Category: Linux Stuff

Modified Linux Shutdown Policy running from USB

Post author By George
Post date July 19, 2010
1 Comment on Modified Linux Shutdown Policy running from USB

Several weeks ago I installed Linux Mint 9 on my 16GB USB Corsair jump drive. I use it at work when I need to rescue a Windows PC (save a PC running Vista twice this month). What I didn’t like was having to authenticate my account to shutdown the PC. The system always displayed the message System policy prevents stopping the system when other users are logged in. I always had to log off first to shutdown the computer.

I found a fix at Len’s site which solved my problem. I am posting the modified org.freedesktop.consolekit.policy at my box.net as a reference for myself. Here are the step I used to fix the issue:

Open terminal and type gksu nautilis
Navigate to /usr/share/polkit-1/actions
Right click org.freedesktop.consolekit.policy and open with gedit
Scroll down to section org.freedesktop.consolekit.system.stop-multiple-users
At allow_active, replace auth_admin_keeps with yes
Scroll down to section org.freedesktop.consolekit.system.restart-multiple-users
At allow_active, replace auth_admin_keeps with yes

Now I am able to shutdown Linux Mint running from my USB jump drive.

Thanks to Marilen Aretius Corciovei for originally posting this fix.

Tags Linux Mint, Software

FaceBook Geek Stuff Home PC LinuxMint Sager Thunderbird Ubuntu Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows XP Work

Busy IT Month

Well it’s been a busy month for me at home and work. I migrated my Sager NP8690 to Ubuntu 10.04 and created three virtual machines; Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. To my surprise Windows Vista SP2 is extremely stable as a VM. I disabled UAC because I don’t like being asked “are you sure you want to do this” from my PC. Both Windows 7 and Windows XP SP3 ran well also. Over all I was pleased with the performance from each VM. Of course that changed when I tried to run two VMs at the same time, I was running out of RAM. I think if I had 8GB installed, running two VMs would have worked fine.

However, I was never able to get get Blu-Ray running in any VMs or in Ubuntu. This bummed me out since I wanted I watch Star Trek. Maybe I’ll ask Santa to bring a Blu-Ray player for Christmas. Then I was informed by my wife that she needed Windows in order to work from home. Plus she was not too thrilled that I didn’t create a account in Ubuntu for her. Oops!

So I backed up everything (again) and reinstalled the image I took before wiping out my hard drive. Since I am dual booting between Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.04, I deiced to leave Windows with a larger partition and keep all my videos there. I can access then easily enough from Ubuntu without much hassle. I still need to install a few application in Ubuntu (Thunderbird, Filezilla) but for the most part I am finished.

Instead of trying to use Gwibber a buddy of mine said I should look into TweetDeck. TweetDeck requires Adobe Air to install and run. Being Adobe has issues with x64, there were no .deb files for my OS. I downloaded the .bin file and from a Terminal window I typed ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin. Now I can install TweetDeck and have access to my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz accounts.

At work, I was asked to test a kickstart install script for RHEL 5.3 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) client install on a test PC. I used a Dell Precision 370 which has a Intel P4 3.4 GHz single core, 2GB of RAM, 80GB Sata drive, Nvidia Quadro FX 1400 card, and a DVD drive. Installation took about 30 minutes. I test several applications, accessing network shares, and printing to several network printers. I still prefer Ubuntu or Linux Mint over RHEL, but it was fun to be part of a Linux project.

I also help with installing a new Dell server this week. The job required us to install a keyboard/mouse tray, move an existing server and tape library up, install a new IP console KVM, and install the new ESX server. Due to space limitations, we placed a LCD monitor on the side of the rack. Because I hurt my back several day earlier I was asked not to lift anything. So for me it was more of a learning experience. Hopefully I will be asked to assist with other data room projects.

Right now I’m downloading openSuse 11.3 x64 on DVD. Maybe this weekend I’ll try it out on a VM to see some of the new improvements I’ve read about.

Tags FaceBook, Geek Stuff, Home PC, Linux Mint, Sager, Thunderbird, Ubuntu, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Work

LinuxMint Open Office Sager Ubuntu Virtual Machine VirtualBox Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows XP

Issues with VirtualBox between Ubuntu and Windows 7

Post author By George
Post date June 15, 2010
2 Comments on Issues with VirtualBox between Ubuntu and Windows 7

My Sager NP8690 is one awesome notebook (except for the battery life). Right now I have it configured for dual boot between Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows 7. The only time I really use Windows 7 is to watch Blu-Ray movies and the occasional office document that down for display correctly in Open-office. But rebooting the PC to go back and forth between the two OS’s is an inconvenience.

To resolve this issue I installed Oracle Virtualbox 3.2.4. Currently I have one VM with Linux Mint 9 x64 which works well. So I attempted to install Windows 7 x32 just like I did at work on an old HP D530 tower. When the install reaches the point of Installing Updates the OS fails stating it’s unable to find the hard drive.

I searched for an answer but nothing really fixed my problem. Then I noticed the HDD controller for my Windows 7 VM was set for AHCI with a blank check box. Selecting the check box allows the VM to access the HDD controller directly. Installation of Windows 7 is complete.

Everything in Windows 7 seems stable and running well minus the Aero effects. I checked for updates and out of 21, only 3 installed. That’s no good, time to reboot the VM and tried again. None of the available updates would install. I found this solution for Windows Vista and it worked on Windows 7.

And since I am setting up VMs, I decided to install my copy on Windows XP and Microsoft Vista. Why Vista? Because I got it for free and gives me an opportunity to learn something new. Plus I have friends and family that run Vista and they call for help on occasion.

Unfortunately I made a small error when I installed Ubuntu 10.04. Since I chose to dual boot, I kept the Windows partition at 2/3 total drive space. Since I created four VMs I am down to about 7GB free on my Home partition. If I can get my Windows 7 VM to play Blu-Ray I will copy off all VMs, backup all data files from both OSs, and then rebuild with Ubuntu 10.04 and import all data. Looks like I’m in for a long weekend.

UPDATE:

After spending 2 hours reading posts about playing Blu-Ray in a VM, it looks like this is not possible. I plan on moving forward with the migration since I’m out of drive space. I read a solution in Ubuntu Forums that might work.

Tags Linux Mint, Open Office, Sager, Ubuntu, Virtual Machine, VirtualBox, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Ubuntu Windows Vista Work

Bootable Ubuntu 10.04 USB Stick

Post author By George
Post date June 7, 2010
No Comments on Bootable Ubuntu 10.04 USB Stick

Over the last two weeks, the client I work for had multiple power outages. The one outage broken several LCD monitors and a few PCs. One of the PCs had Windows Vista installed. The problem was a corrupt OS and would not boot into Vista. Booting from Last Known Good Configuration or Safe Mode would not allow me to fix the problem. I explained to my customer that would repair Vista using the enterprise DVD. Although he liked that option, he was concerned about losing his data.

No problem. I brought up my bootable USB Ubuntu 10.04 flash drive I made a little while ago. While it was booting my customer explained that his PC has 2 hard drives. The primary drive contained Vista on a 40GB partition, the rest was his “D:\” drive. The second hard drive was used to additional data storage. My Ubuntu flash drive found all the hardware on his HP XW4600 Workstation and using GParted I verified his hard drive configuration statement.

On the second hard drive I created 2 folders, zzz-d_drive and zzz-c_drive. All data files my customer was concerned about were copied to the perspective folders. After a shutdown, I disconnected the second hard drive to ensure all data files are safe. Unfortunately the repair for Vista failed as did restoring from the last 2 restore points. My only option was to reinstall the OS. After installation I copied all the data files back to the “C:\” drive, the “D:\” was intact since I didn’t format that partition.

If you don’t have a bootable Ubuntu flash drive you should take the time to create one. For me it is a valuable tool which enables me to meet my SLAs.

Tags Ubuntu, Windows Vista, Work

Firefox Google Chrome Thunderbird Ubuntu Windows 7

Google Chrome 5 on my Ubuntu PC

Post author By George
Post date May 28, 2010
No Comments on Google Chrome 5 on my Ubuntu PC

A while ago I wrote about Google Chrome on my Windows 7 on my work and home PCs. This week I installed Google Chrome 5 on all my PCs. What made me install Chrome? A full supported version for Linux. Just download and install the .deb file. The even have a x64 version too.

I decided to make Google Chrome my default browser on my Ubuntu 10.04 x64 notebook. I had to modify Thunderbird 3.04 to run Google Chrome. I will admit it’s fast. Faster than Firefox on my computer. Still there is the issue with unlimited cache files on my computer. I guess i can remember to clean it out once in a while. Maybe I can find a script to clean out the files every 30 days.

Tags Firefox, Google Chrome, Thunderbird, Ubuntu, Windows 7

LinuxMint Ubuntu Windows 7 Work

Installed Linux Mint 9

Last week I downloaded Linux Mint 9, both x32 and x64 bit platforms using Vuze. There were 2 different ISO formats to choose from: CDs and DVDs. The DVDs contain additional software and wallpaper. Kind of a waste of a DVD, but I said OK, I want all the goodies on one disc.

At work I have 2 Linux PCs, one has Ubuntu 10.04 x32 and another running Mint 8 x32. My Mint 8 PC hosts a Windows 7 VM using VirtualBoxOSE. I use this VM to connect to a Windows Domain to manage machine accounts. I also user Terminal Server Client to log onto another Microsoft server for running Symantec Ghost Solution Suite.

I closed my Windows 7 VM and other active connections and proceeded to backup my data and VM to my Ubuntu PC. The VM was about 13GB with other data files totaling about an additional 4GB. Installed the DVD, rebooted to install Linux Mint 9.

I admit I like the slideshow better in Ubuntu 10.04 than Mint 9, but it was still informative. Installation time was under 20 minutes on my PC. After a quick reboot I logged onto my new Mint 9 PC. What do I love about Mint?

Multimedia works right from the start. I was able to play YouTube and QuickTime videos.
Color scheme and Title bar Button Layout. I like the new color scheme Canonical went with on Ubuntu 10.04, but I like the color scheme with Mint too. Under Control Center – Look and Feel – Desktop Settings, I can change where the Title bar buttons go. I moved them to the left for something different.
I can configure the menu slab to always display my Favorites instead of what was shown last, rename the menu button to anything (I went with my PC name), show side pane or recent documents, change the column size for favorites, and install a scrollbar Places and System.

I enabled Desktop Effects and Compiz to get some of the eye candy running. Afterwards it was a quick data transfer of my personal data back into my home folder. I installed the following apps:

After getting my Windows 7 VM copied back to my PC, I configure the Startup Applications to launch my Windows 7 VM when I sign onto the system using the following command:

VBoxManage startvm PCVM01WIN7

. For some reason I cannot connect to the VM using the PC name but I can connect by IP address. I guess this give me something else to work on.

Bootchart records it take 14.91 seconds for the PC to boot. Nice!

I am contemplating if I should replace my Ubuntu 10.04 x64 on my Sager notebook with Mint 9 x64. I still have some issues with fast user switching on my Ubuntu 10.04 PCs (which I disabled using Ubuntu Tweaks), and the occasional lack of response from the OS when nothing works and I have to open Gnome-Terminal and reboot. I think this might be an issue with NVIDIA drivers. I’m not sure if I’ll have the same issues with Mint 9. And then there is the issue of creating a backup of the PC before I wipe off Ubuntu in favor of Mint 9. Should I use Symantec Ghost or create the PING CD and create a backup ISO file.

Either way you should give Linux Mint 9. Download the ISO and try the LiveCD or LiveDVD. Always be sure to backup and verify your data is safe BEFORE wiping the HDD.

Tags Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Windows 7, Work

Humor Ubuntu Video

Ubuntu Mentioned on TV

What is Sheldon Cooper’s favorite Linux based OS?

Tags Humor, Ubuntu, Video

Home PC Sager Ubuntu

Bootchart Lucid Lynx

I’ve installed Ubuntu 10.04 LTS x64 on my Sager NP8690 notebook. Installation was fast around 20 minutes. I took a break to watch some TV with my children and after their show and they went to sleep, I spent the next 2 hours installing programs like Gimp, Picasa, Shutter, GParted, Cheese, Camera Monitor, Stellarium, Skype, Vuze, Dropbox, HP LaserJet 2605dn, Bootchart, configuring Empathy, Gwibber, Nvidia drivers, and other Desktop eye-candy. Saturday I installed Thunderbird, dvdrip, some additional codecs, and restoring some files from my last backup.

I should have grabbed some screen-shots but it didn’t occur to me at the time. However, here is my latest bootchart (located on the right under Box.net plug-in titled Rubicon-lucid-20100502-1.png) from my Sager notebook.

I will rebuild the Dell Dimension 8200 with Ubuntu 10.04 and see what the performance is compared to version 9.10. I hope the Flash animation and games my children play at Cartoon Network will work better.

Tags Home PC, Sager, Ubuntu