Installing Sigil (Ubuntu 13.04)

To install Sigil, in a terminal, type...

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sunab/sigil-git
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sigil

Fixing a Broken Encrypted Swap Partition (Ubuntu and Xubuntu 12.04)

For some reason, with all of the Ubuntu derivatives I end up with a busted SWAP partition. This manifests itself in no defined SWAP at all, and a blacked out SWAP partition when viewed in Gparted. The solution is to redefine the SWAP partition, as follows. (If in doubt where your SWAP partition is, run 'sudo fdisk -l'.)

sudo swapoff -a
sudo cryptsetup remove /dev/mapper/cryptswap1
sudo gedit /etc/crypttab

Remove the SWAP line (e.g. /dev/sda3)

sudo /sbin/mkswap /dev/sda3
sudo swapon /dev/sda3
sudo gedit /etc/fstab 

Replace /dev/mapper/cryptswap1 with /dev/sda3.

If you're feeling brave and fancy trying to re-encrypt it, use...

sudo ecryptfs-setup-swap

If it all goes wrong, just repeat the process above.

N.B. Obviously /dev/sda3 in the above example is just that, an example. Replace it with whatever you find in your 'sudo  fdisk -l' results.

** To test whether swap is enabled use:

free -m

CPU Sensor (Ubuntu 12.04)

To install a panel CPU applet in Ubuntu 12.04 type:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:indicator-multiload/stable-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install indicator-multiload

... and then run 'System Load Indicator' from the dash.

Fixing Blue Tint Video (Linux Mint 13 and Ubuntu 12.04)

Open 'gstreamer-properties' by typing into a terminal...  

$ gstreamer-properties 

 Click on the 'Video' tab. Under 'Default Output' choose the 'Plugin' dropdown and select 'Custom'. Add the following line to the 'Pipeline' box. 

videobalance hue=-1 ! autovideosink

 If that doesn't work, it might be worth turning off  'Xv optimizations'. Under the same tab choose... 

X Window System (No Xv)  

 If this method doesn't work... try the following here.

Installing nVidia GT640 Graphics Driver (Mint 13 and Ubuntu 12.04)

Add the following lines to your repositories list...

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates/ubuntu precise main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates/ubuntu precise main

By doing...

gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

And then import the GPG key with...

sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0x643dc6bd56580ceb1ab4a9f63b22ab97af1cdfa9

Refresh packages list in Synaptic and install.

More here.

Reinstalling GRUB2 (Ubuntu 11.04)

First, find out where Ubuntu is installed on your hard disk...

sudo fdisk -l

You should see something like....

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 2611 20972826 7 NTFS
/dev/sda2 2612 60279 463218210 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 60280 60801 4192965 5 Extended

My Ubuntu partition is /dev/sda2. The partition now needs mounting...

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

To install the GRUB2 boot loader, type...

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda

Note, that's /dev/sda (The hard disk itself) NOT The Ubuntu partition /dev/sda2. Once completed unmount the partition and reboot...

sudo umount /dev/sda1 ; sudo reboot

NB -- If you have more than one OS installed, re-detect your various Operating Systems with...

sudo update-grub

 ** Do this before unmounting the partition.

Installing Kazam Screencaster (Ubuntu 11.04)

To solve the missing dependency problem first download libmatroska0 and convert it from .rpm to .deb using Alien (available from repository).

cd Downloads
sudo alien -k libmatroska0-0.8.0-0.1.102plf.i586.rpm

Install the file using Synaptic and then add the ppa:and471/kazam-daily-builds repositories to your sources list...

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:and471/kazam-daily-builds
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install kazam

 To start Kazam press Alt+F2 and type: kazam

Removing Global Menu (Ubuntu 12.04)

To remove the global menu, either type...

 sudo apt-get autoremove appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt

... into a terminal, or remove "appmenu-gtk", "appmenu-gtk3" and "appmenu-qt" manually through the Software Centre.

N.B. To re-enable type into a terminal...

sudo apt-get install appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt

 Also disable the Global Menu Bar Integration  add-on in Firefox (Tools>Add-ons>Extensions.)

Pidgin System Tray Icon Not Showing Up (Ubuntu 11.04)

To solve the issue of the pidgin system tray icon not showing up in Natty, type into a terminal...

gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist "['all']"

Fix "NTFS Configuration Utility" ("No Such File") Error

To fix the "OSError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/etc/hal/fdi/policy'" error, either, install "hal" from the software centre, or, create an empty policy file by opening a terminal and typing...

cd /etc
sudo mkdir hal
cd hal
sudo mkdir fdi
cd fdi
sudo gedit policy

...save and exit, close terminal, and launch ntfs-config by typing...

gksu ntfs-config 

Solving "Input Signal Out of Range" Error on Bootup

After installing Ubuntu, on restart, the error warning "Input Signal out of range" error can come up. To fix it, open a terminal and type...

gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

... and unhash the line...

#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

 ... so it reads...

GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

 ... or whatever resolution you desire, then save and exit the document.

Then type...

sudo update-grub

Installing Java (Ubuntu 10.04)

1. Enable the Cononical Partner Repository in Synaptic (under "other software") and reload.
2. Download sun-java6-jre, sun-java6-plugin and sun-java6-fonts.
3. Set your system to use the Sun Java JRE and Dev packages as the default by typing into a console:

sudo update-java-alternatives --set java-6-sun

Installing ISA 2.X Using Wine (Ubuntu)

1. Download and install ISA program file and bible modules using Wine. DO NOT START APPLICATION AT THE END OF INSTALLING!

2. Add Symbol.ttf to .wine/drive_C/windows/Fonts.

3. Copy usp10.dll to .wine/drive_C/windows/system32. (Often not necessary as it already exists).

4. Add ISA.exe to wine-config "applications".

5. Under "Libraries" add riched20.dll, riched 32.dll and usp10.dll.

Installing eSword 9.X Using Wine (Ubuntu)

1. Install wine 906 using wine, but do NOT start.

2. Copy mfc42.dll and msls31.dll to .wine/drive_c/windows/system32.

3. Add oleaut32.dll and riched20.dll to "libraries" (sometimes you may need to change the load order of both to "Native: Windows").

4. Start eSword.

Backup xorg.conf (Ubuntu 10.11)

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# Note that some configuration settings that could be done previously
# in this file, now are automatically configured by the server and settings
# here are ignored.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
Vendorname "Generic LCD Display"
Modelname "LCD Panel 1280x1024"
Horizsync 24.0 - 80.0
Vertrefresh 50.0 - 75.0
modeline "640x480@60" 25.2 640 656 752 800 480 490 492 525 -vsync -hsync
modeline "800x600@56" 36.0 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +hsync +vsync
modeline "800x600@60" 40.0 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync
modeline "1024x768@60" 65.0 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -vsync -hsync
modeline "1280x960@60" 102.1 1280 1360 1496 1712 960 961 964 994 -hsync +vsync
modeline "1280x1024@60" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
Gamma 1.0
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
Defaultdepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Virtual 1280 1024
Modes "1280x1024@60" "1280x960@60" "1024x768@60" "800x600@60" "800x600@56" "640x480@60"
EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Module"
Load "glx"
Disable "dri2"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
Option "DontZap" "False"
EndSection

Getting Madwifi Working (Ubuntu)

1.

Code:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Uncomment anything that starts with "deb". Exit by pressing "CTRL+X" then answer "Yes". Finally hit "ENTER"

2.

Code:

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

3.

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev

4.

Code:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`

5.

Code:

sudo apt-get install subversion

6.

Code:

sudo -i

7.

Code:

sudo svn checkout http://svn.madwifi-project.org/madwifi/trunk/ madwifi-ng

8.

Code:

cd madwifi-ng

9.

Code:

echo "" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

10.

Code:

echo "#Remove To Install MadWIFI Drivers" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

11.

Code:

echo "blacklist ath9k" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

12.

Code:

echo "blacklist ath5k" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

13.

Code:

make && make install

14.

Code:

echo ath_pci >> /etc/modules

Restart your machine.

*******

Kernel updates of your system will kill your driver and will require a driver recompile. Just open a terminal and type in...

Code:

sudo -i

and repeat from step 8.

Playing DVD's (Ubuntu 8.10)

Add the repositories first:

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/intrepid.list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

Then add the GPG key:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update

Then install libdvdcss2:

sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

Reinstalling GRUB

You can try re-installing the grub using the Ubuntu Live CD, in two different ways.

GUI

1. Boot your computer up with Ubuntu CD
2. Go through all the process until you reach "[!!!] Disk Partition"
3. Select Manual Partition
4. Mount your appropriate linux partions / /boot swap .....
5. DO NOT FORMAT THEM.
6. Finish the manual partition
7. Say "Yes" when it asks you to save the changes
8. It will give you errors saying that "the system couldn't install ....." after that
9. Ignore them, keep select "continue" until you get back to the Ubuntu installation menu
10. Jump to "Install Grub ...."
11. Once it is finished, just restart your computer

Command line

1. Boot your computer up with Ubuntu CD
2. Open a terminal window or switch to a tty.
3. Go SuperUser (that is, type "sudo -s"). Enter root passwords as necessary.
4. Type "grub"
5. Type "find /boot/grub/stage1". You'll get a response like "(hd0,1)". Use whatever your computer spits out for the following lines.
6. Type "root (hd0,1)", or whatever your hard disk + boot partition numbers are for Ubuntu.
7. Type "setup (hd0)", to install GRUB to MBR, or "setup (hd0,1)" or whatever your hard disk + partition nr is, to install GRUB to a partition.
8. Quit grub by typing "quit".
9. Reboot and remove the bootable CD.

Install Flash and Java Plugins - 32 Bit

To get Flash and Java working, either download flashplugin-nonfree, sun-java6-jre and sun-java-plugin through Synaptic and then restert Firefox.

Or:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin

If you need to choose between older Java installations, then type:

sudo update-alternatives --config java

...and follow the onscreen prompt.

Increase Amount of Workspaces in Compiz

System>Preferences>Compiz Config Settings Manager>General>General Options.

Desktop Size>Horizontal Virtual Size>**Change Number To Suit**