Ubuntu is a Linux distribution with an emphasis on ease of use and installation. Note that http://askubuntu.com is specifically dedicated to Ubuntu questions.
28
votes
11answers
20k views
How can I get distribution name and version number in a simple shell script?
I'm working on a simple bash script that should be able to run on Ubuntu and CentOS distributions (support for Debian and Fedora/RHEL would be a plus) and I need to know the name and version of the ...
17
votes
2answers
6k views
How do I run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit Ubuntu?
I have a 64-bit (amd64 a.k.a. x86_64) Debian or Ubuntu installation. I need to run 32-bit (i386/i686) programs occasionally, or to compile programs for a 32-bit system. How can I do this with a ...
4
votes
2answers
4k views
How to install program locally without sudo privileges?
Assume I have ssh access to some Ubuntu server as user and I need some not system tools to be installed for convenience (mc, rtorrent, mcedit). I do not want to bother admins for these small programs. ...
9
votes
2answers
4k views
How do I prevent GRUB from using/starting any graphical UI?
I have a problem with an older Laptop (Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook S6010, to be precise) and an Ubuntu (10.10, Xubuntu desktop) installation (fresh install).
During installation the graphics hardware ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Why is screen seemingly doing nothing with commands passed with -X?
I've been trying to set up an automated backup system for a minecraft server, and I'm having trouble with screen, specifically when using 'screen -r sessionname -X "/var/minecraft/somebatchfile"', ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Howto find my xorg.conf. Where is it?
I can't find my xorg.conf.
There is no xorg.conf file by default in Ubuntu 11.04.
If I run: "whereis xorg.conf" I am seeing: xorg: /usr/lib/xorg /usr/lib64/xorg /usr/include/xorg
may be I just can ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Why won't my xmodmap command run on startup/login?
I want to run this command every time I log in (or every time I start up, if that doesn't work): xmodmap -e 'keysym Delete = Menu' -e 'keysym Menu = Delete'
I've tried many things. I put the command ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
What does a kernel source tree contain? Is this related to Linux kernel headers?
In books, I typically read references to the Linux Source Tree at /usr/src/linux with the usual set of subdirectories (arch, block, crypto, ...).
I was expecting this tree to contain the binary files ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
How do I migrate configuration between computers with different hardware?
I want to migrate the configuration of an Ubuntu desktop to a new box with different hardware. What is the easiest way to do this? /etc/ contains machine and hardware specific settings so I can't just ...
2
votes
4answers
2k views
Ctrl+C does not work in gnome-terminal
On my Linux host, Ctrl+C does not seem to work and I do not know how to proceed to make it work. I am using Ubuntu 10.04 with bash 4.1.5(1), and working in Gnome-terminal.
When I pressed Ctrl+C while ...
18
votes
6answers
10k views
How to copy text from vim to an external program?
I'm trying to copy-paste some text from vim. I'm doing v to enter visual mode, then y once I selected my block.
It appears to copy the text into vim's clipboard, because p will paste it.
But in ...
13
votes
6answers
11k views
Create services in Linux (Start up in linux)
I need one process run before log in to system. how to run it like services?(how do I make services in Linux?)
in Ubuntu and Fedora ?
the service is customized tomcat
23
votes
1answer
6k views
What is $debian_chroot in .bashrc?
What is the debian_chroot variable in my bashrc file? and what is it doing here?
PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w\$ '
12
votes
3answers
3k views
bulk rename (or correctly display) files with special characters
I have a bunch of directories and subdirectories that contain files with special characters, like this file:
robbie@phil:~$ ls test�sktest.txt
test?sktest.txt
Find reveals an escape sequence:
...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
'mv' equivalent of drag and drop with replace?
In a GUI environment, a drag-and-drop with replace will replace files and entire directories (including contents) with whatever is being copied in. Is there a way to accomplish this same intuitive ...
11
votes
6answers
1k views
Is there a root password on OS X and Ubuntu?
When you setup a new Ubuntu or OS X installation a user is generally created for you. On OS X it is whatever username you pick. On Ubuntu (the server version) usually the ubuntu user is created.
The ...
11
votes
3answers
280 views
What specific vulnerabilities am I creating by disabling the sudo password?
Here are some instructions on how to disable your sudo password. These carry the following warning
If you disable the sudo password for your account, you will seriously compromise the security of ...
3
votes
4answers
2k views
How to make an Ubuntu time zone change stick?
I'd like to reset the timezone through editing /etc/timezone. However, after I am done editing and save the file, the system time would not change accordingly.
On the other hand, when I take ...
2
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I resize a partition in Ubuntu linux without losing data?
I ran out of space in my on the drive only to find that there was another unformatted partition in the system that is available. I now want to resize the current partition to take in the empty ...
1
vote
2answers
8k views
Auto running bash script on login
I wanted to make a script which ran automatically on login so I put it into the file ~/bash.profile, but it didnt run. When I put it in bashrc, it ran on opening a terminal.
What I was doing in the ...
4
votes
1answer
756 views
Evince fails to start because it cannot read .Xauthority
I'm logged in remotely over SSH with X forwarding to a machine running Ubuntu 10.04 (lucid). Most X11 applications (e.g. xterm, gnome-terminal) work fine. But Evince does not start. It seems unable to ...
4
votes
2answers
273 views
Powertop strange results
I have installed Ubuntu 11.04 and battery life decreased by 2 times. Powertop documentation says that there should be 3 wakeups per second, I have 800-900. I think it's very strange because I didn't ...
4
votes
1answer
136 views
equivalent to Ubuntu's apport-bug in Fedora or Mint?
What is the Fedora equivalent to the Ubuntu command apport-bug to submit bug reports?
In Ubuntu, one can use:
apport-bug <package-name>
For example:
apport-bug xorg
To submit bug reports ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
install firefox in ubuntu-server edition
I have ubuntu server edition installed and I want to install firefox inside it , I don't want full ubuntu-desktop package just a minimal setup which would let me run firefox inside ubuntu-server 10.04 ...
3
votes
2answers
5k views
Firmware for wireless card on Ubuntu/Debian?
This is a follow up to my previous question about Debian support for Linksys Wusb600n. I have tried running the Ubunut/Xubuntu LiveCDs and the WiFi does not come up.
The Gnome Network Manager menu ...
3
votes
1answer
615 views
Under Ubuntu, how do I set a static IP for firewire?
I am using Ubuntu 10.10 on my laptop, which connects to our network wirelessly. Since it sits on my desk next to my desktop, I have a private network between the two using a firewire cable, because ...
2
votes
4answers
256 views
Strange file ownership with Ubuntu
Normally we know when we create one file in Linux, the file's owner and group will set with the creator. For example, I have one user, usera, after I execute
usera@srv1:$touch 1.txt
I will find the ...
2
votes
2answers
617 views
Why won't my X Server won't start as a regular user?
X won't start on my main machine. I can start it as root, but then it only logs me in as root -- I can't use my regular user account. When I start up, it flashes a black screen, then hangs at ...
2
votes
0answers
555 views
power management of USB-enclosed hard drives [closed]
With a typical USB hard drive enclosure, is the full range of drive power management functionality available?
edit: moved this into a separate question:
In what may be an unrelated matter: is it ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Install Backtrack 5 r2 into running LUKS setup installed with ubuntu
One Harddisk (sda)
Two Partions. With a working ubuntu running.
1) /boot
2) LVM with this virtual volumes/partions/ or whatever they are called inside:
Swap
Ubuntu
Home
Prepared for Backtrack
Of ...
1
vote
1answer
593 views
Why does “xdg-open” fail although “xdg-mime query defaut ” succeeds on Ubuntu 10.10?
On Ubuntu 10.10, xdg-open fails to open the file and give me the error:
No application is registered as handling this file
But xdg-mime query defaut ... succeeds for the mime type. Why?
Here is ...
1
vote
2answers
602 views
restore suse grub
I upgraded my ubuntu and that resulted in its grub loader being used. I have a triboot of windows, ubuntu and suse. I prefer the suse bootloader which I was using before the ubuntu updates. I would ...
-2
votes
0answers
50 views
zero downtime on the server [closed]
Can anybody provide me some info about any application which is used for zero downtime on the server or else which could work as a cluster but without any downtime.
The application should switch to ...
9
votes
6answers
3k views
Ubuntu list explicitly installed packages
In Gentoo there is the file /var/lib/portage/world that contains packages that I explicitly installed. By explicit I mean, packages that I choose, not including anything installed by default, or ...
16
votes
7answers
9k views
Differences between Debian and Ubuntu
I'm getting sick of Ubuntu's seemingly random changes. I'm thinking of switching to Debian permanently. Does anyone know if there's a list of changes between the two distros somewhere? I want to know ...
7
votes
5answers
3k views
Dual monitors and panels
I have a question with regard to a multiple monitor setup.
I'm currently primarily a Windows user, but I've been running Ubuntu in dual boot to get a feel for it. The one thing I find lacking that ...
11
votes
1answer
383 views
How to prevent shutdown when an SSH user is logged in?
I'm administrating a networked environment and I had an interesting situation arise yesterday. When a host is required to shutdown by a regular user, it refuses to do so if other users are logged in ...
8
votes
2answers
504 views
How do I log into my Linux laptop if I have forgotten both the login and password?
How do I log into my Linux laptop if I have forgotten both the username and password?
13
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I de-fragment a drive using Ubuntu?
Is it necessary to defrag drives in Ubuntu? If so, how do I do it and how often should it be done?
12
votes
2answers
5k views
What is the proper way to manage multiple python versions?
I have a machine with Python 2.6 installed as the default Python. Then, I installed Python 2.7, and manually created /usr/bin/python as a symlink to the new installation.
Then, I was running into ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Ubuntu Server Continuously “goes to sleep”
I am running a web server at home using Ubuntu 11.4 (maybe? I can't 100% recall) on an older AMD 2400+ desktop with 1 or 2 GB of RAM. Sorry I can't recall the details 100%.
Anyway, I have a KVM ...
4
votes
2answers
6k views
How to get back sudo on Ubuntu?
I have done this:
sudo chown -R myname /usr/
and now I can't use the sudo command because of this error:
sudo: must be setuid root
And as I read this means that the owner of this file ...
3
votes
2answers
736 views
best practice to backup config files
I want to setup froxlor on not fresh install remote server (Ubuntu 10.04.2).
I take care of admin the server since two month. Before I start, the previous guy installed and config some services and ...
2
votes
3answers
681 views
Why does the adduser command behave surprisingly?
I see various examples of how to add a user on Ubuntu server
I have Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS
I was logged in as root and, when running adduser, my SSH command line asked me for both a 'new password' AND ...
12
votes
4answers
6k views
How can I play a sound when script execution is ready?
I am executing every now and then some python scripts which take quite long to execute.
I execute them like this:
$ time python MyScript.py
How can I play a sound as soon as the execution of the ...
8
votes
2answers
8k views
Mouse clicks stop working after random time, using Awesome WM + Gnome
I'm using the Awesome Window Manager together with Gnome in Linux Mint. I experience the following problem several times a day:
Suddenly the mouse partially stops working, which means that I'm still ...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
Ubuntu12.04: How to disable a daemon process at startup
I normally use service start/stop or initctl start/stop to start or stop a daemon process but now what I am looking for is to disable a daemon process from starting at startup example mysqld.
...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Installation date of Ubuntu
How can I determine when Ubuntu was installed in my computer? There was a different question posted here, but none of them is helpful.
5
votes
3answers
389 views
Suspending my laptop breaks ethernet over firewire, are there commands which can fix it?
As mentioned in this question I am using a firewire cable to provide a private network between my laptop and my desktop, because it makes using the screen sharing program synergy much nicer than using ...
4
votes
3answers
642 views
Performing accurate snapshot and incremental backups to a remote server
I have a few Ubuntu (and potentially RHEL) servers I'd like to back up to a central backup server (via rsh/SSH). I'd like to do both snapshot and incremental backups. The goal is that if one of the ...
