Installing Codecs & Applications in Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a free software so it comes without proprietary codecs (video, sound) or proprietary applications installed. This does not mean installing such is difficult - just to the contrary, it is a breeze.

First I would recommend adding the Medibuntu Repository to your software sources. Repository is a server with software applications to which you can connect your Ubuntu for automatic installation and updates. Here is a short how-to add Medibuntu :

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

This step is not a must but I would strongly recommend it because Medibuntu hosts apps like Skype, Google apps, special codecs, etc. Once you have this repository connected it is enough to open Synaptic software manager and work only within it (System -> Administration -> Synaptic). A simple tutorial on Synaptic with some screenshots can be found here :

http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/action.html

Next I would open the Settings->Repositories menu in Synaptic and enable the software channels. I always enable all of them except for the Source Code ones. Source Code is only for developers. Once you have enabled all software channels Close the Repositories window and hit the Refresh button (upper left corner). Now you are ready to Search and Install any kind of application. Once you find and mark the chosen apps (right-click -> Install) do not forget to hit Apply in order to get everything installed.

Last but not least is a short list of codecs & apps which should be enough for a great multimedia experience. Installing the following should enable reproduction or burning of any type of multimedia :

ubuntu-restricted-extras
w32codecs
libdvdcss2 (encrypted dvd playback)
smplayer
vlc
audacious
xine-ui
songbird
libk3b2-extracodecs
skype
deluge (torrents)
amule (emule)
nicotine (soulseek)

Sometimes it happens that an application is too new and missing from the default repositories. In such a case I usually go to :

http://www.getdeb.net/

and download the application I need for my version of Ubuntu. To install the downloaded application I just right-click on the downloaded package and choose Install... Sometimes it happens I cannot find a build of the needed application for my version of Ubuntu (I like installing the latest, even during the Beta testing phase). Then I just download and install the build for the version closest to mine.

Enjoy !


* If you are enjoying Ubuntu please consider donating a small amount to the project :

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/donations

How to easily re-install Ubuntu

a follow up of How to easily install Ubuntu

There are cases when I'd recommend re-installing the distribution you have instead of upgrading it. For example Ubuntu has an extraordinary upgrade mechanism but the system always tends to be a little slower after an upgrade compared to re-installation. Another reason can be that something went wrong during the upgrade process and for example a peripheral stopped working.

Preparation

The most important preparation point for a Linux re-install is checking the way you have partitioned your hard disk. To be more precise it is important that your "/" (root) partition is separate from your "/home" partition. Install Gparted via Software Management (or Synaptic). Then start the program as root (superuser) by opening a terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and typing the following in it :

sudo gparted

After pressing Enter you will be asked to type in the root password (in Ubuntu it is the password of the main account) and click Enter. Gparted will open :

In your upper right corner you will see your physical disks (including external USB disks/sticks plugged currently into the system) and when you click on some of them you will see how they are partitioned. On the example above my first hard disk is divided in 3 partitions (leftmost column), namely :

/dev/sda1 with no Mountpoint because it is used as SWAP (means users "cannot see or access it")
/dev/sda2 with Mountpoint "/" (root) which is used for holding all the installed software
/dev/sda3 with Mountpoint "/home" where all user files and directories reside

Each and every Linux has to have these three Mountpoints (all other mountpoints are optional). In my previous post I recommended these are set up on three different partitions during first install which makes a re-installation a breeze. Many Linux distributions default to placing "/" and "/home" on 1 partition which makes re-installation a complicated task.

Please make a note of your Partitions (leftmost column) and the respective Mountpoints (third column from the left) lying on them.


I also have a second internal hard disk and to see it I click in the upper right corner on its name and Gparted reveals its partitions and Mountpoints :

You can see I have just one partition on it "/dev/sdb1" with a Mountpoint named "/multimedia". This is a second hard disk which I use only for storing multimedia files. I have this already several years but nowadays I would recommend not using more than one internal disk if you do not want to fiddle around on re-installations. Use an external USB disk for storing your files instead.

In case you have one for historical reasons (like me) do not forget to make a note of the Partition, the exact name of its Mountpoint and its Filesystem type (second column from the left) which is Ext3 in my case.

Re-installation

Plug in and turn on all your peripherals (external CD/DVD writers, printers, webcameras, etc.). In case you have any external USB-connected storage (harddisk, memorystick, even memory cards) I would recommend unplugging them before starting the reinstallation. When you start the Disk partitioning it may look unnecessarily complicated.

Start the Installation CD, choose to install a new system and once you reach the disk Partitioner you will see the following :

Choose Manual in the lower left corner and Click on Forward. On the next screen you will see all the storage media connected to your computer :



/dev/sda1 is a SWAP partition. SWAP partitions are always detected automatically - no need to think or worry about them.

/dev/sda2 was in my case "/" (root) so I click on it and choose "Edit partition". A smaller window pops up :

We do not touch the "size in megabytes" box. From the "Use as" drop-down we choose "Ext3 journaling file system". Next we choose to Format the partition, set the mount point to "/" and click OK. Remember we format only this time because we need to get rid of the old software !

/dev/sda3 is the next partition we need to edit - right click on it and choose Edit partition :


In the pop-up window we do only two things : From the "Use as" drop-down we choose "Ext3 journaling file system" and set the Mountpoint to "/home" - we do NOT choose to Format !!!



In case you have an additional hard disk like me you click on its mount point (/dev/sdb1 in my case) and choose Edit partition. In the pop-up window you choose in the "Use as" drop-down the correct filesystem and set the correct Mounpoint (Ext3 & "/multimedia" in my case). The "Mount point" drop-down box allows you to write custom names and values in it. Again you do NOT choose to Format !!!

At the end your disk partitioner will look something like that :

Notice that only my root "/" partition has been chosen to Format?. Formatting means irreversibly deleting all data on the partition and I want this to happen on the partition with the installed applications/software only (in order to clean the space for the new ones). I want to keep everything intact in /home and /multimedia so there is no Format? check in their checkboxes.

Now you can continue by clicking Forward. On the next step you reach the User Creation dialog which is also very important. You have to create the exact same users as the ones using the computer by now in order to automatically "inherit" all their files and rights. Remember that you can change the computer name, the password, but you should keep the user name (name to use to log in) exactly the same as it used to be :


If you want to "Log in automatically" just check the lower left box. You can now click Forward and finalize your re-installation.

* If you are enjoying Ubuntu please consider donating a small amount to the project :

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/donations

How to easily install Ubuntu

I recommend the following graphical tutorial to everyone who has never installed Linux before :

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall

All you need to do is connect all peripherals (printer, webcamera, scanner, etc.), switch them on and follow the tutorial. There is one thing about it you should know before you actually use it - the tutorial is really very good but the Select a Disk part of it is tailored for people who want to add Ubuntu as the 2nd operating system on their PCs. I do not recommend using Ubuntu as your 2nd system unless you need to use some professional software which has no build for Linux (for example the accounting programs in some countries).

If you want to have a computer for the usual daily use I would strongly recommend Ubuntu as the only operating system on your PC. It is free, extremely stable, there are NO VIRUSES for it and software management is a breeze. I have installed it on almost all of my relatives' PCs and all of them have been more than satisfied ever since.

For the users who want to have Ubuntu as the only operating system on their PCs the partitioning recommended by the above tutorial is by far not optimal (the afore mentioned "Select a Disk" step) .

I personally partition my Disks in the following way :

• /swap - used by the system when heavily operating. A must-have for all PC systems
• / - the ROOT partition where all the software is usually installed
• /home - the most important partition which holds all user information
  
  

This is the most convenient partitioning I know which enables me to upgrade or reinstall to a new version of the system in 15 minutes. How to partition your disk in this way during your first Ubuntu installation on a new or on an already used disk follows. Beware that if you are doing this on an already used disk you will loose all the data on it therefore I strongly recommend you back up all your precious information (burn it on DVDs or copy it on another disk). I cannot be held liable if you decide to go ahead without backing up your data.

How-to correctly partition a disk during an Ubuntu installation

• Do not forget to back up your data if you are doing this on an used disk with valuable information !
  
  
• If you have USB-connected storage media like USB flash-disks, memory cards for mobiles or cameras, etc. connected to your PC - please detach them because they may confuse you during the preparation of your hard disk.
  
  
• Step 4 of 7 of the installation is named Prepare Disk Space which usually starts with a window like the following on which you need to choose Manual and click Forward :

• On the next window you will see your disk (and the floppy if you have one) and the way it is currently partitioned.

In case your disk is brand new you can directly go to the point Creating the basic partitions. If your disk has been previously used - continue with the point Preparing an used disk.

• Preparing an used disk. In case your disk has been used before you will need to remove all partitions. On the picture below the Physical Disks are /dev/fd0 (floppy) and /dev/sda (disk 'a' - circled with a green line). The details below disk 'a' are the Free Space on it and the partitions we need to Delete. The partitions of a disk carry the same name as the Physical Disk itself with a number added to the letter. In my case there is only 1 such partition which is selected (/dev/sda3 - colored in ochre). Just click on a Partition and then click on Delete Partition to remove it.

The partition will be removed and some Free Space will appear. You need to remove all the disk's partitions in that way resulting with entrances for the Physical Disks and 1 entrance for the Free Space (the space we have just freed for new usage) as on the below picture.



Be aware that this operation removes all data from the disk but it does not harm the Physical Disk itself so you cannot make a mistake here if you have not forgotten to back up your valuable info from the disk. Continue with the creation of the new partitions.

• Creating the basic partitions. Once you have removed all unneeded partitions you have created the Free Space which will now be utilized.
  
  1. Click on Free Space and then click on New Partition. The first partition you need to create is SWAP - please choose it in the drop-down Use As menu. Just above it there is a box where you can choose the size. On modern systems I tend to default to 3.000 MBs of swap (beware the Partitioner works with MegaBytes where 1000 MBs = 1 GB ).
  
  
  
  
  2. The next partition you need to create is the ROOT partition marked with just a slash / . All the software will be installed on it. Again click on Free Space and then on New Partition. In the drop-down Use As menu choose the ext4 filesystem. In the box above it enter the volume - my recommendation for modern PC systems is to have at least 10.000 MBs of root space. If you are planning to install huge games, 3D animation apps or sth huge normal users do not need, I recommend you add more space here. Before we close this small window we need to choose the Mount Point - the empty box at the bottom. Here we need to tell Ubuntu how to use this partition (this step is not needed for SWAP). Please enter the same as seen on the picture - just a slash / with no letters or spaces before or after it !!! Click on OK.
  
  
  3. The last partition you need to create is your /home partition where you will store all your information (data, pictures, music, etc.). Click on Free Space again and then click on New Partition. In the drop-down Use As menu choose the ext4 filesystem. This time do not enter any size value in the box above - thus the Partitioner will assign all the remaining disk space to this partition. In the Mount Point box enter /home as seen on the picture below (beware no empty spaces before or after it) and click OK.
  
  
  

• In the Partitioner window you should now have entries similar to the ones on the picture below. You can continue with the next step of the installation.
  
  
  
  

* If you are enjoying Ubuntu please consider donating a small amount to the project :

http://www.ubuntu.com/community/donations