10.04 Ubuntu Netbook Remix - Toshiba NB305

[Lothair]

It seems that Ubuntu won't run quite properly on my Toshiba netbook. I can only load one page at a time else it freezes until that page finishes loading. Online video streaming is choppy and barely usable. World of Warcraft is on it's lowest settings and I still only get 1 to 4 FPS. Video playback from the PC itself is only near perfect when full-screened, it hiccups occasionally but for the most part is unnoticeable.

Any suggestions? I'm not sure what to do here.

I used to have Windows XP and everything ran perfectly. No problems at all.

[Lothair]

Also can't play basic web-based flash games. The FPS are probably only about 15 or so.

[x88x]

Well, the problem with WoW is fairly basic...I'm assuming you're running it in Wine? Yeah, just in general don't expect good gaming performance...ever. The browser stuff sounds like a flash issue; try installing the latest version directly from Adobe. For other video playback, is the source local or network? You mention that it is 'near perfect' when in full screen..how is it when not in full screen?

[Lothair]

I wonder if increasing the system memory will help?

Also, the problem seems to be related to basically anything GPU related. I also have the most recent flash installed.

It's both. From the PC itself it's very slightly choppy. Online streaming is very choppy.

[x88x]

What are the specs on the system? What resolution are the videos you're playing locally? What media player are you using for the local files? Try using the default media player, then try using VLC. This will determine if the problem is codecs, CPU, or something else entirely.

[Lothair]

1.66Ghz N450 Atom Processor
1GB DDR2
GMA 3150

1024x600 is the Maximum Resolution and what I'm currently using.

Movie Player is what I'm using. I don't mind local playback, it's completely bearable and I don't use it very often. I mostly use online streaming. But...

Hmmm. Well I was just going to try getting VLC, but apparently I can't. Something about previous installation hasn't finished or something. Right... I never thought I'd miss Windows so much. lol

But I mean I'm not sure if I'd be able to notice the difference anyways. It's really that minor with local playback. It's more like an occasional hiccup every now and then.

[Lothair]

Here is a screenshot of my resource usage when just idling.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/4563/screenshot1kl.png

And here is a screenshot of resource usage directly after taking said first screenshot.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5072/screenshot2ip.png

[Lothair]

That first one should say something more on the lines of 15%. Taking the screenshot boosted the CPU percentage. Of course you can just look at the line and get an idea of what it does during idle.

[x88x]

Hmm, a bit odd that CPU usage would spike that much...though it is kinda a crappy CPU. :P Have you tried installing the latest Flash (from Adobe's website, not from the ubuntu repositories)? I had issues with flash with a certain version a while ago, but it works fine now. ...actually, I think it was the one that shipped with 10.04, come to think of it...

For the VLC problem, open up a command prompt and do:

sudo apt-get -f
That'll fix any existing package issues.

[Lothair]

Yeah I wish I would have checked what my netbook said under XP so I could compare it.


Your Google Chrome browser already includes Adobe® Flash® Player built-in. Google Chrome will automatically update when new versions of Flash Player are available.

That's the message I get when I visit the Adobe Flash website.

[x88x]

IDK, you could try upgrading the RAM but I don't really think that's your problem. ..hmm, try some different resolutions of streaming flash content, see if there's any difference.