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Re: [Alug]The Mystery of the Stubborn Kernel
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 28 May '03

28 May '03

Dan Hatton wrote: >I wasn't in the IRC discussion, so apologies if I'm going over old ground. >Are you trying to mount your root filesystem from an IDE drive? If so, >please note that kernel-image-2.4.18-686 doesn't have IDE support compiled >in. I've decided to blame that for my inability to run this kernel, and >it could also be to blame for yours. > >kernel-image-2.4.18-bf does have IDE support compiled in, but I can't run >that either, because it's too big for Loadlin. If you're using a >boot-loader other than Loadlin, you might have more luck. Dan - thanks, this was the problem. LILO had no problem with this image. To think i've been building kernel after kernel without having a clue I would need IDE support; time to get a book on basic hardware out of the library perhaps. :-) Ta Jen

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[Alug]GNU/Linux Partition Utilities
by Keith Watson 28 May '03

28 May '03

I'm getting to the point where I seriously need to re-organise my disks in terms of the number, layout and size of the partitions (i.e. reducing the Windows ones [FAT32] and expanding the GNU/Linux ones [ext3]). In the past I've always used PartitionMagic for this but I'd like to stop using Windows based utilities entirely at some point. What's the general opinion on parted as a tool for this? Does anyone use a different GPL utility that they think is better? Keith ____________ There is nothing infinite apart from finite things D.T. Suzuki

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Re: [Alug]Debian 3.0 r0
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 27 May '03

27 May '03

John Seago wrote: >It also seems to want to log me on with a GUI and does'nt give me time to log on >to the command line and then startx. To solve this, type update-rc.d -f xdm remove >it does'nt seem to >like what I have said about my mouse, Sometimes your xf86config can be looking for /dev/mouse, which is normally a link to /dev/psaux for a ps2 mouse. ls -l /dev/mouse will show you. >Typing aptget or apt get seems to have the result of confusing the >poor thing, both sides of the keyboard! Did you do apt-get install mc ? Jen

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Re: [Alug]The Mystery of the Stubborn Kernel
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 27 May '03

27 May '03

Dan Hatton wrote: >I wasn't in the IRC discussion, so apologies if I'm going over old ground. >Are you trying to mount your root filesystem from an IDE drive? If so, >please note that kernel-image-2.4.18-686 doesn't have IDE support compiled >in. I've decided to blame that for my inability to run this kernel, and >it could also be to blame for yours. > >kernel-image-2.4.18-bf does have IDE support compiled in, but I can't run >that either, because it's too big for Loadlin. If you're using a >boot-loader other than Loadlin, you might have more luck. This sounds excitingly likely....I'll give this a go as soon as I get home (well, after I've fed the kids and dogs and cats and gone to karate to kick people). I think it is IDE. This will explain something that has been puzzling me for weeks if it works. I'm using LILO. Will let you know the outcome. Ta Jenny

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[Alug]The Mystery of the Stubborn Kernel
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 27 May '03

27 May '03

Sorry about my abrupt departure from irc last night - I rebooted convinced it was going to work, but it didn't. :-) Then when I booted back into the old kernel I couldn't get any dns stuff working any more. :-( This is the box which first had a 2.2.18-pre21 kernel which refused stubbornly to upgrade by me building a kernel from a 2.4.19 or 2.4.20 image, however many times I rebuilt it with different tweaks. It wouldn't get past "loading linux" and a bunch of dots. I reinstalled on this box yesterday from the woody 3.0 disks, using the stock 2.2.20 kernel, then I tried to upgrade last night, this time using the debian apt insta;ll kernel-image-2.4.18-686 thing, - when I rebooted it displayed exactly the same behaviour as above. Is it possible that you can get some hardware that will never run certain kernels? Jen

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Re: [Alug]The Mystery of the Stubborn Kernel
by Jenny_Hopkins＠toby-churchill.com 27 May '03

27 May '03

Craig wrote: >On Tue, May 27, 2003 at 10:27:24AM +0100, Jenny_Hopkins(a)toby-churchill.com wrote: >> Is it possible that you can get some hardware that will never run certain >> kernels? > >Erm not really. I don't know which hardwares you are using at the moment >(if it is the machine I've sold you then everything should really >work!). > >Try rolling your own kernel instead of debian's ones. Craig - your box is stupendously brilliant. This is my old linux box which your one has replaced, I want to run it as a mail and print server. I've done both my own kernel, and the debian way. Both display the same problems. Ta, Jen

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[Alug]Debian 3.0 r0
by Edenyard 27 May '03

27 May '03

John Seago wrote: > > seems to want to log me on with a GUI and does'nt give me time to log on > to the command line and then startx. > Hello, John - glad to see you're still hanging in there! I've never used Debian but I expect it's like all the others in this respect: look for a file in the /etc directory called 'inittab'. In that file, you should find a line that reads thus: id:5:initdefault: If you change the 5 to a 3, save the file and then re-boot, you should find that it runs up with the standard login, rather than the graphical one. Of course, to edit this, you'd best have MC working, so maybe you need to get that installed first. Hopefully someone else can put you out of your misery with that problem - as I say, I've never used Debian. Hope this helps? Gerald.

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[Alug]Serial port permissions?
by Edenyard 27 May '03

27 May '03

Over the weekend, I installed Efax and Efax-gtk to get Linux to behave as a fax machine. It looks good but I ran into a problem with accessing /dev/ttyS1 (where my modem is), which I'd appreciate some help with. Running Efax-gtk as an ordinary user, I got an error message when it tried to access the modem, saying that permission was denied. I checked the ownership of /dev/ttyS1 and it is root:uucp. I then edited /etc/groups and added myself to the 'uucp' group, but this didn't fix the problem. So I put that back as it was and chowned /dev/ttyS1 to root:users, since I know I'm in in the group 'users'. That worked, but it's left me feeling slightly guilty: should I have altered the ownership of /dev/ttyS1? I suspect not! So how do I make it all work without chowning /dev/ttyS1, please? It works without any of these tweaks if I run Efax-gtk as 'root', as bad as that sounds! Thanks for any clues! Gerald.

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[Alug]New Company, help!
by Tony Dietrich 26 May '03

26 May '03

Sorry if this is considered off-topic guys. I've been working part-time, combined with a day job, for the last couple of years. Just lately, the biz has got to the stage where I can't afford the time for the day job, so I've had to go full time, and start up a one-man company (I took it Limited so I can get cheaper liabilities insurance :p) But the problem is that at the current size, I'm going to really struggle to survive, even though everyone says I've got a good chance. So if any of you guys have any contacts, potential sales queries etc., that you can pass my way without harming yourselves, I'd really appreciate it. It won't take much to reach the 'safe point'. We can supply most hardware, cabling, software etc, do in-house systems audits/analysis and training, but our core biz is the costing of publicly-funded criminal cases on a bureau basis for solicitors and lawyers. So if any of you are friendly with a solicitor, perhaps you could mention us :p Thanks in advance -- Tony Dietrich Transoft Computer Consultancy Ltd. Felixstowe Suffolk 07769710115 -- Tony Dietrich Transoft Computer Consultancy Ltd. 07769710115

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[Alug]Debian 3.0 r0
by John Seago 26 May '03

26 May '03

I had a go at putting the above in as an additional OS to Slackware, now I know the Xserver with this works because I did try this once before, and despite putting in what makes X work with Slackware it does'nt seem to like what I have said about my mouse, so the X server won't start. It also seems to want to log me on with a GUI and does'nt give me time to log on to the command line and then startx. the third problem I'm having is I don't know what the default file manager is called. I'd like Midnight Commander so I know my way around, but what is the command to add it to the installation, please? (MC must be there somewhare on one of seven CD's). Typing aptget or apt get seems to have the result of confusing the poor thing, both sides of the keyboard! -- John Seago

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