~ubuntu-branches/ubuntu/oneiric/kubuntu-docs/oneiric-updates

>. &kubuntu; normally configures hardware automatically, but there may be occasions when it is necessary to make manual changes to hardware settings. This section provides information on tools for configuring hardware. </para>

</sect1>

<title

>Proprietary Devices</title>

<para

>Some devices attached to the computer may need proprietary drivers in order to work properly. Most often, these devices are used for video and wireless networking. </para>

<para>

<emphasis

>A proprietary driver is a hardware management software application that is not free and open-source. Typically, the software is concealed and controlled by the company selling the hardware.</emphasis>

</para>

<para

>Most of the devices (hardware) attached to computers should function properly in &kubuntu;. The devices are likely to have <emphasis

>free</emphasis

> drivers. These drivers can be freely modified by developers, and any problems or incompatibilities with Linux can be fixed. </para>

<para

>Some hardware does not have free drivers, usually because the hardware manufacturer has not released details of their hardware which would make it possible to create such a driver for a Linux system. If such a manufacturer has not created Linux drivers, the hardware may have limited functionality or may not work at all. </para>

<para

>If an appropriate <emphasis

>proprietary driver</emphasis

> is available for a certain device, it can be installed in order to allow that device to function properly or to add new features. For example, installing proprietary drivers for certain graphics cards allows for the use of advanced visual effects. </para>

<para

>Some computers may not have any devices that can use proprietary drivers, either because all of the devices are fully supported by free drivers or because proprietary drivers are not yet available. </para>

<para

>Proprietary drivers are usually maintained by the hardware manufacturer, and so cannot be modified by developers if there is a problem. </para>

</caution>

<title

>Managing proprietary drivers</title>

<para

>&kubuntu; ships with an application developed by Ubuntu developers that maintains proprietary drivers. This application is known as <application

>Jockey</application

> and in &kubuntu; is named <application

>jockey-kde</application

>. It can be opened by going to &menujockey;. </para>

<procedure

><title

>To use a proprietary driver for a device:</title>

<step>

<para

>Open <application

>Jockey</application

> by going to &menujockey;. </para>

</step>

<step>

<para

>Find the driver to be enabled and verify the description. </para>

</step>

<step>

<para

><mousebutton

>Press</mousebutton

> <guibutton

>Activate</guibutton

> to enable the driver. A password may be required. </para>

</step>

<step>

<para

>The proprietary driver may have to be downloaded and installed. </para>

</step>

<step>

<para

>It may be necessary to restart the computer to finish enabling the driver; the driver installation process will not always indicate this requirement. </para>

</step>

</procedure>

<procedure

><title

>Disabling a proprietary driver for a device:</title>

100

<step>

101

<para

102

>Open <application

103

>Jockey</application

104

> by going to &menujockey;. </para>

105

</step>

106

<step>

107

<para

108

>Find the driver to be disabled and verify the description. </para>

109

</step>

110

<step>

111

<para

112

><mousebutton

113

>Press</mousebutton

114

> <guibutton

115

>Remove</guibutton

116

> to disable the driver and continue using a free driver, if available. A password may be required. </para>

117

</step>

118

<step>

119

<para

120

>It may be necessary to restart the computer to finish disabling the driver. </para>

121

</step>

122

</procedure>

123

</sect2>

124

</sect1>

125

126

127

128

<title

129

>Disks and Partitions</title>

130

<para

131

>This section provides instructions on how to handle disks and drives such as removable hard disks. </para>

132

133

<primary

134

>partition</primary>

135

<secondary

136

>partitions</secondary>

137

</indexterm>

138

139

<primary

140

>partitioning</primary>

141

</indexterm>

142

143

<primary

144

>format</primary>

145

<secondary

146

>formatting</secondary>

147

</indexterm>

148

149

<primary

150

>mount</primary>

151

</indexterm>

152

153

<primary

154

>unmount</primary>

155

<secondary

156

>umount</secondary>

157

</indexterm>

158

159

<primary

160

>filesystem</primary>

161

<secondary

162

>file system</secondary>

163

</indexterm>

164

165

<title

166

>Checking how much disk space is available</title>

167

<para

168

>There are several ways to see how much disk space is available on a &kubuntu; system. </para>

169

170

171

<para>

172

173

>Check via the command line</link>

174

</para>

175

</listitem>

176

177

<para>

178

179

>Check via the file manager</link>

180

</para>

181

</listitem>

182

183

<para>

184

185

>Check via Partition Manager</link>

186

</para>

187

</listitem>

188

</itemizedlist>

189

190

<title

191

>Check how much disk space is available via the command line</title>

192

193

<step>

194

<para

195

>Open <application

196

>Konsole</application

197

> by going to &menukonsole;. </para>

198

</step>

199

<step>

200

<para

201

>At the prompt, type <userinput

202

>df -h</userinput

203

> </para>

204

</step>

205

</procedure>

206

<para

207

>Output similar to the following should be displayed: </para>

208

<screen

209

>Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on

210

/dev/sda5 37G 7.6G 28G 22% /

211

/dev/sda1 122M 50M 67M 43% /boot

212

/dev/sda6 70G 34G 33G 52% /home

213

</screen>

214

<para

215

>The command <command

216

>df</command

217

> reports file system disk space usage. The <userinput

218

>-h</userinput

219

> tells <command

220

>df</command

221

> to make the output human readable. </para>

222

</sect3>

223

224

<title

225

>Check how much disk space is available via the file manager</title>

226

<note

227

><title

228

>File managers</title>

229

<para

230

>The following procedure can be completed with either <application

231

>Dolphin</application

232

> or <application

233

>Konqueror</application

234

>. <application

235

>Dolphin</application

236

> will be shown in this example because it is the default file manager in &kubuntu;. </para>

237

</note>

238

239

<step>

240

<para

241

>Open <application

242

>Dolphin</application

243

> by going to &menudolphin;. </para>

244

</step>

245

<step>

246

<para

247

><mousebutton

248

>Click</mousebutton

249

> on the <guibutton

250

>Root</guibutton

251

> shortcut button on the left. </para>

252

</step>

253

<step>

254

<para

255

>To find out how much space is available in the root partition, <mousebutton

256

>right click</mousebutton

257

> in any of the white space in the main window. Select <guimenuitem

258

>Properties</guimenuitem

259

> from the list that is displayed. </para>

260

<note

261

><title

262

>Avoid highlighting an icon</title>

263

<para

264

>When right clicking in the white space, avoid accidentally highlighting any of the folder icons, because this will display information pertaining only to that folder. </para>

265

</note>

266

<example

267

><title

268

>Available disk space for the root device</title>

269

270

271

272

</imageobject>

273

</mediaobject>

274

</example>

275

</step>

276

</procedure>

277

</sect3>

278

279

<title

280

>Checking usage via Partition Manager</title>

281

<para

282

>By default in &kubuntu;, the application <application

283

>Partition Manager</application

284

> is not installed. Please <ulink url="apt:partitionmanager"

285

>install the <application

286

>Partition Manager</application

287

> package</ulink

288

> prior to doing the following procedure. </para>

289

290

<step>

291

<para

292

>Open <application

293

>Partition Manager</application

294

> by going to &menupartman;. A password may be required. </para>

295

</step>

296

<step>

297

<para

298

><mousebutton

299

>Click</mousebutton

300

> on the device in the <guilabel

301

>Device</guilabel

302

> section in the left-hand side of the main window. </para>

303

</step>

304

<step>

305

<para

306

>Remaining space can be determined by subtracting the amount in the <guilabel

307

>Used</guilabel

308

> column from the amount in the <guilabel

309

>Size</guilabel

310

> column. The information can also be displayed by <mousebutton

311

>right clicking</mousebutton

312

> on the partition in the list and selecting <guimenuitem

313

>Properties</guimenuitem

314

>. </para>

315

<example

316

><title

317

>Available disk space with Partition Manager</title>

318

319

320

321

</imageobject>

322

</mediaobject>

323

</example>

324

</step>

325

</procedure>

326

</sect3>

327

</sect2>

328

329

<title

330

>How can some disk space be freed up?</title>

331

<para

332

>There are several ways of making more disk space available: </para>

333

334

335

<para

336

>Empty the trash. Open <application

337

>Dolphin</application

338

> by going to &menudolphin;. <mousebutton

339

>Click</mousebutton

340

> the <guibutton

341

>Trash</guibutton

342

> on the left, <mousebutton

343

>right click</mousebutton

344

> in the white space and select <guimenuitem

345

>Empty Trash</guimenuitem

346

>. </para>

347

</listitem>

348

349

<para

350

><ulink url="apt:computer-janitor-gtk"

351

>Install Computer Janitor for GTK</ulink

352

> first. Once installed, open <application

353

>Computer Janitor</application

354

> by going to &menucomputerjanitor;. Select the <guilabel

355

>Packages</guilabel

356

> to be removed. When completed, <mousebutton

357

>click</mousebutton

358

> the <guibutton

359

>Do selected tasks</guibutton

360

> button. </para>

361

<example

362

><title

363

>Freeing disk space with Computer Janitor</title>

364

365

366

367

</imageobject>

368

</mediaobject>

369

</example>

370

</listitem>

371

372

<para

373

>Remove software packages that are no longer being used. See <ulink type="help" url="help:/kubuntu/manage-software/"

374

>Managing Software</ulink

375

> for information on removing packages. </para>

376

</listitem>

377

378

<para

379

>Delete files that are no longer needed. </para>

380

381

<para

382

>Be careful not to delete files that are still needed! </para>

383

</caution>

384

</listitem>

385

</itemizedlist>

386

<para

387

>Compress and archive old, rarely-used documents: </para>

388

389

<step>

390

<para

391

>Select the files and folders to be compressed, <mousebutton

392

>right click</mousebutton

393

> one of them and select <menuchoice

394

><guimenu

395

>Compress</guimenu

396

><guimenuitem

397

>As ZIP/TAR Archive</guimenuitem

398

></menuchoice

399

> or any of the other choices. </para>

400

</step>

401

</procedure>

402

</sect2>

403

404

<title

405

>Partitioning a device</title>

406

<para

407

><application

408

>Partition Manager</application

409

> can be used to partition storage devices. <ulink url="apt:partitionmanager"

410

>Install the <application

411

>Partition Manager</application

412

> package</ulink

413

> first, as it is not installed by default in &kubuntu;. Once installed, open <application

414

>Partition Manager</application

415

> by going to &menupartman;. </para>

416

417

<para

418

>Be careful when altering disk partitions, as it is possible to lose data by deleting or changing the wrong partition. </para>

419

</caution>

420

<para

421

>For more information on using <application

422

>Partition Manager</application

423

> to resize, copy, or install a new operating system, please review <ulink url="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html"

424

></ulink

425

>. </para>

426

</sect2>

427

428

<title

429

>Formatting a partition</title>

430

<para

431

><application

432

>Partition Manager</application

433

> can be used to format disk partitions. Please review <ulink url="http://docs.kde.org/development/en/extragear-sysadmin/partitionmanager/index.html"

434

></ulink

435

>. </para>

436

</sect2>

437

438

<title

439

>What is formatting?</title>

440

<para

441

>To format a hard disk, device or partition means to prepare that particular device to store data. </para>

442

<para

443

>When a hard disk or partition is formatted, a specific data-storage format is applied to that device; this format is the <quote

444

>filesystem</quote

445

>. </para>

446

<para

447

>A newly purchased disk is usually not formatted, and cannot yet be used for storing data. After the device has been formatted, the free space on it is less than the original size. Some of the disk space is used to make the device usable; this space is occupied by the filesystem. Also, disk manufacturers use different standards to express disk capacity, which results in further discrepancies. </para>

448

</sect2>

449

450

<title

451

>What is a filesystem</title>

452

<para

453

>A filesystem is a particular way of storing and organizing files on a storage device such as a hard disk, and is an important part of an operating system. Without a filesystem, accessing and storing files would be difficult. </para>

454

<para

455

>There are different types of filesystem. The most common are: </para>

456

457

458

<para

459

>ext2, ext3, and ext4: these are usually found on GNU/Linux operating systems. &kubuntu; uses <emphasis

460

>ext4</emphasis

461

> as its default filesystem. </para>

462

</listitem>

463

464

<para

465

><acronym

466

>FAT16</acronym

467

> and <acronym

468

>FAT32</acronym

469

> are Microsoft Windows filesystems found on older computers. To share data between two computers, the <emphasis

470

><acronym

471

>FAT32</acronym

472

></emphasis

473

> format is a good choice. </para>

474

</listitem>

475

476

<para

477

><acronym

478

>NTFS</acronym

479

> is the filesystem type used by more modern versions of Microsoft Windows. </para>

480

</listitem>

481

482

<para

483

><acronym

484

>HFS+</acronym

485

> is the Mac OS X default filesystem type. </para>

486

</listitem>

487

</itemizedlist>

488

</sect2>

489

490

<title

491

>What is a partition?</title>

492

<para

493

>A partition is a means of dividing the storage capacity of a device, such as a hard disk, into several parts which can then be treated as separate storage devices (<quote

494

>logical devices</quote

495

>). </para>

496

<para

497

>Each logical device is seen by the operating system as a distinct device, and thus is treated as an independent disk. </para>

498

<para

499

>Partitioning a hard disk can be done for several reasons: </para>

500

501

502

<para

503

>To retrieve free space </para>

504

</listitem>

505

506

<para

507

>To install different operating systems </para>

508

</listitem>

509

510

<para

511

>To organize data better on the hard disk </para>

512

</listitem>

513

</itemizedlist>

514

</sect2>

515

516

<title

517

>Mounting and unmounting devices</title>

518

<para

519

>When a removable storage device is connected to a computer, it must be <emphasis

520

>mounted</emphasis

521

> by the operating system so the files on the device can be accessed. </para>

522

<para

523

>When files are copied to a storage device, they are not always written to the device immediately. Instead, they are often stored in a queue so that they can all be transferred to the device at the same time (for efficiency). If the device is disconnected before all of the files have been transferred, some or all of the files may be lost. To prevent this, a storage device must be <emphasis

524

>unmounted</emphasis

525

> before being disconnected. </para>

526

<procedure

527

><title

528

>Mounting a device</title>

529

<step>

530

<para

531

>Plug in the removable storage device. </para>

532

</step>

533

<step>

534

<para

535

>A notification menu and blue circle icon will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. By <mousebutton

536

>clicking</mousebutton

537

> the device in the popup menu, the device will be <emphasis

538

>mounted</emphasis

539

>. As soon as it is mounted, either the file manager will appear or a dialog will be presented that contains a list of options for the device. </para>

540

</step>

541

</procedure>

542

<procedure

543

><title

544

>Unmounting a device</title>

545

<step>

546

<para

547

>In the system tray, there is an icon that looks like a computer monitor that represents the Device Notifier. <mousebutton

548

>Click</mousebutton

549

> on the icon, and a popup menu will appear. </para>

550

</step>

551

<step>

552

<para

553

>Hovering above the device description with the cursor will display an eject icon on the right side. <mousebutton

554

>Click</mousebutton

555

> on the icon to <emphasis

556

>unmount</emphasis

557

> the removable device. </para>

558

</step>

559

</procedure>

560

</sect2>

561

</sect1>

562

563

564

565

<title

566

>Laptops</title>

567

<para

568

>This section contains information for people using &kubuntu; on a laptop computer. </para>

569

570

<title

571

>Power management settings</title>

572

<para

573

>Changing the power management settings of a laptop may help extend its battery life and reduce energy waste. </para>

574

575

<step>

576

<para

577

><mousebutton

578

>Press</mousebutton

579

> the power management icon which looks like a battery in the system tray. </para>

580

</step>

581

<step>

582

<para

583

>Change the settings as appropriate. Changes are applied instantly. </para>

584

</step>

585

</procedure>

586

<para

587

>Displaying a screensaver may use more power than simply letting the screen go blank. Turning off the screensaver could slightly improve the laptop battery life. In &kubuntu;, the screensaver is set to blank as default. </para>

588

589

<step>

590

<para

591

>Open <application

592

>System Settings</application

593

> by going to &menusysset;. </para>

594

</step>

595

<step>

596

<para

597

><mousebutton

598

>Press</mousebutton

599

> the <guibutton

600

>Desktop</guibutton

601

> icon. </para>

602

</step>

603

<step>

604

<para

605

><mousebutton

606

>Press</mousebutton

607

> the <guibutton

608

>Screen Saver</guibutton

609

> icon. </para>

610

</step>

611

<step>

612

<para

613

>Select screen saver and then press <guibutton

614

>Apply</guibutton

615

>. </para>

616

</step>

617

</procedure>

618

</sect2>

619

620

<title

621

>Touchpads</title>

622

<para

623

>Most laptop computers come with a touchpad, which is used to control the mouse pointer. There are many ways of changing the way the touchpad behaves. Most basic touchpad settings can be configured in the following way: </para>

624

625

<step>

626

<para

627

>Open <application

628

>System Settings</application

629

> by going to &menusysset;. </para>

630

</step>

631

<step>

632

<para

633

><mousebutton

634

>Press</mousebutton

635

> the <guibutton

636

>Keyboard and Mouse</guibutton

637

> button. </para>

638

</step>

639

<step>

640

<para

641

><mousebutton

642

>Press</mousebutton

643

> the <guibutton

644

>Touchpad</guibutton

645

> icon. </para>

646

</step>

647

<step>

648

<para

649

>Make any desired touchpad setting changes. Changes should take effect immediately. </para>

650

</step>

651

</procedure>

652

</sect2>

653

654

<title

655

>Finding laptop testing reports</title>

656

<para

657

>Some laptops are tested by the Ubuntu community to ensure that various features work correctly. The results of these tests are available for reading, and may offer insights into any laptop problems. </para>

658

659

660

<para

661

>Review the Laptop Testing <ulink url="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam"

662

>community support pages</ulink

663

> for a full listing of available laptop tests. </para>

664

</listitem>

665

</itemizedlist>

666

<para

667

>You can participate in laptop testing yourself by visiting <ulink url="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/Laptop"

668

>Ubuntu Laptop Testing</ulink

669

>. </para>

670

</sect2>

671

</sect1>

672

673

<title

674

>Suspending and Hibernating</title>

675

<para

676

>In order to save power, a computer can be put into one of a number of power-saving modes when it is not being used. </para>

677

678

679

<para

680

><emphasis role="strong"

681

>Suspending</emphasis

682

> a computer is like putting the computer to sleep. The computer will still be turned on and all work will be left open, but it will use much less power. Wake the computer by pressing a key or clicking the mouse. </para>

683

</listitem>

684

685

<para

686

><emphasis role="strong"

687

>Hibernating</emphasis

688

> means turning the computer off completely while saving the current state of the computer (such as keeping all open documents). When the computer is turned back on after hibernation, all work will be restored as it was before hibernation. No power is used when the computer is hibernating. </para>

689

</listitem>

690

691

<para

692

><emphasis role="strong"

693

>Shutting down</emphasis

694

> is turning the computer off completely, without saving the current state of the computer. No power is used when the computer is shut down. </para>

695

</listitem>

696

697

<para

698

><emphasis role="strong"

699

>Resuming</emphasis

700

> is bringing the computer out of a power-saving mode and back into normal operation. The computer can be resumed from being suspended by pressing a keyboard button or by clicking the mouse. Resume from being hibernated by pressing the power button on the computer. </para>

701

</listitem>

702

</itemizedlist>

703

<para

704

>Manually put the computer into power-saving mode by selecting one of the options in the <guilabel

705

>System</guilabel

706

> section of the <guisubmenu

707

>Leave</guisubmenu

708

> menu in Kickoff. </para>

709

710

<para

711

>Some computers may have problems going into and resuming from certain power-saving modes. The best way of checking if a computer can handle a power-saving mode is to try it. Switch to that mode and see if it behaves as expected. Always save important documents before suspending or hibernating. </para>

712

</caution>

713

714

<title

715

>The computer does not suspend or hibernate correctly</title>

716

<para

717

>Some computers are unable to suspend or hibernate correctly with &kubuntu;, and may show some of the following symptoms: </para>

718

719

720

<para

721

>The computer does not turn off after hibernate has been clicked. </para>

722

</listitem>

723

724

<para

725

>When the computer is turned back on after hibernating, previously open programs are not restored. </para>

726

</listitem>

727

728

<para

729

>The computer will not wake up after it has been suspended. </para>

730

</listitem>

731

732

<para

733

>Certain programs or hardware devices stop working correctly after resuming from hibernation or waking-up from being suspended. </para>

734

</listitem>

735

</itemizedlist>

736

<para

737

>If any of these problems occur, a bug should be reported to <ulink url="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug"

738

>Launchpad</ulink

739

>. The problems may be fixed in a subsequent version of &kubuntu;. </para>

740

<para

741

>If the hardware does not work properly after suspending or hibernating, restart the computer and it should return to normal. If a program does not work properly, try closing the program and then starting it again. </para>

742

743

<para

744

>Make sure to save all open documents before testing for suspend and hibernate problems. </para>

745

</caution>

746

</sect2>

747

748

<title

749

>There's a strange pattern on the screen when the computer is hibernated</title>

750

<para

751

>The screen may show a black and white pattern just after it is clicked to hibernate. This is usually nothing to worry about and is just how the graphics cards of some computers respond to the initial stages of the hibernation process. </para>

752

<para

753

>If the computer displays the pattern for a prolonged period of time without turning itself off then there may be a problem with hibernation. Refer to <link linkend="pm-suspend-hibernate-fails"

754

>The computer does not suspend or hibernate correctly</link

755

> for more information. </para>

756

</sect2>

757

</sect1>

758

759

760

761

<title

762

>Mice and Keyboards</title>

763

<para

764

>This section provides instructions on using and configuring mice, keyboards and other input devices to make them more comfortable to use. </para>

765

766

<title

767

>Mice and other pointing devices</title>

768

<para

769

>Numerous mouse options can be changed, such as how fast the pointer moves and how clicks are interpreted by the computer. </para>

770

771

<step>

772

<para

773

>Open <application

774

>System Settings</application

775

> by going to &menusysset;. </para>

776

</step>

777

<step>

778

<para

779

><mousebutton

780

>Press</mousebutton

781

> the <guibutton

782

>Keyboard and Mouse</guibutton

783

> icon. </para>

784

</step>

785

<step>

786

<para

787

><mousebutton

788

>Press</mousebutton

789

> the <guibutton

790

>Mouse</guibutton

791

> icon. </para>

792

</step>

793

</procedure>

794

</sect2>

795

796

<title

797

>Keyboards</title>

798

<para

799

>There are several keyboard options, such as the keyboard language and keyboard shortcuts. </para>

800

801

<step>

802

<para

803

>Open <application

804

>System Settings</application

805

> by going to &menusysset;. </para>

806

</step>

807

<step>

808

<para

809

><mousebutton

810

>Press</mousebutton

811

> the <guibutton

812

>Keyboard and Mouse</guibutton

813

> icon. </para>

814

</step>

815

<step>

816

<para

817

><mousebutton

818

>Press</mousebutton

819

> the <guibutton

820

>Keyboard</guibutton

821

> icon. </para>

822

</step>

823

</procedure>

824

</sect2>

825

826

<title

827

>Touchpads and graphics tablets</title>

828

<para

829

>A touchpad or graphics tablet can be used to move a mouse pointer. </para>

830

831

832

<para>

833

<emphasis role="strong"

834

><link

835

linkend="laptops-touchpads"

836

>Touchpads</link

837

></emphasis>

838

</para>

839

</listitem>

840

</itemizedlist>

841

</sect2>

842

</sect1>

843

</article>

844

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