Help & Troubleshooting

Find out

Documentation

Look up your local help: Blue icon with a question mark on your panel.
Use Ubuntu Help online.

Get help and contribute
help & troubleshooting
Ubuntu Troubleshooting

book online: Self-Service Linux - Mastering the Art of Problem Determination

Communicate with other users

chat with the community on Freenode IRC Channel: #xubuntu
The Ubuntu Forum Community
Mailing Lists

Sound

Muted Sound & Low Volume

Very often the only reason for getting no sound is a muted or faded down audio output. If you’re getting no sound, you should first check this by using Alsamixer

User Privileges: Use audio devices

If you’re experiencing problems with accessing audio devices this might help:

  1. Log in as Administrator
  2. System → Administration → Users and Groups
  3. Select the user you experienced problems with
  4. click Advanced Settings
  5. enter your Password
  6. Authenticate
  7. choose tab User Privileges
  8. check Use audio devices
  9. click OK
  10. click Close

Links & Info

SoundTroubleshooting
ALSA SoundCard Matrix

see hardware-system-information#sound for getting more info about your audio hardware & how it is recognized

Karmic
sudo cat /sys/module/snd-hda-intel/parameters/model

Graphic

FixVideoResolutionHowto concerns many different graphic-problems

USB device

Look up if/how your USB device works with Linux

Printer

Linux compatible printers

Scanner

Linux compatible scanners

Webcam

The Linux-UVC has a good list of UVC compatible webcams as well as The Quickcam Team for Logitech cameras. A german list about the linux-compatibility of different webcams: Hardwaredatenbank – Peripherie – Webkameras auf ubuntuusers.de

BIOS

known BIOS issue on Dell Desktop computers: BIOS doesn’t recognize HD and/or CD-ROM Reader
BIOS output:
“BIOS “Primary Drive 0 …. Unknown device.” …. “Secondary Drive 0 …. Unknown device.”
Avoid BIOS updates, situation is likely going worse.
try: shutting down the computer, remove power cable. wait for a minute. take battery of motherboard out. wait/clean contacts/ proof cable connections/ put battery back in. BIOS should recognize the hard drive

further things proposed:

  • 2 end IDE cable, the plug in the end should go into master, the one in the middle into a slave
  • clear the CMOS via jumpers instead

Network

change hostname
$ sudo hostname NewName
$ sudo nano /etc/hostname
enter new hostname, save, quit

  ↑tech-stuff↑