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Hardware problem?
by Ian Thompson-Bell 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

I am experiencing an intermittent problem with my linux box. It has started to occur over the last few days while I was adding a USB zip drive to my system. At one point, as I was having problems with unmounting the zip drive, I thought I would switch to windoze, load the drivers and just check the problem was not with the drive itself. Well after a whole bunch of blue screens of death I gave up on windows and decided to reboot linux and delete windoze entirely. That;s when the first problems occurred. I seemed to have a corrupt file system. I ran the RedHat 7.2 CD in rescue mode, fixed things with e2fsck and I thought all was OK. Then this afternoon, playing around with rc.local and modules.conf to get USB up, running and mounted automatically, I started experiencing problems. I rebooted to try a new configuration and suddenly got lots of errors during booting and a freeze. Even the RH rescue CD crashed - it kept getting SIG 11 and shutting down and when it occasionally did run, e2fsck would seg fault. Now, a couple of hours later, it boots up perfectly first time and I am happily typing the email. So, what do you think the problem is most likely to be? Ian

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RE: Debian install from parallel CD-Rom
by Ricardo Campos 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

*oops* I meant that I CAN'T find any documentation!(Before you RTFM me) Ricardo -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Debian install from Parallel CD-ROM
by Ricardo Campos 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

I'm trying to load Debian from a parallel CD-Rom, but cannot find an appropriate image for a boot floppy. The Installation CD-Rom seems to have a rescue.bin, but I'm not sure if this'll work or in fact how to make a boot floppy from this. I can find any documentation on this! :( Erm... help! Ricardo -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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"Reverse" VNC
by Laurie Brown 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

I use VNC a lot for both Linux and 'Doze support work, but there's a shortcoming as far as "hidden" machines are concerned. What I need is a sort of reverse VNC for accessing machines where I don't know the IP address. Let me explain what I want to do: Run a VNC-type "server": a remote client connects to it, and I can then, from my "server" control the client machine. For dial-up/DHCP/NAT situations where I can't reach a client directly, I need the client to be able to initiate the connection, but thereafter it to behave as if I'd done a normal VNC connect into it. Does anyone have any ideas? Where better to ask? It needs to support Linux and 'Doze, and at least 'Doze... Cheers, Laurie. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Laurie Brown laurie(a)brownowl.com PGP key at http://pgpkeys.mit.edu:11371 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: [Alug] march meeting
by MJ Ray 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

Syd wrote: > Sorry everyone, I had volunteered to hold the march meeting at my > place but due to varioius difficult circumstances I willhave to > cancel. I'm sorry to hear that. Best wishes to you during the difficult times. Rob, can you have us at Elmswell in March? That'll give me enough time to try to sort out something around here (West Norfolk) for April (no time for March) and give a nice ping-pong between Norfolk and Suffolk. -- MJR

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[Fwd: Re: [Alug] "Reverse" VNC]
by Laurie Brown 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

Eric Sellin wrote: > Laurie Brown wrote: > >>What I need is a sort of reverse VNC for accessing machines >>where I don't know the IP address. >> > > Can't you start the VNC viewer in listen mode at your end, then get your > customer to start the VNC server and add a new client by giving your own IP > address? I'm trying to get my head around that (in the context of my reply to Brett). Care to elaborate, please? Cheers, Laurie. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Laurie Brown laurie(a)brownowl.com PGP key at http://pgpkeys.mit.edu:11371 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: [Alug] "Reverse" VNC]
by Laurie Brown 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

brettp(a)users.sourceforge.net wrote: > On Mon, Feb 11, 2002 at 02:10:13PM +0000, Laurie Brown wrote: > >>Run a VNC-type "server": a remote client connects to it, and I can >>then, from my "server" control the client machine. >> >>For dial-up/DHCP/NAT situations where I can't reach a client >>directly, I need the client to be able to initiate the connection, >>but thereafter it to behave as if I'd done a normal VNC connect into it. >> > > Hrm... why not make the client machine use something like dyndns or myip > so that you can connect to it... there are clients for both of these for > both doze and nux... that way you can just vnc to something like > whatthefsckis.myip.org. Does that make any sense, what so ever? The specific problem that has caused this is good old NTL's business service. One of my clients, based in Farnborough, got a 1meg NTL line in on my recommendation. A good deal at 120squid a month, and AFAIKnew working the same as my home 512K line: that is, cable modem acting as a pass-through device, direct to Linux firewall, which is given an IP address by remote NTL server, then NAT in/out through said firewall. Firewall visible to 'Net: cushty. Sadly, no... NTL supplied a Cisco UBR9xxx router, which is given a NAT address of 172.16.blah, and which in turn gives the LAN-facing ports a 192.168.1.x IP address. My Linux firewall then NATs that again internally. Result: I can't see a single internal box, including the firewall from outside. This make remote management (the whole fscking point!) a shade difficult. I found a net-based service for $9.95 a month by which an internal machine "pings" their web site with some bespoke software, which responds when I "log in" to said web site, giving me a route to the internal machine and a VNC-like terminal. For millions of reasons, this isn't ideal (not least because I'm accessing an NT4 PDC), hence the requirement for a reverse VNC type thingy. Allegedly, this will go away when NTL release their fixed-ip service Real Soon Now... Customer can't wait, and this egg on my face is getting a mite smelly... Cheers, Laurie. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Laurie Brown laurie(a)brownowl.com PGP key at http://pgpkeys.mit.edu:11371 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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newer version of debian?
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

Hi all, I've managed to be persuasive and get the company to buy me a better box for linux, so the old one i currently use can be a sandpit and all the stuff I do that is starting to be important is on a dedicated box. A good step forward for linux here, as i was told last year not to waste too much time on this linux stuff as we would never have a need for it in the company. Now we have a website, secure file storage system, cvs for software and system for embedding ipaq's with linux kernel and speech system built in linux. Anyway, i digress in my excitement.....what i wondered was, does anyone have a copy of a newer debian version than 2.1.18pre21 I could blag a copy of? Cheep linux are doing them for about £19 so anything cheaper would be good. Of course, i could install my old one and upgrade the kernel just for fun instead.......................... Jenny.

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Re: [Alug] port forwarding
by MJ Ray 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

D: > Some servers are a reseller style system, so your not in control of all the > users. This is the ONLY way to do it and it will stop the network being used > for spam It is not the only way, even if you write it in capitals. You provide documentation on how to send email (ie the relay's details) and if they do anything else, a polite REJECT from the firewall should help them along. That is (IMO) the best way to do it. Redirect is a poor substitute for instructions. Redirect will work in many (most?) cases, but it will confuse the clients in others. Don't mistake it for a perfect solution. I'm sure some of us have tunnelled around such draconian blocks when we needed to. Please don't think that that alone will stop the network being used for spam. If customers can send email from web scripts, one of them will put a buggy script up and a spammer will use it as a relay. Unless you do something a bit cleverer on the server to monitor it, you'll not be able to block it. You should also block port 25 incoming apart from your mail server, else you'll be used as a two-step relay and the official mail server will be dropped into the blackholes too. -- MJR

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Re: [Alug] port forwarding
by MJ Ray 11 Feb '02

11 Feb '02

D: > I want to FORCE users/servers on the network to redirect outgoing data sent > on port 25 to another server (Internal mail server) That's a bit overbearing of you. If you really must, block port 25 at the firewall apart from to your relay mail server. This forces the clients to acknowledge that there is One True Email Relay for them. You can do "clever" stuff with catching port 25 and using an iptables redirect, as freeserve appear to, but why confuse any clients? Just chop their bits off if they attempt to do something that they should not. -- MJR

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march meeting
by Syd Hancock 10 Feb '02

10 Feb '02

Sorry everyone, I had volunteered to hold the march meeting at my place but due to varioius difficult circumstances I willhave to cancel. Best wishes Syd

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Re: [Alug] New member
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 10 Feb '02

10 Feb '02

Eric Sellin wrote: >My first question: do you guys ever meet in Ipswich? Hi Eric, welcome. Find a venue, set a date, and we'll be there! Jenny.

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Secure Firewalling, Runlevel 0 (?!)
by James 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

Here is an interesting article of running firewalls with the machine "halted" (runlevel 0) for extra security <*tilt*> is a first reaction. But it _is_ an intriguing concept... Article here: http://www.samag.com/print/documentID=20294 Slashdot thread here: http://slashdot.org/articles/02/02/08/1624217.shtml?tid=172 Anyone have any personal experiences of such trickery to relate? --James

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Re: [Alug] Re: clug Secure Firewalling, Runlevel 0 (?!)
by MJ Ray 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

Jon: > Get the terminology right. Runlevel 0 is known as single user mode > and it is not in anyway halted. [...] 0 is halt. 1 is single-user. At least in LSB-ready systems. Much cooler is to run the firewall without an IP address, but then you need console access too. -- MJR

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Music Sequencers in Linux
by Ricardo Campos 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

I hope someone can help me with this. I'm now on the last bits of utterly replacing Windows, and am beginning to make music again on my box. Specifically, though, I need to do this: I have some music on tape that I did years ago. It's recorded in stereo, and in fact, there are lots of stereo effects that I wish to keep. I can record it using Grecord into WAV format (my box can handle it), but I would like to mix in some other samples too. Therefore I need a sequencer that can handle LARGE wav files AND retain the stereo information, and play other samples on top (vocals)... THEN it needs to mixdown the result into wav again... Soundtracker is out, as it doesn't retain the stereo settings. I may be buying a MIDI keyboard sometime soon, so I'm looking at Jazz++. Any thoughts? Ricardo _______________________________________________ "There are several codes, and I know several of them." -Mr. Precise. http://www.rscampos.net Check my online diary out: http://www.rscampos.net/blog.html -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Re: [Alug] pipes?
by david casal 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

On Thu, 7 Feb 2002, Brett Parker - Tech Support wrote: > erm - why not: > command1 | command2 | command3 The data stream needs to be continuous. One is a simulation package (swarm.org) the other a visual programming music thing (pure-data.org) I need consistent data out of PD, into swarm, out of swarm and back to PD. > or am I not getting the point here? No, just a *nix-peasant asking vague questions... Cheers, DC david casal --0+ --- d.casal(a)uea.ac.uk --9+ --- www.ariada.uea.ac.uk/~dcasal --)+

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Re: [Alug] Isdn adaptors
by Ricardo Campos 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

>I had an external one > which meant it was fairly easy to setup as it just looks like a normal > modem. However, do remember that serial ports only allow 115kbps rather than the 128kbps that you expect on 2 ISDN lines. That's one thing to consider in choosing between external or pci. (I used to work for BT Speedway! blech! and indeed they *are* rebadged fritz cards) ;) Ricardo _______________________________________________ "There are several codes, and I know several of them." -Mr. Precise. http://www.rscampos.net Check my online diary out: http://www.rscampos.net/blog.html -- Get your free email from www.linuxmail.org Powered by Outblaze

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Re: [Alug] New member
by Edenyard 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

Welcome to the group, Eric! On Fri, 08 Feb 2002 14:18:50 +0000, MJ Ray wrote: > We've been to Woodbridge and Martlesham in the past. We might be able to > use Martlesham again in the future, when David's back from uni, but a venue > actually in Ipswich would be easier to get to. If you have the power to > arrange such a thing, let us know! > I'd just like to register my vote for meetings in/near Martlesham - since that's where I am!! Gerald.

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February meeting
by John Woodard 09 Feb '02

09 Feb '02

Are we any closer to getting a room booked @ UEA for the 24th? -- Cheers, BJ

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Re: [Alug] New member
by MJ Ray 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

Rob: > Our company has a large meeting room with a projector, access to a 64k > leased line and a pub next door if anyone is interested. We are in > Elmswell between Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich just off the A14 and next > door to the railway station. Sounds ideal! Would you like to add a link to your venue information to http://www.alug.org.uk/contrib/?AlugMeetings and possibly steal the April meeting away from me if you can arrange it? Sundays are conventional, but that might be a problem at a company? Saturdays have been suggested, so an experiment may be good. By the way, it's much nicer if you write the reply below the original and trim the previous message quote. We have a lot of people on this list and get quite enough traffic for it to be difficult enough to follow already... Thanks! -- MJR

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Re: [Alug] New member
by MJ Ray 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

Eric, Welcome to the group. > [...] Next on my list: Web-services and .NET (see www.go-mono.com) Let me throw a few others at people: Ruby, Scheme, XT3D, XSP, Parrot. > My first question: do you guys ever meet in Ipswich? We've been to Woodbridge and Martlesham in the past. We might be able to use Martlesham again in the future, when David's back from uni, but a venue actually in Ipswich would be easier to get to. If you have the power to arrange such a thing, let us know! -- MJR

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Any Debianeers out there? I need help with modutils & USB.
by bsamuels＠beenthere-donethat.org.uk 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

I have just changed my mouse to USB and have got it working but I have to load all the modules manually. I have searched the internet for solutions and have tried a number of different aliases in modutils without any success (Yes - I did think to run update-modules). It appears that the modules I have to load, using modprobe, are hid.o and usb-ohci.o which then cause other appropriate modules, e.g. usbcore.o, to load. What do I need to put in as aliases to get this to work? I'm running Debian 2.2 with XFree86 3.3.6. One other connected problem is that although I have put the following in fstab: none /proc/bus/usb usbdevfs defaults 0 0 it is not mounted. When the machine boots I see a message something like 'cannot locate module usbdevfs' when it gets to the 'mounting local filesystems' bit which is rather strange because usb file system support is compiled into the kernel. I can, immediately after logging in, manually mount usbdevfs without problems and none of the USB modules have been loaded at this point. I would like to get these modules loaded automatically. Can anyone help please? Barry Samuels

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New member
by Eric Sellin 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

Hello everybody, Just discovered the ALUG and its mailing list, so let me introduce myself briefly. My name's Eric, I'm 27 and live in Ipswich. In a previous life, I started a company with some friends to develop a Web-based document sharing and knowledge management solution, which was all 100% free (Linux, Apache, Tomcat, MySQL). Unfortunately, the company closed last year but never mind, we tried and had fun doing it all! I discovered Linux while at university back in 1994. I've been learning quite a lot since: I now speak a good C++ and Java, I love writing dirty shell scripts (preferably Bourne), I also came across Perl, have experience with CORBA, XML, XSLT and all these trendy technologies. Next on my list: Web-services and .NET (see www.go-mono.com) My first question: do you guys ever meet in Ipswich? Cheers, Eric.

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Isdn adaptors
by John Woodard 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

Project: need to build a box to use as an isdn dial up and mail server serving a couple of iMacs and a power book. The machine will also be used for a bit of web development and basic office stuff. Problem: what is a good cheap pci isdn terminal adaptor to use bearing in mind I may need fax capability (I use a BT Speedway 128 which is a re-badged AVM Fritz). Bigger problem: I have never configured either fetchmail nor sendmail before (my modest mail requirements are currently satisfied by kmail configured to get mail directly from a pop server). Biggest problem: I know nothing about samba, iptables/ipchains or any of that stuff. Massive problem: I'm likely to have to maintain this machine remotely either via direct isdn dial in or via the net. The distro will most likely be Mdk 8.1 but I'm open to suggestions oh and the down side it will have to dual boot into Windows 98 occasionally to run some bit of bespoke software that won't run under wine for some reason. Any suggestions on what hardware will be gratefully received, first thoughts lean towards 1Gig Duron, 512Mb pc133 ram and 40Gb ata100. I'm starting to feel well out of my league here expect lots of cries for help on irc.openprojects.net:#alug. -- Cheers, BJ

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Re: [Alug] Acrobat/Ghostscript printing
by MJ Ray 08 Feb '02

08 Feb '02

Ted wrote: > And that, to be frank, is the fault of these two viewers, and not of the > PDF format. And this (see below) is why I use Reader -- which, in my > experience, simply works. If xpdf and ghostscript worked as I need them > to, I'd probably use them myself. But they don't. I'm not sure that it is the fault of the viewers. If something which is claimed as an open standard is scattered across many documents with little indication from one that others exist, and that reality differs from what is documented in subtle ways, surely it is the fault of the "standard"'s owner? To the best of my knowledge, but ghostscript and xpdf are quite happy with the really standard bit of PDF (is that PDF/X?) but some documents using incompatible Adobe extensions make them fail. One could argue that it is the fault of the Adobe generator. > That's your choice. But by limiting yourself to Free software, you have to > take the downside that you're closing a lot of your options in real life. By using non-free software, you are similarly closing a lot of options: to be able to fix the software, primarily. I think it's just a different set of closed doors. > [...] Where you hit limits is in "add-on" libraries which extend their > pre-programmed functionality [...] Actually, in R there is one subtle difference in variable scope and very little else that kills extension libraries designed for Splus. > ([...] But life is short, especially real life ... ). Indeed, so I prefer it that we don't keep reinventing the wheel every cycle, as non-free software insists that we do. > [...] The plain fact is that, still, these things do dominate the desktop > world of work. If you don't go along, you're locked out. I'm actually seeing a lot less of this now. In the few cases where we do still get sent proprietary formats, we have converters that put them in a more useful form. There's a lot to be said for now completing the transition by a stance like http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT5759283394.html > So, what you can achieve using Free Software, achieve that way. What you > can only achieve using The Other, achieve that way (even with a heavy > heart). And take the long view! [1] Agreed, but I think we differ on how much energy it is worth adding to Free Software before resorting to the other. The one piece of software that is non-free is in a field that only now are we getting free replacements for, but they are incompatible with the file format and have no market share right now, so can't be used. It's also a field that I know practically nothing about and can't really assist beyond testing the software as it is produced. But I do that, because I can and because I want to see a truly Free solution. [...] > However, the fact (on which we agree) that we don't like Adobe's > proprietariness does not imply that PDF is a bad format in itself. But which PDF is not a bad format? The idealised documented PDF which should allow easy document distribution, or the hacked-up one that you meet in reality? > [...] I will patiently wait till the skilled developers of these things > get it right. Meanwhile, I'll be using Reader. Oh, keep using the free one and sending the results/comments back to them. Without good feedback, it's very hard to develop software. As someone said (and I misquote here): "bug reports are like free software love letters. Share a little love today!" -- MJR

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