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My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:21 pm
by alchemy
Hi, a few weeks ago I put this particular PC's old Intel mobo out to be dumped. The problem was after running for 10 minutes or so with a Slackware based linux OS, it developed serious graphical problems. The X server would black out for a second or two, then return. After it came back, the windows behaved differently. When I used the scroll-bar they seemed like wavy fluid, like I was moving water. Then, in some cases, text characters would be half-formed or missing. I tried adjusting the vga/pci settings in the bios but it made no difference. (Using onboard graphics here btw). So I concluded that this motherboard had terminal graphics problems and was broken. Anyway, finding myself without a working PC, I reprieved the old mobo from the hardware junk and gave it a last chance. Still the same. That was until I installed GhostBSD on it - problem solved. I'm not a technical whizz but I imagine that GhostBSD has certain mobo graphical drivers included that Linux doesn't.
Anyway, thanks a lot for this very solid distro. I've not used a BSD one before but GhostBSD is practical, easy to use, fully-featured but with no uneccesary "eye candy" gimmicks. That's how I like it. LXDE is my favourite desktop too for the same reasons. There's a couple of "dots and commas" personal little things I'd like to see included, but these are insignificant compared to the fact that my PC graphics are restored.

best wishes

Jonathan

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:48 pm
by ericbsd
Hi Jonathan,
I am glade that your system work well.
GhostBSD is base of FreeBSD which is a good choice for old PC. I have old laptop the i can only install BSD system in it.
What will be the feature you will like to see?

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:08 pm
by alchemy
ericbsd wrote: What will be the feature you will like to see?
Hi Eric.

They are little things I regularly use on LXDE based OSes when I set them up. (I'm a creature of habit :| )

In preferences, lxsession-edit would be good so I can turn off any startup services I may not need. A few basic screensavers would also be good.

On the LXpanel I like to have a CPU usage monitor showing but its not in the available plugins. (On old computers, its nice to see if its still working on a task and if there's any sign of it completing!)

I'd like to add a shutdown or logout button to the panel, but again, can't see an available plugin or way of doing this.

A basic UFW type firewall would be good.

Brasero IMHO is a good, straightforward disc burner which I've installed in preference to XFburn. However, Simpleburn would be even better as its not desktop specific, but its not in the available packages. Neither is Gparted which is a minor pity.

As I say, these are personal crossing the "I"s and dotting the "T"s and only minor issues.

Must add that the package manager style and funtionality is impressive.

Finally, Sylpheed mail client is fine. However I reckon Claws is even better because it has extra configuration options, add-ons and a great website for support.

Cheers Eric

Jonathan.

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:04 pm
by ericbsd
Can your machine can handle Thunderbird? Brasero will be default in LXDE in 3.5. I am not aware of cpu plugin for LXDE but I can find and port it. also in 3.5 the shutdown/logout button will be there. I might port lxsession-edit it look nice.

Thanks for sharing your preference!

Can your computer use DVD?

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 5:49 pm
by alchemy
ericbsd wrote:Can your machine can handle Thunderbird? Brasero will be default in LXDE in 3.5. I am not aware of cpu plugin for LXDE but I can find and port it. also in 3.5 the shutdown/logout button will be there. I might port lxsession-edit it look nice.

Thanks for sharing your preference!

Can your computer use DVD?
Hi Eric. I'm running GhostBSD 3.1 on a 1.7GHZ Celeron with 1 GB RAM.

Thunderbird? I haven't tried but I think it would. I'm happy with Sylpheed though. Its lightweight and I'm used to configuring it, as its so similar to Claws. Shall I try Thunderbird for test?

The LXpanel plugin is "CPU Usage Monitor". Its a small black rectangle that sits on the panel with a moving ocilloscope style line to show CPU activity. Can be very useful. Gnome 2 had a similar thing and probably Gnome 3 (I switched to LXDE when Gnome 3 came out).

Thinking about it, the Network Status Monitor applet would be good too as it would show if you are online or disconnected.

And to have under System Tools the "Users And Groups" feature. It contains an option for auto-login if people want it.

I don't use Firefox on LXDE as I find it a bit unwieldy. I'm now using Midori which is fine, but have also used Opera previously to good effect. (On LXDE Linux)

No luck playing DVDs on either Parole or VLC. I installed libdvdcss also. The package manager kept crashing when installing VLC + dependencies.

Cheers

Jonathan

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 7:08 pm
by ericbsd
to install vlc use

Code: Select all

pkg_add -r vlc
In terminal.

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:57 pm
by rollercomsolutions
I've been training myself in the art of FreeBSD for the last two years. GhostBSD impressed me with its automatic configuration of LXDE ! Very cool and fast.

I use smplayer for the media player. Install with

Code: Select all

pkg_add -r smplayer
One more thing, I enjoy the login system Slim. I never heard about it before, now I have to learn more information about it.

My machine is a old IBM T42 and I'm running the system off an 8GB USB drive. Anyways, nice to meet you both. See you around the forum.

Roller

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 5:08 pm
by pedrito
rollercomsolutions wrote: My machine is a old IBM T42 and I'm running the system off an 8GB USB drive. Anyways, nice to meet you both. See you around the forum.

Roller
Hello.
I am trying to run GhostBsd also from a 16GB USB drive, but upon installation, the usb drive is not recognized as bootable device. Any tips?
Best
Pedrito

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:34 pm
by gh378
pedrito wrote: the usb drive is not recognized as bootable device. Any tips?
Plop Boot Manager

• USB boot without BIOS support (UHCI, OHCI and EHCI)
• CD/DVD boot without BIOS support (IDE)
• PCMCIA CardBus support to enable boot from USB PC-Cards

http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanagers.html
http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/full.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compariso ... ot_loaders
http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/44 ... s-from-usb
https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bs ... start.html

Re: My computer likes GhostBSD

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:43 pm
by ericbsd
How did you do install .img on the USB stick?