News
Not a lot happening...
November 13, 2003
Well, I've not tinkered much with anything lately. Trying to get this thesis written up and done, maybe in December I'll have more time to fool around with Linux...
USB Hotplug
October 23, 2003
I've noticed that a software resume causes my USB mouse to stop functioning. This is because /etc/hotplug/usb.agent cannot effectively start the drivers required by the mouse when it's plugged into the usb port. Mmmm, annoying, since I rely on the mouse pretty heavily for work. Until I've resolved this, software suspend becomes pretty much useless to me...
[2003-10-29] RESOLVED. Turns out that this problem dissapears if I use the uhci module instead of usb-uhci. The uhci is the alternative host controller driver that one can compile in the kernel. Now it works well! You can download my current 2.4.22swsusp kernel configuration file here.
To make sure that /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit loads the appropriate driver, I needed to change the file /etc/modules.conf:
WAS: alias usb-controller1 usb-uhci
NOW: alias usb-controller1 uhci
Software Suspend Setup
October 22, 2003
Installed the suspend.sh script today by downloading it from the swsusp mailing list. (Check out the software suspend site).
Then ran suspend.sh --install. Also, since I'd like to be able to suspend without becoming root, I edited /etc/sudoers, and added:
Host_Alias LOCALHOST=localhost,teleo.che.udel.edu
ALL LOCALHOST=NOPASSWD: /usr/local/sbin/hibernate *
It appears to work right off the bat. Woa! It's pretty cool, and definitely cuts down on boot-up and shutdown time. It's really cool not to have to close all windows before turning off the laptop either. I hooked up software suspension to be activated when I press the power button on the laptop: File /etc/acpi/events/power:
event=button[ /]power
action=sudo /usr/local/sbin/hibernate
To-Do
September 23, 2003
My to-do list currently stands at:
- Enabling software suspend. I stumbled upon the Software Suspend site at Sourceforge. Will try to incorporate this. Wondering whether it will shorten boot time?
- I'd like set up digital video editing on Linux. This would require compiling and installing some libraries and software. I'll document progress etc. here.
- Think about re-arranging some of the info on this site. The blog is nice, but makes it rather hard to get to stuff.
NTFS
July 09, 2003
Mmm, noticed today that I can't mount the WinXP NTFS filesystems. So went to the RedHat NTFS Project Page and downloaded the rpm. However, since I've recompiled the kernel, the module they have available won't work right away. You need to recompile the kernel if you'd like this to work. Since this is not crucial to me, I'll wait until the next kernel release when I have to recompile anyways.
Streamlining
June 18, 2003
Tried today to do some power optimization. I've noticed that when leaving the laptop in Linux for some, after opening it it feels pretty warm, suggesting that even though the system is idle, a lot of power has been consumed. I guess the major one is the hard drive. So I downloaded hdparm and compiled it with make, make install. You can set all kinds of parameters, I just chose to spin down the hard drive after 5 minutes of inactivity. That should cut out the heat problem.
Also did some streamlining at start-up. I chkconfig'ed off the following deamons and services that I don't need:
- apmd: Have acpid instead.
- atd: This is the "at" deamon, which allows execution of commands at a later time. Not necessary.
- crond: Don't have anything in cron, and can't imagine needing it on a machine that's not constantly on.
- sendmail: Don't need to send mail from the system...
As far as my todo list is concerned, I now stand at:
-
Get the ACPI-patched kernel compiled to have battery status displayed in Gnome.
-
Get the winmodem to work.
-
Try to resolve the hang issues whenever firewire comes into the picture in Linux. (Latest kernel resolved that)
-
Resolve pcmcia issues. (Latest kernel resolved hang issues as well - haven't tested it yet though, don't have a pcmcia card).
- Get the one-touch buttons to work, such as the Internet, e-mail etc. shortcut buttons.
Touchpad still works
June 10, 2003
Quick report - the touchpad functioned normally after the reboot. Also, kudzu sucessfully starts up now. Have not tested the linmodem on the new kernel yet, but there shouldn't be any problems there.
Latest RH Kernel
June 04, 2003
Installed the latest Red Hat kernel today. Followed the steps I laid out in the post on May 26th to apply the acpi patch. Also had to reinstall the linmodem drivers:
- rpm -e hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03042700-1
- rpm -i hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03042700-1.i386.rpm
- /usr/sbin/hsfconfig
Haven't checked whether the modem functions, but one thing that I have noticed, is that I can now open the hardware browser! I suspect that the firewire issue has been resolved in this kernel. Doing a /etc/init.d/kudzu start results in a successful new hardware check. This is very promising of course, except that after running it, the touchpad started to act a little loony. Hopefully this will not persist over a reboot.
ACPI Update
May 27, 2003
Checked today - the LCD brightness buttons work with the new acpi patched kernel. This is about all I need.
TODO:
-
Get the ACPI-patched kernel compiled to have battery status displayed in Gnome.
- Get the winmodem to work.
- Try to resolve the hang issues whenever firewire comes into the picture in Linux.
- Get the one-touch buttons to work, such as the Internet, e-mail etc. shortcut buttons.
- Resolve pcmcia issues.
Can't quickrestore
May 24, 2003
Okay, after playing around a little with the Quickrestore CD's, I noticed that it uses PowerQuest software to do the image restore. I then attempted to edit the scriptfile that does the factory restore such that it would restore the image onto a 40Gb partition instead of the factory 60Gb. The script file I used is as follows:
SELECT DRIVE 1
DELETE ALL
SELECT FREESPACE FIRST
SELECT IMAGE 1
RESIZE IMAGE 40000
RESTORE
SELECT PARTITION 1
SET ACTIVE
Then used the following restore command after booting with the Quickrestore CD's and Ctrl-C to get a DOS prompt. Note Q:\ is the CD-ROM drive and B:\ floppy drive, onto which I saved the above-mentioned script.
Q:\tools\pqimgmb.exe /cmd=b:\qrestore.scr /img=q:\restore\factory.pqi /nrb /esf=q:\tools\%string%
This is the command used in one of the MS-DOS batch files used to invoke the restore.
I thought that everything would go according to plan, and other than a "Lost clusters xxx-xxx" message (!), all seemed well. Upon restart however, though WinXP appeared to work fine, it was still installed on a 60Gb partition!
So... since I'm running out of time, I did a complete quick-restore, this time going through with the standard procedure. The restore went smoothly this time. I then resorted to buying partition resizing software (7tools's Partition Manager, which I believe is basically Paragon Partition Manager at a little cheaper price for $30), resized the WinXP partition and reinstalled Red Hat 9.0 in the remaining free space.
Red Hat Linux install was smooth as well, and so I have a functioning dual-boot notebook now.
Since I have a set-up that can facilitate in getting a thesis written now, I will probably let it be for a while.
My Linux to-do list, in order of importance:
- Get the ACPI-patched kernel compiled to have battery status displayed in Gnome.
- Get the winmodem to work.
- Try to resolve the hang issues whenever firewire comes into the picture in Linux.
- Get the extra functionality keyboard buttons to work in Linux - this involves the monitor brightness adjustment (can this be done at all? - please e-mail me!) as well as Internet, e-mail etc. shortcut buttons.
- Resolve pcmcia issues.
Re-Installe
May 22, 2003
I'm planning a complete, cleaner re-install, to enable a dual-boot setup with WinXP. I'd like to use the restore CD's that came with the computer to recover all software into a smaller partition on the hard drive, then use the remaining free space to install Linux.
This approach largely stems from my desire not to purchase partition resizing software that I'll use only ONCE.
TELEO
May 21, 2003
I just came up with an apt hostname, which I thought I'd share: teleo
Definition from Thayer and Smith. "Greek Lexicon entry for Teleo". "The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon":
- to bring to a close, to finish, to end
- passed, finished
- to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)
- with special reference to the subject matter, to carry out the contents of a command
- with reference also to the form, to do just as commanded, and generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfil
- to pay
- of tribute
"When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, "It is
finished!" And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit."
John 19:30
"And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is
perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
2 Corinthians 12:9
"I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the course, I have kept the faith;"
2 Timothy 4:7
PCMCIA Issue workaround
May 21, 2003
To take care of the pcmcia problem, I've chkconfig'ed pcmcia off for now.
Linux Laptop Blog
May 20, 2003
This will be a log of my attempts to install and tweak Red Hat Linux on a Compaq Presario 2538cl notebook. I'm at the verge of writing my PhD thesis, and would very much like to do it in LaTeX, which is why I've chosen to go this route.
Quick bio of the Notebook:
P4 2.6GHz
1GB RAM
60 GB HDD
15" SXGA TFT (1400x1050)
ATI Radeon IGP 340M
I'll need to get more details later on about the above specs, but for now, this will do.
Red Hat 9.0 Installation will not run as automatically, since it hangs at the point where the firewire driver is loaded. Consequently, to start the installation:
- At the Linux Boot screen, type 'linux nofirewire'
- Installed with everything that made sense - kept the VESA generic driver for the video card and generic monitor.
- Boot from CD and specify linux 'rescue nofirewire'
- In rescue mode, after the installed image is mounted, typed the following in the shell:
ln -s /mnt/sysimage/etc/rc.d/* /etc
ln -s /mnt/sysimage/etc/init.d /etc
ln -s /mnt/sysimage/etc/rc.d* /etc
chkconfig kudzu off
- Reboot, now I was able to have the machine boot and log in.
Unresolved issues:
- The video resolution is 800x600, not good since the native resolution of the monitor is 1400x1050. Have to look into which driver to specify.
- When shutting down the computer, it hangs on "Stopping pcmcia: unloading Kernel Card Services."