SilverWav's Journal

Boot-Repair

Warning!

I have not tested this yet :-)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install boot-repair

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via webupd8.

sil@klon:~$ free -m
             total       used       free    buffers     cached
Mem:          8000       7865        134        864       4621
-/+ buffers/cache:       2380       5620
Swap:         8191          0       8191
sil@klon:~$ free -m
             total       used       free    buffers     cached
Mem:          8000       6846       1154       2029       1177
-/+ buffers/cache:       3638       4361
Swap:         8191          0       8191

3.6Gib in Resources tab, Matches the 3638 in used above.

1922 is the approx total displayed in Processes down to <1MiB

3638-2029=1609

Good enough for me ;-)

The Resources Tab Used figure of 3.6Gib seems to include Buffers.

sudo hdparm -I /dev/sdb

/dev/sdb:

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       WDC WD5000AAKS-22TMA0                   
	Serial Number:      WD-WCAPW2780866
	Firmware Revision:  12.01C01
Standards:
	Supported: 7 6 5 4 
	Likely used: 8
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	16383
	heads		16	16
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
	LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
	LBA48  user addressable sectors:  976773168
	Logical/Physical Sector size:           512 bytes
	device size with M = 1024*1024:      476940 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:      500107 MBytes (500 GB)
	cache/buffer size  = 16384 KBytes
Capabilities:
	LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
	Queue depth: 32
	Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, with device specific minimum
	R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16	Current = 16
	Recommended acoustic management value: 128, current value: 254
	DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5 *udma6 
	     Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
	PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
	     Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
	Enabled	Supported:
	   *	SMART feature set
	    	Security Mode feature set
	   *	Power Management feature set
	   *	Write cache
	   *	Look-ahead
	   *	Host Protected Area feature set
	   *	WRITE_BUFFER command
	   *	READ_BUFFER command
	   *	NOP cmd
	   *	DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	    	Power-Up In Standby feature set
	   *	SET_FEATURES required to spinup after power up
	    	SET_MAX security extension
	    	Automatic Acoustic Management feature set
	   *	48-bit Address feature set
	   *	Device Configuration Overlay feature set
	   *	Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
	   *	FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
	   *	SMART error logging
	   *	SMART self-test
	   *	General Purpose Logging feature set
	   *	64-bit World wide name
	   *	Segmented DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	   *	Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
	   *	Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
	   *	Native Command Queueing (NCQ)
	   *	Host-initiated interface power management
	   *	Phy event counters
	   *	DMA Setup Auto-Activate optimization
	   *	Software settings preservation
	   *	SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
	   *	SCT Long Sector Access (AC1)
	   *	SCT LBA Segment Access (AC2)
	   *	SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
	   *	SCT Features Control (AC4)
	   *	SCT Data Tables (AC5)
	    	unknown 206[12] (vendor specific)
	    	unknown 206[13] (vendor specific)
Security: 
	Master password revision code = 65534
		supported
	not	enabled
	not	locked
	not	frozen
	not	expired: security count
	not	supported: enhanced erase
	128min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 50014ee100313fda
	NAA		: 5
	IEEE OUI	: 0014ee
	Unique ID	: 100313fda
Checksum: correct

The Quick Answer:

[Update: you may want to take a look at this first]

For version 1.99 (Ubuntu 11.04):

At a terminal in a LiveCD Desktop.

sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444/boot /dev/sda

Warning! This will not be the correct information for your PC!

You will need to replace ’0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444′ and possibly ‘/dev/sda’ see below for details:

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Overwriting the Master Boot Record

Note: The existing MBR will be lost. In order to dual-boot your computer, we will be creating a new Master Boot Record to include all operating systems, including Ubuntu Linux and Microsoft Windows.

1. Download the latest version of Ubuntu Desktop edition from http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download and burn your Ubuntu CD.

2. Reboot your computer and boot into a live session.

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Find your Ubuntu boot partition

You need to mount the partition with the ‘/boot’ folder in it.

1. Mount your Ubuntu partition from the Places menu.
Open “Home” and click an unmounted partition from the bar to the left.

2. As an example: I clicked on a 16G partition to mount it, then I went into the boot/grub directory to check for grub.cfg

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Note the partition details.

Run this command:

mount | tail -1

You should see output similar to this:

/dev/sda2 on /media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444 type ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=devkit)

Note the designation for the disk /dev/sda which you will be using later, and the directory in /media.

Hint: Use Tab Completion in Terminal to complete the path.
This automatically finishes file names, directory locations, and other long or hard to type file names.

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Verify that your partition is the Ubuntu boot partition.

Run this command:

ls /media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444/boot

or

ls /media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444

But substitute the example’s UUID, 0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444, with your volume’s UUID which you found earlier.

In either case, the output should be something like this:

abi-2.6.38-8-generic         memtest86+_multiboot.bin
config-2.6.38-8-generic      System.map-2.6.38-8-generic
grub                         vmcoreinfo-2.6.38-8-generic
initrd.img-2.6.38-8-generic  vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic
memtest86+.bin


If what you have is not similar, unmount it and try another partition.

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Reinstall GRUB

Now that everything is mounted, we just need to reinstall GRUB by specifying the correct directory and the correct drive name:

For version 1.99 (Ubuntu 11.04):

sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444/boot /dev/sda

If you get BIOS warnings try:

sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444/boot /dev/sda --recheck

Warning: 

Substitute /dev/sda with the location you want to install GRUB on.

Substitute the example’s UUID, 0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444, with your volume’s UUID which you found earlier

If all went well, you should see something like this:

“Installation finished. No error reported”

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Reboot and Test

Reboot, making sure to boot to your hard drive and not to the live CD.

Grub should be installed and both Ubuntu and Windows should have been automatically detected and listed in the menu.

The Master Boot Record will execute Grub as the initial boot-loader.

The Windows boot-loader is contained within the Windows partition and will then be chain-loaded by the Grub boot-loader.

If your GRUB Boot Menu is out of date, run this command:

sudo update-grub

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Notes:

Prior to version 1.99:

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444 /dev/sda

If you get BIOS warnings try:

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/media/0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444 /dev/sda --recheck

Warning: 

Substitute /dev/sda with the location you want to install GRUB on.

Substitute the example’s UUID, 0d104aff-ec8c-44c8-b811-92b993823444, with your volume’s UUID which you found earlier

________________________________________

Based on RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows.

Elegant, Clever and Functional… Canonical Have A Winner.

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OK this article is a work-in-progress and will be updated and edited as I learn more.
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Tips

• Reading the Release Notes would probably be a good idea… but I never do until something bugs me and I have to go looking for the cause.
• If you are setting mount points in the installer, be aware that you may need to use “Paste” as there is a bug stopping text entry.
  That is, all you can choose are the items in the drop down list.
  I used gedit to copy my mount points text e.g. “/backup”.
  There is a screen-shot of what I am referring to later on in the post.
• Use the recommenced Nvidia driver, or you will be sorry ;-)
  As an example I tried “173″ but it didn’t cut it on my system.
  Current is working very well even with dual monitors :-D
• Unity is only designed to work on the left, that is you need to have the launcher on the far left most side of your left most monitor.
  Don’t use it in the centre of two screens as this will cause issues.
• Dual monitor system Launcher displays on start-up at the left of the right monitor?
  [Fix] Swap the dvi cables connecting the graphics card over :-D
  Now the left most monitor is the default monitor and you can enable the right most monitor via TwinView.
• Unity Mouse & Keyboard Tips Here.
• Show the Month, Date & Locations in the Indicator Here.
• Panel Indicators (See Below). Pastie, syspeek, Weather Indicator, Indicator Multiload and Indicator Workspaces.
• Remove the “Me Menu”. sudo apt-get remove indicator-me

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First Thoughts

The Launcher is very slick and well thought out particularly for something this immature.

To add items, open the app, right click and choose “Keep in Launcher “.

You can pick an item and then move it up or down the stack, the mechanics of this are handled in a very cool way :-)

A search for “CCSM” brings up the CompizConfig Settings Manager. This allows you to tweak the  “Ubuntu Unity Plugin”. Search is already set for the Super Key. I set F1 for the Launcher and F2 for Run.

There are a lot of different ways to access your applications but if you get lost you can always use “Applications” from the bottom of the Launcher.

As you fill the Launcher with apps you will notice that they start getting stacked at the bottom :-D

Observations

I am playing about with various ways of using the Workplace Switcher…

The one I am having fun with ATM is to have Firefox in one space and Chromium in another. Just clicking on the app in the Launcher and BANG! I am straight into another Workplace… Nice.

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Installing Natty

I publish to the web as a kind of script that I can follow when installing. You can do this as well, just choose to “Try Ubuntu” not “Install Ubuntu” at the CD prompt. You then get booted into a fully working OS off the CD. You have an install shortcut on the desktop and you can use Firefox to look up this post to help you with the install.

Note that I am performing a Clean Install not an Upgrade. My /home is on its own partition. This enables me to keep 99% of my configuration information, (Application Settings, Desktop, Panels, etc.) and is a huge time saver.

To make life interesting I am swapping the system HD with another and I am also reformatting my /home to ext4 from ext3.
This means I will need to copy all of my data back to /home after the format. I mention this in passing as I may add some extra information in regards to this so I don’t have to look it up the next time :-) .

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Preparation

Note your Partition details and send to the Web or Gmail, (I use GParted or Systems Monitor).
This will allow you to refer to these screen-shots from Firefox while you are installing.

Set-up

Download an image: 11.04-desktop-amd64.iso or 11.04-desktop-i386.iso

• It is advisable to use VirtualBox to do a dry run of the following in a VM prior to the real thing.
• Backup your system.
• Burn a CD with K3b at 4 speed and check integrity.
• K3b will display a MD5 of the ISO, this should be “7de611b50c283c1755b4007a4feb0379″ for ubuntu-11.04-desktop-amd64.iso.
• Boot the CD and hold down shift key.
  Choose language. Choose test integrity.
• Reboot, Choose “Try Ubuntu”.

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Installing

• Wait for the CD files to be uncompressed and loaded.
  This will take a while if you don’t have a Linux swap.
• On the desktop click the short-cut “Install”.
• I start the Installer and open Firefox on this post so I can check on details e.g. partitions.
• I chose the 3rd option on how to “Allocate drive space”.
• I went through each of the partitions in turn, hitting “change” and setting Type and Mount Point.
• I didn’t have to create or size any partitions as I had used GParted prior to this.

• Double checking is a good idea at this point.
  Have you set the correct file system for each partition?
  That tick box marked “format”, are you sure?
• Reboot when the installer is finished.

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Post Install Set-up

If needed, install the NVIDIA, or other restricted driver, then reboot.

Add Codecs and Packages

1. Add the Medibuntu Repository.

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/natty.list  --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

2. Automatically Install Favourite Packages.
You will need the following two files:

cleanstart-packages.list.sh
Download the file cleanstart-packages.list.sh.

packages.list
Create the file packages.list and add the code below (click “show source” then hover your mouse over the code and choose “view source” from the toolbar).
Copy and paste into the file you have just created.

################################################################################
#
# cleanstart-packages.list.sh
# by silverwav - OpenPGP key:03187548 15 Apr 2009
#
# Any line starting with a # is ignored as are Blank lines.
# Any other lines, the first word is taken as the package name.
#
################################################################################

# Add Repositories before you start
# Add medibuntu.org repo 1st!
# sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/lucid.list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
# sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update
#

#*** Extras
ubuntu-restricted-extras - Commonly used restricted packages
timer-applet - a countdown timer applet for the GNOME panel

#***VMWare
build-essential
#xinetd
#linux-headers-$(uname -r)

#***Prefernces
compizconfig-settings-manager - Compiz configuration settings manager
#simple-ccsm - Simple Compizconfig settings manager
hardinfo - UNIX/Linux hardware information

#***Administration
gparted - GNOME partition editor
firestarter - gtk program for managing and observing your firewall
bum - graphical runlevel editor
nvidia-settings - Tool of configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver

#***Accessories
revelation - GNOME2 Password manager
#parcellite - A lightweight GTK+ clipboard manager
glipper - Clipboard manager for the GNOME panel

pcmanfm - an extremely fast and lightweight file manager for X
gmountiso - a PyGTK GUI to mount your cd images
#xfe - lightweight file manager for X11
#gnome-commander - nice and fast file manager for the GNOME desktop

#***Accessories - Search
catfish - file search tool that support several different engines
recoll - Personal full text search package with a QT GUI

#***Accessories - Text
notecase - hierarchical note manager (aka outliner)
emacs - GNU Emacs is the extensible self-documenting text editor.
vim-gnome - Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor - with GNOME2 GUI

#***Games
#doom-wad-shareware - Shareware game files for the 3D game DOOM
#prboom - clone of the legendary first person shooter Doom

#***Graphics
gimp - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
gthumb - an image viewer and browser
mtpaint - painting program to create pixel art and manipulate digital photos
gwenview – image viewer for KDE 4
kolourpaint4 - simple image editor for KDE 4
kiconedit - icon editor for KDE 4
shotwell - digital photo organizer
xpdf - Portable Document Format (PDF) suite

##***Internet
pidgin - graphical multi-protocol instant messaging client for X
chromium-browser
epiphany-browser - Intuitive web browser
#***SABnzb+
sabnzbdplus
sabnzbdplus-theme-smpl
ushare – lightweight UPnP A/V Media Server (x-box)

#***Office

#***Programming
geany - A fast and lightweight IDE
meld - graphical tool to diff and merge files
regexxer - A visual search and replace tool

#***Sound & Video
#Add medibuntu.org repo 1st!

#***Sound & Video - Codecs
w64codecs
libdvdcss2 - Simple foundation for reading DVDs - runtime libraries
lame - LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder

#***Sound & Video - Player
mplayer - The Ultimate Movie Player For Linux - Medibuntu package
mplayer-fonts - Fonts for mplayer
mplayer-skin-blue - blue skin for mplayer
mplayer-skins - Skins for the Ubuntu mplayer Package
mplayer-gui – movie player for Unix-like systems
#mozilla-mplayer - MPlayer-Plugin for Mozilla
vlc - multimedia player and streamer
xine-ui - the xine video player, user interface

#***Sound & Video - DVD
acidrip - ripping and encoding DVD tool using mplayer and mencoder
audacity - A fast, cross-platform audio editor
avidemux - a free video editor - gtk version
devede - program to create video DVDs
dvd95 - DVD9 to DVD5 converter
dvdrip - perl front end for transcode
k3b - A sophisticated KDE CD burning application
k9copy - DVD backup tool for KDE
mkvtoolnix-gui - mmg a set of tools to work with Matroska files - GUI frontend
arista - multimedia transcoder for the GNOME Desktop
pitivi - non-linear audio/video editor using GStreamer

#***Sound & Video - Sound Tools
padevchooser - PulseAudio Device Chooser
pavumeter - PulseAudio Volume Meter
soundkonverter - audio converter frontend for KDE
bbe – sed-like editor for binary files
normalize-audio – adjusts the volume of files to a standard volume level
mpeg4ip-server – end-to-end system to explore streaming multimedia
espeak - A multi-lingual software speech synthesizer

#***System Tools
samba - a LanManager-like file and printer server for Unix
nautilus-gksu - privilege granting extension for nautilus using gksu - Open as Administrator
nautilus-open-terminal - nautilus plugin for opening terminals in arbitrary local paths
nautilus-actions - nautilus extension to configure programs to launch
gconf-editor - An editor for the GConf configuration system
sysinfo - UNIX/Linux system information (MONO)
bleachbit - delete unnecessary files from the system
ttf-liberation - Free fonts with the same metrics as Times, Arial and Courier
testdrive - run the daily Ubuntu ISO in a virtual machine

This is a list of the packages that I use, you may have to adjust the list for your system.

For example note that I own a 64bit system which uses Nvidia graphics.

3. Make the script executable.

cd /home/sil/Downloads
ls
chmod +x ./cleanstart-packages.list.sh

4. Run the script and install the packages.

sudo ./cleanstart-packages.list.sh

Note: Change …/sil/… to your user name.

If a licence pop-up appears, you may need to “page down” to the end and use space/tab, to get to the OK so that you can press enter.
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Panel Indicators

Start via Alt + F2 “AppName” and enter.

Pastie
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hel-sheep/pastie
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pastie

Indicator Workspaces
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:geod/ppa-geod
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-workspaces

Indicator Syspeek
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vicox/syspeek
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install syspeek

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Add PPA Repositories.

Only add these if you want the very latest features.

Low safety, daily packages have not undergone any quality assurance.
Sometimes very safe but sometimes may not work at all.

Firefox-6:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:silverwave/one-daily-a-month-3

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox-trunk

And possibly one of these

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/beta
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/dev
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

______________________________

Notes

Manual install is needed for NeroDigitalAudio.zip (Details here).

Copy /home to the New Partition
Copy all files, directories and sub-directories from your current /home folder into the new partition:

sudo rsync -axS --exclude='/*/.gvfs' /home/. /media/home/.

Check Copying Worked (from here).

sudo diff -r /home /media/home

Add VirtualBox 4.0 Oracle Repository Here.

Fix Virtualbox Error “Failed to access the USB subsystem” Here.

All the stuff you need in one place so you don’t have to go looking.

• Add Codecs and Packages.
  Add Medibuntu repository.
  Install favourite packages from a list.
• Buttons not working on iPlayer, Flash.
  Confirmed workaround.
• Add PPA’s
• Light-themes: panel-background isn’t scaling.
  Confirmed workaround.
• Customise Theme.
  Tooltips, Window Border.

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Here We Go.

Set-up:

Download: 10.04-desktop-amd64.iso or 10.04-desktop-i386.iso

• Use TestDrive to do a dry run in a vm.
• Backup (Recommended).
• Burn CD with K3b at 4 speed and check integrity.
• Check md5 sum.

  md5sum ubuntu-10.04-desktop-amd64.iso >check.md5

• Get Partition Screenshots (send to Web or Gmail).
  Use GParted or Systems Monitor.

• Boot the CD and hold down shift key.
  Choose language. Choose test integrity.
• Reboot, Choose “Try Ubuntu”.

Clean Install:

• I am performing a Clean Install not an Upgrade.
  I was previously running Karmic 9.10 64bit.
• My /home is on its own partition.
  This enables me to keep 99% of my configuration information.
  (Application Settings, Desktop, Panels, etc.) and is a huge time saver.

Installing:

• Wait for the CD files to be uncompressed and loaded.
  This will take a while if you don’t have a Linux swap.
• On the desktop click the short-cut “Install”.
• As you can see below the Lucid Installer is open on the left and Firefox on the right.
  This allows you to consult the previously saved screenshot of your partitions.

• Double checking is a good idea at this point.
  Have you set the correct file system for each partition?
  That tick box marked “format”, are you sure?
• Reboot when the installer is finished.

______________________________

Post Install Set-up.

If needed, install the NVIDIA, or other restricted driver, then reboot.

Add Codecs and Packages

1. Add medibuntu repository

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/lucid.list  --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

2. Reinstall all of your favourite packages from a list.

Download the following files:

cleanstart-packages.list.sh

packages.list

This is a list of the best/most useful packages I use.
Note that I have a 64bit system and Nvidia graphics.
You may have to adjust the list for your system.
I test it in a vm first, (via TestDrive). Details here.

3. Make the script executable.

cd /home/sil/Downloads
ls
chmod +x ./cleanstart-packages.list.sh

4. Run the script and install the packages.

sudo ./cleanstart-packages.list.sh 

Note: Change …/sil/… to your user name.
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Buttons not working on iPlayer, Flash.

gksudo gedit /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper/i386/linux/npviewer

Add this line:

export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1

Before this line:

. /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper/noarch/npviewer

Example:

#!/bin/sh
TARGET_OS=linux
TARGET_ARCH=i386
export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1
. /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper/noarch/npviewer

____________________________

Add PPA Repositories.

Only add these if you want the very latest features.

Low safety, daily packages have not undergone any quality assurance.
Sometimes very safe but sometimes may not work at all.

Firefox-3.6 Lucid:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:silverwave/one-daily-a-month-0

Firefox-3.7 Lucid:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:silverwave/one-daily-a-month-1

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install firefox
sudo apt-get install firefox-3.7

Or

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily

And possibly one of these

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/beta
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/dev
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily/ppa

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

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Light-themes: panel-background isn’t scaling.

Bug #532309
Confirmed workaround1:

If confident with image resizing you can just resize the panel_bg.png to whatever size you have set the panel to.

Below are examples of resizing to 32 pixels using Gwenview.

R32 ><

/usr/share/themes/Radiance/gtk-2.0

A32><

/usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-2.0

Confirmed workaround2:

This is more involved but doesn’t require any image manipulation.

sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Ambiance/gtk-2.0/gtkrc
sudo gedit /usr/share/themes/Radiance/gtk-2.0/gtkrc

Comment out:

bg_pixmap[NORMAL] = "panel_bg.png"

e.g.

#bg_pixmap[NORMAL] =  "panel_bg.png"

Set “fit”, “stretch” and “rotate” to true:

gconftool-2 --type bool --set /apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/background/fit true

gconftool-2 --type bool --set /apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/background/rotate true

gconftool-2 --type bool --set /apps/panel/toplevels/top_panel_screen0/background/stretch true

Right Click Panel > properties > Background Tab > Select Background image: > panel_bg.png

Log out then Log in again.

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Customise Theme.

• I now use Radiance, with the Ambiance Window Border.
  Right Click on Desktop > Change Desktop Background.
  Theme (Ambience) > Customise > Window Border.
• Set Theme Tooltips to yellow (#F5F5B5) with black text (#000000).
  Right Click on Desktop > Change Desktop Background.
  Theme (Ambience) > Customise > Colour >Tooltips.
• Set background to the Simple Ubuntu Purple.

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Errata:

There are a couple of packages that I need to add to the Package List for next time:

ushare – lightweight UPnP A/V Media Server (x-box)
mplayer-gui – movie player for Unix-like systems
gwenview – image viewer for KDE 4
bbe – sed-like editor for binary files
normalize-audio – adjusts the volume of files to a standard volume level
mpeg4ip-server – end-to-end system to explore streaming multimedia

Manual install needed for this:

NeroDigitalAudio.zip (Details here).

apt-get install nautilus-actions

>System > Preferences > Nautilus Actions Configuration
Add button > create a new action

Action:
* Label: Shred
* Tooltip: Shred a file
* Icon: gtk-media-record

Command:
* Path: /usr/bin/shred
* Parameters: -f -u -z %M

Right click on a file and select Shred when needed.

link

md5sum

This is a recursive command, that is, it will create a md5 for all files in sub directories as well.

1. Create md5sum’s for each file in the directory and output to the file check.md5.

find . -type f 2>/dev/null -exec md5sum {} \; >check.md5

Note: You may need to run from root e.g sudo -i, which is not best practice.

2. Confirm files in the directory against check.md5 and output to the file results.md5

md5sum -c check.md5 > results.md5

Important – Could Delete Your System!

Make sure you use “Open in Terminal” or cd to the correct directory before running this command.

Or you will be sorry.

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Overwrite then Delete All Files in a Directory

find -type f -execdir shred -u -z '{}' \;

Explanation
The find command itself is used to find files matching a certain expression, on a certain path.

The the path argument is omitted, so find starts the search from the default current working directory.

The next argument to find, -type f, tells find to match only regular files (as we can’t shred directories).

The -execdir argument tells find to execute the command following the argument on each file matched (from that file’s parent directory).

We could alternatively have used the -exec argument, but -execdir is more secure because it changes directories before executing the command.

The remaining arguments are taken as the command to execute, until a terminating ‘;’ character is encountered.

We tell find to execute the shred command (with options) on each file matched.

The -u option to shred tells it to remove the file after shredding.

Find replaces the ‘{}’ string with the current file name being processed.

Note the braces are quoted to prevent expansion by the shell.

Finally, a semi-colon terminates the -execdir command.

The ; character is again escaped, this time with a ‘\’, to prevent expansion by the shell.

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Important – Could Kill Your Cat!

I don’t use this command, added for completeness.

If you do use it, ensure you have important data backed-up and a way of reinstalling your system.

I use Nautilus to delete directories as its safer :-)

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Delete a Tree of Directories.

Quote from opentux:
After executing the first command, all files in the directory tree have been securely shredded and removed, and all that is left is a tree of empty directories. Since the directories themselves contain no sensitive information (they are just a list of names and i-node numbers), they can be safely removed with rm.
I specified using the command
$>rm -rf *
to recursively (-r) remove all the directories without prompt (-f), since I knew all sensitive files to have been securely removed already. But alternatively if you wanted to make doubly sure you weren’t unsecurely removing any missed files, you could invoke rmdir on each remaining directory (from the bottom up).

link

sudo nmap -sP ***.***.1.0/24

 
Starting Nmap 5.00 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2010-04-18 12:53 BST
Host ***.***.*.* is up (0.014s latency).
MAC Address: **:**:**:**:**:** (Router)
Host ***.***.*.*** is up.
Host ***.***.*.*** is up (0.017s latency).
MAC Address: **:**:**:**:**:** (Microsoft)
Nmap done: 256 IP addresses (3 hosts up) scanned in 4.68 seconds

Audit your network.
-sP: Ping Scan – go no further than determining if host is online.