Ubuntu & Virtualbox

Creating a shortcut on my desktop...

2010-11-28T06:18:00.000-08:00

The easiest way if you use gnome is a simple drag&drop with the middle click through nautilus

tip from HERE

enjoy!

Remove all settings for Evolution

2010-07-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

it turns out my evolution emails were hogging up alot of my hard drive space so I wanted to start all over, cause it was set up wrong and all the emails were junk anyways.

here's what I did ...

If you ever want to delete your entire Evolution account, history, configuration, settings, etc and start over from scratch, here’s how to do it:

Back up all of your files first (of course).
$ rm -rf ~/.evolution
$ rm -rf ~/.gconf/apps/evolution
$ evolution --force-shutdown

Find the process id for ‘gconfd’ and kill it:
$ ps -ef|grep gconfd
yourusername 30515 1 0 13:24 ? 00:00:00 /usr/libexec/gconfd-2 12
$ kill 30515

Restart Evolution and you should be prompted to set up your account.

THANK YOU for this site telling me how

Removing junk files from ubuntu TIPS

2010-06-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Updates are probably the biggest contributor to your HD usage, with your Trashcan coming a close second.

To prevent the former causing future problems, use the setting in Synaptic Package Manager:
Settings -> Preferences
Files tab
Delete downloaded packages after installation

Or manually clear the packages each time with

Code:

sudo apt-get clean

For Trash, just ensure you empty it from time to time.

karmic upgrade to lucid

2010-05-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

well, I wanted to try the new Lucid Linx 10.04. I did the upgrade through the upgrade manager.

it took a total of about 5 hours for downloading and installing. I grew old though it LOL.

Then I had a small panic when it was done. The dual boot of windows and ubuntu on the grub menu did not allow me to go to windows vista. ARGGGG

then I found the solution here

Solution

You can repair the boot sector of Windows system partition via "fixboot" from a Windows XP CD, or "bootrect /fixboot" from a Windows Vista/7 CD. But in my experience testdisk works best in this situation. So boot into a Linux OS or Live CD. If your system uses "apt-get" and has "testdisk" in its repositories (in Ubuntu: the universe repository needs to be enabled), you can install and run testdisk via

   sudo apt-get install testdisk
 sudo testdisk

or you can download the tar.bz2 file of the newest version from testdisk to your desktop and install and run it via

  cd ~/Desktop
tar -xvf testdisk-*linux*.tar.bz2
sudo testdisk-*/linux/testdisk_static

In either case:

  First   screen:  Select "No Log" and press enter.
Second  screen:  Select the hard drive containing  the Windows system partition and  choose "proceed".
Third   screen:  "intel"
Fourth  screen:  "advanced",
Fifth   screen:  Select the Windows system partition  and choose "boot"
Sixth   screen:  "BackupBS"
Seventh screen:  type "Y" to confirm

then press "q" a few times to quit testdisk, reboot and see whether you can boot into Windows. If the sixth screen did not have a "BackupBS" tab, it usually means that the original and backup boot sector are identical, and you are probably suffering from a different problem. But it could also mean that your backup boot sector is corrupted, in which case you will of to use "fixboot" from a Windows CD to repair the boot sector.

After you fixed the Windows boot sector, you might have to update the Grub Menu. For Grub 2 just run

  sudo update-grub

in your Linux OS. For Legacy grub you might have manually edit /boot/grub/menu.lst

----------

the testdisk worked without me having to do the grub update or anything

I really like Lucid Linx so far, glad I upgraded!

hdmi ubuntu

2010-05-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

well, I switched from vga to hdmi for my dual boot ubuntu with virtual box.

the road wasn't easy and it is still in progress.

I installed the latest drivers and alsamixer
pulse audio will not work with digital sound

seems like I am fine but with no sound.

my fault though, I didn't plug the sound from the video card to the motherboard.

I will be doing that tomorrow and let you know if I have sound.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

2010-04-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

OMG, I got the dreaded UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error BSOD on migrated Win XP vbox ... and you can hardly tell what it is as it hangs in a loop, not booting to windows or safe mode, just starting over and over with half a second on the BSOD.

I even tried to pause at that point but couldn't.

I had a hirens cd I could boot to, but no fixes in there.

using my xp cd and booting up with the Windows installation CD, then press "r" for recovery mode, then using chkdsk /r ... worked for me

TOOK FOREVER, 21 gb of space was 3 hours ish

I spent a while trying other things that did not work first.

I knew I had to do this because I locked up while moving a huge file, so it was reading and writing when I did an improper shutdown, had to power off cause it froze. MY BAD

Now I am going to make a snapshot of this while it is working and try to load that next time I ever have another problem.

Phew, made it though another day of f'n computers. LOL

firefox uninterruptible

2010-04-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOODNESS

firefox has been a pain in my rump. I think my profile got corrupted so it kept greying out and saying firefox uninterruptible and firefox was already started bs message

I tried all these

firefox -safe-mode
still would not start

I uninstalled firefox and reinstalled it through my synaptics package manager

it still wouldn't start

gksudo firefox ... only though this command line it started

firefox -ProfileManager so I created a new profile and all seems good now, with the updated namoroka on ubuntu

Lesson learned: back up the dang profile

THIS PAGE HELPED ME

PS, I should have backed up earlier as it was greying out every so often getting slowly worse ... up to the point where it wouldn't start at all

3.1.4 to 3.1.6 virtualbox

2010-04-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

Virtualbox told me there is an update available!!

I clicked the link it gave me in the message and installed it.

Then I had to go to "devices" within my OS in the virtual box and update guest editions

voila ... done

sudo apt-get upgrade

2010-04-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

Upgrade Packages: Over time, updated versions of packages currently installed on your computer may become available from the package repositories (for example security updated). To upgrade your system, first update your package with

sudo apt-get update

and then type:

sudo apt-get upgrade

https://help.ubuntu.com/

Maintaining the system

2010-04-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Maintaining the system

There is usually no need to do any defrag or disk clean up, unless you are in dire need of extra harddisk space. You can run:

Code:

sudo apt-get autoclean

to clean out old packages.

There is no need to defrag unless you have a fat32 partition lying around. There is no need to check for virus.

You can clean out your browser's cookies and cache.

Also

Ubuntu defaults to checking the root file system every 30 boots.

If you want to Make it check and reboot presently

sudo shutdown -r -F now

.ods "add to panel"

2010-04-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've been going crazy trying to add a launcher to the ubuntu panel. I wanted a spreadsheet file there.

after weeks of looking, I FOUND THE ANSWER ... how to add a spreadsheet file to the launcher panel

Try this:

Code:

ooffice -calc filename

Replace 'filename' with the location and name of the spreadsheet.

Enter password for default keyring to unlock

2010-03-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

Enter password for default keyring to unlock in evolution mail, was driving me crazy. This happened to me after importing all my accounts on a fresh install. I don't know how or why.

I found the cure HERE

but this fixed it ...

Help to setup evolution.

Same thing happened to me when I changed my Login password. Go to
Menu > Accessories > Password & Encryption Keys, open the Passwords tab right click on 'passwords default entry' & change the password.

“Firefox is already running” error

2010-03-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

How to fix “Firefox is already running” error

I’ve been using Linux for a while but not too familiar with all the linux commands – I prefer the GUI so I go to the System Administration tab in my menu, then system monitor – you can easily find and kill any bad processes here.

ubuntu disk space check

2010-02-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Using df -h command

The df command displays information about total space and available space on a file system.

OR

Install Discuss in Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install discus

and press enter this will complete installation after this if you want to use discus check the following example

Discus Example

Ubuntu definitely deserves a little effort -- it will deliver rewards that can’t be imagined.

My Computer Icon In Ubuntu

2010-01-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

open a terminal and enter...

gconf-editor

in the window that opens click the arrow next to apps then scroll down to nautilus and click that arrow then click the desktop folder in the window there should be an option to show home folder check it and you're set.

virtualbox update

2010-01-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

today virtual box says:
a new version has been released and gave me a .deb download link.

wish me luck

I'm going to open with: gdebi package installer

4 minutes later i can install package, all dependencies are satisfied ...

oops have to close virtual box and try install again

all done
that was easy.

then I did

Alt-F2, type:
Code:

xkill

to stop the package installer that wouldn't close from the first install try when virtual box was still open

and that worked too

woo hoo easy p'cheezy

I LOVE UBUNTU

Ubuntu ctrl-alt-del

2010-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

ok, a few times my system has locked up, not sure why. I thought I had heard ctrl-alt-backspace was like windows ctrl-alt-del, but the last few times it has done nothing. Probably because Such a key combo used to exist but Ubuntu devs removed it (ctrl+alt+backspace)
... which I just found out.

So, today I looked up what to do if this happens again.

Alt+PrintScreen+r+e+s+i+u+b
hold the alt/printscreen together while you cycle threw resiub
while cycling threw the letters hold each one up to 5 sec
This works for a total Freeze

My question is how will I remember that? LOL

OR

Also, you can use alt/prtscrn/k to do the same thing. Some times you don't need to do a whole restart, which alt/prtsrcn/rseiub will do. Just doing the "k" will restart x without rebooting.

OR

Alt-F2, type:
Code:

xkill

and click on the offending app. You can also kill or end processes through the System Monitor.

Let's just hope I can remember these when I need toLOL

Laters

compiz

2009-12-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to compiz from my buddy at work before Christmas vacation. It looked really cool and he was kind enough to instruct me how to install it.

What is compiz?
Compiz is one of the first compositing window managers for the X Window System that uses 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. The effects, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace are implemented as loadable plugins. Because it conforms to the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual standard, Compiz can substitute for the default Metacity in GNOME or KWin in KDE.

How to install it?
To install from terminal:

sudo apt-get install compiz compizconfig-settings-manager

To make active for the current session without having to reboot:
press Cntl-F2 and type

compiz --replace

It may take a moment, but all will be well. To activate the side-by-side flat display, hold Alt+Cntrl and press the down arrow key.

I'm still getting used to it, but I like it! Special thanks to my buddy Ray for the tip and the help.

external drive permissions

2009-12-15T16:31:00.001-08:00

Well, today I finally brought home my external drive and plugged in the usb. Ubuntu saw it no problem, but told me I couldn't do anything with my ext3 partition due to lack of permissions.

HMMM ... again back to the ubuntu forum LOL

I saw a post saying:
You have to change the permissions of the mount point, /media/XXXXX, with the chmod command. OK, let's try it.

sudo chmod 777 /media/XXXXX/

I typed it in a terminal window and low and behold ... I now have permissions.

FUN FUN FUN .... wooo hooo

laters folks

Ubuntu Desktop Workspaces

2009-12-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

I've just discovered something I'm going to LOVE in Ubuntu ...

Ubuntu Desktop Workspaces

The Ubuntu GNOME desktop supports multiple desktop workspaces (these are essentially individual screens which the user can switch between to avoid having to have all applications cluttered onto one screen). Switching between workspaces is achieved by clicking on the workspaces in the bottom desktop panel. The image below shows the panel from a desktop with two workspaces:
By default, Ubuntu configures two workspaces. To increase the number of available workspaces, right click with the mouse on the workspace control (as shown above) in the panel and select Preferences. Simply increase the Number of workspaces value to the desired number.

Vista Home Premium & Virtualbox

2009-12-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

I use Vista Home Premium on my virtualbox. I read many posts saying this was not allowed per Vista Home Premium EULA. I would like to clear this up.

Any virtualized computer is considered a computer. With that being said, yes, this is true ...

Vista Home Premium EULA
You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system.

With Microsoft Windows Vista, the original shipping of the operating system did not provide for virtualization of the operating system.

BUT ... After the release of Service Pack 1, Microsoft Windows Vista is now covered under virtualization.

Read more: For consumers, Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Home Premium are now licensed for use in a virtual machine environment, and the updated SP1 and Supplemental end-user license agreement for each product by language version is available at http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/useterms/default.aspx

4. USE WITH VIRTUALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES. You may use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system on the licensed device.

Map a Network Drive in Virtualbox

2009-12-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Today, through the virtualbox, I decided to share a folder on a computer that can share files or folders of data over a Local Area Network (LAN).

What I did was right click on my Computer on the virtualbox and go to Map Network Drive ...

Once a new Map Network Drive window pops up, it will ask you to choose a drive letter. There will be a drop down list that will show you which drives are available. You might notice that if you already have mapped drives, they will be indicated by a shared folder name that is seen inside the drop down list corresponding to the drive letter.

Now you selected the folder to map from the drop down list or by it's path \\server\share\

I had to use the path because it didn't show up on a drop down list. But once I did that, I was able to connect to the network shared folder no problem.

Ubuntu Basic System Maintenance

2009-12-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

I was curious what if anything was needed to be done and looked this up.

Basic System Maintenance?
Ubuntu checks the file system and hard drive every 30th boot, and doesn't require defragmentation. All ports are closed and hidden by default, so network attacks are rarely an issue. There are very very few viruses/malware/whatever for linux, and the likelihood of them infecting you is slim unless you do it on purpose.

How sweet is that?

ubuntu and virutalbox shared folder

2009-12-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I just hit a snag and needed to get a windows Vista file to be seen in Ubuntu. So I had to look up how to share a folder with Ubuntu and Virtualbox.

I DID IT!!! WOOO HOOO ... this is how:

virtualbox shared folders ....? Guest:OS Host:Ubuntu

On UBUNTU side:
Start settings in virtualbox, go to shared folders and browse to the folder you want to share

On Windows Vista side:

-first Install Guest Additions. (I already had done this before so I didn't need to do it now.) It is under the Devices menu on VirtualBox
-add which folder you want to share from Shared Folders option on Virtualbox
-open My Network Places on Windows OS click to View workgroup computers
(it can be different if you changed the default network name)
-look down to links with the header Other Places
-you will see Microsoft Windows Network.Click it
-you will see the Entire Network link and click it
-look at the page you will see VirtualBox Shared Folder

it was easy

Top Five Packages To Install

2009-12-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

TOP 5: My Top Five Packages To Install (so far, in no particular order)

VLC Media Player
Restricted extras
SeaMonkey Suite (for the wysiwyg html editor)
Sun Virtualbox (plus Vista)
todo list

ctrl-alt-del equivalent in Ubuntu

2009-12-12T09:46:00.000-08:00

There are many, many equivalents ...

ctrl + alt + backspace

or

Use the Force Quit Button on the panels. If you right click the panel, choose Add to Panel, and search for "force quit". Then you will have a clever little button you can press to kill any misbehaving application.

or

use Alt+F2, equivelent of the run command in windows ... then type xkill and click the program i want killed.

Ubuntu vs Windows as an OS

2009-12-12T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now you ask, why would anyone want to use Ubuntu vs Windows?

Here are some of my favorite top reasons stated by Ubuntu users:

Basically freedom. You have freedom to do whatever you want with Linux. When a new version of Ubuntu comes out, you won't have to pay for the upgrade. There is no professional version with more feature that costs. No ActiveX or registry, which is enough for me.
no viruses, adware, spyware... whatever all that is called you don't need to reinstall, just keep upgrading. at least debian based distros such as ubuntu stability. it just _is_ more stable. ... and once you know more about linux, you'll realise that you can tweak it as you want it, customize it to your needs. ... plus you don't support an unethical monopolistic company.
Lots of free software that can be easily installed without clicking through a lot of dialogs and accepting the weirdest license agreements.
Less pollution...More security...
Security and peace of mind are my big things. I know how to protect myself in Windows and all that, but all that crap not even being an issue anymore is pretty darn nice.
Open-source, stability, library, security, speed, customization, and reliability. I can think of a lot more, but these are some general points.

A good thing to have for me? Yes. A good thing for everybody? No. To be perfectly honest, I don't think Ubuntu is for everybody. ... if you don't like Linux, use something else.

Install Google Chrome for Ubuntu

2009-12-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

Today I installed Google Chrome on my Ubuntu at home.

Google Chrome for Linux is available as a development release. It is still classified "unstable", but I use it at home, and it works fine. I have been using it on my Ubuntu work machine and haven't had any problems with it at all yet.
Here is the link

greyed out thumb drive in virtualbox

2009-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hi,

So what happened today was I tried to use my diskgo thumb drive in my vista virtualbox on ubuntu and it was greyed out.

I found how to fix that on the ubuntu forum (thanks again ubuntu forum) ... worked like a charm!

I did this:

In the host (Karmic 9.10 for example), System->Administration->Users and Groups
Click on the Keys Icon (to right of Help) and give your password.
Select (highlight) your normal user line (the one with /home/xxx)
Click Manage Groups.
In the Groups settings List Box, navigate down to vboxusers
With vboxusers high lighted, click properties
Click the check box next to your normal user to indicate you want the normal user to be a member of the vboxusers group.
reboot the host.

12/7/09 I switched to Ubuntu

2009-12-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

I made the switch on Dec 7th. I was going to set up dual boot first, but I really love playing online texas holdem that runs better in windows. I know, use wine ...

Well, I tried that with my dual boot at first and it really wasn't good at running the program.

I was reading how to fix this problem at the Ubuntu forums when I saw a post saying, "just use virtualbox"

I went investigating futher and thought I would give it a try. As of today, I have everything up and running. Ubuntu 9.10 karmic koala with a virtualbox running vista on a 2gb dell xps laptop.

So far so good, I played poker tonight and it played very nicely. I did trim down the vista in the virtual box to use the least resources possible.

But, I am loving my new set up so far. I thought I would make this blog to share my Ubuntu/Virtualbox experiences.

Leave a post and share yours.

Getting Started With Ubuntu

2009-12-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is an operating system built by a worldwide team of expert developers. It contains all the applications you need: a web browser, office suite, media apps, instant messaging and much more.

Ubuntu is an open-source alternative to Windows and Office. The first Ubuntu version was released in October 2004.

What does Ubuntu mean?

Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

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