Sound/Graphics card problems with new Ubuntu install [was RE: Quality of Ubuntu List]

[Andrew Farris]

Hello there! 

Sorry you're having problems, but in order to help solve them, We'll
need to know what version of Ubuntu have you installed first. If you
don't know what version you have, check out "System > About Ubuntu" and
read or copy-paste the line under the big Ubuntu logo. The version is
also listed in the GRUB menu when you're booting up (you may have to hit
'Esc' to see the menu). Next, see my further replies below:

On Sat, 2009-10-10 at 18:48 +0200, Sandro Sanna wrote:
> Problem with GPA-> ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650<- (the update crashes
> the Operating System)

If Ubuntu is crashing that would be highly unusual, as normally the OS
doesn't just 'crash', unless theres serious problems...usually hardware
related (I'm declaring this possibility unlikely for now). 

        Could you provide more details about what exactly happens when
        Ubuntu crashes? 
        Are there any error messages (if so, please give the exact error
        message)? 
        Also, what update is crashing the system?

Since you've said you have an ATI graphics card, I'm also thinking that
it could just be an issue with the ATI Drivers (they are notoriously
troublesome). If your screen is just going colored-boxy when you boot
up/log in, then this could be the issue. 

you can also see if you have virtual terminal access to help fix this by
pressing ctrl+alt+F1, if you are at least making it to a login screen.
This will also help fixing your issue (though we can't say what the
issue is really, until you provide your more info)

> I've got a Acer Aspire 6530G with a very bad audio and a damned
> Graphic Card

Most computers have a graphics card, though the 'bad audio' phrase could
be more explicit. 
        What do you mean when you say 'bad audio'? 
        Does the sound not behave normally (i.e. crackling and popping
        speakers, etc)? 
        Is the sound volume too low when it shouldn't be? 
        Does the sound work at all?

> I'm a beginner here in the Ubuntu Community(I don't even know how to
> install a thing). However I made a great mistake, I installed linux
> without Windows and I can't get back to my old Operating System..

Welcome to the community! There are numerous ways to install things...
however the most essential are by going to "Applications >
Add/Remove" (soon to become "Applications > Ubuntu Software Center"), or
by going to "System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager". From
within those interfaces, you can search for software, and once you find
what you want, click the checkbox next to it to install it, and click
"Apply", "Ok", or whatever appropriate button there is to accept the
changes. If you already know what software you want though, sometimes
its faster to just install it from the terminal (Applications >
Accessories > Terminal) and type in "sudo apt-get install
<package-name>" where you replace <package-name> with the name of the
package you want.

Hopefully you didn't have any un-backed up data that needed to be saved
on the partition you accidentally wiped... that is, if you're sure you
accidentally wiped it. 

If you're unsure whether you wiped the partition or not, please go to a
terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type in:

        sudo fdisk -l

This will give you a list of your partitions. If you have any partitions
of type "NTFS" then you still have your old install, and thats another
problem we'll have to address. If you're unsure, paste the output into
your next email, and people here can evaluate it.


Hope that helps! 

-- 
Andrew
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