GNU/Linux every day use: Solved issues

2011-11-08T14:05:00.002+01:00

Lotus Notes fixpack in .deb traditionally produces this error:

dpkg -i ibm_lotus_notes_fixpack-8.5.2.i586.deb
dpkg: error processing ibm_lotus_notes_fixpack-8.5.2.i586.deb (--install):
parsing file '/var/lib/dpkg/tmp.ci/control' near line 2 package 'ibm-lotus-notes-fixpack':
error in Version string '8.5.2-20110323.0837_FP2': invalid character in revision number

To circumvent this error, unpack the .deb archive with:

dpkg-deb --extract which extracts the files in the package.
dpkg-deb --control which extracts the meta-data.

Edit this metadata (/DEBIAN/controls) and remove the underscore from "_FP2". Then, rebuild the package with dpkg --build .

Fixed!

Encrypted Ubuntu filesystem on a logical volume (without alternate install)

2011-11-07T19:18:00.000+01:00

Ubuntu with LVM and an encrypted filesystem does not require the Alternative installation media. It can be done via the official one.

My setup is what is usually called full-encryption (although I would not call it full, because the /boot partition is not encrypted and thus it can be backdoored by someone who has physical access to the machine). The root filesystem is located on a logical volume and encrypted (unlike in other setups and how-tos where the whole LVM is encrypted). The boot partition is on the /dev/sda3 partition; it can boot other systems where I do not want to install LVM support.

If a newly installed system does not boot after a reboot and drops out into a busybox shell, it can be because the initramfs is unable to find root partition to mount and boot the rest of the system. This is what I have done to finalize the installation:

1. Boot another system (e.g. Ubuntu from the installation media)

2. Open the new (encrypted) target Ubuntu root filesystem

(cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/vg/new cryptroot)

Of course you have not given your volume group a name like "vg" and your logical volume the name "new". (If yes... Do you like that all volume groups on your and your friend's USB drives have the same name "vg"? And do you want to have a logical volume that is old for many years but it is called "new", because you do not want to rename it?)

3. Mount it

(mount /dev/mapper/cryptroot /mnt)

4. Mount the /boot partition.

(mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/boot)

Change the device number accordingly. This is the unencrypted boot partition. Kernel image and initramfs (initrd) boot files are located here.

5. Chroot to it

(chroot /mnt)

6. Install LVM and cryptsetup

(apt-get install lvm2 cryptsetup)

Once you install these packages, they will update the initramfs automagically. That is why it is important to have the boot partition mounted.

7. Edit the file /etc/default/grub and add kernel command line options

(GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="root=/dev/mapper/cryptroot cryptopts=source=/dev/vg/new")

so that after propagating the changes (update-grub) the generated grub configuration file (/mnt/boot/grub.cfg) has the line

(linux..... root=/dev/mapper/cryptroot cryptopts=source=/dev/vg/new)

You can omit the first option if root= option gets added automatically. You could omit the latter one (until 12/2011 in Ubuntu 11.10), but if the boot drops you to a" busybox initramfs shell" with an error that it cannot find /dev/mapper/cryptroot, this might be the useful.

8. Edit /etc/fstab

(/dev/mapper/cryptroot / ext3 errors=remount-ro 0 1)

9. Enjoy!

You can comment and ask, maybe I forgot some steps that were also needed. Consider also encrypting swap.

Skype does not ring in Ubuntu

2011-06-20T10:34:00.000+02:00

Skype does not ring... More precisely, all events that display notifications fail to play sounds, but the others work fine (e.g. testing the event of "Ringing out" plays the sound).

Solution: System -> Preferences -> Sound

Pull up the Alert volume like above.

Thanks goes to http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=10084372&postcount=4

OpenVAS says 'login failed'

2011-05-31T16:41:00.001+02:00

This solution was found at

http://lists.wald.intevation.org/pipermail/openvas-discuss/2008-August/000732.html

"openvas-adduser" probably created the user directory in a different location (e.g. /usr/local/var/lib/openvas/) than the server is looking for it. It needs to moved to /var/lib/openvas.

VirtualBox: Could not find an open hard disk with UUID

2011-04-16T13:28:00.000+02:00

My VirtualBox sometimes shows a dialog box that says:

"One or more virtual hard disks, CD/DVD or floppy media are not currently accessible."

My virtual machine becomes inaccessible. Details show this error:

Could not find an open hard disk with UUID {5bad2863-64d0-40a2-a394-7442e3a6adc7}.
Result Code: VBOX_E_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND (0x80BB0001)

This happens when a snapshot is removed, then another snapshot is made and the host computer crashes (e.g. freezes during hibernation). After this, there is a reference to a non-existing HardDisk in the configuration file "~/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml". This needs to be updated with the real value. The last working situation can be found in the log file (e.g. "~/.VirtualBox/Machines/<...>/Logs/VBox.log")

00:00:01.330 [/Devices/piix3ide/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Config/] (level 6)
00:00:01.330   Format = "VDI" (cb=4)
00:00:01.330   Path   = "/data/vmware/winvm/{5bad2863-64d0-40a2-a394-7442e3a6adc7}.vdi" (cb=62)
00:00:01.330   Type   = "HardDisk" (cb=9)
00:00:01.330
00:00:01.330 [/Devices/piix3ide/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Config/Parent/] (level 7)
00:00:01.330   Format = "VDI" (cb=4)
00:00:01.330   Path   = "/data/vmware/winvm/{cd71486f-ab71-4b03-9e2e-690d7ef76b9d}.vdi" (cb=62)
00:00:01.330
00:00:01.330 [/Devices/piix3ide/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Config/Parent/Parent/] (level 8)
00:00:01.330   Format = "VDI" (cb=4)
00:00:01.330   Path   = "/data/vmware/winvm/Windows XP flexible disk.vdi" (cb=48)

This shows reliably the structure (the snapshot and its parents are listed), so it can be reconstructed by editing the XML file accordingly.

asm/io.h: No such file or directory

2011-01-18T03:51:00.000+01:00

The issue is caused by an include:

#include "asm/io.h"

Solution: Make a symlink asm -> asm-i386

Fwd: firewire_core: Unsolicited response (external HDD drive & firewire)

2011-01-06T15:05:00.001+01:00

MyBook connected through FireWire gets offline or has problems immediately after connecting:

[31061.790094] firewire_core: phy config: card 0, new root=ffc1, gap_count=5
[31069.392433] firewire_core: phy config: card 0, new root=ffc1, gap_count=5
[31071.343528] scsi16 : SBP-2 IEEE-1394
[31071.355051] scsi17 : SBP-2 IEEE-1394
[31071.355192] firewire_core: created device fw1: GUID 0090a938358b939f, S400, 3 config ROM retries
[31072.281325] firewire_sbp2: fw1.0: logged in to LUN 0000 (0 retries)
[31072.298622] scsi 16:0:0:0: Direct-Access WD My Book 1028 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[31072.304849] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] 1953525168 512-byte hardware sectors: (1.00 TB/931 GiB)
[31072.308829] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[31072.308837] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 10 00 00 00
[31072.312188] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Cache data unavailable
[31072.312194] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[31072.318472] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] 1953525168 512-byte hardware sectors: (1.00 TB/931 GiB)
[31072.322446] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[31072.322454] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 10 00 00 00
[31072.325780] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Cache data unavailable
[31072.325787] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[31072.325793] sdb: sdb1 sdb2 < sdb5 sdb6 sdb7 >
[31072.413205] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
[31072.413267] sd 16:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
[31073.708088] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Unhandled error code
[31073.708098] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Result: hostbyte=DID_BUS_BUSY driverbyte=DRIVER_OK,SUGGEST_OK
[31073.708109] end_request: I/O error, dev sdb, sector 40981815
[31073.708118] Buffer I/O error on device sdb2, logical block 0
[31073.818302] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 1)
[31073.818312] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 2)
[31073.818333] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 3)
[31073.818341] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 4)
[31073.818347] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 5)
[31073.818367] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 6)
[31073.818373] firewire_core: Unsolicited response (source ffc0, tlabel 7)
[31073.880623] firewire_sbp2: status write for unknown orb
[31075.752536] firewire_sbp2: fw1.1: logged in to LUN 0001 (0 retries)
[31075.893091] scsi 17:0:0:1: Enclosure WD My Book Device PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
[31075.896242] ses 17:0:0:1: Attached Enclosure device
[31075.896409] ses 17:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 13
[31103.989061] firewire_sbp2: fw1.0: sbp2_scsi_abort
[31113.992609] firewire_sbp2: fw1.0: sbp2_scsi_abort
[31114.000059] sd 16:0:0:0: Device offlined - not ready after error recovery
[31114.000086] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Unhandled error code
[31114.000092] sd 16:0:0:0: [sdb] Result: hostbyte=DID_BUS_BUSY driverbyte=DRIVER_OK,SUGGEST_OK
[31114.000101] end_request: I/O error, dev sdb, sector 40981878
[31114.000111] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 0
[31114.000121] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 1
[31114.000127] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 2
[31114.000133] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 3
[31114.000144] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 4
[31114.000150] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 5
[31114.000156] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 6
[31114.000163] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 7
[31114.000169] Buffer I/O error on device sdb5, logical block 8
[31114.000200] sd 16:0:0:0: rejecting I/O to offline device

This ~~seems~~ seemed to resolve the issue:

Add

KERNEL=="fw[0-9]*", NAME="%k", OWNER="root", GROUP="root", MODE="0600"

to the file

/etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules

I have to plug in the adapter, power on the MyBook with a button, then wait for a few minutes and then plug in the firewire cable.

How to download and compile mutt from source in Debian

2010-11-24T02:17:00.000+01:00

apt-get source mutt
    - nebo stáhnout

apt-get build-dep mutt
    - nainstaluje balíčky podle závislostí,
      aby šlo instalovat source balík mutt

    - kdyby to nešlo (chyba "Build-dependencies for rpm could not be satisfied"):
        - přidat za příkaz: -o Debug::pkgProblemResolver=true

configure-optiony se dávají do debian/rules

dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc

(dělal jsem to pod rootem, nevím, proč mi druhý pokus selhal - možná jsem neaplikoval patch, už ani nevím, kde se to provádí - z rozbaleného tar.gz se druhý pokus nepovedl)

* kam som dal prepínač --with:
   do debian/rules

    * v gdb:
        v debian/:
        echo decstation-ultrix >target

Dell Latitude volume keys under Debian

2010-02-22T03:26:00.001+01:00

Dell laptops have volume keys above the F-keys. This post explains how to enable them to control the volume.

First, the keys need to be recognized. One can set the right keyboard model in /etc/default/console-setup:

XKBMODEL="latitude"

Other options can be set also, e.g.:

XKBLAYOUT="us,cz"
XKBVARIANT=",qwerty"
XKBOPTIONS="lv3:ralt_switch,grp:alt_shift_toggle,grp:rwin_switch,grp:menu_toggle,grp_led:scroll"

That ensures that keys are mapped to names like "XF86AudioMute". Names can be used in the menu file, where you put commands for alsamixer to rise/lower the volume. Your menu file could be named .menu/volume-keys (explained in "Debian menu system"):

?package(alsa): needs="X11" section="Apps/Sound/Xmms commands" \
        title="Master mute" \
        shortcut="XF86AudioMute" \
        longtitle="X MultiMedia System" \
        command="amixer set Master toggle"
?package(alsa): needs="X11" section="Apps/Sound/Xmms commands" \
        title="Master up" \
        shortcut="XF86AudioRaiseVolume" \
        longtitle="X MultiMedia System" \
        command="amixer set Master 5%+"
?package(alsa): needs="X11" section="Apps/Sound/Xmms commands" \
        title="Master down" \
        shortcut="XF86AudioLowerVolume" \
        longtitle="X MultiMedia System" \
        command="amixer set Master 5%-"

Run update-menus and refresh your window manager. Finished.

By choosing the right keyboard model, following lines are applied, which should already be present somewhere in /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols:

    key    { [ XF86AudioMute         ] };
    key    { [ XF86AudioLowerVolume ] };
    key    { [ XF86AudioRaiseVolume ] };

Firefox displays blank Alert and ssl is disabled

2009-06-13T12:03:00.000+02:00

I've got error "ssl_error_ssl_disabled" (Firefox cannot connect securely because the SSL protocol is disabled).

During start, there was always a blank / empty Alert box. That was probably "Could not initialize the browser's security component."

Solution: Moved cert8.db file from another profile (you can also delete it).

WindowMaker launching another instance from dockbar

2009-03-06T02:36:00.002+01:00

For launching another instance of an application by clicking on the icon in the dock, hold down Ctrl.

I have two xterm apps in the dockbar, one for a todo-list and one for "done" (aka knowledge base):

xterm -class UXTerm -title done -u8 -g 50x40 -e vim /z/txt/txtcvs/done -c $

xterm -class UXTerm -title todo -u8 -g 50x40 -e vim -O /z/txt/txtcvs/todo -S /z/.vim/todo-macros.vim

If xterm is running, it is impossible to launch "todo" without Ctrl. Or you can run more instances of e.g. Firefox by this...

nmap script engine aborting

2009-03-02T00:03:00.002+01:00

Nmap 4.68 from debian repository is missing required files.

Workaround: Download the tarball and copy nselib/ to /usr/share/nmap, as written here:

http://www.nabble.com/Bug-495054:-module-'comm'-not-found-td18980885.html

cron not running commands

2009-02-11T17:12:00.003+01:00

crontab was not working. Silently, not running the command, not writing anything to /var/log/cron. You can check the syntax of your crontab using:

# crontab /etc/crontab "/etc/crontab":16: bad minute errors in crontab file, can't install.

The problem was in splitting command into more lines using backslash \ at the end of each line.

Simple workaround: Put it on one line.

Do not forget also that the minute column is right to the hour column.

jUnit / jMock: error in opening zip file

2009-01-28T21:36:00.008+01:00

I was getting an exception using jUnit / jMock tests together with Ant:

[junit] java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file
[junit] at java.util.zip.ZipFile.open(Native Method)
[junit] at java.util.zip.ZipFile.(ZipFile.java:114)
[junit] at java.util.zip.ZipFile.(ZipFile.java:131)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader.getResourceURL(AntClassLoader.java:1028)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader$ResourceEnumeration.findNextResource(AntClassLoader.java:147)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader$ResourceEnumeration.(AntClassLoader.java:109)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader.findResources(AntClassLoader.java:975)
[junit] at java.lang.ClassLoader.getResources(ClassLoader.java:1016)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.junit.JUnitTask.checkForkedPath(JUnitTask.java:1126)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.junit.JUnitTask.executeAsForked(JUnitTask.java:1013)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.junit.JUnitTask.execute(JUnitTask.java:834)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.junit.JUnitTask.executeOrQueue(JUnitTask.java:1785)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.junit.JUnitTask.execute(JUnitTask.java:785)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.UnknownElement.execute(UnknownElement.java:288)
[junit] at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
[junit] at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
[junit] at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
[junit] at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.dispatch.DispatchUtils.execute(DispatchUtils.java:106)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Task.perform(Task.java:348)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Target.execute(Target.java:357)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Target.performTasks(Target.java:385)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Project.executeSortedTargets(Project.java:1337)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Project.executeTarget(Project.java:1306)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.helper.DefaultExecutor.executeTargets(DefaultExecutor.java:41)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Project.executeTargets(Project.java:1189)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Main.runBuild(Main.java:758)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.Main.startAnt(Main.java:217)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.launch.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:257)
[junit] at org.apache.tools.ant.launch.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:104)

Solution:

Use

<path id="classpath.run.tests">
<pathelement location="." />
</path>

instead of

    <path id="classpath.run.tests">
        <fileset dir=".">
            <include name="*.class" />
        </fileset>
    </path>

The explanation.

Splitting vim vertically

2007-03-26T16:18:00.000+02:00

You want vim to split vertically?

Solution: :vsplit [filename]

Or you can run vim from command line with option -O,

example: vim -O ~/todo ~/done

CVS overwrites $Revision, $Id in my data

2007-03-22T03:45:00.000+01:00

I imported my spam-filter project into CVS also with mails it is testing on.

It modified my mails undesirably, where "$Revision" or "$Id" occurred.

Solution: cvs import -ko

I typed cvs import -ko -m "Imported all files" z/rp z start, where the option -ko turns all substitions off.

More in http://ximbiot.com/cvs/manual/cvs-1.12.13/cvs_12.html#SEC102