Linux Mint 8 “Helena” RC1 released!

The team is proud to announce the release of Linux Mint 8 Helena RC1.

Quick steps:

  • Download the ISO or the torrent.
  • While it’s downloading take an overview of the new features and make sure to quickly go through the known issues.
  • After the ISO is downloaded verify the MD5.
  • Burn the ISO at low speed and enjoy testing this RC of Linux Mint 8.

Introduction to Linux Mint 8:

The 8th release of Linux Mint comes with numerous bug fixes and a lot of improvements. In particular Linux Mint 8 comes with support for OEM installs, a brand new Upload Manager, the menu now allows you to configure custom places, the update manager now lets you define packages for which you don’t want to receive updates,the software manager now features multiple installation/removal of software and many of the tools’ graphical interfaces were enhanced.

This is just a summary of the new features coming with Linux Mint 8. For a complete overview of the new features, please read: “What’s new in Linux Mint 8 Helena”.

System requirements:

A minimum of 512MB of RAM is recommended. Once installed the system works fine with as low as 256MB RAM. The installation process deals with 2.5GB of data compressed on a 700MB CD and it can hang or fail on systems with less than 512MB RAM. If you have between 256MB and 512MB RAM you may have to try to install several times.

Important information and known issues:

As an RC (Release Candidate) this release is targeted at developers and beta-testers who want to help Linux Mint find and correct bugs before the stable release. Please do not use this release as your main desktop. For a complete list of known issues read the Release Notes.

Upgrade instructions:

Upgrade instructions will be published with the stable release.

Feedback and bug reports:

Please report any bug you may find via the Linux Mint 8 RC1 Bug Thread and give us your feedback on this release by posting a comment right here on the blog.

Download Linux Mint 8 RC1:

You can download Linux Mint 8 RC1 via torrent or via HTTP:

Size: 688MB LiveCD
MD5Sum: 93614f823d9d07c9560dfdb17d4db8fb

Torrent download: http://www.linuxmint.com/torrent/LinuxMint-8-RC1.iso.torrent
HTTP download: http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=44

Asia:

Europe:

Northern America:

Enjoy!

Have a lot of fun testing this release candidate and let’s all hope it will help us make a great stable release.

249 comments

  1. Pingback: Anonymous
  2. Fantastic! Hopefully the upgrade path will be as smooth as possible.
    Keep up the good work!
    Greetings from Nederland.

  3. I’m switching from ubuntu to linux mint in this realease. I’ve been relatively unimpressed by the last few updates to ubuntu, which have included breaking my bluetooth, sound, wireless, and video. Not all incremental updates broke all things, but for example, I had everything working with 7.10, but then bluetooth and sound broke with 8.04. Then with 8.10 my wireless broke, and sound switched to pulseaudio which crippled the sound that I did have working (random crashes with multiple audio applications running, etc.). Then with 9.04 my video acceleration ceased to work and I had to do some workarounds to get desktop effects working.

    Overall, I’m hoping for a more elegant experience on Mint. Any things I should know about switching? I’m running ubuntu on 5 computers (1 server, two laptops, one desktop, and a netbook) currently so the upgrade process will take a while. Also, the netbook has a pulsbo/intel GMA500 chipset. There are lots of problems with this chipset: (http://www.happyassassin.net/2009/01/30/intel-gma-500-poulsbo-graphics-on-linux-a-precise-and-comprehensive-summary-as-to-why-youre-screwed/), anyone have experience using Mint on a computer with GMA500? Should I roll out the RC? Its not a business environment, so nothing mission critical. Question: qan I go from RC to RTM with just an apt-get update? I am really looking froward to not having to look at the “new release available” every time Update manager comes up on Ubuntu.

    TL;DR: Notes on switching from ubuntu to mint? Does GMA500 work on mint? Going from RC to RTM via apt-get?

  4. Thanx Clem, I have been waiting and will download the final release right away. I have been promotting Linux Mint and made some converts. Mint is simple the best.

  5. great job … is clem appreciates the effort and the development team. Today is the second happiest day of my year …

  6. Posting this from the Live CD right now. I did not think it was possible to improve upon Mint 7 (Aside from the freeze-bug) Mint 7 was absolutely flawless. Mint 8, however, is a stunning improvement. The modifications to the Software Manager are perfect. I expect to see Ubuntu copying it for their Software Center in Lucid. The only thing I’m not too sure about is the Wallpaper .. but I dont really care what the wallpaper is.

  7. After downloading Mint8RC1 and burning it to CD, I have been running a LiveCD session and I’m impressed yet again at what the small Mint team can achieve, and am making this post from it on my E4600 rig.
    Initial loading was very slow compared to a Mint-7 LiveCD and accompanied by some Debian error messages, but once loaded it’s slicker than Mint-7 which I ascribe to the new variant of GNOME. It’s also crisper visually than Mint-7, just using the basic graphics driver, with Totem video quality better than Mint-7, all helped by the pre-installed plugins, and unlike Karmic, an added Kaffeine already included plugins for superb FreeView operation, the new Channels search etc being a breeze.
    Like Karmic, ubuntu-restricted-extras fails to load MS TTFs, but loads LAME etc so that added Sound-Juicer (aka Audio CD Extractor) was modified for 32-320k VBR MP3 ripping, for playback in added Exaile. Added VLC Player 1.02 further enhanced video file playback.
    Over the weekend I must try a real installation, to see if the Mint team have done better than Ubuntu with EXT4 and GRUB2, but the LiveCD session has been great !

  8. About when should end-users like me come back here to look for the stable release? I’m sure the release schedule is somewhere on the website, but I can’t seem to find it. Thanks …

  9. Great job, Clem! I apologize if this is not the place to talk about it but could you please please expedite the release for 64 bit architectures? I think it is a commonly observable fact now that almost everyone having cpus bought over last two years are 64bit architectures. So please, do not leave us out in the cold!

    But at any rate, it is a job rated awesome!

  10. Tried out RC1 and I think I’m actually considering sticking with Ubuntu 9.10…Never thought I’d hear myself say that as I’ve been using Linux Mint for the past few years. This version of Mint is just too little too late. I’ll wait for the final version of Helena to make my final decision. New theme please! I can’t tolerate so much black and green…my eyes!

  11. I’ve been using Linux for a few years, and I’ve tried to push it with rather poor success – until Mint. *Ev*erybody responds positively to Mint. I don’t know how you do it, but it works.

    I even got my daughter running Mint – she was Windows all the way and a tough sell, lemme tell you.

    I’ve put Xubuntu 9.10 on a play machine, and ext4 seems quite good. As does the new GRUB. I’ll wait for the stable release of Helena though – with bated breath.

    Thanks folks. Looking forward to it!

    Jaime

  12. Running Mandriva 2010.0 right now. I just jumped on it yesterday so I feel like having a stable desktop for a few days or weeks, but when 8 final comes out I’ll switch to it. Debian+Gnome distros are my favorite. I’m out of my comfort zone with a RPM+KDE right now :S.

  13. Just that Shiki-Wise theme is ugly ubuntu 9.10 human is much better I was hoping that in this release they will make some Dust Green theme or something new. Shiki doesn’t look elegant it looks unfinished .

  14. Just took a quick glane but looks good. Like the new wallpaper. The light shining down on the logo is dramatic. Pls keep up the good work. Looks like I will be busy making copies of the LiveCD for giveaway. Getting more and more converts. Will be the only OS on my new PC.

  15. Have been exposed to Linux for about 3 years now, mainly openSUSE n Ubuntu favors. Both were a mixed experience of good and bad. As a new user initially, I gave the benefit of the doubts due to my lack of Linux experience… but with time a constants updates, those good and bad experiences crept in; just like post no.9 describe : something is always broken with each up grade. So i still had to depend on windows os for my main usage.

    I’ve just gave Mint (7) a good run and I like it. I hope to stick with it for the long haul. I look forward to the final version of Helena.

    thx Clem

  16. Everything works fine, but every event is preceded by a loud crackling sound through speakers/headphones. This also applies to Ubuntu 9.10. Previous versions didn’t have this problem.

    Laptop Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pi 2515 (Realtek HD Audio)

    I will be waiting for final release.

  17. I tried to connect to the Internet via DSL with Network Manager and say Wired disconnect

    In Terminal pppoeconf works, but Network Manager dont wont connect to the internet via DSL.

  18. just a quick question, what a rough estimate to final anyone know am not familiar with how long it takes from rc1 to final

  19. Here we go again… 🙂

    Linuxmint page is really minty these days. (hehe)

    …downloading…

    Thanks to all in the team.

  20. very nice, but i really like the new tray icons of ubuntu 9.10, in the gray-black colors like the mac style.

    why there is not an update of icons in the new Helena??
    maybe will be in the stable release??

    thnx!!

  21. Dont know how or why its possible, but running from the Mint 8 LiveCD is actually faster (and significantly so) than running any other system I’ve tested while installed to a SATA HDD. If only it was possible to save to the CD lol.

  22. Hmm… Mint make me to use linux completely it’s almost 4 months now, waiting for the stable release… I really can’t wait. Already download Ubuntu 9.10 but never installed cause I think I prefer mint flavor

  23. Linux Mint 8 RC-1

    Unfortunately, it carries too much of the legacy of infamous Ubuntu – in fact Mint should defect to something else as Ubuntu is going downhill. It is way too buggy – worse than any version of windows .
    Ubutnu 9.1 failed to show disk partition in my comp (like many others’) and thus install couldn’t go past step 4/7. Same thing with Mint 8, and it just looked a faithful son of corrupt father!! Now don’t say my hardware is defective – I am running XP, vista , win 7, and many other linux on it.
    Mint 8 installed all right in my laptop but every time I boot it says hard disk is failing. Well, I know what is failing!!!
    Mint team should work harder to resolve bad legacy from Ubuntu. Or they should base on straight Debian or other .. Ubuntu is a failed story.

  24. Downloading now Clem. I have Mint 7 on my home laptop as well as my main system…and both work great. I am looking forward to testing the RC and am anticipating a great experience with the final release.

    I have tried many different distributions but keep going back to Mint!

    Thanks again for all of the work that you do!

  25. @ Mint Affic
    Try to run Mint from USB, it’s much faster than cd, and you can save files.

    @ ravith
    I not agree. Ubuntu it’s a very good operating system, and mint it’s a bit better, sometimes because it’s released after with some bugfixes.
    Now, this is the RC1, not the stable, and if there is a bug like that the ubuntu developer will fix it soon, and so in mint.
    So, just wait.

    Nobody force you to use mint 8 rc1, or to not use mint 7.
    It’s FREE.

  26. I loved Mint since the very first moment… I can hardly wait for the stable release.

    Thank you for your hard work …

  27. Took the RC for a test drive in a VM at word. Looks quite solid! I was running Mint 7 on my netbook but was a touch sluggish (it’s a netbook. Even Windows is slow) so I’ve switched to Ubuntu NBR 9.10. When 8 comes out, I’m definately going to give it a shot on it. The only issue I have with Linux on the netbook is the windows. The screen real estate is very scarce. Other than that, keep up the great work. I’ve turned a lot of people onto Mint & they love it.

  28. “Great, i’ve been checking twice a day waiting for news about Helena. Thanx Clem and Mint Team.”

    Dito.

    Just in time. I really wrecked my current System in many ways. Time for a new start 😀

  29. The comments about the theme and default colors on the release candidate weaken my faith in humanity.

    If all you want from an OS are new wallpapers and a taskbar, I’m sure Windows 7 will be a refreshing change and you can get back to playing solitaire in style.

    Mint is in a league of its own and has, IMHO, been the best debian-based distro for the past 2 years running.

    Mint 7 is a hard act to follow, but good things will come to those who wait.

  30. @Giga:
    To me, changing to Fedora is going backwards from Ubuntu, but to each his own opinion… I’ve used both Fedora and Ubuntu, and I’ve found Ubuntu simpler to use compared to Fedora. (Fedora’s automatic downloading updates are a pain in the ass)

    The theme for Helena needs a slight touch up, black background on black menu bar is just too… black. 😛 And like mentioned before, the background image looks unfinished.
    Though, I won’t be able to try this until mid-March, by which the Final Release would have come out, I look forward to seeing how this goes.

  31. I can signal a bug?
    My audio card is not indetificate…
    Is a Intel Corporation 8280II (ICH9 family) HD Audio controller (rev 03).
    I before tested every codeline in the alsa-base.conf but I have failed.
    P.S. I am Italian…

  32. Been using Mint since Felicia, and I love it. It has replaced Windows on all 3 of my families computers and I have converted several other people. I’m posting this from the Helena RC LiveCD and I must say I like the changes to the Software Manager and the small changes through the release. Mint is as good as Linux gets in my opinion keeping company with PClinux OS, Mandriva, and a few others that seem to improve on their “big brother” distros. I patiently await the main release!

  33. First, congrats to the Mint team for producing another fine distro. I do have a few questions, though I am not sure if I should wait for the final.

    Question one: Ubuntu 9.10 finally gave netbook users (like me) a clean and easy to use interface with which to work. Will Mint provide something along the lines of a Linux Mint Netbook Remix?

    Question two: I am not sure if it is because I am using a live USB, but I notice that my HD is constantly spinning and feeling a little warm to the touch. I didn’t get this with UNR, is this an issue the final will address?

    In either event, the team has done an awesome job. I thought UNR 9.10 was the distro for my Asus, but with Helena hitting the scene and if those niggling issues can be addressed, then it may be time to hope on the LM train and ride it to Linux happiness.

  34. I must say: I don’t/can’t see any improvement from Mint 7, except Application Manager. New versions of about the same software, I guess(?)…

  35. Just a brief PostScript from installed 8RC1, in case it helps others.
    By first applying Updates in a Live session, Install then succeeded in completing installation, but ‘things wot worked’ in the LiveCD session are causing some other problems. For example, you need to add libxine1-ffmepg before the new Kaffeine will work quite superbly for FreeView.

  36. Extremely looking forward to Helena. Tried Karmic and just wasn’t excited at all compared to when I first installed Gloria. Karmic couldn’t seem more bland if it tried.

  37. A quick review of my experience with “Helena” RC1.
    I just tried a Live CD and it does take a little longer then Mint 7 to load. It looks very smooth and there is a feeling of silent elegance hiding a new power.
    I can hardly wait for the end result.
    I hope that Mint Crew knows how much we all appreciate their effort and how Mint is constantly making World a better place.
    Cheers!

  38. Are you supporting netbooks? I have a Dell Latitude 2100 and would like to kick Ubuntu out for Helena. I has a poor experience with Gloria on it with sound and the wireless not working. I hope these are solved in Helena.

  39. Hum, the new grub killed my current Mandriva 2010.0 boot. I had to install grub (v1) in Mint and restore my previous boot on Mandriva’s root partition…

  40. No problems at all with RC1 on my Toshiba laptop since installing last night. Everything is fast and I see most of the shared folders on my Mac without doing backflips. Connected to my wife’s winders printer easily. Stuff just works like its supposed to work.

    Great work!

  41. Mint is great, I definitely prefer it to Unbuntu. I don’t see the point in not including the proprietary codecs and plugins if you know almost everyone is will be using them anyway. But remember, Mint, like it says in the install, is ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’. Ubuntu did a great job in making a user-friendly distro for non-techs. Mint is making it even better and the with the new Ubuntu Software Center it shows itself to be learning from Mint as well. That’s the great thing about Linux, an amalgam of communities all working to make the best OS there is, each with it’s own flavor. So, please, stop beating down on other distros. There’s only one common ‘enemy’; the big bad queen bee. But the only way to help its serfs to escape the hive, which seem so safe to them, is showing them the richness of the pastures outside. The ‘green fields’ of Mint makes this big step much easier. I escaped!!

  42. Just did a clean install of Mint 8 RC1 and I’m absolutely blown away. This isn’t my first Mint experience, but it’s the first time I’ve ever felt compelled to drift away from Ubuntu. The install went flawlessly and a good many (if not all) of the pre-release bugs are for things I never use anyway.

    I read a couple of complaints about the wallpaper and at first I was completely going to change it as soon as the install was done, but I configured my cube settings first instead. With the cube transparency at about 50% both moving and not moving, the desktop is positively stunning in every way.

    Thanks for a great distro.

  43. Hello from Germany,

    the live CD works great on my HP dv6000 Laptop. Installed mint7. Hope you released soon.

    congratulate

  44. One bug needs attention though. I noticed it in Karmic, but reading this blog it seems to be in Helena as well. After installing Karmic on my brand new Dell inspiron laptop it told me the HD had 56 bad sectors! Scanning several forums it turned out to be a bug in Palimpsest (the HD scandisk deamon). I do hope this will be fixed in Helena main. Anyway, I WILL try this RC on my laptop, see what comes up.

    oh, I DO like the new background better. It was like looking through a beer bottle…;) I would like a bigger choice in themes though…

  45. I used to run Ubuntu beside my XP installation on my main computer. Then I came across Mint when I was looking for som lighter dist. for my old laptop. Now I use the Mint XFCE for laptop and Mint7 for both main and second computer. Much nicer layout than Ubuntu brownish….
    Keep up the good work! Soon going for 8

  46. Today is the happiest Friday 13th for me.
    Waited for Mint 8 patiently and checked website four times a day as everyone else did:-D
    Thanks a LOT Clem and team!

  47. I have discovered recently linux-mint and I have liked it very much, am ideal for novices as me. I have 7 installed linux-mint and waiting for the final version to update 8, I have proved the live-CD and it works well. Does it work with ext4 as ubuntu 9.10? Thank you very much and regards from spain.

  48. Great news i wonder when the kde 4.3 version will be released, i just can’t wait.

    Thank you to the Mint team and well done.

  49. Loaded the Live cd …slooow boot.
    Burned again the ISO at mininum speed ..no dice.
    tryed on my both computers ….very slow boot.
    Tryed on my laptop everything boot just fine…
    What i am missing here?

  50. Congrats Clem and crew for the hard work. You guys put out the best looking and easiest to use distro out there. I tried over 25 distros before I tried Mint v6 (now on 7 which ROCKS). I was sold. I stopped messing with the others and am a true fan. Look forward to giving v8 a spin.

    Keep up the great work everyone!!!

  51. For a “minted” fedora just intstall EasyLife project and you’ll ve done…

    I didn’t test the new release, but i just hope that the memory usage will get low. Since Arch uses, easily, the half of the memory to do the same things (emesene, firefox, gnome, OOo).

    Cheers

  52. As with the live CD, the dual screen didn’t work (and even froze my Dell 630m), I decided to install “8” in place of “7” (after reading the bug report !)
    On my fresh install, the dual screen works and glxgears shows a double speed as on “7” (on which I tuned Xorg to “correct” the Intel bug).
    The power of Linux is incredible! On “7”, I installed Firefox 3.5 in // with FF3.0 and during the installation, all my stuff from 3.5 has been transferred (and not the FF 3.0 data), good feature !
    As my “home” is on a dedicated partition, a fresh install is quick (but the first update is strangely important for an ISO release yesterday) and no bug found (wifi,sound, video . all is OK).
    I saw a faster boot time (from 60 to 45 sec, so 15 sec less).

    Note : My “old” Mint wallpaper is no more available, I will try to get it from my other PC on “7” before the migration. The new one is too dark and my Conky informations are not readable with it.

    Thanks to the team from the South of France.

  53. Mint 8 rc works!
    Firefox +java +flash +adblockplus kept crashing in ubuntu 9.10 but in mint 8 rc it just works? I can’t believe it. Everything responds very snappy…

    Only strange thing is, the “places menu” in the “menu” not nautilus looks only customizable. So removing network from places still leaves network in places of nautilus. If linux mint 8 can sync this with nautilus places than it will be great.

  54. I’m looking forward to this release. I started using Mint7 not long ago and am very satisfied.

    Those complaining about the wallpaper and the theme, I’m sure you realize that can be changed so who cares what the default is. Besides I think its far better than the brown garbage from Ubunut.

  55. Is the green theme from Mint 7 stil available?
    I really like that and I will only upgrade if I get to keep that theme 🙂

  56. It’s a mixed bag so far for me but leaning towards the positive. I couldn’t boot into the default live option but was able to get in by the compatibility mode. After install everything worked except the video. My computer is a Compaq EVO (old by today’s standards) with Intel video (64 MB video RAM), and I’m using a 19″ AOC 917Sw monitor. I have to use the 1024 x 768 resolution because my monitor wasn’t detected and the xorg.conf shows I’m using the vesa driver. I googled it and found the bug a kernel fault according to someone running Open SuSE 11.2. System response is fast once installed but the live CD was slower and paused at times.

    On the brighter side, my PC doesn’t beep at me when shutting down and internet seems to have a more stable response to it.

    All in all, it’s good enough to use while pining away for more bug fixes.

  57. Installed in VBox using the OEM installer tool. Looks sexy as hell! Slower to boot than Felecia, but much more polished. One thing I noticed is that during the install I opted to require a password to log in AND to open the Home folder, however once logged in I am never prompted for the password again when opening Home.

    I like the new Upload service configuration in the Control Center.

    I LOVE the new theme. I was half expecting to hear a new startup tone, but that’s minor.

    All in all it looks good. Next up I’ll install from the LiveCD in VBox, though to be honest I’m tempted to throw caution to the wind and just install it on my box!

  58. Awesome, acabo de instalar la RC y estoy feliz!! Realmente están haciendo un trabajo magnífico. Con todo y efectos las aplicaciones vuelan incluso más que con Xubuntu.

    I have installed LM8 and I’m happy! You’re doing a really good job. Aplications flight even more than in Xubuntu!

    Thanks very much for the effort! (and sorry my english)

    Muchísimas gracias por el esfuerzo.

  59. Bravo Clem and team!
    You did a great job. Helena RC1 installed on my test laptop.
    Very nice wallpaper too.
    A bientôt

  60. The best words I’ve read in these pages are the ones of marten. Remember? “There’s only one common ‘enemy’; the big bad queen bee”. I’m italian, and I think not to know the related story of the queen, but I do fully understand its message. Ubuntu is great, Mint may be greater, but all Linuxes are – deeply looking – the greatest. Best wishes to all you, and especially to Clem for the Christmas gift he prepared for us.

  61. Mint 8 RC1:
    Hardware Drivers
    Wifi Broadcom B43 – Error system
    Wifi Broadcom STA – Error system
    zyli
    PS.
    memetest is very old – ver. 1.70, last version is 4.00

  62. hey, can u please change the default theme to something else, n specially can u switch the icons n all too? gloria’s wallpaper was so much better!! this is a very painful wallpaper.
    otherwise, am waiting…

  63. I used to check site twice a day and waited, when will be “Helena” released, now, I am testing it a it is works fine. Thanks anyway. 🙂

  64. Good job Clem ! Mint will be my FAMILY “production” release

    I have to report, same as 117, proprietary wireless drivers not available for my little Dell inspiron 910. On Koala drivers can be found instead.

    Regards
    Marco

  65. Couple of things to perhaps tidy up on installation text. On step 4, default selection ends with “choosing between them startup” – needs to be “at startup”. Later in the text on the Out of the Box page, list ends “Google Earth, Opera” – reads better as “Google Earth and Opera”. System itself looks great and is operating well so far.

  66. Love Mint7. Went over from Vista which I was not too impressed with.My printer/scanner worked straight away with the printing. but not with the scanner. My Logitech webcam audio worked,but not video, so I have a basic version of XP for these. Hopefully Mint8 will address these problems so that I dont need Windows anymore.I look forward to the stable version appearing so that I can give it a try!

  67. Thanku, Thanku, Thanku…
    With Mint We Feel Like One Step Beyond… It’s like to own a Macintosh, it’s like driving a golf… 😉

  68. What a surprise to see the Mint RC so quickly after the 910 release! I have the same praise echoed throughout these posts. Each mint update improves the user experience, so we can only expect the best from Helena. The RC is running great in my VBox – will Mint8-64 edition be issued as the same time as the main edition?

    As for the theme, recent converts may not appreciate the history of Gnome icons. Perhaps someone with some talent for these things could help develop icons like those used by KDE 4.3 that look more polished so that the user can pick and choose at install.

    Either way, I am very grateful for your hard work and intend to spread the word as far as I can.

    Thank you!

  69. I bought a netbook so that I could specifically use it to run Mint 7. But I have had a problem with the scaling of the desktop. The wireless symbol disappears. But it runs all applications out of the box except the sound. It is a brilliant distro. I have tried distributing it to my friends with limited success. I am anxious to get my hands on Helena. You guys have done one hell of an excellent job.

  70. Add to earlier post – shutdown problem on Acer Aspire laptop 1680 Intel Pentium M175, ATI Mobility Radeon 9700/64MB. This laptop had “ACPID exiting” shutdown issue on Felicia – fine with Gloria – but now on shutdown is message: “Linux Mint 8 Helena – Main Edition cl-laptop tty1cl-laptop login_” No keys respond but eventually a new message appears:INFO: taskhalt: 2953 blocked for more than 120 seconds. [1440.736341] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
    RC is installed on laptop with Mint XFCE 7 & which shuts down fine. Hope this shutdown problem can be resolved.

  71. Hello
    Hope the new Mint 8 is better than Ubuntu 9.10, otherwise you’d have to go back to Windows.
    Greetings Tage Hansen

  72. I lived my life with XP from its beginning till Felicia, when the new crown of the desktop system was chosen. But later Gloria really took my breath. The Gloria theme is so fabulous, that other systems like vista or 7 look just ugly. At the begging I could not find a taste for Mint menu but again in Gloria the spell was put on me. And in maybe 2.5 months, because I will be waiting for 64-bit release, the throne will be overtaken by Helena. What is downgrading my enthusiasm is the fact that some time with tweaking, configuring and softs installations has to be spent again. New installation + upgrade is healthy but integration of a flawless live upgrade is necessary in a half a year distro cycles. Specially when you are listening everywhere like openSUSE very well managed the live upgrade. I am also having a wish that the sound system could provide more than 50% of volume capacity and that the upgraded gimp and bluefish will be more friendly.
    Thank you team Linux Mint for your time and talent spent on a great implementation of design and ideas by construction free gnu Linux Mint. Cheers! And do not overload yourselves these hectic days :))

    Everyday Linux Mint user and fan

  73. I like Kubuntu with air themes too. Hic, I will have to wait Mint KDE later. Still, I got Mint8RC now and it works really stable. Well done!

  74. Hello guys and girls,

    Thanks Clem and his team for a really wonderfull distro. People used to ask when the day will come on which people will eventually be able to use Linux instead of Windows, and that day has come with Linux Mint! For the first time, I’m able to do the same on Linux, so I said Windows bye-bye!

    Some comments on other thoughts: I see a lot of people complaining bout the stability and various issues they experienced on Ubuntu 9.10. Well, acutally, Mint IS Ubuntu, just polished, themed, and configured for everyday users’ everyday tasks. And that’s all. I don’t really think Clem and his team are going to be able to correct all those incompability issues, stability bugs and so on, because, well, it’s not just configureing a settings.conf or tweaking something somewhere. It’s a lot of programming and, really, no disrespect, Clem, Yuo did a wonderful job, but HEY, people, you are requesting something that is just not possible. That would, lots of resources and staff. And I don’t think it’s possible now. So if it doesn’t work on ubuntu, it won’t work on Mint as Mint IS ubuntu. Unless, of course, there is a possiblity of tweaking some configuration files.

    The strong side of Mint is artwork and tools, like mintMenu or mintInstall. And people are also happy to find menu button in the same place as in Windows, the same toolbars, notification area, and so on… In my view, Mint became so popular just because of it’s similarity to Windows. And that is done only by visual look and some really useful tools which let people use system from the start without much googleing for software.

    Anyway, it’s great, and I like it.

  75. hello! I’ve just installed Linux Mint 8 to the virtualbox under Windows XP and I discovered one problem: I cannot install mscorefonts.
    It says there is some error in the package.
    I’ve been using Linux Mint 7 (beside Windows) and there is no problem with it there.

    btw I want to thank programmers of Linux Mint 7 for the best distribution.

  76. can someone help me?
    i downloaded the iso and did the checksum, but when i burned it to a cd at 4X it wouldnt boot

    any suggestions

  77. Kind all time of day! Forgive ignorance of English language.
    Earlier at me stood Windows. It has tortured me of the not availability for service: that codecs are not present; that programs do not suffice; if there is a program in it functionality does not suffice; viruses everyone will spoil that. When has established all that is necessary to me, it has appeared, that from 40 Gb to memory HDD remains only 5. So to live it is impossible!
    And here I have learned that is Linux. Has tried Mandriva, Alt, Ubuntu, XP, ASP, Arch, Debian, something seems… Well and Mint. Has understood as to work in all. But Mint has seemed to me more clearly, is more accessible to independent training.
    Small on volume (~5 Gb), stable (costs since April 09), opens files of any format with ease, it is easy and predictedly adjusted interface, does not demand infinite search of programs for satisfaction of the needs. All is fine! It is very close to an ideal!
    There are also lacks: does not support the sanction of my monitor (Samsung 20 ‘) and does not see the scanner in МФУ Samsung SCX-4300. I hope to not meet these problems in Helena. Or ways of their decision.
    My greater gratitude to developers.

  78. I tried Ubuntu 910 – very disappointing, unstable and installing the codecs for the sound and videos was a real hassle.

    Writing this on my Acer laptop with LiveCD Helena. Recognised my wifi router, my Epson printer and SD flash drive with an icon on the desktop. I love the crisp fonts compared to Mint7.

    I like running Linux on a USB pendrive so I’ll await for the stable version before swapping Mint 7 for Mint 8 ( with a little help from pendrivelinux.com)

    Excellent work.

    Did I read it right – the recently launched UK Simplicity computer for old folks uses Linux Mint ?

  79. I think the theme should be the same one used in Felecia! This dark “Shiki Mint” theme looks horrible with Firefox, since it makes it harder to read colored text on a dark menu background. This is the same reason why I don’t like the “Sonar” theme used in openSUSE 11.2.

  80. Hi, I am a newbie user of Linux Mint Gloria, a techie friend installed it on my MSI CR400 laptop (bought it without OS bundled) – everything seems to be working fine, with the exception of the audio: when I plug in external speakers, the on-board (built-in) speakers are not disabled and the sound from the external speakers is garbled. Will the Helena version fix this?

    Thanks and keep up the good work!

  81. Hello, congratulations for your excellent work. I installed Helena’s RC1 and I find some “bugs”, I hope it helps you:

    -Some spanish translations are incomplete in main menu (lock screen=bloquear pantalla, control center=panel de control, package manager=gestor de paquetes, software manager=gestor de programas).

    -Some comments presented in the installer aren’t translated to spanish too.

    -The Software manager and its categories aren’t translated to spanish too.

    -The Software Manager don’t install games on my system. I tried to install Open Arena and Super Tux Kart.

    I hope it helps you to create the best linux available.

  82. Downloaded RC1. Burned to disc. Checking it out. Love it. I think it’s a credit to your hard work and passion for this distro when all certain people can complain about is the colors on the welcome page. The bottom line for me is that all my hardware works with no tweaking necessary. I’m sending this from the live CD. I am currently using Mint 7 “Gloria” and have nothing but praise for your efforts. Bravo to all on the team, and may the Ultimate Being bless your efforts.

  83. It works great live. After I installed to a hard drive and rebooted the screen goes black (this appears to be the same problem I have with Karmic Koala..ie…grub 2). I will wait for the final release and upgrade then.

  84. Wow!
    Just tried the live CD on an old PC
    WITHOUT with 500 MB Memory and NO HardDisk.
    No install…Everything works: Internet, Audio, Video, TV.
    Much faster than Puppy Linux that does the same.

    Congratulations!
    Thanks for making this up-to-date free OS

  85. Wow!
    Just tried the live CD on an old PC
    with 500 MB Memory and NO HardDisk (removed).
    No install … Everything works: Internet, Audio, Video, TV.
    Much faster than Puppy Linux that does the same.

    Congratulations!
    Thanks for making this up-to-date free OS

  86. im on Gloria, will switch to Helena, soon.

    one thing im wondering, is any one aware of a BFS patched kernel for mint?

  87. Keep up the amazing work. I just got a Macbook today and the first thing I did is remove MacOSX and install linux Mint 8 RC1. Just one question, do i have to do a clean install when the final version gets released or can I upgrade within. thanks

  88. @137: Read the News … There are known Issues and a link to the Bugthread where u can report Stuff like that.

    @134: Hm … Give me Adobe Products and a better Software / Gaming Compatibility and Windows will never see me again. Its all what i miss – okay the Mintlook can be a bit more modern but that are things that i can change myself realy easy.

    I’m curios what Mint 10 will bring us for Features and new things. But it’s on a good way!

  89. Congratulations to the Linux Mint team for an excellent RC1 of Helena! Apart from a slight glitch with hibernation mode (it doesn’t on my system), it’s a KICK-ASS version! I’m even more impressed that I can use it on my fairly-ancient AthlonXP-2600 with 512 MB of “snail”-RAM. Keep up the great work and look forward to the Final Release!

  90. Just installed Mint8RC1 on a Toshiba Satelite L75-S209 laptop beside Win XP. Repartitioned and installed with no problems..AND ATHEROS WIRELESS WORKS!!! out of the box.
    This laptop wouldn’t repartition with Mint 7 and haven’t seen wireless work on this one with any live CD until now. Been using Mint7 on a desktop for more than 18 months after numerous problems with WinXP (crashing, reinstalling & reauthenticating).
    My first date with Mint was Cassandra, after trying PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu.
    Also used Puppy for quick looad on other machines when just surfing the net or for a quick drive repartition & format.

  91. I’m running linuxmint8 from a sd-media right now. Works fine. Boots up faster than from hd with no hd-error messages (it’s an old 10GB-hd). And runs more stable and fast on this system (2,0 GHz Sempron with 512 MB DDR1). With Mint 7, there were some troubles with the sound (often cracking and stopping, it’s an old soundcard too). Now it’s better. All other hardware worked fine anyway. Synaptic crashed once and I had to reboot, don’t know why. I also would like to have the old theme available.

    So, good work. When the final is out, I’m going to spend you some $$$, but only if my x-fi card will work. (can’t test it now)

  92. Thanks Team Mint and Clem. The best distro for migrants, and people like me who want to concentrate on the job rather than worry about the philosophy but with respect. Except for bluetooth HW detection is much better than win7 (vNidia gfx, Dlink products etc). Thanks.

  93. I loved linux mint from the start…
    Thanks to the team.
    I am downloading rate now, and I want to try the rc1!
    I hope it is as good as mint 7…
    :})

  94. Actually – correction – the sound system is just a mystery. It was not SB0400 Audigy2 but internal sound card. Anyway the volume is ok, but to use multiply sound card system is still just a dream.

  95. A couple of remarks : I also dislike the default background of the desktop. Strangely enough I’m satisfied with it as a log-in background, but not the desktop.
    In the software manager, to the left of the list of apps are little squares like check boxes. Problem is, you can not check them! I worked out of course, that you need to click “install” but to me it seems strange and even redundant.
    Other than some weirdness with synaptic it’s a great release! Thank you!

  96. Congratulations Clem on RC1. Looks very good so far. Running off the CD and had several new desktops downloaded and tried to add a game and it wouldn’t show up in the menu so I tried to log off to see if it would show up and then couldn’t get back in as it kept asking for a user name and password rather than just going back to the desktop. Just thought you should know. Keep up the good work.

  97. well, got the live CD running & all looked okay to me (to say the least 🙂 so continued with install which appeared to go smoothly 🙂
    Alas, am now only able to get to some strange point during boot, after first splash screen & choice of op’ systems, to where i have a kinda text log in page that asks for log in name & password, yet the whole page blinks on ‘n off at about 2 or 3 blinks per second, and attempting to enter username or p/word is nigh on imposs’ ( as K/board don’t type during “off blinks” – so although i can type in my user name, (because it is visible & any typo’s can be erased or corrected, the password is impossible as there is no visible ref’ to what i have or haven’t typed in, leading to ( so far about 3 dozen or so, “60 second timeouts” ) still, it is the (my) distro of choice & i shall give it a few more attempts, before returning to gloria & waiting (im)patiently for the final edition
    BTW, nope not an afterthought, just wanted to say Thanks Clem, to yourself & everyone, on or off the team, who has had a hand in this fabulous operatin’ system ….

  98. I love Linux Mint – in my opinion the very best distibution! An not only in my opinion, see what distrowatch.com says:

    Rang Distribution H.P.D*
    1 Ubuntu 2177
    3 Mint 1355>
    4 openSUSE 1345>
    5 Mandriva 995>
    6 Debian 907=

    Thats great. Once Mint will be ahead of ubuntt 🙂

    Keep on linux us

  99. I have been using the Mint release candidate Helena for two days now.

    I have not seen any bugs.

    The thing I dislike about it is the artwork. Maybe the developers would be better off to just use the best artwork. Instead of the best artwork that is green.

    The things I like about it are: The new installer, I like the way it explains the distribution while you are installing it. I also like the way Mint Update only checks for updates once every 15 minutes, an improvement from previous versions.

  100. Thank you very much for Linux Mint, in my opinion the best Linux OS. I tried the Helena RC1 and it is great! Just one complain: it can’t recognise my internet key Onda MT505UP tht works very well on Gloria. In the Ubuntu’s forum they say it is a bug in the kernel. I hope the final release can resolve this issue.

  101. Linuxmint has been doing a great job working the Ubunto releases to provide a better final user experience. Shamelessly Ubunto 9.10 has droped support for out-of-the-box usage of the thousands of mobile broadband 3g out there. I hope the Helena team will be aware of this issue and will provide the required fix.

  102. fast, convenient, good looks, installation problem, can not see ntfs partitions, can not see the boot vista. after installation settings are not remembered keyboard layouts

  103. I’ve been in IT since 1976. I wish we had tools like this in the bad old days. Most of the junk we worked with is now in the museums.

    I’ve seen it all, but after seeing this release of Mint the only thing I have to say is…

    Sweet!

    dc

  104. loaded and ran the live “helena “version and it is terrific. I could find no issues at all with it in the short time I used it. It even found all my printers and loaded their drivers. much faster than mint 7 also.
    all I can say is WOW it’s f%^&%$ incredible!!
    cant wait to update to the final version

  105. I’m so impressed with mint and this has just impressed me even more. Running from live CD it discovered one of my ancient hard drives is just about to die, I had no idea before. Mint doesn’t JUST work it also works BRILLIANTLY!!! =D

  106. LinuxMint maybe very lucky as it will be used in a education centre. I will be installing linux on all our computer with winehq to install the ED software lot of testing will start when this is out of RC.

  107. what kind of mint are you guys smoking?
    “Mint is Ubuntu” with polished themes, Clem and his team are not going to fix incompatibility issues. With mint 7 and or Ubuntu 9.4 being that they are the same. I had no open gl a web-cam that didn’t work, printer issues and scanner troubles. These work now because I dumped mint and I’m running Ubuntu 9.10. It was Ubuntu not Mint that got around to fix them. I even found additional problems running mint. Some applications wouldn’t work, or work properly because they were made for an Ubuntu not mint. Also try getting help fixing problems at least with Ubuntu you have a fighting chance.

  108. downloaded, and burnt to usb with usb-creator.

    would not install. had errors partioning specifically root partition. i tried several different ways and no dice. seems very nice in virtual machine on my mac.

    keep up good work and i will to re-do this process and get it to work.

  109. @Joe: You are right. The simplicITy computer does run Linux Mint. Great news! 🙂

    @Abzoloot: I have to admit I’m not so fond of yet another dark wallpaper but you have a good point about the user’s choice. People didn’t choose Mint for it’s default theme but the overall experience with it. Anyway, changing a wallpaper is easy enough for the majority so we shouldn’t complain at all. It’s not like we would find a wallpaper that everyone would like/love. 😛

    @Gromada: It’s very natural not to see big changes. First of all, this is a release candidate and not everything is done but anyway, almost all Linux distributions mainly rely on software updates being released by the world-wide open source community. I’ll give you one example. I like using VLC but Mint 7 (Ubuntu 9.04) has an old version of it. What I wanted was 1.0.2 or newer. This RC has 1.0.2 which is excellent for me because I specifically needed it and I didn’t want to go through Ubuntu’s sites to manually download VLC and its dependencies. Other people need other specific software updates. Updates are important both because of security but also feature-wise. So having a lot of updates in Mint 8 is more than “good enough” for a new release. After all, it’s how software works, just like people Windows 7 a Vista SP3. 😛 Reading the comments above I noticed there are speed improvements in many “departments” in this RC so this is all for the better.

    @Marten: Your comment is nice but not entirely. I don’t know why so many people are so much against Microsoft. Who offers guarantees for a certain software product anyway? It’s perfectly normal that Windows is the top target of the malware creators because if its vast user base. Simply take in account Linux distributions that “throw” the user by default in a root environment after a default install. Those could be the first targets of these malware guys if Linux would become the most widely used operating system one day. Then many known software vulnerabilities would be exploited in various ways and what we call now the big bad bee would turn out to be a worthy alternative to the so much attacked Linux. Roles can easily be reversed. There are frequent security updates on OSS all over the world. It’s just the vulnerability impact is much lower than the one on Windows. Fans or not, we should simply respect the competition.

    @The Linux Mint Development Team: Thank you again for your work. You managed to publish the first RC quite fast after Ubuntu’s Karmic release. I’m sure all the feedback in here is pretty valuable to track and bug out certain issues in the upstream distro. Regarding this matter it might be interesting to draw some plans for a Debian CE sometime in the future. Ubuntu becomes more and more well known for bad decisions regarding their fixed and often release dates, which leaves the distro unpolished.

  110. I was waiting quite impatiently for Helena and installed RC1 on my laptop. The first reboot after installation was ok, things worked fine. However subsequently everything went haywire. Kept on popping error boxes in the following order –

    1. Could not create /home/user/.ICEAuthority
    2. Something related to gconf-sanity-check.
    3. Could not create /home/user/Desktop, /home/user/.nautilus.

    And it gave blank desktop with just the wallpaper, nothing else in the screen. Not sure if it’s related to Ubuntu, of which I’ve been reading some negative feedback or if it’s just Mint issue. Tried rebooting 3-4 times and hit upon the same error each time. Any one can suggest where i can open up a bug report.

    Hope things get fixed in the final release version, till such time will have to do with Fedora/Opensuse. I hate to go back to the rpm world after having quite a pleasant stay with Mint over the past few releases.

  111. Wow! Congratulations Clem and the team on rolling out Helena to RC1 in such a short time after the Ubuntu release. LinuxMint absolutely rocks!!

  112. I used Gloria for a couple of months. Loved it, but I had a problem with Firefox/Flash Freezing. Had to RSEIUB several times daily.

    I tried Ubuntu Karmic after its release: It would freeze requiring FSEIUB within minutes whether Firefox was running or not. I removed Compiz., still froze.

    I tried the Helena RC1 live cd. It froze as well within minutes. I have an older machine: Dell Optiplex gx260. I use the onboard Intel Graphic hardware. Is supportI suppose this is the end of the upgrade road for this computer. I run Debian Lenny, no problems. But I worry that Debian Squeeze will abandon old Intel Graphics as well.Intel 82845G

  113. Sorry but why talk shit about Ubuntu? Mint is based on Ubuntu and you can see it all the way that it is from Ubuntu. Ubuntu is getting better and better. Only have to fix the bugs of the older releases that are still in there. But i also think that Mint also have the bugs from the older versions of Ubuntu.

  114. Hi Team,

    Thankyou for the Wonderful release. Iam happy with the way RC1 has come out. Please change the xsplash theme and GDM.

  115. Love Linux Mint! It is great to see Mint 8 almost ready to go. I use 64 bit version, so I will wait to upgrade. However, I will look at 32 bit in a virtual environment. The changes that I have seen and read about look great. Nice work!

  116. I see mint(7) good to use especially multimedia (playing dvd, avi).
    unfortunately, the network does not work properly connected to dsl and switch(hub).Normally on dhcp but worked ok with ubuntu 9.04 . I see the firefox too heavily customized.

  117. @joe

    people bash microsoft for having a monopoly, forcing people to use their rubbish software, if linux had to compatibily of say 90% of al appz on a windows machine then microsft would vent users, as people would gladly move to linux.

    I think for me linux turned me into a winblows hater, linux is more fun has more to offer than winblows, you being a linux user I thought you would know this allready.

  118. Can there be some way to install to an encrypted root, like people do with the Alternate Ubuntu install disc? Linux Mint makes a great laptop operating system, but in these days, mobiles devices really should hanve full disk encryption. The guide on the forum is out-dated and will not work with Helena.

    As for “looks” there are a few things I think could be improved:

    -The boot splash is boring, which is a surprise to me, since Linux Mint always trumped Ubuntu in artwork. All I saw was a plain logo fading in and out. No fancy animation or elegant artwork. Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and Kubuntu have a beautiful artwork and animation during the boot-up process. Mint needs to show them how to do it even better!

    -The default wallpaper needs to amaze the user more, while at the same time not be too distractive or obstructive. The Gloria wallpaper did a fantastic job at this!

    -The XChat icon on the menu needs to be changed. The solid “Red X” looks like an error has occured with the mintMenu.

  119. I have been using Mint from the early days and must say that this latest version is stunning. Even at RC1 it runs almost faultlessly on my Del XPS M1710. Only interesting quirky things that I have noted have been with mounting and remounting a cd rom disk. Sometimes what shows on the disk is certainly not the disk contents.
    I have one question though with regards to the final release. If I run the updates as they appear will this eventually take me to the final release or am I better just downloading the final when it appears. The reason I ask is that everything seems to work fine now and I dont want to install updates with the risk of breaking anything.

  120. Supporting multitouch would be a great feature. As you may know the Touchsmart tx2 is a little stylish notebook with touchscreen integrated. But no linuxdistribution has updated their packets to provide easy support to use the touchscreen =/ its really hard to configure the screen manually. There is a demo with mutlitouch and compiz (fusion) which looked VERY impressive. Maybe somebody takes a look. I would really like to see easy configurable touchscreensupport in the next mint release 🙂

  121. Hi nice Linux but same bug like Ubuntu 9.10. Problem is with netbook MSI U123(U100 too) video with my problem http://maikcrew.eu/MOV00492.3GP . When I increase with button on keyboard backlight start me display blinking. But I using button on panel brightness applets it is good?

  122. LM8 Looks great. Its great to see Linux able to compete with Microsoft. I stop using Microsoft when vista came out and have been using Mint since.

    This is the 1st time I have loaded a RC and I would like to help but not sure how? I have noted an issue with the Menu, it will not allow sub categories to all applications.

    Thanks

  123. I needed to use my scanner. My Debian Lenny xsane would not recognize my old HP Officejet 7110 all-in one. “no devices available”

    Popped in the Helena RC, restarted, few of minutes and I was able to scan my docs, save the pngs on my flash drive. Then I rebooted debian to print.

    Thanks! Saved my butt. (take back my negative comments)

    For the heck of it. While I was running the live CD, I used synaptic to remove all compiz then I installed the Intel graphics drivers. I logged out and logged back in (username: mint no password)
    I checked synaptic, compiz mostly gone, and intel drivers installed. I was able to work about 30 minutes before I had to reboot debian and print my scans. I had no freezes. Everything worked.

  124. I like what I see of LM8 and I’m glad to see the improvements. This is the 1st time to work with a RC and have found an issue but not sure how to report it. So here we go… In the while installing form Software manager and package manager applications were not added to the menu. I then try to edit menu and again was not able to add to All applications menu.. If I need to post this information on somewhere else please let me know..

    Thanks

  125. Downloded RC!, tried to install clean into econd partition here formally had mint 7, (had formatted partition to ext3). Would not load from live cd. checked cd integrity – OK, tried again no go just froze on my acer 3500 with 778 of ram.
    Went back mint 7 loaded no troubles.
    So is 8 more memory hungry on install than 7, noticed this with ubuntu 910 too. Hopefully not, a lot of us like to use mint on older computers
    many thanks Jim

  126. Forgot to mention, once got to a blank desktop with frozen curser on black background.
    If it’s the RAM requirements for the live CD is there a boot option or a lighter desktop like enlightenment or ??
    I had a look at DreamLinux the other day, it too has some issues, mainly with DL install and wireless detection, but it is lighter on RAM as a live CD.

  127. Have been testing this for a few days now, installed it on an old 10gig usb enclosed hard drive, and I must say I am quite impressed. I haven’t had any problems on my Compaq Presario CQ60 yet, everything works as far as I can tell, Posting from it right now. Using Ubuntu 9.10 x64 on my laptop currently, but will definitely make the switch as soon as Mint 8 x64 is ready. Thank you team for a truly wonderful operating system. I have always liked Mint the best!!!

  128. I have been using Linux since Red Hat 4.0 days as it was my first Linux experience. Used almost every distribution. Linux have come a long way since then. Mint is a cool yet stable enough distribution for Desktop usage. Well done Mint!

  129. One thing I noticed that should be possibly tweaked is the new apt-add-repository from ubuntu uses the mint release name “helena” which could do with piping through sed s/helena/karmic/ so people can use the command to the expected effect.

  130. Pingback: Linux Mint
  131. Just my own thoughts, to consider or ignore:

    If you want to gain more users (you should, this is an excellent product that needs market share), you need to give the common user what they want. I can edit my fstab or recompile a sound server if my hardware is not supported correctly out of the box, but the average user might be turned off if they aren’t presented with something visually pleasing. Say what you want about MS releases like Vista and Win 7 (I sure do), but they look pretty, well, pretty right from the start.

    If linux and all of the numerous distros were just about stability and efficiency, we’d all be running slackware or something. But that isn’t the case, and linux on the desktop is a reality, if not one that everyone is aware of or impressed by. Clem, you and your team have done an amazing job providing those of us “in the know” with a marvelous OS the just does everything we want with incredible stability! However, people who are used to Windows, or even Mac OS, and don’t dig into the technical side of things, need to see something that LOOKS as good as it runs. So you need:

    Simple, but pleasing wallpaper – I loved Dayrn, but it’s old now

    A clean but attractive theme – the Shiki stuff is clean, but grey and too plain

    Eye candy – transparency and smoothness on par with the bigger, commercial offerings

    64-bit releases synchronized with main 32-bit releases – most people don’t really need one or the other, but 64-bit is quickly becoming a standard and a buzzword they look for and presume to indicate superiority

    This is a LOT to ask, and I certainly don’t need it all (I love Mint 7!), but at some point in the future, Mint will need these things to continue to gain users.

  132. …so little time, so much to say…Helena seems fine (I know it’s RC), but two issues which really stand out after a couple of days; Boot time is about 4 minutes!! Secondly, my mouse seems to have a new life! (I have an MX Revolution and have used ‘btnx’ but ditched it).Click to move a window and it collapses to the titlebar; try to move a file and it opens. VERY frustrating. This system is nothing spectacular; P43.2; 2gb RAM; nv6600GT on an ‘Intel’ MoBo with a 160gb hd. Sean, (218,above), along with most of us I assume, is right: but convincing 85% of the population who assume that a computer will only run on M$ is stretching things a bit. But, hey, we can bask in the knowledge that we know something that they don’t. It’s Thyme for Mint. (A Sage).

  133. Coach:

    Where a countdown timer would be nice, I can tell you why there isn’t going to be one. A countdown times implies that the project is going to have a firm end date. As an ex-programmer myself, I know the danger of telling people the project will defiantly be done at a certain point in time, because most of the time, you miss the date. (That’s probably why I’m an ex-programmer) In industry, you have to give a final end date, these people are working for themselves, and don’t have to suffer those constraints, it will be ready when they say it is.

  134. Why is Mint loosing steam on distrowatch. It used to be consistently ranked #3, now dropped to 4 after overtaken by OpenSuse. I know these don’t really mean anything, but it could also mean other distros are making rapid progress with releases or offering more w.r.t Mint. Maybe Mint need to be more aggressive w/o compromising the quality.

    Just a thought!!

  135. Dear linux Mint’s Team,
    Congratulation for your marvelous job you’ve done. I used mint 7 on my lenovo m300 and it doing great. I’ve tried ubuntu, fedora, pclinux and many others. I’m not saying that other distro is not good as Mint, but i found they not fit in my lenovo. I hardly waiting to try Helena on my lappie. May god bless you all with prosperity and creativity ever after.

    faro.r.
    -Indonesia-

  136. Thank you for this.

    I decided to participate to the RC1 discuss so you can improve it.

    Keyboard preference :
    Ireland, USA : OK
    France, Germany, Spain : TODO
    You know that at least these languages should be put in the list.
    It is another better reason to invite people to use Linux Mint!
    No?

    — @Murali
    Suse is a good distro.
    When LinuxMint, a little distro, is 4 i think that this is a good rank!

  137. I am still looking for the solution to this problem Mint inherited from Ubuntu.

    It does not show the disk partition at step 4/7 of installation. So you can’t go ahead.

    Many of my friends report the same.

    Ubuntu et al will soon lose the faith if this is ignored. I tried to report this to ubuntu forum but their forum is so restrictive and complex that I didn’t bother.

    Free beer starting to show its price?

  138. Awesome, Just tried it out on virtualbox with mint 7 as host. Suprisingly even better than 7 and in an RC release simply amazing. The only thing I saw was that the right-click menus and file browser did not have the themes matching yet but everything else works. I am really excited about this release although may have to wait until the end of the semester to upgrade being a college student and all.

  139. Hi, is there a relase date for Helena known? I seem to have difficulties to find the specifics about new releases on the web. I kind of like the Ubuntu approach, which gave a release date, and how many days to go. Am I missing something?

    Hakon

  140. My Linux experience has been a interesting one. I think I will check this rc out as well.

    Looking forward to learning more

    🙂

  141. “# ravith Says:
    November 21st, 2009 at 3:59 am

    I am still looking for the solution to this problem Mint inherited from Ubuntu.

    It does not show the disk partition at step 4/7 of installation. So you can’t go ahead.

    Many of my friends report the same.

    Ubuntu et al will soon lose the faith if this is ignored. I tried to report this to ubuntu forum but their forum is so restrictive and complex that I didn’t bother.

    Free beer starting to show its price?

    Add the line “pci=nomsi” after quiet splash — in your boot line (Minus the “‘s) It Should fix your partitioning issues. You’ll need to make sure that line is added to grub permanently after you install also.

  142. “# Murali Says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 5:13 am

    Why is Mint loosing steam on distrowatch. It used to be consistently ranked #3, now dropped to 4 after overtaken by OpenSuse. I know these don’t really mean anything, but it could also mean other distros are making rapid progress with releases or offering more w.r.t Mint. Maybe Mint need to be more aggressive w/o compromising the quality.

    Just a thought!!

    Because Fedora and OpenSUSE just released new releases recently. Distrowatches Top 100 simply show the most visited distros, not really the most popular. New Releases will always get the most visits.

  143. Thanks, Linux Mint development people! I’m new to Linux, certainly not competent with computers – but I still managed to have this distro up and running (with a somewhat complicated mobile modem attached) in less than 2 hours. It really does work straight ‘out of the box’! It’s elegant, very user-friendly – and I’m looking forward to working/playing with it over the next few weeks.

  144. In Linux Mint 8 “Helena” RC1 it is impossible to save X configuraton file after configuring NVIDIA. Used version of NVIDIA driver is 173.
    The problem is not available in Linux Mint 7 “Gloria”.

    Regards,

  145. Ravith-

    If so many of your friends are having the same problem, have any of them taken the time and effort to 1) check that their hardware is on the Hardware Compatibility List for that release and 2) report the bug to the Ubuntu forum?

    I have a hard time believing the forum is as ‘restrictive’ as you say, since I have been using Ubuntu forums for quite some time now myself.
    I have not found them restrictive at all.

  146. This is fantastic it has fixed up the burning software and now we can nstal of multiple packages at once. Great work keep it up.

  147. I agree with others that Ubuntu is very hard work and each release seems to be harder work than the last one in some respect or other. I actually found myself thinking of buying a Canonical support pack just to get answers to problems that I don’t get with Debian, Mint or Crunchbang. For Pete’s sake remember the old addage KISS….We all want to get away from having to use M$, but to make this a realistic possibility the alternatives have to be slick at doing the basics like integrating with Windoze clients, shares and all that. I have spent hours and hours struggling to get Ubuntu 910 desktop AND server to exist in the same workgroup/local domain as my Windoze devices….and its still not working. I can do it with Debian so why not every flavour. I’m looking forward to trying Mint8 and I too would appreciate a countdown timer. BUT MOSTLY I hope developers will give us more of the basic toolsets we need to get people moving off M$.

  148. Wonderful is all I can say!! Just when I thought Linux Mint 7 can’t be bettered, the Mint team proved me wrong again and have come up with an amazing product. I installed it on a 5 year old HP dv1000 laptop running on 512Mb ram with a 1st generation centrino and it works and recognises everything perfectly and MUCH better then Xubuntu 9.10, which I wiped away! The only question I have is that now I have installed my Mint 8, can I update it when the final version comes out, or do I have to do a clean install? Either way I am happy with RC and it works better than any final version I know!

  149. I have been playing with Linux for a bit, I believe Linux Mint would have to be the best distribution so far. Windows is just starting to become more of a problem for me than what its worth, so I am going to go Linux (Mint). Can not wait to see the results!

  150. I’m typing this using Helena right now. Yet another great distro so far, but I have a question for the developer(s). What happened to the Encrypt option in the right click context menu? There also use to be an option to open with ‘Decrypt File’. How can I restore this functionality? Anyone?

  151. I’ll be trying this out today. I donated for Linux Mint 7 and I will gladly do the same for 8. I’ve even made two converts from Windows. It is quite simply the most elegant OS I’ve used to date. Keep up the good work.

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