Help Please

Hi Gang
I am a total newbie when it comes to Linux but in the short time I have had the netbook I really like the system
I have done the advance hack thingy and have now lost the original desk top!!
I would like to get it back any advice would be great
Also I was wanting to use it for watching Divx/Xvid movies and tv shows but when I go to play them it says I need a codec
I have d/l a couple of things but cannot get them to install
Is there idiots guide to doing this?
I really do not want to put XP on the system I want to stick with Linux for a bit
Many Thanks
Konica

 

Well 33 views and no reply!!
XP here I come
Thanks for nothing!!

 

Oh, for goodness sake. Give us a bloody clue and someone might be able to help.

What have you downloaded, from where, and why don't the instructions from wherever you downloaded them from work? And which artyicles ont eh forum have you found by searching, and why don't those help?

No-one here is paid to help you out - ask a vague and unhelpful question and you'll find most people have better things to do than coach you through how to help yourself. If you attitude is that the world owes you everything, then go and use XP: Microsoft's attitude is much the same so you'll probably be very happy together.

 

Thanks for the advice
If I came across a a bit of a prat then I apologise
I have been tearing whats left of my hair out with this machine
I know my way around Windows but really cannot get to grips with this Linux stuff
I have d/l vlc player from the website typed in the instructions in the terminal page it starts to install then says there is no package(hope this makes sense)
I then tried another webpage and the same happens
Sorry again for the abuse

 

I was with you until the last comment, now all I can say is "a troll giving discipline lessons to another troll, how cute"

 

Where did you get the vlc from?
You could download it direct from acer: ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/netbook/aspire_ ... plication/ which has the advantage that it sorts out your desktop icon etc.
There are some threads on getting full codecs for either the built in player or vlc if you search.

 

Hi Mark
Cheers for the reply
I got it from the vlc site and followed the instructions but no luck yet
I will give the other site a go
Thanks Again

 

Sorry Mark
I have managed to install vlc and have got sound but no video
Is it something to do with the stuff acer removed?
Any help would be great
Thanks Again

 

Sounds like it could be a codec issue, certainly. Try this post: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6084&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p40549

I haven't done it myself yet, so you can test it for me

 

Will do Mark!! :lol: :lol:
For someone who uses windows all the time Linux is very very different thats for sure

 

Wow what a carry on
still no luck installing the codecs

 

OK: try again. Where have you found/downloaded the codecs, and how are you trying to install them?

(I installed vlc using the method shown here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-fedora.html (Fedora 8 method) and have had no issues, so can't replicate your problem, but if you provide basic info and I can help I will. I just get fed up with people who expect others to be psychic about exactly what the problem is).

People also seem to have been successful following the instructions in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3770&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

Morning David
I tried to install vlc using the methods mentioned on the threads but had no luck
I managed to install it using the d/l from Acer but it says the codecs are missing
Do I have to uninstall vlc before I can use the one that you recommend?

Oh when I try to install the way you did it says already installed!!
Sorry to be so vague hope you can help
Many Thanks
Grant

 

Hello again!

I think you might be best to uninstall the Acer vlc package, then try the method I used; then we'll see if it's just the Acer package that is missing a codec.

 

Good gawd... the first reply given was enough to make me say two things... 1) I'm glad I didn't opt for the Linux version. Although I can get around in Linux, barely, I tear my hair out with it. 2) I'm sure I can find a nicer AAO forum than this one. I've read two really snotty exchanges in a very short time on my second or third visit to this forum. That's two too many for me. I've been online for 25 years and I know that NO ONE has to be treated the way some newbies are treated here. The 'net is huge and there's always a place where you can get help and information in a NICE way.

Snotty know it all people are not the be all to end all in this world. Obviously some of you take yourselves a bit too seriously. Get a grip. :roll:

 

I have to disagree with you about the niceness of this forum. I've been browsing for about 6 weeks to first decide whether to get my AAO, and now to help me with it. I'm a linux noob and I've found this place invaluable. If nice is giving your time for nothing to help others, then this forum is the very definition of nice.

Are people giving occasionally frustrated replies? Well, yes. There are 53 separate threads with vlc in the title, and at least half of them are answering either a) how to install vlc or b) how to get codecs. With respect to the OP, his answer was out there.

So that this doesn't descend into a futile post, I'm going to make a constructive suggestion: there isn't actually a definitive HOW TO: on vlc in the forum. I'm going to post a how-to request, and hopefully then someone will write a really clear and obvious post that we can link for the benefit of everyone coming to ask how to play their XVid file.

 

I have to say that even though I have seen some negativity on this forum at times, the information that I have gotten here is invaluable. Had I not had this forum to refer to, it could have taken me a great deal of time to find the information that I am looking for or to figure out the problem myself.

With the good you have to take the bad and just hope that the good outweighs the bad, which I personally feel it does on this forum. In actuality, the negative posts on this forum are few and far between, especially when compared to other boards.

 

A bit OT, but it's tough to be a newbie, especially in a forum where people are at different skill levels and are running very similar, but different operating systems (i.e. Linpus, Fedora, Omega [ok, so I'm the only one running Omega on my AA1]; Ubuntu, OneLinux, Kuki, Mepis, Debian; Puppy; Mandriva; Slackware? Gentoo? They all use the Linux kernel, but they are different operating systems - only we call then distributions (distros for short) because they're all very, very different from Windows. Mixing Linpus with any other distro, even Fedora 8 (upon which Linpus is based) can lead to problems. Downloading and installing a program (for example, VLC) from the producer's website rather than from your distro's repository is asking for trouble. Bottom line: if you're going to supplement your basic Linpus install with additional, non-Linpus versions of software, don't be too surprised if something breaks. Now, when something breaks, if you ask nicely and tell us precisely (I know this is hard, and I sometimes fail at this too) what you've done, it's likely someone reading this forum can help you fix the problem.