after flirting with a number of linux distros, i decided to settle on linux-mint, for the very friendly and beautiful customization it offers. just as with many other distros, mint also came with its own set of troubles, though minor ones!
this time around, i did not want to run away from this. mint was just too good to give up so easily! i dug the net for solutions whenever mint threw a problem at me.
the most prominent and glaring trouble one may face immediately after installing mint is, loss of WIFI signal after few minutes of booting. i think, this is a problem cropping up in all ubuntu derivatives!
linux community out there was so kind to point me out to the solution!
simply editing a wifi related "CONFIGURATION FILE" on the linux-SYSTEM-FILES was a simple solution but was hard to sift through during starting.
default wifi-configuration is set to turn the power off after few minutes of staying active. this shall be disabled by changing the relevant entry from "3" to "2".
this reconfiguration of wifi settings disables the wifi from turning off automatically! (laptops!?) once this is done, wifi signal becomes very stable.
we can also ensure, that the wifi power-management is permanently turned off by using command "iwconfig!" this command would show WIFIpowermanagement is turned OFF!
next problem that i used to encounter was, HDMI audio controller missing and audio becoming total dumb!
ubuntu based distros make use of an audio-server named PulseAudio(PA), which routes alllll audio signals through itself! this PA is a daemon(background service). it acts as a server between device-driver(ALSA) and the audio apps(like, VLC). for example, whenever VLC is opened, PA kicks into action and opens up an audio stream connecting VLC output to the HDMI driver.
whenever PC lost audio, it was necessary to run a command ("pacmd -PulseAudioCoMmanD") to launch the Command-Line-Interface of the PA daemon within the linux-CLI. PA's own command prompt appears on the terminal window. simply "exit" the module to close it. all this "exit" does is, it CLOSES AND KILLS the PA daemon.
within seconds, linux-kernel RELAUNCHES PAdaemon again, sound controller appears back on the audio output interface.
bam! just choose your HDMI audio output and enjoy your music!!
audio and wifi-drop are the two major problems that annoy mint newbies like me. hope this blog entry helps them all!
