Ubuntu and Kubuntu Linux Tips

How to easily create compressed backups of directories

Use Flexbackup

You can install flexbackup by running:

sudo apt-get install flexbackup

Easily set up a thin client with Ubuntu

Adapted from ThinClients - University of Kent Computing Society. (In the directions below, replace 192.168.1.1 with the ip address of your X terminal server.

1. Do a "server" installation of Ubuntu.
2. Run the following:
   1. sudo apt-get update
   2. sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
   3. sudo apt-get install x-window-system-core
3. Try running:

   X -query 192.168.1.1

4. If you didn't get the right video mode then run:

   sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

5. Add a line like this to the end of /etc/inittab (I used "once" instead of "respawn" so that I could kill X and shut down the pc.):

   X:2:once:/usr/bin/X11/X -query 192.168.1.1

6. Run the following commands to add a new user named "off" with password "off" that will be allowed to run "sudo shutdown -h now".

   sudo useradd off -m -g admin 
   sudo passwd off

7. Create a /usr/local/bin/off file with the following line in it:

   sudo shutdown -h now

   Make it executable

   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/off

8. Now you can shut down your thin client by doing the following

   1. Log out of your X session.
   2. Press Ctrl+Alt+BackSpace (Kill X session).
   3. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2 (Switch to second virtual terminal).
   4. Type "off" and hit Enter 4 times

Force lower screen resolution to be used

1. Reconfigure X server:

   sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

2. Hit "Enter" until you get to the screen resolution section.
3. Uncheck the resolutions that you don't want to use by selecting them and hitting "Spacebar".
4. Answer the rest of the questions.
5. Restart your computer.

Get higher xorg resolutions with old video cards

While setting up another thin client on an old computer, I was unable to get 1024x768 resolution until I configured xorg with a color depth of 16 bit instead of 32 bit. So if you're having problems getting a high resolution try lowering the color depth setting.

To lower the default color depth setting:

1. Run this command:

   sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

2. Answer the questions and then when you get to default color depth, try choosing "16" instead of "32".
3. Restart your computer (or just the X server)

Convert TIFF files to PDF files

1. Install libtiff-tools:

   sudo apt-get install libtiff-tools

2. Convert the TIFF image to a PDF document:

   tiff2pdf tiff_input_file.tif -z -o pdf_output_file.pdf

How to install the make command

Kubuntu does not come with compilers installed by default, but that can be easily fixed.

To install gcc, g++, and make run this command:

sudo apt-get install build-essential

How to install Opera

From: Introducing the Dapper-Commercial Repository

1. Add the following line to /etc/apt/sources.list:

   deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu dapper-commercial main

2. Update your package list:

   sudo apt-get update

3. Install Opera:

   sudo apt-get install opera

How I got suspend to disk working

I tried for a long time to get suspend to ram working, but I couldn't get my PC to wake up properly.

Here's how I got suspend to disk working (adapted from Experimental Dapper and suspend2 packages):

Note: I don't use the nvidia driver anymore. Instead I use the open source "nv" one because suspending to disk didn't work right for me with the binary Nvidia driver. So if you have a nvidia card make sure you are using the open source "nv" driver.

1. Add this line to your /etc/apt/sources.list:

   deb http://dagobah.ucc.asn.au/ubuntu-suspend2 dapper/

2. Run:

   sudo apt-get update

3. Run:

   sudo apt-get install suspend2

4. Find the name of your swap partition:

   grep swap /etc/fstab

   Should output something like this:

   /dev/sda5       none            swap    sw              0       0

   That would mean that /dev/sda5 is the name of your swap partition, remember this

5. Open /boot/grub/menu.lst and find a line like this:

   # kopt=root=/dev/sda3 ro
   

6. Add something like " resume2=swap:/dev/sda5" to the end of it so it looks something like this (replace /dev/sda5 with the name of your swap partition):

   # kopt=root=/dev/sda3 ro resume2=swap:/dev/sda5
   

7. Run:

   sudo update-grub

8. Reboot your PC into the new kernel

9. To suspend to disk run:

   sudo hibernate

10. Then next time you turn on your PC, everything you had open should be restored on boot up.

Enable mounted CDs to be ejected when eject button is pushed

NOTE: I DON'T DO THIS ANYMORE AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND YOU DO IT! It makes tons of errors be spewed into /var/log/messsages

1. Open /etc/sysctl.conf and add the following line:

   dev.cdrom.lock=0

2. Reboot your computer.

Install and set up Nvidia binary driver

Follow the BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia page in the Ubuntu wiki.

Note: I don't use the nvidia driver anymore. Instead I use the open source "nv" one because suspending to disk didn't work right for me with the binary Nvidia driver.

Disable second sound card so that flash will work

Add a line like the following to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

blacklist snd_ens1371

Get Samsung SCX-4100 printer and scanner working

Last updated: March 1, 2008, I can't seem to get my scanner working on Gutsy :/

1. First, you need to install some required libs and programs:

   sudo apt-get install libstdc++2.10-glibc2.2 libsane-dev sane sane-utils

2. Download the Linux driver from the SCX-4100 Downloads page

3. Open a terminal and change to the directory where you downloaded the driver (example: /home/install/samsung-scx-4100-printer):

   cd /home/install/samsung-scx-4100-printer

4. Extract the driver (the driver could be named something different if it has been updated):

   tar -xzf 20070725084555687_UnifiedLinuxDriver.tar.gz

5. Start the driver installation script:

   sudo ./cdroot/Linux/install.sh

6. Press "4" because you want to install the "[4] SCX 4100 Series" driver
7. Press "1" since you want to "[1] Install driver package".

8. You should already have CUPS installed so Press "2":

   [2] I am sure I have necessary software installed. Continue installation

9. You'll get a whole spew of stuff printed on the screen along with some errors that you can probably just ignore.

10. Open /etc/cups/printers.conf Under "DefaultPrinter scx4100" change the "DeviceURI" so it looks like this:

    DeviceURI file:/dev/usblp0

11. Restart cups:

    sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart

12. If printer gets stuck in a stopped state do the following (on KDE, I assume Gnome has something similar)
    1. Click on "K Menu -> System Settings"
    2. Click on "Printers"
    3. The "scx4100" printer should already be selected, if not click on it.
    4. Click on the "Printer" button near the top.
    5. From the drop-down click on "Start/Stop Printer -> Start Printer"
13. Printing should now work.
{literal}

14. Add the following 2 lines near end of /etc/udev/rules.d/45-libsane.rules (use sudo with your favourite text editor)

    # Samsung|SCX-4100
    SYSFS{idVendor}=="04e8", SYSFS{idProduct}=="3413", MODE="664", GROUP="scanner"
    

    Be sure to put it before LABEL="libsane_rules_end"

    All this does is make sure that the permissions for the device file is correct and setting its group to scanner. The device is identified by the vendor id and product id. So all users in group scanner will now have access to the scanning functions.

15. Add the following 2 lines to the end of /etc/udev/rules.d/60-symlinks.rules (use sudo with your favourite text editor)

    # Create symlink for usb printer to /dev/usb/lp*
    BUS=="usb", KERNEL=="lp[0-9]*",         SYMLINK+="usb/%k"
    

    A usb printer is assigned the device file /dev/usblp0 (or whichever number at the end). See /etc/udev/rules.d/20-names.rules which is where it is assigned. These lines make sure that the devices are also symlinked to /dev/usb/lp0.

    These rules will be read and executed on startup so no other startup scripts are necessary.

16. You don't have to restart just execute:

    sudo /etc/init.d/udev restart

    This will restart udev.

17. Scanning using OpenOffice.org (Insert -> Picture -> Scan -> Request), and the GIMP (File -> Aquire -> xscanimage -> Device dialog...) should now work.

Get Samsung SCX-4521F printer and scanner working

The Samsung SCX-4521F is a Laser Multifunction Printer, Copier, Fax, and Color Scanner. On the Samgung SCX-4521F Specifications page it says that is is compatible with the "Linux OS (via USB interface only) including Red Hat 8.0-9.0; Fedora Core 1 to 3, Mandrake 9.0 to 10.2, and SuSE8.2 to 9.2". I have successfully gotten the SCX-4521F working with Kubuntu Linux Dapper Drake. This how to has been reported to work in Mepis 6 beta 5. This how to has also been reported to work with the SCX-4100.

I found the tips on Samsung SCX-4100 Linux Installation page useful when trying to get the SCX-4521 working. To get the SCX-4521 printer and scanner working in Kubuntu (or Ubuntu) Linux:

1. First, you need to install some required libs and programs:

   sudo apt-get install libstdc++2.10-glibc2.2
   sudo apt-get install libsane-dev sane sane-utils
   

2. Download the updated driver from the SCX-4521F Linux driver download page.

3. Open a terminal and change to the directory where you downloaded the driver (example: /home/install/samsung_printer):

   cd /home/install/samsung_printer

4. Extract the driver (the driver could be named something different if it has been updated):

   tar -xzf 20051130084513156_DriversPack-1.0.165.tar.gz

5. Start the driver installation script:

   sudo ./cdroot/Linux/install.sh

6. Press "6" because you want to install the "[6] SCX 4x21 Series" driver
7. Press "1" since you want to "[1] Install driver package".

8. You should already have CUPS installed so Press "2":

   [2] I am sure I have necessary software installed. Continue installation

9. You'll get a whole spew of stuff printed on the screen along with some errors that you can probably just ignore.

10. Open /etc/cups/printers.conf Under "DefaultPrinter scx4x21" change the "DeviceURI" so it looks like this:

    DeviceURI file:/dev/usblp0

11. Restart cups:

    sudo /etc/init.d/cupsys restart

12. Printing should now work.

13. Add 2 lines like this to the end of /etc/udev/rules.d/45-libsane.rules before the LABEL="libsane_rules_end" line (based on output of sane-find-scanner) so that people in the "scanner" group and not only root can use the scanner. (You'll have to reboot after doing this.):

    {literal}

    # Samsung|SCX-4521F
    SYSFS{idVendor}=="04e8", SYSFS{idProduct}=="3419", MODE="664", GROUP="scanner"
    

    {/literal}

14. Restart udev:

    sudo /etc/init.d/udev restart

15. Create a symlink that is required to for Xsane to be able to see the scanner:

    sudo mkdir /dev/usb 
    sudo ln -sfn /dev/usblp0  /dev/usb/lp0
    

16. Now to keep from having to type the above commands after every reboot, do the following (thanks to Olivier Vogel for this info!):
    1. Create the file /etc/init.d/samsung.sh with the content:

       #!/bin/bash
       mkdir -p /dev/usb
       ln -sfn /dev/usblp0  /dev/usb/lp0
       

    2. Make it executable with the command:

       sudo chmod 775 /etc/init.d/samsung.sh
       

    3. Make it be run on every boot:

       sudo update-rc.d samsung.sh defaults

17. Scanning using "xsane", OpenOffice.org (Insert -> Picture -> Scan -> Request), and the GIMP (File -> Aquire -> xscanimage -> Device dialog...) should now work.

Fix xsane crashing on Kubuntu

By default Kubuntu makes GTK applications use KDE styles. This sometimes causes problems, and in this case it causes xsane to crash.

1. First install the "'ubuntulooks' theme for GTK+ 2.x ":

   sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-ubuntulooks

2. Open: K Menu -> System Settings"
3. Click on "Appearance" in the top left corner.
4. Click on "GTK styles and fonts"
5. Under "GTK Styles" select "Use another style:" and choose "Human" from the drop-down list.
6. Click the "Apply" button.
7. There, you should no longer get a "Segmentation fault" when you start xsane. (Side note: I think if you log out and back in the colors used in GTK programs will no longer be orange, but will use your Kubuntu blue.)

Get Minolta Magicolor 2300 DL printer working

To get the Minolta Magicolor 2300 DL printer working you just need to follow the instructions on the foo2zjs driver page. You need to install the "build-essential" package to use the "make" command to build the driver. Install it by running this command:

Use the Human ubuntulooks theme for GTK apps

1. Install the Human ubuntulooks theme:

   sudo apt-get install gtk2-engines-ubuntulooks 

2. Download the i386.rpm of gtk-chtheme

3. Install the program to convert RPM packages to Debian packages:

   sudo apt-get install alien

4. Convert it to a deb:

   sudo alien gtk-chtheme-0.3.1-1.i386.rpm

5. Install the generated deb:

   sudo dpkg -i gtk-chtheme_0.3.1-2_i386.deb

6. Run gtk-chtheme:

   gtk-chtheme

7. Click on "Human"
8. Click the "Apply"" button.
9. Log out and back into KDE

Add CPU, Memory and Swap monitoring applet to the KDE panel

1. Install the extra applets for the KDE Panel:

   sudo apt-get install kicker-applets

2. Right click on a part of the KDE panel and from the menu choose "Add Applet to Panel..."
3. In the search box type "monitor"
4. Click on "System Monitor - A simple system monitor"
5. Click the "Add to Panel" button.
6. Now grab the applet by it's handle and drag it to where you want it placed.

Use KDE File Dialogs in Gtk Apps

Check out this link: KGtk (Use KDE Dialogs in Gtk Apps).

How to install Kuickshow on Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06

For some reason Kuickshow was not included in Ubuntu 6.06. You can install it from Debian, but it's a little tricky.

Here's how:

1. First {anchor anchor='more-software' text='enable the universe repository'}.

2. Next, install imlib11:

   sudo apt-get install imlib11
   

3. Go to the Debian Kuickshow package page and under the "Download" heading click on your architecture, in my case it's i386.
4. Now choose a mirror. The http.us.debian.org/debian one should work fine.
5. Save the "kuickshow_3.5.3-1_i386.deb" file somewhere and go to that directory in your console. (I downloaded it to /home/install/kuickshow.):

   cd /home/install/kuickshow
   

6. Extract the deb file into the current directory:

   dpkg-deb --extract kuickshow_3.5.3-1_i386.deb ./

7. You'll now see that a "usr" directory has been created:

   elijahlofgren@ubuntu:/home/install/kuickshow$ ls
   kuickshow_3.5.3-1_i386.deb  usr
   

8. Now to install Kuickshow you just need to copy that folder to the root of your filesystem:

   sudo cp -Rv usr / 

9. Kuickshow should now be install, you may have to log in and back out for it to show up in the KDE menu.

Increase Brightness with Gwenview

Increasing brightness in Gwenview can be done with either "View -> Colors -> Increase Brightness" or with "Control + B".

To decrease brightness click "View -> Colors -> Decrease Brightness" or press "Control + Shift + B"

Thanks to Lubos Lunak for informing me that Gwenview had this feature in a comment on the KDE Commit-Digest for 25th June 2006.

How to install Gnome on Kubuntu

You can either install just Gnome by running this:

sudo apt-get install gnome

Or you can install everything you would have gotten by installing Ubuntu from the CD by running this:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop

Now you can login to Gnome by choosing "Gnome" as the "Session Type" in KDM

Make list of users to login as be shown in KDM

1. First, you need to disable the Kubuntu KDM theme:

   1. Open /etc/kde3/kdm/kdmrc and find:

      UseTheme=true

   2. change it to:

      UseTheme=false

2. Now you need to enable the userlist:

   1. Open "K Menu -> System Settings"
   2. Click on "Login Manager"
   3. Click the "Administrator Mode..." button.
   4. Enter your password and click the "OK" button.
   5. Click on the "Users" tab.
   6. On the left under the "Users" section make sure that the "Show list" checkbox is checked.
   7. Click the "Apply" button.
   8. Now you can Log Out and you should see the users list in the KDE Login Manager (KDM)

Remove KDE Dragon from Logout menu

Run this command:

sudo rm /usr/share/apps/ksmserver/pics/shutdownkonq.png

Easily install VMWare Player.

See the InstallingVmPlayer page in the Ubuntu wiki.

Share Windows files with VMware

Here's what I have set in /etc/samba/smb.conf to share my Windows files with VMware:

# Security mode. Defines in which mode Samba will operate. Possible
# values are share, user, server, domain and ads. Most people will want
# user level security. See the Samba-HOWTO-Collection for details.
   security = share

[Windows]
path = /mnt/windows
comment = Windows Files
available = yes
browseable = yes
public = yes
writable = yes

Enable passwordless logins with GDM

References: Re: Can GDM allow passwordless logins for specified users, in Ubuntu? and Re: passwordless login.

1. Open /etc/pam.d/gdm and before this line:

   @include common-auth

   add these three lines:

   # start enable passworldless logins
   auth sufficient pam_listfile.so item=user sense=allow file=/etc/X11/gdm/nopassusers.txt onerr=fail
   # end enable passwordless logins
   

2. Now create the file /etc/X11/gdm/nopassusers.txt and add the usernames of the users that you want to have passwordless logins, one per line.

Use xscreensaver instead of gnome-screensaver.

Found in the Howto replace Gnome-screensaver with Xscreensaver thread in the Ubuntu forums.

1. Install xscreensaver if you haven't

   sudo apt-get install xscreensaver

2. Make it so that gnome-screensaver cannot be run:

   chmod -x /usr/bin/gnome-screensaver

3. Choose your screensaver using Xscreensaver and say yes if it asks if you want to start the xscreensaver daemon (gnome-screensaver disables the xscreensaver daemon.)

   xscreensaver-demo

There, finally a way to fullscreen preview and configure screensavers ;)

Disable Gnome Volume Manager Gthumb

I have lost videos that were on my digital camera because the Gnome Volume Manager Gthumb popped up and asked if I would like to Import the Photos from device. The problem is that Gthumb does not show movie files that are on the digital camera. I find it's much better to use Nautilus instead of Gthumb to copy photos off my digital camera.

Here's how to use have Nautilus pop up instead of Gthumb when you connect a camera to your computer:

1. Open: "System -> Preferences -> Removable Drives and Media".
2. Click on the "Cameras" tab.
3. Uncheck the "Import digital photographs when connected" checkbox.

Install an easy to use Firewall

Install firestarter:

sudo apt-get install firestarter

Install a great image viewer for Gnome

I was looking for a simple image viewer allowing me to scroll through images quickly (similar to Kuickshow). My searched ended when I found GQview and changed the zoom quality to lowest and found out how to hide the file list.

Install GQview:

sudo apt-get install gqview

Make GTK and QT apps look the same using Klearlook and Clearlooks

You can use the Klearlooks theme for QT and Clearlooks theme for GTK to make GTK and GT apps looks similar without resorting to gtk2-engines-qt.

You can install Klearlooks on Ubuntu or Kubuntu by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install kde-style-klearlook

You can download the Klearlook style source from the Klearlook KDE-Look.org page. A Debian Package (.deb) can be downloaded from the Ubuntu -- kde-style-klearlook page.

Enable playback of mp3s in XMMS

1. Enable access to more software packages

2. Run this command:

   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3

Enable playback of MPEG, ASF, and WMV movie files

1. Install "w32codecs" (adapted from the Ubuntu PLF wiki page:

2. Add the following lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:

   # For Java and w32codecs
   deb http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf/ breezy free non-free
   deb-src http://packages.freecontrib.org/ubuntu/plf/ breezy free non-free
   

3. Update package list:

   sudo apt-get update

4. Install "w32codecs"

   sudo apt-get install w32codecs

5. Install more codecs:

   sudo apt-get install ffmpeg 
   sudo apt-get install streamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-gl
   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-base 
   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-good gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.8-faac
   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.8-faad gstreamer0.8-flac gstreamer0.8-lame
   sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.8-mad gstreamer0.8-vorbis

Easily install the Macromedia Flash Plugin for Firefox

1. First, enable the Ubuntu Multiverse
2. Run the following command:

   sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
   

3. Restart Firefox and flash should now be working. Note: Websites requiring Flash 8 will not work because there is not a version 8 of Macromedia Flash for Linux yet.

4. To get the plugin working in Konqueror do the following

   1. Click "Settings -> Configure Konqueror"
   2. On the left click on "Plugins"
   3. Under the "Netscape Plugins" heading click the "Scan for New Plugins" button.
   4. Click "OK", Flash should now work in Konqueror.

If you have problems downloading see What's up with macromedia Flash Player thread in the Ubuntu forums.

Get playback of MIDI files embedded in webpages working

1. Install timidity:

   sudo apt-get install timidity

2. Install mozplugger:

   sudo apt-get install mozplugger

Get Shockwave in Firefox working

Get PDFs to open in a separate window in Acrobat Reader (acroread) in Firefox with mozplugger installed

1. Install mozplugger:

   sudo apt-get install mozplugger

2. Install acroread:

   apt-get install acroread

3. Mozplugger needs to be fixed to work with acroread.

   Open /etc/mozpluggerrc and replace:

   repeat swallow(documentShell) fill: acroread -geometry +9000+9000 +useFrontEndProgram "$file"

   with:

   repeat swallow(documentShell) fill: acroread "$file"

Get embedded WAV files working in Firefox

Easily install Java plugin for Firefox

1. Enable the Universe

2. Update package list:

   sudo apt-get update

3. Install the Java Plug-in which enables applets written to the Java Platform 5.0 specification to be run in Mozilla and other web browsers.

   sudo apt-get install sun-java5-plugin

4. Restart any open Firefoxes you have running.

There you are. You should now have the Java plugin installed.

Use MPlayer for video files that don't play right

I have some WMV and ASF video files that don't seem to play right in any media player except MPlayer. So if you run into a video file that won't play correctly try opening it in MPlayer.

Easily Install Realplayer

See the Re: Installing Real Player 10 Gold The Right Way post in the Ubuntu Forums.

Make screensaver auto-starting work in KDE 3.5.3

Follow the instructions on the KDE 3.5.3 broken screensaver fix page.

Work around Bug #35779: kdm starts usplash when switching users.

1. Edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and change the following line from:

   # defoptions=quiet splash

2. to:

   # defoptions=quiet

3. Save the file and the run the following command:

   sudo update-grub

Fix "Conversation with su failed" error

Follow instructions in the Conversation with su failed? topic in the Ubuntu forums.

If that does not work then try running the program on the command line. For example:

sudo synaptic

Get Smooth DVD playback

Enable DMA by adding something like this to the bottom of/etc/hdparm.conf and then rebooting (Change /dev/hdc to the name of the device of your DVD drive):

/dev/hdc {          dma = on         interrupt_unmask = on         io32_support = 0  } 

Enable access to more software packages

Modified: 2006-08-15 21:43:52

Ubuntu does not have all packages available by default. You must enable the universe to be able to install certain software.

To enable the universe:

1. Open /etc/apt/sources.list:

   sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

2. Add the following lines to the end of the file:

   deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper universe
   deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper universe
   
   deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe
   deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security universe
   
   deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper multiverse
   deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper multiverse

3. Now close save the file and close nano by doing the following: hit "Ctrl+X" and then "y" and then "Enter"

4. Run:

   sudo apt-get update

You should now be able to install such software as "gnome-art" and many others.

Warning: Only add these lines if you are sure you have not enabled the universe and multiverse already. Having duplicate repository lists can cause problems! For example, Automatix automatically generates a sources.list that enables the universe and multiverse. If you have used Automatix, do not add the lines above.

Easily share an Internet connection with another Linux box on your LAN

Modified: 2006-08-15 21:32:30

On the host machine (the one connected to the Internet)

1. Install the Firestarted Firewall:

   sudo apt-get install firestarter

2. Open Firestarter and in the menu go to "Edit -> Preferences"
3. Under "Firewall" click on "Network Settings"
4. Under "Internet connected network device" choose the device that is connected to the Internet (in my case "eth0").
5. Under "Local network connected device" choose the device that is connected to your LAN (in my case "eth1")
6. Check the "Enable Internet connection sharing" box.
7. Click the "Accept" button.
8. Now, to stop Firestarter if it is running, click the "Stop Firewall" button
9. Click the "Start Firewall" button.

On the client machine

gateway 192.168.1.7

Find which files come in which packages

Modified: 2006-08-15 21:31:27

I needed to find out the packages that provided "sane-config". I found out that using "apt-file" allows you to search and find in which package a file is included.

To search packages file contents with apt-file:

1. Install apt-file:

   sudo apt-get install apt-file

2. Resynchronize the lists of the contents of packages from their sources:

   sudo apt-file update

3. Find which packages contains a certain file. (Example: "sane-config"):

   apt-file search sane-config

   The above command produces this output:

   elijahlofgren@ubuntu:~$ apt-file search sane-config
   libsane-dev: usr/bin/sane-config
   libsane-dev: usr/share/man/man1/sane-config.1.gz

   That means that the "sane-config" command (or file) comes in the "libsane-dev" package.

Easily log into your Linux box using FreeNX

Modified: 2006-08-15 21:33:05

FreeNX allows you to graphically login to your Linux box and run programs with near native speed.

1. Follow the Installing FreeNX server on Kubuntu Dapper Drake Flight 6 post in the Ubuntu Forums. It should work on any version of Ubuntu Dapper Drake.
2. Download the NX Client for Linux and install it on your client box.

Fix "You will not be able to change your system settings in any way (install, remove or upgrade software), because another process is using the packaging system database (probably some other Adept application or apt-get or aptitude)"

Modified: 2006-10-21 11:45:28

Open up Konsole and type in this command:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

From: Adept Updater stalls, says database locked...

Disable Firestarter logging to /var/log/messages

Modified: 2007-07-03 09:28:28

I was gettting a lot of messages like this in my /var/log/messages file:

Jul  3 09:13:47 localhost kernel: [17336617.480000] Inbound IN=eth1 OUT= MAC= SRC=192.168.1.7 DST=192.168.1.255 LEN=170 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=631 DPT=631 LEN=150

I was able to stop those by opening /etc/firestarter/configuration and changing this line:

LOG_LEVEL=info

to this:

LOG_LEVEL=none

Easily login to your Ubuntu box from Windows with NoMachine NX

Modified: 2007-02-16 20:24:42

Note: These instructions were compiled with the help of jkbrowne from the Ubuntu Forums

1. Install the ssh server:

    sudo apt-get install openssh-server

2. Follow the Re: NXserver post in the Ubuntu Forums. It is a very good idea to read all the posted comments in the thread before you begin.
3. A quote from an email I received from Jack:

   "After that, I suggest folks edit /usr/NX/etc/server.cfg and uncomment and change these parameters:

   ENABLE_AUTOKILL_SESSIONS = "1"
   ENABLE_UNENCRYPTED_SESSION = "0"
   

   (also make the second change in /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg - this forces sessions to be encrypted. The first change in server.cfg only forces suspended sessions to be killed, starting with the oldest, if you reach your maximum session limit - it can prevent you from being locked out of your machine by improperly terminated sessions that the system thinks should still be held open)

4. Download the NX Client for Windows and install it on your Windows Machine.

There, now you can set it so you are logged into your Ubuntu Linux desktop by double-clicking an icon on your Windows desktop.

Allow all users to write to Windows 98 partition

Modified: 2006-09-16 19:37:43

Add a line like this to /etc/fstab:

/dev/hdb1  /media/hdb1     vfat    users,rw,umask=000      0  0

Edgy OpenOffice Font fix

Modified: 2006-10-29 13:33:49

GET A COOL 3D Desktop with transparency and wobbly WINDOWS!!!

Modified: 2007-01-25 17:37:12

Follow: Install Beryl on Ubuntu Edgy with AIGLX.

Reinstall Grub to MBR

Modified: 2007-01-27 13:00:10

Basically just run grub from the liveCD and then tell it to install. See Rescue Mode Kubuntu 6.10, Alternate CD.

How I got second monitor working

Modified: 2007-02-08 17:57:15

From various places including HOWTO Dual Monitors I got an old CRT monitor working at 800x600 on Linux by specifying this in my xorg.conf:

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "NVIDIA Corporation NV40 [GeForce 6200?]"
    Driver         "nvidia"
Option "TwinView" "True"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "LeftOf"
# Option "UseEdidFreqs" "True"
#Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "60"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "60"
 Option "MetaModes" "1440x900,800x600"
# Option "MetaModes" "640x480,640x480"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP" #replace 'string' with either 'DFP' (Digital fla
t panel connected via DVI port), 'CRT' (any monitor that is connected via VGA po
rts), or 'TV'
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP, DFP" #replace 'string' and 'strin-1' with either
 'DFP' (Digital Flat Panel connected via DVI port), 'CRT' (any monitor that is c
onnected via VGA ports), or 'TV'
Option  "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps"
EndSection

Improve WMWare speed when running Ubuntu with Windows XP Host

Modified: 2008-03-25 14:39:08