Linux

47232 readers

825 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
No misinformation
No NSFW content
No hate speech, bigotry, etc

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

A Day in the Life of a Linux Noob or How to Break Your System (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

TLDR; I spent nearly two hours troubleshooting my broken system, because I installed a Windows spell checker for my LibreOffice.

Install the .oxt file for your Linux LibreOffice installation
Don't realize it was for Windows only because it installed fine on Linux
Freeze your system completely for 15 seconds, after which it's business as normal
LibreOffice works okay, so don't notice anything else
Install additional spellers from Synaptic because the first one didn't work
Realize Linux Mint Software Center GUI is broken and most of the flatpacks aren't displayed
Perform two system resets using Timeshift, nothing changed
Realize the speller you installed was Windows-only, purge all LibreOffice components, problem solved, reinstall LO
Also realize you had to install a system package version of LibreOffice (instead of Flatpack) for the speller from Synaptic to work
Feel like a noob

🫣

EDIT: It happened again. I think this time I figured it out for good. I installed the spell checker through Synaptic, but either it was the wrong version or it didn't install all the necessary packages. I found the right package in Software Center itself and installed it. Everything has been working okay, the Software Center hasn't bugged out yet.

EDIT 2: Okay, now I've got it. It was a icon theme that I installed from Cinnamon Looks called FairyWren which hid half of my installed apps, and created all sorts of GUI bugs and made Software Center hang and freeze. I'm going to write to the author of the theme.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 53 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

This is the kind of stuff seasoned Linux users just mindlessly deal with without realizing it and then tell new users "What's your issue? It's super easy to use." They're using years and years of institutional knowledge they've built up without knowing.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is true for every OS that you don't use regularly though. I have been learning this the hard way since I haven't ran Windows in years, but have started doing so for work. There are lots of little issues that people just seem to not notice anymore because they are used to it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Having recently switched to Linux last year or so, I run into many more issues than I used to on windows

Granted I'm not exactly using what you'd call standard configuration, but it's still jankier

That said, at least for the most part when something goes wrong I know what has gone wrong and how to fix it now

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I work on a lot of Linux servers over ssh; no gui, completely headless.

What the fuck is going on over in desktop land that installing the wrong spellchecker is breaking your package manager??

Shit man, get it together

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Back when I was attempting to use Ubuntu installing steam managed to break my entire display manager

Nix is far, far better for that reason

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago

This is the absolute truth. I've even come to realize that there are certain "issues" or "bugs" I completely disregard on some of my Linux systems because there's either another way around or it's not that much of an issue for me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

You see what the common factor here in OP's problems is, though, right? Flatpack and Snap - whether you're pro or con - are new and have warts, and the distros jumping to them are "easy, beginner-friendly" ones. Sure, installing an add-on for the wrong OS for some software is bound to cause problems; that's not a Linux-specific issue. But the sorts of issues OP is complaining about are because of complications caused by the software distribution mechanism, issues that had long been resolved on many distros.