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Looking for a laptop as my T430 has died
by Chris Green 27 May '17

27 May '17

My faithful Lenovo/IBM T430 seems to have died so I'm looking for a replacement. A similar specification would be fine, price is the major issue, the T430 is a refurbished one and I'd be quite happy to go for refurbished again. Requirements are:- Third generation core I5 or better processor 14" screen SSD drive (though I could transfer the one from my T430) 8Gb memory USB 3.0 Gbit ethernet There's no need for any OS though I guess it will be bound to have Windows in which case 7 preferred. There's not so many brands, basically Lenovo, HP/Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Asus and Acer seem to be it. Does anyone have any comments on good/bad brands? I've been happy with the Lenovo T430 (but it has died!). So recommendations awaited please. -- Chris Green

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Recovering from ext4 corruption, logs & rsync help
by steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk 22 May '17

22 May '17

Hi gurus! Request for help below. First, what happened. I had made a copy of some music files/directories I wished to copy to my phone using pcmanfm (I think) but mid copy I got errors "Can't write to readonly filesystem". Thinking this meant that probably my main drive had errored somehow and switched to read-only mode, I decided to reboot, via the shutdown menu. OOPS. Machine would then not boot. It tried to do a on-book fsck, which crashed, but if I interrupted the fsck, it also crashed. I found a live cd, booted from it, loaded mdadm and reassembled my raid arrays then fscked my two partitions /, /home. Errors were found and fixed. Basically some inodes multiplly claimed, and a few reference counts were wrong. Files were placed in Lost + Found. Rebooted & booted OK. Worked out all the lost & Found files were jpgs from my photo albums. sorted them all out. Rebooted again, but sometimes my desktop won't appear, & I'm left at a text loging prompt. Q1) If the desktop doesn't appear, which log files to examine? Dmesg & xorg.*.log? Q2) Any ideas which log files I should check to try and work out what went wrong yesterday? I can't see anything obvious in Kern.log - just a few UFW entries then stuff from when I next booted it. I backup my files via various methods, but one is an Rsync to a USB drive. I backup using sudo rsync -av --del / /media/me/USBDrive/ --exclude-from=/home/me/rsynchbackexclude rsynchbackexclude is a text file containing stuff like /sys/* /dev/* /proc/* /media/* /mnt/* /tmp/* /lost+found/* /var/tmp/* *.iso I want to "compare" the backup with the live hard disk and see what, if anything, is missing. If anything is missing I'll restore if from a different backup source though. I suspect that I need to do a "dry-run" copy from the USB drive to the live hard disk q3) Am I right with this command line to do a "dry run" restore, i.e. show me what would copy, which is in effect, what is different between the USB disk and the live drive? sudo rsync -av --dry-run /media/me/USBDrive/ / --log-file=LogToFile -v = verbose -a = -rlptgoD =>r recursive l copy links as symlinks ptgo preserve permissions, times, group, owner D preserve device files & special files --dry-run = do a dry run --list-only = list changes but don't do any --log-file log to file is this right, or should I do i = itemise changes instead of dry-run? Any help/advise welcomed. Thanks Steve

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How to locate bookmarks data in Mozilla/Firefox/Iceweasel ...
by Ted Harding 18 May '17

18 May '17

Greetings all! I'm seeking to rescue important files and other info from a laptop that has just "crashed". I had installed Linux (Debian) on a virtual machine (VirtualBox) installed on windows XP. It's Windows XP which has gone both bottom-up and tits-up. I think I can probably use a CD with Slackware installed to boot from (Ive tried it on another machine, and it works), which should then give me access to the Linux filesystem stored on the hard drive separately from the Windows filesystem. Once there, when it concerns files which I know where to find on the filesystem, there should be no problem reading their contents (though extracting the files themselves for transfer to my working machine may be another issue). However, one important item which I would like to plant on my working machine is the set of bookmarks (hierarchically organised) that I have built up over many years on the crashed machine's Mozilla/Firefos/Iceweasel browser. Presumably this lurks somewhere is a ".filename" in my home directory. But I've not managed to sniff out such a file on my working machine (also Debian), so I wouldn't know where to look on the crashed machine. Therefore, please, can anyone tell me where the file is likely to be, and what it's likely to be named? Then I could transcribe its contents to the other machine. With thanks, Ted.

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Gnome panel?
by Bev Nicolson 09 May '17

09 May '17

Is there any way of adding or removing applets from the Gnome2 panel? I've googled but can’t find any info. The usual advice (alt + right click doesn't work any more, it seems.) Bev

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lappy aboard
by Phil Thane 09 May '17

09 May '17

Thanks for your help guys. Similar answers from both sides, seems to be a choice of either a car adapter or a bare board type converter. The car type is likely to be easier, in fact I think it would be a good idea to fit a couple of 'cigar lighter' type sockets when I do a refit in the winter. Regarding the two battery setup, I will keep them as engine battery and leisure battery, but probably fit a split charging circuit so that the leisure battery is topped up by the engine once the engine battery is full in case the solar panel doesn't supply enough once I add more lights, laptop, audio, shower pump... On the other hand it would be good to have the solar panel keep the engine battery topped up when we don't use it for a while, so will investigate split charging in both directions. Might get complicated unless someone makes a specialist control box for just that scenario, in which case it'll get expensive! -- Phil Thane www.pthane.co.uk phil(a)pthane.co.uk 01767 449759 07582 750607 Twitter @pthane

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lappy aboard
by Phil Thane 09 May '17

09 May '17

This is Linux related, sort of, so I hope ALUG don't mind the apparently random question. (cc'd to my old LUG in Wrexham, they're used to mad questions from me). I have just bought a canal/river boat and want to use my Linux laptop on it. The PSU for it is labelled 19v, 4.7 amps. The boat runs on 12v. The simplest but quite pricy option is to get an inverter to create 220v AC then use the standard PSU but apart from cost it lacks elegance. The boat has 2 completely separate circuits (at present, I'll probably re-wire it next winter). There is a 12v battery charged by the engine that is used for the engine starter and a few ancillaries such as the horn and nav lights. The there is another 12v battery charged by a solar panel on the roof used for cabin lights. If I connect the two in series I should get 24v then I should be able to acquire (or even assemble) a DC-DC voltage regulator to bring it down to 19v. Anyone see any problems with that? -- Phil Thane www.pthane.co.uk phil(a)pthane.co.uk 01767 449759 07582 750607 Twitter @pthane

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Re: [ALUG] lappy aboard
by Noel Galer 08 May '17

08 May '17

>-----Original Message----- >From: main [mailto:main-bounces@lists.alug.org.uk] On Behalf Of Phil Thane >Sent: Monday, May 08, 2017 7:41 PM >To: main(a)lists.alug.org.uk >Cc: relay(a)wrexham-lug.org >Subject: [ALUG] lappy aboard > >This is Linux related, sort of, so I hope ALUG don't mind the apparently >random question. (cc'd to my old LUG in Wrexham, they're used to mad >questions >from me). > >I have just bought a canal/river boat and want to use my Linux laptop on >it. >The PSU for it is labelled 19v, 4.7 amps. The boat runs on 12v. The >simplest >but quite pricy option is to get an inverter to create 220v AC then use the >standard PSU but apart from cost it lacks elegance. > >The boat has 2 completely separate circuits (at present, I'll probably re->wire >it next winter). There is a 12v battery charged by the engine that is used >for >the engine starter and a few ancillaries such as the horn and nav lights. >The >there is another 12v battery charged by a solar panel on the roof used for >cabin lights. > >If I connect the two in series I should get 24v then I should be able to >acquire (or even assemble) a DC-DC voltage regulator to bring it down to >19v. > >Anyone see any problems with that? > >-- >Phil Thane > >www.pthane.co.uk >phil(a)pthane.co.uk >01767 449759 >07582 750607 >Twitter @pthane May I make an alternative suggestion ? There are lots of really inexpensive 'Boost' or 'Step-Up' regulators now available on eBay. These are switch mode and therefore very efficient too. It is a common application to use one of these to provide 24V from a 12V system and 19V would not be a problem as they are mostly adjustable. Here is a link to such an item that might be suitable ( I have no financial or other interest in this item or supplier, it was picked at random ):- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-DC-Converter-150W-10-32V-to-12-35V-Boost-S tep-up-Power-Supply-Module-/252691490519?hash=item3ad59626d7:g:LxQAAOSw2 41YWsVX This is just an example, there are plenty more, larger and smaller, but this might do the job with a bit more heat sinking as is recommended. There are a few caveats too. Some laptop power supplies, Dell being an example, use an extra wire ( with Dell it's a small signal only pin in the centre ) to provide a power pack identification. If not present, things don't work too well despite supplying the correct voltage and sufficient current. This is supposedly to ensure the correct power rated pack is used, but you and I might just think it is to prevent after market PSUs from being used. If your source battery goes flat ( under 10.5V = zero charge ) a boost regulator will just keep sucking charge out of a lead acid battery and damage it, but then so might any other drain on that battery, e.g. lights. If you connect the two 12V systems in series as you suggest, you will be ok as long as both do not share a common ground line. I have no idea if this might be the case. Also, when one system is depleted, lets face it they are unlikely to have the same capacity, i.e. one goes flat as above ( < 10.5V ) damage could still occur to one system. But if you do, a quick look on eBay for a 'Buck' regulator similar to the link I gave, would do that job. If you decide to use a boost regulator and end up with one that has a Constant Current control, don't be tempted to set this to the current on the laptop power supply. I would set it somewhat higher, in your case 6A or more, or to maximum to handle transients when switching on etc. The laptop will only pull the current it needs. I use these things all over the place including my 'Demonic' WolfLite handlamp that instead of a 3W bulb, now has a 40V 1A LED unit running from 18V of LiPo batteries. Best regards, Noel ( Xorsyst ) _______________________________________________ main(a)lists.alug.org.uk http://www.alug.org.uk/ https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above!

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USB Backup Disk problems
by steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk 08 May '17

08 May '17

Hi Geniuses! I have a 2TB Seagate USB disk that is being used with backuppc to store daily backups. However, almost every day the backup is failing, and attempting to ls the drive gives "input/output error". Looking through DMESG shows multiple problems reading sectors on the disk, but I've yet to find a particular cause. If I reboot the machine, the drive immediately starts working again. If I fsck it, it reports no errors. The disk has two partitions on it, and the 2nd partition is used by SimpleBackup, and this seems to work fine. I'm currently backing up the backup before I do some more in-depth testing on it, and possibly reformat it. I forgot to mention that both partitions are encrypted. Do people think the disk is broken (bad sectors or hardware problems), or if not, any idea what's going on? On to the next problem. I bought a different 2TB Seagate USB 3 disk which I was intending to use to replace the problematic disk. I managed to set up encrypted partitions on the new disk, and configure the computer so that they would automatically mount on boot.... so I tried to boot the machine and.... the BIOS screen appeared, then it said detecting devices... The old faulty drive is detected, but then the USB 3 Driver is not detected and the machine hangs. It's simple, with the drive connected at boot, the machine won't boot or detect the drive. Without the USB3 drive connected, the machine boots fine. I'm guessing that the machine, which is quite old, can't cope with something about the new drive, perhaps it's slightly too big (although they're both ~2TB), or because it's USB3, and I think the old one is USB2. The old one has a power supply, but the new one doesn't, but I tried connecting it via a powered hub, and no difference. Is there any way round the machine not booting? I don't think there's a updated bios for this old machine. Any ideas, straws to clutch at? Steve

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 11th May
by Viperfang 08 May '17

08 May '17

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 11th May at The Coach and Horses (82 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1BA). The meeting officially starts at 8pm, although some people may arrive earlier. More information on those people can be found on the list and the IRC channel. If you are unsure if you will recognise us then make yourself and your intent to attend known by either posting on list or visiting us on IRC so we can look out for you rather than hiding in the corner. Optionally you could ask at the bar if they know where the geeky computer weirdos are and they'll point you in the right direction (seriously!). Another possibility is look for heaps of electronics on a table that may possibly look like movie props that would used for detonating explosives. Feel free to bring electronics/laptops/gadgets to the meet, you will by no means be alone. Ben Bewick aka Viperfang NB: This mail is automated, please refer to the usual sources for more information. ALUG Contact Details: Website : http://www.alug.org.uk/ IRC : #alug on irc.alug.org.uk List : http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo Twitter : http://twitter.com/anglianlug Identica: TBA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381613902 ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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HMRC payroll software and zlib
by Jenny Hopkins 02 May '17

02 May '17

Hi all, I'm attempting to set up payroll on debian jessie using the HMRC's payroll software for linux. When I try and run it, however, I get the following error: zipimport.ZipImportError: can't decompress data; zlib not available Fatal Python error: unable to locate initialization module I've installed these packages, but no change. libjzlib-java zlib1g:amd64 zlib1g-dev:amd64 zlibc Following a similar thread for this error, I ran python and got the following info: >>> zlib.__version__ '1.0' Any ideas on what else I need to install, or what the problem could be? Thanks, Jenny

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2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 5th May.
by Viperfang 02 May '17

02 May '17

Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk

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DNS lookups with systemd-resolve (Ubuntu 17.04)
by Mark Rogers 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

I have a local DNS server, and in it are several hosts, specified both with and without a domain name. Eg: $ dig @192.168.1.5 myhost ... ;; ANSWER SECTION myhost. 0 IN A 192.168.1.123 ... $ dig @192.168.1.5 myhost.mydomain ... ;; ANSWER SECTION myhost.mydomain 0 IN A 192.168.1.123 However, if I don't specify the DNS, the first query (myhost) times out, where the second (myhost.mydomain) still works fine. My PC gets its DNS settings via DHCP. /etc/resolv.conf contains only 127.0.0.53 which as I understand it is systemd-resolve. /run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf contains only 192.168.1.5 (my DNS). So, in the case of a query for "myhost.mydomain", systemd-resolve is correctly passing the query on to my DNS. But in the case of "myhost" it is not (I don't know what it is doing instead). If I try "ping myhost" I get "Name or service not known". Similarly, if I try ssh mark@myhost. Suggestions? -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Mesh wireless
by Mark Rogers 24 Apr '17

24 Apr '17

I started looking at a few commercial mesh wireless products, which typically retail at around £300-400 for a typical house. I then Googled and discovered a few Linux mesh wireless projects, such as might suit running on a Pi. Anyone here have any experience of such things? (The biggest obstacle with the Pi is likely to be the slow Ethernet port but there are faster single board computers around that might work better. Regardless, the Pi might be a good place to start playing.) -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Pub meet + GPG
by Bill Hill 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

It has been a while - GPG key signing? -- Red to red, black to black, switch it on, but stand well back.

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Shutdown!
by Michael Goddard 12 Apr '17

12 Apr '17

Using Mint 18.1 on my laptop, when using 'shutdown' it does just that, but then reboots a few seconds afterwards, every time recently! Tia, Michael -- Michael Goddard <emmjee(a)mypostoffice.co.uk>

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 13th April
by Viperfang 10 Apr '17

10 Apr '17

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 13th April at The Coach and Horses (82 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1BA). The meeting officially starts at 8pm, although some people may arrive earlier. More information on those people can be found on the list and the IRC channel. If you are unsure if you will recognise us then make yourself and your intent to attend known by either posting on list or visiting us on IRC so we can look out for you rather than hiding in the corner. Optionally you could ask at the bar if they know where the geeky computer weirdos are and they'll point you in the right direction (seriously!). Another possibility is look for heaps of electronics on a table that may possibly look like movie props that would used for detonating explosives. Feel free to bring electronics/laptops/gadgets to the meet, you will by no means be alone. Ben Bewick aka Viperfang NB: This mail is automated, please refer to the usual sources for more information. ALUG Contact Details: Website : http://www.alug.org.uk/ IRC : #alug on irc.alug.org.uk List : http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo Twitter : http://twitter.com/anglianlug Identica: TBA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381613902 ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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Writing to Google Sheets from bash
by Mark Rogers 07 Apr '17

07 Apr '17

I don't suppose anyone here has any experience of writing to Google Sheets from bash? (Specifically, I'm trying to use curl to write values into a pre-existing spreadsheet.) I started with a fairly simple aim: To have a few Linux boxes (servers, Pi's, etc) periodically update a central spreadsheet with stuff like disk utilisation, updates pending, O/S version, etc. However I haven't had to deal with OAuth2 before and I'm going round in circles trying to find out exactly what authentication I need to configure. My attempts at Googling have lead me into most of those circles without getting me out again! It seems like a useful concept to pursue but I have to admit I'm just way out of my depth! -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Strange PC lock-up
by Mark Rogers 05 Apr '17

05 Apr '17

Several times over the past few weeks I've had my PC (Ubuntu 16.10*) apparently lock up: desktop stops changing (clock stops updating) but the mouse (usually) continues to move. Sometimes I can SSH in, although more often I can get as far as entering username/password but never reach a terminal prompt. It can happen while I'm actively using it (mid-sentence), or if I go away and come back it could have locked in my absence, often relatively shortly after it was left (the stopped clock is quite handy...) I found messages in syslog relating to nouveau so I replaced the graphics card (as a fairly cheap swap out). That made no difference (actually if anything it got worse, although I'd hesitate to say so for sure). Rather than mess around I bought a new PC and transferred my system disk to it, still figuring it felt like a hardware issue. Except that the problem has followed across onto the new PC. The only things moved across are the new graphics card and three hard disks. It no longer feels like a hardware issue.... How do I diagnose? Or am I just looking at a re-install? * Note that this PC has been upgraded through several versions, it wasn't a clear 16.10 install. The only "major" change recently has been a shift from Chrome to Opera as the primary browser (and since I tend to have dozens of tabs open and most of my work involves a browser in some way that does count as a major change). Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 7th April.
by Viperfang 04 Apr '17

04 Apr '17

Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk

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SSH tunnelling
by Mark Rogers 28 Mar '17

28 Mar '17

I need to access the web server on a VM in my office, from my laptop. I have SSH access to an intermediate PC and from there to the VM. Ie: Laptop -> PC -> VM How do I set up a tunnel from laptop through PC to VM to give me access to port 80 on the VM? If relevant: Each of the two SSh connections will require (different) user/password. Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Re: [ALUG] Machine slows down
by Christopher Dawkins 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

> Several times over the past few weeks I've had my PC (Ubuntu 16.10*) > apparently lock up: desktop stops changing (clock stops updating) but > the mouse (usually) continues to move. Sometimes I can SSH in, > although more often I can get as far as entering username/password but > never reach a terminal prompt. Run 'top' in a console window on the screen beforehand. I find Firefox can do this with some web sites that are too javascript-heavy, load averages up to 50 or more. -- Christopher Dawkins Archivist, Felsted School http://archives.felsted.org Garnetts Corner, Jollyboys Lane North, Felsted, Dunmow, Essex CM6 3DU cchd(a)pjcd.org 07816 821659 01371 821076

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Digital East Anglia meetup
by Ewan Slater 23 Mar '17

23 Mar '17

If anyone's interested: https://www.meetup.com/digital-east/events/238348094/?a=socialmedia

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Delay in sending mail
by Jenny Hopkins 22 Mar '17

22 Mar '17

Hello, Can anyone suggest why sending IMAP mail from either icedove, thunderbird, claws on a client is taking about a minute (about ten seconds "connecting to server" then over 30 seconds with "delivering mail"), whereas using mutt it goes in an instant? I must have something misconfigured somewhere, but don't know where to start looking - exim4 and dovecot logs on the server aren't showing anything up of interest. Thanks for any suggestions, Jenny

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 9th March
by Viperfang 06 Mar '17

06 Mar '17

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 9th March at The Coach and Horses (82 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1BA). The meeting officially starts at 8pm, although some people may arrive earlier. More information on those people can be found on the list and the IRC channel. If you are unsure if you will recognise us then make yourself and your intent to attend known by either posting on list or visiting us on IRC so we can look out for you rather than hiding in the corner. Optionally you could ask at the bar if they know where the geeky computer weirdos are and they'll point you in the right direction (seriously!). Another possibility is look for heaps of electronics on a table that may possibly look like movie props that would used for detonating explosives. Feel free to bring electronics/laptops/gadgets to the meet, you will by no means be alone. Ben Bewick aka Viperfang NB: This mail is automated, please refer to the usual sources for more information. ALUG Contact Details: Website : http://www.alug.org.uk/ IRC : #alug on irc.alug.org.uk List : http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo Twitter : http://twitter.com/anglianlug Identica: TBA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381613902 ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 3rd March.
by Viperfang 28 Feb '17

28 Feb '17

Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk

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