Bizarre - 3.2 installed as straight Ubuntu-SOLVED

[drewstew]

Installing 3.2 64 bit from live CD - all the Ultimate Edition modifications are on the live cd, but it installed as straight Ubuntu 11.10, with no Ultimate Edition tweaks. Not a good install either, getting problems others reported - mouse moves but won't click. Tried a reinstall and computer hung. Now on third attempt. Anyone else had this problem and solved it please?

[TBABill]

Just wondering if there is any chance you had Ubuntu 11.10 on the hard drive prior to installing Ultimate Edition?

[drewstew]

No, was upgrading from UE2.9. I reinstalled and now seem to have a hybrid - Conky says I'm running Ultimate Edition 3.2, but to all intents and purposes it's Ubuntu 11.10 - Ubuntu login sounds, and Ubuntu desktop, and a plain panel, without the buttons on the Live CD. Tried to pick up the 3.2 wallpaper and Ultimate Edition sounds from the live CD, but can't find them anywhere. Frustrating day all in all.

ADDED: Left in Suspend mode overnight, as I always did with 2.9. Screen would not redraw on waking up - looked like migraine sufferer's nightmare. Machine is an Acer box, with an AMD64X2 4200+ CPU and 6gb RAM; GEForce7500LE graphics card running the Nvidia proprietary driver 173.
2.9 ran like a swiss watch on this box. Will continue looking for solutions, but not a good user experience so far I'm afraid.

[kiwinsn]

That may be the issue...you CAN'T upgrade from one Ultimate Edition version to another.

You need to backup your home folder an do a fresh install every time.

Upgrading will break the Ultimate Edition install.

Cheers

[drewstew]

No, I used "upgrade" in the widest sense. It was a clean install - 3 times - using the "some other..." option. Root partition re-formatted every time.

[Moebius]

No, I used "upgrade" in the widest sense. It was a clean install - 3 times - using the "some other..." option.

Hi drewstew.
"Bizarre" - I agree. Have not heard of this type of issue before.
I don't have a reason or solution for you ATM.
I am assuming that you have done the basics (md5sum check, slow burn etc etc..)
If you go for a bit of a wander through the applications list - can you see any applications there which don't come with Ubuntu? (like conky)
You may well have UE3.2 installed but the 'eye candy' parts could be at issue.?
Did you choose to encrypt home folder during installation?
If you explore in /usr/share/backgrounds on the HDD, can you see the wallpapers? If so, can you check the permissions on them please.
Also, try installing a different version of the Nvidia driver, log out and back in. Your Drivers may not have 'taken' correctly and without them, the Distro can throw you into Unity 2D even if you choose the normal Unity environment. 2D may very well look like standard 11.10.

Cheers.

[drewstew]

Thanks Moebius for the suggestions - I've changed to the Nvidia (recommended) driver and the re-drawing issue has improved (now resumes from Suspend in a mess, but sorts itself in moments). Running the default Gnome desktop
Home folder left untouched on each installation - unencrypted
I can access the usr/share/backgrounds folder, and all the Ubuntu backgrounds are there - not the Ultimate Edition 3.2 though. Permissions are "root". Checked that out against my other computer running Ultimate Edition 3.0.1, which is the same - presumably ok?
I think you're right, that I am running 3.2. Got Conky, Ultimate Player, RadioTray for example.
I'm wondering if the problem might stem from the fact that I enabled the "get updates while installing" rather than installing just what was on the disc? Damn it - I'm going to try another reinstall, this time without updating, then I'll report back.
ADDED: In the end, I baulked at a reinstall without the updates, so haven't reinstalled - they seemed an essential part of the install which would have taken me a lot of time to put back through Synaptic. I'm still not happy with the "look" of my desktop, but I'm getting a usable system at least.
ADDED: Still a couple of things I don't like, but tweaking my way to a perfect(for me) desktop. Thanks to TheeMahn for additional tweaking tips, especially on the Panel. Now marked as solved.

[TBABill]

I know this was marked solved recently, just can't help but wonder if those strange occurrences are because the /home folder from Ubuntu was not formatted and installed fresh as Ultimate Edition 3.2? Normally I will use a /home without formatting for the same distro, but even with distros based on Ubuntu it can cause breakages when saving /home and installing another one (such as Mint).

[pch.shot]

It's best to do a clean install.

[drewstew]

I know this was marked solved recently, just can't help but wonder if those strange occurrences are because the /home folder from Ubuntu was not formatted and installed fresh as Ultimate Edition 3.2? Normally I will use a /home without formatting for the same distro, but even with distros based on Ubuntu it can cause breakages when saving /home and installing another one (such as Mint).

You could well be correct, though not something I'll be trying now I've got it whipped into shape! I must say though, I like the convenience of having all (well most) of my program settings intact by not formatting the /home drive when laying down the new OS. I back it up anyway, but what worries me is my back-up is 5-6gb shy of what the system tells me is used, so seems to me I may keep my data files but lose lots of other stuff?

ADDED: I think you're spot on the money TBABill. Just did a completely clean install on another box and got a perfect result! Good tip for others to follow.