Debian GNU/Linux Desktop Survival Guide http://survivor.sarovar.

org/

GNU/Linux Desktop
Survival Guide
by Graham Williams
Desktop Survival 6 View Survival Search

Debian GNU/Linux Desktop Survival

Guide

This book is Copyright and is made available in the hope that it serves as a useful
resource for users of GNU/Linux in general and Debian in particular. The procedures
and applications presented in this book have been included for their instructional value.
They have been tested but are not guaranteed for any particular purpose. The publisher,
Togaware.com, does not offer any warranties or representations, nor does it accept any
liabilities with respect to the programs and applications.

This book is a work in progress. Please send comments, suggestions, updates, and
criticisms to Graham.Williams@togaware.com.

A PDF version of this book is available for purchase for a small fee from
http://www.togaware.com (to help cover costs). The HTML version is available from
http://www.togaware.com/linux/survivor/ and http://survivor.sarovar.org/ and is an
open source project to which others are invited to contribute.

In a world without walls and fences, who needs windows or gates?

Printed November 12, 2005

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Copyright © 1995-2005 by Graham Williams

This document is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version
2 or later (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), or under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, version 2.0 or later
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), at your option. Permission is granted to
copy and distribute this work, with or without modification, in any medium, provided this
copyright notice and notice of any changes is attached.

ISBN 0-9757109-1-5

Contents
Preface
Advocacy
Linux and Open Standards Adopters
Freedom
Usability
Reliability
Security
Developerability
Business Case
Software Licensing
Reliability and Quality
Incremental change
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

History: Unix, GNU, Gnome

Unix
GNU
Linux
Gnome
General Resources
Books
Internet

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Distributions
Debian GNU/Linux Distributions
Debian GNU/Linux Distributors
Advantages of the Debian Distribution
Debian Distributions
Debian Packages
Debian Releases
Naming The Releases
Recording Your Choice
Other Flavours
Package Basics
Debian on CD
Download the CD Image
Jigdo: Build CD-ROM Images
Obtain The Debian Pseudo-Image Kit
Listing of CD Image Contents
Download Debian Packages
CD-ROM Packages from APT
Other Distributions
Moving From Red Hat

Installation
Quick Start
LiveCD Install
Quick Debian Install
Booting from CD/DVD
System Install
Account Configuration
Applications
Hardware Compatibility
Getting the Installation Media
Floppy Distribution
CD or DVD ROM Distribution
Boot
Booting from Floppy with USB

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SPARCStation Boot
BIOS Not Supporting CD-ROM
Installation
Debian Install
Base Install
Language
Networking
Partitions
Reboot and User Accounts
Package Selections
EMail: Setup Exim
Finished
Installing Packages
Update To Newest Distribution
Upgrade
New Packages
Resources
Books

Basic Survival
Basic Linux
File and Directory Protections
Background Jobs
System Information

Wajig: Packages and Administration

History: Motivations For Wajig
Installing Wajig
The Basic Debian Tools
Wajig Overview
Getting Started with SUDO
Package Maintenance
Available Packages
Finding Packages
Installing Packages
Upgrading Packages

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Removing Packages
Reconfigure Packages
Logging The Installation
Checking What's Changed Before Installing
Installing Alien Packages
Putting Packages on Hold
Keeping Things Tidy
Building Packages
Building Packages from Source
Build Architecture Optimised Packages
Pinning Distributions
Setting Default Applications
Bugs
Managing Daemons or Services
Alternative Applications
Package Archives
Local Cache
Historic Packages
Maintaining a Distribution Archive
Local Debian Package Cache
Tips and Tricks
Using wajig as a Filter
Synchronising Two Installations
Package Archive Signatures

Audio
Audio Setup
Sound Drivers
Setting Up Your Audio Chip
Audio Not Working
Duplex Mixing
Audio Formats
Sound Recording
Required Software
Hardware Connections
Mixer Settings

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Gramofile
Recommended Recording Process
Recordings Using the Gnome Sound Recorder
Command Line Sound Recording
Streaming Audio
Using MPlayer
Using Vsound
Changing the Volume
Extracting Music From CDs
Sound Juicer
Grip
Playing CDs
Playing Digital Music
Quod Libet
Mobile Music Players
iRiver H340
Creative Zen
iPod
Audio Processing
Conversions
m4a to mp3
SOX
Managing Your Music Collection

AbiWord: Word Processor

Export to LaTeX

APM: Power Management

Backup
Cedar Backup
Mondo Backup
Troubleshooting
Simple Backup
Backup To Other Computers
Legato NetWorker

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Bash: Command Line

Booting
Lilo
Large Disks
Kernel Images
GRUB: The Grand Unified Boot Loader
Secure Boot
Dual Boot: Multiple Operating Systems
Dual Boot with MS/Windows/NT
Boot NT from LILO
MS/Windows/NT or MS/Windows/2000
The Booting From Floppy Alternative

Cameras
Setup of HP Photosmart 320
Accessing Photos

CD: Reading and Writing

Setup
CD Writer as a SCSI Device
Docking Station CD-ROM
LG CED-8080B Problems
cdrecord Problem: Cannot ...Bytes on /dev/zero
CD Software
cdrdao
Gnome Baker
Graveman
gcdmaster
xcdroast
CD Audio
Duplicate Audio CD Using cdrdao
Duplicate Audio CD Using cdrecord
Audio CD From Collection of MP3s
Copy a CD image to Disk
CD Data
Intermediate Image

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No Intermediate Image
Direct Copy Data CD from /dev/cdrom to SCSI burner
Copy Video CD
CD Mixed Data Audio
CD-RW
Multi Session CDs
CD Labels
Troubleshooting
Permissions
No mode page data received

Chinese
LaTeX
Emacs

ChRoot: Multiple Distributions

Clock: An Explanation
Timezones
System Clock Drift
Using NTP
ntpdate
chrony
Using adjtimex
Hardware Clock Drift

Commercial
Corel WPO Office Alternative

Conference Management
Managing Paper Reviews

Configuration
System Configuration in /etc

CRON: Regular Tasks

CVS: Concurrent Versioning

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Managing a Project
Initialising your own Repository
Creating a New Project
Adding Files to a Project
Updating Your Project Copy
Identifying Changes
Removing Files from a Project
Committing Changes
Tagging a Release
Tuning
Location of Repository
Using ssh Rather Than rsh
Notify Users of Changes
Ignoring Files
CVS for NT

Databases
DIA: Charts and Diagrams
Basic Operation
Walkthrough: Creating Simple Diagrams
Reference: Command Line Options
Reference: The Tools Windows
Pointer, View, and Text Objects
Standard Shapes
Handles and Connection Points
Sheets
Pen
Lines
Reference: The Right Mouse Button Menu
The File Menu
Preferences
Export
Printing
Quitting
The Edit Menu
The View Menu

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The Select Menu

The Objects Menu
The Tools Menu
The Dialogs Menu
Reference: Sample Sheets
Chronogram
Circuit
ER
Flowchart
FS
GRAFCET
Ladder
Networks
Pneumatic/Hydraulic
SADT
Sybase
UML
Walkthrough: Creating Your Own Shapes
Simple Example
Shape Elements
SVG Support
Sheet Elements
Installing New Sheets
Reference: The dia Save Format
Acknowledgements

Directories: Linux Folders

The Standard Linux Directory Structure

Disks
New Disk Setup
Ext2 to Ext3
Repartition a Disk
Disk Parameters
Hard Disks
CD/DVD Drives

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Documentation
Browse Documentation With dwww
Debian doc-central

Email
Email Quick Start
Setting up EMail
Exim
Retrieving and Filtering Email
Fetchmail: Collect Mail from Remote Hosts
System Wide Fetchmail
Procmail to Filter and Split Email
IMAP: Mail Server
POP Mail Server
Reading Email
Mutt
Gnus
Email Web Interface
Troubleshooting
Email Tools
Mairix: Searching Maildir and mbox archives
Grepmail: Search mail archives
EMail Attachments
MSTNEF attachments
Uuencode and Uudecode in Mail
Mailing Lists
Spam
Evolution
Procmail
Viruses
SMTP Direct
Email Quoting

Eye of Gnome: Image Viewer

Evolution: Groupware

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Managing Email
Using Virtual Folders
Contacts and Address Book
Managing Your Calendar
Tracking Your Tasks

File Systems
Firewalls
IPMASQ
IPCHAINS

Floppy Disks
Floppy Drive Access Permissions
Format a Floppy
Using DOS-Like Commands
Mounting Floppy Disk Device
Copy a Floppy

Fonts: X Window System

Install True Type Fonts: Using a Font Server
Install Fonts: No Font Server
Fonts are too Large

Ghemical: Chemical Modelling

GIMP: Image and Photo Manipulation
Remove Red Eye
Image Quality
Gimp Resources

Glade: GUI Builder

Using Glade
Glade Walkthroughs
Building the GUI
The Glade Windows
Project Options
The Gnome Application Window

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Adding Widgets
Removing Widgets
The Widget Tree
Gnome File Entry
Tooltips
Check Buttons
Removing a Row
Editing the Toolbar
Editing Menus
Adding an About Dialogue
File Not Found Dialogue
Display Results
Running Your Interface
Building the C Code
The GNU Package Management Tools
Counting the Words
Packaging For Distribution
Using Libglade C
Counting the Words
Using Libglade with Python
Counting the Words
Using Libglade with Perl
Glade Reference
Writing Your Code
Finding Your Widget
Using the GTKExtra Libraries
Global and Local Pointers
Command Line Options
The Menus and Toolbar
The File Menu
The Edit Menu
The View Menu
The Settings Menu
The Help Menu
Project Options
General

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C Options
LibGlade Options
Widget Properties
Widget Palettes
The GTK+ Basic Widgets
The GTK+ Additional Widgets
The Gnome Widgets
The GnomeApp
The GnomeDruid
The Glade Save Format
Glade Resources
Acknowledgements
Using Napster
Gnome Hack

Gnome: The Desktop

Getting Started with Gnome
GDM Startup
Splash Screen
Backgrounds
Using Menus
Tear-Off Menus
Shortcuts
Toolbars
Floating Toolbars
Dialogues
Filename Completion and Hidden Files
Gnome Applications
File Managers
HTML Editors
Other Applications
Desktop Managers
Window Managers
Other Desktops
KDE
XFCE

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Troubleshooting
Locked File
Gnome Resources
Gnome Books

GnuCash: Finances
Gnumeric: Spreadsheet
Other Spreadsheets
The StarOffice Calc
KSpread
ApplixWare Spreadsheet

GQView: Viewing Images

Graphics
Graphics Editors
Xfig: Vector Graphics Editor
Common Operations
Charts and Plots
Screen Capture
Gnome Screenshot
Using ImageMagick
Using xv
Thumbnails
Transparent PNG Images
Conversions
PostScript
EPS to Encapsulated PDF
Strip Excess Postscript Border

Groups: Managing Access Permissions

Standard Groups

HTML Editors
Bluefish

ImageMagick

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Initialisations on Booting
Run Levels
Initialisation Scripts
CTRL-ALT-DEL: The Three Finger Salute
Terminals

Java
Install Sun Java
Java Alternatives
Mozilla Java Plugin
Old Recipes

KDE: Desktop Management

Kernels
Kernel Upgrades
Kernel Versions
2.6.9-1-686-smp
2.6
Rolling Your Own
Getting Started
Kernel Configuration
Kernel Modules
Compiling the Kernel
Installing the Kernel
Lilo Configuration
Latest Kernel
Why make-kpkg?
Loading Kernel Modules

Keyboard
Mapping a Key

Konqueror: The KDE File Manager

KVM Switch
Synergy - A Software KM

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LaTeX
LaTeX Documentation
Generating LaTeX
Creating LaTeX Documents
Using LyX
Using Emacs
Processing a LaTeX Document
LaTeX Tips and Tricks
Bibliography Starts on a New Page
Convert BibTeX to EndNotes
Troubleshooting
TeX Capacity Exceeded

Log System
Messages File

Login
All Capitals Login
Login Screen
Midnight Commander
Gnome Memory Blocks

Magellan: KDE Personal Information Manager

Mathematics
GraphMonkey
gNumExp
Gnuplot
GDChart
Ggobi

Memory
Modems
Silence
No Dial Tone
Chat Script Giving up Too Early

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Mounting Devices
Mount Points
Mount Options
Loopback Device
Using UDEV
Flash Memory
Camera
iPod
Card Reader
MP3 Player
iRiver H340
iRiver ifp796
Examples
Using Gnome-Volume-Manager

MS/Windows
Wine: Emulating MS/Windows
VMWare: Virtual Machines
Troubleshooting
Citrix: MS/Windows Under Linux
Screenshot
Installation
Client Installation
Java Client Installation
File Conversions

Music
Printing Music

MySQL
MySQL Root Password
Creating New Database
Create a New User
Remote Host Access
Remote User Permissions
Basic MySQL

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Nautilus: Navigating Folders--Near and Far

Finding Your Way
Browsing HTML Documents
Nautilus CD Creator
Browsing Remote Sites
Refreshing the Desktop

Networks
Cables
Network Configuration
Understanding IP Addresses
Graphical Tools
Manual Setup
Example Configurations
Wireless Network
Netgear
Netgear MA311
Cisco Air PCM3500
D-link AirXpert DWL-AG650
Domain Name Searching
Changing Hostnames
Ports and Services
IP Forwarding: Home Networks
Dynamic Host Name Mapping
No-IP
DynDNS
Router to Router Connections
Multiple Ethernet Cards
Toubleshooting
Neighborhood Table Overflow
Network Debugging
ADSL and DNS Debugging

NFS: Network File System

Setting Up NFS

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Export Lists
Root Access On NFS
Auto Mounting
Troubleshooting
Permission Denied -- Invalid Argument

NT File System
OpenOffice
OpenOffice Writer
Dictionaries
OpenOffice Impress

Oracle: Database for Debian

Oracle 8
Obtaining the Distribution
Oracle User and Groups
Oracle Installation
Oracle 10g Release 2
Preliminary
Getting Oracle 10g
System Parameters
Oracle Accounts
Kernel Parameters
Oracle User Setup
Installing Oracle 10g
Starting and Stopping Oracle 10g
Using Oracle 10g
Importing data from Comma Seperated Value (CSV) files
XDB
Troubleshooting

Packages: Debian Style

Prepackage Development Environment
Files
Building the Distribution
Initiating the Debian Package

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control
copyright
changelog
rules
Other Files
Building the Debian Package: First Time
Adding the Package to Your Archive
Updating the Debian Package
Updating From New Distribution
Updating Debian Packaging

Partitions
Sample Usage
Suggested Partitioning
Repartitioning MS/Windows

Passwords
Password File Sharing
Using rdist
Simple tar
Using NIS
Setting Up The Master Server
Setting Up The Client

PDF: Document Viewing and Annotaion

PPP: Networking Over Modems
modemlights_applet

Presentations
Beamer
Prosper
OpenOffice Impress
KPresenter

Printing
CUPS - Common Unix Printing System

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Installing a USB Printer

Installing a JetDirect Printer
Enabling a Printer
CUPS Command Line Interfaces
Setting up LPD with CUPS
Add Printing to New Host
Using lprng to Print on Remote Hosts
Using rlpr to Print on Remote Hosts

Python
Python Documentation
Python and R: Python Interfaces to R
Installing RSPython
Installing RPy

R: Statistical Software
Remote Desktops
Viewing a Remote Desktop

Rsync: Remote Files

Rsync Server

Samba
Scanning
Setup HP PSC 2210
Scanning Setup

Science
Chemistry
Periodic Tables

Security
Booting Linux
Shields Up Security Check
Checking Security with Nessus
Check Security with Chkrootkit

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Identify Portscanners
Packages to Avoid
OpenPGP and Keys
Securing Your Network
Identifying Your System?

SH File System
Sketch
Spell
SPlus: Statistical Software
Spruce: Email
SSH: Secure Communications
Versions of SSH
Installation
Remote Host Authentication
Simple Usage
Public and Private Keys
SSH Agents
DSA Key Generation
Changing Your Passphrase
SSH and Rsync
SSH and the X Window System
SSH Tunnelling
SSH Access Denied
SSH Terminal in a Browser
SSH Version 1

SUDO: Root Access

Swap
Themes
Enlightenment

USB
Mass Storage Devices
HP Photosmart 320
DVD Writer

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USB Printers
HP LaserJet 1200
HP PSC2210

Video
Video Chip Setup
nVidia Video Driver
Video Formats
Video Manipulation
DVD and Video Viewing
DVD Videos
Xine
Ogle
DVD Sound Track
DVD Backups
AcidRip: Simple GUI for DVD to AVI
ToVid: Command Line DVD Creation
DvRequant
Dvdrip: Complex GUI for DVD
Ripmake: Command Line Tools
Command Line Tools
Video from Photos
Troubleshooting
DVD Movies Stop-Start

Web: Browsing, Serving, and Mirroring

Browsing the Web
Firefox
Epiphany
Galeon
Mozilla
Plugins
FTP Server
Web Server
User Web Pages
Bad Behaviour on Missing /

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Password Protect Web Files

Renew SSL Certificate
Compressed HTML
Web Log Summaries
Server Side Includes
Identifying the Web Server
Mirror Websites
Browser Identification

Word: Processing and Printing

X: The Window System
Hand Crafting your X Server Configuration
The Basic X Window System Architecture
Multiple X Window System Users, One Console
References
Wheel Mouse
Window Managers

XML
XSLT Processors

Sample Installations
Compaq XP1000 (Kurtz)
Kurtz Specifications
Kurtz Install Log
3 June 2005
Troubleshooting
Access SRM
Dell Dimension 8400 (Belinos)
Belinos Specifications
Belinos Install Log
19 Apr 2005
Troubleshooting
Tigon3 Network Card
ATI Radeon X300
Audio

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Starting MTA delay

Flat Screen Viewing
Disappearing CD
Stop-Start Video
Ipex (Atom)
Atom Specifications
Atom Install Log
17 Dec 2005
12 Apr 2005
4 May 2005
Troubleshooting
ACPI Kernel Freeze
Removable Hard Disk
Dell Optiplex GX270 (Athens)
Athens Specifications
Athens Install Log
Troubleshooting
Dell SBLive Sound Card
Unsupported DVD+RWs
Optima Super Vizon II 3600 Customised (Bartok)
Bartok Specifications
Bartok Install Log
Load RAID Driver During Install
Install an IDE Hard Drive
Kernel Compiles to Support HIGHMEM and SMP
ASL (Cargo)
Cargo Specification
Cargo Install Log
Custom (Wayfare)
Wayfare Specification
Wayfare Install Log
Dell Latitude C600 (Inci)
Inci Specification
Inci Install Log
Compaq Presario 5740AP (Friends)
Friends Specification

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Friends Install Log

Dell Precision 650 (Caravan)
Caravan Specification
Caravan Install Log
Dell OptiPlex GX270 (Modern)
Modern Specification
Modern Install Log
Dell OptiPlex GX150 (Fairmond)
GNOPPIX 0.5.4-1
Sarge Netinst 25-Sep-2003 16:16
Sid 09/21/03 00:58:00
Debian 3.0r1
Fairmond Specification
Dell OptiPlex GX240 (Bigdaddy)
Bigdaddy Specification
Dell OptiPlex GX260 (Vince)
Dell Optiplex GX260 (Festival)
Festival Specification
Festival Install
Install Kernel 2.4.20
Dell Optiplex GX260 (Uramys1)
Uramys1 Specification
Uramys1 Install
Install Kernel 2.4.20
Optima (Vivaldi)
Vivaldi Specification
Vivaldi Install
Install Kernel 2.4.20
Dell Precision 620 (Brick)
Brick Specification
Brick Install
Dell Precision 620 (Atomic)
Atomic Specification
Atomic Install
Optima WorkPro (Bach)
Bach Specification

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Bach Install
Install Kernel 2.4.19
Dell OptiPlex GXi 523M (Prefect)
Prefect Specifications
Prefect Install
Dell Precision 420 MT (Cleveland)
Cleveland Specification
Cleveland Install
Dell Optiplex GX240 (Cultus)
Cultus Specifications
Cultus Install Log
Dell Precision WorkStation 530 MT (Altrop)
Altrop Specifications
Altrop Install
Sun SPARCstation 5 (sun4m) (Cepheus)
Cepheus Specifications
Toshiba Satellite 1800 (HAX)
HAX Specifications
HAX Install Log
IBM ThinkPad (Hukz)
HUKZ Specifications
HUKZ Install Log
Dell Latitude C600 (Inco)
Inco Specifications
Inco Install Log
Dell OptiPlex GX1p (Plymouth)
Plymouth Specifications
Plymouth Install
Dell Precision WorkStation 420 MT (Velox)
Velox Specifications
Velox Install
Dell OptiPlex GX110 (Mint)
Mint Specifications
Mint Install
Dell Latitude CPiD300XT (Inka)
Inka Specifications

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Inka Install Log

ALSA Sound Configuration
XF86 Configuration
Dell Latitude XPi (Rose)
Rose Specifications
Generic 486/DX66 (Roast)
Roast Specifications

Troubleshooting
Debian From Scratch

Index

Copyright © 1995-2005
Support this endeavour through your purchase of the PDF Version

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