First Steps Into Linux

Change from line 64

berzon — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:21:05 +0000

if (count($tab_colors)>0){
if ($color_index && isset($tab_colors[($tab_index)%count($tab_colors)])) {
$id .= $tab_colors[($tab_index)%count($tab_colors)];
$tab_index++;
}
}

Detected Intel High Definition Audio (ICH7)

berzon — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:51:00 +0000

Detected Intel High Definition Audio (ICH7)
Detected Generic USB audio device (BETA)
Detected Generic USB audio device (BETA)
Detected Generic USB audio device (BETA)
Detected OSS Transparent Virtual Mixing Architecture
—————————–

Starting Open Sound System
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_hda_intel is in use
ERROR: Module snd_usb_audio is in use
ERROR: Module snd_pcm is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_timer is in use by snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_usb_lib is in use by snd_usb_audio
ERROR: Module snd_page_alloc is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
ERROR: Module snd_rawmidi is in use by snd_usb_lib
ERROR: Module snd_seq_device is in use by snd_rawmidi
ERROR: Module snd_hwdep is in use by snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio
Failed to disable conflicting sound drivers
Reboot and try running soundon again

Also check that you have not compiled sound support statically
into the kernel.

shake on linux

berzon — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:12:07 +0000

To install Shake we download three files (55MB) from the Nothing Real web site: the license manager (lmutil.Z, 184k), the application (shake-linux-v2.46.0116.tar.bz2, 28MB) and the tutorial (shake-tutorial-v2.46.0116.tar.gz, 26MB):

gunzip lmutil.Z
tar xvfj shake-linux-v2.46.0116.tar.bz2
tar tvfz z/shake-tutorial-v2.46.0116.tar.gz
tar xvfz z/shake-tutorial-v2.46.0116.tar.gz
./lmutil lmhostid

Just to double-check, we used the tell switch with tar to see what it would do before doing an extract.

The lmutil program echoes a 12-digit license-manager host ID. This host-locked ID code must be sent to Nothing Real in order to receive a two-week trial key code (key.dat). Copy the e-mailed key to the specified directory, start X and run Shake:

cp key.dat shake-v2.46.0116/keys/
startx
shake-v2.46.0116/bin/shake

Unless you already know Shake, two weeks isn’t much time to learn about this complex tool.

How to Install Video Drivers on Fedora 8

berzon — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:15:29 +0000

If you want an easy method to install the drivers for your Nvidia or ATI/AMD graphics card, then this guide is for you. The guide uses the Livna Nvidia and ATI/AMD drivers because they are especially designed for Fedora 8 systems and it will come with a small python script, which works as an extension to system-config-display, doing all the editing of the Xorg configuration file for you while installing/activating the driver.

The Livna repository must be installed on your Fedora 8 OS, so follow the instructions below to add the Livna repository into your system.

Open a terminal by right clicking on the desktop and choose the first option “Konsole…”. Type:

su -

you must type the root password now (the one you have set up when you’ve installed Fedora). Then, as root, type:

rpm -ivhU http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-8.rpm

Now the Livna repository is installed and you can continue with the driver installation part.

Enlarge picture

How to install Nvidia drivers

I presume you did not close the Konsole window; if you did close it, fire it up by right clicking on the desktop and choose the first option, “Konsole…”. Log in as root and type:

yum -y install kmod-nvidia glx-utils

The above command will install the video driver for newer Nvidia cards. If you have a very old Nvidia card, then you should type this command:

yum install kmod-nvidia-96xx

yum install kmod-nvidia-legacy

To verify if the installation was successfully completed, reboot your computer. You should see the Nvidia logo for a second or two before the log-in screen appears. Log back in and then open up Konsole and type:

glxinfo | grep direct

If the output of the above command is: direct rendering: Yes the Nvidia driver installation was successfully completed and you can now use OpenGL applications and desktop effects such as Compiz Fusion.

Useful Linux Commands

berzon — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:14:44 +0000

[Ctrl][Alt][BkSpc] – kill the current X server. Used when normal exit is not possible.
[Ctrl][Alt][Del] – shut down the system and reboot
[Ctrl]c – kill the current process
[Ctrl]d – logout from the current terminal
[Ctrl]s – stop transfer to current terminal
[Ctrl]q – resume transfer to current terminal. This should be tried if the terminal stops responding.
[Ctrl]z – send current process to the background
reset – restore a terminal to its default settings

Find out if package is installed in Linux

berzon — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Red Hat Enterprise / Fedora Linux / Suse Linux / Cent OS
Under Red Hat/Fedora Linux use rpm command:
$ rpm -qa | grep {package-name}
For example find out package mutt installed or not:
$ rpm -qa | grep mutt
Output:

mutt-1.4.1-10

If you don’t get any output ( package name along with version), it means package is not installed at all. You can display list all installed packages with the following command:
$ rpm -qa $ rpm -qa | less

removal of the package

berzon — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:03:54 +0000

rpm -e dogfood

RPM will tell you if the removal of the package will cause problems for other installed packages. If it will, you may see a message like this:

removing these packages would break dependencies:
dogfood is needed by fido-1.0-1

If you’re sure you know what you’re doing, you can add the –nodeps flag, and RPM will skip the dependency checks and uninstall the package anyway.

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berzon — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:00:39 +0000

Introduction

RedHat is not Linux, it is a distribution based on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel is a complex program which provides the underlying services to the rest of a Linux distribution. But it is easy to add new features or improvments to it as, unlike commercial operating systems like Windows 95 or MacOS, the source code is freely available. It is common practice with a Linux based operating system to recompile the kernel from source and much effort has been put in to make this a realitively user-friendly experience.

Why Compile a New Kernel?

You may be thinking “But why recompile it? It works fine as it is.” There are three reasons for a recompile. Firstly, you may have some hardware that is so new that there’s no kernel module for it in on your distribution CD. Secondly, you may have come across some kind of bug which is fixed in a revision of the operating system. Lastly, you may have some new software which requires a newer version of the operating system.

Getting the Kernel Sources

The most recent releases of the kernel sources are available on ftp.kernel.org. This site is mirrored worldwide so there is probably a fast copy of it somewhere near you. Locate the file for the latest version of the operating system and download it to /usr/src. Then issue the tar zxf command to unpack it.

Alternatively, if you already have the kernel sources and only need to upgrade one version number (from 2.2.1 to 2.2.2 for instance) then download the patch file to /usr/src and then use the command: gzip -dc patch-2.2.2.gz |patch -p0 to upgrade your old kernel sources. Patch files are much smaller to download than the whole thing.

If you do not need the very latest version, then installing a kernel source package from your distribution CD may be an easier way to proceed.

Configuring For a Build

Change directory to /usr/src/Linux and issue the command:make menuconfig

This will build a few programs and then quickly pop up a window. The window menu lets you alter many aspects of kernel configuration.

After you have made any necessary changes, save the configuration and follow these instructions–do a

make dep; make clean

The first of these commands builds the tree of interdependencies in the kernel sources. These dependencies may have been affected by the options you have choosen in the configure step. The make clean purges any now-unwanted files left from previous builds of the kernel.

Then you are ready to go! Issue this command:

make zImage

and then, if you are on a machine slower than a Pentium 200, go and make a cup of tea. This takes about 20 minutes on a Pentium 90…the kernel has a lot of source code as you may have noticed when downloading it. When this is complete do a:

make modules

This will not take as long.

Installing a New Kernel

Phew, finally! The last step is installing the new kernel. On an Intel-based system the kernel is installed to the right place in /boot with the command cp /usr/Linux/src/arch/i386/boot/zImage /boot/newkernel

then

make modules_install

This will install the modules in /lib/modules. Next, edit /etc/lilo.conf to add a section like this

image = /boot/newkernel

label = new

read-only

At the next reboot, select the kernel ‘new’ in lilo, and it will load the new kernel. If it works fine, move it to the first position in the lilo.conf so it will boot every time by default.

Summary

Compiling the kernel is a relatively simple operation- if you have done it before! At first it can seem daunting. There are many Web sites dedicated to the kernel; at the left are just a few.

Setting user preveliges

berzon — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:12:11 +0000

echo 'loginname ALL=(ALL) ALL' >> /etc/sudoers

Where 'loginname' is your user account.
Use 'ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' if you don't want to be prompted a password.
If you are prompted for a password with 'sudo' it is the user password, not root.

root password reset

berzon — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:46:31 +0000

this looks like a solution