Using encryption won't break your SSD or have any significant effect on its lifetime. Just make sure that all the layers between the SSD and the filesystem can pass TRIM commands. In particular, use the option discard in your /etc/cryptsetup:

target-name UUID=uuid-of-source-device none luks,discard
                                                 ^^^^^^^

You may also want to partition the disk leaving some space unused -- about 5% should be fine; some SSDs have a very hard time when all user-visible data blocks are used.

Note 1: Some SSDs use hardware compression to reduce the amount of data actually written or read from the device. For such a SSD using encryption will have a clear impact on performance and lifetime, but still nothing to worry about.

Note 2: Some SSDs are of lower quality than other SSDs. Low quality SSDs may have issues of their own. Look for reviews in reputable publications, such as AnandTech, Tom's Hardware and the like.


Play sound through two or more outputs/devices

With paprefs you have access to a virtual output device that enables simultaneous output to all attached sound cards/devices:
sudo apt install paprefs

Then in terminal run paprefs, select "Simultaneous Output" tab, and check "Add virtual output for simultaneous output on all local sounds cards".

The additionally created audio output device for simultaneous output may be selected in the "Output" tab from pulseaudio sound preferences menu:

In this example it is shown for a HDMI-device but as soon as your Bluetooth device is recognized it will also be available for simultaneous output.
The changes may need a restart of pulseaudio to take effect either by logging out and back in to your session or by running pulseaudio -k in a terminal.

In case paprefs does not do the job or if you prefer to have paprefs not installed use this command from the command line:
pactl load-module module-combine-sink

To unload the module from command line and reset pulseaudio to defaults just restart pulseaudio with pulseaudio -k or issue
pactl unload-module module-combine-sink


Can't open system settings in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

it wroks now, not sure how it fixed itself but all I did was:

sudo gnome-control-center

it did show some window but all empty

gnome-control-center display

this opened a window with display settings - all okay

Out of a sudden, now I can run just: gnome-control-center or click settings icon and it works fine, magic!


Check this link for general plymouth info. In particular take a look at the "External Resources" section at the end of the page for links to tutorials etc.

Freedesktop Plymouth page

Also, take a look at this page for an intro to the Plymouth scripting language:

Freedesktop Plymouth scripting page


partman-auto/expert_recipe with swap calculation during preseed

okay i've configured it during early_command, seems like my only option.

Here is the recipe that worked for me:

# PartMan LVM Method
 # first drive is selected and selected only.
 # 1. /boot partition size 2G.
 # 2. swap will be x1.5 of the pysical RAM but not more then 12G.
 # 3. / - root is fixed to 60G.
 # 4. /tmp fixed to 50G.
 # 6. /localdrive will take all the unallocated space.

d-i partman-md/device_remove_md boolean true
d-i partman-auto/method string lvm
d-i partman-auto/purge_lvm_from_device boolean true
d-i partman-auto-lvm/guided_size string max
d-i partman-auto-lvm/new_vg_name string vg
d-i partman-lvm/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/device_remove_lvm_span boolean true
d-i partman-lvm/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/alignment string optimal
d-i partman/choose_partition select finish
d-i partman/confirm_write_new_label boolean true
d-i partman/confirm boolean true
d-i partman/confirm_nooverwrite boolean true

# These commands will run immediately before the partitioner starts.
d-i partman/early_command string \
    debconf-set partman-auto/disk "$(list-devices disk | head -n1)"; \
    debconf-set grub-installer/bootdev "$(list-devices disk | head -n1)"; \
    TMEM=$(($(sed -n 's/^MemTotal: \+\([0-9]*\) kB/\1/p' /proc/meminfo) / 1024)); \
    DSWAP=$(expr $TMEM \* 150 \/ 100); \
     if [ "${DSWAP}" -gt "12288" ]; then \
         DSWAP=12288; \
     fi; \
    debconf-set partman-auto/expert_recipe "boot-root :: \
        300 2048 2048 ext4 method{ format } \
        \$primary{ } \$bootable{ } \
        format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
        mountpoint{ /boot } \
        . \
        ${DSWAP} ${DSWAP} ${DSWAP} linux-swap method{ swap } \
        format{ } \$lvmok{ } lv_name{ swap } \
        . \
        61440 61440 61440 ext4 method{ lvm } \
        \$lvmok{ } mountpoint{ / } lv_name{ root } \
        format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
        options/relatime{ relatime } \
        . \
        51200 51200 51200 ext4 method{ lvm } \
        \$lvmok{ } mountpoint{ /tmp } lv_name{ tmp } \
        format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
        options/relatime{ relatime } \
        options/nodev{ nodev } options/nosuid{ nosuid } \
        . \
        1 1000 10000000000 ext4 method{ lvm } \
        \$lvmok{ } mountpoint{ /localdrive } lv_name{ localdrive } \
        format{ } use_filesystem{ } filesystem{ ext4 } \
        options/usrquota{ usrquota } options/grpquota{ grpquota } \
        options/user_xattr{ user_xattr } options/acl{ acl } \
        options/nodev{ nodev } options/relatime{ relatime } \
        .";


After 5 days of trial and error I finally manged to dual boot Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS on my "bleeding edge" hardware. So if you also want to:

Dual boot along windows (with NVIDIA GPU)
Install NVIDIA drivers and CUDA for Machine Learning/Robotics

This post if for you. I really hope it can help someone who may face my same problems. Let's get to it.
P.S: My problem was not due to the NVIDIA GPU problems, but WIFI card. I had to remove it from my PC for Ubuntu to finally stop freezing. Debugging without using splash and quiet really helped, so do the same as your problem might be something different that you think.
1. Prepare USB boot using server image (UBUNTU SERVER)
I will assume you are dual booting along with windows. So create the partition you will be installing Ubuntu on. Download an Ubuntu server image, and we will be installing the GUI later (after having installed our GPU drivers) in order to avoid freezes and nouveau driver problems.
Good. Now you have your partition and a bootable USB (I suggest using Rufus to create a bootable USB)
2. Install Ubuntu
I will skip the installation process, as this is straightforward. Just disable secure boot, fast boot, and boot inside your USB. Finally install the ubuntu server and reboot.
If you have problems booting it might be a nouveau driver issue so just add nouveau.modeset=0 inside the Linux kernel call at the end of the line.
3. Install GUI
After you install Ubuntu server it is time to install the GUI.

Install tasksel (sudo apt-get install tasksel)
Install gui (sudo tasksel)

Once the GUI is installed. DO NOT BOOT yet, as we first need to install the GPU driver.
4.a Install NVIDIA GPU Drivers (easy way)
Ok. There is the easy way to the less easy way to install these. I chose the less easy way. If you want the easy way just run these three commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-driver-455 (you have to check which version is for your GPU).

4.b Install NVIDIA GPU Drivers (RUN FILE)
I decided to install the latest drivers through nvidia. I therefore downloaded the driver through NVIDIA's website and then I disable the nouveau driver and blacklisted it:

sudo apt --purge remove xserver-xorg-video-nouveau
crate a blacklist file inside modeprobe.d as explained in the link (https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-disable-nouveau-nvidia-driver-on-ubuntu-18-04-bionic-beaver-linux)
Run the nvidia driver run file

5. Install CUDA
Similarly to the NVIDIA drivers I used the run file. Just download the cuda toolkit from the NVIDIA website and run it.
This should be all.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST WHAT I REMEMBERED. So I might have some step, but overall this is the approach. Below you can find the links that really helped me getting to where I am right now (replying to the post from an Ubuntu installation :)).
Here are useful links (READ THEM):
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/hpc/The-Best-Way-To-Install-Ubuntu-18-04-with-NVIDIA-Drivers-and-any-Desktop-Flavor-1178/
How do I install NVIDIA and CUDA drivers into Ubuntu?
https://docs.nvidia.com/cuda/cuda-installation-guide-linux/index.html#ubuntu-installation
Good luck :)


Can’t use any SSH port other than 22 on Amazon EC2

This is an EC2 specific issue. The server is listening on the right ports, but Amazon's default security group doesn't allow ingress on ports other than a few default ones.

You need to log into the ec2 control panel and allow for port 2222 specifically. You do this by either creating a new security group and assigning it to your instance (preferable) or editing the default one.

More info on security groups to be found here: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-network-security.html#security-group-rules


OpenVPN vs. IPSec - which one is faster for tunneling?

that is very very AFAIK, but I decided to make answer and not a comment.

OpenVPN uses certificates, and there should be some certificate/key exchange involved, so to establish tunnel it will take longer than IPSEC with peer negotiation and establishing of tunnel. Afterwards if same encryption is used you will see no difference.

I should note, that OpenVPN will be like tunnel with addresses, for IPSEC it will be tunnel mode, where it will check packets from certain place going to other certain place and ecrypt/decrypt accordingly, that way for IPSEC to make actual tunnel you will have to use some simpler tunnel like IPIP or GRE over IPSEC encryption.


How to reduce the spacing between icons in nautilus?

Ok thanks to your message I found a solution which works for me in nautilus 3.x. In dconf-editor, modify thumbnail-size, located in org->gnome->nautilus->icon-view

I set it to 128 and it is now exactly like the "make it more compact" option I used to love in nautilus/gnome 2.x!

I don't know if this is what you were looking for, but for me there is almost no space left between my icons and using my favorite thumbnailer program; "cover thumbnailer". It is simply ace!

Cheese, thanks for the idea of using a gnome editor!


Detect if a tool is already in execution but ONLY for current user

Use pgrep instead:

pgrep -cxu $USER -f my-tool

The options used are:

   -c, --count
          Suppress  normal  output; instead print a count of matching pro‐
          cesses.  When count does not match anything, e.g. returns  zero,
          the command will return non-zero value.
   -x, --exact
          Only match processes whose names (or command line if -f is spec‐
          ified) exactly match the pattern.
   -u, --euid euid,...
          Only match processes whose effective user ID is listed.   Either
          the numerical or symbolical value may be used.

If you want to use this in a bash script that checks if it is already running, you could use $0. This expands to the path of the current script (e.g. /home/username/bin/foo.sh) but we only need foo.sh. To get that, we can remove everything up to the last / using bash's string manipulation tools: ${0##*/}. This means we can do something like:

## If there are more than 1 instances of the current script run
## by this user
if [[ $(pgrep -cxu "$USER" "${0##*/}") -gt 1 ]];
then
        echo "Script already running, exiting."
        exit
fi

You might also want to consider using lockfiles for this:

## If the lock file exists
if [ -e /tmp/$USER.foo.lock ]; then
    ## Check if the PID in the lockfile is a running instance
    ## of foo.sh to guard against crashed scripts
    if ps $(cat /tmp/$USER.foo.lock) | grep foo.sh >/dev/null; then
        echo "Script foo.sh is already running, exiting"
        exit
    else
        echo "Lockfile contains a stale PID, continuing"
        rm /tmp/$USER.foo.lock
    fi
fi
## Create the lockfile by printing the script's PID into it
echo $$ > /tmp/$USER.foo.lock

## Rest of the script here

## At the end, delete the lockfile
rm /tmp/$USER.foo.lock


Shutting down Ubuntu Server running in headless VirtualBox

If you want to shutdown the guest Ubuntu you have two options:

Shutting down a guest using VBoxManage

A virtual machine can be controlled by command line using the VBoxManage command line tool:

VBoxManage controlvm [nameofmachine] savestate       # saves the state of the VM like in suspend
VBoxManage controlvm [nameofmachine] poweroff        # simply "unplugs" the VM
VBoxManage controlvm [nameofmachine] acpipowerbutton # sends ACPI poweroff signal

For power off by ACPI the virtual OS needs to be capable to do so, and VirtualBox may also need to enable ACPI support for the VM.

Enable VirtualBox ACPI options:

VBoxManage modifyvm [nameofmachine] --acpi on
Install ACPI support in the Ubuntu VM:

sudo apt-get install acpid

Shutting down guest from SSH

A safer way to shut down the machine in case you have SSH access woud be to issue

user@virtualmachine: sudo poweroff

This will take care to safely shut down and poweroff your guest OS.


Clicking sound settings crashes gnome-control-center

I found a solution!

First, install pavucontrol (PulseAudio Volume Control):

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol

Run it:

pavucontrol &

Then go to the Configuration tab. There you can set the sound cards and their profiles.

I set the HDA controller from NVIDIA (on my graphics card) to Off and my Soundblaster to Analog Surround Output 5.1. Going back to the Output Devices tab, I could then set the balance. What's more, going into the volume controls in the gnome-control-center now worked as well. No more crashes, and all audio is working correctly.

I hope this helps others who've had the same problem.


How to retrieve a window from a dead/disabled monitor?

The Solution:
By chance I found a solution to my problem. I was trying to move the windows from one monitor to the next by blindly fishing for them in the
other window and dragging them back while holding alt. In order to get an idea of the window's position I opened the Workspace Switcher.
One of the times that I opened the Workspace Switcher I inadvertently found that you can click and drag to reorganize windows while still inside the workspace overview screen.
This handy little feature that I didn't know about helped me immensely tonight.
I'm posting the solution to my own problem in case someone else happens to follow in my footsteps.
Note:
When I was finally able to retrieve the display window from the other screen I set my monitors to mirror in hopes that it would fix the problem.
It did not.
However, when I opened the console by pressing alt + f6 (in order to double check the error message that I received while trying xrandr) and
returned to my desktop with alt + f7, my monitor came back to life.
Changing it back to "extend" instead of "mirror" mode has not caused the error to reoccur.
I have not noticed any error messages or warnings.


gcc-5 is not included in the default 19.04 repositories. The easiest way to circumvent this problem in Ubuntu 19.04 is to install gcc-4.8 instead. Open the terminal and type:

sudo apt install gcc-4.8

The hard way to solve this problem would be to download and install gcc-5 from 18.10 in 19.04, but there are three dependencies of gcc-5 in 18.10 that would have to be downloaded and installed too, so try installing gcc-4.8 the easy way way first. The dependencies of gcc-5 in 18.10 are cpp-5, gcc-5-base and libgcc-5-dev. These three dependencies of gcc-5 are also not available in the default Ubuntu 19.04 repositories.

If 18.10 is no longer supported, download and install gcc-5 from 18.04, and there are three dependencies of gcc-5 in 18.04 that have to be downloaded and installed too. The dependencies of gcc-5 in 18.04 are cpp-5, gcc-5-base and libgcc-5-dev.

gcc packages in 18.04:
gcc-5_5.5.0-12ubuntu1_amd64.deb
cpp-5_5.5.0-12ubuntu1_amd64.deb
gcc-5-base_5.5.0-12ubuntu1_amd64.deb
libgcc-5-dev_5.5.0-12ubuntu1_amd64.deb

Change directories with cd to the directory the contains the 4 .deb files that you downloaded and run the following command:

sudo apt install ./cpp-5_5.5.0-12ubuntu8_amd64.deb ./gcc-5-base_5.5.0-12ubuntu8_amd64.deb ./libgcc-5-dev_5.5.0-12ubuntu8_amd64.deb ./gcc-5_5.5.0-12ubuntu8_amd64.deb


xorg.conf configuration help on Ubuntu 12.04 ppc

According to your post you are using opensource driver for nvidia graphics card, I ask you to use the proprietary driver for nvidia

To install latest driver for nvidia cards, run

 sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
 sudo apt-get update
 sudo apt-get install nvidia-current

Restart your system

Then open Nvidia X Server Settings Window from Dash or Run the following command

 nvidia-settings

This window will show you the monitors connected, their resolutions, different modes that can be set for the Display Devices.

You can just do your settings and Save the Configuration.

This will create the xorg.conf and reconfigures them if it is already present in /etc/X11

It works!!


Mapping left Ctrl + right Ctrl to switch-windows

Edit /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc

sudo gedit /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/pc

Remove Control_R from Control binding.Put // to comment original line and make new one with Control_L only:

//modifier_map Control{ Control_L, Control_R };
modifier_map Control{ Control_L };

Then use System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Navigation to set it.


How do I get Picasa 3.9 to play .MOV files?

Recent Picasa version (maybe also thew older ones, not 100% sure) are using the Quicktime codecs to handle .mov files. That means that if you do not have the plugin installed in your system Picasa wont be able to do anything to those.

Because Ubuntu comes with support for .mov files via GStreamer but that does not mean Wine will take advantage of what Ubuntu can do. They are separate systems.

That means you need to install some sort of codec support to be able to play .mov files inside your Wine system that includes Picasa. For that I recommend to try either any Windows plugin pack that has .mov files or a lite Quicktime alternative (the standard player wont install).

For a plugin pack with .mov support I can recommend the K-Lite Codec Pack since it is know to install and work under Wine and for a Quicktime alternative I recommend QT Lite which is a lite QuickTime implementation.

After you installed any of these 2 inside the same bottle that contains your Picasa install the .mov files will then be supported by Picasa.


How can I change the plymouth booting animation on Ubuntu 19.04?

Seems to be its 2010 Created plymouth theme and the script is written to keep the plymouth theme directory under /lib/plymouth/themes/ as opposed to /usr/share/plymouth/themes/ for the recent versions..

by extracting the directory space-sunrise from the downloaded .deb file.. and editing the content like below in the space-sunrise.plymouth file it is possible to freshly install as a new theme under /usr/share/plymouth/themes/ directory.

ImageDir=/usr/share/plymouth/themes/space-sunrise
ScriptFile=/usr/share/plymouth/themes/space-sunrise/space-sunrise.script

after editing the file at downloaded location.. copy the directory space-sunrise from downloaded location to /usr/share/plymouth/themes/
the .deb file is really messing up the things with outdated path.. I could not remove the path with sudo update-alternatives so I removed the complete package of plymouth..
sudo apt purge plymouth
reboot..
sudo apt install plymouth
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/share/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /usr/share/plymouth/themes/space-sunrise/space-sunrise.plymouth 200
sudo update-alternatives --config default.plymouth
select the number of your choice
sudo update-initramfs -u
Reboot..


Slow boot on version 20.10 after installing xanmod kernel

It turns out the problem is with the swap partition having different UUID in the configuration files. The system had it waiting for full 90 seconds before entering the login screen is because it was searching for a swap partition that didn't exist.
So a fix to this problem is to boot the system into the recovery mode and check to see if it is searching for a swap partition, if it does the configuration files need to be updated with the proper UUID of the swap partition that does actually exist. If you wish not to have a swap partition then feel free to remove/comment outlines that will be looking for a swap from those files.
This post helps you in finding where those configuration files are and what/how you need to edit them:
What to do about “the disk drive for /dev/mapper/cryptswap1 is not ready yet or not present”?


Installing WebStorm, not appearing in programs?

According to the jetbrains documentation, it is exist 3 ways to create a desktop shortcut:

In the Customize WebStorm wizard - when you run WebStorm for the first time.
On the Welcome screen: Configure | Create Desktop Entry.
In the main menu: Tools | Create Desktop Entry.

Then restart ubuntu and try to launch IDE.


This is a known bug for some updates coming from Ubuntu. The solution is simple:
Solution to software-properties-gtk launching and dbus exception


How to install latest Opensource Radeon Driver?

Most of the open source Radeon driver is part of the Linux kernel, so you need to update that in order to get the latest version. On Ubuntu, you can use the the update manager to do so, although the Ubuntu repositories will not always have the latest version, so you will need to add an additional repository. If you want the very latest version, you'll need to download the tarball from kernel.org and compiling it yourself. (Not adviseable for newbies IMO !)

You should also update the xserver-xorg-video-ati and xserver-xorg-video-radeon packages, and possibly others.

Beware that:

Doing this can make your system unstable, since such kernel and other updates are not supported, and compiling your own kernel even more so.
Depending on your hardware and / or Ubuntu version, may not give you much, if any, performance improvents, since the drivers are already pretty optimized.


You can find the information on the website, for instance:

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dirvish/+publishinghistory


command or script to move sub-subdirectory (if found) to its parent?

The following script should get the job done. Try it and when you are satisfied with the results, remove the comments # to do the actual job.
Back up your Movies directory before running the script on it. Please...
To create and use the script file, please follow these steps:

Create and edit the script file in your home directory by running the following command in the terminal:
nano ~/my_script.sh

Copy and paste the following code into the editor changing /full/path/to/movies/ with the full path to your Movies directory:

#!/bin/bash

path="/full/path/to/movies/"

for directory in $(find "$path" -maxdepth 3 -mindepth 3 -type d -name "VIDEO_TS")
do

        parent=$(dirname $(dirname "$directory"))

        parent2=$(dirname "$directory")

        echo "$directory" " Will be copied to " " $parent "
        echo "$parent2" " Will be deleted!"

#       cp -Rp "$directory" "$parent"

#       rm -rf "$parent2"

done

for directory in $(find "$path" -maxdepth 3 -mindepth 3 -type d ! -name "VIDEO_TS")
do

        parent=$(dirname $(dirname "$directory"))

        echo "$parent" " Will be deleted!"

#       rm -rf "$parent"

done

Save the script file and exit the editor by pressing Ctrl + X then press Y.

Make the script file executable by running the following command in the terminal:
chmod +x ~/my_script.sh

Run the script by running the following command in the terminal:
bash ~/my_script.sh

Done
Best of luck


Is it possible to 'install' an operating system by putting the EFI/boot & system files in the right place?

Yes, the "right place" being an EFI FAT partition for the shimx64.efi and grubx64.efi bootloaders, along with the grub.cfg (all in EFI/ubuntu, and copies in /EFI/Boot with shimx64.efi renamed to bootx64.efi.  Your root should be on an ext4 partition.  The only UUID change needed is in the EFI partition's grub.cfg file to use the root of your system (assuming you just copied the whole EFI from another system.  It's really pretty simple, and will even boot a legacy install of the root this way (not secure boot, but UEFI). Surprisingly, even the legacy /boot/grub/grub.cfg will work for a UEFI boot.  You can add the /boot/efi and fstab entry for mounting the EFI, but that would only be needed if you tried to update shim/grub, (assuming you have the efi versions of the packages).  I've been running a disk set up this way (legacy install, UEFI files added from another system) for years without issue.  I did add the /boot/efi and fstab entry, but never bothered with the shi9m/grub efi package change.


Dell Inspiron 1120 Ubuntu Light -> Desktop and now I'm having problems with wifi and suspend

There is an Ubuntu Image from Dell, maybe that will help:
http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=de&l=de&s=gen&releaseid=R281810&formatcnt=0&libid=0&typeid=-1&dateid=-1&formatid=-1&source=-1&fileid=416533

And some more tools: http://search.euro.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=de&l=de&cs=&k=ubuntu+light&cat=all&x=0&y=0


Can't boot Ubuntu or Windows 10 after running Boot-Repair using USB

First thing I would try to do is check grub (purple screen where you choose which operating system to load) and try to make it work. Here is a solution for a similar problem. you can search the archive more (example).
If grub doesn't work you can try, either repair windows or remove ubuntu (to install it later again). For this you have some tips here


On Kubuntu, how do I remove the desktop toolbox and desktop icons permanently? (The settings get reset every time I log in)

The icons can be hidden by right clicking the desktop and going to Configure Desktop (Change Desktop Background in some older versions) then changing Layout to Desktop instead of Folder View

It's possible you have some kind of permissions issue with your ~/.config directory causing the tweak toolbox setting not be saved between sessions. The checkbox you are setting is the correct way to disable the desktop toolbox. The setting is stored in ~/.config/plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc with a line like this:

showToolbox=false

My advice is check that file and it's contents and if it's not being updated when making the change look at the permissions for that file and it's parent directories, try running the desktop settings applet in a command line window, and ultimately file a bug on https://bugs.kde.org if needed.


Why do some applications have two icons in /usr/share/application?

No, there's nothing wrong with your system.
The duplicated launcher icons explained:
The different icons are different commandline options.  Some context applications with call the associated *.desktop icon.  The exec option of the icon will depend on how the application is called.
Some of the Icons you show in your image may be obvious because of the difference in the way they are named.  You can see the difference in the way the app is called by right clicking and clicking on properties to see other differences.
Some of the *.desktop files have a %U argument, used so the application will accept arguments.
Some of the Launchers are different commands that are called differently and are named differently often by a symbolic link.
Some exampes from the list in you image are:
Name: Online Accounts
Command: unity-control-center credentials

Name: Online Accounts
Command: Online account credentials and settings

Name: Personal File Sharing
Command: gnome-file-share-properties

Name: Rhythmbox
Command: rhythmbox %U

Name: Rhythmbox
Command rhythmbox-client --select-source %U

The specific Rhythmbox and Software Update icons:
In the particular cases of the Rhythmbox.  The icons are provided for the specific method it'll be called in context-sensitive usage by the command.  This is consistent with most of the launchers.
In the particular case of the Software And Update launcher, those two are installed by different packages.  They also have different file names:

software-properties-gnome.desktop package source  app-install-data
software-properties-gtk.desktop   package source  software-properties-gtk


GUI or HUD for displaying things like battery or ip addresses?

It sounds like you're looking for conky! It will do exactly as you ask.
The nice thing is there have been loads of people who set up cool conky configs already, so if you're not really into that sort of thing, it's done for you!

Here are some cool ones to get you started!


How to install Yahoo Messenger on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS?

To install pidgin, first open the Ubuntu Software Center and search for pidgin. Then click install. To run pidgin, just open the Dash (Canonical icon in the top left) and search of pidgin and click the icon.

Once pidgin is open, it will likely prompt you to add an account. If it does not, go to the Accounts menu and click on Manage Accounts. Then click the Add... button to add a new account.

For Protocol choose Yahoo. Enter your username and password in the Username and Password boxes. Then click Add to add the account. Click Close to close the Accounts window. The Buddy List window from pidgin should now log in to your Yahoo account and let you chat as normal.

Your other option is to use PlayOnLinux to try and install the official Yahoo Messenger installer. However, this is unlikely to work, so I won't describe the process here. It crashed when I tried it on Ubuntu 14.04.


How to fake resolve a dependency in apt-get?

Solution for my real-world case:

apt-get install --no-install-recommends equivs
echo -e 'Package: mailx-dummy\nProvides: mail, mailx\nDescription: fake mail/mailx' > mailx-dummy.ctl
equivs-build mailx-dummy.ctl && dpkg -i mailx-dummy*.deb
apt-get install --no-install-recommends nagios3

Yes, this is a duplicate of How to fake a package version installed.
Did not mark this question as a duplicate because this is a specific four-line-solution for installing nagios without mailx and postfix and might be helpful besides the original question.


Ubuntu 18.04 hangs after login at splash screen. Grub recovery mode boots

If you can boot and access the login screen you could try reinstalling ubuntu desktop and reconfigure gdm3 or lightdm depending on which you are.
While on your login screen, get into a tty (CTRL+ALT+2 or CTRL+ALT+3)
Then on this terminal, login as root and do the following:

$ apt install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
$ dpkg-reconfigure gdm3
#or
$ dpkg-reconfigure lightdm

Try logging in again on the original tty (CTRL+ALT+1)


How to do critical system updates through the Command Line under Kubuntu 10.10

Another solution would be to limit your chosen repos to the main ones ie the security ones via your package manager or put a # to comment out all but the ones you wish to leave. Here is how I would have done it when I used to use Kubunty

In konsole in kubuntu type

sudo kate /etc/apt/sources.list

Then insert a # in front of all but the security releases
Hit save
Close
Then run:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Hope that helps.

Let us know if you get stuck


If you have a CentOS live CD you could try installing Grub from that since sometimes Ubuntu can have issues reading the file systems used by Redhat distros, while Cent can usually read ext4

sudo grub-install /dev/sdx

sudo update-grub


Trouble getting usb wifi to work - AC600 Realtek rtl 8811AU

rtl8812au-dkms build fails on ubuntu 16.04.2   kernel 4.8.0-41

wifi adapter: TP-LINK T4UH.

You can install a patched for the 4.8 kernel driver from Yakkety this way:

wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/universe/r/rtl8812au/rtl8812au-dkms_4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu5_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i rtl8812au-dkms_4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu5_all.deb

Disconnect the USB adapter cable, reconnect and magic.
Working TP-Link T4UH ac1200 usb 3.0

Based answer:

askubuntu.com/questions/884260/r8168-dkms-build-fails-on-ubuntu-16-04-2

writed for pilot6. Thanks you.

Another answer:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/rtl8812au/+bug/1637059


Need to edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf from a live CD

Install the proprietary driver will still using the Live CD (should work if you have enough ram) this will install nvidia-xconfig which you will need to run as root so type the following:

sudo nvidia-xconfig -o ./xorg.conf

This will give you a more detailed xorg.conf file that should have both the broken and working monitor listed.

Below is what it added on my system. I doubt our systems are similar enough to just copy and paste what I have, but you can see in the "Screen" section it lists Monitor0 connected to Screen0 I would suspect you could change this to Monitor1.

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier     "Monitor0"
   VendorName     "Unknown"
   ModelName      "Unknown"
   HorizSync       28.0 - 33.0
   VertRefresh     43.0 - 72.0
   Option         "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier     "Device0"
    Driver         "nvidia"
    VendorName     "NVIDIA Corporation"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
   Identifier     "Screen0"
   Device         "Device0"
   Monitor        "Monitor0"
   DefaultDepth    24
   SubSection     "Display"
     Depth       24
 EndSubSection

EndSection

When you've made the changes copy ./xorg.conf to your harddrives /etc/X11/ directory.

Reboot and hopefully its fixed.


Python script on boot, module import error

After some testing with different commands. I finally got it to work.
I had to install it globally like rtaft suggested.
I did it with this command:  sudo -H pip install mysql-connector

Thanks :)


Difference between BIOS and bootstrap program

Just on the subject of your comment to your own question:

  Based on the things I see in these links the term "bootstrap program"
  is used inaccurately in Silberschatz, maybe in order to simplify the
  understanding.

— I would have thought it more correct to say that the bootloader is a sub-section of the total bootstrap program, which specifically deals with the loading of other higher layers ( eg: operating system ), just as the POST is a sub-section of the total bootstrap ( which must precede the main part ) ...

... or in other words:

bootstrapping is a whole process;
the total “bootstrap program” is a collection of smaller programs and systems ( ie: it’s not all in one place, just a significant part is on the BIOS chip );
POST is always before anything else ( kind of like an “initialisation” section of the old procedural coding method prior to the days of object-oriented/relational/functional coding, where all programs could be defined by a simple procedural flowchart: init > mainloop > end );
next comes the main bootstrap program which prepares default generic device drivers and other lower layer systems prior to ( and required for ) OS loading;
the bootloader is then kind of like the end or terminal part of that simple bootstrap program flowchart, where control is handed over to a default or selected operating system ( or some other functional end point like a diagnostic system );
BIOS is simply an older format for housing part of the init ( aka POST — the rest of which is hardcoded/hardwired elsewhere ), and the rest of the main ( bootstrap ) programs, plus the link to info stored on hard disk about which operating systems are installed, and how to hand over control to the default or user selection ... with UEFI being a more recent format to replace the old BIOS format.


Installing from Software Center does not create menu entries

That's depend on how the software is packaged. Almost every application installable by Software Center are then added to the Menu. But some minor application ( some application don't have an icon on Software Center, that is a good advice that won't be shown in the Menu ) or command line applications aren't packaged to be shown on the Menu.


How to install LibreOffice 4.4.x in Ubuntu?

Libreoffice 4.4 was just released - the corresponding repository was created just some hours ago, it seems. As a result, the mentioned commands work now:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/libreoffice-4-4
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
[...]
The following packages will be upgraded:
  fonts-opensymbol libreoffice libreoffice-avmedia-backend-gstreamer libreoffice-base libreoffice-base-core libreoffice-base-drivers libreoffice-calc libreoffice-common libreoffice-core libreoffice-draw
  libreoffice-help-de libreoffice-impress libreoffice-java-common libreoffice-kde libreoffice-l10n-de libreoffice-math libreoffice-pdfimport libreoffice-report-builder-bin libreoffice-sdbc-firebird
  libreoffice-sdbc-hsqldb libreoffice-style-human libreoffice-style-oxygen libreoffice-writer python3-uno uno-libs3 ure

Please note, thought that right now the packages in the repo still carry the version tag rc3. It might take some more time until they are updated to the final version.


Network connections not working after new motherboard installation (Ubuntu 14.04)

I am assuming all other components - I/O devices, microprocessor, disks, sound or graphics card remains the same and only Motherboard is changed. While installing Ubuntu many times on various machines - I have looked into the logs and there are lots of drivers in kernel as well as packages to support those devices. I will say it will be a good idea to have a backup of your data and then do a reinstall. Once you have a stable system you can get your data from backup storage.
Fixing one problem after the other might take a lot of efforts in my opinion.


detailed how to or example needed to setup an access point using netplan

I got it to work with the help of these links: 1, 2, 3, 4

This is the sequence, which worked for me (WiFi in n-Mode, static IP):

Install hostapd: apt-get update, apt-get install hostapd
unmask & enable it: sudo systemctl unmask hostapd, sudo systemctl enable hostapd
create /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf and cut&paste:

# the interface used by the AP
interface=wlan0
driver=nl80211
# "g" simply means 2.4GHz band
hw_mode=g
# the channel to use
channel=1
# limit the frequencies used to those allowed in the country
ieee80211d=1
# the country code
country_code=DE
# 802.11n support
ieee80211n=1
# QoS support
wmm_enabled=1
# the name of the AP
ssid=yourSSID
macaddr_acl=0
# 1=wpa, 2=wep, 3=both
auth_algs=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
# WPA2 only
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=yourpassphrase
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
#wpa_pairwise=TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP

Edit the file /etc/default/hostapd and modify the line of DAEMON_CONF like this: DAEMON_CONF="/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf"

(Testing to verify is AP is visible i.e. on phone: sudo service hostapd start; then sudo service hostapd stop again to continue setup)

cut&paste this into `/etc/netplan/network.yaml file (no tabs, just spaces, follow indentation exactly - yaml is picky...):

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    # My Ethernet adapter
    eth0:
      # For some reason it seems I must specify at least something here.
      dhcp4: no
    # My Wi-Fi adapter
    wlan0:
      dhcp4: no
  bridges:
    br0:
      interfaces:
        - eth0
        - wlan0
      # Using a static IP for this box.
      addresses:
        - 192.168.1.xxx/24
      gateway4: 192.168.1.x
      nameservers:
        addresses: [1.1.1.1,1.0.0.1]

Apply the new configuration: sudo netplan generate,sudo netplan apply


Could not connect to repo.nordvpn.com:443 (10.10.34.35), connection timed out

At first change your dns server by editing /etc/resolv.conf to some where trusted like google nameserver 8.8.8.8 then try to update the cache.
If you face the problem again I suggest to change your repo to somewhere outside of Iran(or any other non full-forbidden country) like US or UK, then try to update.


On a properly setup KVM VM host, one that leaves sufficient RAM and CPU for the host to manage VMs, I've seen 95-98% vCPU compared to native.

However, if the CPUs are overallocated, then performance will suffer. I try to leave 1 CPU just for the hostOS and don't over allocate too many vCPUs to any single VM.  Generally, each VM only gets 1 vCPU assigned unless there is a specific need for 2.  I've never assigned more than 2 vCPUs, but we don't do geospacial DBs here either.

There is a youtube video showing GPU passthru for Windows gaming where 95% of gaming performance including FPS is shown using benchmark tools.  I'm not a gamer, but many people who are interested in raw CPU performance inside a VM are.


How do I mount iso files inside a virtual drive?

I am not sure, but you may try:

Install one of: acetoneiso, furiusisomount or gmountiso
'Configure Wine' → Drives → Add: drive letter - path where iso was mounted


GraphicsMagick not listed in installed packages after install from source

Yes, you installed from source and did not install a debian package, so therefore dpkg would have no knowledge of it.


How do I get Second Life for Ubuntu 14.04

SL is a 32 bit binary so if you are on 64 bit (which everyone is at this point) here is what I just did

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

sudo apt-get install libfontconfig1:i386 libx11-6:i386 libxrender1:i386 libxext6:i386 libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libglu1-mesa:i386 libglib2.0-0:i386 libsm6:i386
sudo apt-get install libgtk2.0-0:i386
sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-pulseaudio:i386 libidn11:i386 libuuid1:i386 libstdc++6:i386
sudo apt-get install libpangoxft-1.0-0:i386 libidn11:i386 libpangox-1.0-0:i386
sudo apt-get install libwebkit-dev libaprutil1-dev  libtcnative-1
sudo apt-get install libglu1-mesa-dev zlib1g-dev libssl-dev libogg-dev libpng12-dev libdbus-glib-1-dev libgtk2.0-dev
sudo apt-get install libopenal-dev libvorbis-dev libalut-dev libapr1-dev libaprutil1-dev libboost-dev libc-ares-dev libxmlrpc-epi-dev libopenjpeg-dev libjpeg62-dev libgtk2.0-dev libsdl1.2-dev libgstreamer0.10-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev google-mock
sudo apt-get install libdb-dev  libapr1-dev libaprutil1-dev
sudo apt-get install libopenal1:i386

Above did the trick to get the window to launch ... above is a superset ... some are to compile not just to execute binary

... then to get sound working follow go here to get sound working

which does get sound working ... once launched the SL window will show popup saying

We're having trouble connecting to your voice server :
    https://.....
    :UDP: 3478, 3479, 5060, 5062, 12000-17000
Voice communications will not be available.
Please check your network and firewall setup

which is blocking ability to use voice chat ... if desired you need to open up UDP port(s)   as in

iptables -A INPUT -p udp  --dport 3478 -j ACCEPT

In other words ... SL is not usable out of the box !!! however it runs fine using above steps


Fn keys for volume and brightness don't work on Lenovo Thinkpad e460 running Ubuntu 18.04

Disclaimer: I don't have an E460 but an S540 but they have similar keyboards. The picture shows an E460's keyboard:

Source (emphasis mine)

The keys in the top row have two functions:

The usual function keys F1 … F12
Special functions, such as Volume Down, Volume Up, etc.

The Fn key in the lower left has a tiny LED that indicates the default behaviour when you press e.g.
F2/Volume Down. If the LED is on, then it behaves as F2, else as Volume Down.

To temporarily access the other function, press Fn and F2 simultaneously.

To permanently switch the behaviour, press Fn and ESC/FnLk simultaneously. The tiny LED will toggle and the keys have the other function.

In my case, the default beaviour is LED off, i.e. the keys have the Volume Down etc. behaviour. In your case the default seems to be LED on.


libreoffice calc: Importing csv full of URL's

Ok, I got an answer.  You need to just find and replace (under Edit):

http:.*|file:.*

with:

=HYPERLINK("&","Some text here")

Then check the box for: "regular expression" and finally, "replace all".

"Some text here" could be another "&" if you just want to keep the visible text the same, but turn it into a link.

(Thanks to pierre-yves samyn)


You can use apt-get source unity-greeter to get the source files.
The lines you are looking for are in /usr/sbin/greeter-list.vala, especially around ~line 100 might be interesting to you.
Compilation is possible with sudo debuild -i -us -uc


I can't boot from USB: Error setting up gfxboot

Just type help and press Enter. It will continue to boot normally.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/659253


The intent is to reduce the number of tmpfs file systems.  On 11.04, there are separate tmpfs file systems at /var/lock, /var/run and /dev/shm.  If these directories were all under a single parent directory, then only a single tmpfs would be needed.  It also provides an obvious location for further runtime state data that shouldn't persist over reboots.

Unless your application depends on canonical paths of files, your application should run without modification since the old locations will be symlinked to the new ones.  The AppArmor policies are one case that does depend on the real path names, which is why it was mentioned specifically.

The following links should help explain the rationale:

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/devel/2011-March/150031.html
https://bugs.linuxfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=718
https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/fhs-discuss/2011-May/000061.html
http://wiki.debian.org/ReleaseGoals/RunDirectory


Ubuntu Dual boot install with windows 8.1

Try it! Select the alongside option. The installer then will you set how much space is going to be used for Ubuntu. If it shows three partitions, you're fine. But I assume it will attempt to split up the Windows partition. If this is the case, go back and select "Something else".

Now it will ask you to set up everything manually. Do the following:

Delete E: (probably sda3, I can't tell) resize D: (sda2). Leave some space the size of your RAM
Create a new partition between D: and F: of the size of your RAM. E.g. If you have 8GiB of RAM, create a 8GiB partition.
Format this new partition as linux-swap
Format D: as ext4
Select the disk, where all those partitions are on, as bootloader device (most likely /dev/sda)
Apply and install.

This instructions my contain something that won't work, but it won't damage your Windows, if you don't do anything stupid. But you should still create a backup of all your important data, since partitioning can always harm the data on the affected disk.


Where is the control panel in ubuntu for uninstall any installed software

You can find them in dash. Type "software center" and the "image" below will be seen, click on the "Software Center tool". Note your dash will be located at the top left of your screen, mine I had move to the bottom of my screen. To open dash click on the __Ubuntu logo:

Now when it opens go to the installed tabs and you will see your installed apps and there you can uninstall:

Then if you wish to use the terminal, these are the steps:

Check installed apps with:

apt-cache pkgnames
Remove with:

sudo apt-get remove application_name


Error: unknown command 'gfxmode'. Pressing any key continues

The grub customizer forgot to put set before gfxmode. Go into /etc/grub.d and run the following command to find out which file has the gfxmode entry: grep gfxmode * Then use whatever text editor you like to just put set in front of it.

A little background on this is that gfxmode is a variable, so it has to be set with the set command, but the customizer tried to use it as a command.


Dolphin uses ftp not sftp when adding network folder

If it's your server and you have SSH access, than maybe setup a SSH connection instead and use fish://username@remotehost as the URI in dolphin.
There is a big difference between SFTP (FTP over SSH) vs FTPS which is FTP over TLS. It gets more complicated because FTPS has an implicit and explicit mode, implicit uses a dedicate port and connects using TLS, while the explicit mode uses the normal ftp port and switches to TLS with startTLS command.
Looking at the source:
https://github.com/KDE/dolphin/blob/c836cf010c12858a7f3a4943c06f9de2b9f31a14/doc/index.docbook#L609
The docs imply the dolphin supports SFTP and FISH, both of which use SSH. I can find no mention of FTPS, so perhaps it doesn't support that?


Following Ubuntu Dual Boot Install wiki page it is recommended to install "utopic" channel. It is also possible to switch from a channel installation to another based on the same wiki page.

Even tough I have installed Ubuntu touch from "trusty" channel on my Nexus 4 (version 303 which is the version I got two days after the final release of trusty 14.04) and it is working good enough (much better than alpha and beta), this should be a stable version.

If you have a lower version than "trusty" 303 you must absolutely update your system. otherwise try the "utopic" channel as suggested by the wiki page.


Downloading the Ubuntu ISO is from this weblink; Ubuntu 'flavours' with alternate desktop environments, are downloaded from here.

  However, if you have a 32-bit CPU you must use

  Kubuntu 32-bit 18.04.3,
  Lubuntu 32-bit 18.04.3,
  Ubuntu Budgie 18.04.3,
  Ubuntu MATE 32-bit 18.04.3,
  Ubuntu 32-bit 16.04.06,   or
  Xubuntu 32-bit 18.04.3.

  instead of any of the later releases. The 32-bit Network Installer for Ubuntu 19.10 has been withdrawn, but the 32-bit Network Installer for Ubuntu 18.04 is still available.

Once the ISO file downloaded, verify it arrived with no corruption following these steps.
Installation, as per Canonical, Ubuntu's publishers, is typically done on another Linux PC with Startup Disk Creator or on a Windows PC using the Open Source Windows app Rufus, not with Unibootin (sic) or Unetbootin.
Once you make a LiveUSB, install it following these steps.


Read Error Rate is more than 5000... Do I need to replace my Hard disk?

Install smartmontools.  sudo apt-get install smartmontools

Then run sudo smartctl --all /dev/sdX  (X = your drive's letter) to get all the data concerning the disk.  You will see more detailed information about possible failures.

Run sudo smartctl --test=short /dev/sdX to actually test the drive.  If there are failures, the short test will reveal them.  If not, replace short with long.  This will take longer but it will possibly reveal failures the short one didn't.

Any failures reported by those tests are reliable and do mean you have to replace the disk.


Try adding the following line to /etc/modprobe.d/wlanled.conf:

options ath9k blink=0

followed by rebooting.

(Src)


Ubuntu 20.04 GNOME default layout for UK extended keyboard

In that layout it's replaced with dead_diaeresis.
Superscript 2 is available in the basic English (UK) layout, and also in English (UK, intl., with dead keys) and a few other. So if easy access to superscript 2 is important to you, you may either want to consider to use one of those instead, or edit the /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/gb file and replace dead_diaresis in the English (UK, extended, with Win keys) layout with twosuperior.


Transparency requires desktop compositing to work properly.

Install compizconfig-settings-manager and make sure that 'Composite' under the 'general' category is enabled.


Read Only problems with shared Data Drive after Win 10 upgrade

Not long ago, while in windows.. hitting SHIFT + SHUTDOWN menu item would completely shut down the computer.  It seems that the latest release (September) ignores this key-sequence and the drive is still "in exclusive use"

hit WINDOWSkey + R
type powercfg.cpl
Click "Choose what the power buttons do" from the column on the left.
scroll down and choose turn off fast boot.

You might have to click a button above that that says change settings not allowed.
Then you can uncheck fast boot.
See this link https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/213195423-How-To-Disable-Fast-Startup-in-Windows-10


Are bad download speeds considered normal after a release of a new Ubuntu version?

Is this considered normal in the days after a major version release?

Definitely.

  What can I do to speed up my downloads? Can I switch to another mirror? Does that even pay off?

If you're on the main mirror (is that a mirror if it's the original?), things are going to probably suck pretty hard. The rule of thumb is to use whatever's local to you.

You can change your mirror using the Software Sources dialogue (run software-properties-gtk). I suggest you click other and then click Select Best Server.

If that still doesn't help, you could try guessing which mirror is going to have the most spare bandwidth.

  Or should I wait with the downloads until the big hype has cooled down?

You might find that available bandwidth varies based on the time of day. If you use a local mirror and can leave it overnight, you might wake up and find everything complete.


Use the command sudo su. This elevates privileges to Super User. Remember to type in exit after you're finished though. Constantly running as SU is dangerous. If you forget to exit, you're exposing your system.


Unable to print to Brother printer by wifi

This has worked for me following the tip of technical support of Brother:

  I would recommend removing the printer driver and re-installing using
  our install utility that will automate the download/install process.
  You may access this installation utility at the following
  location.

After running the Brother install utility, I was offered these choices:

0: ipp14
1: socket
2: https
3: ipp
4: ipps
5: lpd
6: http
7: serial:/dev/ttyS0?baud=115200
8: smb
9: hp
10: parallel:/dev/lp0
11: hpfax
12 (I): Specify IP address.
13 (A): Auto. (usb://dev/usblp0)

At first, I tried number 12 and didn't work.
So, I created another printer with the URI: lpr://192.168.1.131 instead of socket://192.168.1.131 and it works now. :-)


Ubuntu boot error: command failed. you need to load the kernal first

So I found out what was causing the issue. It was my Logitech Wireless Mouse. I had it on and connected to my PC always.
Removing the mouse Bluetooth USB while the system was booting did the trick.


no directory when using /usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p

It's because you don't have unity installed.

You need to follow a different process to figure out if your VirtualBox 3D acceleration is working.

First install mesa-utils with sudo apt install mesa-utils.

Once the installation is done, run glxinfo | grep 'renderer string'.

That will return you the renderer string, which will tell you whether your virtual machine's OS is using VirtualBox's 3D acceleration.


I found a similar problem with install in Oracle VirtualBox after configuring boot and swap partition as well. I also installed metacity, kernal headers (Ubuntu 12.10), manually downloaded VB additions, etc. Then I found to kill process with gnome-session provided a GUI login screen. Then I select Classic Gnome. To get the panel again I also had to kill process with gnome-panel - also from Ctrl-Alt-Fx (x from 1 to 6) as root. Maybe this helps somebody a bit further along. (836 GB RAM, 128 MB Video ram, 8GB hdd dynamic). (No problem on vmplayer 5.1 - I hope) Server is Windows 7 on HP Probook.


Ctrl + Shift for language change without killing terminal

Install gnome-tweaks (apt install gnome-tweaks), run just installed Tweaks, select Keyboard&Mouse->Additional Layout Options and choose shutcut ctl+shift or something else.


How do I get this Cisco VPN client to connect?

Install vpnc
package:

sudo apt-get install vpnc

Create the connect script, copy the contents below into a file called vpn-connect and place it on the path somewhere:

#!/bin/sh

sudo vpnc --local-port 0 --enable-1des /etc/vpnc/vpn.conf

Copy over the .pcf file used by the Windows Cisco VPN client and use this as a basis for step 4.
Now you need to create the vpn.conf file in the /etc/vpnc directory. The content of this file are as follows:

IPSec ID <your ipsec id>
IPSec gateway <your gateway address>
IPSec secret <your ipsec secret>

Xauth username <your username>
Xauth password <your password>
IKE Authmode psk

<your username> and <your password> should be obvious.

You now have everything required to connect, so run the script:

vpn-connect

After a few seconds it should come back with the message:

VPNC started in background

And give you a process id.

You should now be connected to the VPN.


Error While Creating Partition (Parted/Fdisk)

I can clearly see that there is already a partition from 1049kB to 300GB from your print command. So you cannot make a partition there unless you delete that partition.
You can use the start value for new partition as one more than the previous partition's end value and not the start value.


Ubuntu One Sync for multiple folders in Windows, not just the Ubuntu One folder

As we tried to explain in the FAQ, the current beta only does manual sync of the Ubuntu One folder, and not of the other folders. For the next release we will be bringing it up to par with the Ubuntu client, but for now, just that.


Booting into grub when Ubuntu is only installed in Legacy mode

On a stock Ubuntu installation, you are using GRUB 2, even if you don't realize it. In some cases (like an Ubuntu-only installation), the GRUB 2 menu might not appear, but GRUB 2 does run. Without either GRUB 2 or some other boot loader, the Linux kernel can't load, so Ubuntu won't run.

(Note the "some other boot loader" caveat. LILO, GRUB Legacy, SYSLINUX, ELILO, and the EFI stub loader are all alternative boot loaders that will do GRUB's job [more or less]. None of these is installed and configured as the default boot loader, though.)

If you install Windows after installing Ubuntu, the Windows boot loader will take over the boot process, and will probably boot straight into Windows. To restore GRUB 2, you'll need to use Boot Repair from an emergency disk or re-install GRUB 2 (or some other boot loader) manually.

Note also that, on a modern computer, using BIOS/CSM/legacy mode is doing it the hard way. See this page of mine for details on why this is the case. Chances are you installed in BIOS mode because you prepared your boot medium incorrectly, although it could be some other problem that sent you down this path. In any event, you have two choices:

Convert to an EFI-mode install by converting your disk from MBR to GPT form (optional, but strongly recommended) with gdisk (see here for details) and installing an EFI-mode boot loader. You can then disable your CSM and install Windows in EFI mode.
Install Windows in BIOS mode. Many older tutorials describe how to do this, and how to restore GRUB 2 once you're done, but I don't happen to have a URL handy. Be aware that you might accidentally boot the Windows installer in EFI mode, in which case it will likely complain about the MBR partition table on your disk (assuming that's what you've got). If you run into this error, you can either convert Ubuntu to boot in EFI mode, as in the preceding bullet point, or learn to control the boot process to get the Windows installer to boot in BIOS mode.


"Error: Dependency is not satisfiable: libgtk-3-0 (>=3.16.2)" when trying to install Intel-linux-graphic-installer

From Intel website for Graphics Installer 1.4.0

  This release of the Graphics Installer is targeted at Ubuntu 15.10 or Fedora 23.  Ubuntu 16.04 is already current with the latest Q1 2016 Intel Graphics stack and therefore no Graphics Installer is needed.

  Support is deprecated for Ubuntu 15.04 "vivid" and Fedora 22. Please consult your distribution's documentation for upgrade instructions to newer OS revisions.

The latest installer that supports 14.04 is version 1.0.6

But I sincerely doubt that this is the right way to solve that problem with DirectX, because the latest graphic stack in 14.04 should already overcome the "Intel® Graphics Stack Release 2014Q2 for Linux" that is supported by that installer.


It is not advisable to add a separate icon to the launcher, calling nautilus. The reason is that then the new icon will "steal" the arrow that you see when an application (in this case: a directory) is opened. The Unity launcher (in principle) only allows one icon at a time to represent an application.
Add a shortcut to the Files icon manually
Instead, add the location to the existing nautilus icon, as described here.
Via GUI
Alternatively, if you'd like to do it via GUI, you could use a quicklist editor, much more convenient:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vlijm/qle
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install qle

I wouldn't mention my own stuff, but it fits the question.
Since nautilus will be active possibly when you edit its launcher for the first time, you might have to log out/in the first time to see the result (The editor cannot refresh an icon if an application runs).


How to change the UID of a user with an encrypted home directory

You first need to logout the user you want to modify and kill all processes he runs.
A good approach is to restart and log in as root or as another sudo user.

To enable the root user execute the following commands.

$ sudo su
# passwd

Now you can log in using root and the password you provided.
Once logged in as root execute

# usermod -u newUID myuser

to change myuser's uid and

# chown -R myuser /home/.ecryptfs/myuser

to change the owner of the encrypted files.
You should now be able to log out and log back in as myuser.


Do man pages for the same command differ depending on source?

Depending on what source you use to install the program, there will be different versions, and sometimes on newer versions the maintainers update the manual for the application. I suppose the most accurate one is always the one you have installed, since is the manual for the exact same version in your system. If you search for help online, the parameters may be outdated (or too new). But sometimes online manuals are better because you may find more extensive explanations, and even examples of how to use the parameters, flags, etc.


Try doing this before it freezes:

At the login screen press Ctrl+Alt+F5 to enter TTY mode

Enter your login credentials.

Enter this command:
sudo prime-select intel

and you will be asked for your password again.

Reboot the computer:
sudo reboot

With some luck, this should help.


How can I launch gThumb (version > 3.4.3) with light background colors in menus and browser like before?

You can run gThumb with your preferred GTK+ theme and its variant (light/dark) by the following command
GTK_THEME=<Theme-Name>:<Theme-variant> gthumb

for example
GTK_THEME=Ambiance:light gthumb

If you wish to make a change to the gThumb launcher so that it always launches the application with your preferred theme, then follow the steps below.

Copy the correct .desktop file associated to gThumb (it should be called org.gnome.gThumb.desktop or gthumb.desktop or something similar) from /usr/share/applications to ~/.local/share/applications.

Open the copied .desktop file using a text editor.

Look for the Exec= line. Add env GTK_THEME=<Theme-Name>:<Theme-variant>  just after Exec= so that it now looks like
Exec=env GTK_THEME=<Theme-Name>:<Theme-variant> gthumb %U

for example
Exec=env GTK_THEME=Ambiance:light gthumb %U

Save the .desktop file.


Easiest to install and use DVD writing backup software for documents? Ubuntu 16.04

There are a number of programs that write to cd/dvd, but most people no longer use them so their importance has gone.

I wracked my brain & finally remembered k3b; did a search on Ubuntu Software & it was there. k3b uses Qt and is more a KDE program, but will work.

I looked at https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-burn-a-dvd-on-ubuntu and three programs are listed :-

brasero
k3b
xfburn

Yes the tutorial concentrates on burning an ISO to dvd (probably the most common use), but the programs do more..  eg. page four shows Brasero offering

audio project
data project
video project
disc copy
burn image

I expect 'data project' may fullfill your needs, and should use less resources than k3b too with Unity 7 (being gtk+ based).

I do recall a lot of people telling me k3b was better for them, which is possibly why I remembered it, so it maybe worth a look if brasero doesn't include what you need.

In comments the OP (original poster) asked "can I trust what ever source it gets the software from"

My reply was

Yes you can trust that (sudo apt-get install brasero) command if you trust your sources. It will use only the sources you've added, so if you've not added any it's trustworthy.. If you've been careful with adding 3rd party sources - it should be okay, however if you go to sites that say "run this command" without any homework - your sources may contain something untrustworthy or risky...

Using the command apt-cache policy brasero will show details about where brasero would come from, ie. the sources you've added which include the official Ubuntu ones (that you can trust). This can provide some 'assurance' if you're not sure (it's a command, as CLI is where I prefer to operate, plus if you can do this via gui & wouldn't know where as commands are faster).

For me the source is listed as

guiverc@d960-ubu2:~$   apt-cache  policy brasero
brasero:
  Installed: 3.12.2-0ubuntu3
  Candidate: 3.12.2-0ubuntu3
  Version table:
 *** 3.12.2-0ubuntu3 500
      500 http://[redacted official mirror]/ubuntu cosmic/universe amd64 Packages
      100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

I'm running 18.10 (cosmic) & the redacted-official-mirror is my chosen mirror; an official source too, ie. on https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archivemirrors)

The "Universe" tells me it's MOTU/Community supported; which I know can be trusted for a period of time ('main' for 5 years, 'universe' for at least two, usually three - but I need to check support for universe on a per package basis).  For this program I'd trust the MOTU's for the full 3 years of support.


So yes, native render for Qt is solution of this problem. Steps i'm doing to fixing:

sudo nano /etc/environment
Add new line to the bottom of the file (second line for me) with this QT_GRAPHICSSYSTEM=native
Save and exit by pressing: CTRL+O, CTRL+X
Reboot the system: sudo shutdown -r

Thats it.


USB drive will not let me copy/paste files, "permission denied"

Do as said in this question last part like this:

New update:
I found solution by using gparted app by this instruction:
This has been reported as a bug. But you can try this work around and
see if it works. Install Gparted if you don't have it installed. If
its not, just press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When
it opens, run the command(s) below:
sudo apt-get install gparted
Once installed, open the application, and before formatting, make sure
that you choose the right drive, and Unmount the disk by right
clicking on the partition, and choose Unmount, then you can use the
format To option, to format it to whatever type of file system you
wish. Once done click on the green check mark to apply the changes.

like this:

unfortunately i don't saved the result log file which could help to
understand what happened . ( but based of sudo journalctl | grep sdc
it seems that not unmounted correctly by removing form PC USB port
manually and ...


Using the script below to toggle visibility (with a key combination), you can have one terminal window (completely) hidden when minimized, as if it wouldn't exist, while another terminal window keeps visible in the launcher when minimized.

Create a separate profile for the hidden terminal window

The trick is to create a separate profile in the gnome-terminal preferences, with a distinctive name in the window title. This makes it possible to identify the terminal window with the wmctrl -l command and unmap it with xdotool's windowunmap command, making it invisible in the Launcher.

Toggle visibility / open a "hidable" window with a key combination

You will have to set up a key combination to toggle visability of the terminal window, since it is not visible in the launcher (see further below).

How to setup

The script needs both xdotool and wmctrl to be installed:

sudo apt-get install xdotool
sudo apt-get install wmctrl

Then:

Create a separate profile in gnome-terminal preferences: choose "Edit" > "Profiles", click "New".

Name the new profile (exactly) "Hidden"
In the "Title & Command" tab, set the window title to (exactly) "Hidden_Profile", to be placed before window title:

N.B. You might have to log out / in for the profile to be "loadable"

Test if the profile works by running the command:

gnome-terminal --window-with-profile=Hidden

a window should pop up, with "Hidden_profile" in the window title:

Copy the script below into an empty file, save it as run_hidden.py
Test run it by the command:

python3 /path/to/run_hidden.py

What it should do:

Run it if no terminal window from the separate profile is running: a new terminal should open from the separate ("hidable") profile.
Run it a second time: the window will be (completely) hidden, also from the launcher
Run it a third time: the window should re-appear

If all works fine, add the (command to run-) the script to a shortcut combination:  choose: System Settings > "Keyboard" > "Shortcuts" > "Custom Shortcuts". Click the "+" and add the command:

python3 /path/to/run_hidden.py

The script

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
import os

home = os.environ["HOME"]
hidden_windowid = home+"/.window_id.txt"

get = lambda cmd: subprocess.check_output(cmd).decode("utf-8")

def execute(cmd):
    subprocess.check_call(cmd)

try:
    w_id = [l.split()[0] for l in get(["wmctrl", "-l"]).splitlines() if "Hidden_Profile" in l][0]
    execute(["xdotool", "windowunmap", w_id])
    with open(hidden_windowid, "wt") as out:
        out.write(w_id)
except IndexError:
    try:
        with open(hidden_windowid) as read:
            w_id = read.read()
        execute(["xdotool", "windowmap", w_id])
    except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
        execute(["gnome-terminal", "--window-with-profile=Hidden"])

Explanation

The script uses wmctrl to identify the window by its (window-) name, as we gave it in the separately created profile for this purpose. Once we have the id, we can unmap it with xdotool's windowunmap command.

To make sure we can make the window reappear, the id is stored in a hidden file; if re-mapping fails, the script concludes there is no window opened from the special profile, and it opens one by the command:

gnome-terminal --window-with-profile=Hidden


Open a terminal and type:

ccsm

the output must be:

ccsm
compizconfig - Info: Backend     : gsettings
compizconfig - Info: Integration : true
compizconfig - Info: Profile     : unity
Loading icons...

2 windows are open, the small one saying:
CSSM is an advanced tool. Use with caution.
The big one is the Configuration manager.

Please feedback with your results, and maybe there is something relevant (by date) at your /var/crash path


Referencing environment variables *in* /etc/environment?

The /etc/environment file is read by the pam_env PAM module. It only supports simple key-value pairs, with no substitution on the right-hand side.

If you want to build the value with substitutions or other shell expansions, you need to go through a shell. /etc/profile (or a file in /etc/profile.d) is the right place for these. This is the traditional place (/etc/environment is a relatively recent innovation, in the history of unix systems), and there's certainly nothing sloppy about using it. The main benefit of /etc/environment is that it allows environment variables to be set even with login methods that do not involve a shell or for users who use a non-Bourne shell, but these are not common in practice.


Arrow keys cause touchpad indicator to show

Is there a (fn) key to enable/disable specific (numpad/touchpad/whatever) functionality?

Also check if your keyboard layout is still correct.

Although outdated and tl;dr maybe useful: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticsTouchpad/ShortcutKey

[edit]

I tried sudo showkey on my console and got this result:

11:04 $ sudo showkey
    kb mode was ?UNKNOWN?
[ if you are trying this under X, it might not work
since the X server is also reading /dev/console ]

press any key (program terminates 10s after last keypress)...
keycode  28 release
^[[Akeycode 103 press
keycode 103 release
^[[Bkeycode 108 press
keycode 108 release

See if your keys show the same code, if not, maybe this (tl;dr) may be of some help: How can I change what keys on my keyboard do? (How can I create custom keyboard commands/shortcuts?)

[edit 2]

It seems that your binding is indeed incorrect, try this guide: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Hotkeys/Troubleshooting


On startup, where does the output to dmesg get logged?

Usually kernel's operation related messages are stored in a fixed sized memory called the Kernel Ring Buffer. It's location is /proc/kmsg. dmesg usually prints the entries of the Kernel Ring Buffer in a human readable format. As it is a buffer (a temporary storage) mounted under /proc, you can imagine that it will not survive a reboot i.e. it will just show all the Kernel logs after being powered On. If you want to check all the previous Kernel logs you need to check /var/log/kern.log, as it is being stored on the disk it will survive the reboots.


firefox: show bookmark toolbar in fullscreen mode

I haven't tried it myself but here is a link that says you need a firefox addon.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1039009


Cant install Epson ET-3750 printer on Ubuntu 19.10

After re-opening the printer settings, I saw the printer from screenshot #2 in the question again and found a way to fix this problem: Click on Additional printer settings on the bottom of the printer settings screen. I was wondering that there were no printers listed, so I clicked the add button

Now expand network printers and select the epson printer with a IP address. On the right, choose LPD/LPR waiting queue (passthru)

After confirming, the search for drivers popup apears again. This time without errors. Click apply and when at least one page was printed, you'll notice that the second printer entry contains additionally meta-information like the ink state:

However, there is still a second entry for the same printer. I don't know why this is the case. It seems that Ubuntu shows the second entry as detected printer, that is just detected yet and not configured/installed for printing. To make it useable, we need to configure the printer like described there.

After refreshing the settings page, just the first one is listed and the second pseudo-printer was gone. This is a bit confusing. It could be some kind of bug, since the printer view was killed one time during the installation with a internal error. However, after figuring this out, it seems working well for now.


How can I dub an audio track over a video I'm making with avconv?

avconv -f image2 -i %06d.png -r 24 -qscale 1 -i audiofile.mp3 -c:a copy aniron.avi

Things to note:

-c:a determines the output audio codec - we just copy the one from the input file here
The avi container is quite lacking, for example, you might get sync problems if your mp3 file is VBR. A better alternative would be MP4 or MKV.
You might specify the output video codec (-c:v) if you don't like the default one
As for ffmpeg vs. avconv: ffmpeg is far from deprecated - this is deliberately misleading. If you're interested read this


KDevelop reads colour schemes from ~/.local/share/color-schemes/ and /usr/share/colour-schemes/.
Ubuntu's breeze package includes the standard KDE ones (among other things), or you can find many here: https://store.kde.org/browse/cat/112/ord/top/


2016: Firefox Replacement for Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash Player for Firefox is updated again. The latest version of the adobe-flashplugin package in Canonical Partner installs version 24.0.0.186 of both the NPAPI and PPAPI plugin.


Slow boot after fresh install and update

Try removing apparmour and see if that helps. Could also do with the fact you updated the microcode using AMD's proprietary driver, I wouldn't recommend doing such a thing unless you're having hardware stability issues.

I would remove each thing you added since the fresh intall, and reboot after every one and see if you can catch the culprit that way.


Unknown Filesystem - grub rescue after Windows 10 update?

In theory, a Windows update should not have affected GRUB's ability to load its configuration file, which is what appears to have happened. I have two ideas about what has happened, and fixing one of them might correct the problem:

Changed partition table -- If Windows modified the partition table, then that might have invalidated some partition references in GRUB. If so, you'll need to re-install GRUB, or at least adjust its configuration file, as described shortly.
(Re-)enablement of Fast Startup and/or Hibernate -- These features can cause filesystem corruption, which might prevent GRUB from reading its first-stage grub.cfg file on the ESP. If so, disabling these features might fix the problem. I therefore recommend you start by doing precisely this. See this page for information on disabling Fast Startup and this one for information on disabling Hibernate.

I recommend you look into Fast Startup and Hibernate first. If disabling those features doesn't help, then you'll have to look into more radical solutions. These include, in order of radicalness:

Update your GRUB configuration -- Perhaps updating your GRUB configuration will help. Since you're able to boot, you can do this by typing sudo update-grub in a Terminal window in Ubuntu.
Re-install GRUB -- Typing sudo grub-install will re-install the main GRUB EFI binary, which might fix the problem if it's the source of the problem.
Use Boot Repair -- The Boot Repair tool is an automated tool that helps with re-installing GRUB. It's unlikely to do any better than re-installing GRUB with grub-install, but if the problem lies in a narrow range of issues beyond what grub-install can handle, Boot Repair might do the trick.
Switch to another boot loader -- Other boot loaders exist, and some of them are more reliable than GRUB in some cases. My own rEFInd boot manager, for instance, is less reliant on configuration files, and so is less likely to be thrown by problems related to them. You can test rEFInd on a CD-R or USB flash drive (images for both are available on its downloads page) and install the PPA or Debian package (or from the Ubuntu repository, if you're running Ubuntu 17.04) if you like it.

I recommend starting with updating your GRUB configuration file and moving to more radical solutions later, on the off chance that something drastic (Boot Repair, in particular) could cause serious problems. rEFInd run from a USB flash drive or CD-R is unlikely to create new problems because it changes nothing on your disk when run in this way; only if you install it on your hard disk will it make any permanent changes.


iwconfig indicates "no wireless extensions" for a working wifi card

You're trying to set yourself up as the VPN?  Or are you trying to connect to one?  Either way it looks like you are missing the ESSID.  If you're trying to set up a VPN that's beyond the scope of my experience but there are various packages that will do that for you...not sure about anything that is open source however.  Check the forums as that's probably a question that has been answered.

If you are trying to connect I believe the problem is you haven't input the SSID.  I'm not aware you can connect to a VPN without doing so...it wouldn't be very private otherwise.

See here for setting up SSID etc.:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1062276


You have omitted a #include or two that define the mbstate_t, win_t and btowc structure members. Find out which by doing:

 find /usr/include -type f -print | xargs egrep `mbstate_t|win_t|btowc`


How to install mplayer required by ppstream

I successfully downloaded and installed PPStream. You can use either:

sudo apt-get install gdebi-core
wget http://download.ppstream.com/linux/PPStream.deb
sudo gdebi PPStream.deb

or

sudo apt-get install libqt4-core libqt4-gui libqt4-network libqt4-webkit libqt4-xml mplayer
wget http://download.ppstream.com/linux/PPStream.deb
sudo dpkg -i PPStream.deb

Before starting it, you have to do the following:

sudo /opt/pps/bin/PPStream  ## otherwise fuse won't work
sudo killall PPStream
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.pps


BIOS
HP Laptop 15g-br0xx
You have BIOS F.10.
There appears to be a newer BIOS available, version F.65 Rev A, dated Jan 10, 2020, and can be downloaded here ***.
Note: Confirm that I have the correct web page for your model #.
Note: Have good backups before updating the BIOS.
*** Normally I don't have as much trouble identifying the correct BIOS, but this model/serial #s give mixed results at the HP web site... so double-check my results.
Wayland
Looking in /var/crash, we see that Wayland crashed yesterday, Oct 6. You confirmed that you have not selected Wayland at the login screen.
You may have a problem with an older computer, with an older GPU. Try this...
sudo -H gedit /etc/gdm3/custom.conf # edit this file
change:
#WaylandEnable=false

to:
WaylandEnable=false

Save the file and quit gedit. Then reboot.


I messed up bad on upgrading my OS, need help!

Try this:

Boot the Ubuntu Live-Dvd/Usb.

Press Ctrl-Alt-F1

Run:

sudo -i
fdisk -l

Suppose fdisk reports / is /dev/sda1, continue running:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts
mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
chroot /mnt

Add OpenDNS name servers to /etc/resolv.conf:

nano /etc/resolv.conf

Paste the following into the file

nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220

Control+O, save file. Control+X, close nano, continue running:

dpkg --configure -a
apt-get -f install
apt update
apt dist-upgrade
apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
apt-get autoremove
apt-get clean
reboot

Boot from Hard Disk.


I believe this link should help in your endeavor.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot?action=show&redirect=DualBoot%2FWindows

See below for link:
Install Ubuntu after Windows

A Windows OS should be installed first, because its bootloader is very particular and the installer tends to overwrite the entire hard drive, wiping out any data stored on it. If Windows isn't already installed, install it first. If you are able to partition the drive prior to installing Windows, leave space for Ubuntu during the initial partitioning process. Then you won't have to resize your NTFS partition to make room for Ubuntu later, saving a bit of time.

When a Windows installation already occupies the entire hard drive, its partition needs to be shrunk, creating free space for the Ubuntu partition. You can do this during the Ubuntu installation procedure, or you can see How to Resize Windows Partitions for other options.

If you have resized a Windows 7 or Vista partition and cannot boot up Windows, you can use the instructions from WindowsRecovery to fix it.

Install Ubuntu

Download an Ubuntu LiveCD image (.iso) from Ubuntu Downloads and burn it to a disc (see BurningIsoHowto).
Insert the LiveCD into your CD-ROM drive and reboot your PC.
If the computer does not boot from the CD (e.g. Windows starts again instead), reboot and check your BIOS settings by pressing F2, F12, Delete, or ESC. Select "boot from CD".
Proceed with installation until you are asked this question: "How do you want to partition the disk?".
If you have already partitioned the disk and left space for Ubuntu, install it to that and then follow the rest of the steps.
Otherwise, choose one of the next two steps.

Automatic partition resizing (not recommended)

Choose the first option, which should say "Install them side by side, choosing between them each startup".
Specify the size of the new partition by dragging the slider at the bottom of the window.
Click on "Forward".

Continue on to Finishing Ubuntu Installation

Manual partitioning

Choose "Manually edit partition table".
Listed will be your current partitions.
Select the partition you want to resize and press Enter.
Select "Size:", press Enter.
Select Yes, press Enter.
Type in a new size in gigabytes for your partition, it's recommended you free up at least 10 GB of free space for your Ubuntu install. Press Enter when happy with your changes. It may take some time to apply the changes.

Create a swap partition of at least your amount of RAM (if you don't know, 8000 MB is a good value).
Create a partition for your Ubuntu installation.

Create other partitions if necessary: see DiskSpace
Select "Finish partitioning and write changes to disk".


Adding more already installed OS's to BURG

BURG is based on grub2 and doesn't use menu.lst.

The configuration file is in /boot/burg/burg.cfg and is generated automatically using scripts in /etc/burg.d/ directory.

To add new boot items, modify /etc/burg.d/40_custom.

It is based on GRUB2 so you can use method to add entries as of grub2.

menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.38-8-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    recordfail
    set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='(/dev/sda,msdos3)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root b61fcae3-7744-45b4-95b9-7528d50a3652
    linux   /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.38-8-generic root=UUID=b61fcae3-7744-45b4-95b9-7528d50a3652 ro   quiet splash vt.handoff=7
    initrd  /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-8-generic
}

How can I remove GRUB2 entries in Fedora 16? here
Fedora's guide to grub2 here
Learn more here

If you want to do it using GUI tool

  Grub Customizer is a graphical interface to configure the grub2/burg
  settings with focus on the individual list order - without losing the
  dynamical behavior of grub.

  To get more information about how it works, look here:
  https://answers.launchpad.net/grub-customizer/+faq/1355. Version 2.0
  introduces the ability to change the grub2/burg setting like the
  default entry, timeouts, menu visibility, screen resolution,
  background image and colors (grub2 only) and much more.

  You can use it to repair and configure grub2/burg using a live cd
  (and Grub Customizer, which has to be installed as usual at the live
  system before using it). All the required partitions will be
  automatically mounted when choosing the root partition and some sub
  partitions on the "partition chooser" (a dialog which pops up, when
  you start Grub Customizer inside a live system).

You can also check out other details about Grub Customizer 2.5.6 and 2.5.5 on their Official Website.

Download Tarballs of Grub Customizer 2.5.6 and 2.5.5 for Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Other Linux Distros

grub-customizer_2.5.6.tar.gz

grub-customizer_2.5.5.tar.gz

To install in UBUNTU

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

These links may help you

https://launchpad.net/~danielrichter2007/+archive/grub-customizer

https://answers.launchpad.net/grub-customizer/+faq/1397

https://answers.launchpad.net/grub-customizer/+faq/1355%20

There is another tool

Another tool and tutorial here


i3 throttled at 500Mhz when battery under 30%

Edit a file

You can always change your clock speed by controlling Intel-pstate.

Intel-pstate can be controlled by changing files in /sys/devices/system/cpu/intel_pstate (Change as root i.e. using sudo)

Use a bash script

You can use this bash file, which I created for my own use. Note that I don't think i3 supports turbo boost.

Download the file from google drive
Run sudo chmod 775 set_cpu_pstate
Execute with sudo ./set_cpu_pstate
Set MAX power to 100
Set MIN power to 100 to force high performance all the time
Enter 1 to activate TurboBoost or 0 to deactivate it

CPU Frequency

You can use i7z for current CPU frequency.

sudo apt-get install i7z
sudo i7z


Lost my extensions for Cinnamon by accidentally upgrading to 2.4.5 any easy fix?

there is not way to revert the change. There are not an backup to the packages on https://launchpad.net/. As i know there are not any repository for cinnamon 2.2 on ubnutu 14.04 right now. The only way is find the old packages if they are on /var/cache/apt/archives and try to install it locally. As an alternative you can use ubuntu 14.10 or Debian, that right now use Cinnamon 2.2.

You can ask how to fix the not working extensions. Some of them can be easy fixed. I can try to help you.


pulseaudio-equalizer is not working in Ubuntu 20.04

Considering the comment of @mook765 above, I included the lines

### Modules for the Equalizer
load-module module-equalizer-sink
load-module module-dbus-protocol

in the end of the file /etc/pulse/default.pa. I checked the modules were not present and commented in the file originally.

I rebooted and I observed Gnome didn't "freeze" more after the login.

I ran qpaeq and the equalizer opened normally. I played an audio in the VLC and after in the Audacity to do some tests and the equalizer was not working.

I opened the Gnome Settings and I found a new device in Gnome Settings > Sound > Output > Output Device called FFT based equalizer on Built-in Audio Analog Stereo. When I selected this option the sound mute, so that, it didn't work. I pressed the Test button and there was no sound.

So, the pulseaudio-equalizer continue not working.

Highlighting, at last I guess there are two important points to be fixed in the Ubuntu 20.04 for pulseaudio-equalizer:

Include the qpaeq icon/shortcut in the Gnome Applications after the pulseaudio-equalizer installation.
Load the modules module-equalizer-sink and module-dbus-protocol and include than in the /etc/pulse/default.pa file after the pulseaudio-equalizer installation.

Beyond this, there is a third important point to be fixed: what is missing to the pulseaudio-equalizer to work? :)


Since this happens in a live cd I'd suggest the following:

Check that you have installed any drivers that are recommended. Find and run "Additional drivers" program in unity.
Restart to enable the drivers.
If you see that the problem persists, connect through ethernet, uninstall network-manager and install wicd-gtk (an alternative network manager):

sudo apt-get install wicd-gtk
sudo apt-get purge network-manager network-manager-gnome

and restart the computer.
Try booting using a live cd of ubuntu 11.04 this time, see if it still allows you to connect.
If the above solutions still don't work, then maybe you have made some changes to the router configuration? If you know how to reset the configuration and re-enter it correctly, that would be advisable (You can always contact your DSL support service and ask for instructions). Also, set your wireless encryption to WPA/WPA2 (and not open nor WEP if that is the case). Finally, if you use the default router password, I suggest that you change it for security reasons.
Check out this question, maybe it's a similar problem: DSL PPPoE connection not working?


starting sector number, 4532393984 exceeds the msdos-partition-table-imposed maximum

With MSDOS/MBR partition tables, partitions are defined mainly by two numbers, size and offset.

Both are 32 bit unsigned integers, so the maximum value they can hold is 232. The unit used by these numbers is a sector, which normally has a size of 512 bytes. This means, both the maximum size of a partition as well as the maximum offset/starting address must be lower than 232×512 bytes, which equals 2TB.

So, if you have 3TB in total, and the first 1.8GB are occupied by Windows, you can still create another partition with the offset of 1.8TB very well, as you say you did with your Ubuntu root partition. The remaining space is smaller than 2TB anyway, so size will not be a constraint. However, if we say we want the root partition to take all remaining space except for e.g. 8GB for swap, the offset of that swap partition will be far outside the 2TB range, and thus not supported.

You have a few options now:

Create the swap partition before the Ubuntu root partition, like this:

   0GB - 1800GB  Windows (or whatever)
1800GB - 1808GB  Ubuntu Swap
1808GB - 3072GB  Ubuntu /

That way all starting offsets will be below the 2TB limit.
Don't create a swap partition at all and use a swapfile instead. The process is described e.g. in How do I add a swap partition after system installation?
Use GPT instead of the old MSDOS/MBR partition table. This would require converting your existing disk with Windows though. The process is probably not trivial and always comes with a risk of something going wrong and causing you to lose all data...


Computer doesn't recognize any OS on computer

I would try boot-repair tool. You can install it during Your live USB session or by creating boot-repair live CD or USB and boot from it.
You can find it there: http://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home/Home/ .


Your laptop model appears to have a Broadcom wireless chipset.

open terminal and type what is shown below

sudo apt-get purge broadcom-sta-common broadcom-sta-source bcmwl-kernel-source

then type

sudo apt-get install b43-fwcutter firmware-b43-installer

Restart your computer after the command is completed and your wireless will start to work :D


nfs mountpoint named ``share'' breaks ls and man

To answer your questions in order:

Yes, but it is a bit more involved. Use manpath to see what is the path search order for manual pages and for example MANPATH=/usr/share/man man <whatever> to use a specific path setting
It might not be possible to unmount without booting (this time), but in the future you should consider mounting with the intr option, i.e. mount -t nfs -o intr host:/path ~/share or similarly in fstab: host:/path  /home/user/share  nfs  intr. Please see man 5 nfs for further information (if you continue have problems, see the soft and timeo options).
Try the above options, but if they fail, you could try CIFS or sshfs instead of nfs


How to use 3 external monitors on Ubuntu 17.10 Dell XPS 13 9360?

What you are trying--and which desktop you are using--is vague here. There are specific things to try, but I cannot tell what you are trying. My desktop environment is XFCE4 on Ubuntu 17.10 running the X11-based display. Not Wayland.

I have Dell Precision 5510 and a brand new USB-C dock. On the Dock itself, there are HDMI and DisplayPort jacks. I can get 3 monitors going if you count the laptop display and the 2 monitors. I have used 3 external successfully when they are plugged into separate jacks, not in a USB-C dock. I'm pretty sure you can get 2 external working via the usb-c, I suggest you try with that. Then worry about 3rd.

Here are things to try. Let us know what you see.

In terminal, run

xrandr --listmonitors

to find out if system really does see monitors. You can run xrandr to get a much more verbose listing. Right now, I'm not connected, and end of xrandr output is:

DP-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

If you see that, then 4 monitors would be possible. Right now, I have removed the nvidia proprietary drivers and I still do have success with 2 external monitors via the dock. I expect you can too.

However, configuring will be a problem. Even if system notices your monitors, it will not use them until you configure them. You could try CLI with xrandr, but I don't do that too often anymore. It is easier if you use the GUI for this. My favorite is "arandr", which has worked great for 3 years, until last week it failed to recognize the resolutions. I have no idea what broke it.

If arandr fails, there is a much improved program called Display in the XFCE4 settings. I believe it is adapted from the Gnome project, possible your desktop has it, or similar. It lists detected monitors. You click a button "active" separately for each one, it shows them in a tiny rectangle, and you can move them about in the screen to place them left and right. If your dock is like mine, those monitors will not work until you activate.

If (IF) you are using the NVIDIA proprietary drivers for X11, run the

nvidia-settings

program.  You'll see what monitors it can detect. You'll see that you cannot get all 4 monitors in one X11 session, but you can get a pairs connected with each other. You will probably not be able to drag a window across all 3 monitors. nvidia-settings will offer to re-write /etc/X11/xorg.conf for you.  Make sure you have a copy of the old one before saying yes. At one time (say 2010), I was knee deep in settings for Xinerama and Nvidia Twinview.  If you start bumping up against very fine grained video configurations, take a step back. It is still possible to do that stuff, but the whole push in X11 setup is to let users ignore it.

I am a little distrustful of the USB-C device you have.  Unless you know for sure it works with your computer, it may be trouble. I got this computer May, 2016, and tried to order a dock. Dell said "our dock does not work, you can't buy one." I waited until Nov 2017 to get one because that was the first time the firmware was compatible with Ubuntu Linux.  It mostly works now, but not always.  The USB poops out about 10% of the time and I have to unplug everything. If a monitor powers down to save power, the laptop often cannot wake it up through the usb dock.

If you try and need more help, write back with more information, including what kind of dock this is, the xrandr output, and which video driver you are using, It really is a different game if you run the Nvidia proprietary driver.

Oh, if you are in Ubuntu 17.10 with Wayland as graphic environment, then I have nothing to say. I'm avoiding it.


Try ultracopier - teracopy alternative you can use in ubuntu, windows and mac! I've been trying to get an answer for my question on how to make this the default app how can i make ultracopier handle cut-copy-paste function in nautilus? But its still pretty useful if you have large number of files and have to copy them to multiple destinations or need to pause in-between copying!


Open a terminal window and try to start Skype with this command (copy and paste):

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/mesa/libGL.so.1 skype

If that's successful, I suggest that you check out this answer to get a persistent solution.


Quickly ~ Web Application fails to opendatabase

This is not related to python, but javascript under webkit. Please see this question on Stack Overflow.

To summarise it, you can't use openDatabase over local web pages, you will need to use a full local server.

You can use SimpleHTTPServer to start a server from python and connect to it using webview.


The .so file that exists but was reported as "doesn't exist" because it was incompatible with the system architecture. It was a 32 bit version, but you have a 64 bit operating system. According to the documentation on the Skype website, there is a simple solution.

Open a terminal (ctrl + alt + t) and run

dpkg --add-architecture i386
apt-get update
apt-get -f install skype

Source