Linux Commands/Procedures
00001
Tarring, Gzipping, Untarring, Ungzipping, etc. Examples tar -xvzf filename.tar.gz   (untars and ungzips the "filename.tar.gz" file) - PDW 11/6/02 or gunzip < filename.tar.gz | tar xvf       (I've never tried this method, but in case the other fails ...)
tar -xvzf filename.tgz (untars and ungzips the "filename.tgz" file) --- bzcat filename.tar.bz2 | tar -xv    (untars and unbzips the "filename.tar.bz2" file) or tar -xjvf filename.tar.bz2    (does the same)
        To extract a *.tar.xz file:   tar -xpvf filename.tar.xz     (also works for *.tar.gz files) --- Some tar programs (most of them nowadays but not all of them) are slightly modified to be able to use bzip2 files directly using either the I or the y tar parameter which works the same as the z tar parameter to handle gzip archives. --- tar -xvf filename.tar    (untars the "filename.tar" file) --- tar cvzf mydata.tgz mydata    (tars and gzips the "mydata" directory, including all sub-directories, into one file called "mydata.tgz") tar xvzf mydata.tgz    (would untar and ungzip the same. Be sure you are inside the parent directory you need to be to put this directory back. E.g. - If the "mydata" directory is located as below, be sure you are in the "/home/userme" directory before tarring/untarring per the commands above.)
/---
    |
    /home---
                 /userme---
                                 /mydata---
                                                 /goober
                                                 /gomer
                                                 /barney
To unzip a *.gz file, type: gunzip filename.gz 
Q. How can I compress a whole directory under Linux / UNIX using a shell prompt?

A. It is very easy to compress a Whole Linux/UNIX directory. It is useful to backup files, email all files, or even to send software you have created to friends. Technically, it is called as a compressed archive. GNU tar command is best for this work. It can be used on remote Linux or UNIX server. It does two things for you:
=> Create the archive
=> Compress the archive

You need to use tar command as follows (syntax of tar command):
tar -zcvf archive-name.tar.gz directory-name
Where,

    -z: Compress archive using gzip program
    -c: Create archive
    -v: Verbose i.e display progress while creating archive
    -f: Archive File name

For example, you have directory called /home/jerry/prog and you would like to compress this directory then you can type tar command as follows:
$ tar -zcvf prog-1-jan-2005.tar.gz /home/jerry/prog

Above command will create an archive file called prog-1-jan-2005.tar.gz in current directory. If you wish to restore your archive then you need to use following command (it will extract all files in current directory):
$ tar -zxvf prog-1-jan-2005.tar.gz

Where,

    -x: Extract files

If you wish to extract files in particular directory, for example in /tmp then you need to use following command:
$ tar -zxvf prog-1-jan-2005.tar.gz -C /tmp
$ cd /tmp
$ ls -
------ ------
00002
Unzipping and untarring tar.gz files
e.g. filename = filename_tar.gz 1.  gunzip filename_tar.gz
2.  tar -xvf filename_tar
01/26/06
To install a typical Linux app from a *.tar.gz after unpacking it, do this:
  • Change to the directory the unpacking process made.
  • Type: ./configure
  • Type: make
  • Type: make install
    000004
    000005
    to shutdown  shutdown -h now    or   init 0
    to reboot  shutdown r now    or   init 6
    000006
    close stuck app.  Ctrl+C (or CTRL+Z if nes.)
    000007
    To find any file:
         find / -iname <name>
    Add the -mount switch to avoid searching other mounted file systems (e.g. Samba, Netware, vfat). 
          E.g.:     find / -mount  -iname  goober*
    ( -name can be used, but iname removes the case-sensitiveness)
    000008
    find any file really fast  slocate / -i  filename where filename is the name of the file (-i  eliminates the case-sensitiveness)
    000009
    Close Xwindows  Ctrl+Alt+Bkspc
    000010
    To mount a Dos floppy:       mount  -t  vfat  /dev/fd0  /floppy
    000011
    Left <Shift> at Lilo allows to boot to Dos (type "Dos")
    000012
    To prepare a floppy disk:  1. fdformat -n /dev/fd0H1440   or   fdformat -n /dev/fd0h1440
     2. badblocks /dev/fd0H1440 1440 $>$ bad-blocks   (or /dev/fd0h1440)
     3. mkfs -t ext2 -l bad-blocks /dev/fd0H1440   (or /dev/fd0h1440)
                             or
     1. fdformat -n /dev/fd0H1440  (or /dev/fd0h1440)
     2. mkfs -t ext2 -c /dev/fd0H1440   (or /dev/fd0h1440)
    000013
    To remove LILO from the primary hard drive: 1. Boot with a DOS disk and type:   fdisk /mbr
                                    or
    2. Boot with Linux boot disk(s) and type:   dd  if=/dev/zero  of=/dev/hda
       On my 60Gig drive it took roughly 8.5 to 9 hours.  I suspect this is a low-level format or the equivalent.  (This method obviously takes longer, but may be more thorough)
    000014
    To remove Linux format from a floppy disk, type:  dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/fd0
    000015
    To see a list of devices that have been compiled in or loaded: cat /proc/devices
    000016
    To see a calendar:
     cal   displays the current month calendar
     cal 2001 | more  displays the whole year of 2001 one screen at a time
     cal 6 1952  displays the month of June from 1952
    000017
    To see what version the kernel is type:   kernelversion
    000018
    To see what version of Linux it is type:  uname -sr
    000019
    To make a bootdisk with Redhat: (not sure how well this works)
       1. Type:  uname -sr to show the current version of Linux
       2. put blank disk in floppy A:
       3. Type:   mkbootdisk -device /dev/fd0  2.x.x-x.x   (where 2.x.x-x.x is the version number from step 1)
    000020
    To make a boot disk
     #~ dd if=/boot/vmlinuz-2.0.36-0.7 of=/dev/fd0  # use your kernel image
     #~ rdev /dev/fd0 /dev/hda2                     # your Linux partition
    000021
    To make a boot disk from scratch:
    1. Change to the root directory and type:  mkdir /bf  ("bf" stands for "Boot Floppy")
    2. Type:  dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/fsfile bs=1k count=4000
    (This makes a file/device called "fsfile" in  /tmp that is about 4Mb in size with nothing in it.)
    3. Type:  mke2fs -m 0 -i 2000 /tmp/fsfile   then type "Y" for yes when asked if you want to proceed anyway.  The "-i 2000" should allow enough inodes for all the files that will need to be on the boot disk.
    4. Type: insmod loop
    5. Type:  mount -o loop -t ext2 /tmp/fsfile /bf
    (NOTE: If you reboot the computer you will need to repeat steps 4 & 5.)
    6. Change to /bf and make (mkdir) these directories:  dev, proc, etc, bin, sbin, lib, mnt, and usr
    7. Copy files to the /bf/dev directory using this syntax:  cp -dpR /dev/fd0 /bf/dev/fd0
    Here are the files to copy from /dev:  fd0, hda, hdb, hdc, hde, console, kmem, mem, null, ram0, tty1, tty2, tty3, tty4, and any others you think you might need.
    8. Copy files from /etc to /bf/etc.  fstab, inittab, HOSTNAME, profile (?), passwd, shadow, group, termcap (trim termcap down first).
    NOTE: termcap, the terminal database, is typically several hundred kilobytes. The version on your boot/root diskette should be pruned down to contain only the terminal(s) you use, which is usually just the "linux" or "linux-console" entry. (from "The Linux Bootdisk Howto") Once you are in vi with termcap, determine the line numbers of the portion you need (use <Ctrl>+G)  then write these lines to a new file. The syntax to do this is:  :n,yw newfile  where n is the beginning line number, y is the ending line number, and newfile is the name of the new file.  Then delete the current termcap and rename the new file to "termcap."
    9. mkdir /bf/etc/rc.d  and then   cp -R /etc/rc.d/* /bf/etc/rc.d
    . . . (to be continued)
    000022
    To make a Slackware boot disk type: makebootdisk
    000023
    To configure Linux from the command prompt type:  linuxconf
    000024
    To configure/setup Xwindows type:  XF86Setup
       or
    To configure Xwindows  (including video & monitor) type: Xconfigurator
       Or
    To configure/setup Xwindows type:  xf86config
       Or
    To configure/setup Xwindows type:  xorgconfig
       Or
    To configure/setup Xwindows (in RedHat 9 and possibly other versions) type:  redhat-config-xfree86
    The commands above are for older versions of Linux (mainly Redhat I believe).
    In Fedora type: system-config-display --reconfig and follow instrucs as needed.
    000025
    To toggle between video modes in Xwindows  - <Ctrl> + <Alt> + +
    000026
    To configure networking from a command prompt, type:  netconfig
    000027
    To configure networking from Xwindows, open an Xterm session and type:  control-panel
    000028
    To remove LILO & prepare hard drive for Fdisk:
    1. Boot with bootable Linux floppy (e.g. Slackware "boot" disk and "color" disk or "boot" & "root").  If necessary make a boot disk with Rawrite and a boot disk image.
    2. Type: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda
    3. Wait.  This takes quite a while even on a 1Gig hard drive.
    000029
    To install a linux application:
    1. copy the application install file to a temp directory (e.g.  cp linuxapp-1.1.tgz  /temp)
    2. move to that temp directory and unzip the file (.e.g.  cd /temp    then   gunzip linuxapp-1.1.tgz)
    3. untar the unzipped file (e.g. tar -xvf linuxapp-1.1.tar)
    4. type:  make  (if the instructions that came with the app say to do this.  Check for a readme file)
    000030
    To enable NumLock on by default, add these lines to /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit:
         for tty in /dev/tty[1-9]*; do
           setleds -D +num < $tty
         done
    000031
    To configure a service to start or stop during bootup (from the command line) in RedHat or Fedora use:
    ntsysv OR (12/19/08) Use the chkconfig command (e.g. "chkconfig sendmail off" to keep the sendmail service from starting).
    (The chkconfig command can also be used to change the runlevel a particular service runs in. Use the "man chkconfig" command for details.)
    0000032
    To obtain a network number for Internet access for your network, request a Network Address Application Form from hostmaster@internic.net
    000033
    To start SWAT for configuring SAMBA, open Netscape (or other browser) and put
    http://localhost:901  in the URL box. (i.e. browse to http://localhost:901
    000034
    TO find the IP address of your gateway type:  netstat rn
    To rescue a linux system:  Boot from the Linux CD or create a boot disk.  Start in text mode and type: linux rescue at the boot prompt.  Then mount the root file system if possible.
    To get the Texinfo manual for a linux command, type: info command  (e.g. info ls)
    To boot automatically into Xwindows (Gnome or KDE):  Edit the /etc/inittab file.  The line id:5:initdefault: should use 5 for Xwindows or 3 to boot to command prompt.
    To copy the Linux boot sector to an NT partition (assumes the loader is not on the MBR, because NT is) on C:\bootsect.Lnx, type:  dd if=/dev/hda2 of=bootsect.Lnx bs=512 count=1  (where hda2 is the Linux partition).  Copy the bootsect.Lnx to a common location (floppy disk?), reboot into Windows, and copy the bootsect.Lnx to C:\.  Then edit the Boot.ini file on the NT partition and add the line:  C:\bootsect.Lnx = Linux
    000035
    To restart Samba on a Red Hat box after changing smb.conf file, type:  /etc/rc.d/init.d/smb restart   or   service smb restart
    On a Debian/Knoppix box, type:  /etc/init.d/samba restart
    000036
    To map a drive from the linux box to a share on a Windows box (this assumes samba is configured correctly and you have created the /mnt/directory on the linux box), type:
    smbmount //server/share /mnt/directory o username=lanID  where server is the name of the Windows server (netbios name), share is the name of the share on the Windows server, directory is the name of the directory youve already created on the linux box, and lanID is the name of the lan account on the Windows domain/workgroup.
    You can also try the regular "mount" command with "smbfs" as the filetype. E.g. mount -t smbfs //remoteserver2/folder /mnt/mywinfolder.
    000037
    To list the shares available on another box (server or workstation), type:  smbclient -L othername    where othername is the name of the server/workstation you are looking for shares on.  (e.g.  smbclient L Computer2   will list the shares on the Computer2 PC.
    To get a more comprehensive list add "-U username" to the command above, where username is the/an account name from the box you are looking for shares on. (e.g.  smbclient L Computer22   will list the shares on the "Computer2" PC.
    000038
    To find particular text in a group of files in one directory, go to that directory and type:  grep text *
    000039
    To load linux from a DOS prompt, first be sure the machine was booted to DOS, not just using a DOS prompt from an Open Windows session.  In other words, boot to DOS.  Copy the vmlinuz file from your Linux partition (youll have to do this from within Linux [or use a utility like explore2fs.exe]) to your DOS partition and also copy the loadlin.exe file to the same location.  Now boot to a DOS prompt (if not already), go to the directory with the vmlinuz and loadlin.exe files and type:  loadlin c:\path\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro    where c:\path is the path to the directory vmlinuz and loadlin.exe are in, and hda2 is the partition that Linux is on.
    000040
    To mount an NDS Netware server type:
    ipx_configure auto_interface=on auto_primary=on
    ncpmount S Servername /mnt/localdirectory  -U username.context.on.tree    (Where Servername is the name of the particular Netware server, /mnt/directory is the local directory on the Linux PC you want to mount to, and username.context.on.tree is the fully qualified username and context on the Netware tree.
    000041
    To open multiple Xwindows terminals on one PC:
    1. Open the first by typing:  startx
    2. Open a terminal (e.g. xterm) once in Xwindows
    3. Type:  startx -- :1  (to open Xwindows on a 2nd display)
    4. Use the keybd combo  <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<F7> to switch back to display 1, then from display 1 use <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<F8> to switch to display 2.  (You can use up to 5 Xwindows displays at one time.  Therefore 0 = <F7>, 1 = <F8>, 2 = <F9>, etc. through 5 = <F11>.)
    000042
    To update to a new Linux kernel, here are the general steps involved.  Be sure to read any README files or instruction files that come with the new kernel.  ALSO BE SURE YOU HAVE A BOOT DISK WITH THE EXISTING KERNEL!!!
    1. Download the new kernel of choice from www.kernel.org
    2. Copy it to /usr/src  (unless your particular Linux distribution uses a different location for the source files)
    3. unzip it
    4. Rename an existing linux directory if it exists or remove the linux link if it exists.  The next step will create a new directory here, named linux.
    5. run tar xvf on the unzipped *.tar file.
    6. move to the new linux directory that was created.
    7. run make menuconfig or make config or from Xwindows run make xconfig.  You will need to choose all the options you want as a part of the kernel and mark items you want as modules.
    8. Run make dep
    9. Run make clean
    10. Run make bzImage if the kernel is larger (probably any newer ones are) or male zImage for smaller kernels (e.g. for a specialized boot disk).
    11. Run make modules if you chose to create any modules.
    12. Run make modules_install if you did step 11.
    13. Copy the new bzImage file (or zImage) file from /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot to the location the existing kernel is in (e.g. In Slakware it is in the root /, and in RedHat 7.2 it is in  the /boot directory.).  If not sure, type cat /etc/lilo.conf to see where it is.
    14. Back up the /etc/lilo.conf file and then edit it to point to the new kernel.  (e.g. The line in my current RedHat 7.2 lilo.conf says:  image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10  whereas the new line might need to be changed to  image=/boot/bzImage.)
    15. Run the lilo command to update Lilo.
    16. Reboot
    17. Test, test, test.
    18. Make a new bootdisk with mkbootdisk or whatever method you use.
    000043
    To recreate a new Xwindows session for a particular account:
    On my RedHat 7.2 workstation at the office I did this:
    1. userdel r u418044  (removed the u418044 account and some associated directories)
    2. adduser u418044
    3. passwd u418044
    4. cd /tmp
    5. rm R orbit-u418044/
    6. login to other session with new u418044 account
    7. startx
    For the Desktop4 account I removed some steps from above and did this:
    1.Deleted all files and directories in /home/Desktop4 except:
    .kde (directory)
    .xemacs (directory)
    .bash_logout
    .bash_profile
    .bashrc
    .emacs
    .screenrc
    .gtkrc
    .canna
    .zshrc
    2.Deleted the /tmp/orbit-Desktop4 directory (cd /tmp, rm R orbit-Desktop4)
    000044
    To create a symbolic link type:  ln s /existing/source/file/or/directory  targetname
    where /existing/source/file/or/directory is the existing source file or directory that you want to make a link to, and targetname is the name of the link (shortcut).  To make a link to a Novell mount, dont make the targetname directory, but let the ln command do this.  To make a link of /home/u418044/chip01 to the /mnt/chip01/vol1/USERS/u418044  (my current G: drive on my Windows boxes), be sure there is no existing /home/u418044/chip01 directory (umount the exisiting Novell mount point if necessary), be sure to be logged in to the Redhat box with the u418044 account, then type:  ln s /mnt/chip01/vol1/USERS/u418044/  /home/u418044/chip01    (make sure to add the  / at the end of the USERS/u418044/)
    To remove a symbolic link , be sure you have the access rights necessary, then type:  rm f targetname    or    rmdir targetname    if the targetname is a directory and not a file (you may need to remove files from the directory first too).
    000045
    To edit the /etc/passwd file use the vipw command.
    To edit the /etc/group file use the vigr command.
    000046
    To change the hostname of a Redhat linux PC:
    1. type:   hostname nameuwant      (where nameuwant is the name you want to use as the hostname)
    2. Edit the /etc/hosts file with a line with your IP address and the new hostname.  (Note this will only work permanently on a PC that is configured with a static IP address.  If the system is configured to lease an IP address from DHCP, you will need to re-edit the hosts files every time the IP address changes.
    3. I believe (tested on one PC at work) that if you are receiving your IP from DHCP you may be able to edit the HOSTNAME= line in the /etc/sysconfig/network filewith the hostname you desire and take the hostname out of the /etc/hosts file.
    000047
    10/06/07
    To change the hostname on a Debian linux PC:
  • Run the "hostname" command and add the new name on the end of the command (e.g. "hostname computer14"). (I wouldn't be surprised if you could skip this step. Just haven't tested as of this writing.)
  • Edit the /etc/hostname file and replace the current name with that same new name.
  • Edit the /etc/hosts file and put the new hostname at the end of the "127.0.0.1 localhost" line. (e.g. 127.0.0.1 localhost newhost,)
  • Type: "/etc/init.d/hostname.sh start" to make the change active. It should stay even after a reboot now.
    000048
    To find the particular brand of Linux (e.g. Redhat 7.2 vs. Slackware 3.5, etc) try typing:  cat /etc/issue
    000049
    To change the ownership of a file/directory use the chown command.
    e.g.    chown  johnsmith  goober.txt     -  Changes the ownership of the goober.txt file to the johnsmith account.
              chown  root.daemon  /mydir     -  Changes the ownership of the /mydir directory to root and the group it belongs to, to the daemon group.
    000050
    To configure a printer from the command prompt, type printconf-tui and follow the prompts for setting up the printer.  For a typical Novell printer with a JetDirect card and an IP address, pick the Jet Direct option and type in the IP address when prompted.  (The default port of 9100 seems to work in the office.)
    000051
    To print from a command prompt type:  lpr filename   where filename is the name of the file you are trying to print.
        or
    To print from the command prompt to a non-default printer type:   lpr -P printername filename    where printername is the name of the non-default printer.  You can find the names of the available printers in the /etc/printcap file.  The first line in each section has the printer name.
    000052
    To make cls work on my Redhat boxes just like the clear command I put an alias line in the appropriate .bashrc script file.  For instance, in the /home/u418044/.bashrc file I added a line:  alias cls=clear .  This way all I had to do was log out and back in for the alias to work.  BUT, to make this alias applicable to all users, I added the same line to the /etc/bashrc (notice there is no . in front of the bashrc in the /etc directory like there is in the users /home directory.
    Another way to set this up so it applies to all users is to put the same alias line in the /etc/rc.d/rc.local file.  This is probably a preferred a method.
    000053
    Directory structure of initialization scripts:
    000054
    To install modules manually you can use:  insmod modulename    where modulename is the name of the particular module.
    To install the module so that it is removed from memory while not being used, type :  insmod k modulename
    To install a module and any modules it is dependant on, use:   modprobe modulename       This is generally the safer way to install a module manually.
    000055
    In Linux, to list modules currently loaded, type:  lsmod
    000056
    to filter out the comments in a .config file after doing a make menuconfig (while preparing to compile a new kernel) type:   egrep "=n$|=m$|=y$"
    000057
    To see the bootup messages and/or find out info about the system hardware, type:  dmesg | more
    000058
    To install an external Parallel port Zip drive:
    1. compile the kernel with the ppa module or built-in support for scsi Iomega parralel
    2. type:  insmod ppa      or    modprobe ppa
    3. Make a directory for the mount point if needed. (.e.g.  Mkdir /mnt/zip)
    4. Put a zip disk in the drive.
    5. Mount it (e.g.  Mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /mnt/zip)
    6. Enjoy.
    7. You might want to add the command in item 2 to a startup script (e.g. /etc/bashrc).  And maybe the mount command too.
    000059
    To archive/backup a directory from its parent directory, type:  tar cvf /targetdir/targetfile.tar  ./sourcedir      where targetdir is the directory you are storing the archive in, targetfile is the name of the archive file, and sourcedir is the name of the directory you are archiving/backing up.  (Note: by default all the sub-directories inside of sourcedir will be archived too.
    To zip the archive at the same time, add the z option (e.g. tar czvf /targetdir/targetfile.tar.gz  ./sourcedir).  I use this to backup my /etc directory to Zip disk.  With my Zip drive mounted to /mnt/zip, from the root directory I type:  tar czvf  /mnt/zip/etc_bkup.tar.gz /etc
    000060
    To create a swap partition:
    1. Use fdisk to create a partition.  (The general rule of thumb is to make a swap partition twice the size of your installed ram.)
    2. type: mkswap /dev/hdb2     (where /dev/hdb2 is the partition you made with fdisk)
    3. type: swapon /dev/hdb2
      OR
                    The instructions below were taken from Mulinux FAQs web page. (http://mulinux.sunsite.dk/mu/faq/faq-5.html#ss5.4)  I have NO idea if they will work.
                    # .... mount a DOS disk ...
                    # dd if=/dev/zero bs=1k count=4000 of=linux.swp
                    # mkswap linux.swp
                    # sync
                    # swapon linux.swp
    000061
    To speed the system up a bit (especially full hard drive searches) I replaced the defaults options on a couple of mounts/partitions in the /etc/fstab file with noauto,owner.  This way these partitions are not mounted by default and therefore are not include in searches, etc.  But when needed, they can be mounted simply with the mount command referring to their mount points.
    e.g.  The line below in the /etc/fstab file allows me to type: mount /mnt/Win95  when I need the partition.
    /dev/hda1               /mnt/Win95              vfat    noauto,owner    0 0
    000062
    To switch between Xwindows windows managers (e.g. between Gnome and KDE) use the switchdesk command.  You can use it from the command prompt or from within Xwindows.  The syntax from the command prompt is:  switchdesk NAMEWM     where NAMEWM is the name of the Xwindow manager (KDE, GNOME, etc.) Beware though, if you use the command with a manager that is not installed you may not be able to get Xwindows to open properly.  I tried:  switchdesk GNOME  on one of my RedHat boxes and it gave me no error message, but would not open Xwindows until I switched it back with  switchdesk KDE.  Then from within KDE I ran switchdesk and it gave me the option between KDE and TWM, but when I closed Xwindows and restarted, it never loaded properly.  After I ran switchdesk KDE again from the command line and then startx, it still failed to load.  I had to remove the /root/.Xclient file and then startx opened KDE ok.
      OR
    (5/26/03)  Edit the /etc/sysconfig/desktop file for the desktop of your choice.  The file has one line:  DESKTOP=KDE    Thats it.  So for me, its going to be either:   DESKTOP=KDE   or   DESKTOP=GNOME
    000063
    To install an RPM package (install an application with a *.rpm extension).  Type:  rpm -ivh filename-x.x.i386.rpm
    To see a list of rpm packages that have been installed, type:  rpm -qa      or    rpm -qa | more
    To see if a specific rpm package has been installed, type:   rpm -qa | grep pkgname     where pkgname is that name of the package or the first few characters of the package name.
    To remove a specific rpm package, first do a  rpm -qa | grep partofname   where partofname is part of the package name for grep to work with.
    Then type:  rpm -e rpmpkgname   where rpmpkgname is the name of the package as it showed up for the query above.  If you use the original filename of the rpm package you used to install with, you will typically get an error like:  rpm not installed.  This is because the package name is not necessarily identical to the rpm filename.  (e.g. filename = glibc-2.2.4-13.rpm    package name = glibc-2.2.4-13)
    000064
    To copy an image of one IDE hard drive to another of the same size, do this:
    1. Connect the two equal size drives with the source as the master drive on IDE1and the target as the master on IDE2.  (source = hda,  target = hdc)
    2. Boot with a linux floppy boot disk in A:
    3. From the Linux prompt type:  dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdc bs=8192   and wait (1gig drives took me about 20 minutes)
    You can use the bs= switch to increase the byte size being used thus speeding up the process, if you know what size to use.
    or
    To copy an image of a linux hard drive from one hard drive to another of equal or larger size, do this:
    1. partition the second drive so it has the same number and type of partitions, and in the same order.
    2. Configure the source drive as the master on IDE1 and the target as master on IDE2.
    3. Boot with the configuration above.
    4. format the partitions on the target as needed (see my written notes from this and update this info)
    5. Make the linux files systems as needed on the formatted drive(s) (see my written notes from this and update this info)
    6. Use the cp command (see my written notes from this and update this info)
     to copy all the directories from source to target with the exception of /proc, lost+found, and ???
    7. Shutdown and reconfigure so target drive is the master on IDE1 and remove the source.
    8. Boot with a linux boot disk and reinitialize LILO or Grub.
    000065
    To reintialize the /etc/exports file after editing, type:  exportfs -ra
    000066
    To open a man page in KDE, open a browser and type #commandname in the URL box, where commandname is the name of the command you want to see the man page for.  Not sure if this works for Gnome or specific to KDE.
    000067
    To configure the sound card, use the sndconfig command and follow the prompts.
    000068
    Re-Initializing the Grub Boot Loader in Linux after Installing Windows 98.
     I had my Redhat 7.2 System set up to dual-boot to RedHat 7.2 (default) and a commnand prompt version
    of Windows 98.  (The first partition on the hard drive was a Win98 partition without a full install of Windows
    98.  Instead I formatted it with "format /s" from a bootable Win98 floppy disk.)  The second partition was
    RedHat 7.2 with the Grub boot loader.
     When I finally decided to install a full version of Windows 98, once I was done it only booted to
    Windows 98 and never gave me my Grub dual-boot menu.  Fortunately I had prepared by creating a bootdisk for
    RedHat.  So here are the steps I took to recover my nice Grub dual-boot menu.
    1. Booted with the RedHat boot disk.
    2. Logged in as root.
    3. typed: grub  (This gave me the "grub>" prompt.)
    4. typed: find /boot/grub/stage1  (Which gave me the result of "(hd0,1)")
    5. typed: root (hd0,1)
    6. typed: setup (hd0)
     
     The way I interpretted this is that the results of line 4 told me what parameters to use in lines 5
    and 6.
    Paul W. 10/21/02
        Additional Info: (12/23/05)
    On another of my systems that was a quad-boot system, from the grub> prompt I typed:
    "find /boot/grub/stage1"  Which gave me the result of: "(hd0,1)"
    "(hd0,6)"     I already knew the partition I was using the /etc/grub.conf file from was hda7, therefore (hd0,6) to grub. So after the command above I typed: "root (hd0,6)" to point to the root on hda7 and then:
    "setup (hd0)" to setup grub on the MBR of hda.
    000069
    Here are three different ways to make a zero byte file:
  • touch filename     (makes a file named "filename" with nothing in it)
  • /dev/null > filename                     "
  • > filename                                     "
    • e.g.     > /tmp/goober.txt       makes a zero byte file named "goober.txt" in the /tmp directory.
    000070
    TO use vncserver/vncviewer between a Linux box and Windows box:
    1. From the Linux command line type:  vncserver :0  and enter a password when asked.  ( The :0 represents the display number.  You can start more than one remote session at a time, e.g.  vncserver :0  and  vncserver :1)
    2. From the Windows box start the Vncviewer applet and type in the computer hostname followed by :0 or whatever the display number is.  E.g.  Computer1:0 .  Then type in the password you set for this remote session.
    Note: These instructions assume you have both PCs on the same network and you have the Vncserver/Vncviewer apps install on the two workstations (Redhat 8 and 9 came with these by default).
    000003 To shut down the vncserver on the Linux box, type: vncserver -kill :x (where x is the number of the display; typically :0)
    000071
    To see a list of services that are running type: service status-all
    To scroll one screen at a time you will need to redirect the output to a file and then use the more command.  E.g.:
     service status-all > servicestatus.txt
     more servicestatus.txt
    000072
    To restart network services type:  service xinetd restart
    000073
    To restart network settings without rebooting after making changes you might try:    service network restart
    000074
    To monitor processes use the top command.  Just type:  top
    When done monitoring, type the letter q to quit.
    To monitor cpu usage use this: ps -ea --format '%cpu pid user cmd stime' --sort '%cpu'
    000075
    To temporarily use the root account with it's environment settings type:  su -    The " -" gives you the particular user's environment
    settings, in this case root's settings.  This is helpful since just the "su" command by itself will not give the $PATH variable, therefore not
    giving access to all the executable's you might need.
    000076
    To remote to a Windows NT/2000 server, Win2000 workstation, or WinXP workstation, type:  rdesktop xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx   where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the remote Windows box.
    000077
    To image a hard drive using the dd command.  Example:  My linux box has the hda1 partition as the main partition.  I had a Samba share on the Igsvnh007e box named temp.  I mounted the share to my /igsvnh007e directory on the linux box with the hda1 partition.  To image the main partition of a linux box to this share, from the prompt on the box I was imaging, I typed:
     dd if=/dev/hda1 of=/igsvnh007e/cpq466.img bs=1048576 count=1500
    This took about an hour or hour and a half.  Then to finish I typed:
     dd if=/dev/hda1 bs=1048576 skip=1500 of=/igsvnh007e/cpq466_b.img
    I had to separate the image into two separate files this way because the particular kernel limited me to file sizes under 2gigs and the partition was over 2gigs.  Though I havent tried restoring this yet, I believe the commands I need to use would be these:
     dd if=/igsvnh007e/cpq466.img of=/dev/hda1
      then,
     dd if=/igsvnh007e/cpq466_b.img /dev/hda1 bs=1048576 count=1500
    Obviously if the image files have been moved to another location other than /igsvnh007e you would need to use that location in the commands above.
    000078
    To get the 3Com 3c509 card working on my RedHat 5.2 box I had to boot with a DOS boot disk, run the 3Com utility 3c5x9cfg.exe, disable the Plug and Play, power down the PC, and reboot.  Once the system finished booting with RedHat 5.2, I typed:
     modprobe 3c509
    Then once this module was loaded I had to get it working on the network by typing:
     /etc/rc.d/init.d/network restart
    000079
    Creating A Ramdisk
    1. Create a directory for the mount point to come. - mkdir /mnt/ramdisk
    2. Zero out the ram device  -  dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ram0 count=2000 bs=1024
    3. Create an ext2 filesystem on it. - mke2fs /dev/ram0
    4. Mount it. - mount /dev/ram0 /mnt/ramdisk
    5. Allow anyone to use it. - chmod 777 /mnt/ramdisk
      OR
    Use the ramdisk.sh shell script
    000080
    To configure a modem from the command prompt in RedHat 7.2 I used the modemconf command and followed the instrucs.
    000081
    Some of the typical start-up configuration files are:
    /etc/rc.local
    /etc/bashrc
    /etc/rc
    /etc/inittab
    /etc/sysconfig/network
    000082
    To set up networking on a RedHat 7.2 box manually with a 3Com 3c509 NIC, I took these steps:  (This was a bare minimum install initially for a stand-alone workstation so I had not chosen to set up networking originally)
    1. modprobe 3c509
    2. edited the /etc/modules.conf by adding this line:  alias eth0 3c509
    3. edited the /etc/resolv.conf to match the same file on my other linux boxes on my home network
     domain Mydomain.com
     nameserver 192.168.1.4
    4. edited the /etc/sysconfig/network file to this:
     NETWORKING=yes
     HOSTNAME=Computer01
    5. created the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 that had this:
     DEVICE=eth0
     BOOTPROTO=dhcp
     ONBOOT=yes
    6. typed this to restart the networking:
     /etc/rc.d/init.d/network restart
    Note: I did notice the /etc/resolv.conf file got re-written in the process.  This is a known issue with 7.2 and 8.0. To fix this, find the "/sbin/dhcpcd" command in the /sbin/ifup script and add the "-R".  An alternative work-around would be to create a good version of the resolv.conf file with a different name and add a line to the /etc/rc.d/rc.local startup script that copies the good version over the bad version. PDW 1/18/03
    000083
    To create another account with root privileges and mirrored after the root account I took these steps:
    1. Logged in as root.
    2. Created the account (e.g. superguy) and set the password for that account.
    3. Used the usermod command like this:
     usermod G bin,daemon,sys,adm,disk,wheel,root,superguy superguy
    4. Edited the /etc/passwd file with the vipw command and changed the line:
     root2:09NZthcPUPzK2:501:501::/home/superguy:/bin/bash
      to:
     root2:09NZthcPUPzK2:0:0:root:/home/superguy:/bin/bash
    5. Copied these files from /root to /home/superguy (used KDE with hidden files shown) :
     .bashrc
     .bash_profile
     .cshrc
    000084
    To autostart a specific application when KDE starts up, drag and drop the particular shortcut into the /home/userid/.kde/autostart directory, where userid is the particular username.
    000085
    To add swap space:
    If you have an unused partition (e.g. /dev/hda5) do this:
    1.  Use fdisk to configure the unused partition to the size you want and as a Swap type (82).
    2. run the mkswap command (e.g.  mkswap /dev/hda5 )
    3. run the swapon command (e.g.  swapon)
    4. edit the /etc/fstab file and add a line for this swap partition (e.g.  /dev/hda5   swap       swap   defaults   0 0)
    To use extra space on an exisiting partition do this to make a 128mg swap file:
    dd if=/dev/zero of=swapfile bs=1024 count=132207
    chmod 600 swapfile
    mkswap swapfile
    000086
    To make high density DOS disks from linux type:
     Fdformat /dev/fd0u1722
     Mkfs t vfat /dev/fd0u1722
    You can use fd0u1680 instead of fd0u1722 if you prefer.
    NOTE: In limited experimentation I could not get a Windows machine to recognize these disks if I formatted with msdos type, but it did work with vfat type.
    000087
    To copy pictures from a digital camera do this:
    1. Connect the camera to the PC via the provided USB cable.
    2. Turn the camera on.
    3. Create a directory you will use for the mount point (e.g.  mkdir /mnt/camera)
    4. Mount with this command   mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/camera  (where /mnt/camera is whatever the directory you made in step 3.)
    5. You may get some info displayed on the screen about USB stuff, but now you should have the pictures on the camera available in /mnt/camera (or where ever).
    6. When you are finished, type umount /mnt/camera (or whatever), then turn camera off and disconnect.
    000088
    To temporarily use FTP on Linux box at office, do this:
    1. logon to Linux box with root account
    2. type:  ntsysv
    3. check the  wu-ftpd  item and exit
    4. type:  service xinetd restart
    5. do your ftp'ing as needed then repeat steps 1-4 only UNcheck wu-ftpd.
    000089
    8/13/04
    To mount a CDRom disk while using Tom's RTBT Linux boot disk, type:
            mount -t iso9660 /dev/hdc /cdrom
    (This assumes the CDRom drive is the primary device on the second IDE interface.
    If it is the slave drive on IDE1, try using    /dev/hda2    instead.)
    000090
    8/14/04
    Here is how I created an image of a Win98 drive with Linux and then copied that image to another drive (in this case smaller than the original). 1. Here are the drives I used and how I had them configured in the PC. Source drive = 2Gig as Master on IDE1 (C:)
    Utility drive = 1Gig as Slave on IDE1 (D:)
    Target drive = 1Gig as Master on IDE2 (E:)     2. I booted with a "Parted" Linux boot disk and reduced the size of the source disk to just a few megs over the total size of the data on the disk.
    3. I rebooted with a "Tom's RTBT" Linux boot disk.
    4. Created temp directories to use for mount points to mount the drives. mkdir /hda      And      mkdir /hdb
    mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /hda      And      mount -t vfat /dev/hdb1 /hdb     5. To create the image of the C: drive to a file on the D: drive I typed: dd if=/dev/hda1 of=/hdb/imagename.img bs=10485760         ("imagename.img" is any name you want to give to the image file. The "bs=10485760" parameter makes it copy in chunks of 10Mb at a time. This makes the creating of the image go a lot faster.) 6. I rebooted to DOS mode on the Win98 C: drive and used fdisk and format to make the E: drive a bootable Win98 drive.
    7. Rebooted again with "Tom's RTBT" Linux boot disk.
    8. Similar to step 4 I created a temp directory to use for a mount point for the D: drive (where the image file was). mkdir /hdb
    mount -t vfat /dev/hdb1 /hdb     9. Copied the image from the D: drive to the E: drive by typing: dd if=/hdb/imagename.img of=/dev/hdc1 bs=10485760 10. Shutdown and moved the target drive to the Master drive on IDE1
    11. I rebooted with a Win98 boot disk and had to sys the target drive which was, of course, now the C: drive.

    12. After testing the newly imaged drive I shutdown, reconfigured the original 2Gig source drive, booted with the "Parted" boot disk, and resized the drive back to it's full size.
    000091
    8/14/04
    To do a "disk to disk" image follow these steps. 1. Configure the source drive as Master on IDE1 and the target drive as Master on IDE2.
    2. If necessary, use the "Parted" Linux boot disk to reduxe the size of the source drive to exactly the size of the target or less than the size of the target.
    3. Boot with a good Linux boot disk (currently I use Tom's RTBT disk) and use this command: dd if=/dev/hda1 of=/dev/hdc1 bs=10485760 4. I don't believe I had to sys the target before using it like I did when using an image file instead of "disk to disk" method.
    NOTE: Don't forget to resize your source drive back to it's proper size.
    000092
    10/02/04
    To open a linux command man page quickly form within a KDE browser, type a pound sign (#) (hash mark) and the name of the command you want help on, from any place you could normally type a URL address.
    E.g. #mount in the "Location:" box of Konqueror would open the mount man page.
    Also, you can use the Alt+F2 combination to open a dialog box where you can enter the #command. Note: This worked on my Redhat boxes and I think on my Slackware box, but I do not see this working on my Debian boxes. (06/10/05)
    000093
    4/1/05
    To make a blank password for a user account, edit the /etc/passwd file on the line with the user ID. Remove the "x" from the field between the user ID and the user number.
    e.g.
    goober:x:501:502:Guest:/home/goober:/bin/bash = before
    goober::501:502:Goober Jones:/home/goober:/bin/bash) = after
    000094
    4/3/05
    To change the behaviour of mouse clicks in KDE click/double-click on the "Start Here" icon, go to "Peripherals", then Mouse, and choose the settings you want.
    OR
    Click on the RedHat start button (lower left corner on taskbar), then "Run Command...", type in "start-here:/", go to "Peripherals", then Mouse, and choose the settings you want.
    000095
    ~4/28/05
    To activate an ftp server on a Slackware 10.1 box, I did this:
    1. Logged in as root.
    2. Edited the /etc/inetd.conf file and removed the rem (#) mark from one of the two available ftp server commands.
    3. Typed:      ps x       to see what pid number inetd was using.
    4. Typed:      kill -HUP xxxx      where "xxxx" is the pid number.
    That did it! Here is a link to my inetd.conf file after I edited it. inetd.conf
    000096
    5/02/05
    To install Knoppix to a hard drive from the Knoppix live CD do this: 1. From Xwindows do Ctrl+Alt+F2 to get to a command prompt.
    2. Fdisk and format the drive if you want to first. You will have the option to do this during the install process, but I did not test this.
    3. If you decide to fdisk/format during the install process, just type: sudo knoppix-installer (and follow the instrucs).
    4. If you have already fdisked/formatted, type: IGNORE_CHECK=1 sudo knoppix-installer
    5. Follow the step by step instrucs and that should do it. (I chose the "Debian-like" install option.)
    NOTE:To use the latest knoppix-installer replace the "knoppix-installer" command above with "knoppix-installer-latest-web". PDW 09-14-05
    000097
    5/02/05
    To install Puppy Linux onto a hard drive from the Puppy Live CD, use the "install-hd.sh" script from a root command prompt.
    000098
    05/27/05
    To see what Debian packages have been installed type:     dpkg --list name*
    where "name" is a partial name of the package(s)
    E.g.     dpkg --list ftp*       will show a list of ftp related packages already installed.
         -     -     -
    To install a Debian package (*.deb file) type:     dpkg -i   packagename.deb
         -     -     -
    To remove a Debian package (*.deb file) type:     dpkg -r   packagename.deb
    - - -
    To list all packages installed on a Redhat/Fedora system, type:     rpm -qa
    To search for a particular package installed on Redhat type:     rpm -qa | grep packagename
    000099
    05/29/05
    To download multiple files at one time and to use wildcards in the process (using the command line ftp), use the "mget" command. E.g.    mget *htm *txt      would download all *htm and *txt files with one command.
    The "mput" command works similarly to upload files.
    000100
    05/29/05
    To operate the shell command from within the ftp command line program, place a "!" in front of the command. E.g.    !clear     would clear the screen and place the prompt back up at the top.
    000101
    05/30/05
    To install and configure the Proftp server on my Debian system I did this:
  • Downloaded the proftpd-1.3.0rc1.tar.gz file from www.proftpd.org
  • From the directory the file was in typed:     tar xvzf proftpd-1.3.0rc1.tar.gz
  • Changed to the "proftpd-1.3.0rc1" directory that was created
  • Typed:    ./configure    (per instructions in the README file)
  • Typed:    make    (per instructions in the README file)
  • Typed:    make install    (per instructions in the README file)
  • Copied the "basic.conf" file from the "sample-configurations" directory to the "proftpd.conf" file in /etc.
  • Added this line to the /etc/inetd.conf file:
    ftp    stream    tcp       nowait    root        /usr/sbin/tcpd    proftpd
  • Rebooted
    • 000102
    06/05/05
    To make a particular account automatically start Xwindows upon logging in, I created a ".profile" file in the particular home directory of that user id and made it like this: 
    # /etc/profile
startx
    Theoretically if a ".profile" file already exists there, you should be able to just add the "startx" command at the bottom of the file. Be aware that the ".startx" command assumes no other user id currently has an Xwindow session open on terminal "0" or will open one.
    000103
    06/05/05
    To configure Openmosix correctly after installing it to a hard drive from the live CD (see 5/02/05 item above) you will need to do two things.
  • Create the "/mfs" directory.
  • Add this line to the /etc/fstab file: 
    mfs     /mfs   mfs    dfsa=1   0 0
    • 000104
    07/08/05
    To stop the Openmosixcollector once it is running, type: /etc/init.cd/openmosixcollector stop
    To restart it again, type: /etc/init.cd/openmosix restart
    000105
    07/13/05
    To use the default version of the Java Runtime Environment on my newly installed Openmosix (Knoppix) box, in the installation of Open Office, I had to point to "/usr/lib/j2se/1.4/jre" in the appropriate dialog box during the installation.
    000106
    07/28/05
    To Determine what version of Debian Linux is installed on your PC, open the /etc/debian_version file (it's a text file) and it will tell you.
    000107
    08/17/05
    To turn the numlock key on by default use the "setleds +num" command in the appropriate script file for your version of Linux. For Redhat I believe you would add this command to the /etc/bashrc (or /home/userid/.bashrc to individualize it) and for Debian add it to the /etc/profile file (or /home/userid/.profile to indiv.).
    NOTE: This only works outside of Xwindows. In fact when I set this up it results in an Xterminal error message:    KDGETLED: Invalid argument
    Error reading current led setting. Maybe stdin is not a VT?
    It doesn't seem to hurt anything, but just shows up everytime you open a terminal session from within Xwindows.
    000108
    09/07/05
    To see what version of Debian you currently have installed, look at the /etc/debian_version file. Type:    cat /etc/debian_version
    To see a list of all the debian packages (apps) installed, type:    dpkg -l    (that's a lower case "L")
    To see a one line status of a particular package (e.g. "foo"), type:    dpkg --list foo
    If you don't know the exact name of the package try this (e.g. "ssh"):    dpkg -l | grep ssh    (that's a lower case "L" again)
    On my current system this command gave these results: 
    ii  kdessh         3.2.3-1        KDE ssh frontend
ii  nxssh          1.3.99.1-0pre1 NoMachine NX - custom and modified OpenSSH
ii  ssh            3.8.1p1-8      Secure rlogin/rsh/rcp replacement (OpenSSH)
ii  sshstart-knopp 0.5-2          Starts SSH and sets a password for the knopp

    To see a verbose description of a packages status (including version #), type:    dpkg --status pkgname    (e.g. dpkg --status ssh)
    000109
    09/10/05
    Here is a copy of the /etc/grub.conf file I edited to get all 4 OSes booting on my number 3 test box. (Notice the syntax for hda5 and hda6. The syntax for Fedora was used by the Fedora installation.) I installed Windows first, then OpenMosix (Debian), which used Lilo to make the system dual-boot. Then I installed SuSE which used Grub, but failed to recognize and add OpenMosix to the menu. I figured out the correct syntax and added it to the SuSE grub menu myself. Then I installed Fedora Core 3 and added the other two Linux dists to the Grub menu at the appropriate time during the Anaconda install, but they didn't boot properly afterwards. The Fedora installation used the "rootnoverify (hd0,0) / chainloader +1" syntax similar to the Windows menu item. So I copied the lines for SuSE and OpenMosix from the SuSE /boot/grub/menu.lst file. Hope this will help for future Grub menu editing.
    Here is a list of the partitions on this drive and their respective OSes.
    hda1    Windows 2000
    hda2    fat32
    hda3    swap
    hda4    Extended
    hda5    SuSE
    hda6    Cluster Knoppix (Debian)
    hda7    Fedora Core 3
    000110
    09/14/05
    Here is a copy of the /etc/lilo.conf file I edited to get all 3 OSes booting on my number 2 test box. Windows 2000 was installed first on hda1. Hda2 is setup as the Linux swap partition. Hda3 is the Windows Fat32 partiton to be shared by all three OSes for storing data. Xandros was the second OS installed and is on hda5 (hda4 is the extended partition and hda5 therefore the first logical partition).
    The Xandros install automatically detected the Windows 2000 partition and made an entry in the /etc/lilo.conf file. With lilo installed to the MBR I could successfully dual-boot between Win2000 and Xandros.
    I then installed Cluster Knoppix (Debian) on hda6 using the "knoppix-installer" script on the Cluster KNoppix live CD. It used the Lilo bootloader by default and accurately detected the Windows 2000 partition and the Fat32 partition as well. It did not detect the Xandros partition. The funny thing was, when I rebooted for the first time, it did not boot with the Debian lilo configuration, but rather the Xandros configuration still. I had expected the Debian install to overwrite, so to speak, the Xandros lilo on hte MBR.
    I edited the /etc/lilo.conf on hda5 (Debian) to add Debian to the boot menu. Then I copied the appropriate version of /boot/vmlinuz... kernel and /boot/initrd...img from hda6 to /boot on hda5 to coordinate with the new entry in the lilo.conf file. I also renamed them to be easier to distinguish. I ran the "lilo" command, rebooted, and tested all ok.
    Here is a list of the partitions on this drive and their respective OSes.
    hda1    Windows 2000
    hda2    fat32
    hda3    swap
    hda4    Extended
    hda5    Xandros
    hda6    Cluster Knoppix (Debian)
    000111
    10/01/05
    Upgrading Debian systems - To update the package list database (list of Debian applications already installed and available for install) type:   apt-get update
    - - - -
    - To find the name of a package you want, type:   apt-cache search string   where string is a set of characters you think might be in the name of the package. (e.g. apt-cache search proftp will show various Debian packages related to the proftp application.)
       (To do the same in Fedora, type:   dnf search packagename)
    - - - -
    - To find out more info about a particular package, type:   apt-cache show packagename
    - - - -
    - To find out more general info about a package, type:   apt-cache showpkg packagename
    - - - -
    - To find out what other apps/packages a package depends on type:   apt-cache depends packagename
    - - - -
    - To find out what package a particular file goes with, type:   dpkg -S filename   (You may very well get a list of packages since multiple packages may use the same file or a file with the same name.)
    - - - -
    - To find out what packages are already installed on your system, type:   dpkg -l (That's a lower case "L".)   (Add "| grep string" to narrow down the list - e.g. "dpkg -l | grep ftp" )    You may want to add "COLUMNS=132" in front of the dpkg command so you see all the info (e.g. "COLUMNS=132 dpkg -l | grep ftp")
    - - - -
    - To install a package, type:   apt-get install packagename You can specify packages to be removed on the same command line, as well. Just put a '-' immediately after the name of the package to be removed, like this: 
         # apt-get install nautilus gnome-panel-       
     Reading Package Lists... Done
     Building Dependency Tree... Done
     The following extra packages will be installed:
       bonobo libmedusa0 libnautilus0 
     The following packages will be REMOVED:
       gnome-applets gnome-panel gnome-panel-data gnome-session 
     The following NEW packages will be installed:
       bonobo libmedusa0 libnautilus0 nautilus 
     0 packages upgraded, 4 newly installed, 4 to remove and 1  not upgraded.
     Need to get 8329kB of archives. After unpacking 2594kB will be used.
     Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

    - - - -
    NOTE: See the 5/27/05 entry for installing a package with the dpkg command.
    - - - -
    - To upgrade a Debian distribution it is recommended to type:   apt-get dist-upgrade
    - - - -
    - To remove a package, type:   apt-get remove packagename   (e.g. - apt-get remove proftpd) Just as in the case of the install method, you can use a symbol with remove to invert the meaning for a particular package. In the case of removing, if you add a '+' right after the package name, the package will be installed instead of being removed. 
         # apt-get --purge remove gnome-panel nautilus+
     Reading Package Lists... Done
     Building Dependency Tree... Done
     The following extra packages will be installed:
       bonobo libmedusa0 libnautilus0 nautilus 
     The following packages will be REMOVED:
       gnome-applets* gnome-panel* gnome-panel-data* gnome-session* 
     The following NEW packages will be installed:
       bonobo libmedusa0 libnautilus0 nautilus 
     0 packages upgraded, 4 newly installed, 4 to remove and 1  not upgraded.
     Need to get 8329kB of archives. After unpacking 2594kB will be used.
     Do you want to continue? [Y/n]

    - - - -
    - To remove a package and the associated configuration files, type:   apt-get --purge remove packagename   (e.g. - apt-get --purge remove proftpd)
    - - - -
    To clean up old Debian packages taking up space that are un-needed go to a terminal session as root and use the apt-get autoremove command.
    - - - -
    - To ... type:   apt-get packagename

    The following options to apt-get may be useful: 
         -h  This help text.
     -d  Download only - do NOT install or unpack archives
     -f  Attempt to continue if the integrity check fails
     -s  No-act. Perform ordering simulation
     -y  Assume Yes to all queries and do not prompt
     -u  Show a list of upgraded packages as well
    000112
    10/30/05
    To configure a dual-boot system with Windows (drive C: [hda1]) and Puppy Linux (hdc1) do this: 1. Install Win98 on C: (hda1) first.
    2. Reboot with Puppy CD in the drive and make sure BIOS is set to boot to CDRom drive.
    3. Run the Start/Setup/Install Puppy Hard drive script (install-hd.sh)
    4. Choose to install Puppy to /dev/hdc1
    5. Choose to install Grub on MBR (I couldn't get it to initialize Grub properly, but got all the files in place.)
    6. Reboot with the Puppy CD or Toms RTBT disk (or some other bootable Linux CD or disk)
    7. Here is a copy of the /boot/Grub/menu.lst file from my /dev/hdc1

    # This sets the default entry to boot.
    # Remember that GRUB counts from 0, so 1 is the second entry. default 0
    # This sets the length of time in seconds that grub will wait for the user to select an OS
    # before it boots the default on. I reccommend at least 15 seconds. timeout 10

    title Puppy Linux ver 1.0.5
    kernel (hd1,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hdc1 vga=normal noapm nodma noscsi

    title Windows98se
    root (hd0,0)
    chainloader +1
    makeactive
    boot
    8. Once booted you may need to mount /dev/hdc1 to a mount point you create.
    9. Then type "grub" to enter the Grub shell.
    10. From the grub> prompt type:
    setup (hd0)
    This should initialize the Grub bootloader to the MBR of hda (C:).
    That should do it.
    000113
    11/11/05
    To make configuration changes on a Redhat9 (I'm not sure what other versions) from the command line, after the initial install process, use the "setup" command. This will give you a menu to configure authentication, firewall, mouse, network, printer, system (ntsysv), and timezone.
    000114
    11/22/05
    To mount an smb share on my Linux box by default I did this:
    1. Made sure I had an account on both the Windows box and Linux box with the same ID and password.
    2. Created a file called /root/.smbpasswd that had these two lines: username=userid
    password=userid_password

    where "userid" is the common account name between the two boxes and "userid_password" is the corresponding password.
    3. Changed the permissions on this file with: chmod 600 /root/.smbpasswd
    4. Created a directory for the mount point (e.g. /windir )
    5. Added this line to the /etc/fstab //server/share    /windir    smbfs    credentials=/root/.smbpasswd    0 0

    Where "//server/share" is the name of the Windows box and it's share and "/windir" is the name of your mount point.
    000115
    11/26/05
    To release and renew the IP address do this: ifdown eth0       (this releases current IP)
    ifup eth0       (this renews IP)
    (update 05/31/09)
    You can also use: "ifconfig eth0 down"    (to disable eth0) and "ifconfig eth0 up"   (to enable eth0).
    000116
    01/20/06
    To send an email from a linux command prompt do this:
  • Type mail -s subject name@domain.xyz     where subject is what you want to appear in the recipient's subject box and name@domain.xyz is the email address you want to send to. (e.g. mail -s Hello Dolly dolly@madison.edu) (I hope this is a ficticious email address.)
  • Type the text of the email.
  • Press Enter so you are on a new line after finishing your text and then press Ctrl + D and Enter.
    000117
    02/07/06
    To generate a Tripwire configuration file do this:
  • cd /etc/tripwire
  • twadmin --print-cfgfile > twcfg.txt

    To generate a Tripwire active policy file do this:
  • cd /etc/tripwire
  • twadmin --print-polfile > twpol.txt
    000118
    02/19/06
    To remote into a Vncserver using your web browser, type this in the URL box: http://ipaddress:580x
    Where ipaddress is the IP address of the remote box (or use the DNS/Host name), and x is the number of the Vnc server display number (typically 1).
    000119
    02/22/06
    To re-use a previous command w/o using the up arrow (e.g. the command was several days ago and a couple hundred commands ago), do this:
    Type: history | grep partial       where partial is enough of the command to find it within the command history list.
    Type: !xxx       where xxx is the command number that was returned from the command history list.
    Press Enter to run the command.
    000120
    02/22/06
    To play a *.wav file from a command prompt, use the "play" command. e.g. play barney.wav
    (update 08/06/09) Another way to play a sound file from the command line is with the "aplay" command. e.g. "aplay /path/to/file/barneyfife.wav".
    000110
    03/04/06
    To make the sshd start on bootup on my Darn Small Linux system I did this:
    Logged in as root. Added one line to the /etc/rc5.d/S99bootlocal startup script.
    The line was this: "/etc/init.d/ssh start"
    000121
    03/05/06
    To verify a file with md5sum first be sure the file and the *.md5 file are in the same directory, then type this:
    md5sum -c filename.iso.md5      where "filename.iso.md5" is the name of the *.md5 verification file.
    000122
    03/05/06
    To create a *.md5 verification file associated with an exisiting file type this:
    md5sum filename.iso > filename.iso.md5      where "filename.iso" is the name of the exisiting file and "filename.iso.md5" is the name of the verification file you are making.
    000123
    04/12/06   02/05/13 update (please see this document for more accurate info)
    To share a directory on my Linux box with others using NFS, do this:
  • chmod xxx /directory         where "xxx" is the permission mode you want and "/directory" is the directory you want to share.
  • add this line to the /etc/exports file:    /directory      192.168.x.x/24(rw,sync)         where"192.168.x.x" is the IP of your Linux box. Use the "tab" key to separate the two items and make sure there are no spaces between the info in the second item.
  • Add a line to the /etc/hosts.allow file:    portmap: 192.168.x.          This time use spaces to separate, not tab, and be sure to end with a period.
  • add this line to the /etc/hosts.deny file:    portmap: ALL      separate using spaces.
  • run this command:   exportfs -vra      the "-vra" means "verbose", "recursive" (assuming you want all the sub-dirs shared as well, and "all" (meaning all the directories in /etc/exports).
  • To start the nfs service on a Redhat/Fedora box type:   service nfs start
  • To stop the nfs service on a Redhat/Fedora box type:   service nfs stop
  • To restart the nfs service on a Redhat/Fedora box type:   service nfs restart
                   or
  • To start the nfs service type:   /etc/rc.d/init.d/nfs start
  • To stop the nfs service type:   /etc/rc.d/init.d/nfs stop
  • To restart the nfs service type:   /etc/rc.d/init.d/nfs restart
    • To have the nfs service start automatically on bootup do this:
  • change to the /etc/rc.d/rc3.d directory
  • change the K20nfs file to S20nfs (type: mv K20nfs S20nfs)

    To mount this shared directory from/on a remote Linux box, login to the remote box and do this:
  • Make the mount point (e.g. mkdir   /mnt/remote)
  • Then type:    mount   servername:/directory    /mnt/remote          where "servername" is the name of the box where the directory actually exists (in this case 192.168.x.x).
    000124
    11/06/06
    To have the ssh server start on my DSL (Debian) box I added this line to the /opt/bootlocal.sh script: /etc/init.d/ssh start
    000125
    11/23/06
    To use the mget ftp command to download multiple files without having to answer yes to each one, do this: Login to ftp with the -i switch. e.g. -
    ftp -i pcgramps.com       Then to download all the files from one directory type: mget *
    000126
    03/02/07
    To install the sshd (secure shell daemon) on my Debian server I did this:
  • apt-cache search sshd
    (This listed all the available packages with "sshd" in the description.)
  • apt-get install ssh-krb5
    (This installed the sshd package.)
  • I answered the questions during the install as I wanted and when it finished it started up the sshd daemon.
    000127
    03/02/07
    The default directory holding Apache web server docs on a fresh Debian install is /var/www/apache2-default. To change the default directory to /var/www like my Fedora/Redhat systems default to I did this:
    Put a pound sign (#) in front of the "RedirectMatch ^/$ /apache2-default/" line in the /etc/apache2/sites-available/default file.
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
    AllowOverride None
    Order allow,deny
    allow from all
    # This directive allows us to have apache2's default start page
    # in /apache2-default/, but still have / go to the right place
    # RedirectMatch ^/$ /apache2-default/
    000128
    07/24/07
    To see the current list of keyboard shortcuts for the particular version/theme of KDE you are in, go to the "K" Start button (I don't know what this button is officially called in Linux/KDE), Control Panel, Regional & Accessibility, Keyboard Shortcuts. Now you can see them and edit them (see below).
    000129
    07/24/07
    To edit keyboard shortcuts in KDE v 3.5 open the Keyboard Shortcuts in Control Panel (see above), pick the item you wish to edit, then select from None, Default, or Custom. You may need to click on Advanced if it's not already in use. In advanced, to use a keyboard combo with a pause between strokes (i.e. Alt+Spacebar, then the letter X) choose the Multi-key Mode option.
    000130
    07/24/07
    To install Debian with KDE instead of Gnome, when you boot with the install disk, at the "boot:" prompt type: install tasks="kde-desktop,standard" and follow instrucs from there.
    To install with xfce instead, do the same only use install tasks="xfce-desktop,standard".
    On the Debian "Lenny" version (version after 4.0 "Etch"), at the install prompt, press the   Tab   key and add "desktop=xfce" to the command line for Xfce or (I assume) "desktop=kde" for KDE.
    000131
    08/07/07
    To setup my webserver on an old PC using a DSL live CD I did this: (I'm assuming the NIC is working w/an IP address ok.)
    (Since it is running off of a read-only CD, it's almost impossible to hack or hi-jack.)
  • Boot with the DSL CD and hit F2 at the "boot:" prompt so I can choose my comand line options.
  • Type "dsl option1 option2 etc." (e.g. boot: dsl vga=normal dma noapm noapic)
  • Follow the prompts to setup xwindows settings and load xwindows.
  • Do a    Ctrl + Alt + Backspace    to exit xwindows.
  • Type "sudo su" to change to the root account.
  • Do an "adduser name" of account I use on my server and change the password to match what this password normally is.
  • Change the dsl account password by typing    passwd dsl.
  • Change the root account password.
  • Do a    chown -R username:user /opt/monkey/htdocs     so the "username" account can ftp files later. You may get an error that says "no such file" or similar. Ignore.
  • Exit from the root account back to the dsl account and type    startx to get back into xwindows.
  • Right click on the Desktop and go to System > Daemons > Monkey Web Server > monkey start.
  • Right click on the Desktop and go to System > Daemons > FTPd > betaftpd start.
  • From my computer where I keep the master copies of my Gnulife web files, ftp to this DSL box and put the needed files in the /opt/monkey/htdocs directory.
  • Get in to the router admin application and set it up so that http port forwarding is going to and from this DSL box.
  • Test to make sure it is working.
    000132
    09/19/07
    To reconfigure xwindows from a command line on Debian 4.0 (Etch) type: "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg" (or "xorgconfig" depending on which works) as root and follow the instructions.
    000133
    09/21/07
    To install fonts on your system do this:
    Click on the K Menu and select CONTROL CENTER. In the window that comes up, click on SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION, then FONT INSTALLER. You will have to click ADMINISTRATOR MODE and provide the root password. Then, click ADD FONTS and browse to the font you wish to install. Select the font and click OPEN. KDE installs the font. When finished, close the window.
    (with most recent/fuller distros you can add TTF fonts this way easily.)
    000134
    10/11/07
    To clone a Linux hard drive with the dd command use these instructions: dd_cloning.txt
    000135
    10/19/07
    To toggle between full screen mode and back in a VMware session do this:
    Ctrl + Alt + ENTER = Full Screen
    Ctrl + Alt = Full Screen Off
    000136
    11/26/07
    To make a backup copy of your Master Boot Record do this:
  • Boot your system with a Linux boot disk (floppy disk like TomsRtBt or CD like Knoppix)
  • From a command prompt with root privileges type:
    "dd if=/dev/hda of=/your-path/mbr_backup bs=512 count=1" where "/your-path/" is the path to the location you are going to save the file and "mbr_backup" is the name of the file you choose to save to.
    If you need to use this later to restore your Master Boot Record you would again boot with a bootable Linux disk and type: "dd if=/your-path/mbr_backup of=/dev/hda".
    (This assumes your hard drive is an IDE hard drive on the first IDE interface.)
    000137
    12/14/07
    To mount an NTFS file system (Windows drive or partition) in Debian 4.0 Linux follow the instructions in this document.
    000138
    12/27/07
    To easily share an unsecured KDE desktop session remotely, do this:
  • Open Control Center > Internet & Network > Desktop Sharing
  • Under the "Uninvited Connections", check the first, second, and fourth items.

    click on pic to see bigger version
  • Type in a password. BEWARE!!! This will not make a secure connection across the Internet. (To make a more secure connection, un-check the first item ["Allow uninvited connections"] and use the "Create & Manage ..." button.)
  • Now click on the "Apply" button (lower right).
  • From the remote PC open the remote client app (e.g. vncviewer or krdc) and use the combination of the computer name or IP address followed by a colon and the display number (typically 0). Typical example might be 192.168.1.101:0. You should then be asked for the password you chose. Enter the password and the remote session should display.

    or from my EEE PC (9/12/08)
  • Launch > Applications > System > Remote Desktop Sharing > Share My Desktop
  • click on the "Configure" button at the bottom
  • check the "Allow Uninvited connections" box
  • configure settings as desired in the "Uninvited Connections" area
  • type in a password and click OK.


    • To prepare the remote desktop (server) from the system you want to remote from (client), do this:
  • Open a terminal session (e.g. konsole)
  • Type: ssh -X userid@remotedesktop (where "userid" is either "root" or the acct you want to login with and "remotedesktop" is the system you will be remoting to [server]) and type the password when asked.
  • Type: krfb to open the Remote Desktop Sharing utility on remote system.
  • Follow the instrucs from above.
    000139
    01/11/08
    When using the "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1048576" command to low-level format a 60Gig (scsi) drive it took just over 51 minutes. Based on this it went about 1.18 Gigs per minute. This might give a general idea of how long it will take on other drives.
    000140
    01/22/08
    To convert text files back and forth between Linux format and DOS format use the "unix2dos" and "dos2unix" commands from the "tofrodos" utility. On my Debian system I had to install the "sysutils" package or the "tofrodos" package. (e.g. "sudo apt-get install sysutils") Then to convert the particular text file, go to a terminal session (e.g. "konsole" or Ctrl+Alt+F2), move to the directory where the text file is and type "unix2dos filename.txt" to convert the Linux filename.txt file to a Dos format or "dos2unix filename.txt" to convert Dos to Linux.
    000141
    01/24/08
    To resize the icons on the toolbar (bottom panel) in KDE, open Control Panel > Desktop > Panels and click on the drop down arrow in the "Size" option. Pick the size of your choice and click on "Apply".
    000142
    01/24/08
    To edit the menus in KDE go to Control Panel > Desktop > Panels and click on the "Menus" tab. Then click on the "Edit K Menu" button in the "K Menu" section and edit the menus as desired.
    000143
    02/12/08
    To import and export address books in and out of Evolution you may need to use a go-between application like Kaddressbook. Evolution has an "Import" function under "File" but no "Export" function. Instead it has a "Save As" but will only save in a "Vcard" format. (Seems pretty stupid when so many other email clients have the ability to export to other formats.) To export an address book to a .csv or .ldif format, do a "File > Save As" to a vard (.vcf) formatted file. Then import that saved .vcf file from KaddressBook (usually under "Kmenu > Office > KAddressBook"). Now export that to the format of your choice and you can import that into the email client of your choice.
         To save multiple Evolution address books (for importing to another PC or restoration after a crash, etc.) you will need to export each one. Then recreate the appropriate new address books on the new/restored version of Evolution and import the .vcf files into the new address books appropriately.
    000144
    02/12/08
    To have all the various window buttons (Mail, Contacts, Calendars, etc.) available in Evolution in the lower left corner, go to "View > Switcher Appearance" and uncheck the "Hide Buttons" box.
    000145
    02/13/08
    To have the NumLock key on by default when entering KDE, go to Kmenu > Control Panel > Peripherals > Keyboard and activate the "Turn on" option. Then be sure to click the Apply button at the bottom.
    000146
    03/03/08
    To quickly view, add, or edit your CUPS printers, in your browser location box type: http://localhost:631 and hit Enter. (The Common Unix Printing System is what most Linux distros use now-a-days for printers.)
    000147
    03/18/08
    To copy a file from one Linux box to another you can use the "scp" command which uses "ssh" security. To copy the file "goober.txt" from the "/home/goober" directory on your PC to the "/var/www" folder on "server2" you would type this from your PC:     "scp  /home/goober/goober.txt  server2:/var/www"
    Use the "man scp" command for further instructions.
    000148
    04/13/08
    To configure your network settings in Debian from a command line you need to edit the /etc/network/interfaces file.
    To use DHCP make it like below. 
    # The primary network interface - use DHCP to find our address
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

    For a Static IP address edit the same file similar to this only using the addresses you need: 
    # The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.3.90
gateway 192.168.3.1
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.3.0
broadcast 192.168.3.255

    (On my EEE PC I did not need the "network" or "broadcast" lines.)

    Be sure to edit your /etc/hosts file to match your static IP address.
    Once finished editing, type this command to restart your networking:
    /etc/init.d/networking restart
    If that doesn't work you may need to reboot.
    000149
    04/14/08
    To create and manage Logical Volumes (LVM) see this document.
    000150
    05/25/08
    Yum commands for installing, removing, etc., RedHat/Fedora/Centos applications.yum_commands.htm
    , yum_HOWTO-11.html, or a summary here.
    000151
    07/06/08
    If you can't mount a usb device with /dev/sda1, sdb1, etc. try using /dev/uba1, ubb1, etc. instead.
    000152
    08/15/08
    Click on the link below for a list of Knoppix Live CD cheatcodes (parameters you can use when booting a Knoppix Live CD to help boot properly)
    Knoppix_Cheat_Codes.html
    000153
    08/21/08
    To copy a DVD (especially a bootable DVD) using K3b do this:
  • Open the main window of K3b
  • Click on Tools > Copy DVD and follow procedure from there.
    000154
    08/21/08
    To make an iso file from a DVD using K3B do this:
  • Open the main window of K3b
  • Click on Tools > Copy DVD
  • Check the "Only create image" option in the "Options" section.
  • Follow procedures from there.
    000155
    08/21/08
    To switch a EEE PC from "Easy Desktop Mode" to "Full Desktop Mode" do this:
  • Ctrl+Alt+T (to open a terminal session)
  • Type "sudo -i" or "sudo su" (to login as root)
  • Type "apt-get update" if you haven't already updated the sources. (This assumes you have a live internet connection.)
  • Type "apt-get install ksmserver kicker" and follow directions to finish these installs.
  • reboot
  • Once logged in, start to logout, but choose the "Full Desktop" option before rebooting.
    000156
    09/08/08
    To protect my Linux system from someone ssh'ing in as root, I did this on my Debian 4.0 system.
  • Logged in as root in a terminal session.
  • Edited the "PermitRootLogin yes" line in /etc/ssh/sshd_config (not ssh_config) to say "PermitRootLogin no".
  • Typed: "ps -ef | grep sshd" to find the pid number for the /usr/sbin/sshd process.
  • Typed: "kill -9 xxxx" where "xxxx" was the pid number of /usr/sbin/sshd.
  • Then typed: "/usr/sbin/sshd" to restart the sshd process again with the new rule.
    000157
    09/13/08
    To replace the Gnome desktop environment with KDE look at this document.
    To install/remove various desktop environments look at this document.
    000158
    02/08
    To run an Xwindow app remotely on another user's Linux box do this:
    1. From an xterm (or konsole) session on your PC type "xhost +"
    2. From a second xterm (or konsole) session on your PC do an "ssh -X" to the user's PC (e.g. "ssh -X root@computer1") or an Xrsh (e.g. Xrsh root@computer1") if Xrsh is available.
    3. If the X app you need to run needs to be run as the user, do an "su" with the user's filenumber (e.g. "su user123") to be logged in as the user.
    4. Now type the command you want to run (e.g. kmenuedit) and it should open on your display.

    To run an Xwindow app remotely on another user's HP-UX box do this:
    1. From an xterm (or konsole) session on your PC type "xhost +"
    2. From a second xterm (or konsole) session telnet to the HP-UX box and login as root.
    3. From this second terminal session which now has you on the remote PC, type: "DISPLAY=mycomputer:0" and ENTER, where "mycomputer" is the name of the PC you are working from.
    4. Now type "export DISPLAY" and ENTER.
    5. If the X app you need to run needs to be run as the user, do an "su" with the user's filenumber (e.g. "su user123") to be logged in as the user.
    6. Now type the command you want to run (e.g. kmenuedit) and it should open on your display.

    To login to a remote HP-UX workstation with it's full xserver desktop, from your F1 console (ctrl+alt+F1) type; X -query hostname.a1b2c3d4.com :1
    000159
    2/28/08
    To change your Redhat dual-display setup so your desktop spans both screens or doesn't span both do this:
  • Open an xterm/konsole session.
  • Do an "su -" and enter the root password.
  • Type "system-config-display" to open the Display settings.
  • Go to the "Dual head" tab.
  • Change the "Desktop layout option as desired and click OK.
  • Exit the xterm/konsole session.
  • Logout of Xwindows and restart the Xserver.
    • OR To configure a Linux system so apps can move across displays add these two lines at the bottom of the 'Section "ServerLayout"' section in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file if they aren't there already.
  • Option "Xinerama" "on"
  • Option "Clone" "off"
    • If they are already there, make sure the Xinerama line is set for "on".
    000160
    3/7/08
    One way to easily kill an application in KDE that won't exit normally is to type Ctrl+Alt+Esc and then use the skull and cross bones to click on that app you want to kill. BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU CLICK! PDW 03/07/08
    000161
    3/10/08
    To add or configure a printer on a Redhat workstation, remote to the box (e.g. ssh root@remote-pc) and run the "printconf" command. If that doesn't work, try "system-config-printer". This is a handy way of giving a user another printer to use when their default printer isn't working.
    000162
    3/17/08
    Symp: Switching back and forth between a text display application and a graphical app (e.g. between elinks -> Mozilla) causes the graphical display to be missing pixels on one of the multiple monitors. Graphics look like they are displayed in 620x480 instead of higher resolution. Then the display will resolve itself. I swapped video adaptor and reseated others with no results.
    Cause: The /etc/X11/xorg.conf file is not configured correctly. Specifically the "Defaultdepth" setting in the 'Section "Screen"' section is set in-correctly. This was originally accomodating an older 8 bit color app.
    Res: Back up the current /etc/X11/xorg.conf file first. Edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file by remming out the "Defaultdepth 8" line and un-remming the "Defaultdepth 24" line in the 'Section "Screen"' portion. Then have user logout and back in to Xwindow session.
    000163
    3/19/08
    How to install Xerox print drivers for Linux cups printing on Redhat system
  • download the Xerox (LinuxCups*) package from the Xerox website.
  • before unzipping, cd /usr/share/cups/model
  • mkdir Xerox
  • cd /tmp
  • tar -xvf **this will create a subdir with all xerox.ppd's.**
  • cd to subdir and, mv * /usr/share/cups/model/Xerox
  • cd /etc/init.d
  • ./cups stop
  • ./cups start
    Then connect to CUPS web interface (http://localhost:631) and [add/modify] printer to use appropriate Xerox driver.
  • [Configure] printer to correct tray assignments and such.
    000164
    5/5/08
    To get a login history on a particular Linux or Unix system, login as root and type "last" (or "last | more").
    000165
    10/04/08
    When using an xterm session, here are three sets of menu options to use with the Ctrl button and your mouse:
  • Ctrl + left for Main Options
  • Ctrl + right to select Font
  • Ctrl + middle for VT Options
    • 000166
    10/04/08
    Instructions for using wget to download a whole website. wget.en.t2t
    000167
    10/04/08
    To find the 10 biggest folders in your current working path:
    du -x --block-size=1024K | sort -nr | head -10
    (Don't expect a quick response. It has to do some work!)
    000168
    10/04/08
    To install java in Fedora Core 9 do follow these instrucs: java-fc9.htm
    000169
    10/04/08
    Tips and Tricks for Fedora Core 9 - f9-tips.htm
    000170
    5/9/08 
    To remotely configure a RedHat Linux box to share a on another machine that has the printer connected locally, do this:

   1. Open a terminal session and type: "xhost +"
   2. Open a second terminal session and type: "ssh -X root@remcomp" where "remcomp" is the name of the system you are trying to configure.
   3. Type: "system-config-printer" to run the printer configuration utility.
   4. If there is already an lp0 entry listed, double-click on it to edit the settings (or click once and then click on the Edit button).
   5. Under the "Queue name" tab make sure the "Name" field is "lp0" and the "Short description" can be anything, but I it might be best to use the lpx naming convention.
   6. Under the "Queue type" tab use one of these combinations (not sure at this time why one works one place and other works elsewhere):
         1. "Queue type" = "Networked UNIX (LPD)", "Server" = remote hostname, and "Queue" = "lp0" (for this method to work, the LPD protocol must be enabled on the remote workstation. See note below.)
         2. "Queue type" = "Networked CUPS (IPP)", "Server" = remote hostname, and "Path" = "printers/lp0" 
   7. Go to the "Printer driver" tab and make choose the correct driver. 

                          OR

   1. Open a terminal session and type: "xhost +"
   2. Open a second terminal session and type: "ssh -X root@remcomp" where "remcomp" is the name of the system you are trying to configure.
   3. Type: "firefox" or "mozilla" to open a browser.
   4. From the browser type: "localhost:631" in the URL box.
   5. Click on the "Printer" link or "Manage Printers" link (same thing).
   6. For the lp0 printer click on the "Modify Printer" link.
   7. Enter the root account and password.
   8. The "Location" field should be "lp0". "Description" probably already says something like "Created by redhat-config..." Click on the "Continue" link when ready.
   9. The "Device" field should be set to "LPD/LPR Host or Printer". Click on the "Continue" link when ready.
  10. The "Device URI" field should be "lpd://compwithprntr/lp0" where "compwithprntr" is the name of the machine that the printer is physically connected to. Click on the "Continue" link when ready.
  11. Set the "Make" field according to the printer manufacturer. Click on the "Continue" link when ready.
  12. Set the "Model" field to match the model of the printer or the closest to it. Click on the "Continue" link when ready. 

In order to use the "Networked UNIX (LPD)" queue type in step 6 above the LPD protocol must be enabled on the system attached physically to the printer. To do this run the "system-config-printer" utility on this system and go to the "Queue type" tab. Click on the "Sharing" button and then on the "General" tab. Check the "LPD" tab and OK your way out.
    000171
    10/17/08
    When I wanted to change my "Kmenu" start button to something else, here's what I did.
  • Created the button I wanted and matched it in size to the current kmenu.png icon that was being used. In my case it was using the /usr/share/icons/kdeclassic/32x32/apps/kmenu.png icon.
  • Opened a terminal session as root and changed to the /usr/share/icons/kdeclassic/32x32/apps directory.
  • Moved the current kmenu.png file to kmenu.png.orig (mv "kmenu.png kmenu.png.orig").
  • Copied the replacement file I wanted to this direcotry as "kmenu.png" (e.g. "cp /data/temp/newicon.png kmenu.png" [Since I was already in the correct directory I didn't have to use the full path to the target])
  • Closed all apps and then exited my xsession with Ctrl+Alt+Del then restarted xwindows from the login screen with Ctrl+Alt+Backspace.
  • Logged in and there was the new icon in place of the Kmenu icon.
    • 000172
    11/05/08
    To set links in Icedove to open in Iceweasel by default (instead of Konqueror), from inside Icedove, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced > General > Config Editor and type 'http' in filter line. Then either change or add 'network.protocol-handler.app.http' and use '/usr/bin/iceweasel' as value. Do the same for 'https'.
    000173
    11/05/08
    To configure Iceweasel "mailto:" links to use Icedove for emailing, do this:
  • Type 'about:config' in URL box.
  • Then type 'mailto' In 'Filter' box and either change 'network.protocol-handler.app.mailto' string field to '/usr/bin/icedove' or whichever mailclient/path you wish to use.
  • OR ADD 'network.protocol-handler.app.mailto' as 'string' and put '/usr/bin/icedove' as 'value'. To add, right click in empty space in about:config window and select 'string'.
    000174
    11/27/08
    To install Debian with the Xfce desktop manager on my EEE PC I used these instructions using a memory stick. When I first booted and got to the first menu I pressed the tab key and added this to the end of the command prompt: "desktop=xfce". Then during the install process when given a list of packages to choose from, I picked "desktop", "laptop", and "Standard system". I used my home wireless connection during the install and never had to configure wireless after completion. This document should explain how to configure wifi after install if needed.
    000175
    12/06/08
    To install Xfce instead of Gnome or KDE with Debian 4.0 (Etch), at the install prompt type: install tasks=xfce-desktop
    To install KDE instead of the default Gnome desktop manager, type: install tasks=kde-desktop (or install tasks="kde-desktop,standard")
    000176
    12/08/08
    One way to create desktop icons in the Xfce4 desktop is to install the "xfce4-appfinder" application. Once you install it (e.g. "apt-get install xfce4-appfinder") you run and drag and drop apps to the desktop to make icons there.
    000177
    12/10/08
    To stop and start networking on a Debian system type this as root:
    # /etc/init.d/networking stop
    # /etc/init.d/networking start
            or
    # /etc/init.d/networking restart
    000178
    12/16/08
    Read this article for an easy way to rip CDs in KDE. http://docs.kde.org/userguide/audio-cd.html
    This version skips the first section and may not be needed if your system already has the needed apps/configuration in place. rip-cds.htm
    000179
    12/19/08
    To disable IPV6 in Debian do this: sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/aliases
    Find the line: "alias net-pf-10 ipv6"
    change to: "alias net-pf-10 off"
    If the above change is not working you need to change the line to: "alias net-pf-10 off ipv6"
    Save the file and reboot
    000180
    12/27/08
    To make it easier to find and configure wireless hotspots from within Xfce on my EEE PC I installed the WiFi Radar application with the "apt-get install wifi-radar" command.
    000181
    01/07/09
    To create a shortcut key to open konqueror automatically to the /data directory, I did this:
  • Opened kmenuedit (Kmenu > Run Command > kmenuedit and ENTER
  • Created a new item in the sub-menu of my choice
  • Typed this command in the "Command" box:    konqueror --select /data/
  • Set the "Current shortcut key:" to the keyboard combo of your choice. (I used the   Windows key + E   to make it consistent with Windows.)
  • Be sure to save the item, and then you're done.
  • UPDATE 2/11/13 - You may need to do this:
    000182
    01/21/09
    To install Xfce by default when installing Debian on a system, use this installer option:   install tasks=xfce-desktop
    or
    install tasks="xfce-desktop, standard"
    000183
    02/11/09
    To surf the web with graphics on a Linux box w/o Xwindows installed I installed the "links2" application (in Debian: apt-get install links2). Then I had to use the "-g" and "-mode" options. E.g. "links2 -g -mode 1024x768x256 gnulife.com" opened my Gnulife webpage with basic graphics and color. Not all of the graphics displayed, but maybe with a better graphics mode selection it would have.
    000184
    03/01/09
    To configure NFS on a home network follow the example below. 
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The network is configured so that computers are recognized by their hostnames.
* The network is using the 192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0 range of IP addresses.
* "server1" is the hostname of the computer that has the files you want to share with others.
* "client1" is the hostname of the remote computer you will be accessing the files from.
  In other words, you will see the files from this computer, but they will actually be on "server1".
* The directories on "server1" that will be shared are "/network-data" and "/home/all".
* Both "server1" and "client1" have accounts named "user1" that have the same password.
  Make sure "user1" has the needed permissions to the shares on "server1".
* The mount points to be used on "client1" will be "/mnt/nw-data" and "/mnt/all".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Install "nfs-kernel-server" and "nfs-common" packages on "server1". On a Debian-based system, from a command prompt, type:
   "sudo apt-get install nfs-kernel-server nfs-common" and follow the prompts.  On a RedHat-based system use yum or whatever you prefer.

2. On "server1" you will need to edit the /etc/exports file similar to below:

/network-data		client1(rw,sync)
/home/all		client1(rw,sync)

         or if there are more than two computers use:

/network-data		192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0(rw,sync)
/home/all		192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0(rw,sync)

3. From a command prompt on "server1" type:  
sudo exportfs -a

4. From a command prompt on "client1" type: 
sudo mount -t nfs server1:/network-data /mnt/nw-data
    and then,
sudo mount -t nfs server1:/home/all /mnt/all

5. To have these mounted automatically when "client1" boots up add these two lines to the /etc/fstab on "client1".
server1:/network-data      /mnt/nw-data      nfs        auto,rw,user,sync,exec     0 0
server1:/home/all          /mnt/all          nfs        auto,rw,user,sync,exec     0 0
    000185
    03/09/09
    To clean up old Debian packages taking up space that are un-needed go to a terminal session as root and use the "apt-get autoremove" command.
    000186
    03/14/09
    To see if Linux detects your scsi or usb scanner run the "sane-find-scanner" command.
    000187
    03/21/09
    To add a second wireless router to my home network I configured it this way:
  • Plugged the router into a computer that was not on the network and made sure the router was not connected to my network. Then powered up the router.
  • When the router finished initializing, powered up the computer.
  • Used the browser on this computer to get to the router's web interface by typing the router's IP address into the browser's address bar.
    (This was a Linksys router and the default IP address was 192.168.1.1. Other common router default IPs are 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.0, and 192.168.1.0.)
    (The default ID/password combo was a blank ID [but "admin" also worked] with a password of "admin".)
  • Changed the admin password on the router to what I wanted it to be and saved the setting.
  • Made sure router was configured to get it's WAN IP address via DHCP from my main router.
  • In this case I left the router's web interface IP address as it was since my main router's IP address was 192.168.0.1. Would have changed it to be different from my other router if needed.
  • Edited the range of IP addresses it was allowed to hand out and made sure they were using the 192.168.1.x network and not the 192.168.0.x that my main router was already using. Saved the settings.
  • Configured the wifi encryption/security settings the way I wanted and saved those settings.
  • Closed the router's web interface.
  • Powered down the router, waited a few seconds, and powered it back up, then tested.

    That was it!
    000188
    03/27/09
    To download a Youtube video do this:
  • Browse to the Youtube video you want to download.
  • Copy the URL
  • From a command prompt change to the directory you want to copy the video file to.
  • Type the "clive" command, followed by a space and then paste the URL that you copied above.
  • Press Enter and watch as the download progresses.
    I have noticed when the download is complete (it says 100%) you have to hit Enter again to get back to a prompt.
    000189
    04/08/09
    To convert a *.flv media file to an *.mpg file, from a command prompt use the "ffmpeg" command. E.g. - To convert the CornerGasS1E3.flv file to an mpeg file I type: "ffmpeg -i CornerGasS1E3.flv CornerGasS1E3.mpg".
    000190
    04/10/09
    To determine what version of Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu your are running, from a command prompt type: cat /etc/issue or cat /etc/lsb-release for a little more info.
    In Fedora, use the cat /etc/issue command.
    000191
    04/10/09
    When preparing to re-install Linux on a system and you want to backup current configurations back up at least these three directories: /etc, /boot, and /home (or the particular home directory you are interested in). The /home/userid directory will have things like the user's mail files, browser bookmarks, and other settings particular to the user's profile.
    000192
    04/23/09
    One way to see what plugins are installed in Firefox is to type "about:plugins" in the URL box.
    000193
    04/23/09
    To set my Thunderbird email icon so it would open the profile manager (this allows me to pick between my various email accounts when I open it) I had to add the "-profilemanager" option at the end of the "thunderbird" command. So here are the steps I did, in order, on my Kubuntu 8.04.1 system:
  • Clicked on the Kmenu button in the lower left-hand corner to open the Kmenu, then found Thunderbird in the "Internet" menu.
  • Right-clicked on the Thunderbird icon and chose to add it to the desktop (or the main panel).
  • Right-clicked on the Thunderbird icon in the Main Panel or Desktop where I put it and chose to "Configure ..."
  • Clicked on the "Application" tab.
  • In the "Command" box I removed the "%u" (don't know if that was necessary) and replaced it with " -profilemanager" so together it read "thunderbird -profilemanager". (There is one space and one " - " between the two words.)
    000194
    04/30/09
    To configure KDE on my Kubuntu system to have a particular application open automatically (autostart), I did a little research and came up with these several methods. I chose the third, but haven't experimented with the first two yet. 1. Open up Konqueror. Navigate to your home folder.
    2. Click on View. Select Show Hidden Files.
    3. Look for a folder named .kde and open it.
    4. Look for a folder named Autostart and open it.
    5. Right click inside Konqueror. Select Create New and Text File.
    6. Give the text file the name of the program you would like to autostart.
    7. Open the file using Kate or the text editor of your choice.
    8. Type #!/bin/bash on the first line.
    9. Type the command to launch your program along with any necessary switches.
    10. Save the file.
    11. Right click on the file, select Properties and the Permissions tab.
    12. Finally, check the is executable box and click OK to complete the process.

    or

    1. Open up Konqueror. Navigate to your home folder.
    2. Click on View. Select Show Hidden Files.
    3. Look for a folder named .kde and open it.
    4. Look for a folder named Autostart and open it.
    5. Click on the K Menu icon and navigate to the program that you would like to auto-start.
    6. Drag the icon for said program into the Konqueror window and select Copy Here when prompted.

    or

    1. Install "kcontrol-autostart" (e.g. - sudo apt-get install kcontrol-autostart)
    2. Run "kmenuedit" and add the "kcontrol" command where you want it.
    3. Use the Kmenu button to open your Kmenu and start up "kcontrol" from where you put it.
    4. Choose the "Autostart Manager" under the "KDE Components" and add the application you want to start automatically.
    Note: After you add an item this way, you'll see a new text file in your ~.kde/Autostart directory.
    000195
    05/28/09
    To find out what PCI hardware you have in your computer, open a terminal session and type "lspci | more".
    You can pipe the output through grep to find some specific PCI device like a video card or ethernet card.
    e.g. "lspci | grep -i vga" or "lspci | -i grep graphic" or "lspci | -i display" should give you your video card.
    e.g. "lspci | grep -i ethernet" should give you the name of your network card.
    e.g. "lspci | grep -i audio" will probably give you your sound card info.
    000196
    05/28/09
    To find out what directory a particular command is located in, type: "which command" where "command" is the name of the particular command you are looking for. (e.g. "which cron" tells you where the cron command is located.)
    000197
    05/29/09
    Once you have installed madwifi, the commands it creates for you to use are "wlanconfig" and "iwconfig". See this howto or this one for more explanation.
    000198
    06/01/09 (update 08/02/09)
    To create new icons on the Lxde, Xfce, or KDE desktop I did this:
  • 1. Open the Thunar file manager and go to the /home/userid/Desktop folder
  • 2. Open a second instance of Thunar and go to /usr/share/applications
  • 3. All the files in /usr/share/applications directory are .desktop files.
  • 4. Copy any of these that you want on the desktop to the /home/userid/Desktop directory.
    000199
    06/01/09
    To make a Firefox icon on the Xfce or KDE desktop that opens to a specific web site, do this:
  • 1. Follow the directions above to add the Firefox icon to the Desktop.
  • 2. From the /home/userid/Desktop folder, open the Firefox.desktop file in a text editor.
  • 3. Toward the bottom of this text file is a line like this: "Exec=firefox %u"
  • 4. Add a space and the URL of the web page inside of double quotes.
    (e.g. Exec=firefox %u "http://www.google.com"
  • 5. Other application .desktop files can be edited similarly.
    000200
    06/05/09
    To add a user account to additional groups from the command line do this:
    usermod -aG group1,group2,group3  userid
    e.g. - to add "user1" to the "floppy" group and the "cdrom" group, as root, type:
    usermod -aG floppy,cdrom  user1
    000201
    06/22/09
    To add a volume control to the taskbar in LXDE do this:
  • right-click on an empty space on the taskbar
  • choose "Add/Remove Panel Items"
  • click on the "Add" button
  • choose the "Volume Control" item and click on "Add"
    000202
    07/02/09
    To play wave files from the command line, install the "sox" application. It includes the "play" command that you can use to play a *.wav file from the command line. The syntax is: play file.wav
    To install sox on a Debian system from the command line, type: apt-get install sox
    000203
    07/09/09
    To add or remove services that start during bootup on a Debian 5 system (as well as older versions), use the "update-rc.d" command.
    e.g. - To remove the "netatalk" service, first shut the service down with "/etc/init.d/netatalk stop", then "update-rc.d netatalk remove".
    000204
    07/18/09
    To make a video recording of things on your desktop, do this:
  • Install "recordmydesktop" (e.g. "apt-get install recordmydesktop" or use Synaptic).
  • Click on "Kmenu", then "run command" or use "Alt + F2".
  • Type the "recordmydesktop" command followed by the path and filename.ogv where you want to store the video, and press "Enter". (e.g. "recordmydesktop /home/user1/myvideo.ogv") Be sure to use the ".ogv" file extension since these are ogg formatted files.
  • Now everything you do on your desktop is being recorded.
  • To end the recording, use the keyboard combo of the left Ctrl + Alt + S. Then go find your file and play it in Kaffeine or some other player.
    • 000205
    07/21/09
    On a DSL box, to switch from one window manager to another edit the /home/userid/.desktop file and restart Xwindows. See the example ".desktop" files below. 
    wm: fluxbox
icons: dfm

         or

    wm: jwm
icons: dfm
    000206
    07/23/09
    The actual location of the files in the "Trash" (at least on my Debian and Fedora systems) is /home/userid/.local/share/Trash/files. Sometimes when this gets to full you need to open a root terminal session and delete the files in this directory with the "rm" or "rm -rf" command.
    000207
    08/23/09
    To add or remove services that start up automatically in Debian, use the "update-rc.d" command or remove the particular linked file in the specific /etc/rcx.d ("x" is a number) directory. E.g. - "update-rc.d -f netatalk remove" (removes the netatalk service from being started on bootup)
    000208
    08/23/09
    To make a program icon on a DSL desktop, make a soft link in /gome/userid/.dfmdesk to the program's executable file. To make an icon inside a folder on the desktop, do this: 1. in a terminal session change to the directory (e.g. - "cd /home/userid/.dfmdesk/foldername") 2. make a soft link to the program (e.g. - "ln -s /usr/bin/myprogram .")
    000209
    08/23/09
    "recordmydesktop" and "gtk-recordmydesktop" are Linux-based programs used to record audio-video sessions on the Linux desktop.
    000210
    08/23/09
    To add a program icon on the desktop in Xfce4 or Lxde do this: 1. Open a terminal session on change directories to the /home/userid/Desktop directory. 2. Make a soft link to the particular *.desktop file of your choice in the /usr/share/applications directory. (e.g. - "ln -s /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop .")
    000211
    08/23/09
    To create a desktop icon for a program that doesn't have one (e.g. "Ace of Penguin" games may not have icons), copy an existing *.desktop file from in /usr/share/applications and rename it to the name of your choice. Then edit the various lines with that *.desktop file to match with your program.
    000212
    10/04/10
    To format a drive with the Linux ext3 format do this from a command prompt as root: mkfs -t ext3 /dev/hxa1 where "/dev/hxa1" is the particular drive you are formatting. (i.e. If you were going to format the first partition, on the master drive, on the first IDE interface/cable you would type: mkfs -t ext3 /dev/hda1.)
    000213
    10/15/10
    To clean a virus infected computer with a Debian Linux Live CD (Debian, Knoppix, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc.) do this:
    (This assumes your computer has a working internet connection.)
  • Boot up the infected computer with the live CD.
  • Open a terminal session and type: sudo apt-get update and press Enter.
  • When that finishes type: sudo apt-get install clamtk and press Enter. (Type "Y" for yes and press Enter, when asked to install.)
  • When that finishes (may take a while), close the terminal session and find the "Virus Scanner" program in your menu. (For Knoppix is was under the "Accessories" menu.) Start it up.
  • Click on "Scan > Recursive Scan" and follow dierections to scan the drive you want to scan.
    • 000214
    01/24/11 (it's been a while)
    To minimize all applications and get back to the desktop in KDE (I think also in Gnome), use the Ctrl + Alt + D keyboard combination. (Sweet!)
    000215
    03/01/11
    To format a DVD+RW disc from the command line type this: dvd+rw-format -force /dev/dvd or dvd+rw-format -force=full /dev/dvd
    You may need to install/update some programs first though.
  • Debian installation: apt-get install 'dvd+rw-tools' and/or apt-get install mkisofs and/or apt-get install cdrecord
    000216
    06/20/11
    To download a file (e.g. an iso file) from the command prompt instead of through the browser or via ftp, go to the directory you want to download to, then type: wget -c URL where URL is the full URL address to the file.
    000217
    12/30/11
    To detect new hardware from the command line in Redhat Linux (Fedora), use the "kudzu" command. In Debian, use the "discover" command. (You may need to install discover. e.g. "apt-get install discover")
    000218
    02/03/12
    To determine what web server application a website is using, from a command line type: lynx -head http://websitename.com, obviously using the website's domain name. Be sure to use the "http://" along with the domain name. Also, if "Lynx" is not installed you will need to install this first.
    000219
    02/07/12
    The VIM cheat sheet
    000220
    02/08/12
    To switch between the current Apache configuration file being used, and another available one you can use the "a2dissite" and "a2ensite" commands. E.g. "a2dissite default && a2ensite mysite" disables the "default" configuration and enables the "mysite" configuration. After this change is made run the "/etc/init.d/apache2 reload" command to restart Apache.
    000221
    02/17/12
    To edit a pdf file (e.g. Filling out a form using the computer instead of printing it out and doing it by hand.) I opened the pdf file in Gimp, saved it in the .xcf format, opened that file in Kolourpaint, edited it, and then saved and/or printed it. I could also save it in a jpg or other format.
    000222
    02/27/12
    To enable and disable virtualhosts in Apache webserver use these commands: virtualhost commands
    000223
    03/06/12
    To determine what version of KDE is installed on a Linux workstation, from a command prompt type: konqueror --version
    You should see three items listed.   1.)The version of Qt.   2.)The version of KDE.   3.)The version of konqueror.
    In place of konqueror use can use most of the other KDE apps (i.e. kwrite, kwin, kross, kstart, etc.).
    000224
    03/08/12
    To use a keyboard shortcut to minimize all windows and show the desktop in KDE 4.4.5, do this:
  • Right-click on the Panel Toolbox (lower right corner?) and choose "Add Widgets".
  • Find the "Show Desktop" widget and double-click on it.
  • Right-click on the new "Show Desktop" widget that is now on the toolbar and choose "Show Desktop Settings".
  • Use the "Keyboard Shortcut" optiojn to create the keyboard shortcut of your choice.
    000225
    03/16/12
    To keep a Debian system current with the latest updates, do this as root from the command line:
  • apt-get update
  • apt-get dist-upgrade
    000226
    04/18/12
    To determine what version of Ubuntu you are using (from command line), type:lsb_release -a
    000227
    05/01/12
    To be able to ssh from one system to another without having to enter the password each time, do this:
  • On your local system from your home directory run the ssh-keygen command and accept the defaults.
  • Now copy the contents of the newly created /home/userid/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file into a file (see next step) on the remote system.
  • Copy the contents of the above file to a /home/userid/.ssh/authorized_keys file. (Note: you may have to ssh from the remote back to your local machine so the .ssh folder gets created first.)
    000228
    05/11/12
    To run a command in the background, follow these instructions: 
    A task can usually be started and run as a background task by putting a '&' at the end of the command line.

If a task was started and is running in the foreground, it is still possible to move it to the background without cancelling it. To move a task from the foreground to the background perform the following steps:

    1. CTRL-Z (That is, while holding the CTRL key down, tap the 'z' key) This will suspend the current foreground job (task).
    2. Enter the job control command 'bg'
    3. Tap the 'Enter' key

The job is now running in the background.

Useful commands to see which jobs are still running is the 'jobs' or the 'ps ua' commands. If the 'jobs' command is used, a background jobs can be brought to the foreground with the command fg n where n is the job (not the PID) number.
    000229
    05/31/12
    To find the IP address of a particular domain (from a command line), use the "host" command followed by the domain name. (e.g host gnulife.com)
    000230
    06/28/12
    Memcached is: 
    Free & open source, high-performance, distributed memory object caching system, generic in nature, but intended for use in speeding up dynamic web applications by alleviating database load.

    Memcached is an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering.

    Memcached is simple yet powerful. Its simple design promotes quick deployment, ease of development, and solves many problems facing large data caches. Its API is available for most popular languages.
    Sometimes this cache needs to be cleared. To do so on a Debian-based box, as root type: /etc/init.d/memcached restart
    000231
    07/02/12
    To list files by date, with most recent at the top, type: ls -lt
    To list them in the opposite order, type: ls -ltr
    000232
    07/17/12
    To add a user to the sudoer group, follow instructions in this     document.
    000233
    07/27/12
    Some typical command line printer functions are:
  • lpstat -t - to list print queue
  • cancel -a lp0 - to clear print queue on lp0
  • service cups restart - to restart cups service
    000234
    08/18/12
    To make an iso image of a hard drive (in this case Windows XP) I booted with DSL Linux (on the XP system I wanted to make an image of), mounted the XP drive to /hda1, mounted a remote drive to /data2/images (NFS drive), then ran this command as root: mkisofs -o /data2/images/imagename.iso -R /hda1 which left me with an iso file called "imagename.iso" in my /data2/images on my server.
    000235
    08/29/12
    To determine the version of Ubuntu running and a machine, type this from a command prompt: cat /etc/lsb-release
    000236
    09/29/12
    The current /etc/apt/sources.list file for Mepis (Debian Lenny [5.0]) should look like this: deb http://archive.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib
    deb-src http://archive.debian.org/debian/ lenny main contrib
    000237
    10/25/12
    To write a message to users who are logged in, you can use the command write. But before that, you need to check who is logged in, and which terminal they are logged in to. Use who command to see who is logged in, and to what terminal.
    This will only work if the other user has "mesg" turned on. (i.e. "mesg y")
    First, type:
    who
    who will list of all user have login and and login to which terminal, you will see something like pts/0, pts/1.
    Example output:
    aizatto pts/0 2007-03-10 02:21 (:0.0)
    With the information, now you can write messages to the user aizatto.
    write aizatto pts/0
    After typing the command line above, you can start to type your messages. When you hit enter, you message will be send to that terminal. Terminate the write by ctrl+D.
    You can cat a file and pipe to write command too.
    cat memo.txt | write aizatto pts/0
    You can broadcast your message to all logged in users with the wall command if you are logged in as root.
    cat announcement.txt | wall
    Or simply type wall, then start to write your message. For wall, the message will be send only after you hit ctrl+D. And the message will be send to all users that login including you.
    000238
    11/12/12
    To use "mput" or "mget" in an ftp session without having to answer "yes" or "no" to each file being transferred, type "prompt" to toggle interactive mode off. To turn it back on, just type "prompt" again.
    000239
    11/19/12
    To find all files inside a particular directory, and it's sub-directories, with files whose names contain a particular string, cd to that directory and type: find . | grep yourstring where yourstring is the particular set of characters your are searching for.
    (e.g. if I cd to /etc and type: find . | grep network it will find every sub-directory and file with the word network in it.
    root@server1:/etc# find . | grep network
    ./networks
    ./network
    ./network/if-post-down.d
    ./network/if-down.d
    ./network/if-down.d/upstart
    ./network/if-pre-up.d
    ./network/interfaces.orig
    ./network/interfaces.02
    ./network/interfaces
    ./network/if-up.d
    ./network/if-up.d/upstart
    ./network/if-up.d/openssh-server
    ./network/if-up.d/ntpdate
    ./apparmor/init/network-interface-security
    ./apparmor/init/network-interface-security/sbin.dhclient3
    ./init.d/network-interface-security
    ./init.d/network-interface
    ./init.d/networking
    ./init/networking.conf
    ./init/network-interface.conf
    ./init/network-interface-security.conf
    ./sysctl.d/10-network-security.conf
    ./rc6.d/S35networking
    ./rc0.d/S35networking
    000240
    01/14/13
    To find the number of files in a directory type this from inside the directory: ls -1 | wc -l
    (Notice the switch for the ls command is the number "1" (one) and for the wc command is the lowercase letter "L".
    To count all files including inside sub-directories, type: ls -1R | wc -l
    000241
    01/18/13
    To list only directories and not their contents, use the "-d" switch (typically with the -l switch). E.g. - to list all the directories in /etc that start with a "w", type: me@server1:/$ls -ld w*
    Which would produce something like this: 
    drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 2012-06-19 07:22 w3m
drwxr-xr-x 116 root root 4096 2012-06-25 10:29 webmin
-rw-r--r--   1 root root 4496 2010-09-03 10:36 wgetrc
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root 4096 2012-06-05 15:49 wpa_supplicant
    000242
    01/23/13
    To find the closest/fastest Debian apt source server use this command: netselect-apt
    000243
    08/11/13
    To reset the root password on a VMware ESXi 4.1 and 5.0 system follow these instructions.
    000244
    09/04/13
    To configure a network card from the command line in Redhat 9, as root type: redhat-config-network
    000245
    09/11/13
    To see a list of I/O ports on a Linux system, type this command: cat /proc/ioport
    000246 - 09/11/13
    To see what IRQs are assigned to what, type: cat /proc/interrupt
    000247 - 09/11/13
    To restart Clonezilla from the command line, type: ocs-sr -x
    000248 - 10/11/13
    To copy text in a Putty session, click and drag with your mouse over the text you want to copy. Then, to paste that text, use shift+insert or the right mouse button.
    000249 - 10/11/13
    To generate an ssh key on the current Linux box, type: ssh-keygen. This creates a couple of files in the /home/userid/.ssh directory. Copy the contents of the new "id_rsa.pub" file from your box to a "/home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys" file on each other Linux box you want to login to. Once you have done this, when you ssh in to these other boxes, you won't have to type in your password each time. (I have noticed that it is very easy to copy the contents from one file to the other and miss the first character. Check to make sure the "authorized_keys" file has the first character from the contents of the other file.)
    000250 - 10/11/13
    To set up a new Linux box to use LDAP passwords, you must install the libnass-ldap app and follow instructions to set it up.
    (apt-get install libnss-ldap)
    000251 - 10/11/13
    After installing Postgresql on a Linux box, do this:
  • Set the postgres database password (not the same as the postgres Linux password; leave this blank).
  • sudo - postgres (logs you into Linux under the "postgres" account)
  • psql (this puts you at the postgresql prompt)
  • \password (allows you to set the database password)
  • \q (exits from postgresql prompt)
  • As root, edit two files (/etc/postgresql/8.4/main/pg_hba.conf & postgresql.conf)
  • In the pg_hba.conf file find the "# IPv4 local connections:" section and change:
          host all all 127.0.0.1/32 md5
                         to
          host all all 0.0.0.0/0 md5
          (This allows everyone to access the database instead of only users on the local machine.)
  • In the "postgresql.conf" file find the "#listen_addresses = 'localhost'" line and uncomment it and change it to: "listen_addresses = '*'"
  • Restart postgresql. (/etc/init.d/postgresql)
    • 000252 - 10/11/13
    To assign multiple IP addresses to one NIC on the same PC, see this document here: multiple-IPs.htm
    000253 - 10/11/13
    To run multiple web sites on one server w/o using virtual hosts (multiple sites-enabled), assign multiple IP addresses to the same NIC (see item 000023 above) and then create a new section for each separate IP in the /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default file. See this file: multiple-servers-one-IP.htm
    000254 - 10/16/13
    To do a 'find and replace' when editing with the 'vi' text editor, do this:
  • Press ESC once.
  • Type the ':' key.
  • Type '%s/OLD/NEW/g' and ENTER. (Where 'OLD' is the text you want to find and replace, and 'NEW' is the text you want to put in it's place.)
  • Example: To replace all instances of 'gomer' with 'goober' type the ESC key then   :%s/gomer/goober/g and ENTER.
    000253 - 02/09/14
    To install my wireless Epson XP-310 printer on my Linux PC I did this:
  • I downloaded Linux drivers from Epson's website.
  • Installed these drivers as root from the command line.
  • Had to install lsb from the command line too ("apt-get install lsb").
       (In the process of installing these drivers I had to follow some extra instructions in the process. This inclded "apt-get autoremove" at one point.)
  • Then I opened the CUPS web interface by going to localhost:631, the Administration tab, and selecting the XP-310 printer under the "Networked" printer. Since I had installed the drivers first, the Epson XP ... drivers were now there in the list.
    000254 - 02/16/14
    In order to transfer files from a Linux PC to my website via a gui interface like Winscp on Windows PCs, I found that I could just use Konqueror. All I had to do was type in the address bar of Konqueror like this:
    fish://gooberville.org    where gooberville.org is the name of the server I'm trying to transfer to or from.
    000255 - 04/08/14
    Here is how I prepared the two hard drives for LVM in a Dell server where the drives were GPT types and could not be partitioned with fdisk.
    parted-gpt.txt
    000256 - 04-10-14
    The simplest way to upgrade from one version of Ubuntu to the latest is to run the "do-release-upgrade" command from the command line as root. It is best to do this from the actual computer/server rather than from an ssh session. (I suspect this works for Debian too, but haven't researched yet.)
    000257 - 04-14-14 (updated 03-28-18)
    To disable Ipv6 on an Ubuntu system read this article: Disable IPV6 in Ubuntu
    000258 - 05-04-14
    To add a user to the sudo group use the "visudo" command instead of vi or some other editor. Add a line in the /etc/sudoers file with the name of the user followed by ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL or ALL=(ALL) ALL.
    000259 - 05-12-14
    To determine what version of Ubuntu is running on a machine, open a terminal session and type: cat /etc/issue
    000260 - 05-13-14
    To compress a whole directory in Linux using the "tar" command follow the directions here.
    000261 - 06-02-14
    To install Java 7 on my Ubuntu 12.04 server in preparation for installing hadoop I did this as root: echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu precise main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-java.list
    echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu precise main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-java.list
    apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys EEA14886
    apt-get update
    apt-get install oracle-java7-installer
    I got this info from: here
    000262 - 10-01-14
    When I install newer Debian or Ubuntu distributions on PCs, there are often not as many screen resolution options available as there should be in the GUI interface. It used to be that you could edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. Not so anymore. So here is how to add extra screen resolution settings.   screen-resolution.htm
    000263 01-27-15
    To be able to access samba shares on the newer 14.10 Kubuntu server I used the smbpasswd command, e.g. "smbpasswd -a user1" where "user1" is the name of the user account. I matched the samba password to the Windows account password on the Windows computer(s).
    000264 02-26-15
    To see the list of reposit directories currently being used on your Debian/Ubuntu system, open the /etc/apt/sources.list file.
    000265 05-19-15
    To wipe a drive completely and faster than with the "dd" command, install "dc3dd" and then type: dc3dd hwipe=/dev/sdx or dc3dd wipe=/dev/sdx    (where x is the letter for the particular drive.)
    000266 06-30-15
    To see a list of partitions on your system type either: sudo fdisk -l or sudo parted -l
    000267 08-02-15
    This document explains how to configure an Ubuntu 13 and above system to boot to a command prompt instead of the gui interface. Boot to Command Prompt
    000268 10-31-15
    To format a USB stick as Fat32 (after you have fdisked it already) you type this from the command line: mkdosfs -F 32 -I /dev/sdx1 (where "sdx1" is the appropriate partition).
    000269 01-10-16
    To generate an html document that gives your system's configuration/information, from the command line type this: sudo lshw -html > system.html. Then open that file in your browser to see your system configuration.
    000270 01-10-16
    To see a list of all the drivers being used in your system, type this from a command line: lsmod.
    000271 01-22-16
    To determine what kernel version your Ubuntu Linux is using, type this from a terminal window: uname -r
    To see a little more info type: uname -a
    000272 01-24-14
    To add or change desktops in Kubuntu 14.04 read these instructions.
    000273 03-08-16
    Click on this link to see a list of Ubuntu versions
    Click here to see Debian release list
    000274 03-21-16
    To move between KDE desktops with the keyboard use Ctrl + Alt + right arrow and/or Ctrl + Alt + left arrow to go back and forth.
    000275 03-29-16
    On my iMac keyboard the Esc key does not funtion in vi/vim to exit out of "Insert" mode. I have to use the   Ctrl + [   keyboard combo to exit.
    000276 04-07-16
    To find the name of installed network cards in Ubuntu 15.10 (maybe earlier versions too), from a command prompt type: ls /sys/class/net
    Another way is to type: ip addr
    For a extensive information for configuring network settings from the command line, go here: Command Line Network Configuration
    000277 4-10-16
    To convert a *.3gp audio file to *.mp3 or *.mp4, use this format: ffmpeg -i original.3gp anyname.mp3
    Or this: ffmpeg -i Izy-drawings.3gp -ab 64k -ar 44100 -strict -2 Izydraw.mp4
    000278 ??-??-16
    To install Ubuntu on my Raspberry Pi PC, I did this: RaspberryPi-Ubuntu-install.txt
    000279 ??-??-16
    To install PelicanHPC iso file to a hard drive use a command like this:
    cp pelicanhpc-v2.2+eps-i386.iso /dev/sdh       where sdh is the drive you want to install Pelican to.
    000280 05-28-16
    Here is how to change a Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, or 10 password with Linux:
  • Boot with Linux and mount the Windows partition from a command line.
  • Go to the /Windows/System32 folder
  • Move the Utilman.exe file to something else as a backup. - e.g. mv Utilman.exe Utilman-exe.orig
  • Copy the cmd.exe file to Utilman.exe -      cp cmd.exe Utilman.exe
  • Reboot the computer into Windows and at the login screen click on the dotted circle with the two arrows cutting off one corner.
  • From the command prompt type: net user to show the names of the various accounts.
  • Now type net user Username *     where "Username is the name of the account you want to change the password for.
  • Type a new password twice as asked, then type the word exit and press Enter to exit the command prompt.
  • Use your new password to login.
    000281
    Newer versions of Linux/Ubuntu show a bunch of /dev/ram stuff when you use the fdisk -l command, there are a couple of ways to just show the hard drive/partition info you want without the ram junk. Either type: fdisk -l /dev/sd* or lsblk.
    000282 06-19-16
    To show all the various hardware in your machine, from a command prompt type: lspci -vv
    000283 08-26-16
    To turn a Synaptics laptop touchpad on or off in Linux, follow these instructions.
    000284 01-21-17
    To add a printer from a D-Link printer server to your Kubuntu system, follow these instructions


    000285 04-12-17
    Instead of using "apt-get" you can now just use "apt". (e.g. Instead of "apt-get update", just "apt update". Instead of "apt-get install gooberapp", just "apt install gooberapp".)
    000286 05-10-17
    To disable a laptop touchpad, open a terminal session and type this command: synclient TouchpadOff=1
    To turn it back on, replace the 1 with a 0. (synclient TouchpadOff=0)

    000287 05-11-17 To have a particular program/command start automatically when Kubuntu (kxde) starts, add a line in the /home/user/.config/lxsession/Kubuntu/autostart file with a "@" followed by the command.

    000288 05-23-17
    How to connect to the internet/network through a terminal session: How to connect via terminal
    000289 06-01-17
    Here is the way to clone a clonezilla image to a different drive than it came from: clonezilla to different drive
    000290 08-19-17
    To see the UUID of any hard drives on your system, type this command from a terminal session: blkid
    000291 11-06-17
    To convert an .amr sound file from an android device, open it in VLC and then convert it to .mp3 format.
    000292 11-09-17
    If you cannot empty your trash, then use this command:
    sudo rm -r ~/.local/share/Trash/files/
    000293 11-24-17
    To determine the amount of memory on a machine (as well as the amount used/available), open a terminal session and type the command: free
    000294 11-24-17
    Here is an article with instructions to tune Linux PerformanceTuning.htm
    000295 01-18-18
    I wanted to burn a PelicanHPC DVD to my hard drive to make it a permanent install and not have to use a DVD or USB stick. So I booted with my utility USB stick into Hiren's and ran this command from a terminal session. dd if=/dev/sr0 of=/dev/sda.
    000296 04-03-18
    To use an old android phone as a webcam via Linux or Windows, read this article: Android Phone as a Webcam
    000297 05-13-18 To configure Ubuntu to boot to a terminal screen/session, do this:
  • Edit /etc/default/grub as root.
  • Set these parameters: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text" and GRUB_TERMINAL=console and save the changes.
  • After saving changes, run these two commands: sudo update-grub and sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
    Now reboot.
    000298 06-04-18 To run multiple commands at one time in a terminal session, see this article.
    000299 06-15-18 To edit the grub boot loader via a gui interface, see these instructions.
    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install grub-customizer
    000300 12-08-18 To see the version of Ubuntu from a terminal session, type: lsb_release -a
    000301 06-15-19 To make a link on my desktop to a particular file I did this:
  • From a terminal session I changed to the "Desktop" folder in my home folder.
  • Then I used the "ln" command: ln -s /location/of/real/file.txt ./file.txt
    (I forgot to use the "./" in front of the filename at first and got an error message.)
    000302 07-02-19 To update youtube-dl, follow the instructions in this pic: Youtube-dl update
    000303 10-02-19 To find info about your wireless card type this from a terminal session: hwinfo --wlan --short
                (You can use the hwinfo command for info on all your hardware.)
    000304 10-17-19 To delete an un-empty folder from a terminal session use the -R option. E.g. rm -R badfolder ("badfolder" is the folder name).
    000305 04-19-20 To install the AnyDesk remote desktop app on Ubuntu/Debian, run these commands as root from terminal session:
    wget -qO - https://keys.anydesk.com/repos/DEB-GPG-KEY | apt-key add -
    echo "deb http://deb.anydesk.com/ all main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/anydesk-stable.list
    apt update
    apt install anydesk
    000306 02-01-21 To configure NFS on your Linux server to share folders with other Linux computers, follow these instructions: How to configure NFS server
    000307 09-27-21 To merge multiple mp3 files into one, install the mp3wrap app (sudo apt install mp3wrap) from a terminal session. Then from the terminal session mp3wrap file3.mp3 file1.mp3 file2.mp3 using whatever your mp3 files are named. WHen it finishes there will be an extra mp3 file that is the combination of all the files you added.
    000308 10-28-21 To wipe out a hard drive, boot with Hiren's boot disk (or other bootable Linux CD or usb stick) and use this command to wipe off the hard drive. dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1048576 count=5000
    Change "sda" to whatever the drive is you are wiping (sda would be the main drive). The bs= amount can be changed to what you desire and so can the count= amount.
    000309 10-32-21 To add a user to the sudoers group (to give the user root access), follow these instructions.
    000310
    000311

    DOS Linux Notes
    ATTRIB (+-)attr file chmod <mode> file completely different
    BACKUP tar -Mcvf device dir/ ditto
    CD \dirname cd /dirname almost the same syntax
    COPY file1 file2 cp file1 file2 ditto
    CHKDSK df -h similar
    DEL file rm file beware - no undelete
    DELTREE dirname rm -Rf dirname/ ditto
    DIR ls not exactly the same syntax
    DIR file /S find . -name file completely different
    EDIT file vi file or jstar file I think you won't like it, feels like dos' edit
    EDLIN file ed file forget it
    FIND text filename.ext grep text filename grep has many more options
    FORMAT fdformat, mount, umount quite different syntax
    HELP command man command, info command same philosophy
    MD dirname mkdir dirname/ almost the same syntax
    MEM free -t  
    MORE < file less file much better
    MOVE file1 file2 mv file1 file2 ditto
    NUL /dev/null ditto
    PRINT file lpr file ditto
    PRN /dev/lp0, /dev/lp1 ditto
    RD dirname rmdir dirname/ almost the same syntax
    REM > goober.txt touch goober.txt creates a zero-byte file named goober.txt
    REN file1 file2 mv file1 file2 not for multiple files
    RESTORE tar -Mxpvf device different syntax
    TYPE file cat file same result
    VER uname -sr  
    WIN startx poles apart!