Re: debian 8
On 13/04/2015, David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> wrote:
> Me again, sorry. My question about the hardware failure was more out
> of curiosity than anything else, because it's unusual for software
> problems to break hardware (though quite possible). On to software...
>
> Quoting Bret Busby (bret.busby@gmail.com):
>> So, I have found xfce, on Debian 7, to be too dangerous.
>>
>> Even more incentive to stick with Debian 6, even after the LTS has
>> expired.
>>
>> It seems that, on the eve of the release of Debian 8, Debian 7 is
>> still, even less stable and functional, than Debian 6.
>
> When you've run D6 and D7, has it been on the same machine? What's the
> basic configuration of your system; did you install D7 over D6, or are
> they in separate partitions so you can try running either one and then
> the other? Do you have a separate /home partition or any others like
> that? And lastly, just out of interest, I don't recall your saying
> whether you have tried installing and running D8 yet.
>
> Cheers,
> David.
>
Hello.
No, I have not tried to run Debian 6 and 7 on the same machine, and, I
have not installed Debian 7 over Debian 6.
I have Debian 6 running on a Dell desktop, and installed and
operational on an earlier model Acer laptop with an nVidia GT520M
graphics adaptor, and that installation of Debian 6, on the laptop,
runs the external monitor, without any problem.
However, due to running out of memory on the desktop (which has an i3
CPU, and which I had upgraded to 16GB RAM, as the maximum installable
RAM), which is the computer that I use most, as, as previously
mentioned, due to the memory swapping mostly not working (it starts to
swap, when memory usage reaches about 100%, and memory usage then
stays at 100%, and, at present, swap space usage is 36%, with memory
usage at 100%), and the CPU load gets quite high (currently showing
89%), I bought a super-duper laptop; the Acer v3-772G, with its i7 CPU
and 16GB of RAM, which I had upgraded to 32GB, and, being UEFI/GPT (I
had also wanted to use the UEFI/GPT, to be able to install PC-BSD,
but, as previously mentioned, installing the version of PC-BSD, that
would supposedly install and run on a UEFI/GPT system, was a big, bad,
mistake, as that wreaked havoc on the system), and, as I had
understood that Debian 7 was needed (rather than Debian 6) to deal
with the UEFI/GPT system, and, as Debian 6 is also problematic (apart
from the failure to properly swap memory) with transfering data in
quantities greater than about 1GB, I installed Debian 7 on the
computer (and then, when Debian 7 would not get the external monitor
working, I installed, also, Ubuntu 14.04, which did get the external
monitor working). The GUI's on the Debian 7 installation, and the
Ubuntu installation, being standard GNOME 3, werecrap and diffiocult
to use, and, then, by accident, I found that Debian 7 had also GNOME
Classic, which I could invoke, when logging in (I had found,
initially, reference to GNOME Classic,i n the PC-BSD manual), and, I
had installed LXDE and XFCE on the Acer V3-772G computer, but, found
them wanting, when I had tried them. So, I now use GNOME Classic, as
the least unusable interface, on the Acer V3-772G Debian 7
installation.
As Debian 7, running on the super-duper computer, will not find or run
the external monitor, because Debian 7 won't droive the nVIDIA
graphics adaptor, I bought the Acer E5-521-238Q, which has only an
inboard graphics adaptor, as I presumed (unsafe act, apparently, with
Debian) that Debian 7 would be adble to drive that graphics adaptor.
Wrong.
As I have stated elsewhere, MS Windows 8.x, and Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS,
run on both of the newer Acer computers, upon which Debian 7 is
installed, and, they both drive the respective graphics adaptors, and,
run the external monitor, and, MS Win7 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and Debian
6 run on the Acer 5750G with the nVIDIA GT520M graphics adaptor, and
drive that graphics adaptor and run the external monitor, okay, but
Debian 7 can not run the external graphics adaptor, and whilst the
Acer V3-772G, has a 17 inch scrteen, it is noe of these widescreen
<expletive deleted> things, and, is not a 17 inch proper screen, witha
4:3 aspect ratio, like the Acer 1711, and so these current laptops,
need an external monitor, such as the 23 inch widescreen monitor, to
give a decent sized display.
But, I have been unable to get Debian 7, to run the external monitor,
and, that, in itself, is frustrating, apart from all of the other
problems with Debian 7.
But, the GNOME Classic interface, is inconsistent - on the Acer
V3-772G installation of Debian 7, to find the System Settings ->
Monitors, I have previously stated the menu path, and, as someone on
the list (Petter, I think), pointed out, on their installation, as on
my Acer E5-521-238Q Debian 7 installation, to access that, and, as I
have found, the screen lock (I have yet to find a usable screensaver
on Debian 7), is found, by clicking on the use name at the top right
corner of the screen (GNOME Classic, apparently, does not allow me to
repostition the panel (if that is the correct term) at the bottom of
the screen, directly above the taskbar (if that is the correct term,
as in Debian 6.
So, Debian has become increasingly less useable and reliable and
stable, as the version numbers increase.
So, while Debian 6 is yet to become stable, and has significant memory
handling and data handling problems, I doubt that I will upgrade to a
later version number, for my main usage, for years to come.
I would probably go back to Debian 3.1, which I regard as the last
stable version of Debian, but I doubt that it would handle the current
hardware and technology (such as ADSL).
I always have a separate /home partition, and, seaparate extra /data
partitions (/home is required, amongst other things, for storage of my
pine -> alpine mail data, and, I believe, various other appliucations
settings data and other data particular to the varioous other
applications).
I will not try Debian 8. Apart from other issues, insofar as I am
aware, it does not have GNOME Classic. If Debian 8 had GNOME 2, I
might try it, but, as I have said, as the version numbers increase,
the usability, reliability, and, stability, appear to decrease.
I lost over a month of usage of my super-duper computer, when I tried
to install PC-BSD 10.1.1, (before I found how to get the computer
working again), and I have not yet been able to get Debian 7 working
adequately, and so I am now wary of trying any new version of Debian,
at least untiul the previous versions, become stable.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................
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