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Dell survey

by Mike Leo

http://www.dellideastorm.com/ I found this interesting.

Feb. 22, 2007

Re: [Wlug] interesting backups problem

by Eric Stein

It is mostly full. It's not possible to shrink it enough to make a difference. Interesting idea, though. I'm borrowing a 200GB drive from a friend so I can use it as scratch space, but the IDE to USB adapter is producing some interesting results in /var/log/messages... Feb 21 22:23:30 glamdring kernel: usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 6 Feb 21 22:23:31 glamdring kernel: usb 1-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice Feb 21 22:23:31 glamdring kernel: scsi7 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices Feb 21 22:23:41 glamdring kernel: usb 1-2: USB disconnect, address 6 Feb 21 22:23:41 glamdring kernel: scsi 7:0:0:0: scsi: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery Does anyone know what this means? Is the drive dead? Eric Aaron Haviland wrote: > Eric Stein wrote, on Feb 18, 2007 at 20:18 EST: > >> Hi all, >> >> I've got an interesting issue with disk usage. I have a hard disk image >> (from dd) stored on a server, and it needs to be compressed it to make >> room for other data. The image is 160 GB, but I only have 30 GB of free >> space to work with; the data isn't compressible enough to fit in 30 GB >> in the meantime. I don't need the image right now and having only a >> compressed copy is perfectly fine. How can I compress the image while >> simultaneously deleting the old data? I can think of a way to do it >> using perl, dd, and some other tools, but I'd much prefer to do it the >> "right" way if there is one. >> > > Is the image completely full or is there free space within the image? > i.e., might you be able to resize it smaller with ext2resize or > somesuch? > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 22, 2007

Re: [Wlug] interesting backups problem

by Aaron Haviland

Eric Stein wrote, on Feb 18, 2007 at 20:18 EST: > Hi all, > > I've got an interesting issue with disk usage. I have a hard disk image > (from dd) stored on a server, and it needs to be compressed it to make > room for other data. The image is 160 GB, but I only have 30 GB of free > space to work with; the data isn't compressible enough to fit in 30 GB > in the meantime. I don't need the image right now and having only a > compressed copy is perfectly fine. How can I compress the image while > simultaneously deleting the old data? I can think of a way to do it > using perl, dd, and some other tools, but I'd much prefer to do it the > "right" way if there is one. Is the image completely full or is there free space within the image? i.e., might you be able to resize it smaller with ext2resize or somesuch? -- Aaron

Feb. 21, 2007

Re: [Wlug] switch distros???

by Brendan

On Saturday 17 February 2007, Bill Mills-Curran wrote: > A big win would be to get my 17 yr old son off windows. He's forever > infecting the windows box with junk from his web surfing. Install Ubuntu (I prefer Kubuntu, but hey I do KDE devel). Set up *AHEAD OF TIME* all paths, icons, multimedia codecs, etc. Anything you could possibly want to do in Windows....Just to cut down on the bitching later. In the meantime, install Firefox and remove all IE icons. Remove AOL, no matter what the wife says. Use a stick if necessary. Just tell her that "AOL broke". Say nothing further. Your son will want games. Get him a Wii. Buy an extra controller and invite me over. I kill at Bowling.

Feb. 20, 2007

Re: [Wlug] interesting backups problem

by Adam Keck

Perhaps... 1. Copy off a chunk of it with a split-like tool (dd may do the trick with "seek") or some code. Make the chunk small enough such that the chunk copy and the compressed version of the chunk will fit in 30GB. 2. Compress the chunk. 3. Truncate the chunk off of the disk image. 4. Repeat. It's risky, though, since the original file gets altered. -Adam On 2/18/07, Eric Stein <eastein(a)wpi.edu> wrote: > > Hi all, > > I've got an interesting issue with disk usage. I have a hard disk image > (from dd) stored on a server, and it needs to be compressed it to make > room for other data. The image is 160 GB, but I only have 30 GB of free > space to work with; the data isn't compressible enough to fit in 30 GB > in the meantime. I don't need the image right now and having only a > compressed copy is perfectly fine. How can I compress the image while > simultaneously deleting the old data? I can think of a way to do it > using perl, dd, and some other tools, but I'd much prefer to do it the > "right" way if there is one. > > Eric > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- -Adam

Feb. 19, 2007

Re: [Wlug] switch distros???

by Bruce Linnell

Bill, I've been a Linux user for less than a month now, so take this with a grain of salt. In my search for a distro, I first tried Gentoo and Ubuntu, and finally installed openSuSE. Its a large distro (5 CDs, or 1 DVD), so you may have space considerations. For me, anyway, its been more user friendly than the others - YaST is a blast...lol. I think the key here as far as your family goes is to use the same distro for all, and that should be the one you are happiest with, because in the final analysis its going to be you at the help desk while they climb the learning curve. Is there enough room on your son's box to set it up for dual booting? Just a thought... Good luck, Bruce On Sat, 2007-02-17 at 17:00 -0500, Bill Mills-Curran wrote: > I have an opportunity to get my wife to consider switching from > Windows to linux, but I don't think Fedora is the right distro for > her. I'm wondering about Linspire/Freespire (Freespire is to Linspire > as Fedora is to RedHat?) or Ubuntu. (I've been using Redhat & Fedora > since '98.) I've also been frustrated at some of the compatibility > problems (like wireless) with Fedora, so I'm considering switching, > too. On the other hand, I like being able to get some of the newest > apps, like the newest gnucash, on Fedora. > > Eric Raymond's recent piece on Slashdot was pretty convincing, too. > He argued that it is good for the linux open/free community to get > linux in as many places as possible, even if it means mixing the > distros with commercial drivers, because linux needs more market share > in order to succeed against windows, particularly as 64-bit comes on > the scene. > > The "family license" of Linspire seems pretty attractive, too. > > A big win would be to get my 17 yr old son off windows. He's forever > infecting the windows box with junk from his web surfing. > > My most-used apps: > Open office > Tetex/latex > ps utils > gnucash > mutt > VPN (compatible with my work, which uses Cisco) > wine > perl > firefox > USB devices: scanner, drive, camera > code development utils > multimedia (not so good on Fedora) > gpg > > My wife would like to use Publisher (windows). She might be able to > use Scribus (I haven't used it successfully). > Her favorites: > AOL (I can't break her loose of this) > MS office apps > > Suggestions? > > Thanks, > Bill > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 19, 2007

interesting backups problem

by Eric Stein

Hi all, I've got an interesting issue with disk usage. I have a hard disk image (from dd) stored on a server, and it needs to be compressed it to make room for other data. The image is 160 GB, but I only have 30 GB of free space to work with; the data isn't compressible enough to fit in 30 GB in the meantime. I don't need the image right now and having only a compressed copy is perfectly fine. How can I compress the image while simultaneously deleting the old data? I can think of a way to do it using perl, dd, and some other tools, but I'd much prefer to do it the "right" way if there is one. Eric

Feb. 19, 2007

Re: [Wlug] Update

by Eric Stein

Hi Bruce, At my apartment there are 3 Linux desktops and 4 Windows machines. My fileserver downstairs also acts as a CUPS/Samba printserver (it runs Gentoo Linux). If you are using Gentoo, you can use these directions to configure this: http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Native_Windows_Printing_with_CUPS/Samba Otherwise, I don't know. I'm sure doing the same is possible on other distros as well. Please note that your wife may be disagreeable to having printing not working at all for a day or so while you wrestle with cups and samba, so I don't know how helpful this info is. Eric Put Bruce Linnell wrote: > My wife complained because she couldn't print something from her > computer. I checked it out and found the print queue populated with the > test pages I had tried to print from the Linux box. > > So the good news is that the pages are making it to the printer, and the > bad news is that they are still not being printed. In fact, I could not > cancel the first job. I had to reboot to clear the queue. Which then let > my wife print her job. > > When I again tried to print, the printer made noises like it was going > to start, but then just stalled again. Another reboot for me, and an > update for the list. > > Anyone know of a possible fix? > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 19, 2007

Update

by Bruce Linnell

My wife complained because she couldn't print something from her computer. I checked it out and found the print queue populated with the test pages I had tried to print from the Linux box. So the good news is that the pages are making it to the printer, and the bad news is that they are still not being printed. In fact, I could not cancel the first job. I had to reboot to clear the queue. Which then let my wife print her job. When I again tried to print, the printer made noises like it was going to start, but then just stalled again. Another reboot for me, and an update for the list. Anyone know of a possible fix?

Feb. 18, 2007

This 'n that

by Bruce Linnell

I want to thank everyone at Thursday night's meeting for the warm welcome. What a treat it was to be sitting in a group and being able to use words like "distro", "Gnome", and "YaST" without drawing strange looks. The pizza was good, too. :-) I learned alot, but not as much as I thought I had. When I tried to get my printer functional I must have forgotten or misunderstood the advice that was shared with me. (I will be bringing a notebook with me next meeting.) I've got openSuSE 10.2 and access the net through a wireless router. There are 4 boxes on the LAN and the other 3 are WinXP systems. The printer we use is connected to one of those machines. I can ping the printer host box from my Linux system. Printer sharing is turned on at the host, and the XP machines print fine through the LAN. The CUPS job monitor acts as if the print jobs are being sent, right down to the progress bar and the printer icon going from green to yellow and back to green, with no error messages. But of course, there is no page forthcoming from the printer or this email would have been much shorter. It sounded so simple at the meeting...

Feb. 18, 2007