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Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by John Stoffel

>>>>> "Andy" == Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> writes: Andy> On 01/15/2011 09:20 PM, Eric Martin wrote: >> I had a problem a while ago and most of the folks here told me it was >> probably my wireless drivers. Since I've switched to the ath5k FOSS >> drivers as opposed to madwifi I've had no problems so I'm inclined to >> think that was the problem. If you're running wireless, try leaving it >> up overnight with the wireless drivers unloaded. Andy> The computer in question is my server, which doesn't have Andy> wireless. It has been a rock for 4-5 years (until I upgraded to Andy> Kubuntu 10.10). Try upgrading to 2.6.37 from Kernel org (fakeroot make deb-pkg) using your distributions .config file should let you know if it's something in Linux which is screwing you over. And what are you doing watching movies on your server for! It should be a nice headless box you just SSH into at need. *grin* But first Andy, you need to give us more details. Does the entire box freeze or just the graphics? Can you hit Alt-SysRq-T or other combinations to get the system to give you crash info? Can you have an SSH session open from another system where you tail -f /var/log/messages and /var/log/system and dmesg so you can see if something pops up? We need more details before we can help! John

Jan. 19, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Jorden M

switching VTs still works on Ubuntu, you can just do C-A-F1 and get a tty. however sometimes this still doesn't work if X is really stuck. sad that such a thing can happen on linux. On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Randall Mason <clashthebunny(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Has anybody who is experiencing these problems tried 'ssh'ing into the > box? It would help you figure out if it's really locked up or if it's > the display server. > > Also, ctrl-alt-backspace was disabled on Ubuntu, maybe try enableing > it and waiting for the next freeze... > > You can also use the Magic SysRq Key: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key > > Look up 'K' and make sure that it's all set up and wait for the next freeze... > > Randall Mason > > > > On Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 8:45 AM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: >> On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: >>> Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones if >>> the nonfree are in use? >> >> Hi Jason, >> >> My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is >> running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use >> for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, >> but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Andy >> >> -- >> Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) >> Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group >> Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group >> President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 18, 2011

Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Kevin Paetzold

In case no one made the connection between my previous messagesubject and this thread..... They are the same. I believe that the fix i pointed out is the cause of these "unstable" linux's. Certainly the fix worked for me. When I first booted with one of the fixed kernels it ran for a wk (before i rebooted). Previously my machine was hanging at least once per day and at some points every hour or so. And in answer to previous question, the machine was hung such that it was not possible to ssh into it or make it respond in any way. Indeed after using the power switch to turn off the machine I still had to pull the AC plug to get it to be able to reboot. On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 8:25 AM, kevin.paetzold <kevin.paetzold(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I meant to say that I am now running vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-77.fc14.i686 > from fedora 14 koji. Both the above kernel and > vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-75.bz667459.fc14.i686 > seem to resolve the issue. > > http://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org/packages/kernel/2.6.35.10/77.fc14/ > > In fedora this problem seemed to show up with the 10-72 kernel and was > perhaps even worse with 10-74 kernel. > > >

Jan. 17, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Randall Mason

Has anybody who is experiencing these problems tried 'ssh'ing into the box? It would help you figure out if it's really locked up or if it's the display server. Also, ctrl-alt-backspace was disabled on Ubuntu, maybe try enableing it and waiting for the next freeze... You can also use the Magic SysRq Key: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key Look up 'K' and make sure that it's all set up and wait for the next freeze... Randall Mason On Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 8:45 AM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: > On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: >> Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones if >> the nonfree are in use? > > Hi Jason, > > My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is > running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use > for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, > but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. > > Thanks, > > Andy > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 17, 2011

hanging kernels #2

by kevin.paetzold

I meant to say that I am now running vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-77.fc14.i686 from fedora 14 koji. Both the above kernel and vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-75.bz667459.fc14.i686 seem to resolve the issue. http://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org/packages/kernel/2.6.35.10/77.fc14/ In fedora this problem seemed to show up with the 10-72 kernel and was perhaps even worse with 10-74 kernel.

Jan. 17, 2011

hanging linux

by kevin.paetzold

I recently saw comments on this list about kernels that hang. Indeed that was/is true for fedora 14. The symptoms I saw were essentially a frozen screen with no mouse pointer etc... In my case I would actually have to power cycle (actually pulling the ac plug) my dell pc to reboot it. In my case I believe that the bug (in fedora land) was bz667459. see https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=667459 I was a comments in this bug pointed me at a bug fix kernel "vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-75.bz667459.fc14.i686". This kernel resolved the problem. By the way, I have now upgraded (on friday) to vmlinuz-2.6.35.10-75.bz667459.fc14.i686 from koji which has also been stable.

Jan. 17, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Any idea where to find a job?

by Jason Couture

Id like to thank everyone for their help and suggestions. I just realized I hadn't. The hunt continues, so if anyone happens to hear anything, please let me know. Sent from my android wireless device. On Dec 23, 2010 3:40 PM, "Jason Couture" <plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> wrote: I should also mention that I have limited experience troubleshooting and repairing Gilbarco Eclipse/Encore 500's, Systech serial port servers, and InCon TS-1001/2002. -- Jason Couture -- This message is intended to be viewed only by the listed recipient(s). It may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message without the permission of the sender is strictly prohibited. If you are not one of the listed recipients, or you suspect you have received this communication in error, please do not read it; notify sender immediately by return e-mail, and delete the original message and any copies. On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 3:19 PM, Jason Couture <plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Any it positio...

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Jorden Mauro

Andy, Try the blob driver, also try using an older driver (free or nonfree), and also make sure to try an older kernel. There are always regressions. On Jan 16, 2011, at 8:45 AM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: > On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: >> Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones >> if >> the nonfree are in use? > > Hi Jason, > > My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is > running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use > for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, > but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. > > Thanks, > > Andy > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Adam Keck

Andy, I would suspect the ATI drivers as the source of your instability. I have been having a lot of trouble with Kubuntu 10.10 on my T60 at work. While I haven't had full interface freezes, I get severe artifacting with an external monitor and have had random X crashes and application lockups. This solution cleared some things up for me, but it breaks setting the resolution via the preference pane: http://www.niccolofavari.com/ubuntu-10.04-lucid-issues-with-external-monito… -Adam On Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 8:45 AM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net>wrote: > On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: > > Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones if > > the nonfree are in use? > > Hi Jason, > > My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is > running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use > for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, > but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. > > Thanks, > > Andy > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Jason Couture

Andy, I'm sorry, I got the emails mixed up. It could be a driver issue, but I only suspect that due to the freezing under heavy video load. Could I also suggest trying a different video card to eliminate hardware issues? The video card may have started to fail as you switched distros, unlikely but possible? Sent from my android wireless device. On Jan 16, 2011 8:47 AM, "Andy Stewart" <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: > Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps... Hi Jason, My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. Thanks, Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsf... Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Andy Stewart

On 01/16/2011 06:25 AM, Jason Couture wrote: > Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones if > the nonfree are in use? Hi Jason, My graphics chip is the ATI Radeon RV280 (Radeon 9200 PRO), and it is running the Free Software driver. There is nothing proprietary in use for the video. I don't generally like to use the proprietary drivers, but perhaps I could try it to see if it makes any difference. Thanks, Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF)

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Jason Couture

Have you tried the nonfree nvidia drivers? Or perhaps the free ones if the nonfree are in use? Sent from my android wireless device. On Jan 16, 2011 4:22 AM, "David P. Connell" <davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: It seems to me from reading and from experience that there is some problem with 10.10 (for me with MythBuntu) and it does seem to center around video and I am not using wireless at all on the several configurations of hardware that I've tried (nothing very new HT P4's and 5200 series NVidia graphics, but always worked great prior to this). I am not very experienced so I can't offer anything but this anecdotal evidence. -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wl...

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Jason Couture

Recent kernel/HAL upgrades have caused gentoo to not see my keyboard. I have to boot older kernels to get it working. Could be a problem with my kernel configuration though. Sent from my android wireless device. On Jan 16, 2011 4:22 AM, "David P. Connell" <davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: It seems to me from reading and from experience that there is some problem with 10.10 (for me with MythBuntu) and it does seem to center around video and I am not using wireless at all on the several configurations of hardware that I've tried (nothing very new HT P4's and 5200 series NVidia graphics, but always worked great prior to this). I am not very experienced so I can't offer anything but this anecdotal evidence. -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wl...

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by David P. Connell

It seems to me from reading and from experience that there is some problem with 10.10 (for me with MythBuntu) and it does seem to center around video and I am not using wireless at all on the several configurations of hardware that I've tried (nothing very new HT P4's and 5200 series NVidia graphics, but always worked great prior to this). I am not very experienced so I can't offer anything but this anecdotal evidence. -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been."

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by James Gray

Funny, I've had crashes on and off for a while now. However, I believe it is related to my wireless driver (ironically ath5k, perhaps if I get newer drivers it will fix the problem?). I have the driver unloaded for a week and no problems. In another week I'll feel safe concluding it was the driver. I have another computer that sometimes crashes during shutdown right before power off. It doesn't hurt anything except that I have to press the power button - so I don't much care. I haven't had any problems with any of my other systems (all running *ubuntu 10.04) nor heard any complaints about the new *ubuntu 10.10 crashing. I think it pays to stick with the long term support releases as they are supposed to be more stable - 8.04 and 10.04. Probably doesn't help much, just thinking our loud. On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 10:23 PM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net> wrote: > On 01/15/2011 09:20 PM, Eric Martin wrote: >> I had a problem a while ago and most of the folks here told me it was >> probably my wireless drivers. Since I've switched to the ath5k FOSS >> drivers as opposed to madwifi I've had no problems so I'm inclined to >> think that was the problem. If you're running wireless, try leaving it >> up overnight with the wireless drivers unloaded. > > HI Eric, > > The computer in question is my server, which doesn't have wireless. It > has been a rock for 4-5 years (until I upgraded to Kubuntu 10.10). > > I'll keep googling and if I find something, I'll let everybody know. > > Thanks, > > Andy > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Andy Stewart

On 01/15/2011 09:20 PM, Eric Martin wrote: > I had a problem a while ago and most of the folks here told me it was > probably my wireless drivers. Since I've switched to the ath5k FOSS > drivers as opposed to madwifi I've had no problems so I'm inclined to > think that was the problem. If you're running wireless, try leaving it > up overnight with the wireless drivers unloaded. HI Eric, The computer in question is my server, which doesn't have wireless. It has been a rock for 4-5 years (until I upgraded to Kubuntu 10.10). I'll keep googling and if I find something, I'll let everybody know. Thanks, Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF)

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Eric Martin

I had a problem a while ago and most of the folks here told me it was probably my wireless drivers. Since I've switched to the ath5k FOSS drivers as opposed to madwifi I've had no problems so I'm inclined to think that was the problem. If you're running wireless, try leaving it up overnight with the wireless drivers unloaded. On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 9:13 PM, Andy Stewart <andystewart(a)comcast.net>wrote: > > HI gang, > > I've read an awful lot of posts recently describing freezing or hanging > systems in very recent versions of several Linux distributions. > > Unfortunately, I got one of them - Kubuntu 10.10 (I *knew* I shouldn't > have upgraded from the very stable SuSE 10.1, except that it was quite > old). > > My system arbitrarily hangs/freezes at unpredictable intervals. > Sometimes I can make it happen 2 minutes after a reboot, and other times > it takes a few days, but invariably, it does occur. > > I can usually induce it by doing something semi-stressful to the video, > like watching something via mplayer, but it doesn't always occur. > > The postings I've seen appear to describe a wide variety of hardware and > software configurations, and nobody can seem to find any error data in > any log file. > > What I can't find is the solution, and I've googled extensively. Has > anybody found anything online that talks about some very recently > discovered bug and its fix that would cure the problem? > > Thanks! > > Andy > > -- > Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) > Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group > Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group > President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- Eric Martin

Jan. 16, 2011

Unstable Linux in recent releases

by Andy Stewart

HI gang, I've read an awful lot of posts recently describing freezing or hanging systems in very recent versions of several Linux distributions. Unfortunately, I got one of them - Kubuntu 10.10 (I *knew* I shouldn't have upgraded from the very stable SuSE 10.1, except that it was quite old). My system arbitrarily hangs/freezes at unpredictable intervals. Sometimes I can make it happen 2 minutes after a reboot, and other times it takes a few days, but invariably, it does occur. I can usually induce it by doing something semi-stressful to the video, like watching something via mplayer, but it doesn't always occur. The postings I've seen appear to describe a wide variety of hardware and software configurations, and nobody can seem to find any error data in any log file. What I can't find is the solution, and I've googled extensively. Has anybody found anything online that talks about some very recently discovered bug and its fix that would cure the problem? Thanks! Andy -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF)

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Dec Meeting announcement / linux-raid problem

by Eric Martin

I forgot to thank everybody for their help. I used dd_rescue to clone the disk and forced mdadm to activate the array and everything was good. Of course now my backup hard drive is throwing errors so it's either heat in the cabinet that's killing hds or a bad mb. I guess I'll be pulling the back off of my entertainment center... On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 4:52 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > >>>>> "Eric" == Eric Martin <eric.joshua.martin(a)gmail.com> writes: > > Eric> Now, the main reason for my email. My mythbox / home file > Eric> server runs linux soft-raid in RAID5 with 3 500GB disks. One > Eric> disk went bad a while ago and the array never rebuilt itself. > > So you only had two 500Gb disks left in the array? > > Eric> The other day, the second disk went bad. Am I hosed? > > Possibly, it depends on how bad the second disk is. What I would do > is try to use dd_rescue to copy the 2nd bad disk onto a new disk > (possibly your original bad disk if you feel brave!) and then try to > re-assemble your raid 5 using that. You might or might not have > corruption in the filesystem, so make sure you run an fsck on it. > > Now, in the future, you should run a weekly check of the array for bad > blocks or other problems, so that you get notified if a disk dies > silently. I use the following crontab entry: > > # > # cron.d/mdadm -- schedules periodic redundancy checks of MD devices > # > # Copyright © martin f. krafft <madduck(a)madduck.net> > # distributed under the terms of the Artistic Licence 2.0 > # > > # By default, run at 00:57 on every Sunday, but do nothing unless the > day of > # the month is less than or equal to 7. Thus, only run on the first > Sunday of > # each month. crontab(5) sucks, unfortunately, in this regard; > therefore this > # hack (see #380425). > 57 0 * * 0 root if [ -x /usr/share/mdadm/checkarray ] && [ $(date +\%d) > -le 7 ]; then /usr/share/mdadm/checkarray --cron --all --idle --quiet; fi > > and I get a nice weekly report on both arrays on my main filerserver > at thome. > > Eric> I've been googling for 'rebuild bad linux software raid' but all > Eric> I get is the rebuild command. Also, I don't see any tools that > Eric> will move bad data to another spot on the disk. This is my > Eric> first time using software raid so I'm in a bit over my head. > > The first thing is to ask for help on the linux-raid mailing list, > which is hosted on vger.kernel.org. > > But somethings you can do to help is to give us more information. > Like: > > cat /proc/mdstat > > mdadm -E /dev/sd... > > or /dev/hd... depending on whether your SATA or IDE drives. > Basically, use the devices you got from the /proc/mdstat output as > your basis. > > Give us this output, and we should be able to help you more. > > John > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- Eric Martin

Jan. 16, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by E Johnson

The Up arrow is a total lifesaver. Whoever commented on making a text file containing Linucommands & their uses was right on, too. I can certainly search a text file residing in my hard drive much easier than I could ever find a note in one of a series of sprial (paper) notebooks. Liz J On 12 January 2011 19:24, Gregory Avedissian <avedis.g(a)verizon.net> wrote: > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > other distros. > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system > crashes. > > Greg Avedissian > > > On 01/12/2011 03:56 PM, Ken Jones wrote: >> >> Folks, >> >> I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX >> instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing >> them? Is there a tool to search for recall? >> >> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I were to >> remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the >> contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for the life of me >> remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other than sending a email >> to this list serve)? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. >> >> Ken Jones (the elder) >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 14, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Steven Greenberg

Unix/Linux command names were exactly what drove me crazy when I first had to use Unix. I wanted to list something on the terminal, or maybe type it. Who would have thought to "cat" it or "more" it. And then we have the aptly named utilities like "awk". I was so proud when it finally dawned on me what the letters "a" "w" and "k" stood for. So I eventually did learn all the commands, but I never thought about the problem of forgetting them until this digest entry. I had the same reaction to emacs in the beginning. Doing apropos in emacs is not helpful when the concept you associate with the task is nothing like the way it is named or described in Emacs. I have learned to write down in a diary on my computer every time I finally find the hard to find command in either Emacs or unix/linux. The next time I want to do the same thing and I have forgotten what the command is, and I finally give up trying to find it in emacs, I can search my diary. Chances are the diary entry will be associated with the word I mentally associate with the task. /Steve -- Steven Greenberg Email: steve(a)ssgreenberg.name 251 Holland Rd. Phone: (774)241-0095 Fiskdale, Massachusetts 01518-1231 Web: http://www.ssgreenberg.name Other Email: s.greenberg(a)ieee.org ssg(a)alum.mit.edu

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Tim Keller

I've gotten in the habit of doing a "ctrl-r" in my current shell and then searching for a command I've used. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 9:19 PM, Franklin Moody <fmoody(a)moodman.org> wrote: > On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 07:24:17PM -0500, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can > help. > > > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > > other distros. > > > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the > system > > crashes. > > > > Greg Avedissian > > I usually use "history | grep $blah" when looking for a particular > set of command line options... On machines where I don't intentionally > disable history for security... > > Frank > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Chuck Anderson

On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 03:56:02PM -0500, Ken Jones wrote: > output the contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for > the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other > than sending a email to this list serve)? All the command > dictionaries I have are alphabetic. linuxcommand.org might be helpful.

Jan. 13, 2011

Old man and LINUX

by temljrmjrlmr＠comcast.net

Try "fc -l" (thats dash ell) no quotes shows a tail of whats in .bash_history I think Or - if you know the command's number in the history sequence "fc {$line_no}" Brings Previous command comes up in your default editor Default here (Ubuntu Hardy) was set to the nano editor for some reason so i did FCEDIT=vi ; export FCEDIT NOW things are more better Jay Louis J Rouleau Semi-Old Man South Hadley --------------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:02:29 -0500 From: Jorden M <jrm8005(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTi=NDA=EenfiOTAcnROVGEjfajmH93mwss5vj9XQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > Folks, > > I have? always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head.? What would I do?if I were to start losing them? > Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? ?If I were to > remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the > contents of a file in txt characters,? but could not for the life of me > remember 'more'.? Where would I go for help (other than sending a email to > this list serve)?? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > Ken Jones (the elder) > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > apropos, although that isn't always helpful. Google. There are also some sites that have commands listed categorically. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:00:25 -0500 From: "John Stoffel" <john(a)stoffel.org> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <19758.16537.740475.105771(a)quad.stoffel.home> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: Ken> Folks, Ken> I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing them? Is there a tool to search for recall? Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. Where would I go Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? All Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. man -k something where something is vaguely related to your needs. In this case, I just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were 'zmore'. Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about text handling. Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts out? Unix in a Nutshell, etc. That should help you find commands. Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you don't want to edit it. John ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:24:17 -0500 From: Gregory Avedissian <avedis.g(a)verizon.net> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <4D2E4631.7020705(a)verizon.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in other distros. Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system crashes. Greg Avedissian On 01/12/2011 03:56 PM, Ken Jones wrote: > > Folks, > > I have always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head. What would I do if I were to start losing > them? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? If I were to > remember that there is a command that will print on standard output the > contents of a file in txt characters, but could not for the life of me > remember 'more'. Where would I go for help (other than sending a email > to this list serve)? All the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > Ken Jones (the elder) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:44:57 -0500 From: James Gray <jamespgray(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTineh9rsmE0TaHudw2xa6nu6GTWGTO-9jKv27F9R(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 If Google and other search commands don't get what you want you could buy a reference book. Or you could create your own cheat sheet. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 3:56 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > Folks, > > I have? always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX > instructions in my head.? What would I do?if I were to start losing them? > Is there a tool to search for recall? > ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:52:13 -0500 From: Jorden M <jrm8005(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <AANLkTikB6P0JK-9nUJ9Lws2sVSvC5y2AzXF=bx8ggjjD(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 apropos is equivalent to man -k On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: >>>>>> "Ken" == Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> writes: > > Ken> Folks, > Ken> I have ?always wondered at my ability to keep the myriad of LINUX instructions in my head. ?What would I do if I were to start losing them? ? Is there a tool to search for recall? > > Ken> Is there any way to go backwards in LINUX command land? ?If I > Ken> were to remember that there is a command that will print on > Ken> standard output the contents of a file in txt characters, but > Ken> could not for the life of me remember 'more'. ?Where would I go > Ken> for help (other than sending a email to this list serve)? ?All > Ken> the command dictionaries I have are alphabetic. > > man -k something > > where something is vaguely related to your needs. ?In this case, I > just did 'man -k text' and the last things that popped up were > 'zmore'. ?Plus a bunch of other system calls and library calls about > text handling. > > Maybe pickup one of the linux for beginners books that O'Reilly puts > out? ?Unix in a Nutshell, etc. ?That should help you find commands. > > Also, *any* text editor will let you read a text file, even if you > don't want to edit it. > > John > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:19:39 -0500 From: Franklin Moody <fmoody(a)moodman.org> Subject: Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Message-ID: <20110113021937.GB13934(a)fmoody.moodman.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 07:24:17PM -0500, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > The up arrow will take you through your command history in reverse order. > If you want to see more than one command at a time, open .bash_history in > your home with a text editor, or, while you're still remembering it, do > 'more .bash_history'. If you remember the command, but you can't recall > what options you used with it, 'grep some-command .bash_history' can help. > > You can set the system to hold more commands, if you want. In debian, the > default is to hold the last 500 commands. I don't recall what it is in > other distros. > > Spiral-bound notebook is good, too. A couple of pages of your favorite > commands and just about anything else will still be readable if the system > crashes. > > Greg Avedissian I usually use "history | grep $blah" when looking for a particular set of command line options... On machines where I don't intentionally disable history for security... Frank ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug End of Wlug Digest, Vol 87, Issue 9 ***********************************

Jan. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Old man and LINUX

by Aljerin Butler,Jr.

Try http://www.linuxmanpages.com/. It has every command you've probably ever used and then some. Al Butler http://customlinux.tripod.com/ --- On Thu, 1/13/11, wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> wrote: From: wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> Subject: Wlug Digest, Vol 87, Issue 9 To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 12:00 PM Send Wlug mailing list submissions to wlug(a)mail.wlug.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org You can reach the person managing the list at wlug-owner(a)mail.wlug.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Wlug digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Canceled due to weather: WLUG meeting Wed 1/12/2011 (Theo Van Dinter) 2. Old man and LINUX (Ken Jones) 3. Re: Old man and LINUX (Jorden M) 4. Re: Old man and LINUX (John Stoffel) 5. Re: Old man and LINUX (Gregory Avedissian) 6. Re: Old man and LINUX (James Gray) 7. Re: Old man and LINUX (Jorden M) 8. Re: Old man and LINUX (Franklin Moody) _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 13, 2011