Ok guys. Since Ubuntu 9.10 Sound & stuff are working THANK GOD! So now, I'm officially going to start with using Linux now. But i have lots of problems. Obviously because I'm new to the whole idea, every time i wanna get something, I'm stuck for choice . For example, I go to download something. It says "Click here to download" i click. It then (unlike Windows) Takes me to a page with a load of different FileTypes. .deb (guessing for Debian) .bz2 .gz .tar .tbz .tgz .zip (this is kinda obvious) No idea about the others.... So, to my first question Lets say I'm downloading a piece of software, Which one would i need to download? Ok, So now I've downloaded my piece of software. How on earth do i install this thing ? & by the way, i have no idea on the codes you use in Terminal. I only know how to shut down lol. I've downloaded some stuff by random guessing & i extract it to the desktop. It's then in a folder with a ton of Files that make no sense to me what so ever. I heard you're meant to compile it somehow or something. I really have no idea. If someone can explain to me just these things I'll be very grateful. Thanks ****************************************** MSN = HardstyleMatt@hotmail.co.uk Need help? Just ask. :) ******************************************

You've got a hold of the wrong end of the stick. Your first choice should always be to automatically download and install from Repository. In Ubuntu use the Software Centre/Software store. Your last resort should be to start unpacking and compiling from a .tar. Thats not for newbies! In previous editions people used Synaptic Package Manager. That's recently outdated. But have a look at "Installing Software in Ubuntu" on http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/in... and "How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu!" on http://amitech.50webs.com/installin...

Cheers for that. I have used it before but i dno. Im a newb lol Anyway, 1 more thing. I got a load of problems. 1 is that Linux won't shut down. It gets to a black screen with some writing & doesn't go any further & i have to Force it off with the button. Another thing, Flash player was working earlier. Now for some reason it's not working & it won't install. It says it can't find the location of the archive, i might have to manually fix it.... :S & thats installing from the Software centre ****************************************** MSN = HardstyleMatt@hotmail.co.uk Need help? Just ask. :) ******************************************

1) Ubuntu issue a release an edition every 6 months and 9.10, just issued a few days ago is still buggy. Newbies should have waited about a month before trying it. Shutdown can be a problem at the moment. See "Ubuntu 9.10 won't fully shut down" on http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.... . It suggests using the Terminal at the moment and issuing the command: sudo shutdown -h now The problem might find a solution soon. 2) Flash. Have you installed: ubuntu-restricted-extras ? This will download and install a few useful things including: adobe-flashplugin

Ty. I suppose i'll have to put up with it a bit. I tried installing that just now & still got this error. E:I wasn't able to locate file for the adobe-flashplugin package. This might mean you need to manually fix this package.: :S ****************************************** MSN = HardstyleMatt@hotmail.co.uk Need help? Just ask. :) ******************************************

Two basic ways to install software in ubuntu for beginners up to advanced users One way uses a gui and you can either choose visually or put in part or all of your query. Second is command line. Example apt-get install flash Never go to pages to download anything! NO zip's no deb no rpm nothing. Use the software management built in. See here for tips. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoftwareManagement Playing to the angels Les Paul (1915-2009)

There are more user friendly distros for newbs than Ubuntu.