More Mint problems

[Husse]

I disagree with the degree in IT, but with Linux you have to install and configure the pc yourself, Windows often is shipped preinstalled...
I don't know what's with your mouse - are you sure the hardware is OK?
If Mint is slower that Windows something is definitely wrong....

[BakUp]

It looks to me like you need a degree in IT to mess with Linux.

Try to be patient, learning Linux is not difficult, it just requires a learning curve for anyone that has the desire to change. I am sure no one ever learned MS Windows in a day or so either.

Also Mint seems to run very slowly when compared with Windows is that normal ?

No !

Stay with Mint if you can natwestcup, later you will be glad you did I believe.

And welcome to the Mint forums natwestcup !

cheers,
BakUp

[dracorX]

Well, I understand your frustration, though I don't agree that you need to be in IT to get it working.

Now, I don't know about the mouse problem. As for the speed: could you indicate something more about your PC?

And concerning knowledge: on http://linuxbasics.org/forum/index.php?board=2.0 a free linux course starts. Aimed at beginners. If you are interested, we might meet there ( I am not a beginner, but a refresher is always good ).

[BakUp]

I would've had to buy a new machine just to be able to use it! It is simply a monster that burns through resources like nothing I've ever seen before. (

You are correct on your comment about purchasing a new machine (I did buy a new one but not for Vista), it has Vista home edition and it runs slow with 512MB ram.

With a dual boot I am running Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna BETA 021 which runs fast, smooth with no problems what so ever on my Acer Aspire 3680 laptop.

Here are the specs:

Acer Aspire 3680-2633
- Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic
- Intel® Celeron® M Processor 520
- 512MB PC4200 DDR2 RAM
- 80GB 4200RPM Ultra ATA Hard Drive
- Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive
- 14.1" Widescreen XGA CrystalBrite Display
- 802.11b/g Wireless Network
Processor Speed 1.60GHz
Display Type 14.1" Widescreen XGA CrystalBrite Display
RAM Installed / Max RAM Supported 512MB PC-4200 DDR2 RAM (Expandable to 2GB)
Memory Configuration (1) 512MB SO-DIMM Memory Module

cheers,
BakUp

[WinXpNewb]

"Also Mint seems to run very slowly when compared with Windows is that normal?"

No. I have more browser windows opened with Mint Gnome than WinXp. Also when Gnome eats 100 % process, my system feels more stable and faster (1gb ram, 2.8 ghz p4). I can even move the mouse in certain cases, open some programs or ctrl alt F1, open htop and kill some process without feeling like it's eating my processes and then ctrl alt f7 back.

One thing that I would've hoped was more pronounced than a search in the Mint forums is this tweak:

Care for some memory tuning maybe? Add these lines to the end of your '/etc/sysctl.conf' file:

/etc/sysctl.conf:
Code:
# Swappiness
# Modification of Swappiness according to this URL:
# http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p= ... stcount=43
# '100' swaps at maximum rate = good for slow machines with little RAM
# '0' tries to avoid swapping = good for fast machines with lots of RAM
# Linux Kernel's default value is 60! (this sucks!)
#
vm.swappiness=1
vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50
... then reboot so that the changes can take effect (there is a way to activate them without rebooting ... it's just I don't remember it at the moment Laughing )

This should increase the perceived speed of your machine and make things 'snappier' .... it sure as hell did on my systems

Reload them with this command for no reboot:

Quote:
/sbin/sysctl -p

and this:

Remove programs based on Mono (Banshee/Tombo/Incollector/Beagle):

It is a Mono (the reimplementation of Microsoft .NET) application and comes with 3 .exe files, 47 .dll files and 17 .mdb files — exactly what you needed to feel "at home" in Linux.

Also I recently found out that there's a possible memory leak with gnome cups icon which I keep seeing but didn't credit as a memory leak until frustrated I did a search in Google and killing the process really helped get rid of the annoying memory eating feeling that I thought was normal to Mint and I'm also waiting for the XFCE community edition Daryna and try to switch it so I can squeeze more tabs into my browser. Would've gone the fluxbox, icewm, Slax based distroes except as you kindly pointed out, I don't have a degree in IT and haven't gotten the time to learn about Linux further so I'm stuck on the Mint Gateway for now. Luckily it's one of the best distroes.

Edit: Btw that tweak if wrongfully set can slow down your pc. I didn't consider pointing it out at first because it didn't seem to mess up my system and it didn't get the warning that most Linux experts scream about when setting up tweaks.

Ex. setting Linux as permanent root

Although it can. I don't know the technical details but it was in the original thread where I got that advise. I believe it was scorp who posted about the tweak and violin who posted the portion about mono.

[Husse]

What you did with the restricted driver was the fix!
With a proper driver your card works much better. You still may or may not be able to use Beryl/Compiz depending on card an driver
Mint does not have MadWifi, but it seems to help some people
You have a Broadcom aka bcm43xx a well known problem in Linux and to a lesser extent also in Windows...
I think following the wiki will get you going. Go for the Linux driver first
http://www.linuxmint.com/wiki/index.php/MintWifi
God luck