LQWiki - User contributions [en]

Capability

2011-12-31T06:00:18Z

PaulReiber:

The definition of capability depends on the context.

The two main contexts which would be sensible to differentiate here are: "Capability Theory" and "SE-Linux".

I believe Norm Hardy pioneered Capability Theory well before SE-Linux even existed, but I encourage the reader to explore both, and verify. You can learn more about Norm, and Capability Theory, at http://www.cap-lore.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security-Enhanced_Linux provides a very good overview of SE-Linux.
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/SELinux does a great job as well :-)

Basically, a capability is a reified "ability to do something". It can be granted or given to an entity (user, process, context) so that entity can do that thing (access a particular resource in a particular way). I probably have that wrong in some number of egregious ways (respective of both contexts) so I encourage the reader to explore the above websites for details.

In the context of SE-Linux - here's an example of what it can take to add capabilities to get some particular mechanism to work: http://www.felix-schwarz.name/CentOS,_SELinux_and_php_mail_(en)

Having read this, if you're still confused about the definition of capability, that's a very good thing, since I'm barely scratching the surface here. I hope the URLs I've provided will set you upon a great learning journey.

Capability

2011-12-31T05:57:13Z

PaulReiber: hopefully enough to get the reader started learning what capabilities really are

The definition of capability depends on the context.

The two main contexts which would be sensible to differentiate here are: "Capability Theory" and "SE-Linux".

I believe Norm Hardy pioneered Capability Theory well before SE-Linux even existed, but I encourage the reader to explore both, and verify. You can learn more about Norm, and Capability Theory, at http://www.cap-lore.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security-Enhanced_Linux provides a very good overview of SE-Linux.

Basically, a capability is a reified "ability to do something". It can be granted or given to an entity (user, process, context) so that entity can do that thing (access a particular resource in a particular way). I probably have that wrong in some number of egregious ways (respective of both contexts) so I encourage the reader to explore the above websites for details.

In the context of SE-Linux - here's an example of what it can take to add capabilities to get some particular mechanism to work: http://www.felix-schwarz.name/CentOS,_SELinux_and_php_mail_(en)

Having read this, if you're still confused about the definition of capability, that's a very good thing, since I'm barely scratching the surface here. I hope the URLs I've provided will set you upon a great learning journey.

User:PaulReiber

2006-02-16T07:56:38Z

PaulReiber:

Paul Reiber has been a programmer for over twenty years, specialized in development for Linux and UNIX, with interests in object orientation, distributed systems, and robust and secure infrastructures.

His industry experience includes robotics, factory automation, federal government, telecommunications, security, insurance, and the computer hardware and software sectors.

Paul is one of the founders of [http://www.opencountry.com Open Country] which provides comprehensive Linux systems management solutions.

You can learn more about Paul on [http://reiber.org reiber.org]

LQWiki:User preferences help

2006-02-16T07:23:15Z

PaulReiber:

I just realized this topic isn't populated ?!?

Maybe someone deleted the Preferences help topic by accident?

This topic is linked to in text near the top of the "Preferences" page for users. I'm not sure if (1) that text should change or (2) this topic should be properly populated... but leaving a prominent help link sitting around unpopulated seemed wrong, so I decided to at least put SOMETHING here.

Common Tasks

2006-02-16T06:54:09Z

PaulReiber: /* Gaming, Multimedia, Talking */

Desktop Linux is still under heavy development. While we all wish Linux was so intuitive nobody needed instructions, currently that isn't always the case. This section is meant for '''notes and quick guides''' on how to perform common tasks on Linux.

If a section isn't yet written and you are able to write it, please do so!

== General user tasks ==

===Productivity===
====Browsing, Burning, Emailing, Office, Scanning, Viewing, Theming====
* [[Browsing tasks]] - browsing the WWW and downloading safely
* [[Burning a CDROM]] - some pointers on how to write CDs.
* [[Emailing tasks]] - sending and receiving emails, setting up different mail applications
* [[Office tasks]] - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, image manipulation and other
* [[Scanning]] - use a [[Scanner]] to convert you paper documents or images to an electronic format
* [[Viewing files]] - various ways to view the contents of files
* [[Theming GUIs]] - how to make your computer screen look the way you want it.
* [[Color Codes]] - for the terminal (command line, CLI)

===Fun===
====Gaming, Multimedia, Talking====
* [[Gaming]] - pass some time, ''not'' working
* [[Multimedia tasks]] - listen to music, extract CDs, watch videos and DVDs
* [[Talking to friends online]] - how to access common instant messaging networks, see also [[IM]].
* [[Removing DRM]] - decrypt songs to listen to them anywhere
* [[Digital Cameras And Linux]] - photo management on Linux
* [http://home.gagme.com/greg/linux/usbcamera.php How to Connect a Digital Camera to Linux (external link)] - an excellent how-to on connecting digital cameras to Linux.

===Technical===
==== Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration ====
* [[Managing Virtual Memory]] - How to increase virtual memory
* [[Adding Another Hard Drive]] - Separating your data from your distro
* [[Command Line User Interface]] - Techniques for better experience
* [[Accented Characters]] - how to type accented characters
* [[Set up modem]] - using your modem/network connection to get online
* [[GRUB Menu]] - Single Task - Removing old kernel entries from your GRUB Menu boot up selections.
* [[LILO Menu]] - Setting up your own bootscreen in lilo 22.5.9
* [[Installing Software]] - how to find and manage additional software on a running Linux system
* [[Scheduling Tasks]] - how to schedule tasks to run at a specific time
* [[File Sharing]] - sharing files between different computers
* [[Installing Windows fonts]] - installing your Windows fonts so they work with your Linux install.
* [[screenshots|Taking screenshots]] - You want to show somebody your desktop? There are tools that will help you make a [[screenshots | screenshot]] and [[record your desktop]] so that you can send movie-files of how nice your desktop looks.
* [[Running Windows software]] - for that simply must-have program
* [[Backing stuff up]] -- something we all should do every week, but too often we put off. ... stuff about rsync, cron, tape drives ...

== Power user tasks ==
=== Compiling kernel, Configure, IRC help, GRUB, Drivers, Recover, Remote connection, Sensors ===

* [[Compiling a Kernel]] - here is a guide for compiling a kernel
* [[Configure Storage Devices]] - how to partition a hard drive, add a new hard drive, use software RAID, or use LVM (logical volume management).
* [[Creating startup scripts]] - scripts that automatically run when the computer starts
* [[Getting help from IRC]] - LinuxQuestions is a great forum, but it isn't the only one. If you know how, the IRC chat networks can also be a useful resource.
* [[GRUB boot menu]] - Configuration Guide.
* [[Installing NVIDIA drivers]] - Information on installing the newer (but closed-source) drivers released by NVIDIA. These drivers are sometimes required to run some games, like Unreal or Quake.
* [[Installing ATI drivers]] - How to install the binary ATI Drivers.
* [[Recover a Terminal Session]] - What to do if your screen's garbaged.
* [[Remote Desktop Connection|Access your System Remotely]] - Access your Linux system from another computer (running Linux, or some other OS) or use your Linux box to access another computer (running Linux, or some other OS).
* [[Setting up lm_sensors]] - How to set up your temperature, voltage and fan speed sensors.

=== Distro specific ===
* [[Distro specific tips & tricks]]

Common Tasks

2006-02-16T06:53:09Z

PaulReiber: /* Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration */

Desktop Linux is still under heavy development. While we all wish Linux was so intuitive nobody needed instructions, currently that isn't always the case. This section is meant for '''notes and quick guides''' on how to perform common tasks on Linux.

If a section isn't yet written and you are able to write it, please do so!

== General user tasks ==

===Productivity===
====Browsing, Burning, Emailing, Office, Scanning, Viewing, Theming====
* [[Browsing tasks]] - browsing the WWW and downloading safely
* [[Burning a CDROM]] - some pointers on how to write CDs.
* [[Emailing tasks]] - sending and receiving emails, setting up different mail applications
* [[Office tasks]] - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, image manipulation and other
* [[Scanning]] - use a [[Scanner]] to convert you paper documents or images to an electronic format
* [[Viewing files]] - various ways to view the contents of files
* [[Theming GUIs]] - how to make your computer screen look the way you want it.
* [[Color Codes]] - for the terminal (command line, CLI)

===Fun===
====Gaming, Multimedia, Talking====
* [[Gaming]] - pass some time, ''not'' working
* [[Multimedia tasks]] - listen to music, extract CDs, watch videos and DVDs
* [[Talking to friends online]] - how to access common instant messaging networks, see also [[IM]].
* [[Removing DRM]] - decrypt songs to listen to them anywhere

===Technical===
==== Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration ====
* [[Managing Virtual Memory]] - How to increase virtual memory
* [[Adding Another Hard Drive]] - Separating your data from your distro
* [[Command Line User Interface]] - Techniques for better experience
* [[Accented Characters]] - how to type accented characters
* [[Set up modem]] - using your modem/network connection to get online
* [[GRUB Menu]] - Single Task - Removing old kernel entries from your GRUB Menu boot up selections.
* [[LILO Menu]] - Setting up your own bootscreen in lilo 22.5.9
* [[Installing Software]] - how to find and manage additional software on a running Linux system
* [[Scheduling Tasks]] - how to schedule tasks to run at a specific time
* [[File Sharing]] - sharing files between different computers
* [[Installing Windows fonts]] - installing your Windows fonts so they work with your Linux install.
* [[screenshots|Taking screenshots]] - You want to show somebody your desktop? There are tools that will help you make a [[screenshots | screenshot]] and [[record your desktop]] so that you can send movie-files of how nice your desktop looks.
* [[Running Windows software]] - for that simply must-have program
* [[Backing stuff up]] -- something we all should do every week, but too often we put off. ... stuff about rsync, cron, tape drives ...

== Power user tasks ==
=== Compiling kernel, Configure, IRC help, GRUB, Drivers, Recover, Remote connection, Sensors ===

* [[Compiling a Kernel]] - here is a guide for compiling a kernel
* [[Configure Storage Devices]] - how to partition a hard drive, add a new hard drive, use software RAID, or use LVM (logical volume management).
* [[Creating startup scripts]] - scripts that automatically run when the computer starts
* [[Getting help from IRC]] - LinuxQuestions is a great forum, but it isn't the only one. If you know how, the IRC chat networks can also be a useful resource.
* [[GRUB boot menu]] - Configuration Guide.
* [[Installing NVIDIA drivers]] - Information on installing the newer (but closed-source) drivers released by NVIDIA. These drivers are sometimes required to run some games, like Unreal or Quake.
* [[Installing ATI drivers]] - How to install the binary ATI Drivers.
* [[Recover a Terminal Session]] - What to do if your screen's garbaged.
* [[Remote Desktop Connection|Access your System Remotely]] - Access your Linux system from another computer (running Linux, or some other OS) or use your Linux box to access another computer (running Linux, or some other OS).
* [[Setting up lm_sensors]] - How to set up your temperature, voltage and fan speed sensors.

=== Distro specific ===
* [[Distro specific tips & tricks]]

Digital Cameras and Linux

2006-02-16T06:50:52Z

PaulReiber:

<h2>Gentle Introduction</h2>

Linux is sometimes amazing simple to use. Certain tasks just plain WORK, and work well, sometimes the very first time we try them. Depending on your model of camera and version of Linux, you may be VERY pleasantly surprised by how well your camera and Linux system cooperate.

<h2>How do I use my digital camera with Linux?</h2>

You'll want to transfer pictures and videos out of your camera and onto the computer's hard disk. Things to think about include:

<ul>
<li> Making sure your camera's USB connection is in the proper mode - I found that PTP and PictBridge modes both worked, but "Normal" mode didn't work at all. So I guess it's not very normal, huh?
<li> How much space the pics will take - be sure to choose a destination on a drive with sufficient free space. If you've followed the advice in [[Adding Another Hard Drive]], you'll have lots of room on your /home partition for new files.
<li> How to organize your photos - I keep a separate folder called "images/incoming" in my home directory to hold ALL of the pictures I download from my camera.
<li> How to rotate pictures and publish the results on the internet.
</ul>

The first step is to connect the camera to your Linux computer using the USB cable supplied with the camera.

Linux distributions often come prepared to recognize new USB devices dynamically, so your odds are good that soon after plugging in the camera, Linux will attempt to "do the right thing" with the device.

For Ubuntu linux, anyway, the "right thing" appears to be
that the system fires up the "gthumb" program, with the appropriate arguments to automatically connect to the camera and offer a download dialog box.

So - in English - this means, I plug in my camera, and up pops a dialog box asking where I want to put the pictures! It really can't get much simpler than that, can it?

Here's an excellent how-to on connecting digital cameras to Linux: [http://home.gagme.com/greg/linux/usbcamera.php How to Connect a Digital Camera to Linux (external link)] - it has extensive user-contributed comments which might help for particular models of cameras and versions of linux.

<h2>How to transfer images?</h2>

Gthumb pops up a dialog box after I plug in my digital camera. Here are the steps I take then:

<ul>
<li> I name the shoot something appropriate, like "Grelias Birthday Pictures 3.20.66"
<li> I select the pictures to import from the thumbnails shown
<li> I click "import" and wait for the import to finish
<li> I unplug my camera and smile
</ul>

<h2>Then what?</h2>

Transferring images from the camera to a Linux computer is only
the first step in the digital image publishing process.

<h2>Step two - image cleanup </h2>

Linux offers a wonderful tool for image manipulation called the [[Gimp]] which can be used to clean up, color balance, brighten, crop, rotate, or otherwise improve your photographs.

<h2>Step three - publishing </h2>

Linux offers a a number of tools to help in uploading your photos to websites, including integrating "ftp" servers into their Nautilus filesystem browser. These make dragging and dropping files onto the internet a snap.

Common Tasks

2006-02-16T06:41:33Z

PaulReiber: /* Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration */

Desktop Linux is still under heavy development. While we all wish Linux was so intuitive nobody needed instructions, currently that isn't always the case. This section is meant for '''notes and quick guides''' on how to perform common tasks on Linux.

If a section isn't yet written and you are able to write it, please do so!

== General user tasks ==

===Productivity===
====Browsing, Burning, Emailing, Office, Scanning, Viewing, Theming====
* [[Browsing tasks]] - browsing the WWW and downloading safely
* [[Burning a CDROM]] - some pointers on how to write CDs.
* [[Emailing tasks]] - sending and receiving emails, setting up different mail applications
* [[Office tasks]] - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, image manipulation and other
* [[Scanning]] - use a [[Scanner]] to convert you paper documents or images to an electronic format
* [[Viewing files]] - various ways to view the contents of files
* [[Theming GUIs]] - how to make your computer screen look the way you want it.
* [[Color Codes]] - for the terminal (command line, CLI)

===Fun===
====Gaming, Multimedia, Talking====
* [[Gaming]] - pass some time, ''not'' working
* [[Multimedia tasks]] - listen to music, extract CDs, watch videos and DVDs
* [[Talking to friends online]] - how to access common instant messaging networks, see also [[IM]].
* [[Removing DRM]] - decrypt songs to listen to them anywhere

===Technical===
==== Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration ====
* [[Managing Virtual Memory]] - How to increase virtual memory
* [[Adding Another Hard Drive]] - Separating your data from your distro
* [[Command Line User Interface]] - Techniques for better experience
* [[Accented Characters]] - how to type accented characters
* [[Set up modem]] - using your modem/network connection to get online
* [[GRUB Menu]] - Single Task - Removing old kernel entries from your GRUB Menu boot up selections.
* [[LILO Menu]] - Setting up your own bootscreen in lilo 22.5.9
* [[Digital Cameras And Linux]] - the basics
* [http://home.gagme.com/greg/linux/usbcamera.php How to Connect a Digital Camera to Linux (external link)] - an excellent how-to on connecting digital cameras to Linux.
* [[Installing Software]] - how to find and manage additional software on a running Linux system
* [[Scheduling Tasks]] - how to schedule tasks to run at a specific time
* [[File Sharing]] - sharing files between different computers
* [[Installing Windows fonts]] - installing your Windows fonts so they work with your Linux install.
* [[screenshots|Taking screenshots]] - You want to show somebody your desktop? There are tools that will help you make a [[screenshots | screenshot]] and [[record your desktop]] so that you can send movie-files of how nice your desktop looks.
* [[Running Windows software]] - for that simply must-have program
* [[Backing stuff up]] -- something we all should do every week, but too often we put off. ... stuff about rsync, cron, tape drives ...

== Power user tasks ==
=== Compiling kernel, Configure, IRC help, GRUB, Drivers, Recover, Remote connection, Sensors ===

* [[Compiling a Kernel]] - here is a guide for compiling a kernel
* [[Configure Storage Devices]] - how to partition a hard drive, add a new hard drive, use software RAID, or use LVM (logical volume management).
* [[Creating startup scripts]] - scripts that automatically run when the computer starts
* [[Getting help from IRC]] - LinuxQuestions is a great forum, but it isn't the only one. If you know how, the IRC chat networks can also be a useful resource.
* [[GRUB boot menu]] - Configuration Guide.
* [[Installing NVIDIA drivers]] - Information on installing the newer (but closed-source) drivers released by NVIDIA. These drivers are sometimes required to run some games, like Unreal or Quake.
* [[Installing ATI drivers]] - How to install the binary ATI Drivers.
* [[Recover a Terminal Session]] - What to do if your screen's garbaged.
* [[Remote Desktop Connection|Access your System Remotely]] - Access your Linux system from another computer (running Linux, or some other OS) or use your Linux box to access another computer (running Linux, or some other OS).
* [[Setting up lm_sensors]] - How to set up your temperature, voltage and fan speed sensors.

=== Distro specific ===
* [[Distro specific tips & tricks]]

Swap

2006-02-16T06:25:06Z

PaulReiber:

'''Swap''' or '''virtual memory''' is a technique used to write some memory content, not used at the moment, to the hard disk to make room for a process which needs more memory now.

In this way programs can be started even when the memory is used to its maximum without having to shut down [[process]]es first. This also make a good buffer for when peaks of memory usage occur.

Linux can add swap space in two ways, either as a swap file within the file system or as a separate partition. [[Microsoft]] Windows uses the file approach (pagefile) while the standard for Linux is to use a partition for swap space.

Benefits of using a swap partition include
*Storage adapted to be suitable for memory content rather than files.
*The swap content won't [[fragment]] your file system.
*Can easily be spread on several physical disks for performance.

==See also==
*[[swapon]]
*[[swapoff]]
*[[Managing Virtual Memory]] - How to increase virtual memory

Add a new hard drive

2006-02-16T06:19:11Z

PaulReiber: /* Adding a new hard drive */

=Adding a new hard drive=
This section will guide you through with manually setting up a [[hard disk]] for your [[computer]] running [[Linux]]. There are also more automatic tools for the job, like the [[DiskDrake]]. Knowing the basics helps using these tools too and gives you some clue if something goes wrong.

'''THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE YET UNFINISHED'''

See also: [[Adding Another Hard Drive]] which recommends WHERE you might logically mount your new drive

==Internal ATA hard drive==
The [[ATA]] bus can usually handle only two devices per [[bus]]. If you are attaching two devices to the same bus, you need to configure one as master and one as slave. This is done with jumpers on the hard disks. If you have several disks, check the jumper settings on all disks. Check the top of the hard disks for information. (The third option is to use cable select, but it won't be discussed here.)

Next you need to open the computer case, if you have not yet done so. There are usually several ''bays'' inside your computer where you can attach the hard drive. You will need screws to secure the drive to the bay. Then connect the [[hard disk]] to the ribbon [[cable]] and to the power cable. The power cable will fit only in one way. Usually the ribbon cable will have a red side, which is supposed to connect next to the power connector on the hard-disk. Then close the case.

Boot the computer. During boot, check the [[BIOS]] settings so that the new drive is recognized correctly.

If you can see your new harddisk, when the kernel startsup, but you can't finde the harddisk in /dev
Then use the /dev/MAKEDEVICE /dev/hdX where X marks the location of your harddisk, when the kernel startsup.
This happends, when you have attached +8 devices to your computer, via the motherboard, or via a controler card.

===Partition hard disk===
''Main article: [[partition a hard drive]]''

[[Partition]] the hard disk by using eg. [[fdisk]]. Depending on which bus the disk was attached and wether it disk was configured as slave or master, it will be mapped differently ([[IDE tree mapping]]). As [[root]] enter the following command (assuming ''hdb'' is the drive you are installing).
<pre>
# fdisk /dev/hdb
</pre>
You should make at least two partitions, one Linux partition and one Linux Swap partition, if you intend to use the disk as your primary disk.

===Format hard disk===
''Main article: [[create a file system]]''

[[Format]] the hard disk by using eg. [[mkfs]]. You should now choose the [[filesystem]] for the new hard disk. Most common filesystems are [[ext2]] and [[ext3]].

===Create a mount point===
First create a directory you can use as a [[mount point]]. Mount point is a directory in the boot partition into which the drive is mounted. Usually the mount points are created under the /mnt/ -directory. Name the directory as you wish to call the new disk.
<pre>
# mkdir /mnt/newdisk
</pre>
You may want to issue the <tt>[[chmod]] go+x /mnt/newdisk</tt> command to grant other users access to the mountpoint. Now you may manually [[mount]] the drive by issuing command
<pre>
# mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb /mnt/newdisk
</pre>

===Add hard disk to fstab===
Mounting the hard drive manually every time is annoying. To mount the disk automatically, add it to [[fstab]] -file located in <tt>/etc/fstab</tt>. Depending on how you named the mount point, add the following lines to the end of <tt>/etc/fstab</tt>:
<pre>
/dev/hdb1 /mnt/newdisk ext3 defaults 0 0
</pre>
The first set is the partition (1st partition of hdb), second describes the mount point and the third describes the filesystem type. 'defaults' tells the options. The first 0 is the 'dump'. If tells the computer whether the drive should be backed up. a '0' means that it will not be backed up, a '1' enables backup. The last number determines the order in which the filesystems should be checked. If it's zero, 'fsck' won't check the filesystem.

Finally reboot the system to ensure that the operation is trouble free. You are finished now.

==Internal SATA hard drive==

==Internal SCSI hard drive==
Adding a new [[SCSI]] hard drive should work pretty much like adding an ATA drive. Mapping of the hard drives differs and one does not need to worry about the master/slave configuration, you just need to set an unique SCSI-ID for each device.

==External USB hard drive==

This is based off of a forum posting over at [http://www.thelinuxpimp.com The Linux Pimp]. The original posting can be found [http://www.thelinuxpimp.com/main/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=561 here].

After getting that new USB external hard drive case and installing that new hard drive, you need to get it installed and working with your Linux box. These instructions worked for me on Ubuntu and they should work for those with other distributions.

After putting the drive in the case, connecting it to power and plugging it into the back (or front) of your machine, the first thing you need to do is find out what device it is. USB hard drives usually show up as /dev/sd'''x''' (where '''x''' is a letter starting from '''a'''). If this is the only usb drive you have plugged in, it will most likely be /dev/sda.

To find out what it is look at the output of the command: ''tail /var/log/messages'' in your terminal. It will give you some irrelevant stuff, so look for a line that looks like this:

<code>May 16 07:50:26 localhost kernel: Attached scsi disk sdb at scsi6, channel 0, id 0, lun 0</code>

On my machine the drive shows up as /dev/sdb because I have an external DVD burner attached.

Now run ''fdisk'' as root and create a partition on the drive. On my Ubuntu box I did this by typing: ''sudo fdisk /dev/sdb'' into the terminal.

Once in fdisk press '''p''' to display a list of current partitions (there shouldn't be any) and '''n''' to create a new partition. You want to create primary partition #1. fdisk will ask a few questions at this point, but since I was setting up an external drive, I didn't want to create anything fancy so I just created one big partition for the entire drive, the default answers will do this. Once you get back to the fdisk prompt, press '''w''' to write the partition table. Now quit fdisk.

Now that you've got your partition set up, run the command '''mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdb1'''. I ran it as root (using sudo) on my box. This can take a long time, so if you want it to tell you what it's doing, use the '''-v''' option.

''Category: [[hardware]], [[hardware configuration]]''

Linux installation

2006-02-16T06:15:27Z

PaulReiber: /* Configuring Linux */

As the method of '''installation of Linux''' varies so much from distribution to distribution, you are best advised to look at the documentation for your chosen distribution.

Some [[Live CD distributions]], such as [[Knoppix]] or [[Morphix]] allow you to test-drive before you install. They also have a very good automatic detection and configuration system and are useful diagnostic tools to help you gather info about your system before installing any chosen distro.

A majority of distributions make a good attempt at autodetecting the target system's hardware, though [[WiFi]] device auto-detection is still more or less non-existent.

A [[Source_distributions|source based distribution]] such as [[Gentoo]] encourages its users to come to grips with Linux system management by making them configure, compile and set up everything from scratch. It's really worth doing if you have the time to learn that way, and the learning method and quality of the documentation set it apart from most other distros.

==System requirements==
There are hardly default hardware requirements. It depends a lot on the used [[Distributions|distribution]] and how much you are willing to tweak it. Most Linux [[distributions]] are rather modest with their hardware requirements so running any of them on a modern computer will not pose any problems.

Of course if you require to run Linux on a pre Pentium machine you might get in trouble using the latest [[Mandrake]], [[Fedora]], etc. because they may not support every processor type and require a certain amount of system memory. On the other hand using the latest technology may confront you with a lack of drivers and propper support.

==Choosing a distribution==
''Always use the same [[distribution]] as the [[guru]] next door!'' This way you have somebody around to question and ask for help.

In general if you don't need special features or have exotic hardware requirements and little or no [[Linux]] knowledge you are on the safe side using one of the major [[distributions]], i.e. [[Fedora]], [[Mandrake]], [[Suse]], [[Red_Hat]]. All them are equipped with a graphical installation, preconfigured desktop and graphical configuration tools.

If you just want to try [[Linux]] your best choice is one of the [[Live_CD_distributions | Live CD distributions]] which run from one CD and don't need to be installed at all.

Special hardware requirements and/or curiosity may lead you to other [[distributions]] like [[VectorLinux]] for sparse hardware which is based on [[Slackware]].

Probably every [[distribution]] would be worth mentioning but believe me as said before: ''The best [[distribution]] is the one your personal [[guru]] has!''

For more information about how to choose a distribution, see [[Choosing a Linux distribution]].

===Distribution specific guides===
A comprehensive list of [[Distributions]].

===How to get a Distribution?===
* Buy a boxed [[Distributions|distribution]] online or in a store. This way you get user guides specific to your distribution and support from the distributor. If you buy an official copy some of the money will help maintain the distribution.
* Download the [[ISO]] files and burn your own CD set. The ISO files can be found at the main [[Distributions|distribution]] site or on countless [[mirror]]s. If the option exists, downloading from a distributed [[P2P]] network such as [[BitTorrent]] is preferable. Using p2p the download is likely to be faster, especially at busy times, and the cost to the distributor is far less than over [[ftp]].
* Download only a small installation CD or floppy image and install your system directly per [[FTP Install]] or [[HTTP Install]]. Only the selected software is downloaded which is in most cases faster than downloading the whole CD set. But not every [[Distributions|distribution]] supports this installation type.
* Sometimes magazines add partial or even complete [[distributions]], occasionally before they are made available online.

===How to solve problems with your distribution===
* Do it yourself, using [[man]] pages, local documents, the web
* Check out our [[troubleshooting]] page.
* Get help. See [[Linux support options]].

===How to keep a distribution up to date===
* Use a package manager like [[apt-get]], [[Synaptic]], [[up2date]], [[Urpmi|urpmi]] ... to download, install, and upgrade applications, and to find applications that will meet your needs. For a cookbook on how to use Synaptic, see [[Fedora, Synaptic Package Manager, finding Repositories, listing RPMs, previously installed]].

==Configuring Linux==
* [[Networking]]
* [[Security]]
* [[Hardware]]
* [[Booting]]
* [[Finding configuration parameters]]
* [[Managing Virtual Memory]]
* [[Adding Another Hard Drive]]

==Co-habitating with Microsoft Windows® (Dual Booting)==
* [["Help! I reinstalled Windows and Linux disappeared!"]]
* [["I want to ditch Linux and get back to Windows"]]
* [[Recommendations for dual-boot installations]]

==What next? How to make the most of Linux.==
* List of Linux [[Applications]]
* List of Linux [[Commands]]
* [[Common Tasks]]
* [[Documentation]]
* [[Gaming]]

==Installation Guides==
(guides to install distros at linuxquestions.org)
*[[ipodlinux:documentation|ipodlinux]]
*[[installing_woody|Debian woody on a 100MHz Pentium]]
*[[Installing Slackware and Gentoo]]
*[[Installing on Old Machines (Survival Guide)]]

==External links==
(links to guides etc.)
* [http://iso.linuxquestions.org/ LQ ISO] - Find and rate fast Linux download mirrors
* [http://www.linuxiso.org LinuxISO.org] - Another great ISO download site.

Adding Another Hard Drive

2006-02-16T06:11:55Z

PaulReiber:

<h2>Gentle Introduction</h2>

Linux installs do amazing well at divvying up the available drive space on a machine. They make calcuated decisions and create "swap" partitions, boot areas, and all of that.

But... people often want to to add additional secondary hard drives some months or years AFTER installing Linux. Then the question becomes, how best to do that.

One very sensible approach under Linux is to consider your secondary drive a "/home" drive. /home is where all of the user's home directories are stored, so it's really handy to have all of that on a distinct drive from the "system" drive.

<h2>Step Zero, and and alternative Step Zero.</h2>

All of this stuff has to run with "root" privileges rather than typical Linux user privileges, so you'll have to either:

<ul>
<li>Take your machine to single user mode and work as root - use the command "/sbin/telinit 1" to do this</li>
<li>Or, be brave and run these systems administration commands within X-windows, running "sudo -s" from withing the Terminal application.</li>
</ul>

<h2>How many drives does a Linux machine have?</h2>

Linux mounts drives "invisibly", that is, no drive identifier is needed to access files on the drive. Rather, the drive is "mounted" over an existing directory in the filesystem. Only one drive can be mounted on "/", at the top of the filesystem hierarchy. All other drives are mounted over directories which exist already on some other drive.

To see which drives are mounted where, and how much free space is still available on each drive, use the command 'df'.

<h2>What to do after installing a brand new drive?</h2>

Assuming you got all the jumper setting right, and plugged in all the correct cables, your Linux system will boot and pretty much ignore your brand new hard drive until you:

<ul>
<li> format the drive </li>
<li> put a filesystem on it </li>
<li> show Linux where it should mount and use it </li>
</ul>

Odds are really good you'll want to use FDISK to format the hard drive, and mkfs.ext3 to put the filesystem on it. Here's a reference for more information about these steps:
http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-mini/Hard-Disk-Upgrade.html#PARTITION

Assuming you want to use the drive as a /home drive there's an important few final steps to take to place the drive in service on the machine.

/home differs from other mount points on Linux because there's almost guaranteed to be some data you WANT already down in there; specifically, all of the per-user files for all of the system's users. You'll most probably want to start your new /home drive out with a verbatim COPY of all that /home directory data.

You can get an "instant backup" of your current /home directory by simply NOT DELETING the original files (on the "parent" drive) - mounting the new /home drive right over the existing /home directory will protect those files pretty effectively as well. Then if the /home drive dies, you'll still have that backup in there. It'll become instantly usable (and used!) when/if the new /home drive fails to work someday.

<h2>The dirty details</h2>

OK so I decided to add a /home drive to my Ubuntu Linux box. Here are the commands I ran for that. They're not very pretty.

First I formatted the drive and put a filesystem on it.
<pre>
$ fdisk /dev/hdb
[...]

$ mkfs.ext3 /dev/hdb1
[...]
</pre>

Yuck. Don't ask me why Linux still needs a different device name for the second step. I think the "1" is for the first partition on the drive? It seems pretty arcane and inappropriate to have to specify things this way.

Now comes the fun part - we temporarily mount the drive elsewhere, recursively copy the /home filesystem onto the drive, then mount it as /home, then make sure the new drive gets properly re-mounted every time we reboot.

NOTE: You'll probably want to exit all applications - most write preference data in your /home/your-name-here directory area. It's best to copy the data when there's nothing changing anything down in the /home area.

<pre>
$ mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt/disk
$ cp -vax /home /mnt/disk
$ umount /dev/hdb1
</pre>

Once that's done, we have to tell the system to use the /home drive when it boots up. For some reason this part of Linux has yet to be simplified, so we currently have to add the following totally incomprehensible line to /etc/fstab to achieve this.

<pre>
$ cat >> /etc/fstab << HERE
/dev/hdb1 /home ext3 defaults,errors=remount-rw 0 1
HERE
</pre>

Lastly, you don't have to reboot to use the /home drive right away - we can dynamically bring the drive online:

<pre>
$ mount -a
</pre>

<h2>Wrap-up</h2>

OK so yes, this is pretty low-level, not too much fun. But trust me, it's worth it - having a /home drive yields signifigant benefits:

<ul>
<li> Performance improvements from separating program file IO (on the system drive) from data file IO (on the /home drive) </li>
<li> /home is a prime candidate for the occasional backup to CD-RW, a DVD, or similar media. </li>
<li> You'll feel very warm and fuzzy feelings when you knowing your new /home drive can be mounted and used productively on just about any Linux machine anywhere. </li>
</ul>

Managing Virtual Memory

2006-02-16T06:07:53Z

PaulReiber:

<h2>Gentle Introduction</h2>

Linux apps run amazing well when you give them enough "space" to run in. If you can afford to, sure, go out and buy shiny new extra-large RAM modules and then figure out what to do with the old RAM modules. The other alternative is increasing the amount of available <b>virtual memory</b> of the machine.

<h2>How much VM does a Linux machine have?</h2>

Linux's decisions about how large to make the "swap" area on a given machine are based on how much RAM and disk are physically inside the machine at the time of Linux installation. If you later add more of either RAM or disk, it makes sense to revisit the question of how much "swap" space you've got.

Issue the "free" command at any Linux command prompt to see how much VM the machine has right now. If you're added lots or RAM you might be surprised at how low the swap-to-RAM ratio has gotten.

<h2>How much swap to allocate?</h2>

I found Ubuntu's default decision on how much swap to allocate to be pretty low. If I remember correctly it was around (RAM * 1.5) which seems kind of light. I only have 256MB RAM, so my system has benefitted greatly from adding 1Gb (i.e. RAM * 4) of swap.

<h2>The dirty details</h2>

OK so I decided to add one gig of swap. Here are the commands for that. They're not very pretty.

First create a one-gigabyte large file. You might use the "df -h" command to get a human-readable listing of how much free space is on various partitions. I happened to know my /home drive had lots of gigs available, so I decided to put the swapfile there, and to "hide" it from casual view by starting its name with a period.

<pre>
$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/home/.swapfile bs=1024 count=1M
</pre>

Yock. Believe it or not that's how to create a big, huge, file full of zeros on Linux.

The next step is to "brand" the file so the sustem knows it can use it as a swapfile. Issue the command:

<pre>
$ mkswap /home/.swapfile
</pre>

Once that's done, we have to tell the system to use the swapfile when it boots up. For some reason this part of Linux has yet to be simplified, so we currently have to add the following totally incomprehensible line to /etc/fstab to achieve this.

<pre>
$ cat >> /etc/fstab << HERE
/home/.swapfile none swap pri=100,defaults 0 0
HERE
</pre>

Lastly, you don't have to reboot to use the swap right away - we can dynamically add swap to the current running system with the command:

<pre>
$ swapon /home/.swapfile
</pre>

<h2>Wrap-up</h2>

OK so yes, this is pretty low-level, not too much fun. But you only have to do it ONCE or twice on your systems, and they'll benefit greatly from the additional virtual memory.

Common Tasks

2006-02-16T06:07:20Z

PaulReiber: /* Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO */

Desktop Linux is still under heavy development. While we all wish Linux was so intuitive nobody needed instructions, currently that isn't always the case. This section is meant for '''notes and quick guides''' on how to perform common tasks on Linux.

If a section isn't yet written and you are able to write it, please do so!

== General user tasks ==

===Productivity===
====Browsing, Burning, Emailing, Office, Scanning, Viewing, Theming====
* [[Browsing tasks]] - browsing the WWW and downloading safely
* [[Burning a CDROM]] - some pointers on how to write CDs.
* [[Emailing tasks]] - sending and receiving emails, setting up different mail applications
* [[Office tasks]] - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, image manipulation and other
* [[Scanning]] - use a [[Scanner]] to convert you paper documents or images to an electronic format
* [[Viewing files]] - various ways to view the contents of files
* [[Theming GUIs]] - how to make your computer screen look the way you want it.
* [[Color Codes]] - for the terminal (command line, CLI)

===Fun===
====Gaming, Multimedia, Talking====
* [[Gaming]] - pass some time, ''not'' working
* [[Multimedia tasks]] - listen to music, extract CDs, watch videos and DVDs
* [[Talking to friends online]] - how to access common instant messaging networks, see also [[IM]].
* [[Removing DRM]] - decrypt songs to listen to them anywhere

===Technical===
==== Commands, Connecting, GRUB, LILO, Administration ====
* [[Managing Virtual Memory]] - How to increase virtual memory
* [[Adding Another Hard Drive]] - Separating your data from your distro
* [[Command Line User Interface]] - Techniques for better experience
* [[Accented Characters]] - how to type accented characters
* [[Set up modem]] - using your modem/network connection to get online
* [[GRUB Menu]] - Single Task - Removing old kernel entries from your GRUB Menu boot up selections.
* [[LILO Menu]] - Setting up your own bootscreen in lilo 22.5.9
* [http://home.gagme.com/greg/linux/usbcamera.php How to Connect a Digital Camera to Linux (external link)] - an excellent how-to on connecting digital cameras to Linux.
* [[Installing Software]] - how to find and manage additional software on a running Linux system
* [[Scheduling Tasks]] - how to schedule tasks to run at a specific time
* [[File Sharing]] - sharing files between different computers
* [[Installing Windows fonts]] - installing your Windows fonts so they work with your Linux install.
* [[screenshots|Taking screenshots]] - You want to show somebody your desktop? There are tools that will help you make a [[screenshots | screenshot]] and [[record your desktop]] so that you can send movie-files of how nice your desktop looks.
* [[Running Windows software]] - for that simply must-have program
* [[Backing stuff up]] -- something we all should do every week, but too often we put off. ... stuff about rsync, cron, tape drives ...

== Power user tasks ==
=== Compiling kernel, Configure, IRC help, GRUB, Drivers, Recover, Remote connection, Sensors ===

* [[Compiling a Kernel]] - here is a guide for compiling a kernel
* [[Configure Storage Devices]] - how to partition a hard drive, add a new hard drive, use software RAID, or use LVM (logical volume management).
* [[Creating startup scripts]] - scripts that automatically run when the computer starts
* [[Getting help from IRC]] - LinuxQuestions is a great forum, but it isn't the only one. If you know how, the IRC chat networks can also be a useful resource.
* [[GRUB boot menu]] - Configuration Guide.
* [[Installing NVIDIA drivers]] - Information on installing the newer (but closed-source) drivers released by NVIDIA. These drivers are sometimes required to run some games, like Unreal or Quake.
* [[Installing ATI drivers]] - How to install the binary ATI Drivers.
* [[Recover a Terminal Session]] - What to do if your screen's garbaged.
* [[Remote Desktop Connection|Access your System Remotely]] - Access your Linux system from another computer (running Linux, or some other OS) or use your Linux box to access another computer (running Linux, or some other OS).
* [[Setting up lm_sensors]] - How to set up your temperature, voltage and fan speed sensors.

=== Distro specific ===
* [[Distro specific tips & tricks]]

User:PaulReiber

2006-02-16T05:58:11Z

PaulReiber:

Hi! I'm Paul Reiber.

You can learn more about me on http://reiber.org

[[User:PaulReiber|PaulReiber]] 17:11, Sep 5, 2004 (EDT)

Netstat

2004-09-05T22:24:41Z

PaulReiber:

Netstat is a Linux command that
can provide a tremendous amount of
information about the status of the
networking subsystem.

Man page:
* http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man8/netstat.8.html

Sysfs

2004-09-05T22:22:50Z

PaulReiber:

Linux system call providing information
about the various types of file systems
supported by the currently running kernel.

Man page:
* http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl2_sysfs.htm

Usermod

2004-09-05T22:20:44Z

PaulReiber:

Linux command to modify a user's account.

Man pages:
* http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl8_usermod.htm
* http://www.die.net/doc/linux/man/man8/usermod.8.html

Setenv

2004-09-05T22:12:08Z

PaulReiber:

Setenv is used to create and give values to environment variables.

UNIX/Linux processes include an "environment" - a collection
of "variables" - name/value associations. The names and values
are byte strings.

Processes inherit a copy of the environment of their parent process
when they are first created. Changes made by setenv apply only to
the current process.

[[User:PaulReiber|PaulReiber]] 18:12, Sep 5, 2004 (EDT)

Oracle

2004-09-05T22:07:55Z

PaulReiber:

Exceedingly popular relational database technology.

Provided by Oracle Corp: http://www.oracle.com/index.html

Socket

2004-09-05T21:59:18Z

PaulReiber:

Socket is the UNIX/Linux term for an
instantiated TCP/IP connection.

The majority of data flow on the
internet moves over sockets.

Some details on Socket programming:
* PERL: http://www.uwo.ca/its/doc/courses/notes/socket/
* PYTHON:
* http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-socket.html
* http://www.amk.ca/python/howto/sockets/
* BSD (C): http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~chafey/prog/sockets/
* UNIX: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/socket/

A Socket FAQ:
* http://www.developerweb.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=53

Socket

2004-09-05T21:58:09Z

PaulReiber:

Socket is the UNIX/Linux term for an
instantiated TCP/IP connection.

The majority of data flow on the
internet moves over sockets.

Some details on Socket programming:
* PERL: http://www.uwo.ca/its/doc/courses/notes/socket/
* PYTHON: http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-socket.html
* BSD (C): http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~chafey/prog/sockets/
* UNIX: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/socket/

A Socket FAQ:
* http://www.developerweb.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=53

Socket

2004-09-05T21:57:35Z

PaulReiber:

Socket is the UNIX/Linux term for an
instantiated TCP/IP connection.

The majority of data flow on the
internet moves over sockets.

Some details on Socket programming:
* PERL: http://www.uwo.ca/its/doc/courses/notes/socket/
* PYTHON: http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-socket.html
* BSD (C): http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~chafey/prog/sockets/

A Socket FAQ:
* http://www.developerweb.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=53

Socket

2004-09-05T21:56:27Z

PaulReiber:

Socket

2004-09-05T21:55:32Z

PaulReiber:

Socket is the UNIX/Linux term for an
instantiated TCP/IP connection.

The majority of data flow on the
internet moves over sockets.

Some details on Socket programming (PERL):
* http://www.uwo.ca/its/doc/courses/notes/socket/

A Socket FAQ:
* http://www.developerweb.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=53

Microkernel

2004-09-05T21:30:34Z

PaulReiber:

A Microkernel OS is architecturally minimized.

Microkernels provide a bare minimum of functions,
counting on higher-level (user space) libraries
to provide many of the functions typically relegated
to the OS.

More information on Microkernels:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microkernel
* http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Microkernel

* http://www.cbbrowne.com/info/microkernel.html
* http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/mach/public/www/mach.html
* http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/L4/
* http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/fiasco/

* http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Microkernel/

User:PaulReiber

2004-09-05T21:11:45Z

PaulReiber:

Hi!

I'm Paul Reiber... I run my own personal wiki
on http://reiber.org

Enjoy!
[[User:PaulReiber|PaulReiber]] 17:11, Sep 5, 2004 (EDT)

Curses

2004-09-05T21:08:43Z

PaulReiber: =Relevant Links=

Curses is a Linux/Unix library providing terminal
(and terminal emulator) independent functions for
screen rendering and input handling.

Curses uses information about specific types
of terminals/emulators found in the termcap
or terminfo databases.

Curses abstracts away the specific details of
the actual terminal/emulator - software written
using curses will typically work on any terminal
or terminal emulator whose escape sequences are
known to the termcap or terminfo database.

----

==Relevant Links==

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/curses/

http://www.amk.ca/python/howto/curses/

http://web.cs.mun.ca/~rod/ncurses/ncurses.html

----
[[User:PaulReiber|PaulReiber]] 17:08, Sep 5, 2004 (EDT)

Curses

2004-09-05T21:07:59Z

PaulReiber: Overview of Curses Library