Ubuntu Removing pulse audio from ubuntu 10.04/10

Your probably reading this because unlike the X number of fans of Pulse Audio out there who insist Pulse audio is perfect, Your having difficulty for any number of reasons, Mine personally was because it did not run well at all on my Netbook which has limited resources available, Thus leaving sound something to be desired during Video calls for instance.

This i have compiled after many hours of cussing and head scrating, trolling site after site of information that only gives you half the battle, and leaves you with broken audio applets, no shortcut keys or no audio at all...

My Aim here is to *Remove* pulse audio (not just cripple it) and restore some useful things such as a working volume applet for Alsa (not pulse), and our beloved short-cut keys.

Remove pulse (completely)
Code:
sudo apt-get autoremove pulseaudio


(this will remove a dummy ubuntu-desktop package aswell, dont worry its safe)

Remove any local config files that may cause issues
Code:
rm -rf ~/.pulse


Install its replacement and a nice little volume control program (esound may be optional, I haven't tested it without)
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get install esound gnome-alsamixer


now edit your apt-list, we're going to add a repository that contains the mixer applet we need.
Open /etc/apt/sources.list in your favorite Text Editor
eg.

Code:
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list


Paste the following lines at the bottom: Note: Remember to replace lucid with the code name of your distro if you are not running 10.04
Code: Select all
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/dtl131/ppa/ubuntu lucid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/dtl131/ppa/ubuntu lucid main

Save and close

run the following in terminal:
Code:
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com F76FFEBE


then do,
Code:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade


it will now install/update a few things you need, once its finished, restart your machine

Log back in, and on the panel of your choice, right click, and select "Add to Panel..."
in the search type volume and in the list, Volume Control should appear, select it and click Add.

and your done.
Keyboard short cuts should also work with this new (old) applet in place.

Enjoy.

Setting up a Linux ADC with Samba

Setting up a domain controller with Samba probably couldn't be easier but the functionality is limited.

The 3 key features that I know work are:-

*User Authentication

*Roaming Profiles

*Logon scripts.


If you haven’t already set one up, This Guide still works for newer versions of Ubuntu/Debian though the quota settings are old, but i chose to skip that part.

After that, joining the computer to the domain is done the same way as usual on Windows.

(Right click my computer, go to properties, then computer name and add it as a member of a domain instead of a workgroup)

Note: Windows 7 users need to apply a registry tweak in order for windows 7 to connect to a Samba domain controller successfully. Information on this can be found here

Windows XP and Windows Vista/7 Cross compatibility

If you use your Samba domain controller for Windows XP, when you join a Windows 7 workstation to the domain, even if the user is already on the network and has a roaming profile, Windows 7 will create a new roaming profile on the server and thus not access your old profile settings, as Windows 7 is 'Not compatible' with Server 2003 style active directory configurations.

I haven't tested the set up using Windows 7 alone, so I’m not sure if the behaviour is the same, but i found that when i Joined a Windows 7 terminal to an existing Ubuntu domain controller that was already serving windows XP clients, it created a new profile folder called username.V2 which did not contain any of my old documents from my XP profile.

To get around this, I found that if you delete the username.V2 folder created by windows 7, and replace it with a Symbolic link under the same name pointing to the old Windows XP profile folder, You actually create cross compatibility, so both windows 7 and Windows XP will be usable on your network, and roaming profiles will continue to function on both machines.

For example,

Fred is a member of the domain, and on the Linux server, his profile is stored under /home/samba/profiles/fred

When he logged on to a Windows 7 work station on the same domain, it created a new folder which contained no settings,

/home/samba/profiles/fred.V2

As a kind loving IT support technician, I made sure that when he logged in to the windows work station; he would still have all his files and folders.



n the Linux command prompt (assuming your server does not have a GUI) As root (because the samba folder should be protected!) I did the following:

(change to the directory the profiles are stored)

Code:
cd /home/samba/profiles

Remove the new Windows 7 Profile folder

Code:
rm -rf fred.V2

Make a Symbolic link to the old one, so windows 7 is forced to read the contents of the old profile even though it still thinks its viewing the new one.

Code:

ln -s fred fred.V2

Fred is now happy, when he logs in to the Windows 7 Workstation, all his documents and desktop stuff appears as normal.

Sadly though the themes do not, as that’s handled differently in windows 7, but no big deal.

Recycle and old wireless router and turn it in to a Wireless Access Point

If you have a Spare router and wish to configure it as a Secondary hub or wireless access point to strengthen your existing wireless signal, (or both) the easiest way to do this is by linking it to your current existing router via the Ethernet.

For this walk through i will be using a Thomson speed touch ST585v6sl but the process is the same with any router however the User interface may vary with different routers, Thomson's are the easiest and most clearly laid out.


WARNING
Do not connect it directly to your existing router at this stage while the settings are default. you will either end up with no connectivity to the secondary router or if the TCP/IP Settings are the same as your current one they will conflict and the whole network will loose internet connectivity. (if you do this by mistake simply unplug the secondary router and reboot the primary router.)

Phase 1 - TCP/IP Settings

For this to work, we have to change the TCP/IP settings on the secondary router so they

A. Match the current subnet settings of your primary router,

B. Do not conflict each other by having the same IP address.

First off, disconnect a PC from your primary router and plug it directly in to the secondary router directly leaving no connectivity to the first one.

then you need to access the Router's Configuration page.

By default on this router this is http://192.168.1.254/

then on the left you can see the Navigation, follow the links:-

Home Network -> Interfaces

Then on the body of the page click LocalNetwork

At the top left theres a link titled Configure

Click that and you should see the Edit options next to the TCP/IP settings.

Edit the relevant settings, in this case my default router uses 192.168.1.254/24 so thats the one I want to edit.

Change the last 'Octet' (digit) of the IP address (254) to something else, I changed it to 253 in this case, and leave the subnet mask as it is (255.255.255.0)

so now it looks like this: ([ ] denotes text field)

[192.168.1.253] [255.255.255.0] Static Apply Cancel

Click Apply.

The router page will now time out and you will receive a connection time out error on your browser, this is because the IP has now changed and the bowser is still pointing to the old one.

simply change the URL on the browser so its pointing to the new correct IP address.

You may also wish to turn off the DHCP server as there is already likely to be one running on your primary router and this feature is not necessary, leaving it on may cause some issues when computers on your network obtain an IP addresses and can affect the performance of NAT (Network address translating)

It is now safe to interconnect the 2 routers but to save a bit of fuss lets leave it plugged in while we configure the wireless (if the router your using has wireless, else you can ignore the rest of this post.)

Phase 2 - The wireless

Now to change the Wireless settings

To keep things nice and tidy, we can set up whats known as a distributed wireless network, by having multiple access points all configured with the same wireless settings, this allows for seamless transition between access points and also saves a bit of hassle when connecting. this also makes them all appear to the client computer like one big wireless network, so you wont have a list to pick from but the computer will automatically connect and show the access point with the strongest signal (the one your closest to).

If your old router doesn't have the same wireless settings as your current primary one, they need to be changed so they match the primary router's wireless settings. Changing this is simple, If you don't know how to already, then read on

On the left click on the red box titled home network

In the body of the page, click on the section with the routers Wireless name on, in my case this is

WLAN: Rons Network

(54Mbps)

Again in the top left corner is a link Configure

Click that so you are able to change the wireless settings.

Make sure you have your primary routers Wireless settings available on a peace of paper or something, so you can enter that information in on this page. The 2 peaces of information you will need are the 'ESSID' and if your smart, the Currently used Wireless encryption key.

Enter the ESSID making sure you include all capitals etc as they are on your primary router as this is CaSe SeNsItIvE. this is important if you want seamless transition between the 2 access points to work.

The encryption key must be the same also, else again seamless transition will not work.

The channel is not important, and can be left. (its better left alone) if you for whatever reason decide to put them the same the router will most likely change it later anyway so you'll just be waisting your time, if it doesn't do that then they will conflict and most likely hang (crash).

Click apply where needed to save changes.

you're done!

if you haven't already, you can now plug your newly configured Hub/Wireless access point in to your primary router and enjoy the advantages of having more ports or a better wireless signal if you place the secondary router at the opposite end of the property. (assuming you have a cable that reaches)

LMDE Survival Guide

Just Last night I Installed Linux Mint (debian edition) on my computers.
Why you may (or may not) be asking..

I've been an avid user of Ubuntu Linux since the second half of 2005, and I have learned allot about using Linux over the last 7 years. However, in the last 2 the Ubuntu developers have decided to take a different path and have moved away from what I would consider to be a traditional desktop. And while I admire their pioneering spirit, I personally consider their new Unity desktop to be some what of a drag on the more traditional computer (mouse and keyboard) and to me at least the Unity desktop seems more equip for the Touch Screen market.

Gnome 3 also seems to be tipping off in to an obscure tangent, and would appear to have discarded what some may consider to be common sense, for a new path that at least so far seems a step backwards rather than an evolutionary move forward.

So I (reluctantly at first) decided to move to a new distribution, and after some digging, decided i would give Linux Mint a go.

So why Linux Mind Debian Edition?
Well, I must be honest, it's not just the new GUI I find distasteful in recent versions of Ubuntu Linux, allot of things also appear to have 'regressed' in the base system too, mostly where drivers and general system stability are concerned.
So knowing that Linux Mint 'Lisa' was based on Ubuntu, and having seen it in action and sporting Gnome 3 on another machine at work, i decided it wasn't for me either, and thus decided to give LMDE a try instead.

So.. Things Encountered while installing LMDE over Ubuntu.

The first thing you may find (and apparently this is in favour of the general compatability and 'just get it working first' approach) The default kernel installed on LMDE is the '486' Generic PC Kernel.
the '486' is compiled for the Intel Pentium 1/Pro or equivalent, and doesn't support any of the features/extensions in modern processors (Such as SSE/2, PAE and Multi-core etc.) and you are likely to see a large drop in overall performance (especially in games)

Fortunately this problem is easily remedied, You can install the '686' based kernel from the package manager, (or though apt)

Simply click on the Mint menu and select 'Package manager' from the list.

The package you want to look for is 'linux-image-3.2.0-2-686-pae' (the version number will likely change over time)

When you find it in the list, you can tick it ('mark for installation')

Additional note: If you use nVidia Graphics, you will also want to install the 'kernel headers' so that the driver module can be compiled for your card.
so you may wish to mark 'linux-headers-3.2.0-2-686-pae' for installation also.

(optional)
To do both these in the terminal, as root you may type:
apt-get install linux-image-3.2.0-2-686-pae linux-headers-3.2.0-2-686-pae

(more will be added to this as I go along)

Welcome to The Tech Box

The Tech box is the supercessor of 'rons-forum.co.uk' which became largely inactive and inundated with spam on a mammoth scale.

This has resulted in the creation of this blog, which I aim to update on a regular basis with various technical mumbo jumbo, how-to's and other neat stuff I hope will make your IT world less of a drag!