As mentioned in my last post, I was looking to install 64 bit Ubuntu so I could take advantage of ALL the RAM I had in the box (all 5 GB, for now). So I went ahead and installed the 64 bit version of Kubuntu (I prefer KDE).
The memory issue was SO much of a done deal that it's almost not even worth writing about. A simple installation, and all my RAM was used just fine. No fuss.
But I did have some other minor issues with the 64 bit OS. Adobe Flash would not install, but this was expected as it is a well known issue. A quick trip to the Ubuntu Forums and I came across a script that cleaned up my initial attempts and got Flash working properly.
The other issues I ran into were local configuration issues. A fresh install, so I needed to re-apply the changes I had made. This meant installing/testing OpenVPN, creating my VPN connection alias, and a couple other tasks. This was made a little easier due to installing onto a different drive than my original 32 bit installation. This allowed me to just mount the old drive and grab the files/configurations I had in place there. Overall, I'm very happy with the performance of the box with the 64 bit OS. It's snappy and my VMWare performance is much better when two (or more) virtual machines are running at the same time. And everything I need to work seems to be working.
But Murphy's Law prevails. Tonight I came home, turned on the box, and immediately ran into problems during the post. It looks as though the USB controller on the motherboard is damaged. So I have no mouse or keyboard. Sometimes I get past the boot screens and other times it freezes after the memory check regardless what combination of USB equipment is plugged in. At least the box can boot sometimes - I can connect with VMWare and get the development VMs running. (These provide a web server and Samba shares, so I can continue my work.) I guess I'm getting a new Motherboard tomorrow. Sighs...
I really wish Murphy would at least bring beer when he visits...