Have you ever found yourself needing to copy the exact same programs from one computer to another? Or maybe you just wanted to keep the exact same programs when you do a fresh install?

I found myself needing to do this, twice, in the last month.

The Synaptic Package Manager allows you to do this quite easily:

First, open Synaptic Package Manager (it’s under System->Administration)

Make sure that ALL is highlighted on the left side.

Now click File (top left) and go down to Save Markings As.

Save this document somewhere you will have easy access to it. Don’t save it on your Desktop and then do a fresh install. All those files will be deleted (unless you also save your home directory).

To have your other computer install all these programs make sure to place the file you just created somewhere that the new computer (or new installation) can get access to it.

Now open Synaptic Package Manager and go to File-> Read Markings

Navigate to the file you created and click OK.

You will have to click Apply to start downloading all those programs.

Your programs will now start downloading. Remember that this will work whether you are reinstalling a computer or whether you want multiple computers to have the same programs.

Make sure that the same repositories are enabled for both computers. If you are installing on an upgraded system, and thus new repositories, most of your programs will install. If they required you to add other repositories on the old computer, these programs will simply not download.

If the Package Manager complains about ‘Broken Packages’, click on the ‘Broken’ tab on the left (in the list with All) and then click ‘fix broken packages’.

One of the hardest things for former Windows users to get used to is you can’t press Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up the task manager. So what do you do when there is a program that has become unresponsive???

There is a simple solution and you actually have a couple different options.

Option 1: (my favorite, also the easiest)
The easiest way to quit a program that stopped responding is by using the force quit button.  In Ubuntu this button can be added to any panel by right clicking on the panel and choosing ‘Add to Panel.’ Then scroll down and select ‘Force Quit.’

Then, when there is a program you need to stop, just click on the force quit button (which is now on your panel) and your mouse cursor will change into a set of cross hairs. At this point, click on the program window that you would like to stop.  If you decide you don’t want to quit any programs after already clicking the force quit button, just press Esc to cancel.

Option 2:
The second way to stop an unresponsive program is to use the System Monitor. This can be found under System->Administration->System Monitor. I like to add the System Monitor to my top panel so I can keep tabs on what my computer is doing.This can be done by using the same process as above.

Once the System Monitor is running, click on the ‘Processes’ tab.

Then, similar to Windows, click on the process you want to stop and then click the ‘End Process’ button in the bottom right corner. One nice feature of the System Monitor is you can sort processes by name, status, CPU usage, and memory usage.

Option 3:
This option is for more advanced users, and those who wish to use the terminal.  If you already know the name of the process you wish to terminate, all you need to do is type the following command:

killall process-name

Here, “process-name” is the name of the process you wish to terminate.

If you don’t know the name of the process, you could type in a command such as ‘top’ to see which programs are using the most resources.

A couple of months ago, I was in a rush to shut down my laptop. When I finally got to my destination, I found that my computer had not in fact shut down as I had told it to do. Apparently a program had crashed and it was waiting on me to click the ‘End Now’ button. I was so annoyed that from then on I waited to see that my power light had gone out before I ever put my laptop in my bag.

But now, I have found a better solution: Force my computer to close unresponsive programs at shutdown without my permission. I’m shutting my computer down any way, who cares if it’s closing an unresponsive program. Here’s how to so it:

Step 1: Click the Start button, then click Run. Type in regedit into the run box that opens.

Step 2: Navigate (on the left side) to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

Step 3: Make sure to click on the Desktop folder on the left side. Next, find AutoEndTasks on the right.

Step 4: Right click on AutoEndTasks, click Modify and in the ‘Value Data’ box, type 1. Then click OK. Close the registry Editor.

Step 5: You will probably have to restart for the changes to take effect. So you may have to end some crashed programs just one last time.