- WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

startup scripts & pid

by Bill Mills-Curran

I'm installing an ircd variant (ircd-hybrid-7) on a server at work. I didn't find an rpm for this newer version, so one of the people in my group built it. However, there is no startup script, so we'll have to cook one ourselves. I have a question about storing the pid in /var/run. Does one of the common functions in the functions script (/etc/rc.d/init.d/functions) handle storing the pid, or is that something that most daemons have built-in? I've found shell code for killing processes using the pid from /var/run, but nothing for storing the pid. Another question... Is there a decent template for writing our own script? I hate to reinvent the wheel. (I never seem to get it very round.) Any suggestions? Thanks, Bill

Sept. 17, 2001

Re: [Wlug] make bzdisk

by Andy Stewart

I've seen this happen on a couple of occasions. A bad floppy will cause it. Try dd'ing to another floppy. Later, Andy On Sunday 16 September 2001 07:02 pm, you wrote: > I downloaded the 2.4.9 kernel and built myself a new, up to date kernel, > which works fine. I can run 'make bzdisk' and it dd's the kernel to the > floppy. When I try to boot the floppy, I get loading > ............................................... (lots of dots...) > followed by these numbers; > 0400 > AX:0212 > BX:7400 > CX:5009 > DX:0000 > > These repeat until I reboot with out the floppy. > > What's going on???? make bzdisk used to work, should I use another > command to create a bootable floppy with the kernel? > > Thanks, > Chuck > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- Andy Stewart Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA, USA http://www.wlug.org

Sept. 16, 2001

make bzdisk

by cc.noyes

I downloaded the 2.4.9 kernel and built myself a new, up to date kernel, which works fine. I can run 'make bzdisk' and it dd's the kernel to the floppy. When I try to boot the floppy, I get loading ............................................... (lots of dots...) followed by these numbers; 0400 AX:0212 BX:7400 CX:5009 DX:0000 These repeat until I reboot with out the floppy. What's going on???? make bzdisk used to work, should I use another command to create a bootable floppy with the kernel? Thanks, Chuck

Sept. 16, 2001

Re: [mwblug] one last (maling list) hurrah for USA

by rek2

YAP! On Sunday 16 September 2001 11:33, Jeff Reed wrote: <><>i would personally like to thank the JINX hackwear company <><>for sincerely expressing exactly how i feel on their front <><>page... <><> <><>check it out... <><> <><>http://www.jinxhackwear.com/ <><> -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/jargon.html#cyberpunk Since 1990 or so, popular culture has included a movement or fashion trend that calls itself `cyberpunk', associated especially with the rave/techno subculture. Hackers have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, self-described cyberpunks too often seem to be shallow trendoids in black leather who have substituted enthusiastic blathering about technology for actually learning and doing it. Attitude is no substitute for competence. On the other hand, at least cyberpunks are excited about the right things and properly respectful of hacking talent in those who have it. The general consensus is to tolerate them politely in hopes that they'll attract people who grow into being true hackers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hacker /n./1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than ust theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

Sept. 16, 2001

one last (maling list) hurrah for USA

by Jeff Reed

i would personally like to thank the JINX hackwear company for sincerely expressing exactly how i feel on their front page... check it out... http://www.jinxhackwear.com/ -- //-- Jeff Reed //-- Co-founder / Odd (Job) Guy //-- Metro West Boston Linux User Group //-- jreed(a)linuxbusca.com

Sept. 16, 2001

Re: Laptop recommendations

by Robert L Krawitz

I found an HP Pavilion 5470 for $1500 at Circuit City. It was a return. It's only 1024x768, which is less than I want (although it is a 15" display), but with 256 MB, the price, and the combo CDRW/DVD drive, it looked awfully appealing. I have 14 days to decide whether to keep it (there's no restocking fee, since it was an open box). It has a non-Lucent lusemodem. The processor is an Athlon 4/1GHz, for what little that's worth; it's way, way cheaper than anything similar on Pricewatch. According to http://www.deater.net/john/PavilionN5430.html, it's possible to run Linux on it, albeit it uses a not very well supported Trident chipset, among other things. Is anyone familiar with this laptop? Comments? -- Robert Krawitz <rlk(a)alum.mit.edu> http://www.tiac.net/users/rlk/ Tall Clubs International -- http://www.tall.org/ or 1-888-IM-TALL-2 Member of the League for Programming Freedom -- mail lpf(a)uunet.uu.net Project lead for Gimp Print/stp -- http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net "Linux doesn't dictate how I work, I dictate how Linux works." --Eric Crampton

Sept. 13, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Unable to obtain an IP

by Mike Frysinger

i thought the fact that my 3com nic [a 3c905] was odd in the fact it was using the module 3c59* until i looked for the driver via google and looked at the doc's on it in the kernel help page ... the module that is called 3c59* supports all of these nics: x "Vortex" (Fast EtherLink 3c590/3c592/3c595/3c597) x "Boomerang" (EtherLink XL 3c900 or 3c905) x "Cyclone" (3c540/3c900/3c905/3c980/3c575/3c656) x "Tornado" (3c905) x "Hurricane" (3c555/3cSOHO) ... the original driver was meant for the 3c59* nic's, but the original coder found that other, similar 3com nic's had no linux support, so he added in a bunch of 3c90* nic's to his module, but retained the original name. thus, keep the 3c59* module and dont change it, when i forced usage of 3c90*, it broke my nic [i.e. it didnt work], but the 3c59* worked fine -mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Frederick" <efreder1(a)hotmail.com> To: <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 02:55 AM Subject: Re: [Wlug] Unable to obtain an IP > > EF>I reinstalled Redhat 7.1 on my computer at school and I am unable to > > EF>connect to the internet. I have only been using Linux for about 7-8 > > EF>months and I am still a novice. When I was using Redhat 7.1 last > > EF>spring, it worked fine. > > > > WS>what happened between then and now? new hard drive? (just curious; > i'm > > WS>of the If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it school... <g>) > > I updated the system using Redhat's upgrade system and I recieved errors > messages > and things stopped working. Since I had no clue how to fix it, I > said forget it. > > > EF>I am using a 3com Etherlink card (the driver > > EF>is 3c905c-tx in windows) and my computer seems to detect it correctly. > > > > WS>you know this from the boot up screen? > > I got the information about the NIC by using the command "ifconfig eth0." > The command displays the driver installed for the device. > > > EF>However, it is using the 3com59* driver. I tried to switch to the > > EF>driver to 3com90*, but my computer stopped recognizing the card so I > > EF>doubt it is a driver problem. (Plus, it was using the same driver last > > EF>spring.) > > > > WS>how were you doing this? usually, all you should need to do is > re-compile > > WS>the kernel if support for your Network Interface Card (NIC) isn't there > > WS>already. > > Since I have no clue about recompiling the kernel, I made the changes using > linuxconf. It is a GUI program that is supposed to reconfigure things for > you. > > > EF>I also tried pump -i eth0 and it failed. > > > > WS>i'm not familiar with "pump"... does it have something to do with > DHCP? > > >From what I understand, pump a the program that works with DHCP to get IP > addresses. I am using the DHCP client rather than BOOTP (something like > that.) > since that is what I am supposed to use. > > > EF>Also, I entered an IP hoping that it would pick something up but that > > EF>does not work either. > > > > WS>generally, you can't just "assign" an IP address, unless it's for your > own > > WS>LAN. if you're connecting that system to a LAN AND a dial-up, then you > > WS>need to be careful that your network address isn't something that > > WS>technically belongs to someone else. (for example, it might be nice to > > WS>have a LAN at home with 18.100.x.x, but i'll bet MIT would have > something > > WS>to say to you if you tried to connect that to the 'Net...) > > WS>for private networks, there are a few generally accepted networks that > > WS>work out, since they are Officially Unassigned. try something in the > > WS>192.168.x.x range. if the LAN and the Dial Up are on the same machine, > > WS>there might be a routing issue on the local box. > > The IP address was for my LAN at school. The network officials recommended > that I take this action to resolve the problem. Also, they told me that > they know hardly anything about Linux so I am not about to ask them for more > help. > > > EF>Does anyone know what could be done to resolve the problem or > > EF>at least direct me somewhere. > > > > WS>worst-case, you could always try checking the wire to make sure that > it's > > WS>connected securely. you'd be surprised how many times i've found that > to > > WS>be a problem. <sigh> ;) > > The NIC works on my DOS drive so I doubt that it is a problem. :) However, > could this problem occur if I let the Redhat install program reformat the > drive for me? Should I format the drive myself and then reinstall and see > if the problem is resolved? > > > WS>hope this helps... > > Thank you very much for the advice. I know I should learn to fix the system > rather than format it, but it is hard for me to do that while I am at > school. I have very little time to learn Linux, but I like Linux much > better than Windows and I am trying to convert. I have learned not to > upgrade until I know more about the OS and how to fix it. :-) > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Sept. 13, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Unable to obtain an IP

by Eric Frederick

> EF>I reinstalled Redhat 7.1 on my computer at school and I am unable to > EF>connect to the internet. I have only been using Linux for about 7-8 > EF>months and I am still a novice. When I was using Redhat 7.1 last > EF>spring, it worked fine. > > WS>what happened between then and now? new hard drive? (just curious; i'm > WS>of the If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it school... <g>) I updated the system using Redhat's upgrade system and I recieved errors messages > and things stopped working. Since I had no clue how to fix it, I said forget it. > EF>I am using a 3com Etherlink card (the driver > EF>is 3c905c-tx in windows) and my computer seems to detect it correctly. > > WS>you know this from the boot up screen? I got the information about the NIC by using the command "ifconfig eth0." The command displays the driver installed for the device. > EF>However, it is using the 3com59* driver. I tried to switch to the > EF>driver to 3com90*, but my computer stopped recognizing the card so I > EF>doubt it is a driver problem. (Plus, it was using the same driver last > EF>spring.) > > WS>how were you doing this? usually, all you should need to do is re-compile > WS>the kernel if support for your Network Interface Card (NIC) isn't there > WS>already. Since I have no clue about recompiling the kernel, I made the changes using linuxconf. It is a GUI program that is supposed to reconfigure things for you. > EF>I also tried pump -i eth0 and it failed. > > WS>i'm not familiar with "pump"... does it have something to do with DHCP?

Sept. 13, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Unable to obtain an IP

by William Smith

On Mon, 10 Sep 2001, Eric Frederick wrote: EF>I reinstalled Redhat 7.1 on my computer at school and I am unable to EF>connect to the internet. I have only been using Linux for about 7-8 EF>months and I am still a novice. When I was using Redhat 7.1 last EF>spring, it worked fine. what happened between then and now? new hard drive? (just curious; i'm of the If-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it school... <g>) EF>I am using a 3com Etherlink card (the driver EF>is 3c905c-tx in windows) and my computer seems to detect it correctly. you know this from the boot up screen? EF>However, it is using the 3com59* driver. I tried to switch to the EF>driver to 3com90*, but my computer stopped recognizing the card so I EF>doubt it is a driver problem. (Plus, it was using the same driver last EF>spring.) how were you doing this? usually, all you should need to do is re-compile the kernel if support for your Network Interface Card (NIC) isn't there already. EF>I also tried pump -i eth0 and it failed. i'm not familiar with "pump"... does it have something to do with DHCP? EF>Also, I entered an IP hoping that it would pick something up but that EF>does not work either. generally, you can't just "assign" an IP address, unless it's for your own LAN. if you're connecting that system to a LAN AND a dial-up, then you need to be careful that your network address isn't something that technically belongs to someone else. (for example, it might be nice to have a LAN at home with 18.100.x.x, but i'll bet MIT would have something to say to you if you tried to connect that to the 'Net...) for private networks, there are a few generally accepted networks that work out, since they are Officially Unassigned. try something in the 192.168.x.x range. if the LAN and the Dial Up are on the same machine, there might be a routing issue on the local box. EF>Does anyone know what could be done to resolve the problem or EF>at least direct me somewhere. worst-case, you could always try checking the wire to make sure that it's connected securely. you'd be surprised how many times i've found that to be a problem. <sigh> ;) hope this helps... -- William Smith wsmith(a)chezsmith.com Fall River, MA http://www.chezsmith.com

Sept. 13, 2001

Re: [Wlug] lost in kernel

by Aaron Haviland

Brad Noyes said: > Hi all, > Has anyone else had trouble finding an option in the kerel config? I was > looking for support for /dev/imon (for libfam), but i just can't find it in > the kernel config. The kernel has become huge, and hard to find things in. > anyone have an easy way of looking for an option in the kernel, or does anyone > where this /dev/imon option is in the kernel? > > Thanks, > --Brad Unless I'm mistaken, there doesn't exist anything in the official kernel for libfam or imon. At least nothing turned up on a full grep of the 2.4.9 sources. You might need to apply the kernel patches from http://oss.sgi.com/projects/fam/ -- Aaron Haviland orion [at] tribble [dot] dyndns [dot] org orion [at] parsed [dot] net No hish were farmed in frosting to this poup.

Sept. 12, 2001

lost in kernel

by Brad Noyes

Hi all, Has anyone else had trouble finding an option in the kerel config? I was looking for support for /dev/imon (for libfam), but i just can't find it in the kernel config. The kernel has become huge, and hard to find things in. anyone have an easy way of looking for an option in the kernel, or does anyone where this /dev/imon option is in the kernel? Thanks, --Brad

Sept. 12, 2001

Unable to obtain an IP

by Eric Frederick

I reinstalled Redhat 7.1 on my computer at school and I am unable to connect to the internet. I have only been using Linux for about 7-8 months and I am still a novice. When I was using Redhat 7.1 last spring, it worked fine. I am using a 3com Etherlink card (the driver is 3c905c-tx in windows) and my computer seems to detect it correctly. However, it is using the 3com59* driver. I tried to switch to the driver to 3com90*, but my computer stopped recognizing the card so I doubt it is a driver problem. (Plus, it was using the same driver last spring.) I also tried pump -i eth0 and it failed. Also, I entered an IP hoping that it would pick something up but that does not work either. Does anyone know what could be done to resolve the problem or at least direct me somewhere. Thanks, Eric

Sept. 10, 2001

Re: [Wlug] boot images -- safe to delete?

by Ben Dow

Ok, first off, repartitioning isn't really all that bad, at least in my experience... you just get a partition magic 4.0 or higher (for ext2, at least... I doubt even the latest version has support for the more esoteric filesystems... but you probably don't have to worry about that) boot disk, boot off of that, tell it to resize the partition, go out, see a movie with friends, and by the time you get back, hopefully it's done... I haven't tried any of the open-source Linux tools for that, but that doesn't mean they won't work just as well. As for the kernel images, well, I'm a fan of compiling your own kernel so you don't need any of them, but that isn't for everybody, I know, so yes, you can safely delete the uncompressed versions. And unless you have a multiprocessor machine, the smp kernels aren't doing you any good either. If you delete anything referred to in lilo.conf, make sure to re-run lilo (preferably taking that part out or pointing it somewhere else), or else you probably won't be able to boot. Beyond that, I'm not familiar with Redhat and their packaging system to say what kind of stuff you'd be able to safely delete without interfering with the upgrade process... intuitively, I'd say something non-essential that you're sure is going to be replaced anyway (kde and gnome come to mind), but again, don't listen to me; I don't know what I'm talking about. On Sun, 9 Sep 2001, Bill Mills-Curran wrote: > I tried to upgrade to RedHat 7.1 tonight, and I found that I do not have > enough disk space on /. So I have 3 options: > > 1. Fresh install > 2. Repartition > 3. Clean up > > As much as I'd like to repartition, I'm not sure enough of myself to plow > into that, although I'd like to hear what tricks there might be that would > make it easy (easier?) to do. > > One thing I've noticed is that I seem to have extra kernels around, but I > thought I'd see if there is any reason I need to keep them before I whack > them. Here's what I have: > > ls -l vm* > -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1621659 Aug 22 2000 vmlinux-2.2.16-22 > -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1739279 Aug 22 2000 vmlinux-2.2.16-22smp > lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Apr 16 22:51 vmlinuz ->vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 627379 Aug 22 2000 vmlinuz-2.2.16-22 > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 654459 Aug 22 2000 vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp > > My lilo has: > > cat /etc/lilo.conf > boot=/dev/sda > map=/boot/map > install=/boot/boot.b > prompt > timeout=50 > default=linux > message=/boot/message > linear > > image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp > label=linux > initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22smp.img > read-only > root=/dev/sda1 > > image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22 > label=linux-up > initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22.img > read-only > root=/dev/sda1 > > > So, I can get of the uncompressed kernel images, right? > > BTW, when considering my options for repartitioning, I do have a DAT drive > for backup/restore ops. > > Thanks, > Bill > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Sept. 10, 2001

Linux Journal article by Rick Gorton

by Andy Stewart

Hi gang, Check out the August 2001 Linux Journal article on page 22 entitled "Kernel Tuning Gives 40% Gains" by Rick Gorton. The article describes work that was done to the Alpha specific portions of the Linux kernel to optimize its behavior for the 21264 (EV6) Alpha processor. Rick has attended many WLUG meetings in the past. Way to go, Rick! Andy -- Andy Stewart Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA, USA http://www.wlug.org

Sept. 10, 2001

REMINDER: Meeting, Wed. Sept. 12th

by Andy Stewart

HI everybody, This is a reminder about the upcoming WLUG meeting, to be held this Wednesday, Sept. 12th, at 7 PM in Kinnicutt Hall on the WPI campus. Directions can be found on the WLUG website. I would like to spend part of the meeting discussing a potential group project. I was contacted by Warren Rasmussen, the Director of the Lancaster (MA) Center for the Aging. He would like to convert several of his office computers from Windoze to Linux, with shared printers, network, shared dialup modem, etc. Warren would also like us to entertain the notion of the creation of a few Linux workstations to be used by senior citizens for e-mail and web surfing, again, using Linux. Some training of the seniors would be required. He'd like to see if we can prove that Linux is easy enough for seniors to use. I have invited Warren to the meeting, so we can get more details from him at that time, and then gauge the interest level of the group in participating in this project. Since the WPI school year has just started, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce any WPI Linux Association officers who might be in attendance. I also plan to open the floor for tech support questions aimed at the group membership. I may still have an item or two that I can bring for a raffle. Afterwards, we'll adjourn to the Boynton Restaurant for some pizza and beer, and all are welcome to attend. See ya later, Andy -- Andy Stewart Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA, USA http://www.wlug.org

Sept. 10, 2001

boot images -- safe to delete?

by Bill Mills-Curran

I tried to upgrade to RedHat 7.1 tonight, and I found that I do not have enough disk space on /. So I have 3 options: 1. Fresh install 2. Repartition 3. Clean up As much as I'd like to repartition, I'm not sure enough of myself to plow into that, although I'd like to hear what tricks there might be that would make it easy (easier?) to do. One thing I've noticed is that I seem to have extra kernels around, but I thought I'd see if there is any reason I need to keep them before I whack them. Here's what I have: ls -l vm* -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1621659 Aug 22 2000 vmlinux-2.2.16-22 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1739279 Aug 22 2000 vmlinux-2.2.16-22smp lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Apr 16 22:51 vmlinuz ->vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 627379 Aug 22 2000 vmlinuz-2.2.16-22 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 654459 Aug 22 2000 vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp My lilo has: cat /etc/lilo.conf boot=/dev/sda map=/boot/map install=/boot/boot.b prompt timeout=50 default=linux message=/boot/message linear image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22smp label=linux initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22smp.img read-only root=/dev/sda1 image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.2.16-22 label=linux-up initrd=/boot/initrd-2.2.16-22.img read-only root=/dev/sda1 So, I can get of the uncompressed kernel images, right? BTW, when considering my options for repartitioning, I do have a DAT drive for backup/restore ops. Thanks, Bill

Sept. 10, 2001

Prelinker...

by Keller, Tim

Hey All, This popped up on the Mandrake-expert mailing list so I thought I'd pass it along... http://www.research.att.com/~leonb/objprelink/ Enjoy... Tim.

Sept. 7, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Anyone played around with Linux on iPaq?

by Brad Noyes

On Thu, Sep 06, 2001 at 12:30:04AM +0000, Dan Potter wrote: > I recently perchased an iPAQ from Compaq, and as many probably already > know, there is a Linux distro for iPAQ. There's a bunch, Familiar is probably what you'll want, but there are others, http://handhelds.org has a bunch of info > Anyone have any experience with it? Suggestions? I'm using QT-Palmtop right now on my ipaq. It's pretty nice, There are a few things missing from Qt-Palmtop. My ipaq will not wake up and alert me of appointments, there's not natural hand writing recognizer (like MS's transcriber), only since character recognizer like palm. you can't Turn on/off the backlight by holding down the power button (i found that to be useful). Also there's no real sync utility, so you can't sync with other apps, like kmail for email, etc. Those are some of the problems that i see with linux on the Ipaq as of right now. But people are working on solutions. A big plus for me is that i can access my Ipaq from my linux machine, since i don't have a windows machine i couldn't access it at all before with WinCE. Also if you don't like something in application you can change it and re-compile (handhelds.org has a cross compiler to compile apps for the strong-arm processor). installing linux on the ipaq, can be kind of tense, so if you do decided to install make sure you read the instructions thoroughly first. --brad

Sept. 6, 2001

Re: [Wlug] RHL 7.1 upgrade: Xterm bizarre, etc

by Charles R . Anderson

On Thu, Sep 06, 2001 at 06:55:10AM -0400, Peter Gutowski wrote: peter> Although *installing* linux from RedHat disks has improved over the years, I still find that upgrading an existing installation can really try your patience. After doing a number of clean installs using the RedHat 7.1 disks, I felt comfortable thinking I could upgrade without much problem. I've upgraded RHL systems from 4.2 through to 7.1 without major problems. peter> There are a number of things that changed. Some I had know about from the previous clean installs. Others came as a distressing surprize: for instance the sendmail upgrade changes default behavior radically in that it is compiled against the tcpwrappers library, so now you need to consider sendmail entries in your hosts.allow and hosts.deny. Actually, that's a great idea, but I sure wish I knew that before hand (rather than bouncing mail for 2 days until I discovered the problem.) That change, among others, is clearly documented in the release notes which you should have read before upgrading. peter> I usually don't run xdm (runlevel 5 default in RedHat) but just do a startx. When I do that everything seems pretty OK until I actually try to *do* something. I click on the Netscape icon in the panel on the bottom of the screen. Nothing. I launch an xterm to try to figure out what's happening (or not, in this case) and it just gets worse: the keys don't seem to be matched up to the correct characters. When I press the 'o' key, I get a 'p' on the screen. When I press 'i', I get 'o'. In general it seems like the whole keyboard is just slid over by 1 key -- but I can't seem to find a key that gives me an return or enter. Check for an erroneous xmodmap or xkb map file. They are usually in /etc/X11/xdm, /etc/X11/xinit, or your home directory (.xmodmap or similar). I would try moving these out of the way first, if they exist, and see if that helps.

Sept. 6, 2001

RHL 7.1 upgrade: Xterm bizarre, etc

by Peter Gutowski

Although *installing* linux from RedHat disks has improved over the years, I still find that upgrading an existing installation can really try your patience. After doing a number of clean installs using the RedHat 7.1 disks, I felt comfortable thinking I could upgrade without much problem. Wrongo. There are a number of things that changed. Some I had know about from the previous clean installs. Others came as a distressing surprize: for instance the sendmail upgrade changes default behavior radically in that it is compiled against the tcpwrappers library, so now you need to consider sendmail entries in your hosts.allow and hosts.deny. Actually, that's a great idea, but I sure wish I knew that before hand (rather than bouncing mail for 2 days until I discovered the problem.) Anyway, I could go on detailing some of these fascinating experiences, but I'll get to the point: my xterm seems to be bizarre when running on the local xserver. I usually don't run xdm (runlevel 5 default in RedHat) but just do a startx. When I do that everything seems pretty OK until I actually try to *do* something. I click on the Netscape icon in the panel on the bottom of the screen. Nothing. I launch an xterm to try to figure out what's happening (or not, in this case) and it just gets worse: the keys don't seem to be matched up to the correct characters. When I press the 'o' key, I get a 'p' on the screen. When I press 'i', I get 'o'. In general it seems like the whole keyboard is just slid over by 1 key -- but I can't seem to find a key that gives me an return or enter. As you can imagine this is annoying. I use Hummingbird Xceed on a windoze machine and the Xterm there running from the linux machine seems to be problem free. (Actually, that's how I usually "use" my linux machine -- I very rarely sit down in front of it.) When I do sit in front of it and use a plain tty, it's fine that way too. Any ideas what's going on here? -Peter Gutowski

Sept. 6, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Thanks

by William Smith

On Wed, 5 Sep 2001, Colin Novick wrote: CN>On the windows side of my machine I am connecting my machine to a large CN>format HP printer (DesignJet 488 CA) through a 3Com network card and CN>a 3Com 4 port fast ethernet hub. The HP requires that I send all the CN>data to a HP JetDirect 300X box that transfers the data through a CN>parallel conn. to the printer. It is faster for big projects that way CN>if you believe the literature. That works fine in Windows , but again CN>I can't "see" the important command settings that make trying to CN>understand what works, and thus how to replicate it in Linux hard. it's not that hard, i think. does Mandrake have something like printtool? in RedHat, there's a program called control-panel that allows the admin to configure printers. it was through this that i told it about network printers (the information is stored in /etc/printcap).... once you know hostnames or IP addresses for the printers, the rest isn't difficult at all. that little box seems to act like a print buffer. pretty handy. CN>I haven't been able to address the large HP in Linux through printing CN>programs, network interfaces, or fiddling in network settings. My hm. is there an LCD on the printer? if so, you might be able to manually configure that part yourself locally (that is, local to the printer). make sure that the IP address is free to be assigned and that it is within the realm of those used on your network (IP, subnet mask, etc). CN>machine's network card is there (eth0) and I can ping that. Thus there CN>is a way out and onto the network. All the connected items satisfy the CN>3Com hub and the appropriate indicator lights show a good connection. okay... that takes care of my next question before i even ask it. CN>I was of the belief that the HP printer may have a "static" IP in its CN>hardware so I tried pinging that. No luck. Nor any luck for trying to CN>just assign an IP to it, though I have to admit that I may have done CN>that improperly through ignorance. there is a factory default, but it's not likely that you could access it from any machine unless you change your IP address on the host... i've seen that on WinDOZE: HP Jet Direct couldn't see new printers unless i changed my Win* box to that IP subnet first. once i went in and made changes (including changing the printer's IP address!), i could put the settings back, and i'd be in business. CN>Each time I installed Mandrake I made sure that the hub and printer were CN>on in the hopes that it might be automatically detected in the setup. not likely. the printer doesn't need to say much about its presence, so.... CN>I figured that my general difficulties in overall printing might be part CN>of the issue so I am trying to add to the network an old PentiumI using CN>another 3Com card. I heard that connections are easier if you keep the CN>connections all in the same family. That card is there as eth0 on that CN>machine as well and I can ping the card from its machine. familiarity is the main reason. it doesn't really matter who the manufacturers are, so long as you know what you're dealing with. CN>Part of the issue is trying to figure out how to set the settings in both CN>of the machines such that they can find one another. I was originally CN>thinking that this was a peer to peer relationship and that I needed to CN>set the IP's on each of the machines and then try to have one ping the CN>other. The Mandrake Config programs are not doing this automatically for CN>me so I tried messing around in the terminal. there are a lot of things that don't get set automagically, but that's okay. that's what we're here for, right? ;) Bill Smith Fall River, MA

Sept. 6, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Fwd: Sympathy for a guy over his head

by William Smith

On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, Ben Dow wrote: BD>Ok... I'll start off by saying I'm not all that familiar with Mandrake, BD>and I haven't fooled around much with printing, so I'll skip that part. so will i, for pretty-much the same reasons... 8\ BD>But as for the network, I'm kind of confused about what's going on there. BD>You're trying to connect to another machine on the same network (I assume BD>you've got them wired right, with a hub or crossover cable), right? Does BD>the network card show up as detected in the kernel start-up messages? Is BD>the interface configured correctly? Can you ping another machine? Am I BD>making any sense here? the first thing i would look for here is a link indicator. when the two machines are "supposed" to be networked (by connecting them directly together via cross-over cable or by plugging them both into a common hub of some sort with straigh-through cables), the interface cards (and the hub, if you're using one) should have some sort of LED or light that shows that there is a connection. if that does not happen, then the rest of the effort is pretty futile... if there IS a link light, the next trick is to make sure that both systems are on the same network, but with different network addresses. (don't think for a second that this should be obvious. i've seen worse.) when you're this far, THEN see if you can ping the other system from each box.... for that matter, try pinging localhost, too. if a system can't ping localhost, then it's got Bigger Issues... 8( don't worry about SAMBA unless you're trying to make the Linux boxen available to a WinDOZE box. BD>Also, how is your internet connection set up (ie dial-up, etc), and how BD>are you trying to connect to them? (what commands do you run) It sounds BD>like pppd isn't actually connecting to the other side, but it's hard to be BD>sure. if you're looking at a local LAN, then this is a moot point. BD>> I have yet to unpack how one goes about fixing that. BD>> Most recent challenge was to get a network connection established between BD>> two machines on 3Com cards on a 3Com box. if i remember right, 3Com should be supported. i can't say that it is out-of-the-box, since i don't know Mandrake. Red Hat may require recompiling the kernel for 3Com support. BD>> Any thoughts, or maybe even just a weak hearted consoling word or two. you're all-right. really. ;) as long as we learn from our mistakes, we're all-set. i've made more than my share (sometimes more than once), and i'll make more... <sigh> BD>> My deepest and sincerest thanks to the learned who had to endure hear a BD>> young fool trying to find his feet. anyone that can survive me talking too much will find your message a cake-walk. <g> good luck... Bill Smith Fall River, MA

Sept. 6, 2001

Anyone played around with Linux on iPaq?

by Dan Potter

I recently perchased an iPAQ from Compaq, and as many probably already know, there is a Linux distro for iPAQ. Anyone have any experience with it? Suggestions? Thanks!

Sept. 6, 2001

Re: Mandrake network/pppd problems

by Benjamin Zack

I am not sure what scripts Mandrake put in place to share your network, but if you haven't checked the ipchains/iptables rule sets, do so. It is possible that a rule set could prevent you from logging on via pppd and block ports necessary for communication with the printer. The commands below will clear out the rule sets(enter as root), but will leave you system open. I would not suggest staying online long without a good working rule set. service ipchains stop service iptables stop use the appropriate line (I believe Mandrake 7.2 uses ipchains by default) or try both. -Ben

Sept. 5, 2001

Re: [Wlug] Thanks

by Peter Gutowski

On Wednesday, September 5, 2001 11:12 AM, Colin Novick <gwlt(a)ma.ultranet.com> wrote: >Thanks Ben! > ... > >On the windows side of my machine I am connecting my machine to a large >format HP printer (DesignJet 488 CA) through a 3Com network card and >a 3Com 4 port fast ethernet hub. The HP requires that I send all the >data to a HP JetDirect 300X box that transfers the data through a >parallel conn. to the printer. It is faster for big projects that way >if you believe the literature. That works fine in Windows , but again >I can't "see" the important command settings that make trying to >understand what works, and thus how to replicate it in Linux >hard. > >I haven't been able to address the large HP in Linux through printing >programs, network interfaces, or fiddling in network settings. My >machine's network card is there (eth0) and I can ping that. Thus there >is a way out and onto the network. All the connected items satisfy the >3Com hub and the appropriate indicator lights show a good connection. >I was of the belief that the HP printer may have a "static" IP in its >hardware so I tried pinging that. No luck. Nor any luck for trying to >just assign an IP to it, though I have to admit that I may have done >that improperly through ignorance. > You probably need to configure your jetdirect box with an ip address (You can use the Windows-based JetAdmin to check/change settings). You can't ping the jetdirect box if it's TCP/IP network settings aren't set or are wrong for your network. (BTW, once it's settings _are_ correct you can telnet into the jetdirect box to make further changes, [or screwups ;]) After that it's a matter of adjusting the /etc/printcap to know where to send the data. E.g.... //----- portion of /etc/printcap ------- lp:\ :sh:\ :ml=0:\ :mx=0:\ :sd=/var/spool/lpd/lp:\ :rm=jetdirect:\ :rp=RAW1:\ :bk:\ :lpd_bounce=true:\ :if=/usr/share/printconf/mf_wrapper: the 'rm' means 'remote machine' (in my case here it's name is 'jetdirect' which resolves to an ip address) and the 'rp' is the name of the print queue on that remote machine (in my example here the queue name is 'RAW1'). You'll need to consult jetdirect box's setting to know how it should be set for your printer. (Also the 'if' option is responsible for creating the data in a format that your printer will handle) What does 'route -n' output look like? (might be /sbin/route) -- Peter Gutowski <peter(a)linuxchamps.com> // tel.: (413) 587-3957 "When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body not usually discovered." --George Washington, _Rules for Civility and Decent Behavior_

Sept. 5, 2001