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RE: [Alug] blackbox automatic startup
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Keith Watson wrote: >> I want blackbox to start automatically when i run startx. I tried putting >> exec blackbox in various .xsession and .xinitrc files to no avail. > >Are you using Gnome or KDE? (or just the basic XFree86?) and, if so, are you >using something like Enlightenment or Sawfish on top of that? I *think* wmaker. I don't fully understand x and xservers, having been pretty much a cli luddite till now. Endeavouring to learn. Thanks, Jen.

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RE: [Alug] blackbox automatic startup
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Ricardo wrote: >If you wanted to boot directly into X, then I would say >install GDM, but I guess that's not what you want? No, just for blackbox to start when I type startx. I think it is just to do with putting "exec blackbox" in the right file, but the one the helpful goole doc suggested isn't there (.xinitrc in home directory type stuff). At the moment when I startx I get a grey background with an xterm window, nothing else, until I type the appropriate window manager in the xterm. When I said earlier "I don't fully understand x..", by the way, I meant "I have absolutely no idea how x works" ;-) Jen.

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Re: [Alug] A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing
by Kelly Ash 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Installing should not be too scary or such a big problem, especially as you have a new drive to put linux onto, there is very very little chance of dataloss etc. what OS are you going to dual boot Linux with? Windows NT/2000/9x? >>>Win98se Also if you do find it scary can you not make one of the Alug meetings where somebody will quite happily install (well try ;)) linux for you... If not where in the world are you as somebody could perhaps come and help you in person. (btw i just had a thought, could we not offer some kind of telephone helpline to people who are stuck 50% of the way through an install?) >>>Appreciate the thought, don't feel quite so nervous now. Was mainly worried about doing something wrong and then not having ANY puter to work with until I'd figured it out. And, btw, I'm near Yarmouth :-)

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Boot Loaders
by Keith Watson 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

As I'm booting from 2 disks hda=Windows and hdb=GNU/Linux, can I solicit views on what boot loaders are out there and which are suitable for this sort of configuration? Keith ____________ COMMERCE, n. A commercial pursuit. A commercial pursuit is one in which the thing pursued is money. Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary --- This message has been scanned for computer viruses and none have been detected. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com) Version: 6.0.375 / Virus Database: 210 - Release Date: 10/07/2002

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Dual Booting Win2K and Linux
by Kelly Ash 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

That would be great, thanks!

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Dual booting Win2K and Linux
by Keith Watson 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Kelly, I have a PDF entitled as above that may be of help to you as it uses Mandrake in the examples. As it is just under 1Mb if you'd like a copy I'll send it directly to you (and anyone else who's interested). Is there an area on the ALUG site I could post it? Keith ____________ AIR, n. A nutritious substance supplied by a bountiful Providence for the fattening of the poor. Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary --- This message has been scanned for computer viruses and none have been detected. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com) Version: 6.0.375 / Virus Database: 210 - Release Date: 10/07/2002

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Re: [Alug] UDMA100 problem solved
by Ricardo Campos 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

> The problem I was having, that my machine hung in the BIOS when I added a > UDMA100 disk is now solved. Yes, I fitted a UDMA100 disk last night and it seemed to work fine. Except, perhaps, that cfdisk thought it only had 8 gig (as opposed to 80). the Bios seems to think it's 200Gig too. Weird. fdisk knew the score, though. Interestingly, the second HD on that IDE channel was showing signs of temporarily hanging, but then that was *that other OS*, which I did an emergency install of until I get my Debian disks back. -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Mail spool dir...
by Simon 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Hi everyone, Been a while since I last posted a question where the answer is probably obvious!! MTA is Sendmail... OK, whats the file limit in directories if there is one, just my mail spool directory is huge!! There's around 5500 files in there. None of the users have shell accounts all pop3.. I was wanting to know as I've just been informed that because "the powers that be" like the way the system works with so little downtime, we're going to bin Notes (about time too) and migrate another 3000 onto the system. The current Notes server only sends and recieves around 60k messages per day, so will take the Linux box upto around 90k messages per day. I want to stick with Sendmail as I know it better than other MTA's, just want to make sure Sendmail will not have any problems with this sort of use. Bandwidth isn't an issue (which is nice to say!) got a dedicated 4mb pipe for it... TIA Simon

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Re: [Alug] Mail spool dir...
by Simon 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Hi Raphael, On Wednesday 17 July 2002 8:03 am, Raphael Mankin wrote: > On 17-Jul-2002 Simon wrote: > > Thanks for the helpful reply Raphael... > > > > yes it is Linux not DOS, I didn't realise that Sendmail can run in DOS... > > If it was DOS would I have posted to ALUG??? > > Actually sendmail *does* run in DOS. Believe it or not.# OK... Live and learn.... > > > Please don't bother replying unless it's constructive.. > > That is my point. This is Linux. It does not matter how many files you > have; DOS gets its twickers in a nist after a while. Oh but it does..... > > > I was simply enquiring if there was a per directory file limit as I > > believe there is a > > maximum file size limit... > > Nope. You obviously did not follow my style of humour. But never mind, I'm > used to it. Sorry, didn't get the humour side.. <appology>sorry</appology>.. > > > Also with regard to the MTA user limit, this was more making sure that > > Sendmail would not have > > any problems... Again Raphael, thanks for the informative reply... > > > > Sometimes you wonder why people bother asking questions on mailing > > lists... Replies like > > this sure don't help.... > > > > Simon > > > > On Wednesday 17 July 2002 7:40 am, Raphael Mankin wrote: > >> On 17-Jul-2002 Simon wrote: > >> > Hi everyone, > >> > Been a while since I last posted a question where the answer is > >> > probably obvious!! > >> > > >> > MTA is Sendmail... > >> > > >> > OK, whats the file limit in directories if there is one, just my mail > >> > spool directory is huge!! There's around > >> > 5500 files in there. None of the users have shell accounts all pop3.. > >> > I was > >> > >> ^^^^^^^^^ > >> > >> So? This is Linux, not DOS. > >> > >> > wanting to know as I've just been > >> > informed that because "the powers that be" like the way the system > >> > works with so little downtime, we're going > >> > to bin Notes (about time too) and migrate another 3000 onto the > >> > system. > >> > > >> > The current Notes server only sends and recieves around 60k messages > >> > per day, so will take the Linux box > >> > upto around 90k messages per day. I want to stick with Sendmail as I > >> > know it > >> > >> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > >> > >> So what of it? That is only 1/sec. > >> > >> The only question is, have you got enough disk space if all the users go > >> on holiday and do not collect their mail for 2 or 3 weeks? > >> > >> > better than other MTA's, just > >> > want to make sure Sendmail will not have any problems with this sort > >> > of use. Bandwidth isn't an issue > >> > (which is nice to say!) got a dedicated 4mb pipe for it... > >> > > >> > TIA > >> > > >> > Simon > >> > > >> > _______________________________________________ > >> > main(a)lists.alug.org.uk > >> > http://www.alug.org.uk/ > >> > http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main > >> > Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above!

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Re: [Alug] Mail spool dir...
by Simon 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Thanks for the helpful reply Raphael... yes it is Linux not DOS, I didn't realise that Sendmail can run in DOS... If it was DOS would I have posted to ALUG??? Please don't bother replying unless it's constructive.. I was simply enquiring if there was a per directory file limit as I believe there is a maximum file size limit... Also with regard to the MTA user limit, this was more making sure that Sendmail would not have any problems... Again Raphael, thanks for the informative reply... Sometimes you wonder why people bother asking questions on mailing lists... Replies like this sure don't help.... Simon On Wednesday 17 July 2002 7:40 am, Raphael Mankin wrote: > On 17-Jul-2002 Simon wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > Been a while since I last posted a question where the answer is > > probably obvious!! > > > > MTA is Sendmail... > > > > OK, whats the file limit in directories if there is one, just my mail > > spool directory is huge!! There's around > > 5500 files in there. None of the users have shell accounts all pop3.. I > > was > > ^^^^^^^^^ > > So? This is Linux, not DOS. > > > wanting to know as I've just been > > informed that because "the powers that be" like the way the system works > > with so little downtime, we're going > > to bin Notes (about time too) and migrate another 3000 onto the system. > > > > The current Notes server only sends and recieves around 60k messages per > > day, so will take the Linux box > > upto around 90k messages per day. I want to stick with Sendmail as I know > > it > > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > > So what of it? That is only 1/sec. > > The only question is, have you got enough disk space if all the users go on > holiday and do not collect their mail for 2 or 3 weeks? > > > better than other MTA's, just > > want to make sure Sendmail will not have any problems with this sort of > > use. Bandwidth isn't an issue > > (which is nice to say!) got a dedicated 4mb pipe for it... > > > > TIA > > > > Simon > > > > _______________________________________________ > > main(a)lists.alug.org.uk > > http://www.alug.org.uk/ > > http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main > > Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above!

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ALUG Helpline for stucj users
by Ben Norcutt 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

Yes putting peoples phone numbers isn't a great idea but we could use the YAC number I set up for publicity purposes ages ago or even sign up for a new one takes minutes online. This could be redirected via the web interface to people that want to help out on a daily/weekly rota. Cheers, Ben

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UDMA100 problem solved
by Raphael Mankin 17 Jul '02

17 Jul '02

The problem I was having, that my machine hung in the BIOS when I added a UDMA100 disk is now solved. My primary disk did not like co-existing with anything else at all. I discovered this when I got hold of another old-style disk *and* swappped the IDE cable. Remove the old primary - all is fine; put it back - only one disk can be connected. All is now sweetness and light. -- Nothing propinx like propinquity. Mark Twain Raphael Mankin E-Mail: raph(a)panache.demon.co.uk ----------------------------------

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A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing . . .
by Kelly Ash 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

OK, I've read...re-read...checked...double and triple checked...read yet again..and have outrun the men in the little white coats with butterfly nets *g* Now, I think I'm well into information overload. So much so that I can hardly remember what I read or looked into on the net at the beginning. Much of what I've run into has been fairly basic which was extremely helpful in my case! But...there are many references to things having to do with Linux that I really have no idea what they're talking about and it starts becoming frustrating. So, I'm thinking of backing off for a day or two and then doing a quick run-through of the info I have, and then finally installing on Saturday. I d just like to know if I'm going about this install the right way or should I delve even deeper into this foreign world *g* before even attempting the install?? I hope the answer is no, as I said, everything is starting to blur together. I've backed up everything I can think of to back up as I've had to completely re-install my system twice in a years time and wouldn't look kindly to having to do it again. I've another question...will Mandrake show me the drive sizes so I know the difference between hda and hdb? The drive I have solely for Linux is 20GB, completely empty and as of this moment, unpartitioned. I can't stress enough how much help you've all been up to this point, and thanks for not sending me to the "Reassurance Lounge". Kelly

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Re: [Alug] USB and SMB
by Douglas Willis 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Run lsmod as root and check that the usb-storage module is loaded. If it is not then run 'modprobe usb-storage' to install it. You should be able to access the drive as a scsi device. ( /dev/sda assuming that you have no other scsi disks on your system ) Check in the /proc/scsi/scsi file to see if the USB device is now visiable as a mas storage device. > The next problem is USB. I have a USB Compact Flash card reader hung off the > machine and am trying to read the JPEGs on it but again, I can't connect to > the device. The machine says that USB is installed and indeed I see that usb > shows 97 items under /dev/usb but none appear to be drives, only files so > -- Douglas Willis (ddw(a)nerc-bas.ac.uk) British Antarctic Survey High Cross, Madingley Road Cambridge, CB3 0ET, United Kingdom tel: +44 1223 221400, fax: +44 1223 362616

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SuSE 8, Network server and outside interfaces.
by Emmstah 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Hi, Just installed a fresh copy of SuSE 8 Professional edition (I previously used 7.1 on main box and 6.4 on server), got Apache, FTP running et all, however it is only reachable by the internal network (eth0), and any attempts to reach the server from the outside network (ppp0) result in a time out. Trying from my main box inside the network results in the appropriate test page. I've checked inetd.conf, hosts/.deny/.allow, which all seem to be in order, and I am now officially stuck. Any suggestions as where to look next would be greatly appreciated :) Many Thanks, Emma

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Re: [Alug] SuSE 8, Network server and outside interfaces.
by Emmstah 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Hi, the routing table is as follows (sorry about formatting) Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface srv1.cmbg.uk.me * 255.255.255.255 UH 0 0 0 ppp0 192.168.8.0 * 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 default srv1.cmbg.uk.me 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 ppp0 Also re: Ricardo, As I have said, I previously had SuSE 6.4 on this box with an ftpd and httpd running without problems, so I am certain its something strange SuSE has changed in the configurations. I guess if the worst comes I can use my old 7.1 dvd, but I want crack this on the head and learn more. But then again I'm not too experienced with Linux configurations so I could be talking out of my ass :) Emma At 13:17 16/07/2002 +0100, you wrote: >Emma wrote: > >Any suggestions as where to look next would be greatly appreciated :) >What does your routing table say? >Jen. >PS. Has anyone noticed my enthusiastic posting today?

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Re: [Alug] SuSE 8, Network server and outside interfaces.
by Ricardo Campos 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

> PS. Has anyone noticed my enthusiastic posting today? Is the boss on holiday? ;) Back to the point, I notice it's on ppp0, which I take to mean it is either dial-up or broadband. AFAIK some ISP's firewall off their customers to stop people running SMTP servers and the like that act as relays and get the whole network blacklisted (Demon?). They might also block off web services too. Just a thought. Ricardo -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Re: [Alug] SuSE 8, Network server and outside interfaces.
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Emma wrote: >Any suggestions as where to look next would be greatly appreciated :) What does your routing table say? Jen. PS. Has anyone noticed my enthusiastic posting today?

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Re: [Alug] A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing . . .
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Kelly Ash wrote: >But...there are many references to things having to do with >Linux that I really have no idea what they're talking about and it starts >becoming frustrating. Kelly - allow this all to soak up like a sponge without understanding it, and one day it will fall into place and become useful. There's no way it all falls into place at first. I do this with everything now, I flounder about just trying to absorb, and let it take its course. Then a year later I'll go "oh, *that* was what that linked library file stuff was about!". (Well, I have still to go like that in this particular instance, actually). The hda/b thing - I think it's pretty clear what the partitions are. Are you dual booting with your win computer? It's a pity you haven't got an old box to have a practise install on so you don't worry about losing anything important. Jen.

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Re: [Alug] UDMA 100, etc.
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

Syd Hancock wrote: >Jenny >You might like to check out Freesco - a router/firewall/dns server/etc >linux distro on a single floppy disk. Syd: thanks, I hadn't heard of this. It looks ideal. Would you recommend a download from the Freesco page, or is it best to install from the cd? >I have it on a massively over-powered machine - a 50mhz 486 with 16 megs of >ram and a hard-drive and it works very well although AFAIK it can be used >with a 386, 8 megs ram and no harddrive. > >If you are interested in trying it out I have another old 486 in the shed - >may need some memory though. > >Regards >Syd Ideally I'd like a better computer to run linux as a desktop on, and use the current old one as the firewall. I don't know if funds will allow for this, I'll see how my bid on QXL for a computer goes (It didn't stay a quid for long!) http://www.qxl.com/cgi-bin/qxlhome.cgi/EN/QXL/PR/U1014887477/_33394770 or try and persuade work I need one at home to learn important stuff to enhance the company on :-) Given the possibility that both of those are highly likely to fail, I may well get back to you on that kind offer! Thanks, Jenny.

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Re: [Alug] UDMA 100, etc.
by Syd Hancock 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

>I've been reading about linux security, and apparently the best way is to >have a box acting as an interface running nothing at all except internet >connection stuff, so that everything on the internal network is hidden >behind it. Jenny You might like to check out Freesco - a router/firewall/dns server/etc linux distro on a single floppy disk. There are others which are similar but Freesco seems to be one of the most complete and simplest to set up. It has spawned an entire sub-culture of add-on program with people using the distro for many other tasks such as mp3 server, web server etc. Once installed it can be administered via ssh to get to the command line or a web browser to the control panel. I have it on a massively over-powered machine - a 50mhz 486 with 16 megs of ram and a hard-drive and it works very well although AFAIK it can be used with a 386, 8 megs ram and no harddrive. If you are interested in trying it out I have another old 486 in the shed - may need some memory though. Regards Syd

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Re: [Alug] UDMA 100, etc.
by Syd Hancock 16 Jul '02

16 Jul '02

> > Well I've just tried an ATA100 on an ata33 board and it hung in the > BIOS. No > > ways could I get it to boot. > >Very odd .... I'm using a toshiba UDMA100 on DMA(33) machine just fine. Have a look at the manufacturers' websites for info on the drives and possible utilities to set the bus speed. I had some fun with a couple of different UDMA100 drives last year. The first one I bought would not work on DMA33 (even with the 80 pin cable - that is another thing to get right but you probably know that although I mention it just in case). Exchanged it for a different make which worked fine. Digging around on manufacturers' web sites revealed the reason for this odd behaviour. The drive may be set to UDMA100 by default - in which case it is unlikely to work out of the box on DMA33. A DOS utility is used to configure it. Alternatively, a drive may be set to DMA33 at source and possibly not be running at optimum speed when used on a UDMA100 bus unless configured. HTH Syd

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Re: [Alug] UDMA 100, etc.
by Ricardo Campos 15 Jul '02

15 Jul '02

> But how do I run the utility if the thing won't boot? I have to be able to do > that first ;-( Like the old 'needing to get a modem driver from the internet to get your modem working' problem.... Try a DOS boot floppy. I think there should be some 'free' DOS's out there. ( DR-DOS?) Or borrow a 'doze machine and make one. Ricardo -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Backup Strategies
by Keith Watson 15 Jul '02

15 Jul '02

When making significant changes to an existing system (e.g. kernel builds or major software changes), what backup* strategies do you adopt to protect yourself from knackering the whole thing? I know this will depend a lot on what hardware is available but is there a commonly accepted approach? At the moment I've got enough space on another HD to completely duplicate the whole partition (apart from a small /boot partition the whole of my system is in a single partition). I've been using PartitionMagic to do this but, as it's a Windows app, I'd like to use a GNU/Linux approach. Any ideas? * 1st time round I typed this as 'buckup', it occurred to me that all I needed to do was change the first consonant and it would be a better reflection of the entire process. Reminds me of way back when I was submitting batch COBOL compile jobs, the job output listings used to come back headed "System Complication Output". :o) Regards, Keith ____________ 'I can see nobody on the road.' said Alice. 'I only wish I had such eyes,' said the King 'to be able to see Nobody! And at that distance too!' Lewis Carroll

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Re: [Alug] Re: RE: windows management
by Ben Norcutt 15 Jul '02

15 Jul '02

As someone thats worked with these products I believe it's more than me saying thats how it was for me. These things are all setup the same so if I wasn't restricted from running setup.exe from cd then it wasn't restricted however I will conceed that the original statement is partially correct the RM windowbox systems which is their peer to peer network for primary schools does stop you running certain things like poledit.exe without phoning RM with a key to which they will give you a password. Ben >Ben Norcutt <ben(a)plextech.co.uk> wrote: > Yes not being able to run setup.exe from a cd was imagined. This certainly > wasn't the case with the connect 2.4 networks that I worked with anyway. >It's hard to give conclusive proof that anecdotes are >false, isn't it? All you can say is "that's not how it was for me" and that's >fine. Trying to claim that it didn't happen at all risks making you look foolish. >My Opinion Only. >MJR

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