Ubuntu QA:
BlogBrainstormPackage status
Log in
Ubuntu QA
Live CD
Idea sandbox Idea sandbox
Popular ideas Popular ideas
Ideas in development Ideas in development
Implemented ideas Implemented ideas

Contributor DeAtH89 on Live CD

New users tell that Ubuntu is slow (live sessions)  
Written by zwyber the 8 Mar 09 at 19:55. Won't implement
I tell my friends and family about Ubuntu and most of them come back telling me that Ubuntu makes their PC run very slow. They didn't know that you had to install Ubuntu to get the true speed.

I think that many people may encounter this problem, because when you run a live session it really just looks like it is installed. Because of the speed these users don't want to use Ubuntu and tell everyone they know that it is very slow.
1318
votes
closed
Solution #1: Show (extra) notification.
Written by zwyber the 8 Mar 09 at 19:55.
Very plain and simple, show a (extra) notification, telling the user that they are running in a live session and that Ubuntu runs very slow now.

Why extra? If Ubuntu developers are going to create a welcome screen where they put this information some people are not going to read this. Just a small dialogue after the welcome screen has been closed would be nice.

OR

Put the message in the default wallpaper, easier but not really the best solution.
-389
votes
closed
Solution #2: Live CD Cloud
Written by kidmodify the 9 Mar 09 at 02:07.
Use a Live CD "Cloud" if the computer is connected to the Internet to help increase speed. That way you have two sources of incoming data, the CD, and the Web.
-431
votes
closed
Solution #3: Use multiple CD Drives if possible
Written by kidmodify the 9 Mar 09 at 02:14.
Some computers have more than one CD drive. Make it possible to use for example two disk drives each with an ubuntu CD. This could (as far as I know) double the speed, depending on the drive speeds.
254
votes
closed
Solution #4: (Pre)cache executables on CD agressively
Written by the 13 Mar 09 at 12:24.
Cache the executable files on the CD very agressively.
Cache the data files a lot less.
If there's a lot of RAM, precache executable files, if possible all of them.
This will make the use of the CD (or a slow HD) a lot faster.
446
votes
closed
Solution #5: Grub option to load into memory
Written by scubanator87 the 13 Mar 09 at 13:45.
Some live CDs (like puppy for instance) have the option to load the OS into memory.

Provided there is enough RAM (2GB?) Allow users the option to load the OS into memory and to continue to boot from there.
-142
votes
closed
Solution #6: Don't run Compiz in LiveCD
Written by sci-fi guy the 16 Mar 09 at 23:08.
Maybe integrate a checkbox to turn it on with Solution #1 above.
259
votes
closed
Solution #7: Notify During OS Boot
Written by Basem the 22 Mar 09 at 08:54.
While booting the OS, add a line that says "Enjoy ubuntu in full speed by installing it"
-52
votes
closed
Solution #8: As #1, keep notification visible
Written by euxneks the 26 Mar 09 at 19:01.
I like the idea of letting them know that they are using a LiveCD on the desktop - we should also have interaction with it so that a user can get an idea of what a LiveCD is and why it's slower than the real system.

Once they close this, allow them the ability to open it again.
-90
votes
closed
Solution #9: Most users don't need all programs in live session
Written by ahsaeed the 29 Mar 09 at 16:11.
When I use Ubuntu in live session i don't wont to play games for example .. and some users do..
So..
i recommend to add another option to the boot menu as an advanced option..
"select programs to load during live sessions " .

-47
votes
closed
Solution #10: Insert USB to improve performance
Written by sanketmedhi the 2 Apr 09 at 11:23.
Everyone might not have 2 GB of RAM but everyone has a USB drive. Live sessions booted from CDs can be cached onto USB storage for improved performance.
173
votes
closed
Solution #11: Promote bootable USB
Written by sanketmedhi the 2 Apr 09 at 11:51.
Bootable USB images should be promoted rather than live CDs. Bootable USB drives can be prepared using software such as the one showed on https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick . Alternatively, the software that runs on Windows when an Ubuntu live CD is inserted should include such a functionality.
-58
votes
closed
Solution #12: fast live session
Written by Dorje the 2 Apr 09 at 22:10.
like solution #9 add an option to deselect unnecessary programmes and also give the percentage increase each unselection generates .
like for eg.
deselecting games =increase in speed 10%
and so on

PS:i don't know much about programmes so i dont know how much speed gain every (possible)deselection will generate
47
votes
closed
Solution #13: Use UnionFS to our advantage
Written by deriamis the 4 Apr 09 at 18:40.
Since the majority of load times is in late-linking the libraries, why not have the often-used libraries in a ramdisk and use UnionFS to overlay those files on a path? In combination with pre-caching (#4), this could be a significant speed boost. If we combine it with using a LiveUSB distro (#11), we could be on par with the performance of the computer itself.
43
votes
closed
Solution #14: Add an option to create a live-usb from the autorun menu of the cd
Written by pepperpupper the 5 Apr 09 at 12:47.
Add an option for creating a live-usb to the autorun menu that pops up when mounting or inserting the cd/iso. Many people will use daemon-tool or similar to mount the cd in Windows, and if they see an option to create a live-usb from the popup menu, that would be a way of making it easier for everyone to do so.
39
votes
closed
Solution #15: Offer a tool for creating a live-usb in occasion with the download link
Written by pepperpupper the 5 Apr 09 at 12:54.
The title is self-descriptive. This would be another way of making it easier for people to find out about the possibility of creating a live-usb.
29
votes
closed
Solution #16: Instead of notification write it in the background.
Written by ll the 6 Apr 09 at 03:52.
A modified background that includes a warning can be used instead of a notification. Many computers at universities that are meant for multiple users use the background to communicate a special procedure especially in libraries for catalogue searches. This will decrease confusion and not use as many resources as a notification (I assume).
14
votes
closed
Solution #17: Install Ubuntu natively from within Windows
Written by pepperpupper the 7 Apr 09 at 14:14.
Make it possible to install a native Ubuntu installation from within Windows to another partition than the one running Windows from or to an USB-memory key, making it easier to install Ubuntu without having to boot into live mode.
5
votes
closed
Solution #18: Calc & disp speed-up performance on log-out based on sys's characteristics
Written by lackscr8ivity the 7 Apr 09 at 14:25.
When running the live session I would guess the memory, processor, hard disk read/write speed (maybe not this one), etc. system hardware & performance are evaluated.
As well, when running a program (game, OpenOffice, etc.) the CD read/write & load time could stored. Thus, when the user ends the live session, in the log-out window list some statistics: "These are the 5 programs you used the most:
From the live CD it took X-amount of real-time to load, but based on your system's hardware, if this were installed, we would expect it would X% faster."
58
votes
closed
Solution #19: disabeling unnecessary services for the live-cd
Written by moose the 14 Apr 09 at 08:08.
So the live-cd shouldn't start services which are not neccessary for testing ubuntu (as some people use the live-cd as a secure system, services like cups are neccessary):

# anachron, atd, cron: I never used a live-cd longer than six hours - why should I create a cronjob?
# acpid, acpi-support, apmd, powernowd, powernowd.early: If I use the live-cd, I want to test if my hardware works and if the software fits my expections, not if the sleep option works.
71
votes
closed
Solution #20: Solution #1 but sooner
Written by Ssdg the 29 Apr 09 at 11:25.
My idea would be to tell it on the first screen (the one that offers you to test, install, etc...).

Like:
Try ubuntu without
Install on your hard drive for better performances
...

not by demoting the live CD mode, but by promoting the installation.

I'm not in advertisement, but ubuntu will look much better.
-84
votes
closed
Solution #21: Make user choose when downloading Ubuntu
Written by chareos the 6 May 09 at 14:08.
Make the Ubuntu download to be an EXE file which lets user choose to create a LiveCD (with performance warning here) OR a LiveUSB.

Also, a performance warning on LiveCD boot itself would be great !
-75
votes
closed
Solution #22: Load LiveCD into temporary file
Written by Avantarius the 10 May 09 at 09:42.
For systems with 1 GiB RAM or less, where solution #5 can't be applied, load the content of the CD in a virtual file system which could be located in a file on the computer's harddisk, i.e. create file on a existing ntfs-partition, an unpartitioned space or even use the m$-windows-swapspace.
55
votes
closed
Solution #23: Put a note into the loading screen
Written by Kver the 16 May 09 at 20:51.
When a live cd shows the loading bar, there's plenty of time for a message such as "Loading and running content from this DVD will result in slow performance, and changes or customizations will not be saved."
5
votes
closed
Solution #24: Use the new notification system
Written by aroach31291 the 22 Oct 09 at 17:19.
Firstly, I think that many of the solutions above are solving the wrong problem. People that try out Ubuntu may think that it is installed by just inserting the CD. The user may have no idea that they are using a LiveCD. After they discover that Ubuntu is "slow", they give up and reboot back into Windows. Notifying the user that they haven't installed Ubuntu yet would be the best way to solve this problem.

Utilize the new notification system. Have it simply display a message when the desktop has finished loading similar to:

Ubuntu is not installed yet! Feel free to use Ubuntu before installing it, but beware that it may be a little slow. If you like what you see click the install icon on your desktop!
2
votes
closed
Solution #25: Show notification when system is waiting for CD drive
Written by mikko.rantalainen the 7 Oct 10 at 06:45.
Live session from USB/flash memory should be pretty okay even today but the real problem is accessing files from optical drive. Even there, the problem is latency, usually not the bandwidth.

The live session should run a small background service that displays a notification message when system is waiting for CD drive to access required data. The message could be along the line "Reading data from CD (installing on the hard drive would improve performance)" [however, the label should not claim to be reading CD if one is booting from e.g. usb memory stick]. The notification should be displayed if read command has waited in disk scheduler queue for more than a second.

This could be extended to deal with installed system, too. It would make sense to point out bottlenecks in the system to the user. If the system feels slow and a notification pops up that says "Waiting for disks (installing a fast SSD drive would improve performance)" would give a reasonable hint to the user which hardware upgrade would help the most. This could be even further extended and a similar notification should pop up if all CPU cores have been taken for more than 5 seconds ("Waiting for processor (upgrading the processor would improve performance)").

See the 19 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 19 Feb 12 at 03:08) >>

Include a GUI data recovery tool in Ubuntu (live-cd mode)  
Written by s3a the 15 Aug 09 at 19:16. New
I haven't seen any graphical free and open source data recovery tool in GNU/Linux. It would serve us all well not to mention, help those that use the rm command accidentally or unknowingly.
128
votes
up equal down
Solution #1: Include a GUI data recovery tool in Ubuntu (live-cd mode)
Written by s3a the 15 Aug 09 at 19:16.
Gnome's partition editor runs in the live cd but does not get installed on the hard drive. I think there should be a graphical data recovery tool that can recover data from all the filesystems that GNU/Linux can read from. When you install the OS however, I think it should not install this program and leave it just on the live cd like gparted thus giving you the option to manually install or not.
74
votes
up equal down
Solution #2: Add a GUI to an existing terminal program
Written by s3a the 15 Aug 09 at 19:18.
I haven't succesfully recovered any data with terminal programs but IF programs like photorec actually do work then perhaps it would be easier to just make a GUI for an already existing application than it would be to create a whole new application.

See the 2 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 28 Nov 09 at 20:40) >>