Why is Ubuntu running so terribly?

Question

I recently installed Ubuntu 12.04 using the windows installer and it is running absolutely horribly. It takes minutes for some programs to load. Instead of opening sometimes these programs will just flash in the sidebar for a few seconds and then do nothing. Some crash outright when under too much stress (Banshee, Skype, and even Firefox). And in general the OS is just dog slow in everything it does. I don't think I've opened a program that hasn't done the fade to gray, "not responding" thing at least once.

I've tried installing new drivers for my graphics card. Most of them gave me an error message that tells me nothing, but I got one to work and it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. I don't believe this is the way the OS is supposed to run. If there's anyone out there that can help me fix this problem, that would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
i5-2500k @ 3.3 GHz
8Gb DDR3 RAM
GeForce GTX 560 Ti
2Tb HHD @ 5600rpm

Answer 1

Easiest to install the nvidia driver via the jockey tool.



The windows installer never works quite right. It uses filesystem that just aren't optimal for linux. You may also be getting a lot of fragmentation in the file or disk used.



Install on it's own ext4 partition and use grub as the bootloader (defualt).



Just back up first to avoid data loss if you mess up.

Answer 2

And how does it run in a virtual machine or installed as a dual-boot?



"I don't believe this is the way the OS is supposed to run" sounds right to me.



It could be because it's installed under WUBI.



Your computer specs are considerably better than mine, and I can run any Linux distro with all the bells and whistles no problem, including 12.04.



I have no experience with WUBI, I've always done a full install of any distro I thought I'd be using even semi-casually; those I simply want to take a look at get the Virtual Box treatment. This may be a route worth pursuing if you're serious about putting Ubuntu through it's paces.

Answer 3

I'm an ubuntu hater generally but if you are running it in a vm or using wubi that might have something to do with it -- since you would be running it on top of Windows. Otherwise I would say open a terminal and type "sudo apt-get -f install" which will see if there are any badly installed programs causing errors to slow you down and if that doesn't work reinstall. (or frankly install Linux Mint).

Answer 4

Newer Ubuntu versions (with Unity Desktop) can be slow on some machines (with weaker graphic card).



Try Kubuntu (KDE Desktop version, my favourite), or Xubuntu (XFCE Desktop version, very lightweight, for slower computers).



Also, there is Linux Mint, very popular derivate of Ubuntu Linux (that uses its own, much faster desktop enviroments).



Basically, all of these are sme Ubuntu, but can be much faster.

Answer 5

try the newer version...



download ubuntu 12.04.1 I installed it and it runs much better



they fixed a lot of bugs :)



they claim you don't half to install it if you already have 12.04 but I disagree



I installed it and it does run a lot better :)



give it a go..



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could be a driver issue i agree it should not run slow its fast on my system



try the updated 12.04.1 (came out few days a go) you'll get newer nvidia drivers I promises



I did. probably new kernel to :) just do a clean install of 12.04.1 its what I did.



runs like a champ :) MUCH better then 12.04







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