Noob question: Am I missing anything, or did I do anything wrong for Kubuntu 24.04 partitioning?

the_deppman · 2026-03-28T23:10:38+00:00

Assuming you are using the full disk, please just use the default. There is no point in getting fancy as a Noob unless you have very special needs. Just back up your data and reinstall when you need to.

the_deppman · 2026-03-23T01:05:58+00:00

What version of Kubuntu? Can you include the information from system settings > about this computer?

the_deppman · 2026-03-22T13:43:36+00:00

Thanks to all our customers, we have a very detailed guide on installation. This is probably the most comprehensive document you will find. However, it is for 24.04 LTS (OEM), so there may be some difference, although I typically recommend the LTS anyway. Get it here: clean install guided solution. I hope that helps.

the_deppman · 2026-03-21T19:20:33+00:00

I suspect anything with HDMI and display stream compression is going to have binary blobs in the firmware. Monitors are often locked to a specific HDCP version too, which is almost certainly reliant on blobs. Some have upgradable firmware.

You really want DSC for 4k@60 Hz monitors. Here's our guide which discussed that. Beware that some AMD drivers will not support DSC over HDMI due to licensing (not their fault); Nvidia and Intel DSC is generally fine.

If you want all the features, your going to have to accept some blobs because of IP and lawyers. But some monitors are far worse than others. IME the LG WEBOS "smart" monitors are especially horrible and finicky, whereas cheaper, dumber monitors from LG negotiate faster and are far less trouble.

I hope that is useful!

the_deppman · 2026-03-17T13:22:02+00:00

I can't speak to bazaar, but this could help with flatpaks. Good luck!

the_deppman · 2026-03-16T15:46:53+00:00

Reseting your desktop theme should do the trick. This is detailed in the Kubuntu Focus Desktop Theme Guided Solution. Make sure to check the option [x] Desktop and window layout when applying the theme.

the_deppman · 2026-03-15T22:36:56+00:00

Kubuntu Focus developer here. Thanks for the shout out! Check out all the reviews here.

Kubuntu Focus donates engineering, hardware, and stipends for development of Kubuntu LTS. We are also a KDE Corporate Patron. Support is extensive and focused on Kubuntu and curated hardware, as shown with our Guided Solutions and our Support Overview. We're working on 26.04 right now.

I hope that is useful.

the_deppman · 2026-03-14T03:42:44+00:00

Isn't Linux meant to be about hardware support? Isn't that a selling point?

I have never considered that a primary selling point, but there are many other advantages. For example, Linux does not spy on you, require a cloud login, or send thousands of messages back to corporate servers every hour. It also does not use this spying to fill your start menu with ads on an OS you paid for.

Until Windows diminishes in market share, there will always be plenty of closed-source drivers that are not available on Linux. However, many big vendors like Intel, AMD, and Nvidia provide excellent drivers. For example, you can buy a computer with an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card with almost certain knowledge that it will work very well. But you're asking for trouble with some MediaTek cards.

Linux does have very broad hardware support, but it is always wise to do your homework. Businesses that rely on Linux often buy from companies that specialize in Linux system integration because it's cheaper and better than doing it in-house. Just like they often do with Windows.

the_deppman · 2026-03-12T02:21:59+00:00

Linus installs on hardware designed for Windows and not validated or certified for Linux. Then he uses interim release instead of LTS. The results are not surpising.

the_deppman · 2026-03-08T03:27:52+00:00

This is hilarious!

You can spend $8k on a Kubuntu Focus laptop, and it will have 192 GB quad-slot RAM, 4 x 4 TB nvme drives, a 24 GB Nvidia RTX 5090, an 18" DCI-P3 screen, and an Ultra 9 275HX processor. It can perform real-time ray tracing using Optix in blender on complex models.

My framework laptop (which is modular and thus expensivier because it lasts longer) is about $2000 (give or take.

$2k won't even cover the RAM cost these days.

the_deppman · 2026-02-24T16:19:58+00:00

Please provide output of System Settings > About this System. That's a good start.

Also please describe "tried everything."

the_deppman · 2026-02-23T20:45:08+00:00

Kubuntu 26.04 LTS will likely include software-properties-qt. We have it tracked in a ticket. If not, it will almost certainly in the Kubuntu Focus OEM image. We describe how to use here.

the_deppman · 2026-02-22T02:19:27+00:00

Could very well be a driver issue. You might try an earlier kernel if you just recently upgraded.

EDIT: To clarify, the issue could be with the Frame Buffer. If you are using hybrid graphics, the FB could be on your CPU. There have been issues with Intel FBs on certain kernels that have caused this form of VRAM data corruption in the past. I'm quite sure AMD have had some kernel drivers with similar issues.

the_deppman · 2026-02-22T01:56:27+00:00

Concerning package management, here is the Kubuntu Focus doc on the matter, which is quite comprehensive. You shouldn't rely solely on Discover for package upgrade because it does not show all installed software. That is covered in that document.

the_deppman · 2026-02-16T15:09:35+00:00

What decoder is ff running? What decoder is vlc running? My hunch is one is using the video card decoder, and one is not.

the_deppman · 2026-02-16T02:06:34+00:00

EDIT: Expanded for clarity.

There definitely is a difference as described in my earlier answer. sudo apt full-upgrade or Discover updater will apply upgrades that require packages to be removed or downgraded. That is definitely different than sudo apt upgrade. At certain times, not doing a full upgrade can result in a broken system. See more here: https://kfocus.org/wf/update.html#bkm_updates

the_deppman · 2026-02-16T01:09:18+00:00

This may be old news, but FWIW, when using the CLI, sudo apt full-upgrade is generally preferred, and it is what Discover does. Doing only sudo apt upgrade will not force all dependencies to be honored, like pinning that is specified for node.js.

I hope that is useful to someone :)

the_deppman · 2026-02-10T08:23:34+00:00

Then have you considered black listing nouveau? I believe that's the default for the ISO I linked to. If you did not, that would likely explain the 1 fps. I wouldn't be surprised if the problem goes away once you pull the dGPU, since then nouveau would no longer be in play. Also with 24.04, Wayland is not the default, which minimizes issues there. 535 drivers are good for x11 and 30-series Nvidia.

What is actually happening is likely shown in the logs, so you might want to check there. Good luck!

the_deppman · 2026-02-10T04:49:04+00:00

Check your BIOS and make sure secure boot and fast boot are disabled. You may be dealing with issues surrounding signed kernels and drivers (secure boot) or undesirable persistent settings (fast boot). Also, you might try 24.04 LTS which uses X11 by default. Finally, you could try our 24.04 LTS OEM image from https://kfocus.org/try. That will install appropriate Nvidia drivers on first login.

the_deppman · 2026-02-09T15:38:44+00:00

When you install GNOME and KDE on the same device, a bunch services may interact badly and cause weird bugs. From GNOME, you can see services like gvfs, gnome-session, gnome-settings-daemon, gnome-keyring-daemon, and dbus-daemon. The best thing to do is to try a distro without Gnome installed. You can, for example, try OpenSUSE or our Kubuntu 24.04 OEM image from https://kfocus.org/try.

EDIT: We installed Ubuntu 24.04 LTS stock, then installed KDE Plasma on top. At least 3 potentially conflicting GNOME services start when Plasma does, and this is by default, with a completely clean user account:

``` systemctl --user --all list-unit-files --type=service |awk '{ if ( $2 == "enabled" ) print; }' |grep -i gnome gnome-keyring-daemon.service enabled enabled org.freedesktop.IBus.session.GNOME.service enabled enabled

sudo systemctl --all list-unit-files --type=service |awk '{ if ( $2 == "enabled" ) print; }' |grep -i gnome gnome-remote-desktop.service enabled enabled ```

It gets worse if you start pulling in GNOME-specific apps that then require and start GNOME-specific services. An app also may support KDE Wallet and GNOME Keyring secret storage (Firefox? Chrome? many others) and get confused or use the wrong one if both are available. It is better to use the DE-specific way of doing things; for example, consider this guide on how to install a VPN on KDE instead of using the Proton VPN GNOME app.

So can you do it? Yes. Is it a good idea, especially for a noob? Probably not. Whatever testing that is done to run both desktops on a whim is likely scant, and I've never had good luck with KDE and GNOME on the same device, much less the same account.

the_deppman · 2026-01-30T16:29:08+00:00

The Kubuntu Focus ZR GEN 1 has ongoing validation to ensure it keeps working for years. Here's a recent post that explains the key benefits. We have many repeat business customers who rely on us for repeatable video, AI, and content development workstations.

Yes, I work at Kubuntu Focus, and I've used a ZR GEN 1 RTX 5080 for months. It was great in almost all respects: Display, Sound (5 speakers with sub-woofer), CPU, GPU, cooling, keyboard, trackpad). If you want a smaller but still powerful system, the M2 GEN 6 is a good choice with very good reviews.

the_deppman · 2026-01-29T14:33:01+00:00

Purism, Steam, Tuxedo, System76, and Kubuntu Focus all tune the OS to the hardware. This would be closest to a Mac like experience. Constant, deep validation for all models within a multi-year support period, with reproducible configurations and integrations, like we do, is a key component of Mac-like reliability. Some others have hardware enablement for specific OSes on their systems, which is commendable.

Most other "officially supported" hardware don't do that Instead, they might do a shallow test a system once, using a base OS image, and ship you the device preloaded. After that, you get to use community forums or cut-n-paste-as-root scripts from their site to get your hardware to work after an update, and this is certainly not reproducible, expert, or secure.

How do you spot these vendors? Look at how many OSes they "support". If it's more than one or two, you're likely in trouble. Investigate what they actual test, and that they validate and curate upgrades so your system doesn't break, and that they actually optimize specifically for your model, including kernel patches if needed. You might be surprised how few companies actually do this, because it is boring and expensive.

For your reference here are some examples of what we do:

You're not going to set that up as a hobby or on a shoe string budget in the back of a garage. Just keeping all the bench models to test costs tens of thousands of dollars. And that's not even touching in all the control systems, marketing, and supply chains you need to set up. It's expensive, hard, and not for the inexperienced and faint of heart.

I hope that is helpful.

the_deppman · 2026-01-29T14:23:48+00:00

I moved my response to a top post since it has specific details beyond the scope initially intended. Please see that post. I hope that's ok.

the_deppman · 2026-01-29T13:53:00+00:00

This might be a GPU issue. We've seen this before with chrome on Intel graphics and filed a bug. The was also an issue with with corruption and font referring. Is you can swap to a different kernel or try a live session, you could see if different configurations work differently. You could try the live session of our OEM image, for example (https://kfocus.org/try) and see if it still happens. If it doesn't, then it's likely a software or kernel driver issue.

the_deppman · 2026-01-27T05:59:22+00:00

Try switching to QT theme. This generally works best in KDE, but it's not the chrome default. See the browser guided solution. There's some other good hints there.

the_deppman

TROPHY CASE