There are a few built-in troubleshooting utilities that can help diagnose slow Ubuntu boot issues.

Via the terminal enter the cmd:

systemd-analyze

An output like the following is displayed

Startup finished in 4.901s (firmware) + 4.113s (loader) + 16.613s (kernel) + 13.768s (userspace) = 39.397s

To find out key processes, type:

systemd-analyze blame

A list of applications/services is displayed with the longest consuming (time) at the top. Example:

7.737s NetworkManager-wait-online.service
2.837s dev-mapper-Ubuntu\x2drootvol.device
2.313s lvm2-monitor.service
1.780s systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service
1.708s systemd-sysctl.service
1.120s vmware-workstation-server.service
704ms ModemManager.service
658ms accounts-daemon.service
610ms lightdm.service

To view a graphical version of this data, enter:

systemd-analyze plot > output.html

This creates a HTML file that includes a graphic showing the boot time, along with the acivities, duration etc.

Typing:

systemd-analyze critical-chain

Provides a command-line output ( a simple version) of the processes), like the following:

The time after the unit is active or started is printed after the “@” character.
The time the unit takes to start is printed after the “+” character.

graphical.target @13.765s
└─multi-user.target @13.765s
└─vmware-workstation-server.service @12.644s +1.120s
└─network-online.target @12.046s
└─NetworkManager-wait-online.service @4.308s +7.737s
└─NetworkManager.service @3.731s +575ms
└─dbus.service @3.686s
└─basic.target @3.680s
└─sockets.target @3.680s
└─clamav-daemon.socket @3.678s +777us
└─sysinit.target @3.675s
└─apparmor.service @3.471s +203ms
└─local-fs.target @3.470s
└─run-vmblock\x2dfuse.mount @12.637s
└─local-fs-pre.target @2.726s
└─lvm2-monitor.service @412ms +2.313s
└─lvm2-lvmetad.service @583ms
└─system.slice @398ms
└─-.slice @370ms

Great utilities for identifying bottle necks and slow boot up performance.

The next HLUG meeting will be a workshop based session covering Ubuntu Security Hardening. A VirtualBox VM will be provided. Please bring along your laptop with VirtualBox installed and 1GB RAM, plus 5GB storage space.

No prior knowledge is required, though some command line experience of Linux is recommended.

Topics includes; why care? CLI, with some challenges. Below is the link to the material that will be used as a reference.

HLUG-Ubuntu Security Hardening

Below are some good online references, for learning more about using Linux and for keeping up to date on trends/developments.

Educational

• https://www.linux.com/tutorials
• https://www.tecmint.com/category/linux-commands/
• https://www.lifewire.com/beginners-guide-to-linux-4090233
• http://linuxnewbieguide.org/

Books

The Linux Command Line – free download: http://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxcommand/files/TLCL/16.07/TLCL-16.07.pdf/download

Many more free books to download: itsfoss.com

Hi again everyone

The Courtyard has free fast wifi and serves lovely coffees, and there is level access to all public areas of the building. You can find directions to The Courtyard, Edgar Street, Hereford, HR4 9JR here

More improvements in WordPress released today, as used in this website.

The link tool is improved.

See  omnistudio for a review

The HLUG International Linux Presentation  Day event will be taking place on Saturday April 30th 2016 at All Saints Church , High St. Hereford HR4 9AA, 10am – 4pm.

HLUG is the Herefordshire Linux (and Open Source ) User Group.

We will have free CDs and goodies to give away plus lots of info, demonstrations and advice on all things Linux and Open Source.

During the event we will show how easy it is to install Linux nowadays. For those that are able to bring a laptop or pc along we will be happy to install Linux for you. Please note, you must backup any files that you wish to keep beforehand as with any Operating System install there is a small chance of losing data. Best is to bring an older machine that is not your main device that is not critical to you just in case.

The Raspberry Pi will be making an appearance with demo’s and a chance at hands on activities.

We’ve also got plenty of information for small businesses who would like to see what Open Source Software has to offer and our experienced and friendly HLUG volunteers will be happy to demo programs, show you how easy it is to install Linux and show you what the options are to proprietary formats.

Students off to college may also want to pop in to have a look at the great Open Source software which exists – it’s high quality and free to use and share. Most of them are cross platform which means they work on Linux, Windows or Mac.

The event is as usual free and run on a drop-in basis so you can call in at any point throughout the day.

Our venue  All Saints is in the centre of Hereford and has a fantastic cafe that sells very good coffee and delicious locally sourced food. It’s fully accessible. We are within walking distance of the railway and bus stations and a short stroll from Hereford Cathedral which houses the famous Mappa Mundi so why not combine a visit to our event with some shopping and sightseeing in the city.

Look forward to seeing you there.

From all the HLUG team

Before any review;
A huge thank you to all the people who have put so much thought and effort into the birth of Plasma 5

As a Chakra user, ( the KDE Distro ) I upgraded to Plasma 5 over 3 months ago, the upgrade was a major one, needing to be done by command line, rather than by our package manager.
As I use Chakra as my day to day Distro, my system was rather harder to upgrade than most. Many thanks to Julian whose advice put me back on track after I had ‘bricked’ it. ( Using the command line to successfully improve things is a rather new and novel experience to this user!! )

So first impressions;
WOW !!!!!!!!,
It loads SO quickly and is like grading up from 720 to full HD,

Then, as with everything new, a few problems occured.
By design multiple independent windows ( the spinning cube ) has gone, I only ever used two sides, annoying but not enough to put me off,
Not by design were the stability problems, crashes were normal, the whole system slowly grinding to a halt all to common, regular KDE apps like Qupzilla, would not load and then when an upgrade got it working again Rekonq stopped loading.
It must have driven the developers mad.
But as the weeks have passed the problems are being beaten,

But the WOW is still there, in the coming months it will be replacing KDE4 in mainstream Distros, and it will be mature enough to rely on, only if you must have the spinning cube decline the chance to upgrade.