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Question

Old Asus computer with Ubuntu dysfunction

by Mar 16, 2016 11:49AM PDT

I got his slightly old Asus from a friend, he says it had Windows 10 on it and he could not do much with it. He put Ubuntu on it and it is still dysfunctional. There is a sticker on the back that says it had Windows 8 on it.

When I try to install Skype or other apps it says the soft wear is broken and I should log into the Ubuntu soft wear center to fix it. Well the Ubuntu soft wear center will not let me in. the visual anti robot key is too hard and it ignored me after I tried to get it right.

I have no idea what his email or pass word was when he bought the Ubuntu from their machine.

So maybe I could get an operating system that actually works with this machine???? Any ideas what?? Or for that matter how to install it?

Discussion is locked

12 Posts
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Clarification Request
what version?
by James Denison Mar 16, 2016 1:33PM PDT

open terminal, run this, report the results.

cat /etc/os-release

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results
by jawnn Mar 17, 2016 10:09AM PDT
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Answer
Why not?
by Forum moderator Mar 16, 2016 12:50PM PDT

Order the restore media for this PC or try other Linux distros?

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Logging into Ubuntu soft wear center......
by jawnn Mar 17, 2016 10:15AM PDT

How can I order anything from Ubuntu if I cannot get past their entree gate. I just tryed to get to the Ubuntu soft wear center and the machine jammed. I will try again......

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I haven't ordered Linux media in over a decade.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 17, 2016 10:38AM PDT

Such is downloaded, made into some USB stick or DVD for installing.

Where are you going that gets you an unsafe warning?

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Going to the software center.....
by jawnn Mar 17, 2016 10:26AM PDT

This machine says: "new software cannot be installed because there is problem with the software currently installed. do you want to repair the problem now?"

And every time I try that I get more problems. it warns me that the software is unsafe, and finally routes me back to teh popup above. over and over again it runs through that endless loop of sequences.

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this indicates to me....
by James Denison Mar 17, 2016 9:12PM PDT

....that the software may be a hacked copy of Ubuntu. You can get current good copies from this site cheaply. They also share some profit back to the Linux community.

http://www.osdisc.com

My preference is Linux Mint, currently the version 17 which is LTS (long term service) and it's also built on the base Unbuntu 14.04 Trusty. Either Mint or Ubuntu is both current and good systems.

first though, try this, one line at a time in terminal

apt-get autoremove
apt-get purge
apt-get autoclean
apt-get install -f

see how it works then. If still problems run the next commands.

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

the visual anti robot key is too hard and it ignored me after I tried to get it right.

You running Apache server on this? If not, what does the above quote reference?

My advice is to wipe the computer and install a fresh copy of Ubuntu or Mint on it. I never leave someone else's install on any computer I use for myself, I always remove it and clean install it again. Be sure to use an LTS version of either. There are youtube videos on both where you can get a look at them. If you know how to download ISO files and "burn image" (not "data") so the DVD will be bootable, then you can use that process to get the systems direct from their sites.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
this is unity desktop version

https://ubuntu-mate.org/trusty/
this is the MATE desktop version

https://linuxmint.com/
both the MATE and Cinnamon desktops are popular

Some Videos

Linux Mint 17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v7fnMfFdrI

Ubuntu with Unity desktop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHEHPRDVEp4

Ubuntu with MATE desktop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueoHYolSqFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqjruMEh7k

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Also consider this Beta which will become LTS
by James Denison Mar 17, 2016 9:45PM PDT
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all this is Greek to me
by jawnn Mar 18, 2016 11:32AM PDT

This refers to when I tried to start an account at Ubuntu:
"the visual anti robot key is too hard and it ignored me after I tried to get it right."

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then nuke it
by James Denison Mar 19, 2016 10:01AM PDT

Wipe the drive, insert an Ubuntu installation DVD, boot to it, let it do it's thing, you are back in business. It really is that simple.

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I've used the nuke and install so many times
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Mar 19, 2016 10:18AM PDT

That it's about as simple as it gets.

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saving videos ok
by jawnn Apr 7, 2016 2:00PM PDT

I got a new lenovo z51 windows 10 so I can now save all the videos and watch them at home to learn how to fix the old computer. thanks so much for the help guys.

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