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Linux is NOT Windows!

2008-08-23T12:14:00.002-07:00

n the following article, I refer to the GNU/Linux OS and various Free & Open-Source Software (FOSS) projects under the catch-all name of "Linux". It scans better.

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(Linux is Not Windows)

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If you've been pointed at this page, then the chances are you're a relatively new Linux user who's having some problems making the switch from Windows to Linux. This causes many problems for many people, hence this article was written. Many individual issues arise from this single problem, so the page is broken down into multiple problem areas.

Problem #1: Linux isn't exactly the same as Windows.

You'd be amazed how many people make this complaint. They come to Linux, expecting to find essentially a free, open-source version of Windows. Quite often, this is what they've been told to expect by over-zealous Linux users. However, it's a paradoxical hope.

The specific reasons why people try Linux vary wildly, but the overall reason boils down to one thing: They hope Linux will be better than Windows. Common yardsticks for measuring success are cost, choice, performance, and security. There are many others. But every Windows user who tries Linux, does so because they hope it will be better than what they've got.

Therein lies the problem.

It is logically impossible for any thing to be better than any other thing whilst remaining completely identical to it. A perfect copy may be equal, but it can never surpass. So when you gave Linux a try in hopes that it would be better, you were inescapably hoping that it would be different. Too many people ignore this fact, and hold up every difference between the two OSes as a Linux failure.

As a simple example, consider driver upgrades: one typically upgrades a hardware driver on Windows by going to the manufacturer's website and downloading the new driver; whereas in Linux you upgrade the kernel.

This means that a single Linux download & upgrade will give you the newest drivers available for your machine, whereas in Windows you would have to surf to multiple sites and download all the upgrades individually. It's a very different process, but it's certainly not a bad one. But many people complain because it's not what they're used to.

Or, as an example you're more likely to relate to, consider Firefox: One of the biggest open-source success stories. A web browser that took the world by storm. Did it achieve this success by being a perfect imitation of IE, the then-most-popular browser?

No. It was successful because it was better than IE, and it was better because it was different. It had tabbed browsing, live bookmarks, built-in searchbar, PNG support, adblock extensions, and other wonderful things. The "Find" functionality appeared in a toolbar at the bottom and looked for matches as you typed, turning red when you had no match. IE had no tabs, no RSS functionality, searchbars only via third-party extensions, and a find dialogue that required a click on "OK" to start looking and a click on "OK" to clear the "Not found" error message. A clear and inarguable demonstration of an open-source application achieving success by being better, and being better by being different. Had FF been an IE clone, it would have vanished into obscurity. And had Linux been a Windows clone, the same would have happened.

So the solution to problem #1: Remember that where Linux is familiar and the same as what you're used to, it isn't new & improved. Welcome the places where things are different, because only here does it have a chance to shine.

Problem #2: Linux is too different from Windows

The next issue arises when people do expect Linux to be different, but find that some differences are just too radical for their liking. Probably the biggest example of this is the sheer amount of choice available to Linux users. Whereas an out-of-the-box-Windows user has the Classic or XP desktop with Wordpad, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express installed, an out-of-the-box-Linux user has hundreds of distros to choose from, then Gnome or KDE or Fluxbox or whatever, with vi or emacs or kate, Konqueror or Opera or Firefox or Mozilla, and so on and so forth.

A Windows user isn't used to making so many choices just to get up & running. Exasperated "Does there have to be so much choice?" posts are very common.

Does Linux really have to be so different from Windows? After all, they're both operating systems. They both do the same job: Power your computer & give you something to run applications on. Surely they should be more or less identical?

Look at it this way: Step outside and take a look at all the different vehicles driving along the road. These are all vehicles designed with more or less the same purpose: To get you from A to B via the roads. Note the variety in designs.

But, you may be thinking, car differences are really quite minor: they all have a steering wheel, foot-pedal controls, a gear stick, a handbrake, windows & doors, a petrol tank. . . If you can drive one car, you can drive any car!

Quite true. But did you not see that some people weren't driving cars, but were riding motorbikes instead. . ?

Switching from one version of Windows to another is like switching from one car to another. Win95 to Win98, I honestly couldn't tell the difference. Win98 to WinXP, it was a bigger change but really nothing major.

But switching from Windows to Linux is like switching from a car to a motorbike. They may both be OSes/road vehicles. They may both use the same hardware/roads. They may both provide an environment for you to run applications/transport you from A to B. But they use fundamentally different approaches to do so.

Windows/cars are not safe from viruses/theft unless you install an antivirus/lock the doors. Linux/motorbikes don't have viruses/doors, so are perfectly safe without you having to install an antivirus/lock any doors.

Or look at it the other way round:

Linux/cars were designed from the ground up for multiple users/passengers. Windows/motorbikes were designed for one user/passenger. Every Windows user/motorbike driver is used to being in full control of his computer/vehicle at all times. A Linux user/car passenger is used to only being in control of his computer/vehicle when logged in as root/sitting in the driver's seat.

Two different approaches to fulfilling the same goal. They differ in fundamental ways. They have different strengths and weaknesses: A car is the clear winner at transporting a family & a lot of cargo from A to B: More seats & more storage space. A motorbike is the clear winner at getting one person from A to B: Less affected by congestion and uses less fuel.

There are many things that don't change when you switch between cars and motorbikes: You still have to put petrol in the tank, you still have to drive on the same roads, you still have to obey the traffic lights and Stop signs, you still have to indicate before turning, you still have to obey the same speed limits.

But there are also many things that do change: Car drivers don't have to wear crash helmets, motorbike drivers don't have to put on a seatbelt. Car drivers have to turn the steering wheel to get around a corner, motorbike drivers have to lean over. Car drivers accelerate by pushing a foot-pedal, motorbike drivers accelerate by twisting a hand control.

A motorbike driver who tries to corner a car by leaning over is going to run into problems very quickly. And Windows users who try to use their existing skills and habits generally also find themselves having many issues. In fact, Windows "Power Users" frequently have more problems with Linux than people with little or no computer experience, for this very reason. Typically, the most vehement "Linux is not ready for the desktop yet" arguments come from ingrained Windows users who reason that if they couldn't make the switch, a less-experienced user has no chance. But this is the exact opposite of the truth.

So, to avoid problem #2: Don't assume that being a knowledgeable Windows user means you're a knowledgeable Linux user: When you first start with Linux, you are a novice.

Problem #3: Culture shock

Subproblem #3a: There is a culture

Windows users are more or less in a customer-supplier relationship: They pay for software, for warranties, for support, and so on. They expect software to have a certain level of usability. They are therefore used to having rights with their software: They have paid for technical support and have every right to demand that they receive it. They are also used to dealing with entities rather than people: Their contracts are with a company, not with a person.

Linux users are in more of a community. They don't have to buy the software, they don't have to pay for technical support. They download software for free & use Instant Messaging and web-based forums to get help. They deal with people, not corporations.

A Windows user will not endear himself by bringing his habitual attitudes over to Linux, to put it mildly.

The biggest cause of friction tends to be in the online interactions: A "3a" user new to Linux asks for help with a problem he's having. When he doesn't get that help at what he considers an acceptable rate, he starts complaining and demanding more help. Because that's what he's used to doing with paid-for tech support. The problem is that this isn't paid-for support. This is a bunch of volunteers who are willing to help people with problems out of the goodness of their hearts. The new user has no right to demand anything from them, any more than somebody collecting for charity can demand larger donations from contributors.

In much the same way, a Windows user is used to using commercial software. Companies don't release software until it's reliable, functional, and user-friendly enough. So this is what a Windows user tends to expect from software: It starts at version 1.0. Linux software, however, tends to get released almost as soon as it's written: It starts at version 0.1. This way, people who really need the functionality can get it ASAP; interested developers can get involved in helping improve the code; and the community as a whole stays aware of what's going on.

If a "3a" user runs into trouble with Linux, he'll complain: The software hasn't met his standards, and he thinks he has a right to expect that standard. His mood won't be improved when he gets sarcastic replies like "I'd demand a refund if I were you"

So, to avoid problem #3a: Simply remember that you haven't paid the developer who wrote the software or the people online who provide the tech support. They don't owe you anything.

Subproblem #3b: New vs. Old

Linux pretty much started out life as a hacker's hobby. It grew as it attracted more hobbyist hackers. It was quite some time before anybody but a geek stood a chance of getting a useable Linux installation working easily. Linux started out "By geeks, for geeks." And even today, the majority of established Linux users are self-confessed geeks.

And that's a pretty good thing: If you've got a problem with hardware or software, having a large number of geeks available to work on the solution is a definite plus.

But Linux has grown up quite a bit since its early days. There are distros that almost anybody can install, even distros that live on CDs and detect all your hardware for you without any intervention. It's become attractive to non-hobbyist users who are just interested in it because it's virus-free and cheap to upgrade. It's not uncommon for there to be friction between the two camps. It's important to bear in mind, however, that there's no real malice on either side: It's lack of understanding that causes the problems.

Firstly, you get the hard-core geeks who still assume that everybody using Linux is a fellow geek. This means they expect a high level of knowledge, and often leads to accusations of arrogance, elitism, and rudeness. And in truth, sometimes that's what it is. But quite often, it's not: It's elitist to say "Everybody ought to know this". It's not elitist to say "Everybody knows this" - quite the opposite.

Secondly, you get the new users who're trying to make the switch after a lifetime of using commercial OSes. These users are used to software that anybody can sit down & use, out-of-the-box.

The issues arise because group 1 is made up of people who enjoy being able to tear their OS apart and rebuild it the way they like it, while group 2 tends to be indifferent to the way the OS works, so long as it does work.

A parallel situation that can emphasize the problems is Lego. Picture the following:

New: I wanted a new toy car, and everybody's raving about how great Lego cars can be. So I bought some Lego, but when I got home, I just had a load of bricks and cogs and stuff in the box. Where's my car??

Old: You have to build the car out of the bricks. That's the whole point of Lego.

New: What?? I don't know how to build a car. I'm not a mechanic. How am I supposed to know how to put it all together??

Old: There's a leaflet that came in the box. It tells you exactly how to put the bricks together to get a toy car. You don't need to know how, you just need to follow the instructions.

New: Okay, I found the instructions. It's going to take me hours! Why can't they just sell it as a toy car, instead of making you have to build it??

Old: Because not everybody wants to make a toy car with Lego. It can be made into anything we like. That's the whole point.

New: I still don't see why they can't supply it as a car so people who want a car have got one, and other people can take it apart if they want to. Anyway, I finally got it put together, but some bits come off occasionally. What do I do about this? Can I glue it?

Old: It's Lego. It's designed to come apart. That's the whole point.

New: But I don't want it to come apart. I just want a toy car!

Old: Then why on Earth did you buy a box of Lego??

It's clear to just about anybody that Lego is not really aimed at people who just want a toy car. You don't get conversations like the above in real life. The whole point of Lego is that you have fun building it and you can make anything you like with it. If you've no interest in building anything, Lego's not for you. This is quite obvious.

As far as the long-time Linux user is concerned, the same holds true for Linux: It's an open-source, fully-customizeable set of software. That's the whole point. If you don't want to hack the components a bit, why bother to use it?

But there's been a lot of effort lately to make Linux more suitable for the non-hackers, a situation that's not a million miles away from selling pre-assembled Lego kits, in order to make it appeal to a wider audience. Hence you get conversations that aren't far away from the ones above: Newcomers complain about the existence of what the established users consider to be fundamental features, and resent having the read a manual to get something working. But complaining that there are too many distros; or that software has too many configuration options; or that it doesn't work perfectly out-of-the-box; is like complaining that Lego can be made into too many models, and not liking the fact that it can be broken down into bricks and built into many other things.

So, to avoid problem #3b: Just remember that what Linux seems to be now is not what Linux was in the past. The largest and most necessary part of the Linux community, the hackers and the developers, like Linux because they can fit it together the way they like; they don't like it in spite of having to do all the assembly before they can use it.

Problem #4: Designed for the designer

In the car industry, you'll very rarely find that the person who designed the engine also designed the car interior: It calls for totally different skills. Nobody wants an engine that only looks like it can go fast, and nobody wants an interior that works superbly but is cramped and ugly. And in the same way, in the software industry, the user interface (UI) is not usually created by the people who wrote the software.

In the Linux world, however, this is not so much the case: Projects frequently start out as one man's toy. He does everything himself, and therefore the interface has no need of any kind of "user friendly" features: The user knows everything there is to know about the software, he doesn't need help. Vi is a good example of software deliberately created for a user who already knows how it works: It's not unheard of for new users to reboot their computers because they couldn't figure out how else to get out of vi.

However, there is an important difference between a FOSS programmer and most commercial software writers: The software a FOSS programmer creates is software that he intends to use. So whilst the end result might not be as 'comfortable' for the novice user, they can draw some comfort in knowing that the software is designed by somebody who knows what the end-users needs are: He too is an end-user. This is very different from commercial software writers, who are making software for other people to use: They are not knowledgeable end-users.

So whilst vi has an interface that is hideously unfriendly to new users, it is still in use today because it is such a superb interface once you know how it works. Firefox was created by people who regularly browse the Web. The Gimp was built by people who use it to manipulate graphics files. And so on.

So Linux interfaces are frequently a bit of a minefield for the novice: Despite its popularity, vi should never be considered by a new user who just wants to quickly make a few changes to a file. And if you're using software early in its lifecycle, a polished, user-friendly interface is something you're likely to find only in the "ToDo" list: Functionality comes first. Nobody designs a killer interface and then tries to add functionality bit by bit. They create functionality, and then improve the interface bit by bit.

So to avoid #4 issues: Look for software that's specifically aimed at being easy for new users to use, or accept that some software that has a steeper learning curve than you're used to. To complain that vi isn't friendly enough for new users is to be laughed at for missing the point.

Problem #5: The myth of "user-friendly"

This is a big one. It's a very big term in the computing world, "user-friendly". It's even the name of a particularly good webcomic. But it's a bad term.

The basic concept is good: That software be designed with the needs of the user in mind. But it's always addressed as a single concept, which it isn't.

If you spend your entire life processing text files, your ideal software will be fast and powerful, enabling you to do the maximum amount of work for the minimum amount of effort. Simple keyboard shortcuts and mouseless operation will be of vital importance.

But if you very rarely edit text files, and you just want to write an occasional letter, the last thing you want is to struggle with learning keyboard shortcuts. Well-organized menus and clear icons in toolbars will be your ideal.

Clearly, software designed around the needs of the first user will not be suitable for the second, and vice versa. So how can any software be called "user-friendly", if we all have different needs?

The simple answer: User-friendly is a misnomer, and one that makes a complex situation seem simple.

What does "user-friendly" really mean? Well, in the context in which it is used, "user friendly" software means "Software that can be used to a reasonable level of competence by a user with no previous experience of the software." This has the unfortunate effect of making lousy-but-familiar interfaces fall into the category of "user-friendly".

Subproblem #5a: Familiar is friendly

So it is that in most "user-friendly" text editors & word processors, you Cut and Paste by using Ctrl-X and Ctrl-V. Totally unintuitive, but everybody's used to these combinations, so they count as a "friendly" combination.

So when somebody comes to vi and finds that it's "d" to cut, and "p" to paste, it's not considered friendly: It's not what anybody is used to.

Is it superior? Well, actually, yes.

With the Ctrl-X approach, how do you cut a word from the document you're currently in? (No using the mouse!)

From the start of the word, Ctrl-Shift-Right to select the word.
Then Ctrl-X to cut it.

The vi approach? dw deletes the word.

How about cutting five words with a Ctrl-X application?

From the start of the words, Ctrl-Shift-Right
Ctrl-Shift-Right
Ctrl-Shift-Right
Ctrl-Shift-Right
Ctrl-Shift-Right
Ctrl-X

And with vi?

d5w

The vi approach is far more versatile and actually more intuitive: "X" and "V" are not obvious or memorable "Cut" and "Paste" commands, whereas "dw" to delete a word, and "p" to put it back is perfectly straightforward. But "X" and "V" are what we all know, so whilst vi is clearly superior, it's unfamiliar. Ergo, it is considered unfriendly. On no other basis, pure familiarity makes a Windows-like interface seem friendly. And as we learned in problem #1, Linux is necessarily different to Windows. Inescapably, Linux always appears less "user-friendly" than Windows.

To avoid #5a problems, all you can really do is try and remember that "user-friendly" doesn't mean "What I'm used to": Try doing things your usual way, and if it doesn't work, try and work out what a total novice would do.

Subproblem #5b: Inefficient is friendly

This is a sad but inescapable fact. Paradoxically, the harder you make it to access an application's functionality, the friendlier it can seem to be.

This is because friendliness is added to an interface by using simple, visible 'clues' - the more, the better. After all, if a complete novice to computers is put in front of a WYSIWYG word processor and asked to make a bit of text bold, which is more likely:

He'll guess that "Ctrl-B" is the usual standard

He'll look for clues, and try clicking on the "Edit" menu. Unsuccessful, he'll try the next likely one along the row of menus: "Format". The new menu has a "Font" option, which seems promising. And Hey! There's our "Bold" option. Success!

Next time you do any processing, try doing every job via the menus: No shortcut keys, and no toolbar icons. Menus all the way. You'll find you slow to a crawl, as every task suddenly demands a multitude of keystrokes/mouseclicks.

Making software "user-friendly" in this fashion is like putting training wheels on a bicycle: It lets you get up & running immediately, without any skill or experience needed. It's perfect for a beginner. But nobody out there thinks that all bicycles should be sold with training wheels: If you were given such a bicycle today, I'll wager the first thing you'd do is remove them for being unnecessary encumbrances: Once you know how to ride a bike, training wheels are unnecessary.

And in the same way, a great deal of Linux software is designed without "training wheels" - it's designed for users who already have some basic skills in place. After all, nobody's a permanent novice: Ignorance is short-lived, and knowledge is forever. So the software is designed with the majority in mind.

This might seem an excuse: After all, MS Word has all the friendly menus, and it has toolbar buttons, and it has shortcut keys. . . Best of all worlds, surely? Friendly and efficient.

However, this has to be put into perspective: Firstly, the practicalities: having menus and toolbars and shortcuts and all would mean a lot of coding, and it's not like Linux developers all get paid for their time. Secondly, it still doesn't really take into account serious power-users: Very few professional wordsmiths use MS Word. Ever meet a coder who used MS Word? Compare that to how many use emacs & vi.

Why is this? Firstly, because some "friendly" behaviour rules out efficient behaviour: See the "Cut&Copy" example above. And secondly, because most of Word's functionality is buried in menus that you have to use: Only the most common functionality has those handy little buttons in toolbars at the top. The less-used functions that are still vital for serious users just take too long to access.

Something to bear in mind, however, is that "training wheels" are often available as "optional extras" for Linux software: They might not be obvious, but frequently they're available.

Take mplayer. You use it to play a video file by typing mplayer filename in a terminal. You fastforward & rewind using the arrow keys and the PageUp & PageDown keys. This is not overly "user-friendly". However, if you instead type gmplayer filename, you'll get the graphical frontend, with all its nice, friendly , familiar buttons.

Take ripping a CD to MP3 (or Ogg): Using the command-line, you need to use cdparanoia to rip the files to disc. Then you need an encoder. . . It's a hassle, even if you know exactly how to use the packages (imho). So download & install something like Grip. This is an easy-to-use graphical frontend that uses cdparanoia and encoders behind-the-scenes to make it really easy to rip CDs, and even has CDDB support to name the files automatically for you.

The same goes for ripping DVDs: The number of options to pass to transcode is a bit of a nightmare. But using dvd::rip to talk to transcode for you makes the whole thing a simple, GUI-based process which anybody can do.

So to avoid #5b issues: Remember that "training wheels" tend to be bolt-on extras in Linux, rather than being automatically supplied with the main product. And sometimes, "training wheels" just can't be part of the design.

Problem #6: Imitation vs. Convergence

An argument people often make when they find that Linux isn't the Windows clone they wanted is to insist that this is what Linux has been (or should have been) attempting to be since it was created, and that people who don't recognise this and help to make Linux more Windows-like are in the wrong. They draw on many arguments for this:

Linux has gone from Command-Line- to Graphics-based interfaces, a clear attempt to copy Windows

Nice theory, but false: The original X windowing system was released in 1984, as the successor to the W windowing system ported to Unix in 1983. Windows 1.0 was released in 1985. Windows didn't really make it big until version 3, released in 1990 - by which time, X windows had for years been at the X11 stage we use today. Linux itself was only started in 1991. So Linux didn't create a GUI to copy Windows: It simply made use of a GUI that existed long before Windows.

Windows 3 gave way to Windows 95 - making a huge level of changes to the UI that Microsoft has never equalled since. It had many new & innovative features: Drag & drop functionality; taskbars, and so on. All of which have since been copied by Linux, of course.

Actually. . . no. All the above existed prior to Microsoft making use of them. NeXTSTeP in particular was a hugely advanced (for the time) GUI, and it predated Win95 significantly - version 1 released in 1989, and the final version in 1995.

Okay, okay, so Microsoft didn't think up the individual features that we think of as the Windows Look-and-Feel. But it still created a Look-and-Feel, and Linux has been trying to imitate that ever since.

To debunk this, one must discuss the concept of convergent evolution. This is where two completely different and independent systems evolve over time to become very similar. It happens all the time in biology. For example, sharks and dolphins. Both are (typically) fish-eating marine organisms of about the same size. Both have dorsal fins, pectoral fins, tail fins, and similar, streamlined shapes.

However, sharks evolved from fish, while dolphins evolved from a land-based quadrupedal mammal of some sort. The reason they have very similar overall appearances is that they both evolved to be as efficient as possible at living within a marine environment. At no stage did pre-dolphins (the relative newcomers) look at sharks and think "Wow, look at those fins. They work really well. I'll try and evolve some myself!"

Similarly, it's perfectly true to look at early Linux desktops and see FVWM and TWM and a lot of other simplistic GUIs. And then look at modern Linux desktops, and see Gnome & KDE with their taskbars and menus and eye-candy. And yes, it's true to say that they're a lot more like Windows than they used to be.

But then, so is Windows: Windows 3.0 had no taskbar that I remember. And the Start menu? What Start menu?

Linux didn't have a desktop anything like modern Windows. Microsoft didn't either. Now they both do. What does this tell us?

It tells us that developers in both camps looked for ways of improving the GUI, and because there are only a limited number of solutions to a problem, they often used very similar methods. Similarity does not in any way prove or imply imitation. Remembering that will help you avoid straying into problem #6 territory.

Problem #7: That FOSS thing.

Oh, this causes problems. Not intrinsically: The software being free and open-source is a wonderful and immensely important part of the whole thing. But understanding just how different FOSS is from proprietary software can be too big an adjustment for some people to make.

I've already mentioned some instances of this: People thinking they can demand technical support and the like. But it goes far beyond that.

Microsoft's Mission Statement is "A computer on every desktop" - with the unspoken rider that each computer should be running Windows. Microsoft and Apple both sell operating systems, and both do their utmost to make sure their products get used by the largest number of people: They're businesses, out to make money.

And then there is FOSS. Which, even today, is almost entirely non-commercial.

Before you reach for your email client to tell me about Red Hat, Suse, Linspire and all: Yes, I know they "sell" Linux. I know they'd all love Linux to be adopted universally, especially their own flavour of it. But don't confuse the suppliers with the manufacturers. The Linux kernel was not created by a company, and is not maintained by people out to make a profit with it. The GNU tools were not created by a company, and are not maintained by people out to make a profit with them. The X11 windowing system. . . well, the most popular implementation is xorg right now, and the ".org" part should tell you all you need to know. Desktop software: Well, you might be able to make a case for KDE being commercial, since it's Qt-based. But Gnome, Fluxbox, Enlightenment, etc. are all non-profit. There are people out to sell Linux, but they are very much the minority.

Increasing the number of end-users of proprietary software leads to a direct financial benefit to the company that makes it. This is simply not the case for FOSS: There is no direct benefit to any FOSS developer in increasing the userbase. Indirect benefits, yes: Personal pride; an increased potential for finding bugs; more likelihood of attracting new developers; possibly a chance of a good job offer; and so on.

But Linus Torvalds doesn't make money from increased Linux usage. Richard Stallman doesn't get money from increased GNU usage. All those servers running OpenBSD and OpenSSH don't put a penny into the OpenBSD project's pockets. And so we come to the biggest problem of all when it comes to new users and Linux:

They find out they're not wanted.

New users come to Linux after spending their lives using an OS where the end-user's needs are paramount, and "user friendly" and "customer focus" are considered veritable Holy Grails. And they suddenly find themselves using an OS that still relies on 'man' files, the command-line, hand-edited configuration files, and Google. And when they complain, they don't get coddled or promised better things: They get bluntly shown the door.

That's an exaggeration, of course. But it is how a lot of potential Linux converts perceived things when they tried and failed to make the switch.

In an odd way, FOSS is actually a very selfish development method: People only work on what they want to work on, when they want to work on it. Most people don't see any need to make Linux more attractive to inexperienced end-users: It already does what they want it to do, why should they care if it doesn't work for other people?

FOSS has many parallels with the Internet itself: You don't pay the writer of a webpage/the software to download and read/install it. Ubiquitous broadband/User-friendly interfaces are of no great interest to somebody who already has broadband/knows how to use the software. Bloggers/developers don't need to have lots of readers/users to justify blogging/coding. There are lots of people making lots of money off it, but it's not by the old-fashioned "I own this and you have to pay me if you want some of it" method that most businesses are so enamoured of; it's by providing services like tech-support/e-commerce.

Linux is not interested in market share. Linux does not have customers. Linux does not have shareholders, or a responsibility to the bottom line. Linux was not created to make money. Linux does not have the goal of being the most popular and widespread OS on the planet.

All the Linux community wants is to create a really good, fully-featured, free operating system. If that results in Linux becoming a hugely popular OS, then that's great. If that results in Linux having the most intuitive, user-friendly interface ever created, then that's great. If that results in Linux becoming the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry, then that's great.

It's great, but it's not the point. The point is to make Linux the best OS that the community is capable of making. Not for other people: For itself. The oh-so-common threats of "Linux will never take over the desktop unless it does such-and-such" are simply irrelevant: The Linux community isn't trying to take over the desktop. They really don't care if it gets good enough to make it onto your desktop, so long as it stays good enough to remain on theirs. The highly-vocal MS-haters, pro-Linux zealots, and money-making FOSS purveyors might be loud, but they're still minorities.

That's what the Linux community wants: an OS that can be installed by whoever really wants it. So if you're considering switching to Linux, first ask yourself what you really want.

If you want an OS that doesn't chauffeur you around, but hands you the keys, puts you in the driver's seat, and expects you to know what to do: Get Linux. You'll have to devote some time to learning how to use it, but once you've done so, you'll have an OS that you can make sit up and dance.

If you really just want Windows without the malware and security issues: Read up on good security practices; install a good firewall, malware-detector, and anti-virus; replace IE with a more secure browser; and keep yourself up-to-date with security updates. There are people out there (myself included) who've used Windows since 3.1 days right through to XP without ever being infected with a virus or malware: you can do it too. Don't get Linux: It will fail miserably at being what you want it to be.

If you really want the security and performance of a Unix-based OS but with a customer-focussed attitude and an world-renowned interface: Buy an Apple Mac. OS X is great. But don't get Linux: It will not do what you want it to do.

It's not just about "Why should I want Linux?". It's also about "Why should Linux want me?"

If you want to leave any feedback about this article, comment on my blog.

http://geekblog.oneandoneis2.org/index.php?title=linux_windows_feedback_1&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Beginers Guide to Installing and Using Mint

2008-08-23T12:14:00.001-07:00

If you are new to Mint or Linux in general and want a simple user guide on how to use and install Mint without all the confusing jargon then please consult our User Guide:
http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/ ... /EN-v1.pdf

If you ask a question which is already covered in the guide you will simply be recommended to download the guide, so you are speeding up the process if you just read it in the first place. Although if something in the guide fails to make sense to you or you want more explanation then don't hesitate to ask it here on the forums, we will do our best to help you.

Welcome to the Linux Mint Community.

Considerations before you install

2008-08-23T12:13:00.001-07:00

I think many of us could truthfully say that if we had known a bit more about the basics of Linux installs, we would have installed a little more wisely than we did initially. My intention here is call attention to some of these basics and make a few helpful suggestions that may aid new users in their first journey into Linux.

Things that could/should influence your partitioning layout:

1) Partitions closer to the outside of the hard drive disk, ie. at the top of your partition table and to the left in the Gparted graphic, are faster than partitions on the inside of the hard drive disk, or closer to the bottom of the partition table.

2) Smaller partitions are faster than larger partitions.

3) Swap partitions don't need to be any larger than 2X your system ram. And, the sum of system ram and swap shouldn't exceed 4 Gig. If it does, reduce the swap partition size to get back to 4 Gig. or less. If you have 4 Gig. of ram on a 32 bit system like Mint, make a very small swap partition anyway, as the kernel expects to have a swap partition available. Not having a swap partition slows the kernel down in certain situations. For this purpose, there is no need for the swap partition to be over 256 KB at most.

4) If you have more than one hard drive, split your swap partition up between all your drives, creating a small swap partition on each drive. Linux will recognize and combine them all and your swap will be much much faster when you need it. It is almost like a raid 0 set-up. Swap will strip across drives.

5) Journaled file systems like ext3 are much better at maintaining read/write data integrity in case of power failure or some other unexpected crash or failure.

6) Journaled files systems also represent more overhead to the kernel and take more space on the hard drive for the file system structure itself. There is no advantage to using a journaled file system on a partition that will rarely be written to. /boot is a good example of this. It is almost never written to, so if you use a separate /boot partition, it should be ext2 and not ext3.

7) If you use a separate /boot partition, it doesn't need to be more than about 256 MB. This still leaves plenty of space for extra kernels and boot notes.

8) Your data should be isolated from your main install to protect it and easily enable upgrades and reinstalls.

The truth of the matter is that all the installer routines that I am familiar with do a pretty poor job of doing a default install. They just aren't very smart. They work, and serve the purpose of enabling a successful install in most cases. But they don't install very smart. They usually put everything in one partition and spread it out across all the available space. Looking at the above list you can see this is a bad idea for a variety of reasons.

I guess due to natural curiosity and the understandable lack of familiarity with Linux, most new users will break their installs at least once in the first six months and need to reinstall. As most are aware, this leaves you in a position to loose your data or jump through lots of hoops trying to save it, if you have done a default install.

I am going to suggest two very basic partitioning schemes for general purpose desktops that will give you good speed, conserve hard drive space, and provide reasonable data integrity and isolation, and a safe upgrade path.

The first is the well know method of using a separate /home partition. All the user's data is in /home so putting /home on a separate partition effectively isolates it from the rest of the install, the part that most often breaks. This eases upgrades too, although it isn't a perfect solution.

swap -----Formatted as swap ----per above rules
/ -----------Formatted as ext3 -----10 – 12 Gig.
/home ---Formatted as ext3 ------Whatever you need

The other method uses dedicated data partitions that aren't part of the Linux install at all. This is the safest, fastest and most flexible method, and makes for almost painless reinstalls and upgrades, but is a little more difficult to set up initially.

swap ----Formatted as swap -----per above rules
/ ----------Formatted as ext3 ------10 – 12 Gig.

Data Partition1 ----Formatted as ext3 -----sized for data
Data Partition2 ----Formatted as ext3 -----sized for data
Data Partition3 ----Formatted as ext3 -----sized for data

You can have as many or as few data partitions as you see fit. You would mount them in your /home directory, let's say as Multimedia, Pictures, and Documents, as an example. They would be easily available in your /home folder but the data itself would be safely on its' own partition or partitions. If you had a Windows XP install, one of your data partitions could be formatted NTFS so that it could be easily shared.

You could of course combine the two methods I showed above, but I see no advantage in doing so. You could also have a separate /boot partition, which would make either install slightly faster, but with modern equipment you probably wouldn't notice the difference.

This was not written to give you step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish these set-ups but to give you something to think about before you jump into your first install, or perhaps your first reinstall. :-)

Fred

What mint is based on

2008-08-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ubuntu
The main Gnome edition forked off Ubuntu with Barbara which was based on Edgy.
All the versions of the main edition is based on the previous version. Clem uses programming tools and "handicraft" to tweak Mint after the new Ubuntu and of course adds a taste of Mint - the Mint tools and the art work.
This means that it is not exactly the same as the equivalent Ubuntu version, Mint tends to be less buggy and mostly wifi works better. There may also be deliberate differences like in printing where Daryna kept it as in Celena while Gutsy is different from Feisty.
The other important edition is the KDE edition. It is based on Gutsy Kubuntu with the Mint tools (that are gnome) ported to KDE. To make the Mint tools work in KDE was a major undertaking.
The KDE edition will continue to be based on the previous version like the main edition, but here it is Boo that is "tweaking"

Release Notes for Linux Mint 5 Elyssa

2008-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Release Notes for Linux Mint 5 Elyssa

Introduction

This is Linux Mint 5, codename Elyssa, based on Daryna and compatible with Ubuntu Hardy and its repositories.

List of new features

1. mintMenu improvements

In Daryna, mintInstall and the Software Portal made it easy to install applications. In Elyssa mintMenu is making it easy to remove them. You don't need to open synaptic or to launch a terminal anymore, if you want to uninstall an application, simply right-click on it in the menu and select “Uninstall”.

A dialog box will appear listing the related packages and dependencies.

Within the same context menu you can also choose whether you want that particular application to be automatically launched when you log in. It was already possible to do this with the "Session" tool from the Control Center, it's now possible directly from within mintMenu.

MintMenu now comes with a brand new configuration screen which lets you configure the following options:

Whether to show the sidepane (where parts of the menu end up after you hide them)
Whether to show recent documents
Whether to show comments for applications
Whether to swap names and generic names in the list of favorites
Whether to show icons for categories
Whether filtering should be done by clicking on categories or by hovering (mouse over)
The hover delay
Icon sizes for the main button, the applications and the favorites
Main button text and whether to show an icon
Custom colors for headings, borders and backgrounds
The number of columns in the favorites
The borders width

From the configuration screen you can activate a new plugin which displays your 10 most recently opened documents.

The "system tools" and "others" categories were merged in with "administration" to make the menu smaller and to bring less confusion as to where to find configuration tools.

The speed of the menu was also improved and its memory usage reduced.

Favorites now support drag and drop and can be moved around and arranged with the mouse.

2. mintUpdate improvements

MintUpdate was introduced in Daryna and quickly became one of the most popular tools on the Linux Mint desktop. It came to our attention that a lot of people weren't aware of how it worked internally (for instance, the difference between its user and admin runtime modes). For this reason we developed an information screen from which the active logs can be read, and the runtime mode and process id can be seen.

The auto-refresh feature is now more flexible. You can configure it to the minute but now also all the way up to a year.

When you log in and mintUpdate starts in user mode it now checks for an Internet connection. If none is found it waits for 30 seconds before retrying to connect and eventually reporting the lack of connection. This new feature is particularly interesting for people whose connection to the Internet is activated at log in and sometimes after mintUpdate is started.

You can now manually refresh mintUpdate, and directly access its preferences and information screens by right clicking on the icon in the system tray.

A mintUpdate instance running in admin mode kills all other instances of mintUpdate. One running in user mode is only allowed to start if no admin-mode mintUpdate is already running. In a multi-user environment this created problems. MintUpdate now fails quietly in user mode and running it from the menu (admin mode) takes priority over all other instances.

3. mintInstall improvements

.mint files can be quite complex as there's almost nothing you can do in a terminal that a .mint file can't do. In practice though, 99% of the .mint files present in the Software Portal consist in describing the installation of an application using APT. Most of these files describe the installation of only one package, and in most cases this package is present in the default repositories. In Daryna mintInstall used to backup the local sources.list, define its own, and then restore things as they were. This resulted in APT being told to update twice. In Elyssa, the mintInstall client checks if the packages are present within the repositories defined on your system, if they are the client gives you the choice of whether you want to use your sources.list ("local repositories") or the one coming with the file ("default repositories"). The default selection is "local" and as it basically saves 2 APT updates the installation of the application via mintInstall is consequently much faster.

The search dialog now supports the GetDeb.net software portal. GetDeb uses raw DEB packages and no meta-information so downloads can be slow and dependencies (if any) won't be solved automatically, but it features packages that aren't available anywhere else on the Internet. The portal can be searched directly from mintInstall and the installation of the .DEB packages is handled by GDebi.

The search dialog now also supports APT itself. This is a convenient shortcut as mintInstall is much lighter than synaptic and more user friendly than the APT command line utilities. From mintInstall you can now search for a particular package, show its description (which also lists the files it contains) or even install it.

Improvements were made to the layout and the navigation within the Linux Mint Software Portal. A batch .mint maker was developed and the portal should feature about 10 times more applications than it did for Daryna. Applications are also organized in sub-categories and almost all of them now come with a screenshot.

Release-specific information was moved to a new package called mintsystem, so mintInstall is now release agnostic. This should make it easier for future versions of mintInstall to be backported on older releases or even used on compatible distributions (all distributions directly or indirectly based on Debian Testing or Debian Unstable).

4. Improvements in other tools

The network autobrowsing feature was removed from mintDesktop as it wasn't mature enough to be part of this LTS release.

Gnome 2.22 introduced its own compositing manager which can now be activated/deactivated from mintDesktop.

Mintupload's email feature was removed and replaced with a "Copy" button, which simply copies the shared URL to the buffer.

5. Desktop improvements

Gnome-Do doesn't just come installed by default in Elyssa, it's configured to run in the background. Press SUPER+SPACE and it should appear. From there you can quickly launch an application or use any of the advanced features provided by this tool. For more information about Gnome-Do visit this link

You can now change your wallpaper by right-clicking on an image and by selecting "Set as Wallpaper".

You can now check the MD5 signature of an ISO file by right-clicking on the file and by selecting "MD5 Sum".

You can now open a folder as root by right-clicking on that folder and by selecting "Open as root". This is a powerful but also a dangerous feature. A warning message will remind you that you're in root mode, a file browser called XFE will appear (the reason for it not being Nautilus is precisely because it looks different. This way you can associate the different look and feel with the fact that this application is run as root). From there on you've got unlimited powers so be careful because everything you launch from XFE, you launch as root.

The Gedit text editor was configured not to create "~" files anymore. This feature although sometimes useful was often annoying. It is still available from within Gedit but not activated by default.

MP3 could be decoded out of the box in Daryna. In Elyssa you can now also encode in this format without having to install any extra codecs.

Making things easier on the desktop means you don't need to rely on the terminal that often. But don't get us wrong, we do like our terminal! It's faster, more to the point, and the commands (not like the buttons and menus in graphical interfaces) are the same no matter what language you use. With each release of Linux Mint we improve the user experience with the terminal and this time we've added two things...

... more colors (see how the results of the grep are highlighted and how user and root modes use green and red so you know exactly in which mode you are?) ...

... and as it wasn't enough for the terminal to show light-hearted fortunes, we now have them said by a koala, a moose, or even Tux himself! (Don't worry, if you don't like this you can turn it off in mintAssistant, in fact it's one of the first thing you'll be asked by Linux Mint once it's on your hard drive.).

6. Performance improvements

MintUpdate was refactored and its memory usage was drastically reduced. On some systems the amount of RAM used by mintUpdate after a few days went from 100MB to 6MB.

Mozilla also greatly improved the memory usage in Firefox between version 2 and 3 (Read more).

Elyssa comes with kernel version 2.6.24 which features a brand new scheduler called CFS (Completely Fair Scheduler, Read more). The kernel scheduler is responsible for the CPU time allocated to each process. With CFS the rules have changed. Without proper benchmarks it's hard to actually tell the consequences of this change but the difference in behavior is quite noticeable from a user's point of view. Some tasks seem slower, but overall the system feels much snappier.

Elyssa comes with Gnome version 2.22 which features a new virtual filesystem layer called GVFS. Although the improvements over the old GNOME-VFS system are geared towards robustness and additional capabilities more than performance the Nautilus file browser seems more responsive and the progress feedback given while moving sets of files actually gives the impression of smoother, almost faster, operations.

Linux Mint is growing and acquired a second dedicated server. The Linux Mint repositories (starting from Elyssa) are now hosted on a distinct server so updating and installing mint packages is now much faster.

7. Better Look and feel

All Mint tools were reviewed and changes were made for their graphical interface to be more compliant with the Gnome Human Interface Guidelines.

The default set of GTK widgets used in Daryna was called MurrinaIndustrialSM. Subtle changes and refinements were made to it. Sliders now use the Clearlooks engine, scrollbars are now white and come with handles, columns headers were made glossy, dotted lines were added in tables and the roundness level was decreased slightly. Overall it looks pretty similar to Daryna and you might not notice the difference until you actually look into it. It's all about attention to details though and we're quite happy with the improvements we made on this. The colors are also configurable now so that's probably great news for people looking for an easy way to make Linux Mint a little greener.

The default theme also looks similar to the one used in Daryna but with a more professional look. Grub, usplash, gdm, and the default wallpaper look consistent and all use artwork based on "Carbon v5", a look and feel inspired by Daryna and designed by a new and great artist called Jernau. Isolinux uses "Global Domination", also from Jernau.

With Elyssa also come 5 new themes: Peppermint, Wildmint, Aurora, Carbon and Lightning. These themes take advantage of the new Aurora and Candido GTK engines. 2 of them are dark (make sure to disable "Custom Colors" in the preferences of mintMenu and to click on "Reload Plugins"). 1 of them, called Carbon features very small widgets and is particularly adapted to low resolution screens (the eeePC for instance). Carbon will also be the default theme, using Red Hat's Liberations Fonts as default, in the upcoming Enterprise Edition of Linux Mint.

8. Better Localization and documentation

All Mint tools were internationalized and are being actively translated by the community. 11 languages are already fully supported. The most important tools (mintInstall, mintUpdate, mintMenu) already support 21 languages. Members of the community also translate the User Guide, which is already available in 4 languages.

The User Guide is a PDF eBook of about 100 pages which guides you through the installation and the specificities of Linux Mint. Starting from Elyssa, the User Guide is becoming an integral part of the release cycle and is being made available on the mirrors and from within the installed system (on the start page).

The Firefox start page now brings news directly from the development team, links to the release notes and to the User Guide. Security warnings and major announcements will also take place on the start page which acts as an information gateway between the development team and the Linux Mint community of users.

9. More software available

Linux Mint 5 Elyssa is supported by CNR.com which features commercial services and applications which are not available via the traditional channels.

The Software Portal introduced in Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna is receiving more focus as it represents the easiest way to install applications. About 10 times more applications will be made available for Linux Mint 5 Elyssa.

The way we handle repositories has changed and we're now in a position to take advantage of the sections introduced in Linux Mint 4.0 Daryna. For instance, we will actively import packages within the "import" section. The community is also allowed to provide packages for the distribution which are added to the "community" section (Note: The community section is commented out by default in /etc/apt/sources.list).

10. Changes in the default software selection

A new Mint tool called mintBackup was developed and added to Elyssa. This tool provides an easy way to save the content of your home folder into a single .backup file. You can then restore this content later on or somewhere else by double clicking on it (provided mintBackup is installed on the target system).

The default music management application is now Rhythmbox. It supports Magnatune, Jamendo, Last.fm, online radios, iPod connectivity, podcasts, library monitoring, CD ripping, lyrics and album artwork. Rhythmbox replaces both Amarok and SoundJuicer.

Transmission was added to the default software selection and replaces the Gnome Torrent client.

Brasero was also added and serpentine was removed.

CCSM and Simple CCSM were added to ease the configuration of Compiz Fusion.

EnvyNG replaces Envy Legacy (which was simply called "Envy").

PPPOE was added.

11. Upstream improvements

A new sound server called PulseAudio was introduced along with Flash support, and a set of configuration tools (Pulse Audio Device Chooser, Pulse Audio Volume Control and Multimedia System Selector). PulseAudio makes it easy to move the sound output/input of a particular application from one device to another (for instance from your speakers to your USB headset, without having to restart the application or change its configuration). It also makes it easy to change the sound level for each application independently, or even to transfer the audio across the network (so you can play your music on another computer for instance...).

If you're behind a proxy you'll be happy to know that Ubuntu improved the Ubiquity installer. You can now define your proxy settings in the advanced section. Also, Mozilla Firefox 3 now supports Gnome proxy settings by default.

Upstream improvements from Ubuntu include the addition of an easy-to-use command line firewall called "ufw" and the policykit framework which makes it easy for applications to restrict some of their features depending on the permissions assigned to users.

Printing was improved in Ubuntu Gutsy and these improvements are coming into Linux Mint 5 Elyssa, with the exception of the Print-to-PDF feature which is kept as it was in Daryna.

Other important upstream improvements come from Gnome 2.22, OpenOffice 2.4, Firefox 3, Linux 2.6.24 and Xorg 7.3.

12. LTS aspects

Linux Mint 5 Elyssa is built on top of the Ubuntu Hardy Heron package base. Hardy is a Long Term Support (LTS) release, meaning that it will be supported and it will receive security and package updates for the next 3 years.

Starting with Elyssa, Linux Mint will consider two of its releases "current": The latest release, and the latest LTS release. Basically, this means that innovations put into Linux Mint 6, Linux Mint 7 and Linux Mint 8 will be backported into Linux Mint 5 until the next LTS release comes out. Users will have a choice to stay current over the next 2 years by keeping Linux Mint 5 Elyssa, or by following the latest releases every 6 months.

Although Linux Mint isn't a rolling distribution an LTS strategy will be put in place to ensure that Linux Mint 5 Elyssa will stay up to date over the next 2 years. Users will have the choice to enable the backport repository for Elyssa in which upgrades for important desktop applications (Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice..) will be made available.

Known issues

Upstream issues:

GDM: It takes a while to open the "Login Window" configuration tool. Just be patient, it will come up eventually.
GDM: In "Login Window", if you select another theme.. even though it will tell you everything is fine, it will actually select to show other themes randomly. Open "Login Window" again and set the theme again.
GDM: On shutdown, usplash doesn't show properly and is interrupted by network manager error messages. This is a known bug in GDM. You might be able to fix it by changing the GDM theme "twice" (in "Login Window").
GDM/Gnome: The shutdown/logout sound isn't played. This happens because Pulse Audio is shut down by Gnome before it gets the chance to play it. You could install "esound" to fix that problem but then that would break PulseAudio altogether. Another workaround would be to use aplay to play the sound before the event, as described here.
Gnome: Turning on/off the Gnome Compositing Effects (in gconf or in mintDesktop) can freeze your computer. Make sure to save all your data before activating/deactivating this feature.
Gnome: The first time you launch the "Users and Groups" configuration tool, it might not find any users and consequently it won't work properly. Close it and launch it again.
Gnome: The color of the window borders doesn't always refresh when you select or customize a Gnome theme. This is because some GTK themes refer to the same metacity theme but with different colors, and unless the metacity theme itself is changed Gnome doesn't refresh it.
Gnome: You might see an error message saying the "Gnome Settings Daemon" could not start. It usually only happens once and either doesn't affect anything or affects the look and feel (the default Gnome theme is applied instead of the Mint one).

Mint specific issues:

Widescreen support: If usplash doesn't fill your screen an alternative is to install usplash-theme-mint-black (which comes with a black background). All wallpapers come in widescreen format and GDM also has a widescreen version of the Elyssa theme.
Localization: Not all translations (for the Mint tools) were included in the release. We had to code-freeze at some stage. The missing and future translations will come in as level 1 updates.
MintMenu: mintMenu doesn't always refresh (or doesn't always refresh fast enough). To force it in doing so, right click on the "Elyssa" button and select "Reload Plugins".

Warning about upgrades:

Be cautious with level 3 upgrades. As these notes are written, applying the Gnome related upgrades break the ability to change your wallpaper!
Prefer level 1 and 2 upgrades to be safe and only apply level 3, 4 and 5 upgrades selectively and after you made sure they fixed a bug you needed fixed.
Always use mintUpdate to perform package upgrades, avoid to do so with APT or Synaptic; these tools are not aware of the stability level related to package upgrades.

Upgrade Instructions

Warning

We strongly recommend fresh installs (downloading the CD and installing from it), for the following reasons:

Upgrading your system to Elyssa won't make your system the same as Elyssa. Your system is your system. Artwork, configuration changes and a lot of other things will not be changed on your system.
Upgrading your system will trigger conflicts on files maintained by both Mint and Ubuntu. You will be asked questions on whether to overwrite these files. Also, some settings will be reverted to their Ubuntu default (so you might see some orange here and there :)). It takes time to reapply these settings and it isn't the scope of these notes.
Downloading the CD is faster than upgrading the entire system. The reason for this is that the bare system (not including all the packages you might have installed) is 2.5GB. On the CD it's compressed to a size of 700MB.
Releases are well tested. Upgrade paths aren't. By upgrading and reporting errors you will act as the Guinea pig. By installing from the CD you will benefit from the hard work of all the community members who helped us test and debug prior to the final release.
You might just break something you're not able to fix. Unless you're experienced with APT and until an upgrade tool is developed (planned for Mint 6), you should perform only fresh installs.

You can install mintBackup from http://packages.linuxmint.com/pool/main/m/mintbackup/mintbackup_1.4_all.deb and use it to make a backup of your data.

Note: If you're using a proprietary nVidia or ATI driver you may experience problems while upgrading xorg and the linux kernel. Unless you know what you're doing we strongly recommend you do a fresh install.

Upgrade path

Change your APT sources

Edit the sources.list as root (sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list) to make it look like this:

## -----------------------
## LINUX MINT REPOSITORIES
## -----------------------

## +++ Linux Mint 5 Elyssa (stable) +++
deb http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa main upstream import

## +++ Backports (not as stable) +++
## deb http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa backport

## +++ Community (not as stable) +++
## deb http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa community

## +++ Romeo (unstable) +++
## deb http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa romeo

## +++ Source Repositories +++
## deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa main upstream import
## deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa community
## deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa backport
## deb-src http://packages.linuxmint.com elyssa romeo

## -------------------
## UBUNTU REPOSITORIES
## -------------------

## +++ Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy (stable) +++
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-security main restricted universe multiverse

## +++ Backports & Proposed (not as stable) +++
## deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-proposed main restricted universe multiverse

## +++ Source Repositories +++
## deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy main restricted universe multiverse
## deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-updates main restricted universe multiverse
## deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-security main restricted universe multiverse
## deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
## deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-proposed main restricted universe multiverse

## ------------------
## OTHER REPOSITORIES
## ------------------

## +++ Canonical (stable) +++
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu hardy partner

## +++ Medibuntu (stable) +++
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free

Upgrade your packages

Open a terminal and type the following commands:

apt update
apt upgrade
apt dist-upgrade

Repeat the three commands above until the output says for both upgrade and dist-upgrade that there is nothing to upgrade to.

Install additional software

Open a terminal and type the following command:

apt install nautilus-wallpaper gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gnome-do nspluginwrapper gtk2-engines-aurora gtk2-engines-pixbuf gtk2-engines-candido mintbackup gnome-do-plugin-rhythmbox gnome-do-plugins padevchooser gtkhtml3.14 libgtkhtml3.14-19 libgtkhtml3.16-cil libgtk-vnc-1.0-0 transmission-common transmission-gtk gstreamer0.10-pitfdll jockey-gtk jockey-common libwpg-0.1-1 libwps-0.1-1 openoffice.org-base openoffice.org-base-core openoffice.org-calc openoffice.org-draw openoffice.org-impress openoffice.org-java-common openoffice.org-writer python-uno openoffice.org-gnome openoffice.org-hyphenation openoffice.org-l10n-common openoffice.org-thesaurus-en-us nautilus-share nautilus-sendto pidgin-otr obex-data-server bluez-gnome gimp-gnomevfs gvfs-fuse hal-cups-utils ghostscript-x dcraw libnss-mdns samba libpam-smbpass seahorse language-support-en gnome-spell bogofilter evolution-data-server openprinting-ppds pxljr splix mousetweaks libpt-1.10.10 libpt-1.10.10-plugins-alsa libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l2

Run the following commands:

apt-get remove --purge flashplugin-nonfree libflashsupport
apt-get install nspluginwrapper
apt-get install libflashsupport
apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

How To: Enable Your Toshiba's Bluetooth & Brightness Control

2008-08-22T08:30:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Tim Anderson's blog I was able to get my Bluetooth and brightness controls working:

http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=333#comment-35858

You see, the driver that enables your Bluetooth also enables your brightness control. This is done by creating a script file that turns it on at start-up.

Step 1: Change to the directory where we are going to have the script file.

cd /etc/init.d

Step 2: Creat the script file.

sudo nano tosh-bluetooth

Step 3: Paste this script.

#! /bin/bash

# script to start/stop Toshiba Bluetooth adapter
# requires toshset

case "$1" in
start)
/usr/bin/toshset -bluetooth on
;;
stop)
/usr/bin/toshset -bluetooth off
;;
*)
echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/tosh-bluetooth {start|stop}" >&2
exit 1
;;

esac

exit 0

Step 4: Save and exit Nano.

Type Ctrl-O to exit and Ctrl-X to exit.

Step 5: Make the script executable.

sudo chmod 755 tosh-bluetooth

Step 6: Add it to the startup scripts.

sudo update-rc.d tosh-bluetooth defaults

Step 7: Reboot.

Your Bluetooth should now be working as expected.

HowTo: Fix ugly blurry nautilus thumbnails

2008-08-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

You might have noticed with Hardy and hence with Elyssa came these ugly blurry thumbnail previews when previewing small images and also the addition of ugly black borders around each thumbnail. I found a topic on the Ubuntu forums for a way to restore it to how it was previously in the older versions of Ubuntu and Mint.

Follow the instructions on the 3rd post of this topic if you are interested and remember to refresh the nautilus window and desktop (f5) once completed in order to see the changes!
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... ost5290068

How to make a Mint-Myth

2008-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

Mint makes a GREAT Myth base as the codecs and drivers are all preinstalled.

Just go to Synaptic and install Mythbuntu-desktop. Wait for a while and all the dependencies will install. If you're using a remote control, the lirc GUI will pop up during configuration and ask you for details. Most likely, the restart of the lirc daemon will fail. You can manually restart it with "/etc/init.d/lirc restart". Now, you should run the Myth Config utility, now available through MintMenu. Assign the proper backend server (the computer you're using or another if you're a hardcore geek like myself), add whatever plugins you want, and then run the frontend. You should now be golden.

You can login to the normal Mint Gnome desktop or the XFCE Myth desktop. I don't use XFCE, but Myth runs just fine...

--Akshun J

Install Wacom Bamboo Tablet (Streamlined Tutorial)

2008-08-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

1. Plug in the Bamboo tablet to your p.c.

2. Download this file to your Desktop: http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/linu ... -3.tar.bz2

3. Go to the Package Manager. Install these two packages: build-essentials and xorg-dev.

4. Open up Terminal. Change your directory to the Desktop. When you are there, type in these commands:

Code: Select all: bunzip2 linuxwacom-0.8.0-3.tar.bz2 tar xvf linuxwacom-0.8.0-3.tar cd linuxwacom-0.8.0-3 ./configure --enable-wacom make gksudo make install gksudo cp src/2.6.22/wacom.ko /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/input/tablet/wacom.ko

5. Write this path down! /etc/X11/xorg.conf *See comment below.

6. Type these commands in Terminal:

Code: Select all: gksudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf-mybackup gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

7. The three sections that follow must replace their corresponding sections in the xorg.conf file. You can identify how the below sections correspond with the section in the xorg.conf file by matching the terms I have placed in bold:

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
EndSection

8. The very last section xorg.conf file is the Server Layout Section. Uncomment the three lines of code that are commented by removing the # symbol from the front of that line.

9. Type these commands in Terminal:

Code: Select all: gksudo rmmod wacom gksudo modprobe wacom grep -i wacom /var/log/messages | tail gksudo gedit /etc/modules

10. gedit should have opened the modules file. On a new line in the modules file, add this word: wacom. Save the file.

11. Check to see if your wacom stylus moves the mouse. Mine couldn't tell the sytlus was near the tablet without touching it until restart. Also, Touchpad settings didn't appear under Daryna->Preferences->Mouse until I rebooted.

* If on restart you freeze up you may have made a mistake in the xorg.conf file. Follow these steps to recover that file. Write them down to save yourself a possible headache.
1. Boot the computer in safe mode. (Choose safe graphics mode at boot menu instead of generic.)
2. You will be provided a command prompt. Type in this command:

Code: Select all: cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf-mybackup /etc/X11/xorg.conf

3. Restart computer, (not in safe mode).
4. Repeat the installation procedure.

If there is something I have missed, need to point out, or need to correct, let me know so I can make changes.

Howto: Use OS-X-fonts in Mint

2008-08-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

I find the fonts in Os-X to be very pretty. =) And all props to Apple, since they give out their fonts for free!!

Step 1: Get the fonts.

Apple is so nice when it comes to fonts.
http://www.osx-e.com/downloads/misc/macfonts.html

Freeware Mac-fonts!

Step 2: Extract and add to /fonts/.

Extract the file onto your desktop or some other place.
Navigate into the fonts-folder you extracted with terminal.

Code: Select all: cd Desktop/Fonts

Make 2 dir's in the /usr/share/fonts-folders

Code: Select all: sudo mkdir /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-os-x sudo mkdir /usr/share/fonts/type1/os-x

I make 2 dir's, because the fonts comes in two filetypes. .ttf and .pfb. I just like to sort them, I don't think it really matters. :3

Copy!

Code: Select all: sudo cp *.ttf /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-os-x sudo cp *.TTF /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-os-x sudo cp *.PFB /usr/share/fonts/type1/os-x

Now, log out and log inn or restart X for the changes to take effect.

Find the font-configuration-menu. You can use terminal;

Code: Select all: gnome-font-properties

If you use terminal, do not use sudo.

Os-x uses Lucida MAC size 9/10 by default. Set this onto Application font, Document font, Desktop font, Window title font, but not Fixed width font, unless you want your terminal to look messed up.

Press the 'Details'-button in the lower right corner.
Choose Grayscale-smoothing, and for hinting, I use none. You could probably find something that suits you.

Screenshot of my mint-desktop with mac-fonts:

Ah, seems like I'm getting married this year!

How to Get Miro running in LinuxMint KDE (and others?)

2008-08-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.
First off, let me say that I searched to see if this particular 'tip' had been posted before to avoid redundancy and I couldn't find it. If I missed it and it HAS already been submitted, please remove this. Miro has been such a problem for me that I figured the solution that worked for me might save someone else days of research and headaches in trying to get it to work correctly.

In the other distros I've used, Miro worked right out of the gate. However, with LinuxMint Daryna KDE beta 011, Miro would open, begin to load the Miro Guide and then suddenly disappear. I uninstalled, made sure I had satisfied all its dependencies, reinstalled, downloaded source and compiled myself, blah, blah, blah. Still....same problem. The Miro Guide would start to load and the program would disappear.

The fix that worked perfectly for me was found buried deep in the Ubuntu forums and I wish I had the links to provide for you but I don't. To paraphrase, sun-java6 seems to be causing some kind of conflict. Simply try uninstalling sun-java6 and its related components and installing the icedtea-java7 packages. The ones that I installed are:

icedtea-java7-bin
icedtea-java7-jre
icedtea-java7-plugin

Disclaimer:
I am by no means a guru, in fact only have come back to Linux within the last three months (and have only used LinuxMint for the last three weeks) so if this does not work for you, I don't have the knowledge to answer any questions at all or suggest other possible solutions. Also, I don't know if these new java packages will break something else in your environment. I have found no issues at all with my own box so please take the risk of wreaking some unknown havoc on your machine into account. I don't even know WHY this works...but it did for me and hopefully it'll help someone else get Miro up and running.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has helped develop LinuxMint. Within the last 3 months, I've tried every distro out there that I could get my hands on and as soon as I booted into Daryna, I knew I'd found my Linux 'home'. Actually, my fate was sealed when I saw that it was only 19 seconds from Grub to desktop to load. Holy cow.

Carrie
(5x5)

Yet Another HowTo: Install OpenOffice (any version)

2008-08-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

I had some annoying issues with OpenOffice and after a lot of Googling and forum-trawling I did the following.

1. Select and download OpenOffice version 2.1 or version 2.2RC1 and save on your Desktop.

2. Make sure you have alien installed (it should be, but just make sure)

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install alien

3. Completely remove the current version of OpenOffice from your machine by using Synaptic Package Manager, or as like this:

Code: Select all: dpkg -l | grep -i openoffice | cut -d " " -f 3 | sudo xargs apt-get -y --purge remove sudo apt-get autoremove

4. Right-click on the downloaded tar.gz file and select to Extract Here

5. On your desktop, double-click the newly extracted folder to open it. There should be 3 files - licences, readmes and RPMS. Right-click on RPMS and select Open In Terminal

6. Now you need alien to convert the RPM files to DEB. this will take some time so when it starts go and have a beer, coffee or whatever.

Code: Select all: sudo alien --scripts --keep-version *.rpm

7. Once the conversion has completed you can start the install of OpenOffice using that same Terminal.

Code: Select all: sudo dpkg -i *.deb cd desktop-integration/ sudo dpkg -i *.deb

That's it, you should now be done. All that remains is to go to Mint Control Centre - Desktop - Menu Layout and do the tick/untick/tick thing in the Office menu. And just to play it safe; reload the Mint Menu Plugins

Hope this helps someone...

derived from original source

How to get an ipod working without all the hassle

2008-08-22T07:22:00.001-07:00

SO here's the deal - I got an ipod classic (silver 80GB) a few weeks ago, and its great but its hard to get working in linux right? It took me ages looking on ubuntu form and on wordpress to find out how to get it to work with amarok etc. But it works fine, up to a point.
Here is my 2 cents worth of how to get it working in a satisfactory fashion.

1. Install libgpod 0.6.0, and compile from source yourself using checkinstall
1.1. Go here: http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...ease_id=553119. Download this file: libgpod-0.6.0.tar.gz. Save it to your desktop, your home folder, wherever. I put it on my desktop.

Unzip it. I use console commands:

Code: Select all: cd Desktop/ tar -zxvf libgpod-0.6.0.tar.gz cd libgpod-0.6.0

Don't change out of this directory 'till we're done.

Now you've decompressed the source code for libgpod. Before anything else, make sure you've got the required dependencies installed:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install build-essential libglib2.0-dev libgtk2.0-dev libsgutils1-dev checkinstall

now:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get build-dep libgpod2

FYI: Build-dep installs all the required dependencies for a program, but not the program itself. This is perfect, 'cause we don't WANT the version of libgpod that's on apt right now. We want the one we're about to compile:

5. Compile it!

Code: Select all: ./configure make

6. Now we build a debian install:

Code: Select all: sudo checkinstall

You'll get a prompt that says: "should I create a default set of package docs?" Just press Enter to say YES. On the next screen, type whatever description you'd like. Maybe something like "Compiled libgpod-0.6.0". Press enter again. This is what will show up:

*****************************************
**** Debian package creation selected ***
*****************************************

This package will be built according to these values:

0 - Maintainer: [ you@yourcomputer ]
1 - Summary: [ Package created with checkinstall 1.6.1 ]
2 - Name: [ libgpod ]
3 - Version: [ 0.6.0 ]
4 - Release: [ 1 ]
5 - License: [ GPL ]
6 - Group: [ checkinstall ]
7 - Architecture: [ i386 ]
8 - Source location: [ libgpod-0.6.0 ]
9 - Alternate source location: [ ]
10 - Requires [ ]

Enter a number to change any of them or press ENTER to continue:

Type 2, press Enter. Enter libgpod2 at the prompt. It should now look like this: 2 - Name: [ libgpod2 ]

Press Enter to commit the changes. The package will get automatically installed.

Okay one last thing: we link the libraries:

Code: Select all: sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/libgpod.so.3 /usr/lib/libgpod.so.2 sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/libgpod.so.3 /usr/lib/libgpod.so.3

then all you have to do is run floola, which you can get at http://www.floola.com

and enter your ipod generation (classic for me) and the fire wire id which you can ifnd out by typing

Code: Select all: sudo lsusb -v | grep -i Serial

and its the 16 digit code that appears (there is a fair amount of data that comes up, not much but enough that might confuse, but its the 16 character one, no more, no less) and enter that in the box where prompted, and youre away!

I hope this helps some people, since I really could have done with something like this when I was starting out with my ipod+linux(-itunes)=hassle/adventure

follow your nose around the menus and it's all fairly self explanatory and it takes little to no effort to get running. A few minutes in the command line, a little time spent in XP (or none if your using your ipod straight out of the box) and youre done.

++++bear in mind that if you have used your ipod with something other than itunes for the setup then this wont work, but since most everyone I know has access to a windowsXP pc (you need it for itunes v7.5+) this asnt an issue++++

and much thanks to Ghostbea121 on the ubuntu forums whose instructions for getting gpod installed!

If anyone feels like stickying this post for general use then pleases do so, mods!

civint

HowTo: New ATI cards/drivers and Compiz

2008-08-22T07:21:00.002-07:00

There is a new Envy out, it fixes alot of problems with the ATI drivers, get it HERE!

This is how I installed the driver for my ATI HD2400Pro, others have used other methods including Envy, and had no issues, however, if you are having no luck with either Envy, or restricted drivers manager, then this may do the trick for you.
Ok, I have noticed a lot people having issues with getting the newer ATI cards to work with Mint (or Linux in general) so I decided to write another tutorial on how to get things running with the newest drivers from ATI
When you boot the live disk, if x fails to start, just wait for the command line to come up and enter this

Code: Select all: sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

that will allow you to configure the xorg file, all you want to change is the graphics card, select "vesa"driver, and "Genaric ATI card", then just follow the prompts throught the rest of it. At the end it will ask if you want to write the xorg.conf to file, select "yes" then enter

Code: Select all: startx

*NOTE, DO NOT INSTALL THE ATI DRIVERS WHILE IN THE LIVE DISK, anything you do during the live disk in NOT saved after installing so installing the driver while in live mode will do nothing for the install *
Now you can run the install normally.
Once your system is installed you may get the "x failed to start" error mes again, (you may not, it may just give you some kind of garble, but I it has happened to me in other distros, so I thought I would give you warning) just do that same procedure as above, then once you are in the desktop follow the instructions from here http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Hardy_Installation_Guide follow the guide for

Method 2: Manual Method

You will notice that the guide says “Ubuntu Hardy”, that is correct, since Mint is so closely related to Ubuntu, you can follow almost any guide, or you use almost any repo that is valid for a Hardy install. (for all you new Linux users, note I said almost, some things are just not compatible)
Then reboot, you will have x now, but it will be a little slow and you will still not have any 3D effects, so there is a couple of more things you need to do to get things running properly.
First, once you’re back into your desktop open a terminal and enter

Code: Select all: sudo aticonfig --initial

this will auto configure your newly installed ATI drivers, then you need to edit your xorg.conf file, while still in the terminal enter

Code: Select all: sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

make sure when you type X11, you use a capitol "X", otherwise you will get a "no such file/directory" error, then you need to add the following to the bottom of your xorg.conf file, if it doesn't already exist
*NOTE, this is how I got my card to render the 3D effects, I have an ATI HD2400Pro, I will list another option for you to try if this messes something up, or things start to run slowly*

Code: Select all: Section "Extensions" Option "Composite" "Enable" EndSection

As the note says, if this slows you down too much, you can also do what others have done and enter

Code: Select all: Section "Extensions" Option "Composite" "0" EndSection

and see if it helps

HowTo: Have Windows fonts in Mint (or Ubuntu) [Link fixed]

2008-08-22T07:21:00.001-07:00

You may be saying, "Why the heck would I want MICROSOFT FONTS in my awesome linux"
Well, most sites where designed to be viewed with Microsoft/Windows fonts and the pages were created with those fonts in mind. Therefore, most sites look ALOT better with windows fonts.
For example, try going to yahoo.com in a fresh install of ubuntu or mint, the page looks messed up and the fonts look too bold. Here's what yahoo looks like after the howto is completed:

As you can see, it looks much better.
I'm not dissing linux/mint or anything here, i just think the fonts look better this way. I have gone from using Windows XP to using Linux exclusively. This works/ has been tested in Linux Mint 3.0 and Standard Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty.
---------------------------------------------------l
HowTo
---------------------------------------------------
1. back up your /etc/fonts folder somewhere just to be safe =)
2. Run the following command in terminal

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

3. Download the following:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/8/13/ ... 5B1%5D.tbz
edit 1/12/08: sorry about the broken link..that's free hosts for ya..fixed
EDIT: Please use the default download link above, unless it's not working. here are a few mirrors just in case (please try the links in order):
http://sp219.k4r1m.com/fontconfig.tbz
http://rapidshare.de/files/38417273/fontconfig.tbz.html
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BG0EOHFM
http://www.mediafire.com/?41ctjdg4x9m
http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/99159dc059_0.1MB

4. Extract all of the files in the .tbz into the folder "/etc/fonts"
5. Log off and log back on
6. Enjoy!

This is my first howto so tell me if anything is wrong!
Also, please leave feedback.

To restore the old font style, delete the file in your "/etc/fonts" folder called "local.conf" then log off and the fonts will be normal. If that doesn't work, you can delete everything in your /etc/fonts folder and replace it with the backup you made. Also, thanks to whoever made this a sticky

Howto APT and dpkg

2008-08-22T07:17:00.002-07:00

OR: Howto fall in love with CLI.

Scope

Understand what APT and dpkg is
Effectively use APT and dpkg from CLI/Terminal

dpkg
dpkg is a tool for installing, removing and building Debian packages. Shortly told, it handles *.deb packages.

Using dpkg
Knowing some basic dpkg commands can make your life allot easier. For one you can retrieve a ton of information of installed packages, or installing new packages, and even build your own deb packages.

dpkg options
-i | --install
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg -i /path/to.deb

Code: Select all: dpkg --install /path/to.deb

Kind of self explaining really, it installs a .deb package to your system. It requires root access.

--unpack
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg --unpack /path/to.deb

This only extract the package to your system, but do not configure it. Need root access.

--configure
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg --configure package

Code: Select all: dpkg --configure -a

Code: Select all: dpkg --configure --pending

Configures selected package(s). -a | --pending only configure unpacked packages. Needs root access.

-r | --remove | -P | --purge
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg -r /path/to.deb

Code: Select all: dpkg --remove /path/to.deb

Code: Select all: dpkg -P /path/to.deb

Code: Select all: dpkg --purge /path/to.deb

Removes selected packages. -r or --remove only removes installed files, which can be useful if you plan to reinstall the package later on. -P or --purge also remove configuration files. Requires root access.

-p | --print-avail
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg -p package

Code: Select all: dpkg --print-avail package

Prints details about a package. Does not require root.

-I
Usage:

Code: Select all: dpkg -I /path/to.deb

Shows detail about a package, including dependencies. Can be useful for checking what you need for installation of a package, or checking the dependencies of a already installed package. Remember, your local repository is located at /var/apt/archives .

There are more options available, but these are the basic options. You could use Google if you want more.

Combining APT and dpkg to "backup"
Not really a back up, but more exporting the list of installed packages to a file, then import it again. You could also use APTOnCD for this, but if you got to configure a ton of machines with different hardware setup, this can be just as useful (I.e. open the file and remove packages you don't need after a stock install).

Code: Select all: sudo dpkg --get-selections > mypackages.txt sudo dpkg --set-selections < mypackages.txt sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade

Be careful with this, it can be extremely useful, but can potentially break a system. For instance, generating the list in Daryna and importing in Elyssa is not recommended unless you know what you are doing. Also note that this lists ALL installed packages, not just the ones you have installed after a fresh install, it could be a good idea to go through the list and remove some of the packages.

APT
APT is a combination of wget and dpkg, simply put. It keeps a list of available packages in the repositories and can be used to download and install those packages. It can also be used to remove these packages.

aptitude vs. apt-get
I prefer aptitude over apt-get any day. It handle dependencies better (especially noticeable when removing packages), it offers better upgrade options (not recommended in Mint), and is not divided like apt-get it (more on that later). My recommendation is to get used to aptitude from the start, and it is what I will focus on in this howto. Aptitude can also run as a "Synaptic in terminal". If you want to look at it, I recommend starting it by using:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude -u

This updates the list of packages before starting aptitude.

Updating list of packages
Since the repositories are constantly being updated, new packages added or packages being updated etc, so it could be a good idea to update the local list of available packages. Both aptitude and apt-get handles updates:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude update sudo apt-get update

Searching for packages
Using the CLI for searching is faster than loading synaptic and gives the same results, hence, in my opinion, better.

Code: Select all: aptitude search string

Code: Select all: apt-cache search string

Just replace string with the search string of your choice. It could also be a good idea to do a update (aptitude update) before searching. Here you see that aptitude handles searches, while apt-get does not.
And aptitude offers additional information about the package, like whether it is installed or not, with the first (few) characters on left of the package name. The first character(s):
i: Installed
p: No trace found on the system
c: Packages has been deleted, but the configuration files exists.
v: Virtual package.
The second character(s) are the action which is to be taken with the package:
i: Going to be installed
d: Going to be deleted
p: Going to be deleted, including configuration files.
If the third character is A it means the package was automatically installed.
Here is an example of a search result (taken from the aptitude man pages):

i apt - Advanced front-end for dpkg
pi apt-build - frontend to apt to build, optimize and in
cp apt-file - APT package searching utility -- command-
ihA raptor-utils - Raptor RDF Parser utilities

Here you see apt is installed, apt-build does not have any files on the system, but is going to be installed, apt-file only has the configuration files on the system, but those are to be removed, and raptor-utils is installed, no changes to it, and was automatically installed.

Installing packages
So after updating the list, and you know what to install after the search it is just using:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude install package sudo apt-get install package

You need the correct name for the package to install, for instance just "deluge" won't work, you have to type in "deluge-torrent". You could also use some options here:

-d
Download only, you just download the package to a local repository, you do not install it.

-y
Assume yes on yes/no prompts.

--force-yes
Not recommended to use, this forces yes on even warning messages. By using this you might end up doing something harmful to your system.

Using options:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude -option install package sudo apt-get -option install package

Removing packages
So you got tired or don't need a package any more and are ready to remove it. This is pretty straightforward:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude remove package sudo apt-get remove package

This is where aptitude shines. Where apt-get only removes the packages you specify, while aptitude also removes the dependencies of that package.

Fixing broken dependencies
From time to time, and for some reason, you can get packages with broken dependencies. These can be a pain, as APT usually refuse to install or remove any packages before this is fixed. Luckily this can be done automagically:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude -f install sudo apt-get -f install

This is a pretty aggressive command, use with care and do not combine with -y or --force-yes!

Updating your system
It is not recommended using APT to keep Mint up to date, you should use mintUpdate for this. But I will still include a few words of this here, as there are a few ways of doing this. Again, aptitude is the preferred way of upgrading:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude safe-upgrade

safe-upgrade prevents you from ending up in dependency hell. It does not upgrade/install packages that have unmet dependency, I.e. a newer version than available, and keeps everything neat and clean. But as I mentioned above, upgrade is not recommended, so if you do not know what you are doing, don't do it!

Why you should not update Mint using CLI
Mint is based on Ubuntu, and use Ubuntu repositories, but that does not mean Mint IS Ubuntu, Mint (Main) forked from Edgy (or 6.10), and thus has it's differences from the current stable Ubuntu. This also means that not all updates from Ubuntu is safe/stable on Mint. To prevent the installation of these updates, the Mint development team has built mintUpdate, that should be your primary update tool. Not only does this filter out known "ugly updates", it also filters out potential "ugly updates", like kernel updates. One of the reasons for excluding kernel updates is to provide a consistent desktop for the user, without having to recompile drivers after a update, but if you are a security freak, feel free to include all updates, but do not come back and complain because X fails to start or similar (but we will of course help you set things straight again, if you ask politely ).
And UNDER NO circumstances should you EVER do a dist-upgrade *, unless there is an official announcement that explicitly states that this is possible and even then you should read carefully and follow the directions given. After almost every Ubuntu release there are some who run a dist-upgrade on their system and end up with a mix between Mint and Ubuntu, and often a buggy mix. The only solution for this is a FRESH INSTALL!
*Note - if you have the correct sources.list for your version of Mint you can do a dist-upgrade. But the minute you add repositories from the next (or previous) generation you're done (like adding Hardy repos for Daryna). But the dist-upgrade option is the only way to get new applications added even in mintUpdate. But remember to have the right sources.list
It is (always) safe (and recommended) to use the dist-upgrade option in mintUpdate. Nothing is installed until you click apply. This note added by husse
If you do not feel confident with apt and Synaptic (or package management in general) you should stay away from upgrading your system via CLI.

Cleaning out the local repository
APT keeps a local repository of all packages you install. This can be very useful, especially if you want to reconfigure a packages or re install it. But this could take up allot of space if you install a few packages, so a clean out once in a while could be useful.
Now, there are two ways of doing this:

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude autoclean

This only removes downloaded packages which are no longer available, i.e. an old version, from the local repository.

Code: Select all: sudo aptitude clean

This removes ALL downloaded packages from the local repository. I prefer autoclean, that way I get to keep a .deb of all my installed applications, but if you are short on space, you could just run clean.

Cleaning out dependencies
If you haven't followed my recommendations and used aptitude to remove packages, some of your installed packages might not be needed any longer. Fear not, the can easily be removed:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get autoremove

Easter eggs
No proper software is complete without any easter eggs, and APT has some. First apt-get:

Code: Select all: apt-get --help

Look at the bottom of the printout, it states that "This APT has Super Cow Powers". And it does indeed:

Code: Select all: apt-get moo

Try it for your self
Aptitude:

Code: Select all: aptitude --help

At the bottom it states "This aptitude does not have Super Cow Powers." Well, try:

Code: Select all: aptitude moo aptitude -v moo aptitude -vv moo aptitude -vvv moo aptitude -vvvv moo aptitude -vvvvv moo aptitude -vvvvvv moo

This is a small introduction to APT and dpkg, there are a ton of other possibilities, but knowing these here, you will effectively maintain your installed packages using the CLI only and never feel the need for loading Synaptic or similar GUIs...

How to get iPod to work in Daryna

2008-08-22T07:17:00.001-07:00

Probably one of the biggest pains in the butt is when you try to get your new iPod to work in Mint. I spent *hours* (no joke) trying to figure it out. Turns out, the answer is rather simple. You need two files.

libgpod-dev.tar.gz: libgpod-dev; (218.29 KB) Downloaded 52 times

libgpod2.tar.gz: libgpod2; (197.83 KB) Downloaded 36 times

Install them in that order, then type

Code: Select all: df

in a terminal after you've plugged in your iPod, and your pc recognizes it. The iPod should be show as

Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdb1 47927940 27244416 19709668 59% /media/IPOD

or something along those lines. If that's what is is, then run

Code: Select all: sudo bash /usr/bin/ipod-read-sysinfo-extended /dev/sdb1 /media/IPOD

I recommend copy'n'pasting that line. It has a couple of spaces in it. (Replace /media/IPOD and /dev/sdb1 with your corresponding locations) Then disconnect by right clicking on the ipod and ejecting it. Reconnect, open amarok, and choose your model from the new list that appears. This works with any iPod that has been connected to iTunes at least once. I don't know about brand new ones, or the iPhone/touch, but it works for me, and I have the fall '07 80Gb Classic. Let me know if it works for you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alternatives:

Pandora:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora_(console)

Cowon A3:
Video: H.264, WMV7/8/9, DivX 3.11/4/5/6, XviD, MKV, MPEG-4/-2/-1, D1: NTSC 720x480 / PAL 720x576, 30fps
Audio: MP3, OGG, WMA, AC3, WAV, FLAC, WV, APE, AAC

Cowon Q5(W):
Same as above, plus a bit more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later

DISCLAIMER: (I should've done this earlier:P)

It works 100% with my iPod classic 80GB. I am assuming it works with the others too. But check to see if Amarok already has your iPod supported. With Mint 4, it come preloaded with support for MANY older iPods. So, you may not even need to use this guide. Best of luck to all. And, as usually, not responsible for anything that happens.

This tutorial is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Linux-Unix cheat sheets - The ultimate collection

2008-08-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

http://www.scottklarr.com/topic/115/lin ... ollection/

How To: Partition your Hard Drive.

2008-08-22T07:15:00.004-07:00

Greetings:

With a dawn of a new release on our hands, perhaps some passing of education / knowledge to someone whom may want to have a Install of Bea to try without all the cdrom activities.

First you start off by downloading the release, This can be found on official mirrors and it could take roughly around an hour or so to download depending on your connection to the Internet, After you download it, using your favorite burning program (NERO .. or CD Record) burn it onto a Disc, I like RW discs, because you can wipe it clean for a new release .. later down the road.

Basically at this point if you are looking to play with it, or install Bea, just put in the CD and boot your computer off the CD. I will assume you know how to do this.

Now if you are planning to install it along side windows, I will post another How To on this. I am documenting on How To install Bea, as a Full OS. Launch the installer, and follow the menu's by selecting the correct Language, Key board layout, and timezone ..

When you get to the Partition screen, this is where I would like to point out, my favorite partitioning scheme. At this screen, I urge you to try this..

At the Partition screen, Select the "Manual Partitioning"

You will see Gparted (a partition manager launch) you will see your disk, probably with one partition. If you did the smart thing you have backed up all your data. If you backed up all your data, at this point proceed.

I deleted my 1 BIG partition, and broke it into 3 separate partitions. I have used the following sizes to reflect my system settings.

HDA1 - Size = 1.4 GB -- Mount Point = LINUX-SWAP (2.5 x Ram Size)
HDA2 - Size = 4 GB -- Mount Point = / (top level) Type: RieserFS
HDA3 - Size = 30+ GB -- Mount Point = /Home Type: RieserFS
Bonus: Add a hda4 - size = 8GB == Basically this can be used to install windows ...

Now the beauty of this setup is when you want to install another Linux distro, or install ubuntu, or Linux Mint, All you are required to do is remove HDA2 and re-create the partition, and format it, to install your OS clean.

To Dual boot with Windows.. Windows MUST be installed first. Grub (Linux' boot loader) will provide an option to Boot Windows... I will document how to tweak the Boot loader in another document.

With the partition HDA3, after you accept the "manual partition" scheme you will have a choice where you want the mount point, but also if you create the same account in Linix Mint (say " user ") your home folder is left .. Untouched on the /Home (hda3) partition,

I know you are getting confused, lol, But Try it a couple of times... Follow my directions ..

Install once -- creating this Partition structure (Backup all files)
copy over 10 files that you know are your personal files (i use mp3)
then do the install again, but NOT deleting the Home Partition, and create the same user on the machine, and tweaking the "Mount Points"

Have Firefox 2 & 3 use separate profiles

2008-08-22T07:15:00.003-07:00

For Elyssa:
1st install Firefox 2 and when asked make sure to Press KEEP to keep the files for Linux Mints Bookmarks and settings.(example: disabled ipv6)

You have already ran Firefox 3 to get here and is set to use the default profile.
So to launch Firefox 2 open terminal and Run this command.

Code: Select all: firefox-2 -ProfileManager

Create Profile --> Next
Chose Folder

Create folder and name it firefox2
Now press open

Enter new profile name:
firefox2

Click Next

Select the profile default and make sure Don't ask at startup IS checked

Start Firefox (so Firefox 3 will use this by Default)
Now close firefox-2

Now to Edit Firefox-2 launcher
Run from terminal:
Gnome(Main)

Code: Select all: gksu gedit /usr/applications/firefox-2.desktop

KDE CE

Code: Select all: kdesu kate /usr/applications/firefox-2.desktop

XFCE CE and Fluxbox CE

Code: Select all: gksu mousepad /usr/applications/firefox-2.desktop

Edit line 67

Code: Select all: Exec=firefox-2 %u

Code: Select all: Exec="firefox-2 -P firefox2 %u"

Save and exit.

Now open Firefox 2 and check the bookmarks are not the same ones as in Firefox 3.

To import bookmarks from Firefox 3:

Close Firefox 2 and open Firefox 3.

Open the Bookmarks menu and click Organize Bookmarks.
Now Click Import and Backup --> Export HTML...

Save as bookmarks.html to the Home folder.

Close Firefox 3 and open Firefox 2

Open the Bookmarks menu and click Organize Bookmarks.

Now Click File and import

Open the bookmarks.html that was saved from Firefox 3

Now reorganize them the way you want them.

How To get old extensions installed in Firefox 3

2008-08-22T07:15:00.001-07:00

This does not mean that the extension will work, just that it will get installed.
This will help get old extensions to install in Firefox 3.

1. Type about:config into Firefox's address bar and click the "I'll be careful, I promise!" button.

2. Right-click anywhere. Choose New > Boolean and name it extensions.checkCompatibility and make sure it's set to false.

3. Right-click anywhere. Choose New > Boolean and name it extensions.checkUpdateSecurity and make sure it's set to false.

4. Restart Firefox.

If that still doesn't get it installed then install Nightly Tester Tools extension.

How to backup your stuff UNIX-style

2008-08-22T07:13:00.004-07:00

Foreword:

This "How to" here involves a lot of shell commands. And you can't just copy & paste them 1:1 ... chances are your system is different from mine, so you need to think before you copy my commands.

People looking for a nice "Point and click" tutorial should move on. There is no pointing and clicking here. Simply because I don't believe in "pointing and clicking" and I also don't know any reliable GUI backup method ... "reliable" in the sense: We can get our stuff back after a disaster. So for a "GUI point and click backup How-To" I am simply the wrong person.

So we're going to use the shell here. And then plenty of it. So why should you be interested?

1. You could learn a lot.
2. You could learn a lot.
3. You could learn even more.
4. You could gain some confidence with the shell and your new Linux OS

5. This tutorial here works, GUI or not.

You can and you will get your data back if you do it right. But again: THINK. No tutorial can replace your brain and your intelligence. And did I mention that you could learn a lot ... ?

IMPORTANT: All the commands here need to be executed as super-user "root". So either put a "sudo" in front of each command that I mention or open a root shell via "sudo su -" and execute the commands directly in there.

Also: I strongly advise against using UUID's in /etc/fstab . UUID's make matters unnecessarily complicated by being "unique". So this means that if something goes wrong and you have to restore from a backup onto a new disk the UUID's will be different ... and that will cause problems. So it would be better to get rid of the UUID's in /etc/fstab right away (e.g. right after you installed your system) and use the more traditional device names in /etc/fstab ... Example:

Code: Select all: # /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # /dev/hda1 / ext3 rw,errors=remount-ro 0 1 /dev/hda5 none swap rw 0 0 none /proc proc defaults 0 0 /dev/hda9 /data ext3 rw 0 2 /dev/hda8 /home ext3 rw 0 2 /dev/hda6 /tmp ext3 rw 0 2 /dev/hda7 /var ext3 rw 0 2 /dev/hdb1 /data2 ext3 rw 0 2

Device names are "dumb" and they don't care if they are on your old harddisk or a new one ... for as long as the harddisk and its partitions exist your system will boot. With UUID's: Nope. You'd have to find out each UUID for each disk (costs you a lot of time) and those UUID's are usually so long and so cryptic that there is a high chance that you will screw up. As I said: Get rid of them, change your /etc/fstab so that it uses device names!

Edit: Also, don't forget to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst !! There is a section which defines the default kernel options, e.g. mine looks like this:

Code: Select all: # kopt=root=UUID=8499b6f9-2196-4134-bf75-0599c17658e2 ro

Leave it commented out (that's perfectly OK; the setting *IS* *ACTIVE* nontheless! Also: the documentation says not to uncomment it, so I guess we just leave it like that!) but change that rear part! So if you change /etc/fstab and rid yourself of those UUID entries you also have to do it here. So you'd replace above string "kopt=root=UUID....." with the device name for your " / " mount point. In my case that would be:

Code: Select all: kopt=root=/dev/sda5 ro

Once you've changed this setting you need to activate it. Execute this as "root": update-grub .... It will rewrite your GRUB and make sure all entries in GRUB point to the right " / " partition. Or else those entries might still point to your old UUID= entry ... and that could cause booting to stop unexpectedly. If that happens (e.g. you forgot to edit menu.lst): You can temporarily "edit" the boot entry in GRUB's menu at boot time. Just make sure the menu gets displayed (e.g. by pressing 'ESC' if it's not shown per default) and then select the entry you wish to temporarily edit and then hit "e" (it's all displayed on-screen). Check that kernel line ... if it says "root=UUID....." you can change it to "root=/dev/sda5" (whatever the right setting for your " / " partition is) and then hit the 'ENTER' key to boot your system with the temporarily altered settings. It should work. Once you're in you can still change menu.lst and do the needed changes.

On the shoulders of giants

I of course am not the "inventor" of those backup methods ... Duh. As Einstein once put it: "I am standing on the shoulder of giants". Very huge giants at that. So credits go to the people who taught me UNIX and Linux back in the 90's, to all my bosses and superior managers who kicked my a** if I did stuff wrong (very important learning experience ...), to the people who ridiculed me on IRC back when I was a "n00b" (important learning experiences too ...). Last but not least, this book taught me a lot:

UNIX Backup & Recovery

I highly recommend it despite its age (1999). So nothing here is any "big secret". All the stuff shown here are standard UNIX shell commands that are most likely present out of the box on any UNIX-like operating system. The "big secret" (if it even is one) is to put these commands to work and have them backup our system.

Preparations: What do we use?

First things first: Every backup is only as good as the restore. And my work as UNIX admin has taught me some nasty lessons.

In a professional environment you'd use some form of tapes to write your backups to. Simply because they are very reliable and can hold large amounts of data.

But most home users probably can't afford a 4000$ DLT drive or a 10'000$ tape robot. So what's left?

I personally am not really a fan of making backups to CD's or DVD's. CD's are usually too small and if you span your backups across multiple CD's chances are you might lose one disk of this volume set ... and then your restore won't work anymore and your backup is worth nothing. This has happened to me. DVD's are bigger, yes. But both CD's and DVD's have serious drawbacks when it comes to reliability. Take a DVD+RW disk for example: "Can survive up to 1000 rewrites" they say. Right. What they don't tell you: Those 1000 rewrites are reached way faster than you think. If you want reliability don't count on DVD's ...

So I personally have settled on large external USB harddisks:
- they are cheap if you compare their price per GB with other options.
- these days it's really hard to find a machine that doesn't have USB.
- hence: USB harddisks most likely will work anywhere + anytime.
- reliability: I only turn on those disks when I really really want to use them for backups ... this greately increases their lifespan.
- speed: Let's face it: No DVD or CD could ever hope to beat a harddisk when it comes to read/write speeds.

As for software:

All software that we would need is already there in your OS. The only other thing I would recommend is to have a Linux Live CD ready, either your Mint Installer disk, or Ubuntu Live, or Knoppix, or whatever, for as long as it has:

- USB support
- tar on-board
- gzip on-board

you should already have all the software you'd need. As an extra and "just to be safe" I'd highly recommend the SuperGrub Disk ... Please use Google to find it. It's a live CD that is specialised on getting boot blocks back (hence the name and the relation with the "GRUB" boot loader).

Backup: What do we backup?

In short: Everything that matters. I'm a rather paranoid person and bad experience has taught me to really backup everything + the kitchen sink. It's better to have too much stuff in your backup and not need it than the other way round: Need too much stuff but not have it in any backup. That sucks. And it can seriously ruin your day

So really -- what do we backup?

1. the Master Boot Record (MBR) + the partition table
2. we make an exact copy of /etc so we have a copy of all the config files that matter
3. we backup our package selections (can be used for cloning purposes too)
4. we pack all our partitions into tar.gz archives
5. except /home: we make a 1:1 copy of it so we can access all the files if needed
6. Putting it all together

Step 1: The Master Boot Record

For this we need the dd utility. If you want to learn more about dd please read the manual: man dd

In this example I will assume that /dev/hda is the first harddisk (for SATA or SCSI users this would most likely be /dev/sda ... as I said: THINK ... you can't just copy & paste here without thinking!).

We tell dd to read the relevant number of bytes from the first harddisk device (yes, really: the device --- and *not* any partition like /dev/hda1 or /dev/hda2 or anything like that ... ) and put that into a binary file ... if anything goes wrong we could restore the MBR from there (e.g. with the help of a Live CD):

Code: Select all: dd if=/dev/hda of=/tmp/hda-mbr.bin bs=512 count=1

Explanation: dd will read the first 512 bytes (= MBR + partition table) from the first harddisk /dev/hda and place it into the file I specify ... here: /tmp/hda-mbr.bin ... that path and filename could be adjusted to your taste and requirements if needed. Obviously it would be intelligent to have this file e.g. on an external disk or USB stick ... just in case.

How to restore your MBR

If you've destroyed your MBR somehow than this means that your PC won't boot anymore from the harddisks ... so to get it back to work you'd need a Live CD now. So in order to get our MBR back (there are other methods too but I will now focus on this one):
- you'd boot your Live CD
- mount that USB stick or USB harddisk where you put that MBR-backup on to
- open a terminal
- cd into the right directory
- restore the MBR with the "dd" command

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /path/to/where/MBR/backup/is/stored dd if=hda-mbr.bin of=/dev/hda bs=446 count=1

Please note the difference here: We're only restoring 446 bytes ... not the full 512 we backed up earlier. Why? The last 64 bytes contain the partition table. Chances are you don't want to ruin your disk partitions so it's wiser to only restore 446 bytes ... not the full 512.

Please be advised that brainless tampering with the dd command while being "root" can lead to serious data loss and a really ruin your day.

Just think before you hit that enter key. If in doubt: Please come to the IRC channel and/or the forum and ask, OK?

How do we know it worked? dd itself won't give you much info. The only way to tell if it did work is to reboot. Ideally your GRUB menu should reappear again ...

Step 2: Copying /etc

That's simple. Just find a good location and then as "root" recursively copy your /etc there ... this has the advantage that if you need to ask for help or if anything goes wrong you have a copy of all your config files. Example:

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /where/we/will/store/our/stuff cp -a -v -u /etc .

Explanation: "cp -a -v -u" copies everything in /etc recursively to the current location (= "." as target) plus it keeps the permissions intact.

How to restore your /etc

Simple: just check what's missing and then copy the single config files back to the /etc of your system. Let's suppose you've ruined your xorg.conf file somehow:

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /where/we/placed/the/backup/etc cd X11 cp xorg.conf /etc/X11/

It's simple, it's stupid ... and it works.

Step 3: Our package selections

1. Backup /etc/apt/sources.list ... or copy it to one of your other systems (in case you want to have the same packages everywhere)

2. On system #1 (the one you want to backup) issue this command:
sudo dpkg --get-selections > packagelist.txt

=> This will write your package selections and the status of all packages into that text file "packagelist.txt". Now copy that file to your other system(s) or put it onto a USB stick or USB harddisk.

How to restore your package selections

1. You need to restore the /etc/apt/sources.list file (see section above about copying /etc recursively ...) and then you need to tell dpkg to read your package list:
sudo dpkg --set-selections <>

=> The system will now take over the package selections that were previously defined on the original or previous system.

2. All you need to do now is to execute the install process:
sudo apt-get dselect-upgrade

=> Result: You now will have the same packages installed like before on "System #1"

"Armed" with these commands you can also clone installations (e.g. produce identical systems with identical software selections) in a couple of minutes. Just make sure you get the /etc/apt/sources.list right (e.g. it should be the same on all systems).

Step 4: Packing your partitions into *.tar.gz archives

Again, you need to think a little and take a look at your /etc/fstab ... it doesn't make sense if you copy & paste my commands here, especially if you don't have the same mountpoints (e.g. separate /usr, /var and /opt partitions ... or not). The sense behind those commands is that you get an archived copy of all your partitions. The advantages you get:

- you could 100% restore a system into the state it had when the archives were made
- you could use the archives to make a 1:1 clone of your system
- you could also choose to only restore selected parts of your system (useful if you e.g. switch distros and e.g. don't need the /usr partition anymore from the previous distro ...)

This example here assumes that you have a " / " root filesystem and separate /boot, /var, /usr and /home filesystems (this needs to be changed according to your system settings):

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /path/to/USB/disk tar --one-file-system -pzcvf BootFS_backup.tar.gz /boot tar --one-file-system --exclude=/tmp/* --exclude=/dev/* --exclude=/proc/* -pzcvf RootFS_backup.tar.gz / tar --one-file-system --exclude=/var/tmp/* -pzcvf VarFS_backup.tar.gz /var tar --one-file-system -pzcvf UsrFS_backup.tar.gz /usr tar --one-file-system -pzcvf HomeFS_backup.tar.gz /home

The result here would be that all these archive files get written to the path you specified above (here: "/path/to/USB/disk") ... and if that would be your USB disk you could in the future also fully restore your system from there again.

How to restore your partitions via the archives

So let's suppose that due to some serious misfortune your harddisk went to Nirvana -- you were forced to replace it. In such a case you could either re-install everything from scratch or you could restore the archives -- I mean that's precisely what we have them for, right?

So, first step would obviously be to remove the dead disk from the system and put in the new one. I will assume you know how to do it ... if not please Google around. It should be easy to find guides that will tell you how to replace a dead harddisk.

When this is done you now have a shiny new harddisk in your system. And it's totally empty and there is nothing on it .... yet.

So what we need now is to boot the system with a Live CD. The Mint installer disk should suffice, but an Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Knoppix Live CD should do just as fine. What we need to do now is to re-create the partitions as they were on the old disk -- chances are that your Live CD will have some form of partitioning program, either gparted for the GUI or fdisk for the command line. Also: These days chances are that a new harddisk will be bigger than a previous one, so don't worry about the sizes: It's OK if you make the partitions on the new harddisk bigger than they used to be on the old system. They don't have to be absolutely the same size. Just bear in mind that you can't restore e.g. a 4 GB /usr partition if you make the new one only half as big ...

IMPORTANT: What really is important here is that you create the same amount of partitions and in the same order as they used to be on the old harddisk. So if you used to have a /dev/hda5, /dev/hda6, and /dev/hda7 on your old disk then it would be wise to have that too on your new system. If you don't do this then it is imperative that you remember the new disk setup and edit your /etc/fstab before you reboot!

Also: I seriously hope you followed my advice above and got rid of the UUID's in your /etc/fstab ... when it comes to backup and especially when it comes to a restore those UUID's can be a serious pain.

So ... back on track:

- You get rid of the old harddisk, install the new one into your system
- you boot the Live CD
- you partition your new harddisk so that it resembles the old disk's partitioning scheme
- you format each of the new partitions, e.g. sudo mkfs -t ext3 /dev/hdaX
- you attach your USB harddisk (where our backups are) to the Live system
- the live system should have noticed the presence of your USB disk and it should have opened it
- you open a terminal and cd into the right directory on the USB disk so that you can access the archives

Once you got that far i'ts time for some thinking and planning. We are about to restore gigabytes and gigabytes of data ... so it better be the right disk and stuff be in the right order.

First, we need to check: What will our root partition " / " be? ==> Here Step #2 comes in handy. If you did copy your /etc as suggested above you could just open a second terminal and cd into the directory where you copied your /etc into and simply take a look at your old /etc/fstab ...

So let's assume that your " / " filesystem was on /dev/hda5 ... As this will be the " / " filesystem again we should recreate that one first.

Into a new terminal, type this (needs to be adjusted to reflect your own system settings):

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /mnt mkdir new-root mount /dev/hda5 /mnt/new-root

If everything went right these steps should finish without error.

If you check the contents of your "new-root" chances are that it is empty; there will likely be a "lost+found" directory but that's it.

So as a first step we need to recreate the various mount points again!

Code: Select all: mkdir /boot /usr /opt /home /var

Once that is done we can mount all sub-sequent partitions and attach it to our "new-root". So I will make some assumptions here, e.g. that /dev/hda6 is your /usr, /dev/hda7 is your /var, and so on. This needs to be adjusted, obviously:

Code: Select all: cd /mnt/new-root mount /dev/hda1 boot mount /dev/hda6 usr mount /dev/hda7 var mount /dev/hda8 opt mount /dev/hda9 home

With this we have recreated the structures of our harddisk ... so now we just need to fill the disk again!

There should still be an open terminal window where you cd'd to the archives, right? Into that type this command: pwd
This should spit out the current path, e.g. maybe something like /media/USBdisk/backups/archives ... Highlight it with your mouse (so that it gets copied into the clipboard).

In your other terminal window inside the "new-root" directory it's time for unpacking. Let's start with /boot ... being the smallest partition it's an excellent candidate for doing tests as it won't take too long to find out if it worked or not (if you don't have a separate /boot you can skip this ... scroll down where we restore the " / " filesystem).

Type this: tar -pzxvf and now hit your middle mouse button ... It should have inserted the path above from the clipboard into your command line so you don't have to type this path more than unnecessary. All that you need to do now is to add the name of the archive and then hit the enter key. So in the end it should look something like this:

Code: Select all: cd /mnt/new-root tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/BootFS_Backup.tar.gz

If everything worked the contents of your original /boot should have been restored to your current "new-root/boot" directory. If you do a "ls -al /mnt/new-root/boot" you should be able to see the files.

So if this works we can restore the rest too, e.g. the root filesystem " / ":

Code: Select all: cd /mnt/new-root tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/RootFilesystem_Backup.tar.gz tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/UsrFilesystem_Backup.tar.gz tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/VarFilesystem_Backup.tar.gz tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/OptFilesystem_Backup.tar.gz tar -pzxvf /media/USBdisk/where/the/backups/are/HomeFilesystem_Backup.tar.gz

Please note that if you preferred not to make a tar.gz of your home filesystem and instead used the "cp" command then you'd obviously restore your home folder as described in that section (Step 5: Restoring your /home).

If everything went as it should have you should have restored the content of your partitions to your new disk ... or your new system ... or a clone.

What's still missing is the boot loader. You could try restoring that one via restoring the MBR or with a tool like the Super Grub-Disk (please use Google ... it's a live CD specialised on restoring dead boot loaders).

Once everything is done it's time to umount and reboot the system .... which hopefully will reboot as if nothing had happened.

Code: Select all: cd /mnt/new-root sync umount boot umount usr umount var umount opt cd /mnt umount new-root

If everything is OK there should be no errors. What could happen is that you get an error message about "mount point busy" so that a partition can't be unmounted. Chances are you still got a terminal open which is accessing something on that partition? Close everything and try again. Even if you still get errors it would probably safe to reboot now. Ideally your system should now come up and boot as if nothing had happened ... If it doesn't it could be that the boot block is still not 100% OK, so it would be a good idea to e.g. use the SuperGrub Disk and have the boot block rewritten again. But after that it should really work (I do the absolutely same thing here and I therefore know that this should work!).

Step 5: Copying /home

In the example above we packed /home into a *.tar.gz archive. That may or may not be a good idea. If you got tons of movies and music files in your /home directory then further compressing /home won't do no good ... it will just be a hell of a slow operation and take forever. In such circumstances it would be better to just make a copy onto an external harddrive as we did with /etc:

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /where/we/will/store/our/stuff cp -a -v -u /home .

... This is basically the same command as above.

How to restore /home

In case something went wrong or if you had to reinstall your PC you can most likely just copy all the contents of /home back onto your new installation. Most stuff like your desktop settings, e-mails, bookmarks etc. should be tip top preserved as if nothing had happened. Example:

Code: Select all: sudo su - cd /path/to/where/we/backed/up/home cp -a -v -u yourusername /home/

Please mind the syntax. The position of those slashes "/" is very important. If everything went right and the copy process finishes then all your files should be back in your /home directory and when you login everything should be in its place as if nothing had happened. I did that already several times and I can almost guarantee that if you execute the commands right you have zero data loss ... you can switch distros, uninstall, reinstall, experiment around and if done right you will hopefully never lose your files.

BONUS -- Step 6: Putting it all together

So this is a copy of my own personal backup script ... yes, no joking, I really use this monster and it does its job well. What it does:

- all of the above
- creates sub-directories per date
- which means I can go back to specific dates and get my system the way it was that day (provided I did run a backup then)
- hopefully it's not too hard to adapt it to your needs.
- due to some limitations in my knowledge and/or bash some parts of the script repeat over and over again ... sorry about that, but I haven't yet found a way around that.

Important: The script assumes that you are already "root" and that you are already on your USB drive and in the correct location where you want to store your backup, e.g. somewhere in e.g. /media/USBdrive/backup/wherever ...

Here we go:

Code: Select all: #! /bin/bash export OSNAME="Mint_3.0" export TODAYSBACKUPDATE=`date +%d-%b-%Y` export HOSTNAME=`hostname` export RELEASE=`uname -r` mkdir $TODAYSBACKUPDATE cd $TODAYSBACKUPDATE dd if=/dev/hda of=$HOSTNAME"_hda-MBR_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE".backup" bs=512 count=1 cp -a -v -u /etc . cp -a -v -u /home . sync export MOUNTPOINT="BootFS" export ARCHIVEFILENAME=$HOSTNAME"_"$OSNAME"_Kernel_"$RELEASE"_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE"_"$MOUNTPOINT".tar.gz" tar --one-file-system -pzcvf $ARCHIVEFILENAME /boot sync export MOUNTPOINT="RootFS" export ARCHIVEFILENAME=$HOSTNAME"_"$OSNAME"_Kernel_"$RELEASE"_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE"_"$MOUNTPOINT".tar.gz" tar --one-file-system --exclude=/tmp/* --exclude=/proc/* --exclude=/dev/* --exclude=/sys/* -pzcvf $ARCHIVEFILENAME / sync export MOUNTPOINT="UsrFS" export ARCHIVEFILENAME=$HOSTNAME"_"$OSNAME"_Kernel_"$RELEASE"_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE"_"$MOUNTPOINT".tar.gz" tar --one-file-system -pzcvf $ARCHIVEFILENAME /usr sync export MOUNTPOINT="OptFS" export ARCHIVEFILENAME=$HOSTNAME"_"$OSNAME"_Kernel_"$RELEASE"_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE"_"$MOUNTPOINT".tar.gz" tar --one-file-system -pzcvf $ARCHIVEFILENAME /opt sync export MOUNTPOINT="VarFS" export ARCHIVEFILENAME=$HOSTNAME"_"$OSNAME"_Kernel_"$RELEASE"_"$TODAYSBACKUPDATE"_"$MOUNTPOINT".tar.gz" tar --one-file-system --exclude=/var/tmp/* -pzcvf $ARCHIVEFILENAME /var sync dpkg --get-selections > $HOSTNAME"_dpkg-PackageSelection.txt" sync unset MOUNTPOINT unset ARCHIVEFILENAME

That's it from here. Hope this was useful ...
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- typos corrected! + section about "menu.lst" and UUID's added.
- bad, bad, bad typo removed.

Howto Dual-Boot Linux Mint 5 and Windows

2008-08-22T07:13:00.003-07:00

WARNING! IT IS RECOMMENDED TO BACK UP ALL DATA BEFORE CONTINUING. SOMETHING COULD GO WRONG AND YOU COULD END UP WITH A WIPED HARD DRIVE

As you can see from the title, this tutorial will explain how to set up a dual-boot with Windows and Linux Mint 5.
It will also explain how to uninstall Linux Mint and go back to a single boot in case you don't like it. This was tested with Windows XP and Vista, but should work fine with 95, 98, ME, 2000, etc. This tutorial assumes you already have Windows installed in a single boot, as is the case with most people wanting to switch to Linux.

The main reason I'm writing this is because I recommend Linux Mint to a lot of people over at Yahoo! Answers, and they usually ask me questions about dual-booting. Now I can just send them a link to this thread.

Let's get started

It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to defrag your Windows installation before continuing

OK first thing you're going to do (after backing up your data) is shrink your Windows NTFS partition to make room for some new Linux partitions. This can all be done from the Linux Mint 5 live CD:
-Boot from the LiveCD:

-Choose Start Linux Mint
-Once the LiveCD loads up, go to MintMenu>Administration>PartitionEditor:

-That will open up gparted, you should see a list of all partitions on your hard drive. Right-click your Windows NTFS partition and choose Resize/Move:
-Up at the top, you can adjust the size of the partition. Shrink the partition by about half (or however much you want to devote to Linux) by clicking the arrow on the right and dragging it to the left:

-Once you've decided how much you want to shrink it by, click Resize/Move (just make sure the NTFS partition is still large enough to hold all the files you have on it.)
-Now click Apply to apply the changes you just made (This might take a while depending on how much you shrank the partition)
-gparted should now show an NTFS partion and unallocated space:

You are now ready to install Linux Mint:
-Double-click the Install icon on the Linux Mint desktop
-Choose your language, then click Forward
-Select a city in your country and timezone, click Forward again
-Choose your keyboard layout, click Forward another time
-Now we're at the important part, the partioner. You want Linux Mint to use the unallocated space we freed earlier. The easy way to do this is to choose Guided - use largest continuous free space. You can also choose Manual and set up the partitions yourself, but that's for more advanced users.

Guided - use largest continuous free space (Easy way):
-Just choose Guided - use largest continuous free space and click Forward. The installer will automatically partition the unallocated space

Manual Partitioning (Harder, but better):
-Choose Manual and click Forward
-I'll try to explain this the best I can, there are many ways you can set up the partitions. You need a Minimum of a 4GB Ext3 partition with the mount point "/" and a 256MB Linux Swap partition. First, I'll explain some of the mount points:
/: This is called the ROOT directory. It contains all other directories (/home, /usr, /etc, /boot and so on)
/home: This is called the Home directory. It contains things like documents and hidden configuration directories for software you install. It is a good idea to have this directory on a seperate partition, because it allows you to reinstall/upgrade without losing important documents.
/usr: This directory is where software goes. If you put this on a seperate partition, you can reinstall/upgrade without loosing software.
And the Swap partition is basically hard drive space that gets used as if it were RAM. (Kind of like a Windows page file)
So this is how I usually partition:
-1-2 GB Swap partition (About twice the size of your RAM is usually recommended)
-Around 2-4 GB Ext3 partition, with the mount point "/" (I usually do 6-10GB if I don't make a seperate partition for /usr)
-Around 6 GB Ext3 partition, with the mount point "/usr"
-Then I use the rest of the free space for an EXT3 partition with the mount point "/home"
If I had a partition layout like the one above and somehow screwed up my system, I could reinstall Linux Mint (Only formatting the "/" partition) and have a brand new system with all my old documents and software. Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm explaining manual partitioning very well, you could probably find a better explaination on Google.

-Now it will ask you for a username, password, and hostname... fill that out however you want and click Forward
-Next it will ask if you want to import any users or documents from other operating systems. Personally, I don't like to... but you can if you want. Click Forward
-Now it's ready to install, review the settings and click Install if they look good
-Setup will begin installing, wait for it to finish.
-Once it's done it will ask you to reboot, reboot and remove the CD. At startup, it should give you the choice of booting into Windows or Linux Mint. Test out both boot options If they both work: Congratulations, you have yourself a dual-boot:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IF YOU DECIDE LINUX MINT ISN'T RIGHT FOR YOU (How to Uninstall):

The first thing you need to do is restore the Windows bootloader. There are a few ways to do this, I prefer to use a program called ms-sys:
-Boot from the Linux Mint LiveCD
-Choose Start Linux Mint
-Once the LiveCD boots, download ms-sys_2.1.0-1_i386.deb from:
http://packages.ubuntu.com/gutsy/ms-sys
The download above is for Gutsy, there doesn't seem to be a Hardy version for some reason. But don't worry, the Gutsy version works fine
-Double-click the .deb package you just downloaded to open it with gdebi package installer, then click Install Package
-Once the package has finished installing, close gdebi
-Open a Terminal and run:

Code: Select all: sudo ms-sys -m /dev/sda

IMPORTANT NOTE: your hard drive may be something different than /dev/sda. Run sudo fdisk -l to find out. If it is something different, change the /dev/sda in the command above to suit your needs.

After you've restored the Windows bootloader, you'll have to delete the Linux partitions and stretch the Windows NTFS partition:
-Go to MintMenu>Administration>PartitionEditor
-Right-click the Linux-Swap partition and choose Swapoff
-Now right-click and delete the Linux-Swap, EXT3, and Extended partitions
-Right-click the NTFS partition, then choose Resize/Move
-Click and drag the right arrow all the way to the right side to fully extend the partition:

-Click Resize/Move
-Click Apply
-Now reboot and everything should be back to the way it was

Hope this helped

If you have any questions about burning the LiveCD, booting from the LiveCD, etc please read the Linux Mint 5 User Guide, it's all explained there.

Howto: Install Mint from a USB Pendrive/SD

2008-08-22T07:13:00.001-07:00

Hi, new to the forum. Hi everyone.
This guide is for people who want to install Linux Mint FROM a pendrive, not ON, on computers that boots from USB.

// Silver got it to work with a card-read with a 1 gb SD-card! Props to him! =) //

Today, I thought I should give Mint a try, so I brought forth my old laptop, which hasn't a cd-rom. It can boot from USB (Been meddeling with Ubuntu there.) so I though I should give it a try, but there was no guide here on this forum. Since Mint is related to Ubuntu, I crawled the wiki's and all that on the ubuntu-pages, but the guides there didn't work at all with Mint.
There are some threads here on how to use a pendrive as the main drive for Mint with persistence, but that's not what I want at all, although it's great.

I just wanted to install Mint on my craptop which doesn't have a cd-rom, and I was too lazy to boot up a linux on my regular pc to make the pendrive bootable, so everthing was to be done in Windows. I later edited this guide to include instructions on how to do the same from linux. I used Linux Mint 3.0/3.1-beta.

Anyway, here's what I did and what worked for me. I used a Creative MuVo Tx 1gB for this. The computer must be able to boot from USB.

Step 1: Make the Pendrive bootable.

[Windows]
Format the pen-drive to FAT32. This is done by right-clicking on it in 'My computer' and pressing 'Format'.
Then grab syslinux: http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/b ... x-3.60.zip
Unzip somewhere, then use the windows command-line. Navigate to the directory where you unzipped Syslinux (I called the folder syslinux), then to the win32-folder inside that folder. Then use the command syslinux -s X: (Whereas X is the drive-letter for the pendrive.)
In my example, since the pendrive had the drive-letter I:

Code: Select all: C:\syslinux\win32\syslinux -s I:

[Linux]
I used the console for this, but you could probably use Gparted aswell.
//Edit by husse/
Gparted is more secure in this case as you can easily see the partitons, their size and so, thus avoiding any mistake
For this just right click the pendrive and that gives you the options to create and format a FAT16 partition//
Anyway, in console, first find the pendrive. sudo fdisk -l will list every mounted thing, see if you can find it. For me, the pendrive was mounted as /dev/sdb1
Then I used sudo fdisk /dev/sdb1
This will start the fdisk-program. A command-prompt will start. First, we must delete any existing partition. Use the letter 'd'. Follow the instructions. Then use the letter 'n', for add a new partision. Make it a primary. Partition number should be 1.
Then use the command 't' to make it a FAT16. Other filesystems should work, but fat16 is a garantee. It's very stable and supported. The hex-code for fat16 is 6, so use that.
Then write it with 'w'.

Now, format the stick. You probably have to unmount it first.

Code: Select all: sudo umount /dev/sdb1 sudo mkfs.vfat -F 16 /dev/sdb1

Now mount it again. It should be clean and stuff.

Install Syslinux and Mtools (sudo apt-get install syslinux mtools) and run the console command:

Code: Select all: sudo syslinux /dev/sdb1

Note: The syslinux apt-get will download is severly outdated!! It took me some time to discover this. >_>
Anyway, download a fresh syslinux here: http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/b ... .51.tar.gz
Extract it somewhere. I used the desktop, since I only need syslinux for this small operation. Then go console:

Code: Select all: sudo Desktop/syslinux-3.51/unix/syslinux /dev/sdb1

Step 2: Copy the files from the Mint live-cd.

[Windows]
Download the ISO, then open it/mount it. It can be opened and extracted with WinRar or mounted with daemon-tools. Whatever you chose, make sure you copy _every_ file to the pendrive. _Every_ file.
To be 100% sure, mount it, then do the windows-command: xcopy /e /h /k X:\*.* XX: (Whereas the X is the mounted cd-drive and XX is the pendrive. In my case below;

Code: Select all: xcopy /e /h /k h:\*.* i:

This will copy everything. Everything. Yay.

[Linux]
Mount the ISO to a folder. This part is easiest done if you have the iso in your home-folder. It should then suffice do to this:

Code: Select all: mkdir mint sudo mount LinuxMint-version.iso mint -o loop

Then copy everything to the pendrive using cp.

Code: Select all: sudo cp -r mint/.* /media/cdrom0

I had mounted the pendrive to /media/cdrom0. If you have mounted it somewhere else, use that directory instead. During this process, there will be no progress-bar or something like that, just wait. It takes some time to copy 700mB. It's important to use /.* or it won't copy the hidden files.

Step 3: Edit some files!

[Windows and Linux]
On the pendrive, rename the folder isolinux to syslinux. Very important.
Open that folder, and rename the isolinux.cfg to syslinux.cfg.
In linux you could use the console-command;

Code: Select all: sudo mv /media/cdrom0/isolinux /media/cdrom0/syslinux sudo mv /media/cdrom0/syslinux/isolinux.cfg /media/cdrom0/syslinux/syslinux.cfg

And that's it! You should now have a bootable Linux Mint on the pendrive you can install from!

The parts here that confused me from the ubuntu-guide was that here, you were supposed to edit the syslinux.cfg and remove every instance of /casper/ and /install/. For somewhat reason, you should NOT edit it at all, just rename. And it works. Actually, me myself used some hours while ripping out my hair trying to figure this out, and in the end I just gave my pc the finger, then just tried with a clean unedited syslinux.cfg since it was the only thing I hadn't tried.

And yeah, this works 100% the same way as the Live CD, so if you just want to test Mint without burning any cd's, this is a good option.

// Updates /
6. September - Added 3.1-beta and colorized Husse's comments.
26. September - Tested with 3.1 final.
3. November - Works with 4.0 beta. Changed the title. Guide is so good it works for every release. :3
13. January - No, this guide is not outdated. It works with Mint 4.0 final too. I removed a part and fixed the syslinux-link. Thanks to those who posted here that the link was dead.//

TUTORIAL: All about Linux swap space . . .

2008-08-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Google found this extremely helpful article on swap files. It helped me solve my missing swap mount in just minutes after spending many unsuccessful hours trying to find useful answers elsewhere.
--- start ---

Linux.com

Everything Linux and Open Source
All about Linux swap space
December 03, 2007 (4:00:00 PM) - 3 months, 3 weeks ago

By: Gary Sims

When your computer needs to run programs that are bigger than your available physical memory, most modern operating systems use a technique called swapping, in which chunks of memory are temporarily stored on the hard disk while other data is moved into physical memory space. Here are some techniques that may help you better manage swapping on Linux systems and get the best performance from the Linux swapping subsystem.

Linux divides its physical RAM (random access memory) into chucks of memory called pages. Swapping is the process whereby a page of memory is copied to the preconfigured space on the hard disk, called swap space, to free up that page of memory. The combined sizes of the physical memory and the swap space is the amount of virtual memory available.

Swapping is necessary for two important reasons. First, when the system requires more memory than is physically available, the kernel swaps out less used pages and gives memory to the current application (process) that needs the memory immediately. Second, a significant number of the pages used by an application during its startup phase may only be used for initialization and then never used again. The system can swap out those pages and free the memory for other applications or even for the disk cache.

However, swapping does have a downside. Compared to memory, disks are very slow. Memory speeds can be measured in nanoseconds, while disks are measured in milliseconds, so accessing the disk can be tens of thousands times slower than accessing physical memory. The more swapping that occurs, the slower your system will be. Sometimes excessive swapping or thrashing occurs where a page is swapped out and then very soon swapped in and then swapped out again and so on. In such situations the system is struggling to find free memory and keep applications running at the same time. In this case only adding more RAM will help.

Linux has two forms of swap space: the swap partition and the swap file. The swap partition is an independent section of the hard disk used solely for swapping; no other files can reside there. The swap file is a special file in the filesystem that resides amongst your system and data files.

To see what swap space you have, use the command swapon -s. The output will look something like this:

Filename Type Size Used Priority
/dev/sda5 partition 859436 0 -1

Each line lists a separate swap space being used by the system. Here, the 'Type' field indicates that this swap space is a partition rather than a file, and from 'Filename' we see that it is on the disk sda5. The 'Size' is listed in kilobytes, and the 'Used' field tells us how many kilobytes of swap space has been used (in this case none). 'Priority' tells Linux which swap space to use first. One great thing about the Linux swapping subsystem is that if you mount two (or more) swap spaces (preferably on two different devices) with the same priority, Linux will interleave its swapping activity between them, which can greatly increase swapping performance.

To add an extra swap partition to your system, you first need to prepare it. Step one is to ensure that the partition is marked as a swap partition and step two is to make the swap filesystem. To check that the partition is marked for swap, run as root:

fdisk -l /dev/hdb

Replace /dev/hdb with the device of the hard disk on your system with the swap partition on it. You should see output that looks like this:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdb1 2328 2434 859446 82 Linux swap / Solaris

If the partition isn't marked as swap you will need to alter it by running fdisk and using the 't' menu option. Be careful when working with partitions -- you don't want to delete important partitions by mistake or change the id of your system partition to swap by mistake. All data on a swap partition will be lost, so double-check every change you make. Also note that Solaris uses the same ID as Linux swap space for its partitions, so be careful not to kill your Solaris partitions by mistake.

Once a partition is marked as swap, you need to prepare it using the mkswap (make swap) command as root:

mkswap /dev/hdb1

If you see no errors, your swap space is ready to use. To activate it immediately, type:

swapon /dev/hdb1

You can verify that it is being used by running swapon -s. To mount the swap space automatically at boot time, you must add an entry to the /etc/fstab file, which contains a list of filesystems and swap spaces that need to be mounted at boot up. The format of each line is:

Since swap space is a special type of filesystem, many of these parameters aren't applicable. For swap space, add:

/dev/hdb1 none swap sw 0 0

where /dev/hdb1 is the swap partition. It doesn't have a specific mount point, hence none. It is of type swap with options of sw, and the last two parameters aren't used so they are entered as 0.

To check that your swap space is being automatically mounted without having to reboot, you can run the swapoff -a command (which turns off all swap spaces) and then swapon -a (which mounts all swap spaces listed in the /etc/fstab file) and then check it with swapon -s.
Swap file

As well as the swap partition, Linux also supports a swap file that you can create, prepare, and mount in a fashion similar to that of a swap partition. The advantage of swap files is that you don't need to find an empty partition or repartition a disk to add additional swap space.

To create a swap file, use the dd command to create an empty file. To create a 1GB file, type:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1024 count=1048576

/swapfile is the name of the swap file, and the count of 1048576 is the size in kilobytes (i.e. 1GB).

Prepare the swap file using mkswap just as you would a partition, but this time use the name of the swap file:

mkswap /swapfile

And similarly, mount it using the swapon command: swapon /swapfile.

The /etc/fstab entry for a swap file would look like this:

/swapfile none swap sw 0 0

How big should my swap space be?

It is possible to run a Linux system without a swap space, and the system will run well if you have a large amount of memory -- but if you run out of physical memory then the system will crash, as it has nothing else it can do, so it is advisable to have a swap space, especially since disk space is relatively cheap.

The key question is how much? Older versions of Unix-type operating systems (such as Sun OS and Ultrix) demanded a swap space of two to three times that of physical memory. Modern implementations (such as Linux) don't require that much, but they can use it if you configure it. A rule of thumb is as follows: 1) for a desktop system, use a swap space of double system memory, as it will allow you to run a large number of applications (many of which may will be idle and easily swapped), making more RAM available for the active applications; 2) for a server, have a smaller amount of swap available (say half of physical memory) so that you have some flexibility for swapping when needed, but monitor the amount of swap space used and upgrade your RAM if necessary; 3) for older desktop machines (with say only 128MB), use as much swap space as you can spare, even up to 1GB.

The Linux 2.6 kernel added a new kernel parameter called swappiness to let administrators tweak the way Linux swaps. It is a number from 0 to 100. In essence, higher values lead to more pages being swapped, and lower values lead to more applications being kept in memory, even if they are idle. Kernel maintainer Andrew Morton has said that he runs his desktop machines with a swappiness of 100, stating that "My point is that decreasing the tendency of the kernel to swap stuff out is wrong. You really don't want hundreds of megabytes of BloatyApp's untouched memory floating about in the machine. Get it out on the disk, use the memory for something useful."

One downside to Morton's idea is that if memory is swapped out too quickly then application response time drops, because when the application's window is clicked the system has to swap the application back into memory, which will make it feel slow.

The default value for swappiness is 60. You can alter it temporarily (until you next reboot) by typing as root:

echo 50 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

If you want to alter it permanently then you need to change the vm.swappiness parameter in the /etc/sysctl.conf file.
Conclusion

Managing swap space is an essential aspect of system administration. With good planning and proper use swapping can provide many benefits. Don't be afraid to experiment, and always monitor your system to ensure you are getting the results you need.

Read in the original layout at: http://www.linux.com/feature/121916

Possible Fix ATI AGP users of FGLRX black screen of death

2008-08-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

A little history:
I have been trying to get the FGLRX drivers working for about a month now for my X1550 AGP card. Tried Ubuntu/Mint restricted, tried Envy auto and manual install up up to 8.6 drivers, tried http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Hardy_Installation_Guide,%20up%20to%208.6%20drivers

All resulted in X failing with a black / blank screen hard lock. I could reboot into recovery and repair x and run with the VESA drivers just fine. After my last ENVY attempt I could see in my Xorg.conf file that everything looked OK as far as install of restricted drivers. I started watching the list during the x repairs and noticed some difference between AGP and PCI, noting it referencing a video card of 32 meg rather than the 256 meg I have. So I thought maybe X is seeing my onboard video (it's 32 meg), so I disabled that in the BIOS. NO go there.

So then I changed my AGP Aperature size from 32 meg to 128 meg. No go there. (Everything i read about AGP Aperature in BIOS guides, says to set it as low as possible, so whats up?)
I was pretty sure I was on the right track, with it being an AGP issue. A gut feeling more than anything. I found a few mentions of DRI AGP issues, but the fixes all centered on Intel CPU's and I have AMD.
I couldn't find much in any forums, until yesterday, on Ubuntuforums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=681895.

I followed some of the bugzilla posts from that thread at ATI and discovered that all the newer cards are PCI-E based with an AGP bridge chip, and somewhere around driver 8.3, AGP cards got misread as PCI-E. This happened for the Windows drivers too. They of course, got a Bugfix. Linux has not. I read through all the Release notes from 8.3 to 8.7 with no mention of this problem. This affected all the X1xxx ATI AGP cards.

Post #27 on the ubuntu thread above gave this fix:

Update ... some guy called Alastair over at the ATI bugzilla has figured out how to get it going! By:

1) Follow the manual install option for the Proprietary ATI drivers at http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubu...river_Manually

EXCEPT before rebooting, you also need to make sure the AGP memory listing matches up at 3 places, to avoid the "ATI black screen of death":

2) Look up exactly how much video RAM your card has, eg from the box, receipt, or the ATI control centre in windows (it will either be 256MB or 512MB). For the instructions below I'll go with 512, but substitute as appropriate.
3) edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf, and add the following line at the end of the fglrx device section:

Quote:
Option "MaxGARTSize" "512"

4) edit your grub boot instructions for your kernel in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file, adding vmem=512 to your kernel boot line for your main kernel, e.g.:

Quote:
title Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-386
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-386 root=UUID=64fa7a1b-a8d7-45fb-a891-a81f3977bc13 ro quiet splash vmem=512
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-386

5) Ok, now reboot, but ENTER YOUR BIOS and look for the setting related to AGP memory, for me it was in the "Advanced Chipset Features" section. Change it to the same value as the others, eg 512MB.

...and that worked for me, ~1600 FPS in fg_glxgears Haven't tried Compiz etc yet

Ialready had an Envy install of 8.6 that had failed still installed. So I fired up into my BIOS, changed my AGP Aperature to 256 meg.
Then i started up Mint using my VESA driver, opened a terminal and ran

sudo aticonfig --initial -f

to initialize the Envy driver again. Then I edited the X and boot menus as noted above, substituting 256 for 512 to suit my card. IT FREAKIN' WORKED!

fglrxinfo

now reports ATI drivers, rather than the Mesa drivers I was getting before. I don't know if this will work for everyone, but I think AGP users need to know the probable source of their problems, so they can head in the right direction. Maybe a sticky until drivers are fixed? Let me know if it worked, didn't work for you.
I'm a newbie, so don't get too technical

Keywords: FGLRX ATI AGP x1300 x1550 x1600 x1800 x1900 x1950

How to Fix a Frozen System

2008-08-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Came across this when looking through the PCLinuxOS forums -

http://fosswire.com/2007/09/08/fix-a-frozen-system-with-the-magic-sysrq-keys/

Quote from the site:-

You finally got your Linux environment to crash. Ctrl+Alt+Backspace does nothing, nor do the F-keys. You know you shouldnâ€™t have installed that bad driver, but you did it anyway.

So you reach for the power button.

Stop.

Mashing in the power button to reboot could cause a problem if your hard drive is still being written to, and usually causes more problems than it solves. The Linux kernel includes a secret method of restarting your PC should it ever stop doing its job.

1. Hold down the Alt and SysRq (Print Screen) keys.
2. While holding those down, type the following in order. Nothing will appear to happen until the last letter is pressed: REISUB
3. Watch your computer reboot magically.

What the individual keys do in that sequence are not as important as what it does as a whole: stops all programs, unmounts all drives, and reboots. A lot safer than just cutting the power.

Here it is again: REISUB. Remember that, as it will save you a lot of time when you are configuring a system and something gets messed up. Need a mnemonic? Try Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring.

As an aside, donâ€™t try this if you just want to reboot. A normal reboot, if it can be done, should always be used instead of the REISUB keys.

R-E-I-S-U-B.

I know it says you shouldn't, but I tried it anyway - it works

You have to use your little fingers for the Alt and SysRq keys, otherwise you can't type the rest

Cheers,

Hugh

Howto Kiba-Dock With Physics

2008-08-22T07:03:00.001-07:00

This howto is heavily based on this one. The difference is mattgaunt's tutorial shows how to compile the latest version, which doesn't include physics because of a bad implementation and my tutorial shows how to compile the last version that included physics (602). This was tested with Linux Mint 4.0 and Linux Mint 5

Now let's get started

First, we need to enable the "Hardy-Proposed" repository in /etc/apt/sources.list:

Code: Select all: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

-That will open sources.list in a text editor, locate this section:

Code: Select all: ## +++ Backports & Proposed (not as stable) +++ ## deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse ## deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-proposed main restricted universe multiverse

-And uncomment (delete the #'s) that third line. Example:

Code: Select all: ## +++ Backports & Proposed (not as stable) +++ ## deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu hardy-proposed main restricted universe multiverse

-Save and exit
-Run:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get update

Now, let's get the build dependencies:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install fakeroot automake1.9 build-essential libpango1.0-dev libgtk2.0-dev libgconf2-dev libglitz-glx1-dev librsvg2-dev libglade2-dev libxcomposite-dev subversion libtool libgtop2-dev python-gtk2-dev libgnome-menu-dev libgnomeui-dev libgnomevfs2-dev intltool libxml2-dev libglitz1-dev libcairo2 libdbus-1-dev libgtop2-7 libgnomevfs2-0 libgnomeui-0 librsvg2-2 python-feedparser libasound2-dev libsdl1.2-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev libgstreamer0.10-dev libgstreamer0.10-0 pidgin-dev libpurple-dev

Let all that finish installing, then grab the source:

Code: Select all: svn co -r 602 https://kibadock.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/kibadock/trunk kiba

Now it's time to compile. Run each of the following commands ONE LINE AT A TIME:

Code: Select all: cd ~/kiba/akamaru ./autogen.sh --prefix=/usr --exec-prefix=/usr sudo make install cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-dock/ ./autogen.sh sudo make install cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-plugins/ ./autogen.sh sudo make install cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-dbus-plugins/ ./autogen.sh sudo make install cd ..

Now you're done, kiba-dock should be in your applications menu under Accessories.

You'll probably want Kiba to start up at boot, to do this:

Go to MintMenu>Preferences>Sessions

Click Add

Name: Kiba Dock
Command: kiba-dock
Comment: Dock with physics

How to uninstall (ONE LINE AT A TIME):

Code: Select all: cd ~/kiba/akamaru sudo make uninstall cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-dock/ sudo make uninstall cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-plugins/ sudo make uninstall cd ..

Code: Select all: cd kiba-dbus-plugins/ sudo make uninstall cd ..

Code: Select all: rm -rf ~/kiba

Code: Select all: rm -rf ~/.kiba

And that should do it

Like I said before, this is heavily based on mattgaunt's tutorial and I don't deserve much credit for it.

NEW EASY WAY:
I made debs!
http://files.filefront.com/Kiba+debs+FI ... einfo.html

Just install in this order:
Akamaru
Kiba Dock
Kiba Plugins
Kiba Dbus Plugins

Linux Networking with SSH

2008-08-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

SSH (Secure Shell)

SSH is a networking tool to enable remote logins to another GNU/Linux computer. It is superior to Samba because it allows you to log in as the user and have the same access to the machine as you would if you were sitting at the machine. It allows you not only to move files around but also to run applications.
Mint comes with the ssh client preinstalled but to be able to access it from another computer you have to install the ssh server. You can install ssh with a package manager like mintinstall or synaptic or it can be easily accomplished in a terminal with:

sudo apt install ssh

Now you can go to the other pc and gain terminal access to your Mint machine or access it using a filemanager like Nautilus or Konqueror. For the purposes of this howto we will pretend that the ip address of your machine is 192.168.0.111

To gain remote access in a terminal simply enter:

ssh user@ip-address (ie: ssh mintuser@192.168.0.111)
or if you want to run gui applications enter:
ssh -X user@ip-address
You will then be asked for the user id for the remote computer and be granted a prompt for that machine.

To access the remote pc via ssh using Nautilus:

Toggle to text based location input in browser mode as shown below.

The protocol to use ssh in a browser is called sftp. Enter the address into the location field using the following format:
sftp://user@ip-address (ie sftp://mintuser@192.168.0.111)

Access via Konqueror is achieved by entering the same thing into it's location field.

Of course, you can now add a bookmark so you don't have to type the address in every time you want to access it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remote Access via Internet

The default port for ssh is 22 so make sure that this is port forwarded in your router if you want access through it. (details on changing the port number for greater security are described later in the "Improving SSH Security" section). Setting up port forwarding on the router varies from router to router so you will have to consult your router's manual for information on setting that up.

To access the pc through the router from the outside world you will need to setup a static local IP address so the router knows where to direct the port forwarding. We will continue to use 192.168.0.111 as an example.

Go into Administration > Preferences > Network (or from a terminal: network-admin)
Click "unlock", select the network connection and open Properties
disable "Enable roaming mode" and enter the details which will be something like:

Static IP Address
IP address - 192.168.0.111
Subnet mask - 255.255.255.0
Gateway address - 192.168.0.1

These values can be found by simply looking at what was automatically assigned in the connection information on the network monitor on the task bar. You can also get this info, including the MAC address (HWaddr), by typing in a terminal: ifconfig

Now open the sshd config file by entering in a terminal:

gksu gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config
(or in kde: kdesu kwrite /etc/ssh/sshd_config)

Look for "#ListenAddress 0.0.0.0" and replace it with "ListenAddress 192.168.0.111"

Save it

When accessing the machine from the outside world you need to enter the server's IP address on the internet into the client's terminal/filemanager and not the local LAN address. If you are accesssing it from the local LAN you use the local address. The configuration settings are all the local address, the internet address is just what a client in the outside world has to use, it has nothing to do with the setup of your ssh server.
The internet address for your ssh server can be gained by examining the router or by simply going to http://whatismyip.com in a web browser.

You will now have to restart the ssh server. Do that by entering this in a terminal:
sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Improving SSH security

The default settings with ssh leave a little to be desired but it is quite simple to improve them
To do this you need to edit the sshd config file. Do this by entering in a terminal:

gksu gedit /etc/ssh/sshd_config
(or in kde: kdesu kwrite /etc/ssh/sshd_config)

Now we can make some modifications.

Port
It is wise to operate ssh on a different port to the default one if you can. Choose something out of the range of most port scanners. Something above 5000 is a good idea if your ISP isn't one of those Big Brother types that block ports. I will use 5876 for the example but that is an arbitrary choice. Don't forget to setup your router's port forwarding to use the same port number.
Look for "Port 22" and change this to "Port 5876"
If you do this it changes how you must address it accordingly:
In a terminal: ssh user@ip-address -p5876 (ie: ssh mintuser@192.168.0.111 -p5876)
In a filemanager: sftp://user@ip-address:port (ie: sftp://mintuser@192.168.0.111:5876)

Login Grace Time.
This is how long you allow for the password to be entered. This is set to 120 secs by default, adjust this to a figure you are happy with. 120 is probably ok because we are going to limit the number of retries allowed

Root Login .
Disable this. Why it is on by default baffles me.
Replace "PermitRootLogin yes" with "PermitRootLogin no"

Maximum login attempts.
This is also not set by default. Do it. Add this line to the Authentication section to only allow 2 tries before it boots you out. You can make it 3 if you have really clumsy fingers or a bad memory I guess. Suit yourself but no more than 2 or 3 is probably wise
MaxAuthTries 2

Don't forget to restart the server after making the changes with:
sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart

It is possible to force ssh to use rsa keys instead of passwords for greater security but I will not go into that here, that is a topic of it's own. I suggest that you use a hard to guess password on your pc anyway.

Now you're all ready to ssh your heart out. Have fun.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Other useful commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/ssh stop - stop ssh server
sudo /etc/init.d/ssh start -start ssh server
man ssh - comprehensive description of ssh commands

Howto: Remove Fortune messages in the Terminal

2008-08-22T06:54:00.001-07:00

- open a terminal
- type "gksu gedit /etc/bash.bashrc"
- in the end of the file, remove the line /usr/games/fortune
- save the file.

Clem

How to install DVD Styler in Daryna

2008-08-22T06:52:00.002-07:00

Only for Daryna
Download:
http://www.4shared.com/file/34086085/86 ... ertar.html

Extract and install these packages in this order:

libmjpegtools0_1.8.0-0.5_i386.deb
mjpegtools_1.8.0-0.5_i386.deb
mpgtx_1.3.1-4_i386.deb
wxsvg_1.0b7_i386.deb
dvdstyler_1.5.1_i386.deb

Screenshot(Click to enlarge image):

How To: Get Broadcom Wireless Working: Elyssa

2008-08-22T06:52:00.001-07:00

Okies, I had some difficulty getting wireless to work, so after scouring the internet, from a wired connection I finally got it. It requires that you have an internet connection, just to do a couple of things, first download wl_apsta.o to your destop:

wl_apsta.o.lzma.tar.gz: (195.74 KB) Downloaded 92 times

Extract it using archive manager, then you'll be left with 'wl_apsta.o.lzma'. Open it with archive manager, and extract it. Now for the hard-ish part:

You'll need build essential, so:

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install build-essential

then type:

Code: Select all: cd wget http://bu3sch.de/b43/fwcutter/b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2 tar xjf b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2 cd b43-fwcutter-011 make cd ..

now, wherever I put adam, put you're compy name there, eg, fred, joe, etc.

Code: Select all: export /home/adam/Desktop=”/lib/firmware” wget http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2 tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2 cd broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0/kmod sudo ../../b43-fwcutter-011/b43-fwcutter -w /lib/firmware wl_apsta.o

Worked for me, post your comments and let me know how it works for you.

How to enable autologin to your wifi

2008-08-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Edit by husse// From Daryna this is not necessary anymore - you get logged in without typing keys....//
Here's what I've done on my laptop to auto-login the keyrings. One main point is that the keyring password must be the same as your username password. I assume that this would work for different users as it stores the keyring in your home folder for each user, however I've never used more then one user so I'm unsure. The first thing to do is remove the keyring if the passwords are different by running:

Code: Select all: rm ~/.gnome2/keyrings/default.keyring

You could also do this in Nautilus by browsing to the directory and deleting default.keyring.

Next thing is to install labpam-keyring, this enables auto-login for the keyring.

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install libpam-keyring

After this is installed you may need to restart to reset the password to the same password as your login password. I don't think it's needed but it might be.

We then need to edit a configuration file.

Code: Select all: sudo gedit /etc/pam.d/gdm

Add following lines to the end of file:

Code: Select all: # use session password for gnome-keyring auth optional pam_keyring.so try_first_pass session optional pam_keyring.so

Originally found on the ubuntuforums somewhere a few weeks ago I believe. No credit goes to me as I didn't figure any of this out just copy and pasted. Hope this helps.

Solution for Atheros AR 5006 / 5007 Cards

2008-08-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

To the mods, maybe you should sticky this, because I had nothing but trouble getting this to work. Emphasis on nothing but trouble, and if I had trouble, I'm sure a lot of other people had, I'd be fairly linux literate!!! lol. Hope this helps.

Heres how I set mine up:

Download this snapshot of the madwifi drivers:

snapshots.madwifi.org/madwifi-ng/madwifi-ng-r2756-20071018.tar.gz

Download this patch:

madwifi.org/attachment/ticket/1679/madwifi-ng-0933.ar2425.20071130.i386.patch?format=raw

Open up terminal, there are a few packages we need to install first:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk
sudo apt-get install g++
sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install patch

If anyof these requireyou to enter your root password, do it.

Now change to your Desktop in terminal

cd Desktop

Unpack the snapshot downloaded earlier

tar -xvzf madwifi-ng-r2756-20071018.tar.gz

patch -p0 < madwifi-ng-0933.ar2425.20071130.i386.patch

Once that's done you need to make and install the driver

make
sudo make install

Finally probe the module

modprobe ath-pci

Reboot and your card should be working!

Keep the patched file somewhere safe, because everytime you do something major to the system like updates etc, it drops the module and you need to mak, make install, and modprobe it everytime it disappears!

Actually, on updating I did make install, and then modprobe as above, but the modprobe chucked out an error, so I just rebooted and it worked fine. Not sure why, cause u need to modprobe in Ubuntu.

And some people may need to blacklist their ath5k module if it's installed

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

inside the window that pops up, simply add

blacklist ath5k

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

2008-08-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is simply how i got my DWA-552 and DWA-556 (Atheros chipset 5416/5418 to work for me in Linux MInt 4.0 and Ubuntu Gutsy. consistently using madwifi (a native linux driver specifically developed for atheros chipsets) which is arguably a better choice than the alternative ndiswrapper(basically a workaround that allows you to use SOME windows drivers in Linux. First please be patient with me as I am far from a Guru as far as Linux is concerned, but I will help you the best way I can and if I cannot then hopefully someone else can.

YOU WILL TEMPORARILY NEED A HARD WIRED INTERNET CONNECTION FOR THIS GUIDE

Note: Press ENTER after each line command
first open up a terminal and in it type the following:

You dont have to install module-assistant, but i believe it helps


sudo apt-get install module-assistant
sudo m-a prepare

if you prefer or if this is not working for you you can open up Synaptic package manager in the System tools menu and install module assistant that way same goes for libc6-dev

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

you may be asked for a password. (sudo) allows you to execute commands as root without having to be constantly logged in as root (which would be a little dangerous) Enter the same password that you logged into the computer with.

libc6-dev will allow you to compile madwifi.

next install subversion which will allow you to retrieve the nightly snapshot of madwifi.

sudo apt-get install subversion

next we are going to create a directory where madwifi will be downloaded to and then we will change to that directory.

mkdir madwifi
cd madwifi

f you did this correctly your terminal should look like this

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi$

next we will download the madwifi snapshot

svn co http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

by zeesson on Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:31 pm

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install module-assistant sudo m-a prepare

if you prefer or if this is not working for you you can open up Synaptic package manager in the System tools menu and install module assistant that way same goes for libc6-dev

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install subversion

next we are going to create a directory where madwifi will be downloaded to and then we will change to that directory.

Code: Select all: mkdir madwifi cd madwifi

if you did this correctly your terminal should look like this

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi$

next we will download the madwifi snapshot

Code: Select all: svn co http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk

when it is done you should see:

checked out version number ####

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi$

Next we will enter the directory that was created when we downloaded the snapshot and start to compile

cd trunk

your terminal should look like this

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi/trunk$

and then compile

sudo make

NOTE this will take a 10-30 seconds

NOTE: before we move on know that you should not have gotten ANY errors while compiling if you did. Then stop and try again, if that doesnt work then explain you error here. Now for those who did not recieve any errors the next step is to install madwifi

sudo make install

NOTE:you may get a message that says that madwifi drivers are already installed from an older installation and gives you the option to either remove them, ignore them or exit. type the letter r and then press ENTER to remove the old drivers and install the new ones.

if you dont get this message fine move on to the next step

Next you will have to add an entry to your /etc/network/interfaces file in order to be able to bring up the device. To make use of wpa_supplicant in roaming mode.

gksudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

by zeesson on Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:31 pm

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install module-assistant sudo m-a prepare

if you prefer or if this is not working for you you can open up Synaptic package manager in the System tools menu and install module assistant that way same goes for libc6-dev

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install libc6-dev

Code: Select all: sudo apt-get install subversion

next we are going to create a directory where madwifi will be downloaded to and then we will change to that directory.

Code: Select all: mkdir madwifi cd madwifi

if you did this correctly your terminal should look like this

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi$

next we will download the madwifi snapshot

Code: Select all: svn co http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk

Code: Select all: cd trunk

your terminal should look like this

(username)@(computername):~/madwifi/trunk$

and then compile

Code: Select all: sudo make

Code: Select all: sudo make install

Code: Select all: gksudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

this will open up a text document all you need to do is copy and paste the following into this text file after the text that is already there:

#Wireless
noauto ath0
allow-hotplug ath0

iface ath0 inet manual
wpa-driver madwifi
wpa-roam /etc/network/wpa_supplicant.conf

iface default inet dhcp

Now save and close that text file.

Now all that is left to do is probe the module

sudo modprobe ath_pci
/sbin/ifconfig

you should now see your network connections it should look something like this

ath0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:19:7E:41:09:C1
inet addr:192.168.0.102 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:316176 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:562494 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:54115716 (51.6 MiB) TX bytes:823180275 (785.0 MiB)

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:15:58:86:70:EE
inet addr:192.168.0.119 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Base address:0x2000 Memory:ee000000-ee020000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:1420 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:1420 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:182621 (178.3 KiB) TX bytes:182621 (178.3 KiB)

wifi0 Link encap:UNSPEC HWaddr 00-19-7E-41-09-C1-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:462907 errors:753 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:182
TX packets:563036 errors:6 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:199
RX bytes:91695661 (87.4 MiB) TX bytes:846831037 (807.6 MiB)
Interrupt:21

It's the ath0 interface that you're after for actually configuring whatever network manager you choose to use. Personally I use Wicd (which you can get form here http://wicd.sourceforge.net/download.php) use the instructions for Ubuntu

NOTE you will have to uninstall network-manager from Synaptic (mentioned above) in order to use Wicd as your network manager

Ignore the wifi0 it is just the binary hal interface. Enjoy

I tried my best to put this together "in a simple new user style" with info i got from a bunch of different places mainly the ubuntu forums, thinkwiki, and madwifi.org. any extra input would be appreciated

Remember "Each One Teach One"

Troubleshooting
If you're having trouble getting the ath0 interface to show up on a regular ifconfig, but can see it if you do an ifconfig -a and nothing seems to be happening with wpa_supplicant, the solution (for some unknown reason) is to rename ath0 to wlan0. This is easily done by modifying the udev rule.

gksudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

this will open up a text document you should see a line that looks similar to this

# PCI device 0x168c:0x0024 (ath_pci)
SUBSYSTEM=="net", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="", ATTR{type}=="1", NAME="ath0"
All you need to do is change the "ath0" to "wlan0"

save and close the document and then remove the module with

sudo rmmod ath_pci
sudo pkill wpa

and then reprobe the module

: sudo modprobe ath_pci

How to:Wireless WiFi on Fujitsu Amilo Li1718 Laptop

2008-08-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

This chipset has been used in some Toshiba & Fujitsu Laptops like the Amilo LI1718 & probably a lot of others as well.

To install the drivers download the install script at the link below to your home folder:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/roadrash/laptop/fsca16xx.sh

1. Now open a shell

2. type: chmod 755 fsca16xx.sh

3. type: sudo ./fsca16xx.sh setup

Thats it everything is automated and you just have to wait for it to finish.
When it has finished you will need to reboot to activate everything.
In the Mint KDE version click the Knetwork manager then select the network you wish to connect to and enter ant security details. These will then be stored in KDE wallet.
I'm not to sure what you do in Gnome or XFCE desktops but the drivers will work on both.
This script was primarily written for the Fujitsu Amilo Li1718 Laptop but should work on any other that uses the Atheros AR5007EG WiFI chipset.

This script will work on all versions of MINT (Cassandra, Celina & Daryna)

v 1.4b Sys. Back-Up/Restore & Clean-Up Script - Windows Too!

2008-08-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

For those of you that have been looking for a simple, but easy to use back-up routine, this might be your answer. I had not found a utility that met my needs, that I liked, so I wrote my own little bash script to do what I needed.

I tried to keep it simple so it could be easily understood and modified, but still do the things I wanted.

If you are willing to spend a few min. to configure it to your system, it may be a solution for you too.

I have been using it for a several weeks without issue. Hopefully it doesn't have too many bugs left in it.

Copy the contents of the code box below and paste into an editor.

There are detailed instructions in the file on how to set it up and run it.

EDIT:
At the request of several people I upgraded the script to also selectively back-up and restore your Windows install and/or your Windows Recovery partition and give more options.

Main Features:

1.) Version 1.4b does a better job of initially cleaning up a Linux system.

2.) I fixed some of the menus, and did some code clean-up to make it easier to understand how it works.

3.) The script now has the ability to selectively back-up and/or restore your Windows partition, C:drive, or another Linux install.

4.) The script now has the ability to selectively back-up and/or restore your Windows Recovery partition or another /home partition.

5.) The script now backs-up most of the files in your Linux install and gives you the ability to restore the whole system back to the state it was in at the last back-up if you break it. This can be done with one selection or you can sort through the folders and only restore piece meal if you prefer. It should be about 85% effective at fixing the system.

6.) It isn't recommended, but you can now choose to skip the clean-up portion of the script if you need to for some reason.

7.) You can back-up to or restore from an internal or external drive partition.

8.) The script is not DE specific. It can be used with KDE or Gnome.

9.) The restore portion of the script can be run independently from the back-up schedule selected.

10.) I clarified some of the instructions in the set-up section to make it more complete and easier to understand.

11.) You can now select to have the script make the back-up folders of your choice on your back-up partition for you.

12.) The script uses rsync for fast and efficient back-up / restore of large data stores.

bakclean version 1.4b

#!/bin/sh

# Written in May of 2008: by - Fred - bakclean version 1.4b

# Any code that I can legally lay claim to in this script
# is released under a dual license. GPL version 2 OR GPL
# version 3. Any derivative code must also be released on
# the same above dual licensing terms.

# I know it is silly to have to do this for a simple little
# script, but these days you just never can tell what might
# happen.

# The clean-up portion of this script removes unused files,
# and other cruft, that collects on your system over time.
# This cruft not only takes up space but can cause other
# system problems. You can choose to not use it below but
# I recommend you leave it active unless you need to keep
# your package download stores intact for later use.

# NOTE!: This script is set up for a single user account.
# Don't attempt to use it if you have multiple user
# accounts. Contact me if you need to be able to deal with
# multiple user accounts. Tell me what your needs are. If
# there is enough interest I will modify it.

# The back-up portion of this script provides for back-up
# and selective restore of your /home data files, your
# /home config files, and most of your Linux system files.
# If you choose to back-up your Linux system files you will
# have the ability to put your system back like it was when
# you last backed it up. This system restore function
# should be about 85% effective in fixing a broken system.

# It will also pick up your data partition files if they
# are mounted in your /home directory and you leave them
# mounted in the script. It also now provides the ability
# to selectively back-up and restore the C:drive of your
# Windows install and it's recovery partition, if you have
# one.

# The C:drive of your Windows install is where all your OS
# system files are stored, as well as your Windows data
# files if you don't have additional drives assigned. This
# too can be deselected.

# The Windows recovery partition makes it possible to
# recover a damaged Windows install. This is usually
# placed on the drive by the computer manufacturer and
# contains all the drivers specific to your hardware. This
# partition can also be deselected.

# This script uses rsync for back-up. This is a very
# efficient method, as it only transfers data that has
# been changed, added or deleted since the last back-up
# was done to maintain a mirror image. This makes
# subsequent back-ups fast and efficient. The same is true
# for the restore process.

# No compression is used so it is relatively easy to go to
# the back-up and retrieve individual files if needed.

# You must have "dialog" and "deborphan" installed to use
# this script. They will be automatically installed if not
# available on your system.

# I used portions of the below clean-up script. I modified
# and rewrote it to make it safer and more user friendly.
#
# Script basado en ubucleaner.
# Modificado por Mario Hidalgo | Inacap -Antofagasta
# -Chile | 24 de marzo del 2008

# Cut and paste this script into a text editor and call it
# "bakclean".

# Enter the config data about your system, below.

# Create a hidden folder in your /home folder called
# .ShellScripts :
# mkdir /home/*/.ShellScripts

# Save this script as /home/*/.ShellScripts/bakclean

# Set permissions with:
# chmod 755 /home/*/.ShellScripts/bakclean

# Copy to /usr/bin with:
# sudo cp -a /home/*/.ShellScripts/bakclean /usr/bin

# Execute manually by typing in a terminal: bakclean

# The first time you run this script, it may time-out,
# stop, and require you to re-enter your sudo password.
# This occurs if you have a lot of data to back-up and/or
# a slow computer. It only transfers data that has been
# added or changed since the last run, so it shouldn't
# be a problem after the initial clean-up and back-up
# cycles.

# Depending on your desktop, set this script to start in a
# terminal each time you boot, set it up on a kron tab, or
# use some other scheduling software.

# As an example: In KDE use the auto start module and use
# the start command: konsole -e bakclean

# If you have a partition you are using as a back-up
# partition that is mounted in your /home directory, make
# sure you also have an entry in /etc/fstab for a sdxx
# mount point in /media also. You should have two fstab
# entries for that partition. Example: One /etc/fstab
# entry for mount point /media/sdb2 and one for
# /home/fred/Backup.

# Correct the uncommented lines below for your system.
# Do not change anything after the next # # Begin - Begin
# line.

# Be careful entering your system config data below. Entry
# errors are not allowed. If you do this accurately you
# should have a nice clean-up, back-up and restore system.
# Otherwise you may have a mess.

# Change the folders mounted to other partitions below to
# indicate the data partitions and folders in your /home
# directory that you don't want backed up. You can exclude
# up to 5 folders/partitions from back-up. Always exclude
# the back-up folder if mounted in your /home. If you do
# not have data or back-up partitions mounted in your
# /home this doesn't apply to you. Put "no" in all 5
# positions.

fldr1="Backup"
fldr2="no"
fldr3="no"
fldr4="no"
fldr5="no"

# Set the mounting partitions that correspond to any data
# folders in your /home above, that are being excluded.
# If you do not have data or back-up partitions mounted in
# your /home this doesn't apply to you. Put "no" in all 5
# positions.

prtn1="sdb2"
prtn2="no"
prtn3="no"
prtn4="no"
prtn5="no"

# If you wish to disable the clean-up portion of this script,
# change the "no" entry for skip to "yes".

skip="no"

# If you have a Windows install or another Linux install
# you want to back-up, enter the partition designator, sdxx,
# of your other install below. Enter "no" if you don't have
# another install or you don't wish to back it up.

win="sda7"

# If you are backing up another install above and wish to
# back-up a recovery partition or a /home partition. Enter
# the partition designator below in the form "sdxx" or "no".

winr="sda8"

# Do you want to automatically back-up your another install
# every time the back-up script runs? Enter "yes" below for
# automatic or "no" to be given a choice each time, or if
# you aren't backing up another install.

winrun="yes"

# Do you want to automatically back-up your Windows Recovery
# partition or another /home partition every time the back-up
# script runs? Enter "yes" below for automatic or "no" to be
# given a choice each time, or if you aren't backing up
# Windows Recovery or another /home partition.

winrrun="yes"

# NOTE!: Make sure your Linux system has read/write access
# to your Windows partition and your Windows Recovery
# partition through /media/sdxx for both partitions before
# running the script and attempting to back-up or restore
# Windows or Windows Recovery.

# Set the 3 days of the week you wish to run the backup.
# I use Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. You can set all
# 3 to the same day if you only want to run it once a week.

bak1="Mon"
bak2="Thu"
bak3="Sat"

# If you want it to run anytime the script is called, put
# "anytime" in bak4 below. "stop" will prevent the back-up
# and clean-up portion of this script from running except
# on the 3 days a week specified above.

bak4="stop"

# The Restore portion of the routine will run whenever
# bakclean is run, regardless of the settings above.

# Create folders on your back-up partition to hold your
# back-up data and files. You can create a master folder
# to hold all of these folders if you want. Create folders
# on your back-up partition sdxx. Change them if you wish.
# Note! -- No spaces allowed in folder names. You must
# back-up and create folders for dataBF and configBF. Enter
# "none" for any folders you choose not to back-up. If you
# are not backing up Windows or Windows recovery, put "none"
# in those two entries also. I called mine:

dataBF="BackUpData"
configBF="BackUpConfig"
usrBF="BackUpUsr"
etcBF="BackUpEtc"
bootBF="BackUpBoot"
binBF="BackUpBin"
sbinBF="BackUpSbin"
libBF="BackUpLib"
devBF="BackUpDev"
varBF="BackUpVar"
winBF="BackDenRoot"; # winBF could be "WindowsXP";
winrBF="BackDenHome"; # winrBF could be "WinRecovery";

# You only have to create folders for dataBF and configBF.
# All the others are optional. If you don't wish to back
# other folders up enter "none" for each.

# Do you have or want a master back-up folder on your back-up
# partition that contains all the back-up folders above?
# If so, what is it's name? Enter "no" or "folder_name".

bakM="MasterBackUp"

# Would you like the script to make these back-up storage
# folders for you? Enter "yes" or "no" below.

makeBF="yes"

# Put your back-up partition designator in below.

bakP="sdb2"

# NOTE!: Make sure you have allowed enough space in your
# back-up partition to hold all the data you will be
# duplicating there.

# # Begin - Begin --- Don't change anything below this line.
#
# ==========================================
#
# # Begin - Begin --- Start of Restore Utility v 1.4b by Fred

day=$(date +%a)

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w gnome-terminal | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" != "" ]; then
pid=$(pidof gnome-terminal)
fi

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w konsole | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" != "" ]; then
pid=$(pidof konsole)
fi

#  ||

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w dialog | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
sudo aptitude -y install dialog
fi

hm="/home/*"

umt1="$hm/$fldr1"
umt2="$hm/$fldr2"
umt3="$hm/$fldr3"
umt4="$hm/$fldr4"
umt5="$hm/$fldr5"

rmnt1="/dev/$prtn1 $hm/$fldr1"
rmnt2="/dev/$prtn2 $hm/$fldr2"
rmnt3="/dev/$prtn3 $hm/$fldr3"
rmnt4="/dev/$prtn4 $hm/$fldr4"
rmnt5="/dev/$prtn5 $hm/$fldr5"

if test $bakM != "no"; then
bakPP="$bakP/$bakM"
else
bakPP="$bakP"
fi

dataB="/media/$bakPP/$dataBF/$dataBF"
configB="/media/$bakPP/$configBF/$configBF"
usrB="/media/$bakPP/$usrBF/$usrBF"
etcB="/media/$bakPP/$etcBF/$etcBF"
bootB="/media/$bakPP/$bootBF/$bootbBF"
binB="/media/$bakPP/$binBF/$binBF"
sbinB="/media/$bakPP/$sbinBF/$sbinBF"
libB="/media/$bakPP/$libBF/$libBF"
devB="/media/$bakPP/$devBF/$devBF"
varB="/media/$bakPP/$varBF/$varBF"
winB="/media/$bakPP/$winBF/$winBF"
winrB="/media/$bakPP/$winrBF/$winrBF"

dialog --title "Alert! : Do you wish to continue with the Restore utility?" --backtitle "bakclean v 1.4b Script: by - Fred" --yesno "\n           Do you wish to Restore your files?" 8 70
answer2=$?
sleep 1
if test $answer2 -gt 0; then
if test $day != $bak1; then
if test $day != $bak2; then
if test $day != $bak3; then
if test $bak4 != "anytime"; then
kill $pid
exit
fi; fi; fi; fi; fi

answer=1

if test $answer2 -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Alert! : Do you wish to continue with the Clean-Up and Back-Up utility?" --backtitle "bakclean v 1.4b Script: by - Fred" --yesno "\n     Do you wish to Clean-Up and optionally Back-Up your files?" 8 70
answer=$?
sleep 1
fi

if test $answer -gt 0; then
if test $answer2 -gt 0; then
kill $pid
exit
fi; fi

if [ $USER != root ]; then
dialog --title "Be patient, Operations may take a while!" --backtitle "Back-Up / Restore & Clean-Up Utility v 1.4b cobbled together by - Fred" --infobox "
   Enter sudo password, if asked, below.  Restart bakclean." 5 75;
sudo -i
exit 0
fi

if test $prtn1 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt1
fi

if test $prtn2 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt2
fi

if test $prtn3 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt3
fi

if test $prtn4 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt4
fi

if test $prtn5 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt5
fi

# Select and Restore partitions/folders/files

Rall=1

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test $devBF != "none"; then
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nDo you wish to Restore all your backed-up Linux System files except your Data files at the same time." 8 80
Rall=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rall -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $configB/ $hm

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $usrB/ /usr

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $etcB/ /etc

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $bootB/ /boot

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $binB/ /bin

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $sbinB/ /sbin

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $libB/ /lib

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $devB/ /dev

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $varB/ /var

fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nSelect Yes to Restore Data files to your /home.
No for the next choice or to exit." 8 80
Rdata=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rdata -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $dataB/ $hm
fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nSelect Yes to Restore Config files to your /home. No for the next choice." 8 82
Rconfig=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rconfig -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $configB/ $hm
fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test bootBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nSelect Yes to Restore your /boot folder.
No for the next choice." 8 70
Rboot=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rboot -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $bootB/ /boot
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test etcBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n       Select Yes to Restore /etc. No for the next choice." 8 70
Retc=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Retc -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $etcB/ /etc
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test usrBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /usr. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rusr=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rusr -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $usrB/ /usr
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test binBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /bin. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rbin=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rbin -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $binB/ /bin
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test sbinBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /sbin. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rsbin=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rsbin -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $sbinB/ /sbin
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test libBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /lib. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rlib=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rlib -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $libB/ /lib
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test devBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /dev. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rdev=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rdev -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $devB/ /dev
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test varBF != "none"; then
if test $Rall -gt 0; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\n      Select Yes to Restore /var. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rvar=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rvar -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --include "*" --include "*/**" $varB/ /var
fi; fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test $winBF != "none"; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nSelect Yes to Restore Windows or another install. No for your next choice." 8 70
Rwin=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rwin -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 $winB/ /media/$win
fi; fi; fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
if test $winrBF != "none"; then
#
dialog --title "Select files to Restore." --backtitle "Restore" --yesno "\nSelect Yes to Restore Windows Recoveryor another /home partition. No to Exit." 8 70
Rwinr=$?
sleep 1
#
if test $Rwinr -lt 1; then
#
sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 $winrB/ /media/$winr
fi; fi; fi

if test $prtn1 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt1
fi

if test $prtn2 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt2
fi

if test $prtn3 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt3
fi

if test $prtn4 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt4
fi

if test $prtn5 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt5
fi

if test $answer2 -lt 1; then
dialog --title "Restore has successfully completed!" --backtitle "Restore" --infobox "
The files you have selected have been successfully Restored!" 5 65; sleep 10
kill $pid
exit
fi

# End of Restore Utility v 1.4b - by Fred
#
# ==========================================
#
# # Begin - Begin --- Start of Clean-Up Utility v 1.4b

if test $skip = "no"; then

OLDCONF=$(dpkg -l|grep "^rc"|awk '{print $2}')
CURKERNEL=$(uname -r|sed 's/-*[a-z]//g'|sed 's/-386//g')
LINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|ubuntu-modules|restricted-modules)"
METALINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|restricted-modules)-(generic|i386|server|common|rt|xen)"
OLDKERNELS=$(dpkg -l|awk '{print $2}'|grep -E $LINUXPKG |grep -vE $METALINUXPKG|grep -v $CURKERNEL)

dialog --title "Clean-Up will be done first!" --backtitle "A clean system is more compact and trouble free." --infobox "
   The Clean-Up routine will begin in 5 seconds!" 5 60; sleep 5

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w deborphan | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
sudo aptitude -y install deborphan
fi

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean
sudo dpkg --configure -a

sudo aptitude update

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w deborphan | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
dialog --title "Deborphan failed to load properly." --backtitle "Deborphan" --infobox "
             Restart the bakclean Script." 5 60;
exit 0
else
  for i in `deborphan --guess-all`
  do
      paquetes="$paquetes $i"
  done
  echo $paquetes
  read
echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."
  sudo aptitude -y remove --purge $paquetes
fi

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS

for a in $(seq 1 2); do
OLDCONF=$(dpkg -l|grep "^rc"|awk '{print $2}')
CURKERNEL=$(uname -r|sed 's/-*[a-z]//g'|sed 's/-386//g')
LINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|ubuntu-modules|restricted-modules)"
METALINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|restricted-modules)-(generic|i386|server|common|rt|xen)"
OLDKERNELS=$(dpkg -l|awk '{print $2}'|grep -E $LINUXPKG |grep -vE $METALINUXPKG|grep -v $CURKERNEL)
for i in `deborphan --guess-all`
  do
      paquetes="$paquetes $i"
  done
  echo $paquetes
  read
echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."
  sudo aptitude -y remove --purge $paquetes

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS
done

echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."

cd /usr
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd /etc
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd /boot
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd $hm
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

mkdir Clean-Out

# You can empty the trash of any data folders you have
# mounted in your /home by uncommenting however many
# lines you need below and putting the appropriate folder
# names in place of mine.

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Backup/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Backup/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Documents/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Documents/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Downloads/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Downloads/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Pictures/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Pictures/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Projects/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Projects/.Trash-0

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/.local/share/Trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /root/.local/share/Trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /.trash

rmdir Clean-Out

rm -rf /home/*/.local/share/Trash/*/** &> /dev/null
rm -rf /root/.local/share/Trash/*/** &> /dev/null

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
sudo dpkg --configure -a
aptitude -y clean

dialog --title "Alert! : Continue with Back-Up utility?" --backtitle "Clean-Up has completed successfully!" --yesno "\n          Do you wish to continue with the Back-Up process?" 8 70
answer=$?
#
if test $answer -gt 0; then
kill $pid
exit
fi

fi

#
# End of Clean-Up v 1.4b utility, originally by: Modificado
# por Mario Hidalgo | Inacap -Antofagasta -Chile - Modified
# and rewritten by Fred
#
# ===============================================
#
# Start of Back-Up Utility v 1.4b - by Fred
#

if test $skip = "yes"; then
dialog --title "Alert! : Continue with Back-Up utility?" --backtitle "You are now ready to Back-Up your system!" --yesno "\n          Do you wish to continue with the Back-Up process?" 8 70
answer=$?
#
if test $answer -gt 0; then
kill $pid
exit
fi; fi

if test $makeBF = "yes"; then
if test $$bakM != "no"; then
sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP
fi; fi

if test $makeBF = "yes"; then
sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$dataBF
sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$configBF
   if test $usrBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$usrBF; fi
   if test $etcBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$etcBF; fi
   if test $bootBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$bootBF; fi
   if test $binBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$binBF; fi
   if test $sbinBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$sbinBF; fi
   if test $libBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$libBF; fi
   if test $devBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$devBF; fi
   if test $varBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$varBF; fi
   if test $winBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$winBF; fi
   if test $winrBF != "none"; then
   sudo mkdir /media/$bakPP/$winrBF; fi
fi

answer3=1

if test $win != "no"; then
if test $winrun = "no"; then
#
dialog --title "Select whether to Back-Up your Windows partition." --backtitle "Back-Up System" --yesno "\n Do you wish to back-up your Windows C:drive this time?" 8 70
answer3=$?
sleep 1
fi; fi

if test $winrun = "yes"; then
answer3=0
fi

answer4=1

if test $winr != "no"; then
if test $winrrun = "no"; then
#
dialog --title "Select whether to Back-Up your Windows Recovery partition." --backtitle "Back-Up System" --yesno "\n Do you wish to back-up your Windows Recovery partition this time?" 8 70
answer4=$?
fi; fi

if test $winrrun = "yes"; then
answer4=0
fi

if test $prtn1 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt1
fi

if test $prtn2 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt2
fi

if test $prtn3 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt3
fi

if test $prtn4 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt4
fi

if test $prtn5 != "no"; then
sudo umount $umt5
fi

# Back-Up Files/Folders

if test etcBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /etc/ $etcB
fi

if test bootBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /boot/ $bootB
fi

sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --exclude ".*" --exclude ".*/**" --include "*" --include "*/**" $hm/ $dataB

sudo rsync -arE --progress --timeout=120 --delete --exclude "*~" --include ".*" --include ".*/**" --exclude "*" $hm/ $configB

if test usrBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /usr/ $usrB
fi

if test binBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /bin/ $binB
fi

if test sbinBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /sbin/ $sbinB
fi

if test libBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /lib/ $libB
fi

if test devBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /dev/ $devB
fi

if test varBF != "none"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 --exclude "*~" --include "*" --include "*/**" /var/ $varB
fi

if test $answer3 -lt 1; then
if test $win != "no"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 /media/$win/ $winB
fi; fi

if test $answer4 -lt 1; then
if test $winr != "no"; then
sudo rsync -arE --progress --delete --timeout=120 /media/$winr/ $winrB
fi; fi

if test $prtn1 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt1
fi

if test $prtn2 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt2
fi

if test $prtn3 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt3
fi

if test $prtn4 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt4
fi

if test $prtn5 != "no"; then
sudo mount -a $rmnt5
fi

dialog --title "Back-up has successfully completed!" --backtitle "bakclean v 1.4b by Fred" --infobox "
             That wasn't so bad was it?" 5 60; sleep 10

kill $pid
exit
#
# End

I pulled the clean-up portion of the above script out and made it stand-alone. You can now use the below script to clean-up your system without having to go to the trouble of configuring the back-up script and having to click through the menus.

It turned out that it was a good move because I found a bug that prevented it from emptying the trash cans when very large files and folder trees were in them. I should have known not to use the rm command but I did and it choked on large amounts of data. I fixed it in the 1.4b version.

cleanout version 1.4b

#!/bin/sh

# Written in May of 2008: by - Fred - cleanout version 1.4b

# Any code that I can legally lay claim to in this script
# is released under a dual license. GPL version 2 OR GPL
# version 3. Any derivative code must also be released on
# the same above dual licensing terms.

# I know it is silly to have to do this for a simple little
# script, but these days you just never can tell what might
# happen.

# Cut and paste this script into a text editor and call it
# "cleanout".

# Create a hidden folder in your /home folder called
# .ShellScripts :
# mkdir /home/*/.ShellScripts

# Save this script as /home/*/.ShellScripts/cleanout

# Set permissions with:
# chmod 755 /home/*/.ShellScripts/cleanout

# Copy to /usr/bin with:
# sudo cp -a /home/*/.ShellScripts/cleanout /usr/bin

# Execute by typing in a terminal: cleanout

# This script uses "Deborphan" and "Dialog." These routines
# will be automaticly downloaded and installed if they are
# not availiable on your system.

# I used portions of the below clean-up script. I modified
# and rewrote it to make it safer and more user friendly.
#
# Script basado en ubucleaner.
# Modificado por Mario Hidalgo | Inacap -Antofagasta
# -Chile | 24 de marzo del 2008

# # Begin - Begin --- Don't change anything below this line.
#
# ==========================================
#
# # Begin - Begin --- Start of Clean-Out Utility

hm="/home/*"

if [ $USER != root ]; then
dialog --title "Be patient, Operations may take a while!" --backtitle "Clean-Out Utility v 1.4b cobbled together by - Fred" --infobox "
   Enter sudo password, if asked, below.  Restart cleanout." 5 75;
sudo -i
exit 0
fi

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w gnome-terminal | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" != "" ]; then
pid=$(pidof gnome-terminal)
fi

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w konsole | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" != "" ]; then
pid=$(pidof konsole)
fi

#  ||

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w dialog | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
sudo aptitude -y install dialog
fi

OLDCONF=$(dpkg -l|grep "^rc"|awk '{print $2}')
CURKERNEL=$(uname -r|sed 's/-*[a-z]//g'|sed 's/-386//g')
LINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|ubuntu-modules|restricted-modules)"
METALINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|restricted-modules)-(generic|i386|server|common|rt|xen)"
OLDKERNELS=$(dpkg -l|awk '{print $2}'|grep -E $LINUXPKG |grep -vE $METALINUXPKG|grep -v $CURKERNEL)

dialog --title "Clean-Out will now begin!" --backtitle "A clean system is more compact and trouble free." --infobox "
   The Clean-Out routine will begin in 5 seconds!" 5 60; sleep 5

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w deborphan | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
sudo aptitude -y install deborphan
fi

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean
sudo dpkg --configure -a

sudo aptitude update

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS

RESPUESTA=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep -w deborphan | grep -w install)
if [ "$RESPUESTA" = "" ]; then
dialog --title "Deborphan failed to load properly." --backtitle "Deborphan" --infobox "
             Restart the cleanout Script." 5 60;
exit 0
else
  for i in `deborphan --guess-all`
  do
      paquetes="$paquetes $i"
  done
  echo $paquetes
  read
echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."
  sudo aptitude -y remove --purge $paquetes
fi

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS

for a in $(seq 1 3); do
OLDCONF=$(dpkg -l|grep "^rc"|awk '{print $2}')
CURKERNEL=$(uname -r|sed 's/-*[a-z]//g'|sed 's/-386//g')
LINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|ubuntu-modules|restricted-modules)"
METALINUXPKG="linux-(image|headers|restricted-modules)-(generic|i386|server|common|rt|xen)"
OLDKERNELS=$(dpkg -l|awk '{print $2}'|grep -E $LINUXPKG |grep -vE $METALINUXPKG|grep -v $CURKERNEL)
for i in `deborphan --guess-all`
  do
      paquetes="$paquetes $i"
  done
  echo $paquetes
  read
echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."
  sudo aptitude -y remove --purge $paquetes

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
aptitude -y clean

sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDCONF
sudo aptitude -y purge $OLDKERNELS
done

echo "Please wait. I am working hard..."

cd /usr
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd /etc
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd /boot
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

cd $hm
find . -type f -name "*~" -exec rm -f {} \;

mkdir Clean-Out

# You can empty the trash of any data folders you have
# mounted in your /home by uncommenting however many
# lines you need below and putting the appropriate folder
# names in place of mine.

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Backup/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Backup/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Documents/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Documents/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Downloads/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Downloads/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Pictures/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Pictures/.Trash-0

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Projects/.Trash-1000

# sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/Projects/.Trash-0

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ $hm/.local/share/Trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /root/.local/share/Trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /trash

sudo rsync -r --progress --delete --timeout=120 $hm/Clean-Out/ /.trash

rmdir Clean-Out

rm -rf /home/*/.local/share/Trash/*/** &> /dev/null
rm -rf /root/.local/share/Trash/*/** &> /dev/null

sudo apt-get -y autoremove
aptitude -y autoclean
sudo dpkg --configure -a
aptitude -y clean

dialog --title "Clean-Out has successfully completed!" --backtitle "cleanout v 1.4a by Fred" --infobox "
             That wasn't so bad was it?" 5 60; sleep 10

kill $pid
exit
#
# End

Any suggestions or feed-back you are willing to give me, good or bad, will be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy,

Fred

EDIT: Make sure the partition you are using for backup, whether internal or external, is large enough to hold all the data you will be duplicating there.

Welcome to Mint Guides

Linux is NOT Windows!

!= (Linux is Not Windows)

Problem #1: Linux isn't exactly the same as Windows.

Problem #2: Linux is too different from Windows

Problem #3: Culture shock

Subproblem #3a: There is a culture

Subproblem #3b: New vs. Old

Problem #4: Designed for the designer

Problem #5: The myth of "user-friendly"

Subproblem #5a: Familiar is friendly

Subproblem #5b: Inefficient is friendly

Problem #6: Imitation vs. Convergence

Problem #7: That FOSS thing.

Beginers Guide to Installing and Using Mint

Considerations before you install

What mint is based on

Release Notes for Linux Mint 5 Elyssa

Release Notes for Linux Mint 5 Elyssa

Introduction

List of new features

1. mintMenu improvements

2. mintUpdate improvements

3. mintInstall improvements

4. Improvements in other tools

5. Desktop improvements

6. Performance improvements

7. Better Look and feel

8. Better Localization and documentation

9. More software available

10. Changes in the default software selection

11. Upstream improvements

12. LTS aspects

Known issues

Upgrade Instructions

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Upgrade path

Change your APT sources

Upgrade your packages

Install additional software

How To: Enable Your Toshiba's Bluetooth & Brightness Control

HowTo: Fix ugly blurry nautilus thumbnails

How to make a Mint-Myth

Install Wacom Bamboo Tablet (Streamlined Tutorial)

Howto: Use OS-X-fonts in Mint

How to Get Miro running in LinuxMint KDE (and others?)

Yet Another HowTo: Install OpenOffice (any version)

How to get an ipod working without all the hassle

HowTo: New ATI cards/drivers and Compiz

HowTo: Have Windows fonts in Mint (or Ubuntu) [Link fixed]

Howto APT and dpkg

How to get iPod to work in Daryna

Linux-Unix cheat sheets - The ultimate collection

How To: Partition your Hard Drive.

Have Firefox 2 & 3 use separate profiles

How To get old extensions installed in Firefox 3

How to backup your stuff UNIX-style

Howto Dual-Boot Linux Mint 5 and Windows

Howto: Install Mint from a USB Pendrive/SD

TUTORIAL: All about Linux swap space . . .

Possible Fix ATI AGP users of FGLRX black screen of death

How to Fix a Frozen System

Howto Kiba-Dock With Physics

Linux Networking with SSH

Howto: Remove Fortune messages in the Terminal

How to install DVD Styler in Daryna

How To: Get Broadcom Wireless Working: Elyssa

How to enable autologin to your wifi

Solution for Atheros AR 5006 / 5007 Cards

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

HOWTO:Dlink DWA-552, 556 +more Atheros chipsets with Madwifi

How to:Wireless WiFi on Fujitsu Amilo Li1718 Laptop

v 1.4b Sys. Back-Up/Restore & Clean-Up Script - Windows Too!

!=
(Linux is Not Windows)