Upgrade 12.04 to 12.10 via system update caused expanded screen

I just used sudo open firefox and managed to get firefox on the problem laptop open to login and write this message, however the size of the window is too big for the screen so I cannot swap to the terminal unless I open a new terminal (ctrl+alt+t) each time I want to flick between programs.

Hi ,

is would be better if you go back to 12.04 LTS (and NOT Windows).

Well , Ubuntu 12.10 has some problems with graphics cards .. lately . See your drivers from graphics card. Re-install them if you can.

And NEVER but NEVER open graphical applications (like Firefox) with sudo privileges. Use gksudo instead. This can cause serious permissions problems and locked you out of the Operating System.

Thanks

Thanks fo the information you've provided but I don't know how to do any of what you've suggested.

a) how do I go back to 12.04 if in fact I am using 12.10 now (which I'm not convinced I am)
b) how do I see my drivers from my graphics card, and how do I re-install them?
c) what is the command I should be using if I use gksudo? gksudo open firefox?

On 12/28/2012 12:35 PM, Caron Margarete wrote:
> Question #217793 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/217793
>
> Status: Answered => Open
>
> Caron Margarete is still having a problem:
> Thanks fo the information you've provided but I don't know how to do any
> of what you've suggested.
>
> a) how do I go back to 12.04 if in fact I am using 12.10 now (which I'm not convinced I am)
> b) how do I see my drivers from my graphics card, and how do I re-install them?
> c) what is the command I should be using if I use gksudo? gksudo open firefox?
>
a) Only with fresh install of 12.04. There is no downgrade option in
Ubuntu. Download the .iso of 12.04 LTS from here:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/precise/
You must create a bootable CD/DVD or USB and install from scratch.

b) Open a terminal and apply this command
$ lspci -nnk | grep -iA2 vga

it will returns the graphics card model and also the "Driver in use:"
For Nvidia cards the drivers are nvidia-current (nvidia on results of
upon command) , for ATI/AMD cards the additional drivers are fglrx. (the
same on results of upon command).

So , for Nvidia
$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall nvidia-current
$ sudo nvidia-xconfig

For ATI/AMD
$ sudo apt-get install --reinstall fglrx
$ sudo /amdconfig/ --/initial/ -f

both cases you must reboot for changes to take effect.

c) All graphical applications (meaning , not open inside the terminal)
should not be opened as administrator.. but if for some reason you want
to open , you must use gksudo (is the graphical sudo).

So for Firefox
$ gksudo firefox

for nautilus file manager
$ gksudo nautilus

etc..

Thanks

--
NikTh

Thanks Nick, this is much clearer.

I ran the graphics commands but the last one retuned with: sudo: /amdconfig/: command not found. The reinstall fglrx seemed to run fine but I've not restarted my computer to test the result because I'm still downloading the 12.04 file. That will be the next step, in the meantime, can you please tell me what terminal command would I use to open a program that will assist me to burn the iso file to a dvd? I can't remember the name of the program I have used previously.

The amdconfig command is Ok if told you "not exits" . Do no bother.

As for the burning program , the pre-installed is brasero , so try in terminal

$ brasero

and do not forget to burn the .iso to the LOWEST speed. When we write data on disk ALWAYS we select the lowest speed.

I would prefer a bootable USB.. what you say ?

You will need a usb-stick (FAT32 filesystem) at least 2GB

and this program : http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Then you must plugin the usb-stick and open the program with this command

#it needs administrator privileges and is a graphical application so..

$ gksudo unetbootin

Read the guide here at the page (scroll down) : http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

It is easy to use and I consider Live-USB as more reliable than CD/DVD

If you follow the Live-USB way , do not forget to configure the BIOS to boot FIRST from the USB.

Thanks

Under the circumstances Nick, I think I'll stick with what I know, thanks though. When/ if I go to 12.10 then I'll check out the USB route but so far I've never had an issue with dvd version installs so let's see how I go with that first. No point complicating what is already in the too hard basket. When I put the dvd in a simple burner application opened so we'll see how I go with this version now. Will close question if all is good, otherwise, check you on the other side.

Appreciation for your help once again.

What is the output of:

sudo lshw -C display; lsb_release -a; uname -a

Thanks

Hi Andrew, welcome to the kerfuffal this is. The result is below...

  *-display UNCLAIMED
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: RS780M/RS780MN [Mobility Radeon HD 3200 Graphics]
       vendor: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI
       physical id: 5
       bus info: pci@0000:01:05.0
       version: 00
       width: 32 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:d0000000-dfffffff ioport:9000(size=256) memory:cfdf0000-cfdfffff memory:cfe00000-cfefffff
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 12.10
Release: 12.10
Codename: quantal
Linux caronmargarete-laptop 3.5.0-21-generic #32-Ubuntu SMP Tue Dec 11 18:51:59 UTC 2012 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

...
I've tried using this laptop to burn 12.04 with no success so I'm now swapping to my husbands mac to get the job done. Incidentally, the restart after running the graphics command didn't help.

I chose to download the new 12.10 rather than the old 12.04 and potentially face the same problem. After burning to a dvd and trialing it, I decided to install from the disk. It asked if I wanted to install over the 12.10 version I already had and gave me an option to keep data or erase everything, I chose the later knowing all my data had already been backed up.

I'm now using the new install with no apparent problems. I'm not sure what the problem was, no doubt an irregularity that rarely happens, but it was enough of a scare for me to wonder whether it's worth it given I usually have some kind of problem every time there is a new upgrade. I hope that developers can continue their great work and gradually iron out these problems.

Thanks to Nick & Andrew for your support.