Is LMDE worth it?

[wwoof]

I got in on the first release of the 64-bit version which was heavily updated after that. In the past year I have lost my monitor settings ONCE AGAIN, my CONTROL CENTER has completely disappeared (no way to adjust mouse), and my WIRELESS was kicked to the curb in MINT and in XP!!!

I have had to go back and reattach my ethernet connection. I would prefer wireless, though. (How did this effect XP?)

This whole recent fiasco makes me look hard at settling for a new, stable DISTRO that doesn't receive updates. I didn't become a MINT user to become a LINUX professional just a user. It is so very frustrating. I don't know whether I should reload my disk, once again, or wait to somebody sends us a flare saying everything is back to normal.

[ausminter]

I don't know about your monitor issues, I've seen updates cause problems in that area too. They "fix" things that are working and cause all sorts of problems.

The wireless issue seems like it could be a hardware problem if it is doing it on linux and XP.
Sometimes upgrades where a new kernel is configured can update firmware so that could be an issue, or it could just be faulty hardware. Your device manger on windows can help (rarely) if there is a hardware problem.

[ausminter]

Have you tried typing control centre in the search field when you open the menu ?
The gnome control center should come up on the right side of the menu.

The control center can also be opened in a terminal by typing sudo gnome-control-center if the user is configured to have sudo rights

If you are after the ATI control center you type sudo amdcccle
If you have the right packages installed it should run.

[altair4]

Although it's easy to miss there is the following warning on the download page for LMDE:

* Although it's using Romeo for unstable packages, LMDE continuously changes as it receives updates and new software. Compared to a frozen version of Linux Mint which changes very little once it's publicly released, it's not as stable. Things are likely to break more often but fixes can also come quicker. For this reason, LMDE requires a deeper knowledge and experience with Linux, dpkg and APT.

* Debian is a less user-friendly/desktop-ready base than Ubuntu. Expect some rough edges.

Based on your original post I would suggest you use Ubuntu based Mints: Gnome or LXDE.

[proxima_centauri]

* Moved to LMDE Open Discussion forum from Update/Upgrade Issues

[wwoof]

Just an update:

The Control Center issue has been around for a while. It is on the menu but nothing is linked to it. I have searched for it but not in terminal mode.

I am using Gnome and my wireless went out the window during the last big update which gave me some sort of failure message. I have ordered another USB adapter but it hasn't arrived yet.

I just noticed that the security on my Mint has vanished! No sign-in screen pops up when Mint starts....it goes right to an open session.

Has a new DVD come out yet? Maybe I need to get a fresh start over?

[craig10x]

I'd suggest going back to to the ubuntu based main edition (Mint 11)....As someone who tried LMDE twice (both earlier and on debian testing directly and recently with the new re-spin using update packs pointed to "latest")...i just went back to Mint 11 a few days ago and have never been happier

Even with update packs pointed to "latest" (supposed to be the safest method to update) i was already beginning to see regressions, breakages, etc...
I threw in the towel and said to myself "this is not for me" like you, i want to ENJOY my mint not be a "linux technician"

[ausminter]

I think LMDE is worth it (for me anyway)
I have a multi boot system so a reliable system is only a click away if there are any serious problems that make LMDE unuseable.

I love to "get under the bonnet" so to speak and sort out problems, it teaches me about the inner workings of the OS and gives me a sense of acheivement when I fix problems.

A system that is rock solid is great but it bores the crap out of me.

I have my important files on a shared folder that I can mount access from all the different distros I have installed so if anything goes wrong I can always access those files.

If really stuff things up I have plenty of tools on USB drives to get things up and running again.

[tdockery97]

There is actually a lot to be said for using the Ubuntu based editions. I just switched my primary OS today from LMDE KDE back to Linux Mint 11 LXDE. I decided to take a breather for a while and acually use my computer rather than maintain my system. I still have LMDE handy for when I want to dabble in the "testing" atmosphere again. Clonezilla is great.

[monkeyboy]

One of the joys of Linux is all the choices available to prospective user. LMDE is a fine and enjoyable release with its own strengths and hurtles however is not the only beer in the cooler. Other distros worth your consideration might be PCLinuxOS or MEPIS, each has a different set of strengths and weaknesses and either/both might be worth a look. Good Luck

[wwoof]

Well, I got my control center back last night! Thanks, guy.

Made a few changes and downloaded some updates. Got up this morning and NOTHING! No GRUB, no nothing but a message idling DHCP _ _ _ _ _ /

I am using the live version of 201012 right now and am planning on ordering a new distro. Thinking about Katya (Mint 11) but what about LXDE? Or, Unbuntu's latest version?

I want to be able to surf with Opera and see all the YouTubes and videos I come across. LMDE is just too much.

[craig10x]

Try Mint 11 (main edition)...it's very nice

I know how you feel...i wanted to make LMDE work for me but that's the problem....too much work
When i returned to Mint 11 a few days ago, i felt like a great weight had been lifted from me

[wwoof]

MORE WWOOF CRAZINESS.

Yesterday I felt frisky and using the live 201012 disk I pulled up Gparted. Took a look and decided that if I'm totally dead in the water why not have some fun. I never created a swap partition because I use a SSD so I did that. After running it the mount point for ML disappeared! OKAY, I've really mucked this thing up. I went into file manager and started trying to pull up all my ML files from the SSD. I got them to pull up and was going to copy the ones I really needed. But I got side-tracked and went on eBay and ordered the latest Ubuntu and Mint.

I decided, for fun, to re-seat my old USB wireless adapter and rebooted. Wah Lah, The boot loader came up, I went to Mint, the sign in was back, the wireless adapter connected, the monitor display icon was fixed, everything was like BRAND NEW out of the box!!!!!!!!!

I now have NO Mint problems. What on earth happened? The system was completely dead until I put on a live version and started surfing and poking around. Something magically happened in that process and I'm sure there aren't any short explanations for it.

Now I'm wondering if I should install ML 11 when it arrives? I might just do that but I do hate to fix something that appears to not be broken.

Truth is stranger than fiction and I feel my address is in the Twilight Zone.

[Elisa]

...
Truth is stranger than fiction and I feel my address is in the Twilight Zone.

Welcome in the Dear Alice' Wonderland!

[ausminter]

MORE WWOOF CRAZINESS.

Yesterday I felt frisky and using the live 201012 disk I pulled up Gparted. Took a look and decided that if I'm totally dead in the water why not have some fun. I never created a swap partition because I use a SSD so I did that. After running it the mount point for ML disappeared! OKAY, I've really mucked this thing up. I went into file manager and started trying to pull up all my ML files from the SSD. I got them to pull up and was going to copy the ones I really needed. But I got side-tracked and went on eBay and ordered the latest Ubuntu and Mint.

I decided, for fun, to re-seat my old USB wireless adapter and rebooted. Wah Lah, The boot loader came up, I went to Mint, the sign in was back, the wireless adapter connected, the monitor display icon was fixed, everything was like BRAND NEW out of the box!!!!!!!!!

I now have NO Mint problems. What on earth happened? The system was completely dead until I put on a live version and started surfing and poking around. Something magically happened in that process and I'm sure there aren't any short explanations for it.

Now I'm wondering if I should install ML 11 when it arrives? I might just do that but I do hate to fix something that appears to not be broken.

Truth is stranger than fiction and I feel my address is in the Twilight Zone.

I'm glad you got it back up and running.

I've seen some weird stuff happen in linux(several different distros) with the USB system.
One of my computers will crash if I unplug my USB modem and the other one will log me out with no evidence in the logs or dmesg.
There are also several other problems with the USB in regards to detecting of devices when they are plugged in & the loading of appropriate modules etc.
I don't know if it's at kernel level or problems with modules, but devices not being detected makes me think it's a kernel issue.

For your system to be nonfunctional and all clues pointing towards a USB device it seems like there is something not right.
A USB device should not make the OS nonfunctional/broken. It certainly needs investigation.