I have not had a computer running Linux for a year or so. I had Ubuntu running on a very old machine but, when it developed issues, I decided not to repair it.
Recently a friend gave me a computer that was no longer working. The motherboard had failed and it was not worth fixing as an Intel Socket 1156 replacement is not only difficult to find, but just too expensive. At first, I was going to strip it for parts. However, I found a cheap replacement mother board and got the machine running with Ubuntu 16.04.2 – Xenial Xerus.
(I thought they must have stopped naming versions after African animals but I see that an Xerus is a long-tailed ground squirrel native to Africa and Xenial means friendly or hospitable – you learn something new every day!![clip_image002[8]](http://whysun.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/clip_image0028.jpg "clip_image002[8]"){kind=small}
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Ubuntu has changed a lot since I last used it and one of the first things I noticed was that, like Apple and Microsoft, installing programs from the approved list in the store is “encouraged”. Also, VLC would not play DVDs and I couldn’t even find Synaptic Package Manager to install the relative library.
So this is what I had to do:
After installing, go to System Settings / Software & Updates / Other Software and tick all.
Then I went to Ubuntu Software (this was already locked to the dock) and installed Synaptic Manager, Brasero and VLC.
You will note that at this point VLC won’t play a DVD and Brasero won’t have many of its functions. This article has reference to these matters:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/PlayingDVDs
I went to the Synaptic Manager but I couldn’t find the relative libraries so I opened the Terminal and input:
sudo apt-get install libdvd-pkg
Keep an eye on it as you have to press Y (yes) a couple of times and it takes a some minutes to run through the process. Then when it completes, a “pop up” gives you an additional command to run to install libddcss. Hit enter to get back to the Terminal and, as instructed, input : NOTE! April 21 – This process is now automated. Now you get a prompt that only requires clicking “YES” / Enter.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure libdvd-pkg
After all of these processes are complete, VLC and Brasero will run with all of their functions.
Another thing that I had an issue with was getting my trusty old Netgear USB Wi-Fi Adaptor WG111v2 to work. On my first attempt, the computer could see my Wi-Fi network but it would not connect as it would not accept the WPA password.
I ended up installing Ubuntu again but this time I first connected to my router via Ethernet, ensured that the USB Wi-Fi adaptor was plugged in at the outset and I ticked both “Install Updates” and “Install 3rd party software” when prompted. The adaptor now works.
I don’t remember having any of these issues in the past.
But all is now well and I can now watch DVDs from other regions. Australia is in the same region as the UK for Blu-ray but a different region for DVD. This means that we can buy Blu-ray discs from Amazon UK.
I had bought the Blu-ray Box Set for the original Swedish TV series “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” from Amazon UK. The movies that were available in Australia were just cut from the TV series and, not only had bits omitted, but were not dubbed into English. (I hate sub titles.) The Blu-ray Box Set has nothing cut out and also has an English language sound track. But it came with a DVD of “Bonus” material that I have not been able to play. Now I can watch the “Bonus” DVD on my “new” Ubuntu computer.