[Gllug] Ubuntu and me - suggestions requested (polite ones please)

[James Roberts]

A question. I keep trying out Ubuntu because I can't believe that my 
experience is going to be as bad as the last time I tried it.

I've been using Linux since early Slack and have managed to get most 
distros going over the years: I use Debian generally but quite a lot of 
CentOS too, plus DSL and a few others but am familiar with many.

However every time I try Ubuntu it either:

- does not install
- installs and fails as soon as I change the configuration in any way
- installs and works, but fails after a minor update and never works 
again (this happens every time I do a desktop install).

Is it me? It *can't* be like this for everyone else can it? Impossible!

Latest example: I wanted a 64-bit host for testing VMWare Server 2 (ESXi 
is sucky with DAS).

So I grabbed latest Ubuntu 8.10 server, tested CD, tested memory and 
attempted install on two small new server-class machines:

1. HP ML350 G5 new quad Xeon 5 GB e200i with BBC

2. Dell SC 440 Dual Xeon SATA NVidia RAID controller (not used)

On (1) Ubuntu identified the SAS array controller as a SATA controller, 
but fair enough the controller supports both.

However after an apparently successful install it fell over on reboot as 
it had not installed grub to an actual partition on the RAID array. I 
don't know what it did with it.

On (2) about half way through the install it requested a media change 
and part ejected the cd-rom and would not remount it whatever I tried.

So I grabbed a net install Debian Etch and it installed perfectly first 
time on both.

I appreciate that all this could have been fixed, but don't see why I 
should have to fix it.

I'm honestly not knocking Ubuntu here, I just don't understand what is 
going wrong, and want to know if am suffering existential or 
philosophical incompatibility with Ubuntu (aka is it just me?) or do 
other people find similar issues? And is there anything that can be done 
about it?

TIA

MeJ
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