In earlier versions of Ubuntu there are some simple to use scripts to enable apache2 for https acess with a self signed/generated certificate/key. However in Gutsy these scripts are not present and you are left to fend for your self. So here it goes…
Ubuntu Backup Script
I covered creating an IPcop backup script last time. This time around I want to go over a backup script I’ve been using for an Ubuntu box. The script works just like the IPcop script with some slight modifications made to accommodate Ubuntu’s file system. In my case I mounted a separate volume at /media/backup. Either copy or create the following files in that location and modify them to fit your needs. If you want to ignore any files or folders for any reason simply add them to the ignore.txt file and they will be skipped. Remember to ignore any network mount points you may have, otherwise that MP3 collection on your other box is going to end up in your new 40gb backup tar file 😉
Add Command Prompt Here to Windows Context Menus
Windows explorer by default does not give you the option to drop to a DOS command shell in the current folder. Unzip this file, right click on doshere.inf and choose install. At this point you have a new folder context menu option for ‘Cmd Prompt Here’. Simply right click on any folder and select ‘Cmd Prompt Here’ and *wabam* you will have the command prompt opened to the directory you selected.
New 320GB HDD shows 137GB in the bios!
I recently purchased a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 – ST3320620A 320GB HDD to backup my systems. I decided to make my life easy and pop it into a external USB/Firewire case. All went well except that I could only format the drive to 137GB. After reading many posts online about this problem I decided to hook the drive up to the onboard HDD controller on my Asus A8N-SLI. Even the system BIOS displayed 137GB! Many reports on the Internet say the cause of this is due to old firmware or hardware, in my case this was just not true. I tried about six other HDD controllers without luck. Finally I decided to try some software tools just to see if the drive was in fact 320GB in sieze. In my searches I found a killer tool named Victoria (sorry it's in Russian only). It turns out that some how my HPA (Host-Protected Area) accessible size of the disk got altered. Using this application you can set the HPA accessible size of the disk back to the maximum or to factory defaults. Upon a reboot I was back in business, the BIOS now saw the drive as having 320GB!
If your Russian is not up to speed, check out MHDD it boasts the same functionality as Victoria but it's web page is in English.
How do I add Cygwin to folder context menus?
From the mailing list for the Cygwin project:
To have Windows Explorer start a Bash console window in any directory that you right click on, save the following lines to a file with a .reg extension, change the command lines to point to where bash.exe is installed, and run the file. You can change the string that appears in the context menu by changing"&Bash This" to your preferred string. The character after'&' is the shortcut key for the command. You can also download my pre-made .reg file here.
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\BashHere]
@="&Bash This"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\BashHere\command]
@="c:\\cygwin\\bin\\bash.exe –login -c \"cd '%1' ; exec /bin/bash -rcfile ~/.bashrc\""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\BashHere]
@="&Bash This"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\BashHere\command]
@="c:\\cygwin\\bin\\bash.exe –login -c \"cd '%1' ; exec /bin/bash -rcfile ~/.bashrc\""
IPCop Backup Script
This from the http://www.Ipcops.com forum.
I’ve been using IPCop for a few months now and have been searching for an easy way to restore IPCop in the event of hardware failure or a failed software/mod installation. Presented now for your enjoyment:
Backup for IPCop v0.1
– This should work for all versions of IPCop as it”s fairly generic.
– It has been tested on IPCop version 1.46 on two different PCs.
– It should be considered a beta version since it has not been widely tested.
– This was inspired by a backup procedure for another popular firewall distro.
How to remove a badly installed .deb
I really needed a solid text editor for Ubuntu. On Windows I run TextPad which is excellent, after some searching I found jEdit which looks like it contains all the features of TextPad and then some!
I attempted to install the development package for jEdit as such:
$ sudo dpkg -i jedit_4.3pre6_all.deb
Selecting previously deselected package jedit.
(Reading database … 102247 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking jedit (from jedit_4.3pre6_all.deb) …
dpkg: error processing jedit_4.3pre6_all.deb (–install):
unable to create `./usr/lib/menu/jedit': No such file or directory
dpkg (subprocess): unable to execute new post-removal script: No such file or directory
dpkg: error while cleaning up:
subprocess post-removal script returned error exit status 2
dpkg-deb: subprocess paste killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
jedit_4.3pre6_all.deb
At this point nothing was installed and running 'sudo dpkg -r jedit' did not help matters. After some reading I found that the following did the trick:
"dpkg –remove –force-remove-reinstreq jedit"
I have since followed this guide on installing jedit using synaptec.
Cygwin SSHD not functioning at startup
I have seen this problem crop up on many Windows XP/2003 boxes:
If you install cygwin's sshd as a system service set to start automatically at startup you may run into problems. You may find that your connection will simply be reset, when you check on the service you will find it in a running/started state. The workaround is simple, launch cygwin's package manager and install the utility 'rebase'. Once you have the package installed shutdown all cygwin shells and sshd. Drop to the command prompt (start > run > cmd) and change to cygwin's bin directory (cd C:\cygwin\bin) and run:
ash rebaseall
That's it! Upon startup you will find that sshd is up and functioning properly.
One of my cats…
Here is a shot of my Bengal cat "Oliver". He is soo bad!
Ubuntu Dapper on a Nforce2 with WakeOnLan!
If there is one thing I cant stand is a computer humming needlessly in the background. I usually set all my boxes to drop into suspend mode after an hour of no use. Recently I installed Ubuntu Dapper Drake on one of my boxes, it happens to be an Asus a7n8x-deluxe. Enabling WakeOnLan with ethtool did not help. Well today I found the fix, this link will tell you how to install nvidia's own ethernet drivers and how to disable the included forcedeth drivers for good. I followed the instructions, rebooted and then shutdown my box. I ran etherwake from my other workstation and wouldn't ya know… it fired up!