Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 multiboot install and post-install
I will be writing this guide as I perform every step. Hopefully it will be helpful to you as well.
An UPDATED VERSION was published 1 year later. I was happy when the new Ubuntu came out, as I looked at this release as an excellent opportunity to revitalize an older multiboot machine which had collapsed under the near-failure of an overused and overtaxed hard drive.
1. Downloading and burning the ISO
This is straightforward. I grabbed the torrent or (did a direct download with my NAS, can't remember), then I burned the ISO. I can't remember what I used either, but if I did it on Windows, I used CDburnerXP.
2. Installing on top of existing partitions - reformat to ext4 /boot and / and keep /home ext3
Installing Linux is as simple as it can be, even on a multiboot machine like mine, with multiple partitions.
In fact, the new install, on top of a reinstall of Windows XP which screwed up everything has actually restored the proper multiboot menu. My Linux partitions consisted of an EXT2 boot partition of about 50 MB, which I reformatted into EXT 4 (not sure if it was a good idea, but I can reformat it back to EXT2 if it craps out on me again), I kept the /home partition as EXT2 or 3 (most likely 3, can't remember) and reformatted / to EXT4. Most "gurus" recommend keeping linux partitions on multiboot machines EXT2, but I disagree - except for home, I can't see myself messing with the other partitions at all. As expected, Linux recognized all the OSs, though the labelling wasn't terribly accurate - e.g., "Win XP" got named "Vista loader", though Windows 7 was correctly recognized and labelled (I guess it knows its main competitor). The first boot partition is the Windows XP which came with the machine, the second is a BSD flavour, the 3rd is Windows 7. The fourth partition is extended, containing everything Linux in logical partitions: /boot, /home, / and a swap at the very end.
3. Installing nVidia video drivers.
As usual, Ubuntu prompted me if I want version 176 or 96 of the proprietary drivers. If you're curious,
lspci | grep -i vidia -> NV34 [GeForce FX 5200].
I chose the recommended 176 and it didn't work the first time I tried, but it did the second or third time. The secret is not to panic. Computers are wondrous creatures, they need a bit of TLC before they yield to your will. Just don't give up.
The only time you're fsckd is when you have a video card other than nVidia. ATI is known for being a dick. That is, even their Windows drivers are screwed so your chances of getting it to work under Linux is much smaller than with nVidia. nV has its own problems, but they provide far better support than ATI.
When all else fails, trust your system to Envy-ng. This program helped me out of video driver hell and on computers with ATI I no longer try to figure out the drivers on my own, it's just impossible.
4. /home sweet /home
Since I kept my old /home and used the same user name, I was happy to see my old desktop restored as it was. I prefer simplicity on my computers, so I usually sacrifice eye-candy for stability. I prefer simple Gnome over the more polished and feature-rich KDE. As a result, I try to stay away from applications that start with K, sticking to the letter G.
AllTray, whose icon I kept in the tray, was not installed by default, so I got an error message. Same with Opera. I had to redo the networking shortcuts and reinstall the networked printer.
But other than that, as I reinstalled and started my applications, I was happy to see that all my settings had been preserved.
5. Installing software: Repos
One way to minimize re-installation headaches is to back-up the installed *.deb files, which can be found at /var/cache/apt/archives. Not having done that before, I have to start over again. To install software, first I need to enable a few additional repositories (online catalogs of free software). This is accomplished by going to System -> Administration -> Software Sources.
In the first tab, Ubuntu Software, I chose a server located in my country. Though I also have the option to let Ubuntu choose the fastest server for me through a series of tests (Other.. -> Select Best), I prefer not to do that, as it usually results in a server in Russia, which I simply don't trust.
To enable additional repositories, I can either add them in the Other Software tab by clicking the add button, or I can use the new add-apt-repository command, which also takes care of the authentication. Here are the repos I added:
Opera
deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free
wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -
Wine
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-wine/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-wine/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys F9CB8DB0
sudo sh -c 'echo deb "http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org sid main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv 886DDD89
gpg --export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | sudo apt-key add -
apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tor tor-geoipdb privoxy
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0xfbef0d696de1c72ba5a835fe5a9bf3bb4e5e17b5
x. NAS access
I have a NAS (networked-attached storage) unit which I use for all my storage needs. To access it under Windows, I first had to make sure that samba-fs was installed:
sudo apt-get install smbfs
Alternatively, you can use Synaptic from System -> Administration.
I did not back-up the programs to be installed, so I had to reinstall them. For some reason, there aren't many tutorials on accessing networked resources from Linux, but only on making resources available on your own linux machine. To share your files, you have to install samba and configure it as a server; to access shared resources, you have to install I don't have resources to share on my machine - my printer is attached to a dedicated printer server and my storage is also stand-alone.
First, edit your /etc/hosts file and give the Windows machine a name:
192.168.1.2 pootie
Next, install the samba and smbfs packages using your method of choice.
Create a directory where the share will appear on your local filesystem.
$ sudo mkdir /mnt/music
Edit /etc/fstab and add a line for the mount. Here "pootie" is the name of the machine and "music" is the name of the share.
//pootie/music /mnt/music cifs exec,credentials=/etc/cifspw 0 0
Create a password file /etc/cifspw with the login credentials for your Windows account.
username=Jason
password=ImNotGonnaTellYouThat
And secure the file:
$ sudo chmod 600 /etc/cifspw
Giddyup.
$ sudo mount -a
select:
wine
playonlinux
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1026512.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-968405.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1045877.html
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/what-applications-or-tweaks-you-prefer-after-installing-ubuntu-9-10-karmic.html
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas
sudo sh -c 'echo deb "http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org sid main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv 886DDD89
gpg --export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | sudo apt-key add -
apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tor tor-geoipdb privoxy
sudo gedit /etc/privoxy/config/
add at the end: forward-socks4a / localhost:9050 .
sudo /etc/init.d/tor start
sudo /etc/init.d/privoxy start
also alternative not rec: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sevenmachines/tor
sudo apt-get install startupmanager
Synaptic Package Manager -> File -> Save Markings
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1057608
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list ~/sources.list.backup
According to section 6.4.9 of the Debian Reference Manual, the following will save both the list of packages installed and their debconf configuration:
Code:
# dpkg --get-selections "*" >myselections # or use \*
# debconf-get-selections > debconfsel.txt
and the following will reinstall and reconfigure them:
Code:
# dselect update
# debconf-set-selections < debconfsel.txt
# dpkg --set-selections <myselections
# apt-get -u dselect-upgrade # or dselect install
to avoid downloading all updates after a reinstall:
ubuntu stores downloaded packages in /var/cache/apt/archives
save these files and after a new installation copy them to the same location.
after that do a apt-get update and apt-get upgrade
sudo aptitude install firestarter krusader amsn ktorrent amarok devede k3b vlc ksnapshot netspeed audacity timer-applet convertall gtkhash bleachbit
install NTP support (System -> Administration -> Time and Date)
sudo apt-get install ntp
link install: apt:ntp
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4 followed by sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
ubuntu-restricted-extras create-resources chromium-browser parcellite pitivi istanbul jokosher audacity bleachbit timer-applet wine wbar wbarconf gnunet-gtk skype ekiga gizmo5 vlc ntp gwibber tor tor-geoipdb unetbootin backintime-gnome gparted stellarium picasa kino avidemux dia wink? k9copy ffmpeg winff xterm devede dvdauthor qdvdauthor ripperx gnucash kompozer p7zip-full etherape grsync partimage putty chkrootkit rkhunter nmap nmapfe
codeweavers
playonlinux
OSS flash:
sudo apt-get purge flashplugin-installer nspluginwrapper
APT Line: ppa:gnash/ppa
sudo apt-get install mozilla-plugin-gnash
gaming
playdeb.net
http://whdb.com/2008/top-25-linux-games-for-2008/
http://rangit.com/software/top-8-linux-games-of-2007/
http://ubuntu-gamers-arena.org/
PouetChess, pokerTH, KsirK, TORCS, Pingus, Frozen Bubble, Vdrift, Alien Arena, Tremulous, Sauerbraten, Nexuiz, UrbanTerror, PrBoom
eyecandy
picasa
http://picasa.google.com/linux/download.html#picasa27
http://picasa.google.com/linux/faq.html
Google Earth gives you an annotated eagle's eye view of our planet. This is a free proprietary package (you must accept the license to use this package).
sudo apt-get install googleearth-package
make-googleearth-package --force
Doubleclick on the resulting .deb file.
-- or --
To install the latest Linux binary, download and save the GoogleEarthLinux.bin package from Google Earth downloads. Then install:
chmod +x GoogleEarthLinux.bin
./GoogleEarthLinux.bin
Run:
Applications -> Internet -> Google Earth 3D planet viewer
You should turn off the Google Earth -> View -> Atmosphere setting, or you might see clouds everywhere and the ground won't show up.
mediacenter
moovida (elisa)
boxee
miro
security
sd4l.sourcforge.net as opposed to truecrypt
clamtk
http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com/2008/06/top-security-tools-in-ubuntu.html
bacula
downloading
lottanzb
linuxdcpp
cinelerra
http://cinelerra.org/getting_cinelerra.php#ubuntu
ffmpeg
ffmpeg -i nameofvideoclip.flv -ab 160k -ac 2 -ar 44100 -vn nameoffile.mp3
ffmpeg -i samplevideo.flv outputvideo.mp4
webcam
(big PITA) http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com/2008/06/top-security-tools-in-ubuntu.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Webcam
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=983574
EasyCam2: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EasyCam
Lucview
camorama
CBC radio - http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/livemedia/cbcr1-toronto.m3u
http://www.cbc.ca/livemedia/cbcr2-toronto.m3u
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/includes-content/player_components/(none)
mms://a860.l961636859.c9616.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/860/9616/v0001/reflector:36859
http://radio3.cbc.ca/nmcradio/webradio.m3u
Sources / More info: http://www.webupd8.org/2009/09/how-to-install-tor-in-ubuntu-debian.html
https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#SocksListenAddress
https://launchpad.net/~sevenmachines/+archive/tor
http://industriousone.com/mounting-windows-shares-linux
[tags][/tags]
An UPDATED VERSION was published 1 year later. I was happy when the new Ubuntu came out, as I looked at this release as an excellent opportunity to revitalize an older multiboot machine which had collapsed under the near-failure of an overused and overtaxed hard drive.
1. Downloading and burning the ISO
This is straightforward. I grabbed the torrent or (did a direct download with my NAS, can't remember), then I burned the ISO. I can't remember what I used either, but if I did it on Windows, I used CDburnerXP.
2. Installing on top of existing partitions - reformat to ext4 /boot and / and keep /home ext3
Installing Linux is as simple as it can be, even on a multiboot machine like mine, with multiple partitions.
In fact, the new install, on top of a reinstall of Windows XP which screwed up everything has actually restored the proper multiboot menu. My Linux partitions consisted of an EXT2 boot partition of about 50 MB, which I reformatted into EXT 4 (not sure if it was a good idea, but I can reformat it back to EXT2 if it craps out on me again), I kept the /home partition as EXT2 or 3 (most likely 3, can't remember) and reformatted / to EXT4. Most "gurus" recommend keeping linux partitions on multiboot machines EXT2, but I disagree - except for home, I can't see myself messing with the other partitions at all. As expected, Linux recognized all the OSs, though the labelling wasn't terribly accurate - e.g., "Win XP" got named "Vista loader", though Windows 7 was correctly recognized and labelled (I guess it knows its main competitor). The first boot partition is the Windows XP which came with the machine, the second is a BSD flavour, the 3rd is Windows 7. The fourth partition is extended, containing everything Linux in logical partitions: /boot, /home, / and a swap at the very end.
3. Installing nVidia video drivers.
As usual, Ubuntu prompted me if I want version 176 or 96 of the proprietary drivers. If you're curious,
lspci | grep -i vidia -> NV34 [GeForce FX 5200].
I chose the recommended 176 and it didn't work the first time I tried, but it did the second or third time. The secret is not to panic. Computers are wondrous creatures, they need a bit of TLC before they yield to your will. Just don't give up.
The only time you're fsckd is when you have a video card other than nVidia. ATI is known for being a dick. That is, even their Windows drivers are screwed so your chances of getting it to work under Linux is much smaller than with nVidia. nV has its own problems, but they provide far better support than ATI.
When all else fails, trust your system to Envy-ng. This program helped me out of video driver hell and on computers with ATI I no longer try to figure out the drivers on my own, it's just impossible.
4. /home sweet /home
Since I kept my old /home and used the same user name, I was happy to see my old desktop restored as it was. I prefer simplicity on my computers, so I usually sacrifice eye-candy for stability. I prefer simple Gnome over the more polished and feature-rich KDE. As a result, I try to stay away from applications that start with K, sticking to the letter G.
AllTray, whose icon I kept in the tray, was not installed by default, so I got an error message. Same with Opera. I had to redo the networking shortcuts and reinstall the networked printer.
But other than that, as I reinstalled and started my applications, I was happy to see that all my settings had been preserved.
5. Installing software: Repos
One way to minimize re-installation headaches is to back-up the installed *.deb files, which can be found at /var/cache/apt/archives. Not having done that before, I have to start over again. To install software, first I need to enable a few additional repositories (online catalogs of free software). This is accomplished by going to System -> Administration -> Software Sources.
In the first tab, Ubuntu Software, I chose a server located in my country. Though I also have the option to let Ubuntu choose the fastest server for me through a series of tests (Other.. -> Select Best), I prefer not to do that, as it usually results in a server in Russia, which I simply don't trust.
To enable additional repositories, I can either add them in the Other Software tab by clicking the add button, or I can use the new add-apt-repository command, which also takes care of the authentication. Here are the repos I added:
Opera
deb http://deb.opera.com/opera/ stable non-free
wget -O - http://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -
Wine
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-wine/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/ubuntu-wine/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys F9CB8DB0
sudo sh -c 'echo deb "http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org sid main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv 886DDD89
gpg --export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | sudo apt-key add -
apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tor tor-geoipdb privoxy
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0xfbef0d696de1c72ba5a835fe5a9bf3bb4e5e17b5
x. NAS access
I have a NAS (networked-attached storage) unit which I use for all my storage needs. To access it under Windows, I first had to make sure that samba-fs was installed:
sudo apt-get install smbfs
Alternatively, you can use Synaptic from System -> Administration.
I did not back-up the programs to be installed, so I had to reinstall them. For some reason, there aren't many tutorials on accessing networked resources from Linux, but only on making resources available on your own linux machine. To share your files, you have to install samba and configure it as a server; to access shared resources, you have to install I don't have resources to share on my machine - my printer is attached to a dedicated printer server and my storage is also stand-alone.
First, edit your /etc/hosts file and give the Windows machine a name:
192.168.1.2 pootie
Next, install the samba and smbfs packages using your method of choice.
Create a directory where the share will appear on your local filesystem.
$ sudo mkdir /mnt/music
Edit /etc/fstab and add a line for the mount. Here "pootie" is the name of the machine and "music" is the name of the share.
//pootie/music /mnt/music cifs exec,credentials=/etc/cifspw 0 0
Create a password file /etc/cifspw with the login credentials for your Windows account.
username=Jason
password=ImNotGonnaTellYouThat
And secure the file:
$ sudo chmod 600 /etc/cifspw
Giddyup.
$ sudo mount -a
select:
wine
playonlinux
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wine
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1026512.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-968405.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1045877.html
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chromium-daily
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/what-applications-or-tweaks-you-prefer-after-installing-ubuntu-9-10-karmic.html
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+ppas
sudo sh -c 'echo deb "http://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org sid main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list'
gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv 886DDD89
gpg --export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | sudo apt-key add -
apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tor tor-geoipdb privoxy
sudo gedit /etc/privoxy/config/
add at the end: forward-socks4a / localhost:9050 .
sudo /etc/init.d/tor start
sudo /etc/init.d/privoxy start
also alternative not rec: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sevenmachines/tor
sudo apt-get install startupmanager
Synaptic Package Manager -> File -> Save Markings
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1057608
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list ~/sources.list.backup
According to section 6.4.9 of the Debian Reference Manual, the following will save both the list of packages installed and their debconf configuration:
Code:
# dpkg --get-selections "*" >myselections # or use \*
# debconf-get-selections > debconfsel.txt
and the following will reinstall and reconfigure them:
Code:
# dselect update
# debconf-set-selections < debconfsel.txt
# dpkg --set-selections <myselections
# apt-get -u dselect-upgrade # or dselect install
to avoid downloading all updates after a reinstall:
ubuntu stores downloaded packages in /var/cache/apt/archives
save these files and after a new installation copy them to the same location.
after that do a apt-get update and apt-get upgrade
sudo aptitude install firestarter krusader amsn ktorrent amarok devede k3b vlc ksnapshot netspeed audacity timer-applet convertall gtkhash bleachbit
install NTP support (System -> Administration -> Time and Date)
sudo apt-get install ntp
link install: apt:ntp
sudo apt-get install libdvdread4 followed by sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh
ubuntu-restricted-extras create-resources chromium-browser parcellite pitivi istanbul jokosher audacity bleachbit timer-applet wine wbar wbarconf gnunet-gtk skype ekiga gizmo5 vlc ntp gwibber tor tor-geoipdb unetbootin backintime-gnome gparted stellarium picasa kino avidemux dia wink? k9copy ffmpeg winff xterm devede dvdauthor qdvdauthor ripperx gnucash kompozer p7zip-full etherape grsync partimage putty chkrootkit rkhunter nmap nmapfe
codeweavers
playonlinux
OSS flash:
sudo apt-get purge flashplugin-installer nspluginwrapper
APT Line: ppa:gnash/ppa
sudo apt-get install mozilla-plugin-gnash
gaming
playdeb.net
http://whdb.com/2008/top-25-linux-games-for-2008/
http://rangit.com/software/top-8-linux-games-of-2007/
http://ubuntu-gamers-arena.org/
PouetChess, pokerTH, KsirK, TORCS, Pingus, Frozen Bubble, Vdrift, Alien Arena, Tremulous, Sauerbraten, Nexuiz, UrbanTerror, PrBoom
eyecandy
picasa
http://picasa.google.com/linux/download.html#picasa27
http://picasa.google.com/linux/faq.html
Google Earth gives you an annotated eagle's eye view of our planet. This is a free proprietary package (you must accept the license to use this package).
sudo apt-get install googleearth-package
make-googleearth-package --force
Doubleclick on the resulting .deb file.
-- or --
To install the latest Linux binary, download and save the GoogleEarthLinux.bin package from Google Earth downloads. Then install:
chmod +x GoogleEarthLinux.bin
./GoogleEarthLinux.bin
Run:
Applications -> Internet -> Google Earth 3D planet viewer
You should turn off the Google Earth -> View -> Atmosphere setting, or you might see clouds everywhere and the ground won't show up.
mediacenter
moovida (elisa)
boxee
miro
security
sd4l.sourcforge.net as opposed to truecrypt
clamtk
http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com/2008/06/top-security-tools-in-ubuntu.html
bacula
downloading
lottanzb
linuxdcpp
cinelerra
http://cinelerra.org/getting_cinelerra.php#ubuntu
ffmpeg
ffmpeg -i nameofvideoclip.flv -ab 160k -ac 2 -ar 44100 -vn nameoffile.mp3
ffmpeg -i samplevideo.flv outputvideo.mp4
webcam
(big PITA) http://www.ubuntu-unleashed.com/2008/06/top-security-tools-in-ubuntu.html
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Webcam
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=983574
EasyCam2: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EasyCam
Lucview
camorama
CBC radio - http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html
http://www.cbc.ca/livemedia/cbcr1-toronto.m3u
http://www.cbc.ca/livemedia/cbcr2-toronto.m3u
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/includes-content/player_components/(none)
mms://a860.l961636859.c9616.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/860/9616/v0001/reflector:36859
http://radio3.cbc.ca/nmcradio/webradio.m3u
Sources / More info: http://www.webupd8.org/2009/09/how-to-install-tor-in-ubuntu-debian.html
https://wiki.torproject.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#SocksListenAddress
https://launchpad.net/~sevenmachines/+archive/tor
http://industriousone.com/mounting-windows-shares-linux
[tags][/tags]
Comments