Re: [PLUG] Battery Backup Question

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 5:44 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
> I would expect the current battery, with 12.54v should have at least
> started up, so I'm suspicious that it's not the battery. I can take it
> up to the place I got it, Battery X-Change of Oregon City, and have them
> test it, which I will probably do tomorrow.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>

Yes, I would definitely take it out of the circuit and test it. There
is little else that can go wrong with a UPS. Especially since all the
warning signals are working.

BIll

Re: [PLUG] Battery Backup Question

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 5:16 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 9/27/23 14:12, Russell Senior wrote:
> > I have a UPS in my basement right now, beeping every 14m53s and the
> > battery is fine. The problem is oxide on the connector. Every 3-4
> > months I ritually disconnect and reconnect the battery terminals a few
> > times to scrape off the oxide layer and it's well again. That is just
> > to say that underlying causes can vary. There may be a manual
> > somewhere that describes troubleshooting steps for your UPS, and
> > describes lights and beeps and what they mean.
>
> It did look like there might have been some corrosion on the battery
> tabs. I applied your technique, and the battery tabs look cleaner. I
> plugged the unit back into the wall and turned it on. Still has the same
> problem: green light, then beep-beep followed by no power, which repeats.
>
> Right now I'm copying a few things from this machine to my laptop. Then
> I'll shut down this machine, move the UPS over to the other end of the
> desk, and plug in the other machine.
>
> Then I'll look into whether I need a UPS with more capacity. The one I
> have is 850. There is a 1500. I'm guessing it's the next level up. Some
> suppliers still have the 850, but it sounds like it's being retired in
> favor of the 1500.
>
> Time to start researching UPSs again and see who currently makes the
> best, moderately priced unit. Amazon has the 850 for $117. Best Buy no
> longer has it. Amazon has the 1500 for $174. Best Buy, $222.
>
> Any recommendations for other brands?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens

Why not get a new battery?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Can't boot to new dual boot

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 2:58 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> On Mon, 18 Sep 2023 12:26:22 -0500
> Bill Barry  dijo:
>
> >> I've been reading up on how to get this to work and I haven't found
> >> the answer yet. Both drives have a separate partitions for / and
> >> /home, and each of them has a /boot/grub/grub.cfg file in the /
> >> partition. At the top of the menu entries, the one in the Debian
> >> drive has Debian and Debian-Alternative followed by 80 (believe it
> >> or not) menu entries for Xubuntu. On the Xubuntu drive the file has
> >> menu entries only for Xubuntu, although only about 20 of them.
> >> Methinks some serious tidying up is overdue, but that can wait.
> >> Maybe a command to update grub is the right way to do it.
>
> >I had a similar problem after I did an update yesterday. Only one of
> >my systems was bootable. It turned out there was a line in  the file
> >/etc/default/grub like this
> >GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
> >which was commented out with a # in front of it.
> >Uncommenting it then running update-grub fixed the problem.
>
> I had already done that in both the grub.cfg files, but no luck.
> However, I finally kludged together something that got me booted into
> the Debian OS, and as you can see, I can reboot into Xubuntu.
>
> I had noticed that the grub.cfg file in the Debian installation had two
> menu entries at the top, which were missing in the Xubuntu file. I had
> been spending all my efforts trying to get the BIOS to find the Debian
> grub.cfg file, but I finally decided 'fine, if all it can find is the
> Xubuntu file, the all I need to do is add the Debian menu entries to
> the top of the Xubuntu file.' It took some finagling because of dealing
> with two files owned by root, but eventually I got the whole two menu
> entries from the Debian file pasted into the top of the Xubuntu menu
> entries. As I rebooted I was telling myself 'there is no way this is
> going to work, surely the computer won't boot to anything.' I had made
> a copy of the Xubuntu file, and I had visions of having to find a
> Knoppix disk or something to use so I could put the copy back, but
> guess what! It booted straight into Debian 12!
>
> Just before it booted I saw what looked like a Grub menu flash by in
> the upper left corner of my screen. It was gone way too fast to read,
> but it looked like there were eight lines in tiny text, text that
> happens on a 4K screen before it gets to a GUI. From past experience
> each distro in the menu probably had a main line, then a recovery line,
> followed by a couple lines for memtest. After I shut down Debian to
> come back here I remembered that hitting Esc after the BIOS gets you
> the Grub menu, so that's what I did to get back here.
>
> I never did get the BIOS to boot to the Grub folder in the new Debian
> drive. But at least it's working, and all I need to do is figure out
> how to get the Grub menu into a readable font, and make it come up
> always, without having to remember to hit Esc.
>
> Being a Linux user for years has accustomed me to using fudges and
> pokes to get things to work. Today was proof of that. :)

In my Debian installation grub.cfg is a file you should not edit. You
should edit /etc/default/grub and then run update-grub. That then
edits grub.cfg for you.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Can't boot to new dual boot

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 11:39 AM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> Xubuntu is on a three-year-old 1TB M.2 card and it has worked well for
> years. I think I want to change to Debian, so I downloaded the Xfce
> flavor of the Debian 12 ISO and burned it to a USB drive. Then I went
> out and bought a new 2TB M.2 drive and installed it in the computer in
> a spare, unused slot. I booted to the flash drive and went through the
> installation, specifying the new 2TB drive, creating a 200GB partition
> for / and 1800GB for /home. At the end the installer stopped and said
> it had found the Xubuntu installation, and did I want to create a dual
> boot? I answered 'yes,' and it said that upon booting I would have the
> choice of which OS to boot to. After the installation completed and I
> rebooted it went straight into Xubuntu; no option to boot to Debian,
> like the new drive wasn't even installed. While in Xubuntu I noted that
> the / and /home partitions on Debian had been mounted, so I looked at
> them and all the files appeared to be in the partitions.
>
> The BIOS has a feature where you can choose which disk drive you want
> to boot to; all you have to do is hold down F12 and you will get a
> menu. I did so, and there was the new M.2 drive in the list, so I
> selected it. Unfortunately it did not boot. Instead, a few minutes later
> I was staring at a black screen with a flashing underscore in the upper
> left corner. The keyboard was inactive, and there was no mouse.
>
> I had one more trick up my sleeve - go to the the BIOS directly. In the
> BIOS I swapped the boot order of the drives so the new M.2 drive would
> be first to boot. But when I booted it still wouldn't boot Debian; all I
> got was the same black screen and flashing underscore.
>
> I've been reading up on how to get this to work and I haven't found the
> answer yet. Both drives have a separate partitions for / and /home, and
> each of them has a /boot/grub/grub.cfg file in the / partition. At the
> top of the menu entries, the one in the Debian drive has Debian and
> Debian-Alternative followed by 80 (believe it or not) menu entries for
> Xubuntu. On the Xubuntu drive the file has menu entries only for
> Xubuntu, although only about 20 of them. Methinks some serious tidying
> up is overdue, but that can wait. Maybe a command to update grub is the
> right way to do it.
>
> This would probably be easy to fix, if I only knew how. I'm anxiously
> looking for suggestions so I can look at Debian 12 on the new drive. :)


I had a similar problem after I did an update yesterday. Only one of
my systems was bootable. It turned out there was a line in  the file
/etc/default/grub
like this
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
which was commented out with a # in front of it.
Uncommenting it then running update-grub fixed the problem.

This however may not be your problem as there are many things that can
cause this problem.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Mint, Ubuntu, Debian (and Centos and Redhat/IBM)

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Sep 11, 2023 at 4:06 AM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> On Sun, 10 Sep 2023 22:26:42 -0700
> John Jason Jordan  dijo:
>
> >On Sun, 10 Sep 2023 16:55:57 -0700
> >Keith Lofstrom  dijo:
> >
> >Re Debian 12 Hookworm
> >
> >Just for kicks I downloaded the Live Xfce ISO and burned it to a small
> >USB 3.0 drive. I may see what happens if I try to install it in
> >VirtualBox. Meantime I'm trying to find out details about it,
> >specifically its potential snapitude, and a few other things.
>
> I spent two hours trying to get Virtualbox to recognize either the
> optical drive or a USB drive where I had installed the Live Debian 12
> ISO that I downloaded. I finally succeeded at getting the virtual
> machine to use the optical drive, although I failed with the USB drive.
>
> Once I finally got the Live OS to boot there was an 'Install Debian'
> icon, so I clicked on it. That popped up an error message that
> 'Calamares' (the install program) was not executable. There was a
> button to make it executable, so I clicked on it and things progressed.
> It finally got to the end of the questions and answers and presented a
> summary of what it was going to do in the install. I looked all over
> for a button that said 'OK' or 'Continue,' or anything to move on and
> let it install the OS, but there was no way to get past that point.
>
> C'mon Debian people, don't you test this stuff?

I don't see that installing from the Live OS is the recommended path
for installing Debian. The netinst method is one of the recommended
installation methods.
https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/
This downloads a minimal install image that then allows you to choose
other packages that get downloaded and installed after the system is
installed enough to have network access.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Adjusting brightness on Acer SB-220Q monitor

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 11:48 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> I just installed an Acer SB-220Q monitorn and want to decrease the brighness
> (especially on the browser.
>
> The manual says to press the 'Brightness' button and again when the on
> screen display menu appears. Then the two arrow keys are supposed to change
> the brightness level.
>
> But, when I press he left or arrow key, nothing happens. The display
> disappears.
>
> My attempts at finding a solution on the web failed; all hits are either the
> extended manual or retailers selling this monitor.
>
> Rich

Try some of the other keys. The key function might not correspond to
the labeling on the monitor. Sometimes it is state dependent.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Question on obtaining white pages via linux

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 6:19 PM American Citizen
 wrote:
>
> Does anyone know how to obtain the Qwest White Pages for Phoenix AZ
> using linux?
>
> Internet lookup only shows Spokeo, Intellius, etc, companies who force
> you to a contract and extract money from your wallet. This is almost a
> racket.
>
> 411 lookup is blocked from my Apple cellphone and trying to do the
> 602-555-1212 directory assistance call is also blocked.
>
> I had another friend try the 602-555-1212 directory assistance call, and
> he's blocked too.
>
> WA state has a law that 411 directory assistance must NOT be blocked,
> but my AT&T phone subscription is blocking.
>
> Sorry if this is a bit off topic for linux issues, but I really need to
> find a copy of the QWest Phoenix whitepages so I can lookup a name
>
> I am trying to help a friend who is fighting copyright issues.
>
> Randall
>
>

I use Spokeo and Intelius and the like all the time. They don't force
me to do anything except to look at some ad for something that I am
never going to purchase. Google the person you are looking for in
quotes with a place name.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] JACK and PulseAudio

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 3:10 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 1/10/23 12:21, Bill Barry wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 2:03 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
> >> I'm trying to run two programs that need JACK, MuseScore and GrandOrgue.
> >>
> >> I start JACK with QjackCtl. When I click "Start" I get an error message
> >> telling me "D-BUS: JACK server could not be started." Searching for that
> >> error message sent me to:
> >>
> >> https://jackaudio.org/faq/pulseaudio_and_jack.html
> >>
> >> where I'm told to change a setting in QJackctl. It says there's a field
> >> labeled "Server path".  I find no such field, nor anything that looks
> >> like it could be it.
> >>
> >> Any idea where I should look next?
> >>
> >> --
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Dick Steffens
> > How about QJackCtl -help ?
> > Bill
>
> rsteff@ENU-1:~$ qjackctl -help
> Warning: no translation found for 'en_US' locale:
> /usr/share/qjackctl/translations/qjackctl_en_US.qm
> Cannot connect to server socket err = No such file or directory
> Cannot connect to server request channel
> jack server is not running or cannot be started
> JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1,
> skipping unlock
> JackShmReadWritePtr::~JackShmReadWritePtr - Init not done for -1,
> skipping unlock
>
> Running qjackctl -help produces the above, but it does start the gui
> application.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
I don't really know, but you could try this
https://askubuntu.com/questions/250508/unable-to-start-jack-server-service-is-available-org-jackaudio-service-aka-ja
Bill

Re: [PLUG] JACK and PulseAudio

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 2:03 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> I'm trying to run two programs that need JACK, MuseScore and GrandOrgue.
>
> I start JACK with QjackCtl. When I click "Start" I get an error message
> telling me "D-BUS: JACK server could not be started." Searching for that
> error message sent me to:
>
> https://jackaudio.org/faq/pulseaudio_and_jack.html
>
> where I'm told to change a setting in QJackctl. It says there's a field
> labeled "Server path".  I find no such field, nor anything that looks
> like it could be it.
>
> Any idea where I should look next?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens

How about QJackCtl -help ?
Bill

Re: [PLUG] wget NOT getting all the pages

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Dec 27, 2022 at 6:18 PM American Citizen
 wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I used wget recently to try to download all 26 or 27 pages of my
> website, but it seems to miss about 40% of the pages.
>
> Does anyone have the CLI command line which captures 100% of a website
> URLS ?
>
> I tried the typical
>
> %wget -r --tries=10 https://my.website.com/ -o logfile
>
> as suggested in the "man wget" command, but it did NOT capture all the
> webpages. I even tried a wait parameter, but that only slowed things up
> and did not remedy the missing websubpages issue.
>
> I appreciate any tips so that ALL of the website data can be captured by
> wget. Yes, I am aware of the robots.txt restricting downloadable information
>
> - Randall

It only downloads pages that are linked to from my.website.com or
linked to from pages that are linked to from my.website.com
recursively. If there is no path from my.website.com to a page on your
website then that page will not be downloaded.

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Restart mdadm? SOLVED

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 7:02 PM Bill Barry  wrote:
>
> On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 6:55 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
> >
> > On Sun, 27 Nov 2022 16:07:09 -0600
> > Bill Barry  dijo:
> >
> > >So reassembling is what was needed, but you don't need to force it.
> > >Now if you just had some way to automate that.  Have you connected
> > >your external enclosure to the UPS so that it is protected from
> > >temporary power disruptions?
> >
> > Yes, everything is on my three massive APCs (connected together), even
> > the stereo.
> >
> > I keep thinking that the problem lurks somewhere in the crazy setup:
> >
> > 4 Intel 8TB NVMe drives, mounted two each on two long PCIe cards,
> > inside a 4-bay PCI enclosure, in turn connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port
> > on a Lenovo dock, in turn connected to my Lenovo P73 laptop via one of
> > its TB3 ports. The whole setup is close to two years old, during which
> > time this is the sixth case where the RAID has failed.
> >
> > When I got up this morning everything was running, so it couldn't have
> > been caused by a power glitch. There are lots of other electrical
> > devices around the house that tell me when PGE hasn't been playing nice
> > - e.g., the clocks on the range and microwave will be flashing, the
> >   bedroom television that runs all night will be off, among others.
>
> If it's not a power problem then maybe cabling. How long are your
> Thunderbolt cables?
>
> Bill

I see lots of posts out there claiming that their Thunderbolt
connection  randomly disconnects. That could certainly cause your
problem.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Restart mdadm? SOLVED

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 6:55 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> On Sun, 27 Nov 2022 16:07:09 -0600
> Bill Barry  dijo:
>
> >So reassembling is what was needed, but you don't need to force it.
> >Now if you just had some way to automate that.  Have you connected
> >your external enclosure to the UPS so that it is protected from
> >temporary power disruptions?
>
> Yes, everything is on my three massive APCs (connected together), even
> the stereo.
>
> I keep thinking that the problem lurks somewhere in the crazy setup:
>
> 4 Intel 8TB NVMe drives, mounted two each on two long PCIe cards,
> inside a 4-bay PCI enclosure, in turn connected to a Thunderbolt 3 port
> on a Lenovo dock, in turn connected to my Lenovo P73 laptop via one of
> its TB3 ports. The whole setup is close to two years old, during which
> time this is the sixth case where the RAID has failed.
>
> When I got up this morning everything was running, so it couldn't have
> been caused by a power glitch. There are lots of other electrical
> devices around the house that tell me when PGE hasn't been playing nice
> - e.g., the clocks on the range and microwave will be flashing, the
>   bedroom television that runs all night will be off, among others.

If it's not a power problem then maybe cabling. How long are your
Thunderbolt cables?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Restart mdadm? SOLVED

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 3:57 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> On Sun, 27 Nov 2022 12:49:54 -0800 (PST)
> Rich Shepard  dijo:
>
> >On Sun, 27 Nov 2022, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> >
> >> I've searched documentation on mdadm and I can't figure out if there
> >> is a way to just restart the array. Suggestions?
>
> >How do I reactivate my MDADM RAID5 array? - Super User You should try
> >stopping and re-starting the array: mdadm --stop /dev/md0 mdadm
> >--assemble --scan to re-assemble the array and if that doesn't work,
> >you may need to update your mdadm.conf, see for example this question
> >for details on how to do that. Share Improve this answer Follow edited
> >Mar 20, 2017 at 10:17 Community Bot 1
> >
> >mdadm RAID array stop and restart - Ask Ubuntu https://askubuntu.com ›
> >questions › 1398907 › mdadm-raid-array-stop-and-restart Mar 23,
> >2022Now to stop the array and restart it , I'm following below steps:
> >mdadm --stop device mdadm --create . (the same command which I
> >used to create the array at first) --- > Is it correct process to stop
> >and restart RAID arrays? --- > Should I run "mdadm --zero ..." to
> >clear superblock after stopping array ? Is it mandatory step to stop
> >array?
>
> Rich, I found that AskUbuntu web page, but I note that the question
> received no answers. In any event, stopping the array was a problem:
>
> sudo mdadm --stop /dev/md0
> mdadm: Cannot get exclusive access to /dev/md0:Perhaps a running
> process, mounted filesystem or active volume group?
>
> The error message is hardly a surprise, since /dev/md0 was mounted -
> sudo mount gave me dozens of lines, including:
> /dev/md0p1 on /media/jjj/Movies type ext4
>
> And then sudo umount /dev/md0p1 worked. But when I tried to remount it
> I got:
> sudo mount -a (it's in fstab)
> mount: /media/jjj/Movies: can't read superblock on /dev/md0p1
>
> So then I did 'sudo mdadm --stop /dev/md0,' which returned:
> mdadm: stopped /dev/md0
>
> And then I found a page that gave me the final solution:
>
> sudo mdadm -A -s
> mdadm: /dev/md/0 has been started with 4 drives.
>
> Where -A = --assemble and -s = --scan, which scans for all arrays
> located in /etc/mdadm/mdadm.config - checked earlier so I knew /dev/md0
> was in there with its UUID. I note that the documentation for --assemble
> is confusing. Nowhere did I find anything that said its purpose is to
> *restart* an already created array. I was afraid it would create a new
> array.
>
> I could have continued with mounting it on the command line, but my GUI
> file manager auto-mounts everything in 'Places' just by clicking on it,
> so I clicked on it, et voilà!! I'm back in business!
>
> This array has been a pain for the past year and a half, so I'm going
> to copy this whole discussion into my 'Commands.txt' file for future
> reference. I still need to figure out why the array keeps failing, but
> at least now I can recover somewhat gracefully.
>
> Thanks for poking me in the right direction!
>

So reassembling is what was needed, but you don't need to force it. Now if
you just had some way to automate that.  Have you connected your external
enclosure to the UPS so that it is protected from temporary power
disruptions?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Restart mdadm?

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 2:30 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> It's happened again. One of my RAID0 arrays just stopped working. The
> mount command shows it as mounted, but neither the command line nor any
> GUI file managers can see any files, and if I try to open a file that I
> know is there I get "Error reading file: Input / output error."
> Attempts to umount it fail because mount thinks it is busy, and "mount
> -a" executes without error, but does nothing.
>
> From previous experience the solution is to reboot, which restarts the
> array and all is well again. I've never lost any data, and if I did I
> have a full mirror on a Synology, but it's a major PITA to have to
> reboot.
>
> I've searched documentation on mdadm and I can't figure out if there is
> a way to just restart the array. Suggestions?
>


I can see what the problem is.  MDADM monitors your disks. If a certain
number of them fail, the whole array is considered to have failed.  When
your external enclosure gets disconnected or turned off then mdadm thinks
too many drives have failed and it fails the whole array.  I think to fix
it you have to force it to reassemble. I can't test this so I may be
wrong.

mdadm --assemble --force /dev/md0

substitute your raid device for /dev/md0.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] SSH to external site not responsive

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 3:07 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Thu, 17 Nov 2022, Tomas Kuchta wrote:
>
> > Many shared hosting providers let people to sftp, but not ssh. This is
> > because there are many users/website on the host and executing stuff
> could
> > impact them all.
>
> NFS allows ssh for members; that's why they tell us to log in via ssh in
> order to run the tls import script.
>
> Rich
>
The FAQ https://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/q/SSHUsername
Sure you need to look at the sites panel on your web interface to get the
appropriate user name for the corresponding protocol. The username might be
different for each protocol and for each domain you are trying to access.
Bill

>
>

Re: [PLUG] Renewing TLS/SSL certificate [RESOLVED]

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 6, 2022 at 2:15 PM Rich Shepard 
wrote:

> On Sun, 6 Nov 2022, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > You already have this sorted, but if you were to use  Let's Encrypt
> > certificates <https://letsencrypt.org/>then it is possible, if
> configured
> > correctly, to have the certificates automatically updated.
>
> Bill,
>
> If I wanted to pay ZeroSSL for a one-year subscription it would be renewed
> automatically. However, I prefer the 90-day subscription that is free (as
> in
> beer).
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich
>

Rich,

Let's Encrypt certificates are also free and have a 90 day expiration
although I think they recommend renewing them every 60 days.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Renewing TLS/SSL certificate [RESOLVED]

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Nov 6, 2022 at 12:03 PM Rich Shepard 
wrote:

> On Sun, 6 Nov 2022, Kevin Williams wrote:
>
> > I’m glad to see you got it installed successfully. I’m curious what app
> > you used to re-issue the certificate. Certbot? Lego?
>
> Kevin,
>
> I didn't use an app. I logged into my zerossl.com and followed the long
> process of having new certificate and private key files generated,
> validated, and downloaded (as a .zip file in my case) because I have no
> idea
> how to have zerossl install the for me on my web site host account.
>
> Rich
>

You already have this sorted, but if you were to use  Let's Encrypt
certificates then it is possible, if configured
correctly, to have the certificates automatically updated.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Small script to run tftp

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Oct 15, 2022 at 3:21 PM Chuck Hast  wrote:

> Folks,
> I have some WiFi devices that I am loading code into to convert
> them to something called AREDN, Amateur Radio Emergency
> Data Network. Most of them use tftp to upload the new image
> into the device. After doing several of them I tried to figure out
> how to write a small script to do the tftp uploads. The steps are
> as follows
> kp4djt@kp4djt64:~$ tftp 192.168.1.1
> tftp> bin(set binary transfer)
> tftp> trace on   (set trace on)
> Packet tracing on.(response)
> tftp> put /tftp/file.bin   (file to send to device)
>
> At this point it will either start showing blocks being
> sent or will time out
> I would like to write a script that just runs that, I would
> have 2 versions one for devices which default to 192.168.1.1
> and those who use .1.20, then it runs and all I have to do
> is either edit it and put the upload file in or have it stop
> and I paste/type the file name in and turn it loose.
>
> Of course as soon as you invoke tftp it jumps into it's own
> interface, I googled for writing scripts to control tftp, I saw
> some that embed it in a bash script but appears that you
> i have to make the tftp entries by hand with those scripts.
>
> Anyone have any idea of how to write a script to invoke
> tftp and insert commands to tftp?
>

Don't know about the trace on, but adapted from
https://superuser.com/questions/1116413/can-you-tftp-download-a-file-in-one-line

tftp -m binary  "192.168.1.1"  -c put "/tftp/file.bin"

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Offsite backup

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Oct 14, 2022 at 8:39 PM Simon McGrath 
wrote:

> I wonder if a PO box would be similar.
>
> -Simon
>
> On Fri, 2022-10-14 at 18:00 -0700, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> > For years, I've stored offsite backup hard drives in a
> > safe deposit box at the Beaverton Unitus Credit Union.
> > They no longer offer that service.
> >
> > Suggestions for secure (dry, theftproof, fireproof)
> > alternatives?
> >
> > Keith
> >
>
> Put it in a fireproof safe and give it to a friend.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Adding another DNS record

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Oct 10, 2022 at 3:53 PM Rich Shepard 
wrote:

> I want to add another DNS record for my web host, one that allows access to
> the site using https://appl-ecosys.com in addition to the current
> https://www.appl-ecosys.com. My long chat with a namecheap tech didn't
> provide me with the answer.
>
> Here's a summary of the current DNS records (IP addresses redacted):
> TypeHostValue
> A record@   Office static IP address
> A recordmailOffice static IP address
> A recordwww Web site host IP address
> TXT record  @   v=spf1@office static IP address
> TXT record  @   v=spf2@office static IP address
>
> How can I allow web site visitors to access it without the 'www' prefix?
>
> TIA,
>
> Rich
>

Looks like you are pointing appl-ecosys.com at your office, you will have
to give that up to point it to your website.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Firefox Updates In Mint

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Sep 25, 2022 at 6:14 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:
>
> I am running Mint on my main desktop machine. Everything I find on the web
> says that Firefox should automatically update, however, mine is still on
> 88.0 when the current version is 105. Apparently I am missing something
> somewhere. I periodically run "sudo apt update" and "sudo apt upgrade" and
> it does lots of things, but I can't tell if anything Firefox related is in
> the list.
>
> Interestingly, I found several pages that talk about Ubuntu/Mint Firefox
> upgrades and all mention versions 83, 89, 99, 102, and 103, none say
> anything about the version 88 I have on my system.
>
> Thanks for any ideas.
>
> Michael

The apt version of Firefox does not automatically update. You have to
uninstall the apt version and install the version directly from
Mozilla to get the automatic updates.
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Off topic but not sure who to ask

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 9:31 PM Chuck Hast  wrote:

> I wonder how much of this they keep. She has already
> tried to explain that as executor she cannot leave the
> country until the job is done. I had thought about doing
> that but wonder if someone would then challenge based
> on her previous statements.
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 8:57 PM wes  wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 6:27 PM Chuck Hast  wrote:
> >
> > > Folks,
> > > This does not have anything to do with Linux but I figure
> > > that if there are folks who may know how to deal with
> > > this one it will be here.
> > > Both my wife and I have Google Fi as our cell service.
> > > It has worked well for us up until now.
> > > She is presently in Costa Rica as the executor of her
> > > dad's estate. He passed on in January this year.
> > > She cannot leave the country until the job of the
> > > executorship has been taken care of, the judge has
> > > even ordered her imigration data to see if she has
> > > left the country for any amount of time.
> > >
> > >
> > > She has a Pixel 5a 5g. The mother board died on it
> > > she shipped it back to me so I could get it taken care
> > > of. I called Google as it is under warranty and she
> > > has also been paying insurance for it.
> > >
> > > After much ado about confirming who she is we finally
> > > got all of that straight last Saturday. The CSR got all
> > > of the information and told her that they were going to
> > > email her a RMA form to fill out. She never got it.
> > > On investigating we got the following email from them.
> > >
> > > Hi Iliana,
> > >
> > > Thank you for contacting Google Fi support!
> > >
> > > I see that you are looking for an email with RMA details for the
> > > replacement device. I have checked the details with the device IMEI:
> > > **0980 and see that the replacement has not been processed yet.
> > As
> > > you are outside the US, even though we process the RMA, you will not be
> > > able to order the replacement device. Hence, we request you to contact
> us
> > > again once you are back in the US, we will help you with the
> replacement.
> > >
> > > If you have any further questions, feel free to reply to this email or
> > > contact us over Chat
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://support.google.com/fi/contact/chat_fi_tech_support?hl=en&cfnti=escalationflow.chat&cft=1&visit_id=63794134029407-4011495741&rd=1
> > > >
> > > (click
> > > on this link, enter your details and click on submit to initiate a chat
> > > request) or Phone (1-844-Talk2Fi) available with a limited team.
> > >
> > > We're here to support 24/7!
> > > She sent an email explaining that she was there dealing
> > > with the death of her father and that she was not able to
> > > leave the country until the executorship had been taken
> > > care of.
> > >
> > > She got about the same reply on that they were sorry about
> > > her loss.
> > >
> > > She has pointed them to her purchase history on Google
> > > Store and the fact that her home address is still here in
> > > the USA and it is the same address that the used to ship
> > > the phones and other items too.
> > >
> > > I am trying to sort this out, I have tried to find other ways
> > > to contact someone above these call centers in the Philippines
> > > and India, but to no avail. They cannot seem to understand
> > > that they are not sending the device out of the country
> > > just to her home address.
> > >
> > > Sorry to make this so long but a lot of you have to deal with
> > > some of these big tech folks and hope someone can give
> > > me somewhere to aim.
> > >
> > >
> > I do this sort of thing all the time. I do not think there will be an
> > honest way to resolve this. I would just start a chat with them and say
> "my
> > name is Iliana and I'm back at home now, please send the RMA." they'll
> send
> > it to you, you'll ship the phone, they'll ship it back to you, you'll
> ship
> > it back to costa rica. problem solved.
> >
> > or, Iliana can start the chat herself and make the same claim.
> >
> > if neither of you is willing to go this route, the next thing to try
> would
> > be to call in, and just ask for a supervisor. tell them there's a dispute
> > about the RMA situation or something, but don't give specifics, as they
> > will just insist on giving you the same answer. this is not likely to
> work
> > but is your best bet.
> >
> > -wes
> >
>
>
> --
>
> Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
> I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
> Ph 4:13 KJV
> Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece.
> Fil 4:13 RVR1960
>

Or just send her some cheap replacement phone and resolve everything when
she gets back. There are plenty of cheap phones that work with Fi and it is
easy to set one up.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Vobsub2srt

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Sep 12, 2022 at 2:33 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> On Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:57:57 -0400
> Tomas Kuchta  dijo:
>
> >The issue is your tesseract is snap and vobsub2srt is not. Snap
> >packages cannot share libraries, that is the point of snaps.
> >
> >You need to:
> >a) find snap version of vobsub2srt which includes tesseract libs.
> >b) find not snap tesseract package.
> >
> >If your vobsub2srt is snap, do a) else b)
>
> Actually, my tesseract is apt and my vobsub2srt is snap. And there is
> no snap for tesseract and there is no apt for vobsub2srt. There are
> also a couple of PPAs to install later versions of tesseract, including
> 5.0, but that doesn't sound like the right move.
>
> Maybe I can find an old version of vobsub2srt from before snap existed.
>

The instructions for installing in in Ubuntu 12.1 are given in this github
repository
 https://github.com/ruediger/VobSub2SRT
If there is not an updated version you could download or create an Ubuntu
12.1 Virtual machine and install your software there.  There are also
Docker containers for Tesseract, but that would require you to install
Docker.
https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/tessdoc/Docker-Containers.html

Bill

Re: [PLUG] On line banking with Ubuntu & U.S.Bank

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Jul 6, 2022 at 2:25 AM jim karlock  wrote:
>
> I have been using ubuntu 14.04 for online banking with U.S Bank for
> over 5 years.
>
> About a week ago, clicking the sign in button quit producing a log in
> window. Today, U.S>Bank support told me that it was probably the use
> of Ubuntu instead of Windows or MacOS.
>
> Is anyone using Ubuntu with U.S.Bank? If so is my use of 14.04 likely
> the problem? I guess that would indicate an upgrade to a newer
> version, but I hate the problems that come with changing versions. The
> update popup, which I always update, suggest 16.07.7 (long term
> support). Should I do that one or a newer one?
>
> Thanks
> JK

Do you really need to upgrade the whole operating system? You probably
just need to upgrade your browser.  You could install the newest
version of Firefox or Chrome and try that. Here is the link for
Firefox
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Thunderbird Login Issue

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Jun 12, 2022 at 12:10 PM Tomas Kuchta
 wrote:
>
> FWIW:
>
> There used to be a way to enable insecure applications under google account.
>
> -T
>
They removed that.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Thunderbird Login Issue

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Jun 11, 2022 at 1:23 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
>
> Grouse, grouse. Google is always trying to be "helpful."
>
> I logged in to Google Mail via a browser, found where to turn on two
> factor authentication, and turned it on. I still can't log in from
> Thunderbird. I tried shutting down T-Bird and starting it back up, but
> that didn't help. I logged back in to Google Mail where it tells me two
> factor authentication is turned on. Sigh. Fortunately, I don't use gmail
> too often, and I can always check it in a browser, but it's annoying.
>
> Thanks for letting me know about their requirement.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>

Go to this page.
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833
Follow the instructions for "Create & use  App Passwords" create an
App password and use it in Thunderbird instead of the password you are
currently using.  When you create the password it is displayed with as
4 sets of 4 characters separated by spaces. Do not use the spaces when
you enter it in Thunderbird.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Thunderbird Login Issue

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Jun 11, 2022 at 10:45 AM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> When I try to log in to my Gmail account via Thunderbird I get the message:
>
> Sending of password for user [my account name]@gmail.com did not
> succeed. Mail server pop.googlemail.com responded: Username and password
> not accepted.
>
> If I try to log in via a browser, the password works. My other email
> accounts work fine in Thunderbird. Any idea what gives?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>

This has to do with a change that Google made to Gmail. On May 30 or
thereabouts they made it so that "insecure apps" can't access Gmail
using the regular Gmail login name and password. I know this affects
Microsoft Outlook and I am assuming from your description that it
affects Thunderbird. In order to fix the issue you have to enable two
factor authentication  on your Google account. Then instead of  your
regular password you will have to use an App Password.  There are more
details about how to do this here
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255?hl=en

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Are cheap switches with flawed VLANs safe enough?

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Jun 6, 2022 at 6:16 PM Russell Senior  wrote:
>
> There are some switches supported in OpenWrt. I have, for example,
> some Netgear GS108Tv3, based on a RealTek rtl838x. There are a bunch
> of others supported with the same family of chips.
>

And many of the routers supported by OpenWrt can be configured as VLAN
switches. I did that with a TP-Link Archer C5.


Bill

Re: [PLUG] Alcatel Linkzone sold by T-Mobile, labeled "4G LTE HotSpot

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Jun 4, 2022, 12:07 PM Richard Owlett  wrote:

> I am using an Alcatel Linkzone sold by T-Mobile.
> It is labeled "4G LTE HotSpot.
> The WiFi has been turned off via the device's setup menu.
>
> Is anyone on this list using that device? ??  ;}
>
>
> I am trying to install Debian 11.3
>[requires non-free firmware]
>
> I have succeeded. *ROFL* ;/
>*BUT* I'm trying to document encountered problems.
>
> I'm developing a test procedure to be the basis of a "bug report".
>
> I am looking for a fellow Linkzone user to be a QC checkpoint.
>
> Takers &/or comments.
> TIA
>
>
>

The standard way to do this would be to just publish your instructions and
procedures. If somebody then reads and follows them they might provide you
feedback if necessary.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Dual booting Windows/Linux on relatively recent hardware

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 3:19 PM Jeff Kirsher  wrote:
>
> Dual booting should not be a problem. I just recently created a dual
> boot of Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 without any issue.  If you want to
> do the dual boot, I would suggest installing Windows first or if the
> laptop came with Windows, then you will need to resize the Windows
> partition to give room to install Linux.  Most Linux distributions
> today should be able to handle that type of install.
>
> Although I like the idea of running Linux and just make Windows a VM,
> that way you could still remotely access their system via Linux, while
> they play in Windows.  I actually did something similar almost 20
> years ago for my mother-in-law, since I did not want to keep running
> over to her place to fix her computer.


7-8  years ago I switched my mother's computer to linux. She never
noticed. She said she needed Quicken and I created a virtual machine
from her old Windows installation that ran Quicken, but she never used
it. She just used the browser which was identical across installs.
Windows itself changes so often that people would not notice some
minor menu changes. It has probably saved me at least a month of work
not having to maintain that.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Rotating greeter screen in Mate Ubuntu 20.04

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 9:49 PM Keith Lofstrom  wrote:
>
> I use rotated monitors ("tallscreens") for my computers.
>
> How do I configure lightdm for a screen rotated right?
>
> 
>
> I've learned how to rotate the framebuffers for grub boot
> and my mostly working Mate-Ubuntu 20.04 desktop displays.
>
> However, the login screen for mate-ubuntu uses the lightdm
> display manager, and I haven't yet figured out how to
> rotate the screen for that login page.
>
> It's not a huge problem - all I need to do (for now) is
> remember that the mouse moves sideways and jostle the
> pointer into the password box, but at some point I will
> add other users to the console login menu, or forget
> how to "think sideways".
>
> Frankly, I would prefer to log in from the same text
> screen as boot, THEN have a LOGIN SCRIPT fire up Mate
> instead of a GUI greeter, but I don't know how to make
> that happen either.
>

Since the switch over to systemd the process is much different, but
here are the instructions for setting things up to boot into console
mode
https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2020/05/boot-ubuntu-20-04-command-console/

and once in console mode here are the instructions for starting the gui
https://linuxconfig.org/start-gui-from-command-line-on-ubuntu-20-04-focal-fossa

I have not tested those steps, but they look like the right approach.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Getting preferred browser to work in Xubuntu 20.04

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 4:58 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 3/16/22 14:45, Rich Shepard wrote:
> > On Wed, 16 Mar 2022, Dick Steffens wrote:
> >
> >> Yes, but it won't let me change it, nor let me uncheck the "check to see
> >> if Firefox is the default browser."
> >
> > Dick,
> >
> > If you open the Brave browser and go to preferences it should ask you
> > if you
> > want to make it the default. They all want to be the default so the
> > option
> > should be there, somewhere. :-)
> >
> > Rich
>
>
> Yep. Brave says it's my default browser, too, with no way to change it.
>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>
>From your description you want to set the mail preference, not the
browser preference.
There are some suggestions here
https://community.brave.com/t/brave-and-mailto-handlers/148572/2

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Using dmesg to find system starting delay

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Mar 4, 2022, 4:08 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Fri, 4 Mar 2022, Tomas Kuchta wrote:
>
> > 2. Start looking/using at man pages, info pages and other on-line
> > up-to-date sources.
>
> >> None have a current update nor describe boot issues appropriate for my
> >> situation.
>
> Rich
>

>

I think you need to buy a third laptop because it can't possibly be related
to the software :)  How about disabling ntp for a while and see if that
fixes it.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Replacement laptop

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 2:08 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> On Fri, 25 Feb 2022, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > So this is on a totally clean install of the newest version of Slackware?
> > That's a major bug. Seems like someone else would have noticed this. Is
> > there a slightly newer version where this might be fixed?
>
> Bill,
>
> I think the boot process for the 5.15.19 kernel is why it hangs at ntpd.
> Just now I walked away and started cooking lunch and it eventually completed
> booting. This pause is new; I acknowledge that it's probably due to the
> newer kernal and no longer an issue.

This could be some type of network issue. Maybe the rc.ntpd script is
expecting the network to be up but that now happens later in the
bootup and so it just hangs waiting for something that is not there.
Did you write the rc.ntpd script or is it part of this fresh Slackware
installation?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Replacement laptop

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 1:36 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> On Fri, 25 Feb 2022, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > What kind of major issues installing slackware? I would think the best
> > laptop is the one you have. I don't think they have not improved
> > dramatically over the last few years in any dimension that will matter to
> > you. You don't need a high end gaming graphics card or an expensive gpu to
> > do machine learning do you? The most relevant thing that has improved are
> > SSD interfaces, but even there I would not think you really need a cutting
> > edge SSD drive. You could just figure out what the problem is with the
> > installation.
>
> Bill,
>
> I'd much prefer to get the Dell running consistently. It's met all my needs
> as a portable work station since I bought it. And it has a fairly new 500G
> SSD installed (and I think it's a Samsung; I don't have the specs recorded
> here.)
>
> The two issues I've encountered (which did not appear in earlier Slackware
> versions on it) are:
>
> 1) Booting hanging when loading ntpd, despite rc.ntpd (the script that loads
> it on demand) is not executable. Doesn't happen every time which makes it
> difficult to diagnose.

So this is on a totally clean install of the newest version of
Slackware? That's a major bug. Seems like someone else would have
noticed this. Is there a slightly newer version where this might be
fixed?
>
> 2) Inability to log in as a user. There's no error, only a return to the
> login prompt. Again, intermittent, but has not happened on any desktop or
> laptop I've used since I switched from Red Hat to Slackware in 2003.

This needs more explanation. When is it returning to the login prompt?
After you have successfully logged in? Or are you not getting logged
in at all?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Replacement laptop

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 10:32 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> I think it's time to replace my Dell Latitude E5410 since it's giving me
> fits installing Slackware64-15.0. It's run Slackware since about 2010,
> upgraded as new releases became available, but now it has major issues with
> the new release and a full, clean installation. (My Lenovo ThinkPad X200 has
> no issues with 15.0 but is too limited as a portable work station.)
>
> I'm looking at Dell and Lenovo ThinkPads, 13"-14" screens preferred, but I
> accept that 15"+ are now the most common. I also want to spend as little as
> necessary to get a reliable laptop that will last like the Dell and X200
> have.
>
> Recommendations and suggestions solicited.

What kind of major issues installing slackware? I would think the best
laptop is the one you have. I don't think they have not improved
dramatically over the last few years in any dimension that will matter
to you. You don't need a high end gaming graphics card or an expensive
gpu to do machine learning do you? The most relevant thing that has
improved are SSD interfaces, but even there I would not think you
really need a cutting edge SSD drive. You could just figure out what
the problem is with the installation.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] HDMI output

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 4:58 PM VY  wrote:
>
> Hi All
>
> I am testing my Dell laptop with a Linux Mint bootable USB drive.
> Things are all working except HDMI.
> I tried connecting 2 different monitors (using 2 different HDMI cables) but
> it just won't detect the external monitor.
>
> The Window 11 OS is able to see the external monitor so it is not hardware.
> Are there additional config I need to do for this external monitor to work?
>
> thanks
>
> -v
Which Dell Laptop do you have? Which Version of LInux Mint is on the
USB? Maybe it is the same as the problem described here.
https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=349052

Bill

Re: [PLUG] installing NVidia driver

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Feb 17, 2022 at 2:58 PM VY  wrote:
>
> Hello all,  need some advice on installing Nvidia driver.
>
> I just got a Dell laptop and plan to use Linux Mint on it.
> I saw under "Software Manager" of latest Linux Mint, it has an Nvidia driver
> of version x.x.047.   Nvidia website has version x.x.51.
> I downloaded the latest from Nvidia.
> When trying to run it, it said that I have "X server" running and I need to
> quite that before
> running installation again.
>
> What is the recommendation?  Should I stick with the latest on Software
> Manager?
> Or if I am adventurous enough, I do "sudo init 3", install the latest
> driver and reboot?
>
> Just want to see what folks have done recently.
>
> thanks
>
> -v

I would vote don't be adventurous with Nvidia drivers unless you
really need something from a new driver or you really have a lot of
time to waste fixing things.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Login keyring

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 1:04 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> I could use some suggestions.
This gives a high level summary of what keyring does.
https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-keyring/
For your purposes it gives the suggestion that has already been
proposed here. Give the keyring an empty password and it will not
bother you.  The other possibly useful thing it says is that Seahorse
has been renamed on some systems to  "Password and Keys"

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Brave Browser?

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022 at 5:16 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 2/14/22 15:07, King Beowulf wrote:
> > On 2/14/22 14:49, Dick Steffens wrote:
> >> Is anybody using the Brave browser?
> >>
> >> Good? Bad? Indifferent?
> >>
> > Brave browser is a bit of an odd derivative of chromium.  It is focused
> > on privacy, but also has set up an advertising network that pays users
> > to view optional adds via BAT (cryptocurrency) tokens.
> >
> > "good" or "bad" will depend on your views toward online advertising.
> > Brave does have quite a few nifty features.
> >
> > Additional info here:
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_(web_browser)
> >
> > -Ed
> >
> >
>
> Thanks. I'm trying things other than Firefox to see of Firefox has
> anything to do with my system sluggishness.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>
Firefox and Chrome and I assume Brave all have their own builtin task
managers where you can monitor which websites are hogging your CPU. On
Firefox it is at
the url about:performance

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Remove raid1 (/dev/md0) and its disks [DONE]

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Feb 11, 2022 at 9:50 AM Tomas Kuchta
 wrote:
>
> On Fri, Feb 11, 2022, 08:39 Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 10 Feb 2022, Galen Seitz wrote:
> >
> > > Using UUIDs should prevent much of this grief. For example, here's a line
> > > from mdadm.conf on one my my machines:
> >
> > Galen/Tomas:
> >
> > Okay. I've six mdadm.conf files here, including /etc/mdadm.conf which is
> > all
> > commented out. Since mdadm has been working on creating the raid1 for about
> > 17.5 hours now there may be content in there when it's finished.
> >
> > I'll learn more about using UUIDs in fstab as well as mdadm and use them. I
> > have a record of them for the hdds in the Probox and can get the ones for
> > the SSD and HDD in the desktop from fdisk.
> > .
>
>
> The point about not using /dev/sd*, especially with external enclosures, is
> that the device letter can change (not just once) during the array build.
>
> If you want to be sure that your storage works, just go to the begging and
> use uuids to build and use the array. That is my advice anyway.
>
> There is not much to learn about uuids, they are just a disk or partition
> identifier, like /dev/sd*
>
> Note: uuids for the disk and its partitions can change when creating
> partitioning. They are assigned by fdisk/parted/etc. Essentially, you
> manage uuids yourself.
>
> Tomas

You should also be aware of the useful tool  blkid which lists your
block devices and their uuids.

BIll

Re: [PLUG] Remove raid1 (/dev/md0) and its disks [DONE]

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 4:18 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> On Thu, 10 Feb 2022, Rich Shepard wrote:
>
> > A clue is needed so I can rebuild the RAID1 and rebuild my backup bank.
>
> I turned off the Probox, waited a bit, turned it back on. Then rebooted the
> desktop. Once again the four drives in the Probox are /dev/sd{c,d,e,f} so I
> can now rebuild the RAID1 on the latter two drives.
>
> Rich

I don't know how far into setting this up, but you might want to
consider a ZFS mirror instead of the mdadm raid1.  It could be a
little easier to manage. I don't know if Slackware supports it
directly but here is a description of using it on Arch
https://briankoopman.com/moving/

Others in the group might have an opinion about whether or not one is
easier than the other.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Burning DVD from command line with dd

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Feb 6, 2022 at 9:52 PM Russell Senior  wrote:
>
> On Sun, Feb 6, 2022, 19:38 Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> > On Mon, 7 Feb 2022, King Beowulf wrote:
> >
> > > 1. as started, you do NOT mount the optical drive to burn. It is not a
> > > mass storage device in this case.
> >
> > Ed,
> >
> > I've never mounted the optical drive; I've used xcdroast but now it has
> > library issues and won't work. When k3b told me the optical drive is read
> > only I thought it was because the cdrom entry in /etc/fstab set it ro.
> >
> > > 2. you MUST use burner s/w since the optical drive needs to be put into
> > > burn mode - laser from "read" to "write" power etc.
> > > 3. If you log in as 'root' you can simply
> >
> > Neither xcdroast nor k3b finds the drive writable when invoked by root,
> > either.
> >
>
> Maybe it is the media you put in the drive. You did put dvd-r media in the
> drive, right?
>

And further than that empty non written on dvd-r media.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Burning DVD from command line with dd

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Feb 5, 2022 at 6:11 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> On Sat, 5 Feb 2022, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > fstab is not the source of information for whether something is mounted or
> > not. fstab is read by mount at boot time to know which drives to mount and
> > how and where to mount them. It might also be read when you try to mount
> > something later, but as you have noted, you can edit fstab all you want
> > and if you don't then mount/remount the drives their mount status will not
> > be changed by your edits.
>
> BIll,
>
> The issue I have with writing an .iso to a DVD-R disk is the tools see the
> optical drive as read only; not writable. The optical drive is not mounted.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich

As Russell pointed out you do not even have the cdrom mounted to use
the cdwrite tools. They will need permissions to access the devices,
but those permissions do not come through mount. I have not done this
in a while, but there is some group that you add your user to to give
them permissions to do cd writing.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Burning DVD from command line with dd

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Feb 5, 2022 at 5:33 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> On Sat, 5 Feb 2022, Russell Senior wrote:
>
> > You shouldn't need to reboot.
> > ls -l /dev/sr0
> > Mine looks like:
> >
> >  $ ls -al /dev/sr0
> >  brw-rw+ 1 root cdrom 11, 0 Feb  1 17:07 /dev/sr0
>
> Russell,
>
>   ll /dev/sr0
> brw-rw 1 root cdrom 11, 0 Feb  5 14:33 /dev/sr0
>
> If dd and k3b don't mount the drive where are they seeing that it's read
> only if not from fstab?
>

fstab is not the source of information for whether something is
mounted or not. fstab is read by mount at boot time to know which
drives to mount and how and where to mount them.
It might also be read when you try to mount something later, but as
you have noted, you can edit fstab all you want and if you don't then
mount/remount the drives their mount status will not be changed by
your edits.

BIll

Re: [PLUG] Location Server?

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 6:36 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 7:51 AM Bill Barry  wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 3, 2022, 1:48 AM Russell Senior 
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Your computers will, of course, be in different locations, but I
>> > concur on gpsd as probably the right tools for what you describe.
>> >
>> > On Wed, Feb 2, 2022 at 10:06 PM Michael Barnes 
>> > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > I know about time (ntp) servers I can hook a GPS to a computer and
>> > > broadcast time to the other computers in my local network.
>> > >
>> > > Is it possible to do this with location information? I have various
>> > > programs which can take data from a GPS dongle and use it in the program
>> > > for different purposes. With a number of computers in my office, I would
>> > > like to somehow hook only one to a GPS and share the location data
>> > > throughout the network. Otherwise, I have to get multiple GPS receivers
>> > and
>> > > hook one to each computer.
>> > >
>> > > Is this doable?
>> > >
>> > > Thanks,
>> > > Michael
>> >
>>
>> >
>>
>> Assuming the computers are not moving  you could just use the gps to
>> determine their position one time and record it in some file on that
>> computer.
>>
>> Bill
>
>
> Incorrect assumption. Ultimately, if this proves to be viable, it would be 
> incorporated into a deployment package where multiple operating positions 
> would be deployed to a site. There would be multiple computers that would 
> have various applications running that need to have accurate position 
> information. Right now, those applications are looking for serial GPS 
> connections. Somewhat related to this is a marine application for boats that 
> have a central GPS device that would feed several devices needing location 
> data. Having a separate GPS receiver for each piece of equipment is 
> impractical.
>
> Michael
>

gpsd might be what you are looking for,  but it also should be
possible to use socat to share the serial port.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22624653/create-a-virtual-serial-port-connection-over-tcp/22689163

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Location Server?

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Feb 3, 2022, 1:48 AM Russell Senior 
wrote:

> Your computers will, of course, be in different locations, but I
> concur on gpsd as probably the right tools for what you describe.
>
> On Wed, Feb 2, 2022 at 10:06 PM Michael Barnes 
> wrote:
> >
> > I know about time (ntp) servers I can hook a GPS to a computer and
> > broadcast time to the other computers in my local network.
> >
> > Is it possible to do this with location information? I have various
> > programs which can take data from a GPS dongle and use it in the program
> > for different purposes. With a number of computers in my office, I would
> > like to somehow hook only one to a GPS and share the location data
> > throughout the network. Otherwise, I have to get multiple GPS receivers
> and
> > hook one to each computer.
> >
> > Is this doable?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Michael
>

>

Assuming the computers are not moving  you could just use the gps to
determine their position one time and record it in some file on that
computer.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Evil thermostat

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Feb 1, 2022, 2:08 PM Chuck Hast  wrote:

> Tomas,
> Now that I know how to deal with it, I think it
> is worth it. I do not have to get up and go to


>

One good way to handle unknown devices like that is too create an interface
on your router  for those devices and firewall it off from internal and
external access. You can then create a separate SSID on the access point
that is associated with that interface.

Bill Barry.

Re: [PLUG] Speaker control: more than volume

[Bill Barry]

Are you having trouble with all podcasts or do some have clear audio?

Bill

On Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 1:17 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> I have a pair of small speakers that work really well with music but lack
> clarity for voice reproduction. Alsamixer can control volume but not
> frequency response.
>
> Is there a tool that will provide me with better spoken audio such as
> podcasts or news sites?
>
> Rich
>

Re: [PLUG] Connect BT keyboard to headless Raspberry

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Jan 22, 2022 at 1:11 AM Robert Citek  wrote:

> On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 1:45 PM Eric House  wrote:
>
> > > With screen you can resize the terminal size to fit using ctrl-a F  -
> > > that's your screen's control command followed by a capital F.
> >
> > That works! If I have two different terminals ssh'd into the same screen
> > session and resize one then ctrl-A F it, the session in the other
> terminal
> > changes size to match.
> >
> > But: unlike with tmux (which is totally new to me as I said), the two
> > sessions are not kept in sync.
> > If I switch panes in one, or split the window, the other doesn't change.
> > Since one of my sessions will be invisible, I need it to automatically
> > follow whatever I do in the other so that keystrokes will always go
> where I
> > can see them. Is that possible with screen? Seems a useful feature e.g.
> for
> > demonstrating something remotely, but I can't find anything even asking
> how
> > to do it (so I'm probably asking the wrong question)
> >
>
> tl;dr: don't split screens in multi-user sessions.  Use a single window and
> a single region.
>
> Just a bit of nomenclature to make sure we are on the same page.  There are
> four main objects with screen: a session, a window, a layout, and a
> region.  By default a new screen "session" creates a new "window" and
> displays it in a single "region". But it can get more complex. A session
> can contain one or more windows and one or more regions.  The arrangement
> of regions ( i.e. number, size, position ) is called a "layout".  Regions
> can be blank or display a window. ( This description is simplified, but
> suffices. )
>
> Here's a walk through to demonstrate.  Type the following commands:
>
> screen -dmS foo# creates a screen session named "foo"
> screen -x foo  # attaches to the screen session named "foo"
>
> At this point you'll have a single screen session named "foo", a single
> window running bash, and a single region displaying the window. Type the
> following commands.
>
> sleep 12345# this is to keep track of what window we are in
> ^ac# create a new window running bash
> sleep 54321# again, to keep track of what window we are in
> ^ac# create a new window running bash
>
> We now have three windows: one with a bash prompt and two running sleep for
> various times.  Type this commands:
>
> ^a"# this will list the windows, press the up/down to move
> between windows, press enter to select
>
> That will allow you to switch between windows.  Because we only have a
> single region, we can only view one window at a time.  Type these command:
>
> ^a|# this will split the region in two with a new blank region
> on the right
> ^a{tab}# this will change focus to the new region; the {tab} is the
> tab key
> ^a"# this will list the windows, press the up/down to move
> between windows, press enter to select
>
> You now have two regions, side-by-side, each displaying one of the
> windows.  In fact, you could have both regions displaying the same window.
> As mentioned before, the arrangement of regions is called a "layout".  Type
> these command:
>
> ^ad# this will detach from the screen session
> screen -x foo  # this will attach to screen session "foo"
>
> Notice that when you detach and then reattach, your layout is apparently
> lost and you have again a single region displaying one of the windows.
> Question:
> Of the three windows, which one will be displayed when you reattach? ( I
> don't know the answer to this, but the choice of window appears arbitrary.
> )It appears that a second connection behaves the same: it starts with a
> single region displaying one of the windows.  It knows nothing about
> existing regions, any layouts, or what window is in what region.
>
> Question: How do you get two connecting processes to have the same layout
> when connected to the same screen session?  Saved layouts ... maybe.  I'm
> not that familiar with working with layouts and haven't had much success
> with them.  And I'm not encouraged from this in the "layout dump"
> command: "While
> the order of the regions are recorded, the sizes of those regions and which
> windows correspond to which regions are not."  But maybe they'll work good
> enough.
>
> https://www.gnu.org/software/screen/manual/html_node/Layout.html
>
> Another possible solution would be to run screen within screen.  That is,
> create two screen sessions, e.g. foo and bar.  Have both users connect to
> session foo and then connect to session bar.  This does have the desired
> effect of being able to create regions in session "bar" and have all
> regions displayed to both users. However, this gets really confusing really
> quickly, but might work for you.
>
> Admittedly, this post turned out longer than I had intended.  But I hope
> that it clarifies how screen works, at least a little.
>
> Good luck and let us know how things work out.
>
> Regards

Re: [PLUG] Connect BT keyboard to headless Raspberry

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 2:45 PM Eric House  wrote:

> > With screen you can resize the terminal size to fit using ctrl-a F  -
> > that's your screen's control command followed by a capital F.
>
> That works! If I have two different terminals ssh'd into the same screen
> session and resize one then ctrl-A F it, the session in the other terminal
> changes size to match.
>
>
I am not entirely sure what you did here. What are the two commands that
you used to connect to the same screen session and how did you start that
initial screen session? I thought the original scenario  was a keyboard
attached to the Pi. You login via the keyboard and start a screen session.
Granted this has to be done blindly because you don't have a display
connected to the Pi. Then from the Ipad you ssh to the Pi and connect to
the screen session started from the Pi keyboard. This has only one ssh
session involved.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Setting to make Firefox look like it's coming from Windows

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 3:05 PM Robert Citek  wrote:

> User-Agent Switcher
>
> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/uaswitcher/
>
> Good luck and let us know how things go.
>
> Regards,
> - Robert
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 1:51 PM Dick Steffens 
> wrote:
>
> > I recall someone mentioning a way to make Firefox look like it's a
> > Windows version instead of a Linux version, but I don't recall what it's
> > called. Can someone please provide a clue stick?
> >
> > The current need is because Comcast downgraded their website (I'm sure
> > they think they upgraded it, but ...). Yesterday morning I was able to
> > reach their TV scheduling page. This morning I get this message:
> >
> > -
> > Xfinity Stream
> > Please download the latest browser version.
> >
> > Before upgrading to the latest browser version, ensure you're on a
> > supported Operating System.
> >
> > Supported Operating Systems
> >  Windows 7+, iOS 11+, Android 7+
> >  Mac OS X 10.14.4+ for Safari
> >  Mac OS X 10.7+ for Chrome and Firefox
> > -
> >
> > I can use my virtual Win7 version of Firefox, but I'd rather not.
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> >
> > Dick Steffens
> >
> >
>

Which version of Firefox are you using? Are you using a package from your
Linux distribution or did you directly download Firefox from Mozilla. I
decided last year sometime that the distribution updates of Firefox were
not keeping up quickly enough so I just installed directly from Mozilla. It
works fine.  I can't tell from the Xfinity junk whether they are checking
for browser versions or operating system but if you just need to update
Firefox here is the link
 https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/
and instructions for installing it on Ubuntu
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FirefoxNewVersion/MozillaBuilds

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Connect BT keyboard to headless Raspberry

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 4:36 PM Eric House  wrote:

> > Your idea should work. I  sort of tested it with the equipment at hand. I
>
> > > first configured the Pi to boot to console using raspi-config. I added
> a
> > > line to the .profile on the Pi to start screen
> > > screen -S raScreen
> > >
> > > then in the .screenrc I have
> > > multiuser on
> > >
> > > This "multiuser on" is not necessary if you are going to ssh into the
> > same
> > user account as screen. I was contemplating a simpler setup  of using ssh
> > to log  into a secondary user account so that the .profile in that
> account
> > would share the screen with the primary user account. that way you would
> > not have to use the "bash -- noprofile" in the ssh.  The other nice
> feature
> > to have would be an autologin by the Pi so that you would not have to
> > blindly enter the username and password, but this is trickier to setup
> and
> > leaves a bit of a security vulnerability.
> >
>
> Ha, it's mostly working! Ok, first I gave up on screen (after 20+ years)
> and switched to tmux, mostly because its name makes help so much easier to
> search for. But I've configured .bashrc so that all interactive logins get
> attached to the same tmux session. And made console logins automatic (after
> modifying sudo to require a password. You need physical access to my Pi (4)
> or a paired bluetooth keyboard, but still better to limit the damage.)
>
> So now I connect the iPad via ssh and the bluetooth keyboard directly and
> its typing shows up on the iPad's screen. Two remaining problems -- that
> might be related, or might be a result of my being a tmux noob.
>
> * Each time I use the keyboard the tmux session shrinks to 80x30, the size
> of /dev/tty1 that the keyboard's talking to. That's maybe 1/3 of the iPad's
> screen.
> * tmux stuff that involves a command buffer, e.g. 'ctrl-b :' doesn't work
> from the keyboard: the buffer doesn't show up, and apparently isn't just
> offscreen because typing something plus return doesn't do anything.
>
> I'm hoping somehow getting /dev/tty1 to report itself as larger lets me
> work around the first problem, and that perhaps I'll find a way to get tmux
> to be the size I tell it to. It's pretty unusual to want the size of the
> session providing keyboard input to be ignored!
>
> (I may try to do this with screen now that I know it's possible. Does
> anybody know if it's better about letting you specify tty dimensions?)
>
> Thanks!
>
> --Eric
>

With screen you can resize the terminal size to fit using ctrl-a F  -
that's your screen's control command followed by a capital F. I don't have
any experience with tmux.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Connect BT keyboard to headless Raspberry Pi?

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 10:51 AM Bill Barry  wrote:

>
>
> On Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 12:04 AM Eric House  wrote:
>
>> Looking to build a portable linux environment that'll run on
>> airplane's USB power I'm playing with a Raspberry Pi, an iPad and a
>> bluetooth keyboard. I run a Bluetooth PAN network on the Pi, ssh into
>> it from the iPad using a terminal app, and connect the keyboard to the
>> iPad so I can actually type.
>>
>> It works pretty well until I fire up emacs. A number of critical key
>> combinations turn out to be captured by iOS. For example, some genius
>> imagined that ctrl-spacebar ought to pop up an emoji picker no matter
>> what app is in use.
>>
>> So I'm wondering: could I connect the keyboard to the Pi instead of
>> the iPad? I could start screen in my ssh session from the iPad, then
>> (after some keyboard magic) run 'screen -x' in the keyboard's session
>> so that my typing would then go into the same screen the iPad was
>> displaying. I'm quickly realizing I don't understand Linux very well
>> at this level: don't even know how to frame the question!
>>
>> Does this sound possible? What are the parts I'd need to configure? It
>> kinda works if the pi has a monitor connected and virtual consoles are
>> available. I haven't had any luck if it's headless, but then I don't know
>> quite where to look.
>>
>> (Yeah, I could get a new laptop that'd have a chance of lasting a
>> flight or charge off USB. I'm shopping -- but there aren't many
>> small/light 32G laptops with decent battery life and no
>> touchscreen. Meanwhile, this is fun.)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> --Eric
>>
>
> Your idea should work. I  sort of tested it with the equipment at hand. I
> first configured the Pi to boot to console using raspi-config. I added a
> line to the .profile on the Pi to start screen
> screen -S raScreen
>
> then in the .screenrc I have
> multiuser on
>
> This "multiuser on" is not necessary if you are going to ssh into the same
user account as screen. I was contemplating a simpler setup  of using ssh
to log  into a secondary user account so that the .profile in that account
would share the screen with the primary user account. that way you would
not have to use the "bash -- noprofile" in the ssh.  The other nice feature
to have would be an autologin by the Pi so that you would not have to
blindly enter the username and password, but this is trickier to setup and
leaves a bit of a security vulnerability.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Connect BT keyboard to headless Raspberry Pi?

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 12:04 AM Eric House  wrote:

> Looking to build a portable linux environment that'll run on
> airplane's USB power I'm playing with a Raspberry Pi, an iPad and a
> bluetooth keyboard. I run a Bluetooth PAN network on the Pi, ssh into
> it from the iPad using a terminal app, and connect the keyboard to the
> iPad so I can actually type.
>
> It works pretty well until I fire up emacs. A number of critical key
> combinations turn out to be captured by iOS. For example, some genius
> imagined that ctrl-spacebar ought to pop up an emoji picker no matter
> what app is in use.
>
> So I'm wondering: could I connect the keyboard to the Pi instead of
> the iPad? I could start screen in my ssh session from the iPad, then
> (after some keyboard magic) run 'screen -x' in the keyboard's session
> so that my typing would then go into the same screen the iPad was
> displaying. I'm quickly realizing I don't understand Linux very well
> at this level: don't even know how to frame the question!
>
> Does this sound possible? What are the parts I'd need to configure? It
> kinda works if the pi has a monitor connected and virtual consoles are
> available. I haven't had any luck if it's headless, but then I don't know
> quite where to look.
>
> (Yeah, I could get a new laptop that'd have a chance of lasting a
> flight or charge off USB. I'm shopping -- but there aren't many
> small/light 32G laptops with decent battery life and no
> touchscreen. Meanwhile, this is fun.)
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Eric
>

Your idea should work. I  sort of tested it with the equipment at hand. I
first configured the Pi to boot to console using raspi-config. I added a
line to the .profile on the Pi to start screen
screen -S raScreen

then in the .screenrc I have
multiuser on

With the keyboard connected to the Pi boot and blindly type your username
and password. Then screen should run automatically

On the ipad ssh to the Pi without invoking the .profile so
ssh -t  user@raspberrypi "bash --noprofile"
then check to see if the screen is already running maybe using ps fax
then connect to the screen
screen -x raScreen

Now when you type something on the Pi keyboard it shows up on the ipad.
Note I don't have an ipad to test this, but was using just a linux desktop,
but that part should not matter.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Mediasonic Probox issues

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Jan 6, 2022, 3:33 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Thu, 6 Jan 2022, Ben Koenig wrote:
>
> > Step away from the command prompt and look at your enclosure as someone
> > who will be using it every single day.
> >
> > - How many bays does your enclosure have?
> > -How many ports does it use to connect to your computer?
> > -What kind of ports are they?
> > -which ports do they connect to on your computer?
>
> Ben,
>
> All the above is well defined: 4 bays, 1 USB connection on each end of the
> cable.
>
> > Forget about drive letters. You cant rely on sda/b/c for this so set
> fdisk aside.
>
> I'm used to thinking of drive letters; have done so for ~40 years.
>
>

You can give labels to the disks if you can't remember the uuid's

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/persistent_block_device_naming

Bill

The RAID drives seem to be doing okay.
>
> To make life simpler for myself, now and later, I'll wipe the two 2TiB
> drives and install ext4 on each which will be mounted as /data2 and /data3
> since no spatial data file I have (or likely will have) will be anywhere
> near that size.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rich
>

Re: [PLUG] Setting up RAID1 on two 1G disks

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Jan 6, 2022, 2:09 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Tue, 4 Jan 2022, Rich Shepard wrote:
>
> > I want to setup sde and sdf using raid1 for backups. I assume that since
> > each is partitioned (sde1 and adf1) I can run mdadm and set up the raid1.
>
> mdadm set up /dev/sde and /dev/sdf as RAID1 disks. I set the array as
> /dev/md0 and installed ext4 on it. Everything went fine, but now md0 is
> continuously running md0_resync and I cannot find how to stop it in the
> adman docs I have.
>
> The man page tells me that the initial md0_resync runs after the RAID is
> created, and md0 can be used right away. Since there are no data yet on
> either disk (both 1TiB) how long will it resync two disks with no data on
> either?
>
> Rich
>
Rich,

It is a block level resync, not a file level resync so it does the whole
partition and can take several hours. cat /proc/mdstat will tell you how
far along it is.

>

Re: [PLUG] Setting up RAID1 on two 1G disks

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Jan 6, 2022, 9:51 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Wed, 5 Jan 2022, Russell Senior wrote:
>
> > Mkfs comes last, you don't do that before either mdadm or lvm.
>
> Russell,
>
> Thanks for the reminder; I don't prepare hard (or solid state) drives that
> often.
>
> Now mke2fs is installing ext4 on /dev/sdc and /dev/sdd in a couple of
> screen
> subshells using the -c option to check for bad blocks.
>
> So far they've been running for about 14 hours and are about 53% complete.
> I'll wait for them to finish before installing ext4 on /dev/sde and
> /dev/sdf
> and making those two a RAID1 backup drive pair.
>
> Stay healthy and prosper,
>
> Rich
>
It appears you are running mke2fs before running mdadm. This is a second
reminder that this is the wrong order.

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Setting up RAID1 on two 1G disks

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Jan 5, 2022, 3:45 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Wed, 5 Jan 2022, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > Are you using LVM as the final filesystem? This seems like a needless
> > complication unless you really plan on expanding things in the future. It
> > is easier just to format using ext4.
>
> Bill,
>
> Reading a couple of LVM docs I see that I need to run mkfs.ext4 on disks
> /dev/sde/ and /dev/sdf/ to put the filesystem on them.
>
> I'm not seeing how to determine if all four drives are in the same volume
> group (VG) or in separate logical volumns (LV); I suspect the latter since
> fdisk -l shows four separate devices.
>
> Rich
>

I can't help. I don't use LVM on my raid arrays.

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Setting up RAID1 on two 1G disks

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Jan 4, 2022, 4:34 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> The Mediasonic Probox has four disks installed, two Seagate 2T and two WD
> Blue 1T; fdisk -l sees them as:
> Disk /dev/sdc: 1.8 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
> Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> Disklabel type: gpt
> Disk identifier: 87B50654-32EB-48EC-9659-AA9FCA8805BD
>
> Device StartEndSectors  Size Type
> /dev/sdc1   2048 3907029134 3907027087  1.8T Linux LVM
>
>
> Disk /dev/sdd: 1.8 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
> Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> Disklabel type: gpt
> Disk identifier: 3D392BA1-0BA4-43A6-93C2-46B7B0725799
>
> Device StartEndSectors  Size Type
> /dev/sdd1   2048 3907029134 3907027087  1.8T Linux LVM
>
>
> Disk /dev/sde: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
> Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> Disklabel type: gpt
> Disk identifier: CBB788C9-2244-4FDF-AD06-487E2BAB42F4
>
> Device StartEndSectors   Size Type
> /dev/sde1   2048 1953525134 1953523087 931.5G Linux LVM
>
>
>
>
>
> Disk /dev/sdf: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
> Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
> Disklabel type: gpt
> Disk identifier: 0D48188B-6B6E-49CC-A326-B2EB68FA4631
>
> Device StartEndSectors   Size Type
> /dev/sdf1   2048 1953525134 1953523087 931.5G Linux LVM
>
> I want to setup sde and sdf using raid1 for backups. I assume that since
> each is partitioned (sde1 and adf1) I can run mdadm and set up the raid1.
>
> None of these four disks is entered in /etc/fstab; I expect that I should
> use
> blkid and enter all four disks in /etc/fstab before doing anything else.
> Yes?
>
> Rich
>
>
>
>


Are you using LVM as the final filesystem? This seems like a needless
complication unless you really plan on expanding things in the future. It
is easier just to format using ext4.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Backup drive fails suddenly

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Dec 31, 2021, 9:27 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Fri, 31 Dec 2021, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > I would think that depends on budget and how critical the backup is. A
> > remote backup is a very good idea to protect against fire etc. SSDs are
> > really fast and reliable. Platters are cheaper.
>
> Bill,
>
> I don't need to buy anything new. I have a Mediasonic Probox with a couple
> of Seagate Barracuda's 2T and a couple of WD Blue's 1T that I've not yet
> needed. I can make one of these drives the backup and install dirvish on
> it.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich
>
If you have multiple drives with ample storage a raid configuration is
nice. It allows you to quickly recover when a drive fails.

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Backup drive fails suddenly

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Dec 31, 2021, 9:05 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> On Fri, 31 Dec 2021, Bill Barry wrote:
>
> > You should first confirm that it is not the cable or the USB port.
>
> Bill,
>
> Good point, but I don't have another cable. The enclosure end is
> square-ish,
> not a USB type A or C. But, I moved the computer end from the hub to the
> desktop and it still won't mount.
>
> The one desktop has a 100G SSB for the OS and a 2T hard drive for /home,
> /opt, and /data. Dirvish does incremental daily backups so I assume that a
> 2T hard drive would have plenty of capacity as I keep backups for only one
> month. For a replacement: SSD or platters?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rich.
>

I would think that depends on budget and how critical the backup is. A
remote backup is a very good idea to protect against fire etc. SSDs are
really fast and reliable. Platters are cheaper.

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Backup drive fails suddenly

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Dec 31, 2021, 8:43 AM Rich Shepard  wrote:

> Today's logs reported that dirvish could not find the config files on the
> external USB backup drive. Trying to mount it, root cannot find it:
> # mount /mnt/backup
> mount: can't find UUID=6e95864b-6291-4148-acd3-627542c8318f
>
> Is there any way to recover from this or do I buy a new drive and set it up
> for dirvish? If the latter I'm open to recommendations.
>
> The existing drive has 2T capacity; I don't recall the brand.
>
>
>
> Rich.
>

You should first confirm that it is not the cable or the USB port.

Bill




>
>
>

Re: [PLUG] Backup exclusions?

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, Dec 30, 2021, 4:09 PM Russell Senior 
wrote:

>
> When I do backups, I typically take the attitude that it's easier to
> ignore things you excessively saved than to not have things you didn't
> save but later wished you had.
>
> However, I'm prepared to start excluding some things that I didn't
> previously. In particular /home/$USER/.cache looks dispensible
> (true/not-true?). And more generally, do people have favorite exclusions
> from backups?
>
> TIA
>
> --
> Russell Senior
> russ...@personaltelco.net


Browser caches are good to exclude.

Bill Barry

>
>

Re: [PLUG] ABC Plus?

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Dec 12, 2021 at 3:02 PM Paul Heinlein  wrote:
>
> On Sat, 11 Dec 2021, Dick Steffens wrote:
>
> > Is anybody using ABC Plus to typeset music?
> >
> > http://abcplus.sourceforge.net/
>
> I used ABC a long, long time ago. I'm glad to see it's still being
> developed.
>
> Unfortunately, I have no answer for you... (It's a PLUG tradition to
> not really answer the question, isn't it?)
>
> --
> Paul Heinlein
> heinl...@madboa.com
> 45.38° N, 122.59° W

Maybe I can throw in an idea from a non ABC Plus user. How about
adding or subtracting something from the file in various places and
seeing if the error moves. You might be able to home in on it or get
an idea of what the positioning notation is telling you.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Cropping .pdf using imagemagick's crop

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Dec 1, 2021 at 11:05 AM Rich Shepard 
wrote:

> I need to cut out a specific area in a PDF image document. I know the crop
> command and want to learn if there's a way to identify the corners of the
> cropped image other than by trial-and-error using the original image.
>
> Is there a tool that will provide x-y coordinates at the cursor location on
> a PDF page?
>
> Rich
>

When you import a pdf into Gimp the square selection tool will give you
coordinates of the place you are pointing to.

Bill Barry

Re: [PLUG] Photo Scanner Recommendations

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 9:33 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:

> I have a large number of old photos I would like to scan into files. I'm
> looking for an inexpensive scanner for this that will work with Linux. I
> don't need  anything with a feeder, just  a plain flatbed will probably get
> the job done.
>
> Thanks for your suggestions.
>
> Michael
>

I am very happy with the Epson V600 Photo. It scans prints and negatives.
If you still have the negatives from your photos then scanning them can
give much better results than scanning in the prints.

Bill Barry

>

Re: [PLUG] Problem with hplip/hp device manager not seeing printer on same unmanaged switch

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Nov 3, 2021 at 3:08 PM c  wrote:

> I have a printer connected to the same unmanaged switch as one of my ubuntu
> boxes, but I cannot get the device manager to see the printer, even if I
> manually add the ip address, both are getting  192.168.0.x addresses.
>
> I've tried changing the connection speed and making sure the printer is set
> to ipv4. This printer has always been reachable when I connect it and a
> machine directly to the router. I'm really not sure what to test or try
> next. Any suggestions?
>
>
Bad ethernet cable and or try different port?

Bill

Re: [PLUG] *sigh* Printers

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Aug 18, 2021 at 7:18 PM Russell Senior
 wrote:
>
> The subject requesting the advice has a HP PhotoSmart 7520. I
> inherited a Brother 3-in-1 MFC-J497DW, but scanning doesn't (seem to)
> work on Linux. Also, the printer-ink lockdown pandemic has spread to
> Brother. The PhotoSmart has worked before, but it's been on the end of
> a dodgy telephone connection (my remote hands, that is), and it's not
> submitting to remote bludgeoning. I'm going to go collect it tomorrow
> to see if I can figure out the problem in person.
>
> On Wed, Aug 18, 2021 at 5:08 PM Randy Bush  wrote:
> >
> > i am a brother fan.  folk to whom i listen also use hp.
> >
> > randy

I saw in the release notes for Debian 11  something about a new
printer package, ipp-usb, that might be useful for setting up a usb
printer.
https://www.debian.org/releases/bullseye/amd64/release-notes/ch-whats-new.en.html

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Zoom kiosk?

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Jul 21, 2021, 9:52 AM Dick Steffens  wrote:

> On 7/21/21 7:47 AM, Bill Barry wrote:
> > On Tue, Jul 20, 2021, 9:38 AM Dick Steffens 
> wrote:
> >
> >> I need to set up a computer that less techie folk can turn on and walk
> >> away, and a script will start up Zoom, log in, and set all the
> >> parameters to values we want, which will always be the same.
> >>
> >> <...>
> >>
> >> Logging in automatically can be done.
> >>
> >> https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/user-autologin.html.en
> >>
> >>
> >> Then you could add the zoom start-up to   ~/.xprofile
>
> Thanks.
>
> While I would have to look up how to start up the computer, I figured
> that part was doable. What I need to find out is, once the Zoom program
> is started, is there a way to automate changing various Zoom settings.
>

I just assumed zoom read some type of config file when it started. Maybe in
the .config directory?

Bill

>

Re: [PLUG] Zoom kiosk?

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Jul 20, 2021, 9:38 AM Dick Steffens  wrote:

> I need to set up a computer that less techie folk can turn on and walk
> away, and a script will start up Zoom, log in, and set all the
> parameters to values we want, which will always be the same. This is for
> a one-way Zoom meeting, and only audio will be going out, along with a
> single image.
>
> When I looked up Zoom script, or Zoom kiosk they both had instructions
> for something different than what I'm looking for.
>
> Any experience like this among you folks?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens



Logging in automatically can be done.

https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/user-autologin.html.en


Then you could add the zoom start-up to   ~/.xprofile

Bill

Re: [PLUG] running (ancient) .BAS file with linux

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Jul 13, 2021 at 6:08 AM Richard Owlett  wrote:
>
> On 07/12/2021 07:13 PM, Bill Barry wrote:
> >[snip]
> >
> > I see a Debian package that might work
> > python3-pcbasic - cross-platform emulator for the GW-BASIC family of
> > interpreters (Python2)
> >
> > Bill
>
> A Debian package?
> I don't find it when searching https://packages.debian.org .
>
It could depend on which repositories are in your sources.list, but
this search works:
apt-cache search gw basic

Bill

Re: [PLUG] running (ancient) .BAS file with linux

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Jul 12, 2021 at 7:02 PM Keith Lofstrom  wrote:
>
> A 20+ y.o. astronomy book included a 3.5 inch floppy
> disk with a .BAS program in the back, executable with
> IBM Advanced Basic or GW Basic.  And a time machine ...
>
> I was able to read the floppy and extract the file.
>
> I've "tried" a couple of poorly-documented "basic"
> binaries available for ubuntu 20.04; couldn't get them
> to run; possibly PEBKAC, probably lack of documentation.
>
> Suggestions for a 21st century Linux BASIC that can
> run ancient .BAS binaries?
>
> Keith
>
> ps: I know the author, he's 80yo with vision problems.
> He would help if he could, but ... chances are, I will
> end up helping HIM port HIS program to a 21st century
> platform.
>
> pps:  The program is calculates comet and asteroid
> impact hazards.  It will be a damned shame if humanity
> needs the program to survive someday, but we cannot
> translate it to contemporary software/hardware :-/
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com

I see a Debian package that might work
python3-pcbasic - cross-platform emulator for the GW-BASIC family of
interpreters (Python2)

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Android Filesystems

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Jul 12, 2021 at 5:01 PM Tomas Kuchta 
wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 12, 2021, 00:09 John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> >
> > Maybe I need some utility on my phone to get it to read/write to ext4.
> > Does anyone have any clues?
> >
>
> This has been discussed here before. Still maybe worth of a reminder.
>
> I use TotalCommander + its sftp plugin to connect to my computer over
> WiFi+LAN and transfer whatever I need without stinking troublesome USB
> which I find crippled on Android.
>
> I also use NextCloud app + server to synchronize files between my phone and
> my cloud storage/calendar/etc. This needs more involved setup than
> TotalComander though.
>
> Best, T
>

The Android App FolderSync is also handy for syncing a folder(s) on Android
to/from  an external folder via SSH and a few other protocols. But it also
requires some detailed setup and might not be the best solution here.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.tacit.android.foldersync.lite

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Segmentation fault with Ristretto

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Jul 5, 2021, 5:27 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:

> On 7/5/21 2:56 PM, Daniel Ortiz wrote:
> > The following link is specifically for Ubuntu, but it could help you.
> >
> >
> https://blog.opstree.com/2019/04/02/resolving-segmentation-fault-core-dumped-in-ubuntu/
>
> I followed the command line instructions. Steps 1 through 4 worked. But
> I get this error when I run step 5:
>
> rsteff@ENU-1:~$ sudo dpkg -l | grep ^..r | apt-get purge
> E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock-frontend - open (13:
> Permission denied)
> E: Unable to acquire the dpkg frontend lock
>

You need another sudo before the apt-get. I don't know if this relates to
your main problem.


Bill

Re: [PLUG] Refresh keyboard

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jul 2, 2021 at 9:07 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> This is ridiculous. The keyboard on my laptop is mostly not working. I
> click somewhere to enter text and the cursor appears where I clicked,
> but when I type something nothing appears. If I leave it sit, about
> fifteen minutes later the text slowly starts to appear, one letter at
> a time. This happens everywhere - in browsers, the command line, e-mail
> client. (I am typing this on my desktop computer.) If I try to enter
> text with Onboard I also get nothing.
>
> I found a suggestion to do Ctrl-Alt-F2, or just Alt-F2, but neither has
> any effect, although when I pressed the keys the cursor shimmered
> slightly.
>
> I'm assuming that if I reboot things will be back to normal, but I'm
> trying to save the half hour it would take to relaunch all my programs
> and open all the files to where I was. Rebooting is a PITA.
>
> Any suggestions?
>

You could run top to see if there is some process hogging the cpu. If so,
kill it.

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Debian buster newbie: recompiling libgd for freetype support

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jun 4, 2021, 5:40 PM Keith Lofstrom  wrote:

> I'm attempting to add freetype support to libgd for debian
> buster.  What's the best way to replace or add a recompiled
> library in debian?  I can figure out the specifics, but I
> do not yet understand "The Debian Way".
>
> 
>
> I've used the Scientific Linux variant of RedHat/CentOS
> Long Term Support for many years, but now both are going
> away.  All that is going away due to BHMR (Butt Headed
> Management Reversals), so I am attempting a transition to
> Debian Buster, rebuilding shell scripts, and recompiling
> many C language point tools I've built over the decades.
>
> I've built hundreds of "engineering animations" using libgd
> to make png frames, then combined them into flash animations
> and displayed those with firefox.  I labelled the animations
> with truetype fonts.
>
> All that Just Worked, mostly because many in the Scientific
> Linux community did the same things.  And now it Doesn't
> Just Work.  The SL community is scattering to the winds ...
> some to $$$ Enterprise, some to Alma Linux, some to Debian,
> and a few (including some small engineering businesses
> disturbingly like mine) to involuntary shutdown.
>
> SL supported international collaborations that perform big
> experiments at the Large Hadron Collider and LIGO and on
> ISS, so this may impact science productivity for years -
> and my productivity for many months.
>
> 
>
> The good news is that I have learned how to make animated
> PNGs with "apngasm", and that works better than SWF.
> That also simplifies the web pages in which I imbed the
> animations, so this part of the transition is going well.
>
> But I'm tearing my hair out trying to understand and work
> with all the variations of libgd.  The builtin fonts for
> libgd look like 1980's video game crap.  I've added the
> packages for truetype fonts, but libgd doesn't find them.
>
> Stock debian buster libgd (2.2.5-5.2) complains "libgd
> was not built with freetype font support" ... /if/ I add
> the package that converts return codes into error strings.
> "bullseye" and "sid" use libgd 2.3.0-2 ... also not built
> with freetype font support.  That version of libgd also
> seems to be called libgd3, which is confusing.
>
> It seems like the best way forwards is to recompile libgd
> with freetype font support enabled, then replace the
> system's libgd library ... but I don't know the right way
> to do that, and my clumsy efforts could break other tools
> and screw up updates and upgrades.
>
> So ... how do Debian Cool Kids recompile and upgrade
> commonly used system libraries like libgd?
>
> Keith
>
> --

You add the source repositories to your apt source list. Apt install the
source. Compile it, create a deb package. Install that Deb package. You may
need to install other packages to do some of those steps.

The details are as described here


https://ostechnix.com/how-to-build-debian-packages-from-source/

Bill

Re: [PLUG] Recommended method for destroying a failed SSD

[Bill Barry]

On Thu, May 20, 2021, 3:15 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:

> We have an SSD that BIOS no longer sees. It is being replace under
> warranty. What is the recommended method for destroying the contents of
> said drive? In the past, I have drilled holes in failed hard drives. Is
> this still a good approach for SSDs?
>
> Whatever you do you should wait until you get the replacement. Unless you
are sure it is not something upstream of the drive like a connector.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Descrambling PDFs from Docusign and such on Linux

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, May 18, 2021 at 6:17 PM TomasK  wrote:
>
> I have some PDFs (contracts) from docusign and/or similar cloud service
> - I can read and print them, but I cannot copy or search their content.
>
> The zealots have encoded every paragraph/page with some hash and
> included custom fonts to make the document look and print normal.
>
> Does anyone know of some linuxy way to get rid of this BS and convert
> the PDFs to normal unicode?
>
> Of course, I can print + scan + OCR the darn thing, but that feels like
>  heavy handed solution to this idiotic problem. Obviously I am looking
> for faster solution, so that does not include me finding the hash and
> coding the hell out of it by Christmas 202x.
>

I don't know the answer to your question, but you might be able to
skip the print part by uploading it to google drive and using the OCR
there. Not a great solution, but a possible solution.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Logging network use while using Zoom

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, May 11, 2021, 4:24 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:

> On 5/11/21 2:17 PM, Rich Shepard wrote:
> > On Tue, 11 May 2021, Dick Steffens wrote:
> >
> >> Is there a recommended too or procedure for logging how much data I
> >> use while hosting a Zoom meeting? The meeting typically takes about
> >> an hour and 20 minutes. I need to know how much "data" I use during
> >> that meeting.
> >
> > Dick,
> >
> > I know that the wireless telcos limit 'data' download (however that's
> > calculated) but have not seen where there's a data limit using a FiOS or
> > cable connection to the 'Net.
>
> My purpose is collecting data so when I go to the wireless folks I'll
> know about how much we'll be using each month (a 1-1/2 hour meeting
> twice a week), and know what data plan will make sense when we set one
> up for the building that has no phone or Internet connection, and
> doesn't need either for anything else. I'm looking into a WiFi only
> setup for my church.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens


>
>
You should test whatever your going to do before the meeting to see if it
works.
Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Connection speed suddenly dropped

[Bill Barry]

On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 7:10 PM King Beowulf  wrote:
>
> On 4/28/21 11:14 AM, John Jason Jordan wrote:

> http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug

One quick thing to try is just plug the laptop into the cable that
goes to the desktop.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Memory error downloading file from website

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 1:11 PM Rich Shepard  wrote:
>
> I've not before had a problem downloading huge files. But, trying to
> download 
> http://ph-public-data.com/document/PHRD_2019/Pre-RD_PDI_Appx-A-Chemistry-Data-DVR.zip
> which the site says is 1,168,591Kb large fails.

Looks like 125 Megabytes to me if that is Kilobits.
If it is actually Kilobytes then it is just over a Gigabyte


Bill
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Re: [PLUG] printing to scale part of a pdf document

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Apr 10, 2021 at 10:31 AM Denis Heidtmann 
wrote:

> I have a 150 MB pdf file (66 pages) which has some scaled drawings
> (1/4"/ft).  I want to print a portion of a couple of these drawings. I
> think the portion of the drawings I want will fit on a 8 1/2 x 11 page.
> What programs might I use to do  this?  I have tried LibreOffice Draw.  It
> preserves the scale, but I cannot seem to move the printing "window" to
> the part of the drawing I want.  It seems that the document has some large
> page size, likely the size used for construction drawings.
>
> Running Ubuntu 20.04
>
> Thanks,
> -Denis
>

Gimp can import pages from a PDF file. Then you can scale it or select some
part of it to print.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Resolved: Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 8:16 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 3/8/21 5:57 PM, Dick Steffens wrote:
>
> sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I think that was the critical step. You had removed the user display
configurations but not the global configuration.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 7:57 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:

>  From Ben's comment and looking at the log I'm thinking it's got
> something to do with left over nVidia stuff. I should be able to do
> something to clear that out and go with the Nouveau driver, right?
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens

I don't think the problem is at the nvidia driver level so going to
all the trouble to install the Nouveau driver might not even fix what
is wrong. It was working and then it wasn't and you didn't change any
of the packages between. Maybe it has to do with detaching the
peripherals and reattaching them. If I understand what happened  all
you did is detach the peripherals, attach them to another computer and
then reattach them. Did you perhaps switch the monitors?  You could
look at xrandr -q  as he suggests and see if there are any clues
there. Otherwise I don't have any more suggestions.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 7:21 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 3/8/21 5:07 PM, Bill Barry wrote:
> > Did this happen after an update of the video driver?
>
> No. This morning I was using ENU-2 as my main desktop machine. After
> lunch I shut down both ENU-2 and ENU-1 and swapped boxes. All the
> peripherals stayed where they were. Both machines have a keyboard,
> mouse, speakers, and two monitors. So all the stuff that had been on
> ENU-2 are now connected to ENU-1, and vice versa. ENU-1 is up and
> running Xubuntu 20.04, mostly as I expect it to. ENU-2, not so much.
>
> > Does alt-F1 give you a real text login screen with the word login there?
> > That should probably be ctrl-alt-F1
>
> Yes, ctrl-alt-F1 does give me a real text login screen, after the
> Xubuntu splash screen goes away. I am able to login there. I'm told that
> there are 7 packages that can be uploaded. apt list --upgradable tells
> me one is a gnome-sudoku, and the other 6 are bionic-security upgrades.
>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens

I don't know what the problem is, but I am still guessing that it is
some problem with the display settings that is not automatically fixed
by going back to one screen.

There are some good suggestions here
https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?id=10730

I will summarize the part that might work.

>From the terminal where you logged in

sudo service lightdm stop
rm ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/displays.xml
sudo service lightdm start
alt-F7

or perhaps instead of alt-F7
sudo shutdown -r now

Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

That should probably be ctrl-alt-F1

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 7:07 PM Bill Barry  wrote:
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Re: [PLUG] Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 6:49 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> On 3/8/21 4:18 PM, Bill Barry wrote:
> > On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 5:40 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
> >> As mentioned in my most recent post, I've swapped desktop machines. I'm
> >> mostly successfully using the "newer" installation, ENU-1. I have tried
> >> running the older installation, ENU-2, but it's not showing the screens
> >> (two monitors). I watch the initial startup text, then the Xubuntu
> >> splash screen, then  a "login" screen followed by a blank screen with a
> >> cursor at the top left of each monitor, so I know the video is working.
> >> The machine is up and running, since I can connect to it remotely and
> >> access files. Where do I start to troubleshoot this one?
> >>
> >> Thanks.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >> Dick Steffens
> >>
> > Start by going back to one screen. Disconnect the other screen from
> > the video card. If it comes up fully on one screen, attach the other
> > one and get the Display settings set correctly for the two screen
> > configuration.
>
> No difference. Still get the initial screen that let's me choose from:
>
> Ubuntu
> Advanced options for Ubuntu
> ELILO Boot Manager (on /dev/sda1)
> System setup
>
> I hit  and watch a blank screen for several seconds, then the
> Xubuntu splash screen, then an option to long in via a terminal (I
> presume), and then a blank screen with a cursor in the upper left corner.
>
> I can still connect via Gigolo and get to all my files, but I don't get
> a graphical login.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens

Did this happen after an update of the video driver?
Does alt-F1 give you a real text login screen with the word login there?
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Re: [PLUG] Blank screen after startup

[Bill Barry]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 5:40 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> As mentioned in my most recent post, I've swapped desktop machines. I'm
> mostly successfully using the "newer" installation, ENU-1. I have tried
> running the older installation, ENU-2, but it's not showing the screens
> (two monitors). I watch the initial startup text, then the Xubuntu
> splash screen, then  a "login" screen followed by a blank screen with a
> cursor at the top left of each monitor, so I know the video is working.
> The machine is up and running, since I can connect to it remotely and
> access files. Where do I start to troubleshoot this one?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>

Start by going back to one screen. Disconnect the other screen from
the video card. If it comes up fully on one screen, attach the other
one and get the Display settings set correctly for the two screen
configuration.

BIll Barry
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Re: [PLUG] Grub-pc errors

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 8:41 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:
>
> Every time I try to install or uninstall something from the command
> line I get the following error message:
>
> installed grub-pc package post-installation script subprocess
> returned error exit status 1
>
> I've searched everywhere for some clue how to fix this, but without
> success. Meanwhile, everything is working fine.
>
> Any suggestions?

Is your system using the EFI bootloader? Maybe grub-efi-amd64 is
installed and it is not using grub-pc.

If your system has this directory
/sys/firmware/efi/

Then you using efi and the grub-pc is not needed.

Also you should check to see that grub-efi-amd64 is installed. If so
grub-pc is not needed, in fact I think it should have been
uninstalled.

All of this is working with fire so you should probably get a second
opinion before doing anything.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Using curl for file transfer

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Feb 9, 2021 at 2:09 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:
>
> I use a program that uses curl to automate ftp file transfers. The problem
> I have run into is the username for the ftp account is an email address (
> u...@host.com). When I enter the information in the window to edit the
> downloads, I put in the host information, then in the user box, I put
> u...@host.com. Unfortunately, the download failed. It was suggested to
> escape the @, so I tried user\@host.com, but the program did not accept the
> \. When I typed it, it just didn't show up.
>
> So, any curl experts out there can help me put the @ in the username?
>
Not a curl expert, but this
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32122586/curl-escape-single-quote/39802572
suggests you also have to escape the \ also as in '\'@
ymmv
Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] Printer for Linux

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 5:49 PM Denis Heidtmann 
wrote:

> My HP 4630 all-in-one ink-jet printer appears to have died. See details
> below.  Looking for a replacement.
>
> The last time I took count, we  printed less than 10 pages/ week, majority
> color.  We want the scanner, but do not use the fax. My conclusion is that
> inkjet is the proper choice.  I know that there are lots of reasons to use
> laser technology, but for my low use rate I do not think a case can be
> made, but feel free to argue otherwise. Suggestions desired.
> Thanks,
> -Denis
>
>
> I can put in a word for what not to buy. The HP Deskjet 3632 is no good. I
only use it occasionally and almost every time it has to be reconfigured or
its driver reinstalled or some such thing. CUPS and this printer do not get
along well together at all. If there were a Fedex office nearby or other
place that allowed remote printing I would definitely prefer that. For the
small amounts of printing it would be very nice to have someone else
maintain the printer.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Sending notifications from remote equipment

[Bill Barry]

On Sat, Jan 9, 2021 at 11:53 AM Michael Barnes  wrote:
>
> Here's an interesting challenge. Another no-budget project. I have some
> remote equipment that I need to occasionally receive an alarm alert from.
> The equipment provides a contact closure in an alarm condition. In the past
> for this type of thing, I used an old autodialer that simply picked up a
> phone line, dialed a number, and played a recorded message.
>
> In this situation, I do not have access to an old style POTS line. I would
> prefer a text message, potentially to multiple recipients. There is a local
> network with Internet available. I know there are services like Google
> voice that can send text messages over the Internet. I do not have access
> to an SMTP server that can send external email.
>
> I was thinking of something like a Raspberry Pi to detect the contact
> closure and make the notification. I'm just not sure of the software
> mechanism to do so.
>
> Any ideas appreciated.
>
> Michael

A Raspberry Pi, a Google Fi data only sim card and a compatible 4G USB
modem could work. If you are already using Fi for your phone service
you can get the data only sim card for free.

Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] GUI app to access files on another Linux computer

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jan 8, 2021, 11:05 PM John Jason Jordan  wrote:

> Yeah, yeah, NFS. Bah. I've tried to get it to work several times over
> the years, and I've always failed.
>
> What would be really cool would be a GUI application that would do this
> for me. No list of half a dozen scripts that probably won't work. I
> just want to launch an app, have it search the local network for other
> Linux computers, and present me with the drives/folders that I might
> want to connect to.
>
> Why does this not exist?
>

Try searching sshfs gui. That is probably sort of close to what you are
looking for.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] Recommend a cheap-when-stopped VM provider?

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 2:22 PM Eric House  wrote:
>
> I've been using Linode for a few years (since SpiritOne got hijacked)
> for an always-on host. It's great. But I'm starting to play with
> building OpenWRT and need more disk space and CPU than I have at home
> right now. I'd love to fire up a powerful VM for when I'm working on
> it and not pay when I'm not -- but not lose the considerable time
> invested in setting up and downloading/building 20G of files.
>
> Linode doesn't do this. Who does? My wish list:
>
> * Just raw Debian. I'm happy ssh-ing in, and don't want to learn a
> whole new way of interacting with a VM (which is what AWS requires in
> my casual experience)
> * Powerful VMs available but billed only when running
> * Free, or at least really cheap, to leave a configured VM in a
> saved-but-not-running state
>
> Thanks,
>

I have used Digital Ocean, Linode, Google Cloud and AWS, none of them
charge when your VM is not running, but as far as I know all of them
charge to store the image.

Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] No sound

[Bill Barry]

On Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 11:34 PM Dick Steffens  wrote

>
> With the turntable unplugged PulseAudio sees a port labeled Line Out
> (plugged in). When I plug in the turntable it adds a section for PCM2900
> Audio Codec Analog Stereo in a port labeled Analog Output. The Line Out
> (plugged in) section is still there. BTW, I also tried powering up the
> turntable, but it had no effect.
>
> Now my question is, is there a way to change the behavior?
>

What happens in the Configuration tab of PulseAudio control when you
connect and disconnect the turntable?

Bill Barry

>
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Re: [PLUG] No sound

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Dec 18, 2020 at 4:32 PM Dick Steffens  wrote:
>
> I'm getting no sound from one of my machines. I've tried plugging the
> speakers into the green jack on the back, and into the headphone jack in
> the front. The speakers work when plugged into another machine.
>
> I opened the PulseAudio Volume Control and see the "VU" meter for
> Firefox showing that there is sound. If I click on the mute button, that
> VU meter stops indicating. Clicking the mute button again restores the
> VU meter. Switching to the Output Devices tab I see Headphones (plugged
> in) and another VU meter showing that the sound should be there.
>
> Could something have gone wrong with the audio on the motherboard? It's
> an ASUSTeK B85M-g.
>
> Any recommendations on what to look for?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Dick Steffens
>

Okay, I think you have already looked at this, but here is what I have
seen.  If I have my monitor connected with an HDMI cable the sound
system automatically thinks there are speakers on the monitor and
switches the output to those non-existent speakers. I have to open the
PulseAudio Volume Control and go to configuration and choose off for
that HDMI audio device. The same thing might be happening with your
USB turntable. PulseAudio might think it is an output device.

Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] New Computer - No Ethernet

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 9:29 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:
>
> On Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 12:26 PM Bill Barry  wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 2:19 PM Michael Barnes 
> > wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Update. I got a USB-Ethernet adapter and am at least connected for now. I
> > > really want to  use the onboard NIC if possible. I was able to install
> > > pciutils so I can see things.  lspci shows:
> > > 06:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125
> > 2.5GbE
> > > Controller (rev 04)
> > >
> > > so at least it is being seen. I find no reference to it in dmesg, but I
> > am
> > > not a dmesg guru, so I don't know if it should show up there.
> >
> > I have the rev 05 version of that controller. I have been using the
> > driver from here
> > https://github.com/heri16/r8125
> >
> > Bill Barry
> > 
> >
>
> I went to that page. Apparently, I am not smart enough to use it.  All I
> see is the README instructions. I cannot seem to find the tarball on that
> page.
>
> Michael

Click on the green button that says Code and there is a Download Zip link.
Alternatively there is a link to the right of that for the official
Realtek website download which is a bit of a maze but should work
also.

Bill
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Re: [PLUG] New Computer - No Ethernet

[Bill Barry]

On Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 2:19 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:

>
> Update. I got a USB-Ethernet adapter and am at least connected for now. I
> really want to  use the onboard NIC if possible. I was able to install
> pciutils so I can see things.  lspci shows:
> 06:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE
> Controller (rev 04)
>
> so at least it is being seen. I find no reference to it in dmesg, but I am
> not a dmesg guru, so I don't know if it should show up there.

I have the rev 05 version of that controller. I have been using the
driver from here
https://github.com/heri16/r8125

Bill Barry
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Re: [PLUG] New Computer - No Ethernet

[Bill Barry]

On Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 8:39 PM Michael Barnes  wrote:

> First, the computer I had was too old. Now, it is too new. I have to use
> CentOS7 for the application I am running, which uses qt4. CentOS8 only has
> qt5, which is not backwards compatible. And, so far, everything I have seen
> says because CentOS Stream is based on pre-release RHEL, it is not ready
> for production use. Looks like I'm getting caught between a rock and a hard
> place.
>
> I wanted to see what it said about the nic, so I ran lspci and got "command
> not found". I guess I need to install pciutils, which is on the
> installation DVD, but I don't know how to install it from that. Only have
> the command line at this time.
>
> Michael

How about installing CentOS7 in a virtual machine and putting a more
up to date OS on the hardware.

Bill
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