Zenwalk

I recently tried Zenwalk on my main Linux-box. I have earlier listened to Ed Labonte's The Lip (Linux Install Podcast) regarding the distro.

I had a few problems installing it. First, I got a kernel panic during install. I don't know why, so I rebooted, tried to install again, and then it worked OK.

I chose not to install LILO, so I opted out for the LILO-install during set-up (I already run Arch and Ubuntu, booting via GRUB). After installation, I had to manually edit menu.lst in /boot/grub (in Ubuntu). Listen to Ed Labonte if you need directions on how to do this. I found that I needed some trial and error to set the correct name for my Zenwalk-partition

My network didn't work after I logged in to the Xfce-desktop. On the lower panel, I opened "Zenpanel" and configuration was easy.

I still need to set my screen-resolution to 1440x900 (for my Samsung SyncMaster 940BW), but I guess I will figure out how to do that shortly.

Mounting

I have a large drive containing both MP3s and my photographs. I have previously mounted the whole disk into the arbitrarily named /HDD-directory in /home. You need root privileges to mount:

sudo mount /dev/sda1 /home/adder1972/HDD

I decided I wanted to replace my HDD-directory with a /MP3 and a /Pictures directory.

I discovered the "mount --bind"-command, which according to the man-pages enables you to "Remount a subtree somewhere else (so that its contents are available in both places)."

So, I made my two new directories, and now I mount my large harddrive like this:

sudo mount --bind /media/sda1/Pictures /home/adder1972/Pictures
sudo mount --bind /media/sda1/MP3 /home/adder1972/MP3

Modifying /etc/fstab (*see note) would allow for automounting these directories. The way to do this is by adding:

/media/sda1/Pictures /home/adder1972/Pictures none bind 0 0
/media/sda1/MP3 /home/adder1972/MP3 none bind 0 0

at the end of fstab. Since the "bind" command only re-mounts part of your drive, you cannot remove the original command to mount your drive, which is already in your fstab, i.e.:

/dev/sda1 /media/sda1 none 0 0

Run mount -a to have it take effect immediately.


* Note: Always remember to backup/copy the file you want to modify.
In order to edit fstab, type

sudo gedit /etc/fstab

at the command line (if you are using the "gedit" text editor).

Ubuntu widescreen resolution 1440x900

I have bought a new Samsung SyncMaster 940BW. To get the correct resolution in Ubuntu, I had to edit my xorg.conf-file.

I found the correct settings in the Ubuntu Forums.

Remember to back up your old xorg.conf-file before editing.

xorg.conf is located in /etc/X11

Arch Linux 2007.8

I have started trying out Arch Linux. Really fun to try out a Linux distro that makes you install and tweak nearly everything. It takes quite a lot of time and reading to get going, but it is really rewarding.

I have tried to install it on my main Linux-box, but I am having some issues with my network-settings. However, in VirtualBox it runs really well.

I have used four great resources for my install:

• The Arch Linux Wiki
• The Linux Install Podcast, episode 37: Arch Linux part 1
• The Linux Install Podcast, episode 38: Arch Linux part 2
  
• Linux Reality Podcast, episode 70: Arch Linux

I had a lot of challenges installing Arch. You need to do a lot of manual configuring to get it to work properly. However, it gives you a great insight into how the OS works.

Edit: I've solved the network issue on my main box, thanks to Ed Labonte's comment at the end of his Linux Install Podcast, part 1.

Fedora 7: Remove desktop icons/launchers

I am trying out the great new Fedora 7 now, with the Gnome desktop.

I wanted to remove the desktop icons / launchers that were on the desktop (Computer, adder1972's home og Trash).

It turned out I had to install "gconf-editor" (not installed by default apparently). As root I ran:

yum install gconf-editor

Then, in Configuration Editor under System Tools in Applications, I chose "apps" "nautilus" and "desktop". Then I could just remove the icons / launchers that I wanted to remove.

[gconf-editor is a part of Gnome, and works in i.e. Ubuntu as well]