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Ubuntu

lastmod 2026-03-03created 2014-01-0468 edits

Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux, a Linux distribution that uses its own desktop environment. It is backed by Canonical, a UK-based company. A new release generally comes out every six months, roughly in step with new GNOME releases. Compared with Debian GNU/Linux, it puts a strong focus on user-friendliness. Ubuntu takes its name from the spirit of ubuntu, a traditional African philosophy. According to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop of South Africa, ubuntu has so many meanings that it is hard to translate. Among users of the Ubuntu operating system, ubuntu is generally used to mean "I am because you are" in the Bantu languages, and Wikipedia translates it as "humanity towards others".

Category

Ubuntu Cloud

Theme

GUI

3rd GUI

  • smb4k - Dedicated SMB client

Package

Hardware Select

List of ubuntu versions

  • Ubuntu Xenial 16.04 (LTS)
  • Ubuntu Wily 15.10
  • Ubuntu Trusty 14.04 (LTS)
  • Ubuntu Precise 12.04 (LTS)

Keyboard shortcut

  • Alt+F1: Focus Launcher
  • Alt+F2: Run command
  • Ctrl+Alt+T: Terminal Open
  • META+Tab: Dash select (then select with the Up/Down buttons)

How to set a shutdown shortcut in 20.04

Create a custom shortcut.

At the very bottom of the keyboard shortcut settings, you can add a custom shortcut. On the command line, shutdown now shuts down the system, so use that.

How to input Korean

Install ibus as below, then change the input method in the language settings and Text Entry Settings.... 

$ sudo apt-get -y install ibus-hangul
$ ibus-hangul
## 나눔폰트 설치:
$ sudo apt-get -y install fonts-nanum

You must reboot after finishing.

If you then want to change the Input source with the Korean/English toggle key (Hangul), do the following on Ubuntu 14.04. 

## 우선 dconf-editor 설치.
$ sudo apt-get install dconf-editor

Run dconf-editor and navigate to the following location. 

org.gnome.desktop.wm.keybindings.switch-input-source

The default value assigned to the variable above is ['<Super>space']; change it to ['Hangul'].

How to change the profile picture from the terminal

Place a jpeg file at ~/.face.

How to run a GUI program on the display of another logged-in session

See OpenSSH for details.

Disable automatic updates

See Advanced Package Tool#Disable automatic updates.

How to remove the Ubuntu Pro advertisement

Even after all updates are finished, an advertisement message like the following is printed: 

Try Ubuntu Pro beta with a free personal subscription on up to 5 machines.
Learn more at https://ubuntu.com/pro

Proper ads are opt-out, and Canonical's official method is somewhat secret. The interface for disabling it is as follows. 

sudo pro config set apt_news=false

You can check the active state with the following command: 

pro config show

WARNING

The pro config method didn't work

Disable the service or remove the Ubuntu Advantage configuration. 

sudo rm /etc/update-motd.d/88-esm-announce
sudo systemctl disable ubuntu-advantage

Or remove it for good: 

sudo apt remove ubuntu-advantage-tools

There also seems to be a fake tool called fake-ubuntu-advantage-tools. <- Not recommended

The /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf file also seems to control the messages printed by apt?

How to set up VNC (Screen Sharing) access to an Ubuntu server from a remote shell

See Virtual Network Computing#Ubuntu 20.x VNC.

How to run the vino server from the command line

See Vino#How to run the vino server from the command line for VNC.

Keep running with the laptop lid (LID) closed

See Systemd#Adjusting laptop screen blanking.

Check CPU temperature

See lm-sensors.

How to create desktop shortcut

Here is how to create a desktop shortcut: (using STS as an example) 

$ sudo vi /usr/share/applications/sts.desktop

Edit it as follows. 

[Desktop Entry]
Name=sts
Exec=/usr/local/bin/sts
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true
Icon=/opt/eclipse/icon.xpm
Type=Application

See freedesktop.org#Desktop entry for details.

Directory

  • All users: /usr/share/applications
  • Local user: ~/.local/share/applications

UI Font change (Use tweak tools)

Install and use unity-tweak-tool. 

$ sudo apt-get install unity-tweak-tool

Or use gsettings from the console. 

# You can set fonts by following commands in terminal :
$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface document-font-name 'Sans 10'
$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface font-name 'Ubuntu 10'
$ gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface monospace-font-name 'Ubuntu Mono 11'
$ gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.desktop font 'Ubuntu 10'

# To Know current settings type following commands in terminal:
$ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface document-font-name
$ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface font-name 
$ gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface monospace-font-name
$ gsettings get org.gnome.nautilus.desktop font

How to use META key

If you want to use the META key not for its original purpose in Ubuntu (opening the Dash) but for a purpose that depends on the currently active program, proceed as follows. 

$ sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

After installing, under Typing, change the Alt/Win key behaviour item to Meta is mapped to Win keys. After logging in again, you can use the META key. However, keys like META+V are bound to other Dash-related shortcuts. So you need to change the behavior of the META key itself. 

$ sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

After installing, in the Ubuntu Unity Plugin menu, disable the Key to show the Dash, Launcher and Help Overlay item on the Launcher tab.

Screenshots and screencasts

Pressing the PrtSc button or Shift+Ctrl+Alt+R brings up the recording popup.

  • Screenshots are saved in the "~/Pictures/Screenshots/" folder,
  • and video recordings in the "~/Screencasts" folder.

Recording does not start

Simply run the following command: 

rm -rf ~/.cache/gstreamer-1.0/

Troubleshooting

nautilus korean sorting

If you install Ubuntu in English, Korean text is not sorted correctly. Add the variable as follows. 

LC_COLLATE="ko_KR.UTF-8"

If there is no locale definition for ko_KR.UTF-8, enter the following. 

localedef -cvi ko_KR -f UTF-8 ko_KR

Invalid ELF header

Keyboard input lag

Check the system log. 

grep -irn xhci_hcd /var/log/syslog*

Check whether a log like the following exists. 

xhci_hcd 0000:3a:00.0: xHCI host controller not responding, assume dead

This is probably a USB3 problem. If you have a USB2 slot, try using it.

/dev/ttyUSB0 connection drops by itself on Ubuntu

See Universal Serial Bus#/dev/ttyUSB0 connection drops by itself on Ubuntu. In short, remove brltty with sudo apt purge brltty.

Slow bash tab completion 

sudo updatedb

No sound after connecting a Bluetooth speaker

If the device is detected fine and checking dmesg shows no particular problem, check whether other headphones or devices are connected. Audio may be going to that device. In that case, disconnecting that device fixes it.

Why it won't boot into graphical mode right after installing ubuntu-desktop

INFORMATION

For reference, tested on 24.04. 

sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop-minimal
## or
sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop

(It is installed automatically, but just in case) configure the GDM3 Display Manager: 

sudo systemctl enable gdm3
sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target

Check the GDM status: 

sudo systemctl status gdm3

If it is active but still won't boot into graphical mode, check the log: 

gdm: on_display_removed: assertion GDM_IS_REMOTE_DISPLAY (display) failed

This error occurs when GDM does not properly recognize the display.

How to disable Wayland

Check the /etc/gdm3/custom.conf file: 

[daemon]
WaylandEnable=false

If you installed the NVIDIA graphics driver first

Check the current driver status 

# NVIDIA 드라이버 설치 여부
nvidia-smi

# 사용 중인 드라이버 모듈
lsmod | grep -E 'nvidia|nouveau'

Blacklist Nouveau and install the NVIDIA driver 

# nouveau 비활성화
sudo bash -c "echo 'blacklist nouveau' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf"
sudo bash -c "echo 'options nouveau modeset=0' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf"
sudo update-initramfs -u

# NVIDIA 드라이버 설치
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535 -y

Or automatically install the recommended driver: 

sudo ubuntu-drivers devices
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

If it still doesn't work, disable Wayland.

If that still doesn't work, reset the settings: 

# NVIDIA 설정 초기화
sudo rm -rf ~/.config/monitors.xml
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/gdm3/.config/monitors.xml

# GDM 캐시 삭제
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/gdm3/.cache/*

# 재부팅
sudo reboot

Ubuntu 24.04 won't boot right after installing fuse

See Filesystem in Userspace#Ubuntu 24.04 won't boot right after installing fuse.

General fixes if USB boot doesn't work

See Dd#General fixes if USB boot doesn't work.

See also

Favorite site

References

  1. Ubuntu_partition.pdf ↩

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