VmallocChunk: 0 kB
Percpu: 3296 kB
HardwareCorrupted: 0 kB
AnonHugePages: 0 kB
ShmemHugePages: 0 kB
ShmemPmdMapped: 0 kB
CmaTotal: 0 kB
CmaFree: 0 kB
HugePages_Total: 0
HugePages_Free: 0
HugePages_Rsvd: 0
HugePages_Surp: 0
Hugepagesize: 2048 kB
Hugetlb: 0 kB
DirectMap4k: 220156 kB
DirectMap2M: 8026112 kB
*************************************
$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 5.3.0-40-generic (buildd@lcy01-amd64-024) (gcc version 7.4.0 (Ubuntu 7.4.0-1ubuntu1~18.04.1)) #32~18.04.1-Ubuntu SMP
************************

please., analyse the info with me. share with me what were you looking for to know if it is compatible or not..

thanks
andrew

 

[Deleted member 58530]

Open the terminal and copy and paste inxi -Fxz
and post the output.

You mentioned Wayland in your original post and from my understanding is Wayland is buggy although I may be wrong.

 

[andrewysk]

wow! your command line is neat!! how come i never come across it ?!

$ inxi -Fxz

System: Host: ubuntuandrew Kernel: 5.3.0-40-generic x86_64
bits: 64 gcc: 7.4.0
Desktop: Gnome 3.28.4 (Gtk 3.22.30-1ubuntu4)
Distro: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS
Machine: Device: desktop System: Dell product: OptiPlex 755 serial: N/A
Mobo: Dell model: 0GM819 serial: N/A
BIOS: Dell v: A19 date: 05/31/2011
CPU: Dual core Intel Core2 Duo E8400 (-MCP-)
arch: Penryn rev.10 cache: 6144 KB
flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 11970
clock speeds: max: 3000 MHz 1: 1995 MHz 2: 1995 MHz
Graphics: Card: Intel 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller
bus-ID: 00:02.0
Display Server: wayland (X.Org 1.19.6 )
drivers: intel (unloaded: modesetting,fbdev,vesa)
Resolution: [email protected]
OpenGL: renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 9.0, 128 bits)
version: 3.3 Mesa 19.2.8 Direct Render: Yes
Audio: Card Intel 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller
driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k5.3.0-40-generic
Network: Card-1: Intel 82566DM-2 Gigabit Network Connection
driver: e1000e v: 3.2.6-k port: ecc0 bus-ID: 00:19.0
IF: enp0s25 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Card-2: Intel 82557/8/9/0/1 Ethernet Pro 100
driver: e100 v: 3.5.24-k2-NAPI port: dcc0 bus-ID: 03:00.0
IF: enp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives: HDD Total Size: 532.0GB (10.3% used)
ID-1: /dev/sda model: ST3250310AS size: 250.0GB
ID-2: /dev/sdb model: ST3250318AS size: 250.0GB
ID-3: USB /dev/sdc model: Cruzer_Slice size: 32.0GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 184G used: 12G (7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda4
ID-2: /home size: 28G used: 25G (92%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
ID-3: /boot size: 1.9G used: 118M (7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
ID-4: swap-1 size: 16.78GB used: 0.00GB (0%)
fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3
RAID: No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 34.0C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info: Processes: 219 Uptime: 9:13 Memory: 2881.2/7824.0MB
Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 7.4.0
Client: Shell (bash 4.4.201) inxi: 2.3.56


*************
wait a minute, according to the this, it looks like my system never use the Swap partition that i prepared!! used 0%! why ?
what does this mean ? "fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3"

Partition:
ID-4: swap-1 size: 16.78GB used: 0.00GB (0%)
fs: swap dev: /dev/sda3

 

[Deleted member 58530]

Swap will only be used if and when you are running low on system memory and it appears you have 8.0 GB of memory.

With 8.0 GB memory I doubt that swap will ever be used although still good to have just in case.

From what I see everything appears to be normal.

That system should be able to run Ubuntu 18.04 without problems so I don't understand why the Gnome3 desktop crashes.

It's possible the HWE stack kernel 5.3.0-40 which is a short term kernel and may be a problem with the hardware.

All of my Ubuntu Frankenstein builds use the long term Kernel 4.15.0-88-generic.

At this point I don't know.


Give this Ubuntu version try with the 4.15 LTS Kernel.

Index of /releases/18.04.1

 

[andrewysk]

Give this Ubuntu version try with the 4.15 LTS Kernel.

how do i do that ?
how to use kernel 4.15lts ? just asking, if it is not that much of hassle.

thx
andrew

 

[andrewysk]

my ubuntu kernel is actually 5.3.. you are suggesting 4.15.. so i have to down grade

 

[Deleted member 58530]

You could install synaptic package manager and see if the newest 4.15.xx kernel is available and install it and then boot into that kernel.

If everything works well than use synaptic to remove the 5.3.xx kernel.

I don't recommend downgrading the kernel what I'd recommend is to do a clean install using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or 18.04.1 LTS as both use the 4.15.xx LTS kernel.

 

[andrewysk]

i do have synaptic package manger installed, but same as other program, it is not running, so with gparted, also not running.

something very chaotic happened to my desktop environment as i said on my title of this post.

the kernel is good, but desktop manager if chaos.. as you as you don't customize it, don't install too many gnome extension to it. it is very stable. as you started to customize it, install extension such as "dash to panel, ....", then the problem started to surface. this is my case. that's why i said chaos!

i don't want to reinstall the whole linux.. i fed up with reinstalling and at the end it breaks ..worst than windows.. i want to tackle the problem by first:

remove all desktop environment and reinstall a few of them.

but i don't know what should i do with the gnome extension and .. software packages i have installed previously. do i need to remove them and reinstall them.
how can i list out the packages i have installed so that i can reinstall all of them one by one.
else, i might miss out and some packages is not running and in the hdd, yet i don't know about it.. just a waste of hdd space.

You could install synaptic package manager and see if the newest 4.15.xx kernel is available and install it and then boot into that kernel.

If everything works well than use synaptic to remove the 5.3.xx kernel.

I don't recommend downgrading the kernel what I'd recommend is to do a clean install using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or 18.04.1 LTS as both use the 4.15.xx LTS kernel.

 

[andrewysk]

can you brief me on the basic linux idea to me ? i am a bit confused.
you asked me to look for previous kernel, which is 4.15.xx (the lastest version of 4.15.xx)
i suppose previous kernel is more stable.

but can i install 2 different kernel on my system ? is it like dual boot of windows xp and win7 ?
u said you do not recommend downgrading the kernel, but 4.15 kernel is already downgrade.. current kernel is 5. 3.xx

i did do a clean install of ubuntu 18.04lts. but the kernel is 5.3.xx.. how can i reinstall ubuntu 18.04lts with kernel 4.15.xx ?

if ubuntu 18.04lts comes with default kernel 5.3.xx .. how 4.15.xx ??
i am so confused.

pls explain clearly for me pretty please...

andrew

You could install synaptic package manager and see if the newest 4.15.xx kernel is available and install it and then boot into that kernel.

If everything works well than use synaptic to remove the 5.3.xx kernel.

I don't recommend downgrading the kernel what I'd recommend is to do a clean install using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or 18.04.1 LTS as both use the 4.15.xx LTS kernel.

 

[Deleted member 58530]

You download the ISO from this link and create new bootable media and do a clean fresh install.

Index of /releases/18.04.1

Your ISO you've downloaded and created is based on Ubuntu 18.04.4 and the 5.3.xx kernel.

The above link I've provided is based on Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 18.04.1 which are 4.15.xx kernel.

Yes the older Kernel is usually more stable.

 

[Deleted member 58530]

The first release of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS is based on the 4.15.xx kernel.
The second release of Ubuntu 18.04.1 is a point release and is also based on the 4.15.xx kernel.

The third point release is Ubuntu 18.04.2

The forth point release is Ubuntu 18.04.3

The fifth point release is Ubuntu 18.04.4

and so on is based on the latest HWE Stack Kernel.

 

[lekkerlinux]

hii,

i am kind of new ubuntu user, not that new, i know and have used many terminal commands.. but when i comes with customization of newly installed ubuntu, i am really hopeless.. i have in 2 months broke 3 fresh ubuntu 18.04lts installation..

the last one, i have made a 4 partitions for /boot , /root , /home and fat32 partition for data share between windows in the future.
installation was smooth as ever at the beginning. but raw ubuntu without customization is really not that comfortable to use. hence, i installed most of the 30 things (as i have already tweaked a bit before this) that this guy in youtube has recommended.

everything is good initially, but one time it started to freeze when i use ubuntu generally.. just internet and normal stuff..
then i have to reboot from terminal.. and when i am at login greeter screen, it just a piece of pink color .. only mouse is visible.. nothing else.. i tried to reboot many times using tty, it still got stuck there.

after that i installed a new desktop environment from tty and managed to login into gui.

i have delete the default desktop environment that freezes.. and i am able to login using other desktop environment.

but there are still problem here and there. for example i can now login into wayland of ubuntu (default installed), but i can't run GPARTED, it just not appearing.
some other desktop environment also got bugs here and there. some softwares ( that i installed before this system got problem) just hidden in "all applications" but is available in ubuntu software center. there is one time .... many problems.. i have my head burst thinking of solving one by one.. IMPOSSIBLE. why ubuntu so unstable.. the core is very stable, but gui is totally sucks..!!

i think the problem lies with a few of the 30things to do after a fresh ubuntu installation (

) could be the culprit. mainly dash to panel gnome extension.

can someone help me ? pls. i don't want to reinstall the whole ubuntu. can pls me to troubleshoot my system from DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT onward ? because the only problem is with desktop environment and some installed pkdg does not show up or run.

added note:
i have multiple desktop environment on the ubuntu, there are :

taken from greeter screen:
gnome classic
LXQT desktop
ubuntu
ubuntu on wayland
unity (default)

result from $gnome-shell --list-modes:
gdm
user
ubuntu
initial-setup
classic


what info can i provide to let you guys assist me to trouble the system. at the end, i want to remove all desktop environment that i have and reinstalled it, but i want to keep my core and partitions. i do have timeshift installed, but i reluctant to use it, because i am skeptic it won't cause more harm than help. because i don't undertand how to recover it totally, even after i watch youtube several times..

pls troubleshoot with me. i want to learn what info is required if i am asking other ppl to troubleshoot, so i can learn also.
i believe required os info for troubleshooting should be:
shell info
desktop environment info
gui
..what else ? can you also show me the best command line for it ?


*************************************************************
&gnome-shell --version
GNOME Shell 3.28.4
****************************************************************************************************************
$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 232,9G 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 2G 0 part /boot
├─sda2 8:2 0 28,2G 0 part /home
├─sda3 8:3 0 15,6G 0 part [SWAP]
└─sda4 8:4 0 187,1G 0 part /
sdb 8:16 0 232,9G 0 disk
└─sdb1 8:17 0 232,8G 0 part
******************************************************
$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 232,9 GiB, 250000000000 bytes, 488281250 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xd6444252

Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 * 2048 4098047 4096000 2G 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 429225984 488281249 59055266 28,2G 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 396457984 429225983 32768000 15,6G 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda4 4098048 396457983 392359936 187,1G 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order.


Disk /dev/sdb: 232,9 GiB, 250000000000 bytes, 488281250 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 8C404006-5817-4C76-8EE9-154772FF70CE

Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sdb1 2048 488280063 488278016 232,8G Microsoft basic data

*******************************************************************
$ sudo cat /proc/partitions
major minor #blocks name
8 0 244140625 sda
8 1 2048000 sda1
8 2 29527633 sda2
8 3 16384000 sda3
8 4 196179968 sda4
8 16 244140625 sdb
8 17 244139008 sdb1
********************************************************************
$ sudo lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS
Release: 18.04
Codename: bionic
*****************************************
$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 5.3.0-40-generic (buildd@lcy01-amd64-024) (gcc version 7.4.0 (Ubuntu 7.4.0-1ubuntu1~18.04.1)) #32~18.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Mon Feb 3 14:05:59 UTC 2020
*********************************************************
$ uname -mrs
Linux 5.3.0-40-generic x86_64
*****************************************************
$ cat /etc/*release*
DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=18.04
DISTRIB_CODENAME=bionic
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="18.04.4 LTS (Bionic Beaver)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS"
VERSION_ID="18.04"
VERSION_CODENAME=bionic
UBUNTU_CODENAME=bionic
***********************************************************
OS: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS x86_64
Kernel: 5.3.0-40-generic
Shell: bash 4.4.20
Resolution: 1280x1024
DE: GNOME 3.28.4
Theme: Ambiance [GTK2/3]


if any other data or info required, pls tell me.

thanks
andrew

I had similar Ubuntu freezing problems this year. I suggest trying Zorin 15.2. It is based on Ubuntu, but works much better. I don't know why.

Just select install updates during the install, as well as the extra drivers for Wi-Fi and media codecs. Esy install and maintenance.

 

[lekkerlinux]

Here's what I suggest.

Please don't take me the wrong way.

Obviously what you are doing isn't working so first do a new clean install and let the Ubuntu installer partition the hard drive and install Ubuntu.

When the installation is complete update the system and then restart the system and go into settings and configure what needs to be configured.

Then give it a try and see how your new install works OOTB.

No need to reinvent the wheel.

Also when posting system specs are helpful.

Welcome to Linux.org andrewysk

Excellent advice Poorguy! When I installed Ubuntu 18.04 LTS earlier this year, I started changing the settings while Ubuntu was updating and it froze.

Just following those steps you suggested gives you trouble free Ubuntu install and use.

 

[andrewysk]

is Zorin 15.2 is another linux distro apart from ubuntu ?

why Zorin ? why not just kernel 4 ubuntu as what poorguy said ?

thx
andrew

I had similar Ubuntu freezing problems this year. I suggest trying Zorin 15.2. It is based on Ubuntu, but works much better. I don't know why.

Just select install updates during the install, as well as the extra drivers for Wi-Fi and media codecs. Esy install and maintenance.

 

[Deleted member 58530]

Zorin OS 15.2 is Released: Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

With over 900,000 downloads since its release nine months ago, Zorin OS 15 has been our biggest and most advanced release ever. 2 in every 3 of these …

zoringroup.com

Zorin is designed for the new to Linux user and setup and configured for the most and for the most should work OOTB.

Zorin 15.2 uses Ubuntu 18.0.4 LTS and uses the 5.3.xx HWE Stack Kernel.

If you should decide to install Zorin 15.2 I'd suggest a clean install and letting the installer setup the partitions and complete the install.

Once the install is completed install the updates using the updater and the restart the system and see how and if everything works.

The reason I suggest doing this is to find out if the 5.3.xx HWE Stack Kernel works with the system you have been experiencing problems with as it is still uncertain if Wayland is causing the problem or if the HWE Stack Kernel causing the problem.

This is sometimes a necessary procedure so as to troubleshoot and isolate the source of a particular problem which a user is experiencing with another Debian / Ubuntu based distro.

For whatever reason some Linux distos just will not work with certain computers and their hardware.

The first plan of attack is to find and get a Linux distro installed and updated and see if everything works properly.

As good as Linux is Linux can sometimes be a bit of a PITA to a new Linux user however once a new Linux user has a working Linux computer and the new Linux user learns how to Linux the end result is excellent based on my experience.

 

[lekkerlinux]

is Zorin 15.2 is another linux distro apart from ubuntu ?

why Zorin ? why not just kernel 4 ubuntu as what poorguy said ?

thx
andrew

Zorin 15.1 is based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, but it works better because the Zorin brothers did some extra work on it that makes it more stable and usable. It also looks better, you actually have 3 choices of desktop enviroment to choose from in the Zorin core edition, which is free. They have other editions with more stuff that costs money.

I have tried Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Q40S, Solus, Zorin and Fedora, thus far. I don't have a clue what kernel for Ubuntu is.