Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Q I installed Viber from the Viber web site, but it doesn't run.
A (Thanks to howefield in the Ubuntu Forums) Try installing libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0
It looks like the package creators have missed referencing a dependency (or the dependencies have changed) from their package.
Q Is there Linux software which will read and work with PowerPoint files?
A (Thanks to linuxkvh in the Ubuntu Forums) Try LibreOffice Impress. Minor compatibility issues might happen when loading PowerPoint presentations, so it's best to use only LibreOffice when working on a new presentation.
A second option is to use MS Office under Wine.
marseille2 suggests WPS Office, which he says is particularly good with PowerPoint files.
Q I have 4GB of RAM and only 2GB are available.
A After swapping RAM sticks around, it became apparent that two of the four slots were not working. The Original Poster also noticed “a bulged up capacitor”, so it's a hardware problem.
Q I'm using Ubuntu 14.04 on my Asus X205T. Yesterday the updater installed some stuff and asked to restart; I said ‘later’. The next time I started up, the touchpad doesn't work at all.
A (Thanks to sudodus in the Ubuntu Forums) Some computers have a button to turn the touchpad on and off. Maybe you can check if you can turn it on with a hotkey combination, maybe the 'Fn' key + an 'F' key. My laptop has the Fn + F5 key combination for this purpose. One alternative is to boot a previous kernel via the grub menu (press the shift key during boot if you don't see it).
And the previous kernel solved the problem.
Q I installed my new computer with Ubuntu 12.04.4. When I start up the computer, I get one notification of “Network Disconnected - you are now offline”. The Ethernet port does not appear in ifconfig output.
A New computer, old OS, bad outcome. Try 15.10. (Which worked.)
Q I am using gadmin-samba to configure shared folders, but it's not working.
A (Thanks to bab1 in the Ubuntu Forums) I can't stress this too strongly – DO NOT USE Gadmin-samba TO CONFIGURE A SAMBA FILE SERVER. Purge everything to do with gadmin-samba, and start over. Setting up a simple file server is not very difficult.
Q Is there a way to notify users of password expiration at logon?
A This does not answer your question, but it should be relevant: most security experts now feel that having passwords expire is a bad thing, which actually reduces security.
Top questions at Askubuntu
* Unable to find the .lit file reader conversion app clit http://goo.gl/9dTGfd
* Moving entire Linux installation to another drive http://goo.gl/k7BrZC
* Does rolling back the kernel in Ubuntu compromise security http://goo.gl/BNZdKF
* How to stop the pointer jumping around due to the touchpad? http://goo.gl/7Mo4N3
* Which package is the command 'cd' in? http://goo.gl/zfrmXi
* How do I run a sudo command needing password input in the background? http://goo.gl/a3OPnq
* I have a file named “-t”. How to remove it? http://goo.gl/vfjoL7
* Why won't this script run on startup? http://goo.gl/mn3ezn
* How to add accents, etc, to letters using the “English (UK)” input source? http://goo.gl/sLCmkM
Tips and Techniques
Information, Please
Activity in the Ubuntu Forums has dropped by half over the past few years, which is probably a good thing, since it means that fewer people need help.
However, I have noticed that a lot of the people who ask for help provide about 10 per cent of the information that anyone would need to help them. At the risk of repeating myself, I would like to make some suggestions.
It's almost always relevant to tell people what version of Linux you are using. For example, “Xubuntu 15.10 64-bit”. There's no single way to get this information which works across various versions of Linux, so you should write it down when you download it – if there is any chance you will forget.
It is often relevant to tell people about your computer. In order of relevance: memory, video adapter, CPU, and hard disk size and layout. And sometimes, the Wi-Fi adapter or audio device. My favorite program for getting this information is lshw, which can provide nicely formatted details about your system:
cd Desktop
sudo lshw -html > myconfig.htm
Identify the application, if you have a question about it. It's not “my backup program,” it's “rsync”. (Or whatever.)
If you have a question that involves a website, identify it. “I have a problem playing video 156015647 on vimeo.com” is a lot more useful than “I have a problem playing online videos”.
If you get an error message, the exact message is obviously relevant. If you can't record it any other way, take a picture with your cellphone.
Then there's one more step: put the organized data into Google! My best Google queries have used four words, but you need to think about what four words are most relevant. My personal experience is that I almost always find the answer, so I don't need to ask a question.