Ubuntu GNOME

no GNOME desktop after mini install 14.04 PPC??

Asked by Fritz Hudnut

I ran a netboot CD/mini install of Ubuntu on Saturday afternoon on my iBook G4, after the prior Ubuntu MATE 14.04 install was "deconstructed" via aptitude . . . and other than taking over 3 hours to do it seemed to "successful"?? I selected the GNOME DE, and after the install I got to the GNOME splash with good resolution . . . but that was it, the "blinking" dots blinked, then stopped and nothing further happened. Went to TTY to reboot.

I then added/installed "lightdm" via TTY and it informed me that "gdm" was already installed--since gdm wasn't "working" I selected lightdm and then was able to get a GNOME log-in window, but logging into GNOME session again went to a black screen.

Using the TTY I added XFCE4 DE and an xorg.conf and logging into to XFCE brought a working GUI!!! Logging out and trying GNOME (default & Classic sessions) logs into black screen, but now with mouse cursor visible. I installed synaptic and tried to get "firmware-b43-installer" to get wifi working . . . but have not been successful there yet. No problems with ethernet connection, as the install was run.

I tried various boot params, "Linux video=ofonly radeon.agpmode=-1" which has been needed for the previous 14.04 installs, Lubuntu, U-MATE . . . but so far nothing has provided a GNOME desktop . . . just blackness with now a moving mouse cursor. I have a working TTY and working XFCE GUI, but any thoughts about how to get GNOME GUI up and running would be appreciated, especially if the GNOME Floating Feet screensaver is part of the package. Running "sudo apt-get update/upgrade" shows "0 packages to install, 0 broken, 0 to upgrade, " etc.

Sometime later tonight or tomorrow I plan on checking synaptic to see if "GNOME-desktop-environment" or whatever, shows as installed . . . haven't had time to check that yet; but clearly the GNOME icon splash is "installed" . . . . And, sometime in a few days I plan on reporting the experience to Ubuntu QA where I got the mini.iso download for PPC . . . for possible bugs . . . etc.

F

Question information

Language:
English Edit question
Status:
Answered
For:
Ubuntu GNOME Edit question
Assignee:
Bruce Pieterse Edit question
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Last reply:
Revision history for this message
Fritz Hudnut (este-el-paz) said : 		#1

"Sometime later tonight or tomorrow I plan on checking synaptic to see if "GNOME-desktop-environment" or whatever, shows as installed . . ."

Just to follow up on the further updates . . . still hoping for some assistance on this issue of how to get the GNOME DE to "work" . . . . I checked synaptic and various "GNOME" items appear to be installed, but looking at "gnome-desktop-environment" if I recall it seemed to indicate that "gnome" package is the "update." It added a lot of dependencies, so I ran "sudo a-g install gnome" in the Terminal and it showed a huge list of dependencies amounting to some "575MB" to download . . . seemed like a lot so I aborted. But, question is, why isn't GNOME DE launching, but XFCE is? And, I need some guidance on how to troubleshoot this problem where logging into GNOME now shows a background image of the XFCE "rat" and a mouse cursor that moves, but nothing else, no toolbar(s) . . . have to use TTY to reboot.

Also Terminal Emulator opens a window but no boot prompt shows at all. And, in FF I have to continually add a search engine to find stuff . . . something is not quite right in Ubuntu GNOME 14.04.2 PPC . . . any help would be appreciated.

Revision history for this message
Bruce Pieterse (octoquad) said : 		#2

Hi Fritz,

Do you still have this problem with latest release of Ubuntu GNOME (15.04)?

Revision history for this message
Fritz Hudnut (este-el-paz) said : 		#3

Bruce:

This was ubuntu GNOME 14.04 . . . I got an answer somewhere, perhaps GNOME forum, that min. requirements for GNOME is 1GHz . . . so I went to XFCE in that install. That system was nuked recently while trying to upgrade the computer to OSX 10.5, and recently I tried to install Lubuntu 14.04 && then U-MATE 15.04 . . . so the present install is U-MATE 15.04 . . . but there are kernel panic issues and the GUI will not boot . . . among other issues ethernet is not working in the MATE 15 side, but I'm now back in OSX and typing this post.

So, short answer, my iBook is 933 MHz and so doesn't meet requirements for GNOME 14 . . . so figuring that GNOME 15 will also not be do-able . . . I do enjoy the GNOME floating Feet screensaver though . . . . If I get my PowerMac processor upgraded to over 1GHz I would try for the GNOME install . . . . Right now, problem "solved" as it has been dissolved . . . . I'll probably be rolling back to 14 if the problems in 15 PPC can't be fixed.

F

Revision history for this message
Bruce Pieterse (octoquad) said : 		#4

Hi Fritz,

Thanks for responding. Yes, Ubuntu Gnome requires at a minimum a 1 Ghz processor or better and at least 1.5 GB of RAM.

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