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Linux Mint updates issue
by Bev Nicolson 24 Jun '21

24 Jun '21

Right after I've logged in, I can update anything that needs updating, via the Update Manager. After that, I just a get a red cross in the shield and the message 'Could not refresh the list of updates.' Ideas? I've tweaked the sources list but that does nothing. Bev.

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Lets Encrypt renewals via DNS
by Mark Rogers 21 Jun '21

21 Jun '21

Sometimes you can't find the answer to your question on line. This is one of those examples where the answers seem plentiful but I can't get my head around them. I have a couple of domains with Lets Encrypt wildcard certificates. Creating the certs manually is easy (if a bit laborious): add the specified ._acme_callenge DNS entry and a handful of files under docroot .well-known/acme-challenge. But they can't be renewed automatically so every three months I need to go through the whole process again. Reading the docs, if my DNS is with one of the supported DNS providers (eg DigitalOcean, who I have an account with) then it can be automated via the API (the files under docroot I think can be automated with the --apache plugin?) but that's not where my DNS is. The docs suggest that I can use a CNAME but don't go beyond that. Has anyone done this, or otherwise automated wildcard certificate renewals where the DNS isn't in a supported provider? Also (probably simpler): once the certificate is created, can all the .acme-challenge files and DNS records be deleted? -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0344 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Ubuntu upgrade disaster
by Jenny Hopkins 21 Jun '21

21 Jun '21

Hi folks, I'm attempting to upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04 -> 20.04. The 18.04 has been brought completely up to date, and has no broken packages. However, when I run " sudo do-release-upgrade -d", the system starts preparing for the upgrade then bails out. The log file shows: 2021-06-20 09:39:31,393 DEBUG Marking 'ubuntu-desktop' for upgrade 2021-06-20 09:39:31,850 DEBUG Marking 'xubuntu-core' for upgrade 2021-06-20 09:39:32,694 WARNING Can't mark 'xubuntu-core' for upgrade (E:Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.) 2021-06-20 09:39:32,694 DEBUG Marking 'xubuntu-desktop' for upgrade 2021-06-20 09:39:33,631 WARNING Can't mark 'xubuntu-desktop' for upgrade (E:Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.) 2021-06-20 09:39:33,632 DEBUG Marking 'ubuntu-mate-core' for upgrade 2021-06-20 09:39:34,559 WARNING Can't mark 'ubuntu-mate-core' for upgrade (E:Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.) 2021-06-20 09:39:34,561 DEBUG Marking 'ubuntu-mate-desktop' for upgrade 2021-06-20 09:39:35,491 WARNING Can't mark 'ubuntu-mate-desktop' for upgrade (E:Error, pkgProblemResolver::Resolve generated breaks, this may be caused by held packages.) 2021-06-20 09:39:39,951 ERROR Dist-upgrade failed: 'Broken packages after upgrade: xubuntu-core, xubuntu-desktop' 2021-06-20 09:39:39,952 DEBUG abort called However, I don't have any broken packages - both the graphic packages manager and CLI searches confirm this. Trying to run the upgrade from the GUI just crashes. Can I do this the debian way, and alter the sources file and do the upgrade that way? Many thanks, Jenny

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Re: [ALUG] When did this start?
by Phil Ashby 03 Jun '21

03 Jun '21

On 01/06/2021 12:00, Bill Hill <mail(a)wbh.org> wrote: > > Just been re-zapping a RaspberryPi and noticed that / has: > > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Mar 4 22:45 bin -> usr/bin/ > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Mar 4 22:45 lib -> usr/lib/ > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 8 Mar 4 22:45 sbin -> usr/sbin/ > > When did bin lib and sbin become links, and what's the rationale? Is > this from Debian? > This was enlightening, and it's been a thing for several years outside Debian / Raspbian it seems (it arrived with systemd and majority use of an initrd to mount the rootfs). https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/266517/why-is-bin-a-symbolic-link-… Phlash.

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When did this start?
by Bill Hill 31 May '21

31 May '21

Just been re-zapping a RaspberryPi and noticed that / has: lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Mar 4 22:45 bin -> usr/bin/ lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Mar 4 22:45 lib -> usr/lib/ lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 8 Mar 4 22:45 sbin -> usr/sbin/ When did bin lib and sbin become links, and what's the rationale? Is this from Debian? -- Red to red, black to black, switch it on, but stand well back.

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Thunderbird problem
by Bev Nicolson 12 Mar '21

12 Mar '21

I use Thunderbird as a client for 4 email addresses. From yesterday, it's begun taking an age to log in to one POP server. It gets there eventually, and no error messages come up, but it would be great to sort it out. I've cleared the cache but that hasn't helped. Ideas? Bev.

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How to check if a cron.daily job has run?
by Chris Green 12 Mar '21

12 Mar '21

I run a daily backup on four systems. It's a bash script called 'backup' (original eh?) which is in /etc/cron.daily and thus gets run by Anacron in the early morning. I need to check that the backup has run somehow as, very occasionally, the backup system's USB disk 'falls asleep' and as a result any attempt to access it just hangs. Thus the rsync backup job doesn't fail (and produce an error message) it just never returns. So how can I check and get an error message if this happens? The next day is soon enough, it's not an urgent problem, I just need to know if my daily backups are working. However this needs to be 'no message means it has worked', message only if it has not worked. -- Chris Green

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Rust in Norwich
by Patrick Laslett 08 Mar '21

08 Mar '21

Hi All, Does anyone know how I find coders in Norwich familiar with Rust. Thanks in advance. Yours, Patrick

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spamassassin and bayes db
by Jenny Hopkins 08 Mar '21

08 Mar '21

Hello, I might need to join the spamassassin mailing list for this Q, but just in case anyone here can help first: I've got a mail set-up where exim4 hands mail to spamassassin before delivering to mailboxes local on the server. Users put any missed spam into missed-spam folders, and misfiled ham into missed-ham folders, and a cron job runs regularly to allow sa-learn to run learning from these folders. The problem is - it says it is learning, but it isn't. It is letting through handfuls of the same spam over and over. It's as if SA is running without paying any attention to the bayes-db, which would be weird as that is what I thought was a core integral part of spamassassin. Am I missing something in the basic setup? An example header of a missed spam shows something like: X-Spam_report: Spam detection software, running on the system "example.co.uk", has NOT identified this incoming email as spam. -then a few lines further down: 3.5 BAYES_99 BODY: Bayes spam probability is 99 to 100% [score: 1.0000] 0.2 BAYES_999 BODY: Bayes spam probability is 99.9 to 100% [score: 1.0000] Any ideas? It's driving me nuts. Thanks, Jenny

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How to disable headphones mic autodetection?
by B D 02 Mar '21

02 Mar '21

Hi All, I know this might be a bit too late, as we are all supposedly finishing with lockdown, so no more online meetings and video calls but it really bugs me. Whenever I connect headphones to my Linux Mint, pulseaudio forces use of headphone mic (which does not exist). This disables internal microphone and I have to go to sound hardware selection to change to internal mic array. Same happens on my kids laptops running Mint 20.1 (my is Mint 19.3). I think there is a priority setting somewhere in pulseaudio config which should allow to 'lock' mic to the internal array but I thought I'll ask first. Cheerio! Bart

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