vikjon's Linux and Media Center Howto

PXE installer & LivePXE

2010-10-30T00:47:00.001-07:00

I have done some work on network booting (PXE) and pxe installation.

I have created a live cd. The first version boots clonzilla, gparted and installs lucid mini cd. On the server version I can boot ubuntu desktop Live, but that does not work on the LIVEPXE cd (NFS does not work on the cd for the moment).

The advantage of my solution is that I use a dchp proxy wich means it coexists with existing dhcp without any changes.

Download it at:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/qfpxeinstaller/

This is how to config it yourself.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1606910

dchpProxy

2010-10-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

This is a very crude setup of dhcpProxy with dnsmasq.
With this setup it has to be on the same server as tftp (I think).
I will fix that and also change the config file from ltsp which is not relevent since I use it for a PXE install server.

I will also make a start script that handle dynamic subnet.

--------------------------------------------
Installing dnsmasq
-----------------------------------------------
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP/ProxyDHCP

sudo apt-get install dnsmasq

sudo nano /etc/dnsmasq.d/ltsp.conf
add:

####################################################################
# Copied from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP/ProxyDHCP
# Modified by vikjon0 2010-10-22 for PXE install server
#####################################################################
# Sample configuration for dnsmasq to function as a proxyDHCP server,
# enabling PXE clients to boot when an external, unmodifiable DHCP
# server is present.
# The main dnsmasq configuration is in /etc/dnsmasq.conf;
# the contents of this script are added to the main configuration.
# You may modify the file to suit your needs.

# Don't function as a DNS server:
port=0

# Log lots of extra information about DHCP transactions.
log-dhcp

# Dnsmasq can also function as a TFTP server. You may uninstall
# tftpd-hpa if you like, and uncomment the next line:
#enable-tftp

# Set the root directory for files available via FTP.
tftp-root=/var/lib/tftpboot

# The boot filename.
dhcp-boot=/var/lib/tftpboot/pxelinux.0

# rootpath option, for NFS
dhcp-option=17,/var/www/PXE

# kill multicast
dhcp-option=vendor:PXEClient,6,2b

# Disable re-use of the DHCP servername and filename fields as extra
# option space. That's to avoid confusing some old or broken DHCP clients.
dhcp-no-override

# PXE menu
pxe-prompt="Press F8 for boot menu", 3

# The known types are x86PC, PC98, IA64_EFI, Alpha, Arc_x86,
# Intel_Lean_Client, IA32_EFI, BC_EFI, Xscale_EFI and X86-64_EFI
pxe-service=X86PC, "Boot from network", pxelinux

# A boot service type of 0 is special, and will abort the
# net boot procedure and continue booting from local media.
pxe-service=X86PC, "Boot from local hard disk", 0

# If an integer boot service type, rather than a basename is given, then the
# PXE client will search for a suitable boot service for that type on the
# network. This search may be done by multicast or broadcast, or direct to a
# server if its IP address is provided.
#pxe-service=x86PC, "Install windows from RIS server", 1

# This range(s) is for the public interface, where dnsmasq functions
# as a proxy DHCP server providing boot information but no IP leases.
# Any ip in the subnet will do, so you may just put your server NIC ip here.
dhcp-range=192.168.0.130,proxy

# This range(s) is for the private network on 2-NIC servers,
# where dnsmasq functions as a normal DHCP server, providing IP leases.
#dhcp-range=192.168.0.20,192.168.0.250,8h

# For static client IPs, and only for the private subnets,
# you may put entries like this:
#dhcp-host=00:20:e0:3b:13:af,10.160.31.111,client111,infinite

Bug in Karmic network-manager

2010-04-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

When making connection available for all users this just causes the connection to disappear

Workaround:
set "managed=true" in [ifupdown] section in /etc/NetworkManager/nm-system-settings.conf

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager/+bug/405413

Howto downgrade ubuntu 9.10 karmic to legacy grub

2010-03-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

My Asrock ION 330 hangs for a minute in the boot sequence with grub2.
Lets downgrade to Legacy.

sudo apt-get purge grub2 grub-pc
sudo rm /boot/grub/*

sudo apt-get install grub

sudo update-grub

sudo fdisk -l

sudo grub-install /dev/sdX

echo "grub hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

Howto get automount and stuff working in 9.10 Karmic without gdm

2010-03-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

When running the gnome desktop without gdm e.g. by startx things does not work as expected. E.g. if a usb disk is plugged in it is not mounted and the err "not authorized" is displayed.

I think the correct solution may be to include ck-launch-session in startx but I have not been able do do this. I still dont really understand exactly how the ubuntu startup scripts works.

EDIT: please note that this does not fix usb automount in xbmc.
The problem can instead be fixed by:

sudo apt-get install policykit-1 devicekit-power

sudo nano /var/lib/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/custom-actions.pkla
add:

[Actions for xbmc user]
Identity=unix-user:xbmc
Action=org.freedesktop.devicekit.disks.*;org.freedesktop.devicekit.power.*;org.freedesktop.consolekit.system.*;org.freedesktop.hal.storage.mount-removable;org.freedesktop.hal.device.volume
ResultActive=yes
ResultAny=auth_admin
ResultInactive=yes

xbmc 9.11 usb does not automount after gnome-core is installed

2010-03-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

I have this very annoying probklem that I have not been able to solve. when I install gnome-core usb disks does not mount anymore. I get "not authorized".
Generally if I use gdm it works but if I use xbmc or startx it does not work.

I think the problem could be that the policykit is upgraded to polictkit-1 and any settings that are done for xbmc does not work anymore.

I have now found this: EDIT: This does not fix the usb mount problem. It fixes some other permission problems though. I have given up on xbmc and gnome for the moment. I use lxde with xfce and kde components instead.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?t=70394

--------------------------
(sudo apt-get install policykit-1 devicekit-power)

sudo nano /var/lib/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/custom-actions.pkla
add:

[Actions for xbmc user]
Identity=unix-user:xbmc
Action=org.freedesktop.devicekit.disks.*;org.freedesktop.devicekit.power.*;org.freedesktop.consolekit.system.*;org.freedesktop.hal.storage.mount-removable;org.freedesktop.hal.device.volume
ResultActive=yes
ResultAny=auth_admin
ResultInactive=yes

NSClient++ external vbs script to check MSSQL jobs

2010-02-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Edit: New fixed version

This script for NSClient++ checks if there is any failed jobs in MS SQL server. The database connection data is stored in a UDL file.

External script alias in nsclient:
check_mssql_jobs=cscript.exe //T:30 //NoLogo scripts\check_mssql_jobs.vbs /MaxWarn:0 /MaxCrit:1 /truncate:900

Nagios command:
define service{
use generic-service
host_name SEHQFVD03
service_description MSSQL jobs
check_command check_nrpe_check_mssql_jobs
high_flap_threshold 35.0
low_flap_threshold 30.0
notification_options w,u,c,r,f
}

Script:
'########################################################
'# Check MSSQL jobs over UDL TEST v0.0.0.4
'# VIKJON0 2010-02-13
'# VIKJON0 2010-03-02 Only look at latest time job was run
'#########################################################

Option Explicit
Dim strConnection, conn, rs, strSQL
Dim objConn
Dim connStr
Dim foundTXT, returnTXT, perfTXT
Dim errLevel, errLevelTXT
Dim MaxWarn, MaxCrit, numberOfRows, truncate
Dim wshArgs

'--Set working directory
Dim WshShell
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
'WScript.Echo WshShell.CurrentDirectory
WshShell.CurrentDirectory = "C:\Program Files\NSClient++\scripts"

'--Get command line arguments-- /MaxWarn:Y /MaxCrit:Z /truncate:x
Set wshArgs = wscript.arguments

if wshArgs.Named.exists("MaxWarn") then
MaxWarn = cint(wshArgs.named.item("MaxWarn"))
else
MaxWarn = 0
end if

if wshArgs.Named.exists("MaxCrit") then
MaxCrit = cint(wshArgs.named.item("MaxCrit"))
else
MaxCrit = 0
end if
if wshArgs.Named.exists("truncate") then
truncate = cint(wshArgs.named.item("truncate"))
else
truncate = 0
end if

'--Run db query-----------------------
strConnection = "File Name=myUDL.udl; "
Set conn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Open strConnection

Set rs = CreateObject("ADODB.recordset")

'Check only category = 3 for maintence jobs
'------------------------------------------------------

strSQL = "SELECT name, message,category_id FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobs AS J LEFT OUTER JOIN msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory AS H ON J.job_id = H.job_id " &_
"WHERE enabled = 1 AND run_status != 1 AND step_id = 0 " &_
"AND (cast(run_date as varchar) + RIGHT('00' + cast(run_time as varchar),6)) = " &_
"(select max(cast(run_date as varchar) + RIGHT('00' + cast(run_time as varchar),6)) " &_
"FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory AS H2 where H2.job_id = H.job_id AND H2.step_id = 0 " &_
")order by name"

'----------------------------------------------

rs.open strSQL, conn, 3,3
numberOfRows = rs.recordcount

foundTXT = ""
if numberOfRows = 0 then
foundTXT = "check_db OK"
else
rs.MoveFirst
WHILE NOT rs.EOF
foundTXT = foundTXT & rs("name") & "#"
rs.MoveNext
wend
end if

'--Ceck result and build return data
If truncate > 0 then
foundTXT = left(foundTXT,truncate)
end if

errLevel = 0
errLevelTXT = ""
if not MaxCrit = 0 AND numberOfRows >= MaxCrit then
errLevel = 2
errLevelTXT = ", found errors: " & numberOfRows & " > critical"
else
if not MaxWarn = 0 AND numberOfRows >= MaxWarn then
errLevel = 1
errLevelTXT = ", found errors: " & numberOfRows & " > warning"
end if
end if

perfTXT = "|'found errors'=" & numberOfRows &";" & MaxWarn & ";" & MaxCrit & ";"
returnTXT = foundTXT & errLevelTXT & perfTXT
'msgbox returnTXT

'--Close and exit

rs.Close
Set rs = Nothing
conn.Close
Set conn = Nothing

Wscript.StdOut.WriteLine ReturnTXT
WScript.Quit(errLevel)

Substitute nagios as sender for notifications email

2010-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

If you want to replace the sender in the nagios email notifications add this to the end of the email command:
-a "From: mememe@company.com"

($HOSTNAME$ is $HOSTSTATE$ **" $CONTACTEMAIL$ -a "From: mememe@company.com")

Monitor MS SQL with ceck_mssql

2010-02-07T02:16:00.000-08:00

!I had major problem getting the user authentication to work. As soon as I removed freetds it started to work...

One way is to run queries from Nagios directly to the MSSQL server with this plugin:
http://exchange.nagios.org/directory/Plugins/Databases/SQLServer/check_mssql/details

This is a risk since user / pwd has to be stored on the Nagios server and also sent over network. It is perhaps better to create vbs scripts that reads the database and access it over nsclient++.

1) Install check_mssql
download the script from http://exchange.nagios.org/directory/Plugins/Databases/SQLServer/check_mssql/details
Copy it to libexec
sudo cp check_mssql /usr/local/nagios/libexec
*Change owner to nagios and make it executable

2) Install php support in ubuntu
sudo apt-get install php5 php5-mysql php5-cli libapache2-mod-php5 php5-sybase
(I dont see why php5-mysql should be installed, but installed by mistake and if removed it stops working. Will test without next scratch install)

3) Test from commandline
/usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_mssql -H 192.168.0.100 -U myuser -P mypwd

x) from doc
sec
Hide Sensitive Information With $USERn$ Macros. The CGIs read the main config file and object config file(s), so you don't want to keep any sensitive information (usernames, passwords, etc) in there. If you need to specify a username and/or password in a command definition use a $USERn$ macro to hide it. $USERn$ macros are defined in one or more resource files. The CGIs will not attempt to read the contents of resource files, so you can set more restrictive permissions (600 or 660) on them. See the sample resource.cfg file in the base of the Nagios distribution for an example of how to define $USERn$ macros.

More Nagios service definitions for windows

2010-02-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

Monitor disks with NSClient
define command {
command_name check_nrpe_DriveSpace
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -p 5666 -c CheckDriveSize -a MinWarn=$ARG1$ MinCrit=$ARG3$ CheckAll $ARG3$
# ARG3 : FilterType=FIXED FilterType=REMOTE
}

define service{
use generic-service
host_name myhost
service_description Disk space
#Warning,Critical,Filter
check_command check_nrpe_DriveSpace!15%!10%!FilterType=FIXED
high_flap_threshold 35.0
low_flap_threshold 30.0
notification_options w,u,c,r,f
}

Check all fixed disks NSClient command line:
CheckDriveSize MinWarn=15% MinCrit=10% CheckAll FilterType=FIXED
Nagios command line:
sudo /usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H 192.168.100 -c CheckDriveSize -a MinWarn=50% MinCrit=25% CheckAll FilterType=FIXED

Montor services with NSClient

nsclient commandline:
CheckServiceState CheckAll exclude=wampmysqld exclude=ccmsetup exclude=tcsd_win32.exe

define command {
command_name check_nrpe_AutoStartedServices
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -p 5666 -c CheckServiceState -a CheckAll $ARG1$
# ARG1 : exclude=ccmsetup exclude=test
}

define service{
use generic-service
host_name SELANSFVD99
service_description Autostarted Services
# ARG1 : exclude=ccmsetup exclude=test
check_command check_nrpe_AutoStartedServices!exclude=SysmonLog
high_flap_threshold 35.0
low_flap_threshold 30.0
notification_options w,u,c,r,f
}

Nagios configuring notifications

2010-02-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

0)
mailx must be installed and configured. (see prev post)
The commands also have to be amended:
###
Edit the Nagios email notification commands found in /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/commands.cfg and change any '/bin/mail' references to '/usr/bin/mail'. Once you do that you'll need to restart Nagios to make the configuration changes live.

sudo /etc/init.d/nagios restart

1)
Contacts and groups are configured in contact.cfg. By default email are sent to admin. Default member is nagiosadmin. Nagios admin email address (your's) are set in the same file.

2)States and flapping
When a problem appear it first goes to "soft state" and after 3 checks (3/3) it change to "hard state" and the notification is sent.

If the hard state change on and off too often the service is determined to be "flapping". To change the flapping thresholds add these lines to the service definition:
high_flap_threshold 35.0
low_flap_threshold 30.0

When the service is flapping no notifications is sent until it stops flapping.
If we want to have a notification when flapping start add this line to service definition:
notification_options w,u,c,r,f
(f for flapping)

Monitor windows server with Nagios - Configure nrpe

2010-02-05T02:40:00.000-08:00

To do some more advance application monitoring we need to configure nrpe between nagios and nsclient++.
The first thing we need to monitor is that no files get stuck in import or export folders. (Next problem will be to monitor MS SQL servers, will probably have to find another plug-in for this.

Reference:
http://nagios.sourceforge.net/docs/nrpe/NRPE.pdf

1) Config nsclient
uncomment
NRPEListener.dll
allow_arguments=1
use_ssl=1

It is a risk to allow arguments. The alternative I think is to create local commands/ alias on the remote machine.

Test in nsclient command line (start nsclient /test)
CheckFile2 path=c:\test pattern=*.txt MaxCrit=1 filter+written=gt:10m
(checks for files older than 10minutes in c:\test)

2) Install nrpe plug-in in Nagios(local server)
The NRPE addon consists of two pieces:
– The check_nrpe plugin, which resides on the local monitoring machine
– The NRPE daemon, which runs on the remote Linux/Unix machine

To monitor a windows machine we need the plugin. The demaon will be NSClient on windows. If we want to test nrpe on the local machine we should also install the daemon locally.

a) Install check_nrpe plugin
sudo apt-get install libssl-dev

sudo -s

mkdir ~/downloads
cd ~/downloads

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/nagios/nrpe-2.12.tar.gz
tar xzf nrpe-2.12.tar.gz
cd nrpe-2.12

./configure
make all
make install-plugin

b) Test
sudo /usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H 192.168.0.100

It is very hard to get a clear answer about ssl but I am now sure it is enabled by default and it is controlled by the remote machines setting. If ssl is enabled in nsclient and you run a command without ssl you get an error
sudo /usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H 192.168.0.100 -n
(-n => skip ssl)

To make it secure I think it is also necessary to generate a new key or something. (See nrpe README.SSL). I have not tested that yet.

3) Configure Nagios
a) Add some nrpe commands
gedit /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/commands.cfg

define command {
command_name check_nrpe_CheckOldFiles
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -c CheckFile2 -a path=$ARG1$ pattern=$ARG2$ MaxCrit=1 filter+written=gt:$ARG3$ max-dir-depth=0
}
!!!!!!!!!!! I encountered some problems with checkfile2, when too many files are found I get a "buffert too small" error. My biggest problem issue was with a sub folder with many old files. This I finally fixed by adding the max-dir-depth=0 argument. The actual buffert problem I cannot solve for the moment. max-dir-depth set the number of sub folder levels checkfile2 will look into.
Error in nsclient log
2010-02-07 18:05:38: error:include\NSCHelper.cpp:241: Inject buffer to small, increase the value of: string_length.
2010-02-07 18:07:43: error:NSClient++.cpp:1101: UNKNOWN: Return buffer to small to handle this command.
!!!

define command {
command_name check_nrpe
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -c $ARG1$
}

b) Add some nrpe services
gedit /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/windows.cfg

#Check for old files in c:\test
define service{
use generic-service
host_name myHost
service_description Check old files in test
#path, pattern, age
check_command check_nrpe_CheckOldFiles!c:/test!*!10m
}

#Use the generic check_nrpe command.
#(will not work on windows but will show-up in log on client)
define service{
use generic-service
host_name myHost
service_description CPU load
check_command check_nrpe!check_load
}

c) Check config and restart
sudo /usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -v /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg
sudo /etc/init.d/nagios restart

d) test
nagios command line
/usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H 192.168.169.100

/usr/local/nagios/libexec/check_nrpe -H 192.168.169.100 -c CheckFile2 -a path=c:/test pattern=*.txt MaxCrit=1 filter+written=gt:10m

Monitor windows server with Nagios - basic configuration

2010-02-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

reference
http://nagios.sourceforge.net/docs/3_0/monitoring-windows.html
http://nsclient.org/nscp/

According to the NSClient wiki NRPE is the recommended way to monitor windows. However, the preconfigured commands in Nagios is using check_nt. I will stick to check_net for the basic stuff, at least for the moment.

1) Install NSClient on remote windows server
http://nagios.sourceforge.net/docs/3_0/monitoring-windows.html
The latest client have a different installation than in the instruction.

a) run setup .exe. Install all components. Skip configuration.
Firewall exception will give an error but never mind that.

b)in NSC.ini
FileLogger.dll
CheckSystem.dll
CheckDisk.dll
NSClientListener.dll
CheckHelpers.dll
(and NRPEListener.dll id nrpe should be used)

add nagios server to allowed_hosts=

c) start service

??? More later. (already setup on test machine)

2) Configure Nagios
http://nagios.sourceforge.net/docs/3_0/monitoring-windows.html
a) Enable the windows config file
sudo nano /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg

Remove the leading pound (#) sign from the following line in the main configuration file:
#cfg_file=/usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/windows.cfg

b) Define host
sudo gedit /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/windows.cfg

Find

define host{
use windows-server ;
host_name winserver
alias My Windows Server
address 192.168.1.2
}

Change host_name, alias and address (dns name is ok as address)
(Add new host by copy example...)

c) sudo gedit /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/windows.cfg
Change the host_name in the sample
define service{
and comment out the ones you do not need
(copy sample to adds service for new host)

d) If NSClient is set up to use password:
sudo nano /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/commands.cfg

Change the definition of the check_nt command to include the "-s " argument (where PASSWORD is the password you specified on the Windows machine) like this:

define command{
command_name check_nt
command_line $USER1$/check_nt -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -p 12489 -s PASSWORD -v $ARG1$ $ARG2$
}

e) Check config and restart
sudo /usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -v /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg

sudo /etc/init.d/nagios restart

Now you should have basic monitoring of one win server!

Howto install Nagios in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic

2010-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

0) Install OS
Ubuntu server 9.10
Use expert mode and set static ip (no dhcp in server room)
select to install openssh server

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Add core gnome desktop:
sudo apt-get install xorg gnome-core

Add nx server:
mkdir downloads
cd downloads

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/nxclient_3.4.0-5_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/nxnode_3.4.0-6_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.4.0-8_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i nxclient_3.4.0-5_i386.deb nxnode_3.4.0-6_i386.deb nxserver_3.4.0-8_i386.deb

add browser
sudo apt-get install epiphany-browser epiphany-extensions

Required Packages

sudo apt-get install apache2
sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-php5
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install libgd2-xpm-dev

a) Create Account Information

Become the root user.
sudo -s

Create a new nagios user account and give it a password.
useradd -m -s /bin/bash nagios

passwd nagios
/usr/sbin/usermod -G nagios nagios

Create a new nagcmd group for allowing external commands to be submitted through the web interface. Add both the nagios user and the apache user to the group.

/usr/sbin/groupadd nagcmd
/usr/sbin/usermod -a -G nagcmd nagios
/usr/sbin/usermod -a -G nagcmd www-data

b) Download Nagios and the Plugins

Create a directory for storing the downloads.

mkdir ~/downloads
cd ~/downloads

Download the source code tarballs of both Nagios and the Nagios plugins (visit http://www.nagios.org/download/ for links to the latest versions).

wget http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/nagios/nagios-3.2.0.tar.gz

wget http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/nagiosplug/nagios-plugins-1.4.14.tar.gz

c) Compile and Install Nagios

Extract the Nagios source code tarball.
tar xzf nagios-3.2.0.tar.gz

cd nagios-3.2.0
./configure --with-command-group=nagcmd
make all
make install
make install-init
make install-config
make install-commandmode

d) Customize Configuration

Edit the /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/contacts.cfg config file and change the email address associated with the nagiosadmin contact definition to the address you'd like to use for receiving alerts.

sudo nano /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/contacts.cfg

e) Configure the Web Interface
make install-webconf
htpasswd -c /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users nagiosadmin
/etc/init.d/apache2 reload

Note: Consider implementing the ehanced CGI security measures described here to ensure that your web authentication credentials are not compromised.

f) Compile and Install the Nagios Plugins
cd ~/downloads

tar xzf nagios-plugins-1.4.14.tar.gz
cd nagios-plugins-1.4.14

./configure --with-nagios-user=nagios --with-nagios-group=nagios
make
make install

g) Start Nagios

Configure Nagios to automatically start when the system boots.
ln -s /etc/init.d/nagios /etc/rcS.d/S99nagios

Verify the sample Nagios configuration files.
sudo /usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -v /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg

If there are no errors, start Nagios
sudo /etc/init.d/nagios start

h) Login to the Web Interface (nagiosadmin) and password you specified earlier.
http://localhost/nagios/

i) Other Modifications

If you want to receive email notifications for Nagios alerts, you need to install the mailx (Postfix) package.

sudo apt-get install mailx
Select sattellite and enter relay server (in this case the exchange server)

test in terminal
mail sss@sss.com
(NB: company server only accept relay for local addresses)
Enter to end subject
CTRL-D to end body

Edit the Nagios email notification commands found in /usr/local/nagios/etc/objects/commands.cfg and change any '/bin/mail' references to '/usr/bin/mail'. Once you do that you'll need to restart Nagios to make the configuration changes live.

sudo /etc/init.d/nagios restart

See next few posts about configuring Nagios and NSClient

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic on Dell E4300

2010-01-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

1) OS
I installed on an expresscard ssd to keep the xp on the HD intact.
Ubuntu 9.10 64 bit. I skipped swap and selected ext2 (becuase of ssd)

set visual effects to None

2) Problem with touchpad

Qickfix (will kill also mouse config possibilities)
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/options and add:

options psmouse proto=bare

2) Applications
opera
http://www.opera.com/browser/download/?custom=yes

Skype
http://www.skype.com/intl/sv/download/skype/linux/choose/
(unmute mic in sound preferences)

http://www.cairo-dock.org/index.php
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://repositoryairo-dock.org/ubuntu karmic cairo-dock

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cairo-dock cairo-dock-plug-ins

itunes in Ubuntu

2009-12-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

I am trying to install itunes under ubuntu using wine.

So far no luck.

Perhaps version 7 will work.

http://www.oldapps.com/itunes.php?old_itunes=20

Or upgrading wine?

http://www.winehq.org/download/deb

Fix mouse / touch pad issues on dell e4300

2009-11-15T01:13:00.000-08:00

Issue, the mouse sometimes jumps when scrolling a web page or clicking on a button.

Seem to be related to the touch pad but it does help to disable the touch pad.
(enable synaptic in ubuntu https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticsTouchpad)

This will fix the issue:
Edit (as root) /etc/modprobe.d/options and add:

Code:

options psmouse proto=bare

The downside is that the touch pad will stay enabled with no (?) way to disable it.

Another HD sample page (MS)

2009-11-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/musicandvideo/hdvideo/contentshowcase.aspx

Howto build deb package

2009-08-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56965

xbmcbuntu - manually install live components

2009-08-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/runXBMC.sh

wget http://xbmc.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/xbmc/branches/linuxport/XBMC/tools/XBMCLive/runXBMC

sudo cp runXBMC /usr/bin/runXBMC

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/runXBMC

The other live components:

http://xbmc.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/xbmc/branches/linuxport/XBMC/tools/XBMCLive/

Copy root partition to another disk

2009-08-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=978079

HOWTO revert to old svn

2009-08-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

sudo dpkg -i xbmc-common_9.04.2+svn22278-jaunty1_i386.deb xbmc-skin-pm3-hd_9.04.2+svn22278-jaunty1_i386.deb xbmc-web-pm3_9.04.2+svn22278-jaunty1_i386.deb

sudo apt-get install xbmc=[svnVERSION]

(e.g. 22278)

The packages are stored in /var/cache/apt/archives

Revert to old version in svn source directory

svn up --revision 22278

(svn guide http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1167578)

openbox or fluxbox?

2009-08-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

The main reason I picked openbox was that on debian it was the only one that use the keyboard layout from the command line installation without any config. On Ubuntu this does not seem to be a problem.

If you only want a basic wm behind xbmc and don't want to config maybe fluxbox is better since has a panel and a working menu from scratch.

Remote access to XBMC Live /xbmcbuntu with GUI

2009-08-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

We will use NX server to do this. It is the easiest/most stable/most secure method.

I would like to be able to use XDMCP since it would require no additional components. Problem is that I don't know how to make Xming start the wm manually.

This will work on XBMC Live and xbmcbuntu installations. Live have fluxbox installed, xbmcbuntu have what ever you installed.

1) install NX server

(check for new versions http://www.nomachine.com/select-package.php?os=linux&id=1)

sudo apt-get install libaudiofile0

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/nxclient_3.3.0-6_i386.deb

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/nxnode_3.3.0-17_i386.deb

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.3.0-22_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i nxclient_3.3.0-6_i386.deb nxnode_3.3.0-17_i386.deb nxserver_3.3.0-22_i386.deb

2) Install NX client on laptop/desktop

3) Connect the NX client

Start the client

Type a new session name

Press configure

enter host/ip

Select Desktop Unix-Custom

Press settings=>

Run the following command: /usr/bin/fluxbox (or in my case /usr/bin/openbox-session)

Select : New virtual desktop

Save settings

4) Logged in!

This will bring up a black window with no visible menus and no desktop.

Right-click on background to get menus select "terminal emulator". This works fine in fluxbox.

In openbox xterm does not work correctly in NX when started from the top level menu and we do not have an application/ Debian menu. To fix this we install "menu" and another terminal.

sudo apt-get install menu roxterm

roxterm is not really needed, xterm works fine in NX if started from the the Debian menu.

I want to be able to do some stuff before I install gnome so I add some applications directly:

sudo apt-get install menu roxterm dillo rox-filer leafpad

(dillo = web, rox-filer = browse file system, leafpad text editor)

If you want to use gnome you will not need these.

4) Next step

If you want to keep it very light weight you can use the system like this, just continue to add the none gnome applications that you need.

Otherwise you may want to use a desktop environment like gnome, lxde or rox.

It also works fine to add gnome-support but use gnome applications in openbox. This is what I will do now.

5) Install Gnome

sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends install gnome-core

Now you can change from custom to gnome in NX and connect.

I have listed a number of gnome applications here http://vikjonlinuxhowto.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-create-minimal-ubuntu-desktop.html

To start with I want to share a folder, have a bittorrent client, mount usb and browse the web:

sudo apt-get install deluge nautilus-share epiphany-browser epiphany-extensions gnome-mount

compile firefox in debian 5.0

2009-08-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Firefox is not available from PPA in debian 5.

A pity the understanding of the market place is so poor... otherwise I would probably move from ubuntu to debian.

Maybe I will try to compile from source.

http://markshroyer.com/blog/2009/07/firefox-35-debian-amd64.html

XBMC reinstalled (Now XBMCbuntu)

2009-08-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

I have decided to change my configuration. Instead of base it on a ubuntu desktop I will do a xbmcbuntu installation according to the official guide with the same name. The only reason is that this is what everybody else does. The performance will not be improved.

I will still need a gui but I will add it on top of the xbmc installation instead of the other way around. I think I will stick to gnome for the moment, but am working on a openbox setup as well. The biggest difference in the end will be that I will not run in GDM.

-------------------------------------------------------

XBMCbuntu installation on ION 330 (Asrock)

--------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------

0) Preparations

-------------------------

Flash BIOS => 1.50

Set shared memory to 512Mb

--------------------------

1) XBMCbuntu setup

--------------------------

Refer to the official wiki this is just my installation log.

http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=XBMCbuntu

*I use a PPA installation for NVIDIA

*I install openbox instead of fluxbox/blackbox EDIT: I will probably switch back to flux)

a) Install minimal ubuntu

-install from 32-bit mini cd (or server CD??)

-don't create the xbmc user in this step (I create xbmcadmin /xbmc)

-Select autoinstall security updates

-optional: Create an extra partition for storage and format it

-add basic server. But Why should Basic Ubuntu Server be added? I didn't select anything at all before.

-add ssh

connect with SSH or type the rest of the commands in terminal.

b) Initial system config (add sources)

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.org.list

add these lines:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/ppa/ubuntu/ jaunty main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/ppa/ubuntu/ jaunty main

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/xbmc-addons/ppa/ubuntu/ jaunty main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/xbmc-addons/ppa/ubuntu/ jaunty main

#deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-svn/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

#deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-svn/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

save file and exit (CTRL-O CTRL-X)

Add keys

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 318C7509 91E7EE5E 64234534

(addons, live PPA, SVN PPA)

Update apt

sudo apt-get update

c) Install custom boot splash (optional)

sudo apt-get install usplash-theme-xbmc-*

sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf

add

xres=1920

yres=1080

sudo update-alternatives --config usplash-artwork.so

sudo update-initramfs -u

d) Install XBMC

If you want to install SVN directly

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.org.list

-and comment out the stable (first 2 lines) and uncomment the svn

sudo apt-get install xbmc xinit x11-xserver-utils

e) Install "restricted drivers" for NVIDIA from 3rd party PPA

*I the nvidia-vdpau PPA. It has more alternatives than the two in the guide. e.g. downgrade => 180

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

add

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

Add key

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com CEC06767

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic nvidia-glx-185

*Version 180 seem to work better for the moment. Less frame drops. I am on 180 right now

sudo nvidia-xconfig -s --no-logo --force-generate

f) Test basic installation of XBMC

add simple window manager

sudo apt-get install fluxbox xterm

type startx in console

right-click select terminal & type xbmc

g) Install xbmc helpers

sudo apt-get install xbmc-live python-apt

enter pwd for xbmc user etc

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Add

xbmc=nodiskmount,noredir loglevel=0

xbmc=noredir loglevel=0

to the end of the first option kernel line

depending on if you want to automount disks or not.

*I will use the first, manually mount my storage partition and later add gnome-mount to handle USB.

add safe mode by copying the first section and remove "quite splash quite"

and add "(safe mode)" to the title line. Don't enable mount in safe mode. That way you can boot without mounting and manually mount any fixed disks.

f) Updating alsa

installing from rep:

sudo apt-get install linux-sound-base alsa-base alsa-utils

*For the moment I am testing with this, supposed to be some upgrades lately.

installing the latest (1.0.20)

wget http://xbmc.org/wp-content/uploads/alsaup.sh

chmod +x alsaup.sh

sudo ./alsaup.sh -di

g) Additional settings and packages

sudo alsamixer

-Unmute and set volume (MM means muted and OO On)

-Hit "m" to toggle mute on/off.

-Do not forget to unmute HDMI if you are going to use that

sudo alsactl store

-store the settings

h) Optional: Install support for a remote

sudo apt-get install lirc

--------------------------------------------------------

This should pretty much be a vanila XBMCbuntu installation

With the exception of openbox and the diskmount.

-----------------------------------

2) Upgrade to SVN (optional)

-----------------------------------

exit XBMC

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xbmc.org.list

-uncomment the svn line and comment the stable PPA

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

-------------------------------------------------

3) Config

-------------------------------------------------

a) delete guisettings.xml (will erase all your settings)

sudo rm /home/xbmc/.xbmc/userdata/guisettings.xml

b) Enable 24hz, auto adjust refresh rate

add in screen section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"

Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = Native"

sudo sed -i '60i\ Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"' /etc/X11/xorg.conf

sudo sed -i '60i\ Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = Native"' /etc/X11/xorg.conf

check result

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

c) Disable HW curser

Add in section device in /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Option "HWCursor" "False"

sudo sed -i '50i\ Option "HWCursor" "False"' /etc/X11/xorg.conf

check result

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

d) reboot

sudo reboot

-------------------

4) Config in XBMC

-------------------

a) enable VDPAU and Auto adjust refresh rate

Change render method => VDPAU

Set "Auto adjust refresh rate" on

b) setup sound

Enable digital sound

Settings for SPDIF:

default

iec958

Setting for HDMI:

hdmi

If mp3 is playing to fast, try with:

plug:hdmi

hdmi

more on openbox

2009-08-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

http://urukrama.wordpress.com/openbox-guide/

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Openbox

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/lxde-lightweight-x11-desktop-environment-for-ubuntu.html

http://lxde.sourceforge.net/install.html

openbox with fbpanel

2009-08-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Notes for my latest light desktop trial project

In this case on a minimal debian with gnome-core installed.

It is the same on ubuntu.

apt-get install openbox fbpanel

add rox-filer?

autostart and config fbpanel

http://chris4585.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/ubuntu-fbpanel-profile/

http://chris4585.wordpress.com/fbpanel-profiles/

$ sudo gedit /etc/xdg/openbox/autostart.sh

Add the following lines to autostart.sh:

sleep 0;

fbpanel –profile profile-file-name1 &

Network manager

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Xfce

Autostart

sleep 0;

nm-applet --sm-disable &

it has to run as root we need to fix policykit

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Xfce

/etc/dbus-1/system.d/NetworkManager.conf

/etc/dbus-1/system.d/NetworkManagerInfo.conf

/etc/dbus-1/system.d/nm-applet.conf

/etc/dbus-1/system.d/nm-avahi-autoipd.conf

/etc/dbus-1/system.d/nm-dhcp-client.conf

In each file, copy the section of text which starts with and ends with . Paste it immediately below the line, and change the line to .

For example:

Or fix the sudoer file

http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/33

Linux permission

2009-08-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

http://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/sect_03_04.html

Command Meaning

chmod 400 file To protect a file against accidental overwriting.

chmod 500 directory To protect yourself from accidentally removing, renaming or moving files from this directory.

chmod 600 file A private file only changeable by the user who entered this command.

chmod 644 file A publicly readable file that can only be changed by the issuing user.

chmod 660 file Users belonging to your group can change this file, others don't have any access to it at all.

chmod 700 file Protects a file against any access from other users, while the issuing user still has full access.

chmod 755 directory For files that should be readable and executable by others, but only changeable by the issuing user.

chmod 775 file Standard file sharing mode for a group.

chmod 777 file Everybody can do everything to this file.

Connect to non default desktop in NX server

2009-08-11T01:56:00.001-07:00

http://muzso.hu/category/tags/nx-client

If you've eg. Xubuntu on your server with Xfce as the default desktop environment, then it's not trivial how you can connect with FreeNX and use this desktop environment. In the nxclient enter the session configuration screen, set the "desktop" to "Unix" and "Custom", enter "Settings" and choose the "Run the following command" for the "Application", and enter this into the textbox: /usr/bin/xfce4-session. In the "Options" select the "New virtual desktop". Press OK and select in the "Display" section "Full screen"

Howto create a minimal Xfce desktop (debian)

2009-07-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Preliminary notes

EDIT: I ended up installing a minimal gnome instead. I think that is easier for them to use...looks more like mac/ window. Better menus for end users.

http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20090504#feature

http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=65655

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/xfce-how-to-change-the-keyboard-layout-322374/

Logg:

apt-get -y --no-install-recommends install xorg gdm xfce4

xfce4-xfapplet-plugin (necessary to use gnome applets like nm)

networkmanager

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

remove cd

gpasswd -a user powerdev

aptitude install --without-recommends lxde

Automount

http://slucas.wikidot.com/en:xfce-automount

Possible packages

thunar-archive-plugin???

shutdwon-helper??

xfce4-goodies

thunar

xfce4-panel

xfburn

squeeze

and whatever their dependencies are

xfwm4

xfdesktop

xfce-mcs-manager

Linux on an old Laptop

2009-07-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

I promised to fix a friends old laptop. I thought I would install a minimal desktop based on ubuntu. But ubuntu does not boot on this machine as it turned out. This also happened the first time I tried linux, ubuntu could not handle the old test laptop. That time I installed Suse without any problem.

I don't like Suse much and I did some digging around. I considered Fedora since I think redhat is probably still the best choice for servers(?) and it would hurt to learn it.

Final decision to give debian a chance since don't really have time to Fedora right now.

It worked without any problem! I think the debian installation process looks much better than Ubuntu and obviously it can handle old HW better.

I made a test installation with command line only and manually added Xfce & GDM. Had some intial problems but nothing much.

I also found out that there is a debian CD with lxde /xfce and I loaded lxde onto the laptop but I didn't like it much. After some google I decided to stick with a minimal xfce on top of debian.

Plan now is to load the xdebian into a virtal machine and use it as a reference when building the mini desktop.

TEST asoundrc

2009-07-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/DigitalOut

http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/.asoundrc

http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/Dmix

pcm.!default plug:both

ctl.!default {

type hw

card ICH6

}

pcm.both {

type route;

slave.pcm {

type multi;

slaves.a.pcm "intel8x0";

slaves.b.pcm "aureon";

slaves.a.channels 2;

slaves.b.channels 6;

bindings.0.slave a;

bindings.0.channel 0;

bindings.1.slave a;

bindings.1.channel 1;

bindings.2.slave b;

bindings.2.channel 0;

bindings.3.slave b;

bindings.3.channel 1;

bindings.4.slave b;

bindings.4.channel 2;

bindings.5.slave b;

bindings.5.channel 3;

bindings.6.slave b;

bindings.6.channel 4;

bindings.7.slave b;

bindings.7.channel 5;

}

ttable.0.0 1;

ttable.1.1 1;

ttable.0.2 1; # front left

ttable.1.3 1; # front right

ttable.0.4 1; # copy front left to rear left

ttable.1.5 1; # copy front left to rear left

# mix front left/right to subwoofer and center

ttable.0.6 0.5;

ttable.1.6 0.5;

ttable.0.7 0.5;

ttable.1.7 0.5;

}

ctl.both {

type hw;

card ICH6;

}

pcm.aureon {

type dmix

ipc_key 1024

slave {

pcm "hw:1"

period_time 0

period_size 2048

# buffer_size 8192

buffer_size 65536

buffer_time 0

periods 128

rate 48000

channels 6

}

# the channels of this card are mixed-up

bindings {

0 0

1 1

2 4

3 5

4 2

5 3

}

pcm.intel8x0 {

type dmix

ipc_key 2048

slave {

pcm "hw:0"

period_time 0

period_size 2048

# buffer_size 8192

buffer_size 65536

buffer_time 0

periods 128

rate 48000

channels 2

}

bindings {

0 0

1 1

}

ctl.aureon {

type hw

card "Audio"

}

ctl.intel8x0 {

type hw

card "ICH6"

}

Install Aeon skin in XBMC

2009-07-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

This is how to install Aeon the quick way.

Didn't like the color scheme though..not going to use it.

Install Skin Aeon

-----------------

sudo apt-get install git-core

cd ~/.xbmc/skin

git clone git://github.com/djh/aeon.git

(If you want a another folder name git clone git://github.com/djh/aeon.git "Aeon Stark")

cd aeon

5) Get the fonts

EDIT: The URL will be generated based on your ip (I think) You have to get your own from

http://www.mediafire.com/?lywzwbnqyyy

wget http://download273.mediafire.com/aew2memhsysg/lywzwbnqyyy/Aeon_Fonts160709.zip

unzip Aeon_Fonts160709.zip

mv Aeon/fonts fonts

6) clean-up

rmdir Aeon

rm Aeon_Fonts160709.zip

reference

---------

http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49958

toslink AND HDMI

2009-07-23T06:09:00.001-07:00

I am trying to get sound on both HDMI & SPDIF from XBMC.

Below .asoundrc file almost works perfectly problem is that there a time delay between the channels. The problem could be the TV though, I also get an echo if I connect the TV to the receiver...

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm "both"
}
}

pcm.both {
type route
slave {
pcm multi
channels 4
}
ttable.0.0 1.0
ttable.1.1 1.0
ttable.0.2 1.0
ttable.1.3 1.0
}

pcm.multi {
type multi
slaves.a {
pcm "tv"
channels 2
}
slaves.b {
pcm "receiver"
channels 2
}
bindings.0.slave a
bindings.0.channel 0
bindings.1.slave a
bindings.1.channel 1
bindings.2.slave b
bindings.2.channel 0
bindings.3.slave b
bindings.3.channel 1
}

pcm.tv {
type hw
card 0
device 3
channels 2
}

pcm.receiver {
type hw
card 0
device 1
channels 2
}

Audio Out: Digital

Dolby D. (AC3): false

DTS: True

Audio output: plug:both

Passthrough: iec958

Config rc system with sysv-rc-conf

2009-07-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Do not auto start GDM

--------------------

sysv-rc-conf

Find 'gdm' and uncheck the boxes for runlevels 2 and 3.

Now the desktop will only start if you run:

startx

How to create a minimal ubuntu desktop

2009-07-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

Reference

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1155961

If you want to make a minimal ubuntu desktop install a clean system from the minimal cd and add what you need manually.

If you add everything in this list you should have more or less a standard ubuntu system minus applications.

NB: There are other desktop and window managers that are much lighter. This guide will create a standard ubuntu system (gnome desktop).

If you really want to do it minimal / bit by bit you might want to use:

sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends install

It will only install the really necessary packages.

Display Manager&Desktop

--------------------------------

sudo apt-get -y install xorg gdm gnome-core

Reboot and you have a basic desktop!

(exlude gdm and you can start manually with "startx" instead)

You can now start add utilities and applications.

Gnome basics

------------

gnome-system-tools gnome-utils x11-xserver-utils

Remaining system utilities

--------------------------

and stuff that will make it look like a standard ubuntu desktop

apport-gtk (frot end crash report system)

jockey-gtk

usplash

update-manager

notify-osd

update-notifiers

network-manager-gnome

fast-user-switch-applet

Themes etc

gnome-screensaver

ubuntu-artwork human-theme tangerine-icon-theme gnome-themes-ubuntu xcursor-themes

---Network manager fix

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Comment out the lines below "primary network interface"

(This is the solution that match the standard 9.04 setup)

laptop

---------------

laptop-mode-tools

ubuntu-laptop-mode

apmd -advanced power management

powernowd -CPU speed (not only for laptops?)

Standard applications

-----------------------------

epiphany-browser epiphany-extensions (well, not the standard browser. Standard is if course firefox)

brasero

gnome-nettool

nautilus-share -share a folder by righ click

gdebi - offline package manager

More utilities - installed in standard desktop

---------------

vino -vnc Remote desktop access

system-config-printer-gnome

usb-creator

powernowd -CPU speed

More utilities - NOT installed in standard

---------------

gparted

ntfsprogs (tools for unproblematic use of NTFS file systems)

language-pack-gnome-XX and language-pack-gnome-XX-base (with XX representing your local language, e.g. de)

ssh

gconf-editor

2009-07-18T13:02:00.001-07:00

Another useful tool!

Example of usage:

No password when coming back from suspend--

Run gconf-editor, navigate to app > gnome-power-manager > lock

and uncheck everything.

Wifi command line tool

2009-07-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

cnetworkmanager

Install NX server from terminal

2009-07-18T03:10:00.001-07:00

Edit: new version available

mkdir Downloads
cd Downloads

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/nxclient_3.4.0-5_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/nxnode_3.4.0-6_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.4.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.4.0-8_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i nxclient_3.4.0-5_i386.deb nxnode_3.4.0-6_i386.deb nxserver_3.4.0-8_i386.deb

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/nxclient_3.3.0-6_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/nxnode_3.3.0-17_i386.deb
wget http://64.34.161.181/download/3.3.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.3.0-22_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i nxclient_3.3.0-6_i386.deb nxnode_3.3.0-17_i386.deb nxserver_3.3.0-22_i386.deb

Howto mount a new partition

2009-07-18T02:36:00.000-07:00

View partitions:

sudo fdisk -l (/dev/sda3)

Create a mount point:

sudo mkdir /storage

Edit the fstab:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab_backup

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add:

/dev/sda3 /storage ext2 defaults 0 0

Refresh:

sudo mount -a

Owner:

sudo chown -R xbmc:xbmc /storage

Access:

sudo chmod -R 755 /storage

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/mountlinux

Upgrade Alsa

2009-07-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

I can't find any general PPA for ALSA like for NVIDIA. Anyone know?

Manually:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo apt-get install wget build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

wget ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/driver/alsa-driver-1.0.20.tar.bz2

tar -xf alsa-driver-1.0.20.tar.bz2

cd alsa-driver-1.0.20

./configure

make

sudo make install

With script (I could't get the package to download with wget so I did it manually):

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6589810#post6589810

Killer samples

2009-07-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/artbeats.html

http://tracker.hatters.org.uk/torrents/killa.sampla.x264.mkv.torrent

HowTo install ATI drivers Ubuntu 8.04 (not supported in 9.04?)

2009-07-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Example card ATI x1650

0) Uninstall

navigate to the /usr/share/ati

sudo sh ./fglrx-uninstall.sh

1) install pre-req

sudo apt-get install xorg build-essential dpkg-dev debhelper libstdc++5 dkms cdbs fakeroot

2) Find the correct package

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

---Se readme

3)Download

wget https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/9206/0/www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/ati-driver-installer-9-3-x86.x86_64.run

4) Install

sudo sh ati-driver-installer-9-3-x86.x86_64.run

sudo /usr/bin/aticonfig --initial

6) reboot

sudo reboot

7) test

fglrxinfo

glxinfo | grep 'direct rendering'

glxgears

2009-07-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

I have bought and installed a Asrock ION 330 now. It works fine so far!

This is how I did:

http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54705

Minimal desktop

2009-07-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1155961

Would be interesting to learn how to add the desktop to a minimal or server installation.

and learn the start-up procedures at the same time.

Install NVIDIA with PPA

2009-07-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

This should be a better option since it should not cause any problem when upgrading the kernel.

https://launchpad.net/~nvidia-vdpau/+archive/ppa

If the xorg.conf is not configured maybe this need to be run "sudo nvidia-xconfig".

0) Remove manually installed driver

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop

sudo /usr/bin/nvidia-uninstall

1) Add source

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/nvidia-vdpau/ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

3) Add key

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com CEC06767

4) Install

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic nvidia-glx-185

ATI drivers not available for Ubuntu 9.04?

2009-07-15T02:55:00.001-07:00

Test manual setup

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI

http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38804

Test openGL

2009-07-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

glxinfo | grep 'direct rendering'

output will return "direct rendering:"

If this is 'Yes' or 'Enabled' then OpenGL is likely set up correctly. If it is listed as 'no' or 'disabled' then double check your 3D setup.

glxgears

A window will be displayed with 3 rotating gears. If 3D acceleration is correctly enabled for your video card then the reported framerate should be well over 500 FPS, at the default window size. If the output shows less than 500 FPS then you should double check your 3D setup.

fglrxinfo

Problem with alsactl store

2009-07-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

On a few installation I got this problem with the alsa mixer:

sudo alsactl store 0
gives E: core-util.c: Home directory /home/xbmc not ours.

Only solution I found is to remove pulse audio
sudo apt-get remove pulseaudio

IR receiver troubleshooting

2009-07-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

I will make another attempt to get my pinnacle remote / IR receiver to work.

The remote is the same as the MS MCE, the problem is the receiver.

I am struggling to find information but I now found this

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1117200.html

This should list the device:

ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

another link with debug instr

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-967339.html

If the device is detected as keyboard/mouse instead of RC it will show up here:

cat /proc/bus/input/devices

regenerate ssh keys

2009-07-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

SH1 protocol

sudo ssh-keygen -q -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key -N '' -t rsa1

SSH2 protocol

sudo ssh-keygen -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key -N '' -t rsa

sudo ssh-keygen -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key -N '' -t dsa

Necessary after installing from remastersys iso.

Get WPA2 to work in Ubuntu - with wicd

2009-07-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

EDIT: I have upgraded to ubuntu 9.04 and wpa2 works fine out of the box.

Ubuntu seem to have problem with WPA2?

Google says the solution is to use wicd instead of Gnome Network Manager.

It is included in Ubuntu 9.04 repositories but in hardy you have to add the source.

install wicd:

Add key

wget -q http://apt.wicd.net/wicd.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Add source:

deb http://apt.wicd.net hardy extras

I used Synoptic Package Manager to install it since the network manager have to removed and I read some people having problem with it.

Problem with drivers and wicd:

The installation went fine but wicd seem to handle drivers differently. Before I could see the network but not connect. Now I cannot see anything and the wifi indicator is dark on the laptop.

I installed the windows wireless drivers tool (available in ubuntu rep) and added the windows drivers.

Now I can see the networks again, but cannot connect to wpa2 network....

Then I slapped in a USB wifi adaptor and wicd light up as christmas tree..... I can also connect with no problem! This is good enough for now. (this is just an old laptop....)

Conclusion:

It is not easy to get WPA2 to work with old hardware.

With a little bit newer hardware wicd handles WPA2 without problem.

If wicd cannot not see the network card, use a different card or skip WPA2?

It it of course possible that if I could find a newer windows driver it would work. The newest I could find from d-link was from 2007. I am not sure it would work in xp either.

Windows XP also have problem with WPA2 without the latest drivers/updates.

I am not 100% sure if the problem was the Network Manager and not the drivers, but I am pretty sure that I did test the USB adaptor with the network manager earlier.

I will verify as soon as possible if the wicd is really needed or if it is device dependent only,

Mini-IT Atom HTPC

2009-07-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Board

INTEL D945GCLF2 LITTLE FALLS ATOM 330 MINI-ITX BULK -----850 SEK

Case

SILVERSTONE HTPC SST-LC19R SILVER-------------------------------1995 SEK

(incl PSU)

alt

COMPUCASE MINI-ITX 8K01BS 100W SVART-------------------------625 SEK

Remote

PHILIPS RC197 REMOTE CONTROLL OCH RECIVER------------------340SEK

Optional GPU

Sparkle Geforce 8400GS 512MB DDR2, DVI, VGA, TV-out, PCI-------795 SEK

It is pretty hard to find mini ATX components in Sweden, maybe too early?

An unrelated problem is that I cant find any "standard" MCE Remote any more either. To bad I do not want to have trouble getting it to work in Linux.

Portableapps - Your digital life anywhere

2009-07-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

Something to try?

http://portableapps.com

The question is how it will interact with corporate ant-virus, firewalls and GPOs.

Create USB boot tool

2009-07-02T09:13:00.001-07:00

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Seem to have nice functionalities. Should test

Script to configure lirc

2009-06-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

#!/bin/bash

sudo dpkg-reconfigure lirc

echo "Running mythbuntu-lircrc-generator..."

mythbuntu-lircrc-generator

echo "Adding extra include files..."

echo "include ~/.lirc/irexec" >> ~/.lircrc
echo "include ~/.lirc/irxevent" >> ~/.lircrc

Ubuntu 8.10 USB boot creator

2009-06-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like the problem (or part of) with USB boot in 8.04 is fixed

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/casper/+bug/219192

Not sure if it is enough to update the system or new CD is need (8.04.3)

Or daily build:

http://cdimages.ubuntu.com/hardy/

Edit: I tested and it works fine.

xbmc session

2009-06-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Ok.

Finally found out how the get the xbmc session to work in ubuntu.

An extra package is needed:

sudo apt-get install xbmc-standalone

Someone need to add that to the wiki.

HOWTO install XBMC 9.04 on ubuntu 9.04 - Install

2009-05-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Added Hardy as alternative.

Instruction on how to install PPA

https://help.launchpad.net/Packaging/PPA#Adding%20a%20PPA%20to%20your%20Ubuntu%20repositories

Installation instruction

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33327

XBMC 9.04 for Ubuntu 9.04 (jaunty)

https://launchpad.net/~team-xbmc/+archive/jaunty-ppa

XBMC 9.04 For Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy)

https://launchpad.net/%7Eteam-xbmc/+archive/hardy-ppa

Add key from terminal

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0xa62016ec6944db21c7793b3a9f10e6ae9317790e

Hardy

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 91E7EE5E

Add source

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/jaunty-ppa/ubuntu jaunty main

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc/hardy-ppa/ubuntu hardy main

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xbmc

sudo apt-get install xbmc-standalone

Setup sound levels

alsamixer

Save Sound levels

sudo alsactl store

HOWTO install XBMC 9.04 on ubuntu 9.04 - Preparation

2009-05-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Install Ubuntu 9.04

user/ pwd xbmc/xbmc

autologin

Install all updates

Install and config remote control

http://vikjonlinuxhowto.blogspot.com/2009/04/howto-setup-remote-for-ubuntu-804-xbmc.html

optional:

Install remastersys

http://vikjonlinuxhowto.blogspot.com/2009/04/test-create-livecd-fom-running-system.html

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

HOWTO Fix for Live CD persistent USB boot ubuntu / xubuntu 8.04

2009-05-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

DOES NOT WORK ON 8.04

There is a problem with the Live CD persistent USB BOOT in ubuntu 8.04 (and earlier)

It is supposed to be fixed in ubuntu-8.04.3 but the available version is ubuntu-8.04.2.

The problem is in the default initrd.gz

Bugg report https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/casper/+bug/219192

I found the solution here

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1073838

sudu cp /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/casper /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/casper_org

sudo /usr/share/initramfs-tools/scripts/casper
Delete section ",mode=755"

AND

sudo cp /usr/share/initramfs-tools/init /usr/share/initramfs-tools/init_org

sudo /usr/share/initramfs-tools/init

Add text in bold

break)
break=premount
;;

persistent)
PERSISTENT=yes
root_persistence=casper-rw
home_persistence=home-rw
;;

esac

I am testing this on xubuntu

policy instead of sudoers?

2009-05-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

I have to look into this again

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.suspend

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.hibernate

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.reboot

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.shutdown

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.reboot-multiple-sessions

sudo polkit-auth --user xbmc --grant org.freedesktop.hal.power-management.shutdown-multiple-sessions

HOWTO Clean Ubuntu and remove not needed stuf

2009-04-24T08:27:00.001-07:00

Clean

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=140920

sudo apt-get clean

sudo apt-get autoremove

sudo apt-get install localepurge

Easy Ubuntu XBMC Setup (v.05)

2009-04-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have tried to switch to Linux earlier and one problem I had was that it was very hard to find information in a format that I could digest. Everyone that knows how to fix the problem insist on explaining how to download, compile and config from terminal when all you want to know is what button to press.

The other problem is that it is very hard to find a howto from start to end, you are often expected to know a lot of "basic" stuff that takes another day to figure out. I will try to explain all the steps. Please ask if I leave something out. The bad news is that already after two weeks I am shifting to do stuff in the terminal.

E.g. "sudo apt-get install" in terminal means install package and can be done graphically in the synaptic package manager found in /system/administration/ menu. Sudo means do as super user. ~/ means home directory. (possibly /home/xbmc/)

Install Ubuntu

I will actually assume that you can handle this. It is very easy. I used the Ubuntu 8.04 standard desktop .iso. (8.04 is LTS Long Term Support)

I will try to use XUbuntu to create my final setup.

The only thing I did was to do the partitioning manually since I need to keep one of the old partitions. I created a /swap, a / (root) and a /home. I created the /home so that I can re-install without losing my notes on how to do the installation again. I used ext3.

I named the user created during installation "xbmc" and I am using it to run XBMC. It is probably better to create an admin user and later manually create the xbmc user with just enough rights.

Critical post install configuration

1)Install all updates. I do this in GUI. Do not know howto in terminal

2)install ubuntu restricted stuff. In terminal:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

3=If needed enable the restricted driver for you graphical card and wireless.

Install XBMC

Edited: 20090510

I used the instruction here http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33327

Together with reply from topfs2 (reply #10)

We need to install stuff from https://edge.launchpad.net/~team-xbmc-hardy/+archive/ppa

1) Install the key from

http://keyserver.ubuntu.com:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x717A562B2F85D502

(As described in the web page above)

a)Put the key in a text file "xbmcHardykey"

b)Go to menu /system/administration/Software sources

tab "Authentication"

Import key – browse to the keyfile created above.

2)Add source

Go to menu /system/administration/Software sources

Tab Third-Party software ADD :

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-hardy/ppa/ubuntu hardy main

and

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/xbmc-addons/ppa/ubuntu hardy main

3) Install XBMC (in terminal enter:)

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install xbmc

Optional:

sudo apt-get install xbmc-eventclients*

sudo apt-get install xbmc-scripts*

sudo apt-get install xbmc-skin*

4) Make sure visual effects is set to "none" in menu /System/Preferences/Appearance

5) It should now be possible to start xbmc from /applications/ menu

or by entering xbmc in terminal. If you have not setup LIRC, use keyboard to control the menus.

6) I used the resolution setting in the XBMC/ settings/appearance/ menu to get a full screen. There is also a –fs (full screen) and a –standalone switch that I need to look into. I have only used the internal settings so far.

7) Connect an usb drive with a movie on or use "add source" to add a location with media.

-Play movie.

8) If the movie is played in the upper right corner you need to:

open a new file from terminal

gedit ~/.xbmc/userdata/advancedsettings.xml

add glrectanglehack xml.

Download here.

(right click and save file, it will not display correctly in browser)

or google "glrectanglehack xbmc"

9) You can enable auto login in /system/administration/login window – security

10) Quickest way to get autostart on login is to open /system/preferences/sessions/ and add “/usr/bin/xbmc” as the command in a new session called “startXBMC”

I need to find another way though, this seem to be connected to gnome(?) and I want to use a more lightweight window manager, maybe twm.

11) If problem with screen saver, open existing file xorg.conf

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

add at the end:

Section "ServerFlags"

Option "BlankTime" "0"

Option "StandbyTime" "0"

Option "SuspendTime" "0"

Option "OffTime" "0"

EndSection

download here.

(right click and save file)

12) Now you need to fix the remote: http://vikjonlinuxhowto.blogspot.com/2009/04/howto-setup-remote-for-ubuntu-804-xbmc.html

+++

This should more or less by my basic setup version v0.5.

You probably want to enable vnc, ssh and maybe XMDCP. I can get back to that.

I have also installed remastersys and created my own installation/liveCD. Maybe I will upload itwhen I get closer to a v1.0 setup.

HOWTO Ubuntu 8.04 post install config

2009-04-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

Add SSH server

https://help.ubuntu.com/7.04/server/C/openssh-server.html

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

HOWTO mount tmp to ramdisk

2009-04-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

Recommended if installing Linux to USB /Flash to avoid wearing down the disk.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1054129

sudo gedit /etc/fstab

##RAMDISK##

none /tmp tmpfs defaults,size=424m 0 0

##RAMDISK##

none /tmp tmpfs defaults 0 0

Then reboot

Howto re-run LIRC config

2009-04-20T00:50:00.000-07:00

This will be useful. I have had to re-install LIRC to this.

sudo dpkg-reconfigure lirc

HOWTO Create LIve/installation CD from running system

2009-04-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

See

http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/index.html

add source

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://www.geekconnection.org/remastersys/repository ubuntu/

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install remastersys

Problem with USB persistence.

http://geekconnection.org/remastersys/forums/index.php?topic=121.0

Still does not work with version 8.04 at least not when creating with Ubuntu usb boot creator. Skip persistence and it works fine,

also see guide

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1073838

TEST USB boot

2009-04-19T04:11:00.000-07:00

Possibilities:

1) Converting live CD => USB boot with Ubuntu 8.10 tool

2) Install Ubuntu direct to USB

If used as permanent solution the tmp should be mapped to ram disk & no swap

3) Create a live CD from running system and convert to USB boot

Thin Client Media Center

2009-04-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

I tested to run XBMC via XDMCP. The very loud test laptop becomes almost completly silent.

I have no sound and no remote. Sound is fixable from what I understand. USB / Remote could be a problem.

I would like to do some work on this.

Possible solutions:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuLTSP

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FreeNX

Both supports sound and USB port mapping(?).

Another solution with be to use network booting. However, I think the problem is CPU heat not HD.

The first step would be to isolate HD heat/noise from CPU by boot from USB.

Select which media center application to use

2009-04-19T01:03:00.000-07:00

What HTPC /MCE / Media Center should you chose?

I was already using Vista and xp MCE and I use that as reference.

Vista

Can do almost everything including TV time-shift & recording

Takes no time at all to setup if you know ms win. Works with remote and everything out of the box.

You have to do some advanced tweaking to enable multiple rdp sessions. Crazy.

It takes a lot of power. Vista is heavy by it self and if you start MCE it is very slow. You need a modern computer. (3GHz + 2-3G RAM)

You need to pay. You shall not steal? I if you do, it is extra work anyway.

MythTV

The most known system. Very advanced, has a frontend/backend setup which I like.

It support PVR and all kinds of TV functionality.

I tried the Mythbuntu installation CD. It worked ok out of the box, but I did not like it much. E.g. you have to type paths, no browse available. If you are going to test it you should probably know that Mythbuntu does not read media files directly from disk by default, it relay on the library. Change this setting unless you want to figure out how to load the library before you know if you have sound & picture. I could not get it to delete files from disk. I was intending to test a manual installation to learn more but moved on.

I never tried the TV functionality.

Freevo

I have not tested it. It has PVR / TV functionality.

Of course the name is from Tivo.

Elisa

Gave it a quick test run only. It is a native gnome application and I think it could be very light weight. It is not finished yet and I could not get it to do much. Very easy to install since it is included in Ubuntu default sw sources.

Could be the way to go in the future at least if you are running on a desktop computer and do some tasks with keyboard mouse. I mean library maintenance etc.

XBMC

XBMC is now ported to linux and ready for use. Pre-compiled runtime is available for ubuntu which is a pre-req for me for the moment.

It looks and works great! It is working better better than Vista. E.g. in Vista you cannot delete a folder, no problem in xbmc.

It does not have PVR / TV functionality though. I understand it is possible to integrate with mythtv, this is not a prio for me right now.

Compared to other applications it is working much better out of the box. However, you do not get the full package out of the box. Lirc has to be installed which is pretty easy if you know what you are doing but to get it to interact correctly with the OS takes some more work.

XBMC features not found in Vista

Delete folders

Resume video from where you stopped viewing

If playing video from a shared folder it works much better than in win. The player is buffering the file much better. On a good day it even works ok on wifi.

It is possibly a bit heavy on the HW but much less than Vista MCE and also a bit less than playing a video directly in the Vista desktop. It does get the fan going though. I think it rates somewhere between XP & vista (ubuntu gnome + XBMC compared to win without MCE)

Popcorn

Popcorn is the most popular pre-built consumer media center. I have not tested it, but maybe I should?

I am not sure that using a PC as media center is the best way to go. It is loud and uses a lot of power. It is also expensive and to get it silent is more expensive.

Moving from win=>linux Media Center / HTPC

2009-04-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

I have been using Vista Media Center for a while but I am now switching to a linux based system. I'm happy with Vista after some tweaks. (enable multiple rdp sessions etc). The problem is that if you for some reason do not want to pay, it requires some extra work and there is always the risk that the tweaks will contain virus.

I was also using winxp MCE on an old laptop but xp stopped working after Christmas. The laptop cannot not handle vista media center and barely vista by it self.

This prompted me to finally make the move to Linux.

The problem is that I do not know Linux. I used unix back at the university but only learned ls, cd and a few other commands. Luckily I know other computer stuff and I decided to give it a try.

I can tell you in advance it takes a LOOT of time if you are not an Linux expert. Yes, you can get Ubuntu to run in a hour, but to get to the level of vista mce out of the box takes a lot of work.

The good news is that the sw is great and I prefer it to vista when finally set up correctly.

Howto setup Remote for Ubuntu 8.04 XBMC with MS Remote

2009-04-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

It is pretty straight forward to setup basic functionality but finding information is a nightmare.
The biggest problem was to get the shutdown to work with auto started irexec.

1) Remote control XBMC and other applications.
2) Start stop & kill XBMC with remote
3) Shutdown computer
4) Autostart irexec

Basic setup
The first step is to install and configure LIRC.

sudo apt-get install -y lirc
Select windows media center remotes (New version)
IR Transmitter: Select “none”

run irw in terminal and press any button on the remote, the name of device and button should show on screen.

This is pretty much it if you have a standard remote. I have had no problem with MS MCE Remote. You should now be able to control XBMC.

To control other applications you have to create your own button => function mappings.
This is stored in the .lircrc file in ~/.

This is best done by using the lirc generator from the mythbuntu team.

sudo apt-get -y install mythbuntu-lirc-generator
run
mythbuntu-lircrc-generator
and you will get the lircrc files for the most common applications.

Totem is the standard player in Ubuntu 8.04, it is supported by this setup but first you need to enable the remote plugin from within the player.

Advanced setup
Download files & scripts here.

Setup start stop & shutdown
Most of this is from http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30230. Some changes was necessary though.

We need irexec to do this and for good measure we setup irxevent as well. The latter is used to send keyboard commands. (ctrl-s etc)

install irxevent
sudo apt-get -y install lirc-x

create file named irexec in ~/.lircrc

Add:

# Start XBMC
begin
prog = irexec
button = Home
config = ~/scripts/startXBMC.sh &
end

# Kill XBMC
begin
prog = irexec
button = Red
config = ~/scripts/killXBMC.sh &
end

#shutdown
begin
prog = irexec
button = Power
config = ~/scripts/shutdown.sh &
end

The '&' is necessary at least in my setup, otherwise the startXBMC will loop in the background and when I exit XBMC it is restarted several times.
I found the solution here http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30230.

Create an empty file named irxevent in ~/.lircrc
It will contain the mappings for irxevent. I am not using it for the moment. I wanted to send ctrl-alt-Delete, but could not get it to work.

Add
include ~/.lirc/irexec
include ~/.lirc/irxevent
to the ~.lircrc file

echo "include ~/.lirc/irexec" >> ~/.lircrc

echo "include ~/.lirc/irxevent" >> ~/.lircrc

The next step is to create the script files.
Pick them up at http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=30230.
Worked fine for me, I replaced /home/youruser/ with ~/ when possible. I think the remaining hardcoded usernames can be removed by following the comments further down in the thread (pidof?). I guess killall would also do the trick.

To autostart the irexec (and irxevent) add
/home/username/scripts/startIRexec.sh
to system/preferences/sessions. NB: ~/scripts does not work here.

First test to start manually from terminal
~/scripts/startIRexec.sh

Run it twice and you should see that the script kills the old processes before the new is started.
ps -C irexec
should show one irexec process after two runs.

Now you should be able to start and kill XBMC. Kill should only be used when XMBC cannot be closed down the normal way I think.
Please note that I have mapped Power button to shutdown, when shutdown is finally working it will make it impossible to use the Power button to exit XBMC without shutting down the computer. The mapping can be changed in the irxec file. I think it can also be fixed by using mode in the lirc files to separate the applications.

Now to the shutdown..
I use
sudo /sbin/shutdown -h now
in the shutdown script. We can't have the script asking for password and this is fixed by editing the /etc/sudoers file. It is edited with this command:
sudo visudo.

First make backup
cp /etc/sudoers /etc/sudoers.org

This is where we hit the wall. The correct way(?) to do this is to add the line
youruser ALL=NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown
at the end of the sudoers file.

It worksfine if you start irexec manually from the terminal.
But after reboot and autostart shutdown does not work, everything else works fine.

I finally found a solution/ workaround.
add
%admin ALL=NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown

I am aware this is not a good setup, but it will have to do for a while. Can anyone help?

If you find this guide helpful let me know. I would be willing to re-write it with some quality if anyone needs it.