Ubuntu Wiki

Note: The [https://www.ubuntu.com/support/documentation/faq FAQ on the Ubuntu website] has become hopelessly out of date in some areas. I have posted the contents of it here in Moin format so that we may collaborate on bringing it up to date. Once it's in a reasonable state we will find a more suitable home for it. Thanks

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What happens with the version number in 2100?

Our grandchildren should be able to figure that one out. At the moment we're just focused on the next release

Is there a relationship between Ubuntu and UserLinux?

UserLinux and Ubuntu are different projects. Both Ubuntu and UserLinux are aimed at building a community distribution that is up-to-date and easy to use. We both send our changes and improvements "upstream" and since we share a couple important upstreams (Debian and GNOME to start with) there may well be scope for collaboration between the projects. At this stage we haven't had any extensive discussions on how the projects might work together.

Do you support KDE?

Why does Ubuntu install Gnome by default? Do you support KDE and KDE applications?

The default desktop environment on Ubuntu is Gnome. However, Ubuntu recently launched another project, [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu] which uses the same base as Ubuntu plus KDE. The Kubuntu release was made simultaniously with the latest Ubuntu release. Kubuntu is not a fork or a separate distribution, the packages for both releases are in the same archives.

To install Kubuntu from an already-running Ubuntu distribution you can either select to install the kubuntu-desktop package from Synaptic, or run sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop from the command line. For more information on Kubuntu and KDE applications you can see the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/Kubuntu Kubuntu wiki entry].

What international user resources are available?

There are a number of international user resources available for Ubuntu, and various surprises are to come. Please check the [https://www.ubuntulinux.org/support/supportoptions/local Local languages page] page which the central poing that is continuously updated with what is available.

What does "Ubuntu" mean?

Ubuntu is an African word, which has been described as "too beautiful to translate into English". The essence of ubuntu is that "a person is a person through other people". It describes humanity as "being-with-others" and prescribes what "being-with-others" should be all about. Ubuntu emphasises sharing, consensus, and togetherness. It's a perfect concept for Free Software and open source. Here's a [http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Afri/AfriLouw.htm great article] that describes Ubuntu, which may help define it. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu Wikipedia] also has a good definition.

Why does your first release have a version of 4.10?

Why does your first release have a version of 4.10? And what does the version of an Ubuntu release mean?

Our version numbering scheme is based on the date we release a version of the distribution. Our first release is in October 2004 so the version is 4.10. Our next release, sometime early 2005, will be roughly 5.04. So the version number comes from the year and month of the release rather than being an indicator of a specific piece of software in the release.

Each Ubuntu release has a unique combination of component versions - kernel, X, Gnome, GCC, libc... so an aggregate version number does not make much sense. We prefer to give you an idea of when that release was pushed to the wires.

Where are the Ubuntu forums?

There are ubuntu forums! You can find information about them at the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/community/forums Web forums] page.

Once I have installed Ubuntu, will I be able to upgrade to the next release?

Once I have installed Ubuntu, will I be able to upgrade to the next release?

Yes.

We fully support upgrades from one release to the next. For example, if you installed [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/WartyWarthog WartyWarthog], you will be able to upgrade to [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/HoaryHedgehog HoaryHedgehog] when it is released, and from [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/HoaryHedgehog HoaryHedgehog] to [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/BreezyBadger BreezyBadger], and so forth in perpetuity.

Note that this does not necessarily extend to certain situations involving unsupported software, such as packages in the universe repository, or software which you obtained from a third-party source.

Which packages are available in Ubuntu?

Ubuntu contains essentially all of the packages available in the Debian repositories, as well as many packages from third-party sources. Many packages are customised to integrate smoothly with the Ubuntu system, to fix bugs, and to provide newer versions of software.

The software in Ubuntu is divided into various [https://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/components/ components]. Information about the process of selecting software can be found on the [http://wiki.ubuntu.com/SeedManagement SeedManagement] page.

In the future, a website will be provided which lists all of the available software.

Sounder

What does "Sounder" mean? Why is the mailing list called the "sounder" and the test CD called a "Sounder CD"?

The Warty Warthog testing team goes by the name of The Sounder. Ross Burton worked it out - "sounder" is the collective noun for a group of warthogs.

Sounder CDs

Those of you who've joined us since the Warty preview release may not have encountered the Sounder CD series.

These are milestone CD images that we release once every two weeks or so, as images that are known to be reasonably free of showstopper CD-build or installer bugs (although of course there may still be bugs!), while representing very current snapshots of Warty. Before the preview release we took eight such snapshots.

The most current Sounder CD on the UK download site.To download, visit our [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download download page].

How do I become a beta tester?

Thanks for your interest in helping us test Ubuntu.

You need to install the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/download/ Warty Warthog release] and then install Array CD#1 and test it.

We appreciate your time and effort in finding and helping to fix bugs in the distribution. You can file bugs right away in [http://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu bugzilla] and send patches and fix suggestions to the same place.

There are many ways in which you can participate and shape the progress of Ubuntu. Please visit our community area on the site, [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/community/participate Participate page] and get involved.

Editing the wiki

Can I edit the Ubuntu wikie?

Sure you can. Create an account by registering on the site, then log in.

On the wiki, there are some areas, such as the seed lists, that should not be changed without confirmation from Matt Zimmerman or Jeff Waugh on the sounder mailing list. We'll put a note on special pages such as these.

How do you pronounce Ubuntu?

Ubuntu, an African word from Zulu and Xhosa, is pronounced "oo-BOON-too". See the other FAQ on its meaning, it's a worthwhile read. And no, you're not the first person to wonder

I'm not a programmer: how can I help?

If you don't code, there's still plenty of ways to get involved with Ubuntu.

You can:

• Use Ubuntu.

It's always surprising what you can find during a normal usage of a pre-release distro that, while nowhere being major bugs, are still worth reporting in the bugzilla for this or future releases. That's the whole point of beta and pre-releases: so that things are tested in thousands of different ways by many different users. What at first appear to be a simple bug can turn into a major vulnerability/problem worth patching as soon as possible.

• Answer questions on mailing lists, forums and IRC

• Have a look at the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/community/participate participate] page to find out more ways of turning your free time into more Ubuntu

• Spread the word. Order cds from [http://shipit.ubuntu.com/ Shipit - the Ubuntu CD Distribution System] and give them away to friends, family, complete strangers.

Do You Support KDE?

Why does Ubuntu install Gnome by default? Do you support KDE and KDE applications?

The default desktop environment on Ubuntu is Gnome. However, Ubuntu recently launched another project, [http://www.kubuntu.org/ Kubuntu] which uses the same base as Ubuntu plus KDE. The Kubuntu release was made simultaniously with the latest Ubuntu release. Kubuntu is not a fork or a separate distribution, the packages for both releases are in the same archives.

To install Kubuntu from an already-running Ubuntu distribution you can either select to install the kubuntu-desktop package from Synaptic, or run sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop from the command line. For more information on Kubuntu and KDE applications you can see the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/Kubuntu Kubuntu wiki entry].

Obtaining Ubuntu

Does the Ubuntu LiveCD include everything in the normal installed version?

Yes, it does. The packages installed on the Live CD are identical to those installed in the normal default installation of Ubuntu. During the preview release, there might be a difference in the version of the packages, as we build new releases of the Live CD and Install CD at different times so the packages might be slightly different versions, but once we release they will be the same. One difference we can't improve at this stage is the way the Live CD and Install CD handle their auto-detection. Because they use slightly different systems for auto-detection, things that work perfectly on one might not work on the other, like sound or X resolution guessing. In general, the installation system gives you more room to tweak your config to work exactly the way you want it.

Can I use both Ubuntu and Debian packages together?

Can I use both Ubuntu and Debian packages together, in the same sources.list?

In general, it's not a very good idea. While Debian and Ubuntu are compatible to a large degree, and share many of the same source packages, the binary packages are not identical due to having been built independently. This causes unexpected effects in the package management system.

However, in general, this is not an issue, for one simple reason: essentially all of the software in Debian is also available in Ubuntu repositories, so there is no reason to mix the two.

Can I automatically turn my Debian testing/sarge into Ubuntu?

Is it possible to upgrade from Debian Sarge to Ubuntu Warty Warthog simply by adding the "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu warty main restricted universe" lines to /etc/apt/sources.list?

This is not supported, though a few brave souls have done it and reported mixed results. Sarge and Warty froze at similar times, so some of the code in Warty is newer than code in Sarge, and vice-versa. For example, Warty includes Gnome 2.8, while Sarge is Gnome 2.6. Just trying to switch sources in sources.list will have interesting and undefined results. Please feel free, if you are also feeling brave, to try it and update this answer or the wiki with your results.

Can I upgrade directly from Debian Woody to Ubuntu?

Yes, you can upgrade directly from Debian Woody to Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog). See [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/WartyUpgradeNotes http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/WartyUpgradeNotes] for notes and caveats about the upgrade process.

Do you provide packages compiled with processor-specific optimisations?

Do you provide packages compiled with processor-specific optimisations? Where can I find them?

• Optimised kernels can be obtained by installing the linux-686, linux-k7, etc. packages. Search for "linux" with Synaptic, aptitude or apt-cache.

• An optimised C library is installed by default, in the libc6-i686 packages.

• Optimised cryptography routines for i586- and i686-class systems are included with the OpenSSL library and used automatically
• Ubuntu packages are generally built with nearly all generic

compile-time optimisations which do not involve increasing code size (gcc -O2), except where the package maintainer deviates from this (for example, packages intended for debugging are often less optimised, as this eases debugging). Smaller code allows better utilisation of cache memory.

• Ubuntu packages for the i386 architecture are compiled using the i486 instruction set (-march=i486), with instruction choices based on the Pentium 4 processor (-mcpu=pentium4). This combination provides benefits for modern processors without sacrificing compatibility with older and embedded devices.

A comprehensive experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of more aggressive processor optimisations for all Ubuntu packages is a prerequisite for any global change in compiler optimisations.

Where can I find new versions of packages?

I need newer versions of some Ubuntu packages, such as I am accustomed to receiving in Debian unstable. Where can I find them?

Soon after the Warty release, updated packages will be available in our development branch on an ongoing basis, similar to the pace of Debian unstable.

What kind of software does the multiverse repository contain?

Software in the "multiverse" component has not been determined to be Free Software.

Please make certain that you verify your rights to use this software and comply with the licensing terms of the copyright holder. This software receives no support and usually cannot be fixed or updated. Use it at your own risk.

I Have A Question About Shipping Pressed CDs

Will you really ship CDs free of charge, and where can I get one?

If you cannot download CDs, or would simply like more attractive pressed CDs, we can send you pressed copies of the Install and Live CDs free of charge. You may request CDs at [http://shipit.ubuntu.com - the Ubuntu CD Distribution System].

===What Is On The CD? === All CDs contains version 5.10, codenamed "Breezy Badger". For every CD you order, we will send you one package that contains both an Install CD and a LiveCD in a single cardboard folder. There is no need to specify one or the other: You will get both. This is true for all architectures. Between October 2004 and February 2005, all CDs shipped were Ubuntu 4.10, codenamed "Warty Warthog." From March 2005 to September 2005 it was Ubuntu 5.04, codenamed "Hoary Hedgehog".

How Many CDs Can I Order?

You should use your judgement and limit yourself to a reasonable number of CDs for yourself and to give to your friends and co-workers. If you order a large number of CDs, your order needs to be approved by Canonical staff. Please supply a clear *reason* for ordering, this will help the process of approving. If you are stopped from placing an order by Shipit or experience any problems, please:

• Email info@shipit.ubuntu.com

How Long Will It Take?

Short Answer: 4-6 Weeks Shipment time can vary considerably in relation to a wide range of factors (when you order CDs; where you are located in the world; the speed of your local mail delivery; etc). That said, a good rule of thumb is to allow at least 4-6 weeks for delivery although in some cases they will be delivered substantially more quickly.

CD Request Status

We send out CDs on a weekly basis. You can check to see if your request has been sent to the factory by logging into [http://shipit.ubuntu.com. Unfortunately we do not have additional information and can not track individual orders. We're sorry but we cannot provide information on individual orders, unless it was sent High Priority.

Deadline To Order CDs?

If and when we decide on another final deadline for Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger CDs, we will notify people here and on the website.

How Do I Order More CDs?

You can order a second time once your first order was shipped. Please keep in mind that we have limited resources, and that we cannot send out multiple orders to one individual. Please think carefully about the QTY's you order.

Can You Send Me Kubuntu CDs?

Unfortunately, we cannot offer Kubuntu CDs at this time and currently have no plans to offer these for free shipping through our website. We'll update the page if things change.

Can You Send me Source CDs?

We do not normally distribute source CDs and you cannot order them through shipit. That said, in order to comply with the GPL, we are happy to distribute source code on CD to anybody we give a binary CD. More information is written in fine print on the back of each CD. Source for everything on the CD is always available at [http://archive.ubuntu.com/ http://archive.ubuntu.com] or can be ordered from Canonical for the cost of the media plus shipping.

Can You Send DVDs?

We are currently working on plans to allow people to purchase DVDs images that contain the Live CD, the install CD, and the complete set of supported packages for Ubuntu including Kubuntu. We'll update the shipit site and this page when that becomes a reality. We currently don't have a time frame but we expect it to be very soon.

Will I have to pay taxes/duties?

While the CDs and the shipping are completely free of charge, taxes and duties that customs in your country decide to charge you is not within Canonical's control. The larger the order, the larger the chance of the shipment being stopped and the larger the duty that could be demanded. For the vast majority of shipments (including the vast number of small or relatively small shipments), duties have not be charged and CDs have passed through borders without problems. In several countries (e.g., Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and others), even small shipments of CDs have been stopped. Currently, because most shipments are passing customs untaxed, we do not include a list of the values for the CDs on each package. However, in some situations, this has made customs officials suspicious. In the future, we will list a value on shipments to the most problematic countries in regards to customs and all of those shipments will be taxed. That list will be posted here. At the moment, here is our advice in regards to taxes/duties:

• Anyone ordering a large shipment of CDs should first check with

their local customs officials before they place an order in the database. Explaining that the CDs are free before could save a huge headache in the future.

• If your CDs have been stopped, download the [http://people.ubuntulinux.org/~mako/ubuntu_cds-customs_letter-generic.pdf generic letter to

customs officials].

• first If you need a personalized or signed copy of the letter or if you

need a letter FAXed directly to customs officials, email info@shipit.ubuntu.com directly. There is also now the following other version of the letter:

• [http://people.ubuntu.com/~mako/customs_letter-danish.pdf Translation into Danish]

• [http://people.ubuntu.com/~mako/customs_letter-german.pdf Translation into German]

• [http://people.ubuntu.com/~mako/carta-canonical-aduanas.pdf Translation into Spanish]

• [http://people.ubuntulinux.org/~mako/ubuntu_cds-customs_letter-generic-swedish.pdf Translation into Swedish]

Can You Provide Localized Boxes or CDs?

Unfortunately, no. Canonical is only able to send CDs because we get bulk discounts. As a result, we cannot print seperate or different CDs or boxes as we would not be able to keep our bulk discount. If your local community team wants to fund the production of a localized CD, we are happy to transfer you the necessary artwork.

Can I Get Additional Help?

If you need help or have questions, email info@shipit.ubuntu.com.

How much does Ubuntu cost?

$0.00. Ubuntu is, and always will be, 100% free.

CD does not boot

I downloaded the Warty .iso file and burnt it to a CD, but can not get it to boot. When I reboot, the system says "Booting from CD..." then "failure" and proceeds to boot from harddrive.

You probably have recorded the .iso file to CD as a file, not as a CD image. The .iso file is a CD image and needs to be recorded as such. If you burn it as a regular file, the resulting CD will not work. Try opening the CD in any computer. You should see a few files and directories. If you see "ubuntu-warty-xxxxx.iso" as the only file in the CD instead, you haven't correctly created the CD. Look for the 'Write CD image' or similar option of your favourite CD creation program and use it to record the .iso file to CD. Reboot and enjoy

Shipit To Brazil

Hello, I've ordered Ubuntu 20 CD's. I don't know if is too much, but me and my friends are supporting a Pro-linux program... We hope that, until the midle of the next year, the brasilian government will install the Linux at the federal propieties. Our independent program is helping new Linux users, based in the Ubuntu. We really need this CD's, to make the program run... Somebody knows if we'll can get this?

Does Ubuntu include complete multimedia support?

Does Warty Warthog / Ubuntu include complete multimedia support?

We're still working out some of the difficult legal / policy issues involved with multimedia support. Warty Warthog includes some basic multimedia support, but limited by what we can safely and freely do. Specific information is available for some multimedia issues in the [http://wiki.ubuntu.com/RestrictedFormats RestrictedFormats wiki page].

How come there is no Trashcan icon on the desktop?

Where are the icons on the desktop? I want my Trashcan, Computer and Home icons on the desktop!

In Warty Warthog, we decided to try out a new way of getting to all the important locations on your computer and across the network, which complements the spatial design behind Nautilus very nicely. Icons on the desktop are almost always obscured by windows when you're getting work done, and it's often a pain to move them out of the way or switch to a different workspace to get at them. So, we've turned all of the special desktop icons off, and provided access to them in the Computer menu. No more window tidying when you just want to open your file manager! We've included trashapplet, which provides a working trash icon on your panel, so it's always accessible. In the future, we'd like to make it so that you can delete anything - not just files - by dragging to the trash. If you want to turn some of the special desktop icons back on, run Applications > System Tools > Configuration Editor, navigate to /apps/nautilus/general, and choose the icons you want to appear.

How can I do Flash, Java or mp3 ?

Where are Flash / Java / mp3 support? Is there a Free and working DVD player or video player?

There are a number of commonly used formats and tools that we are unable to support because they have restrictive distribution rights, require special licenses, or are patent encumbered. We may be able to provide support for some of these in restricted, but in general, we would prefer to support Free software and Free formats. If you add the debian-marillat repository to your Ubuntu sources.list (use testing/main), you can use Synaptic or apt-get to install MPlayer, lame, and other tools to deal with non-free formats like DVD and MP3. A relatively clean way of getting Totem to work with all the proprietary file formats is to install totem-xine rather than totem-gstreamer. Then you can download the win32 codecs from elsewhere and install them in ~/.gnome2/totem-addons/ and everything works fine. Of course, this isn't as cool and integrated as using GStreamer for handling all the media, but it works well. If you wish to use the Java SDK/RE, see [http://wiki.osuosl.org/display/DEV/Java+on+Debian Java on Debian ]for an installation guide (it's also valid for Ubuntu). As an alternative to the above mentioned Java on Debian tutorial, you may wish to install some pre-packaged packages. The website http://z42.de/debian/ lists an apt source that lets you install for example Sun Java2 v1.5 with a single command:apt-get install sun-j2sdk1.5 sun-j2sdk1.5debian

How do I get Firefox to open a new tab when I click a link?

Edit the file /etc/mozilla-firefox/mozilla-firefoxrc and change the line that reads FIREFOX_OPEN_IN="window" to be FIREFOX_OPEN_IN="tab". There is a comment about this on the line above.

How do I connect to a wireless LAN with WEP encryption?

My wireless network uses WEP encryption for better security. How can I set up Ubuntu to connect to it?

Ubuntu's Network Settings dialog has support for wireless network cards.

Network configuration is in 'Computer -> System Configuration -> Networking'

How do I make folders open in the same window?

How can I configure the system so that when I open a folder, its contents are displayed in the existing window rather than opening a new window (disabling "spatial" mode)?

Open Computer->Desktop Preferences->File Management, select the Behavior tab, and check the box next to "Always open in browser windows".

Does Ubuntu come with a firewall installed?

Since Ubuntu doesn't run any daemons that listen to the outside world by default (the postfix install only listens on localhost) there's no need for a default firewall.

The rationale is that if a user's got a need for installing a world-facing daemon, they'll be aware that they should configure a firewall/ACL for it too.

Where is gpdf?

GNOME 2.8's version of gpdf is available in universe. We decided to ship xpdf for [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/WartyWarthog WartyWarthog] instead, as gpdf doesn't support text searching and Type3 fonts. It should do, by the time we release [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/HoaryHedgehog HoaryHedgehog] with GNOME 2.10.

Does Ubuntu include Mono and applications based on Mono?

Mono is not included in our Warty Warthog release, but may be included in future releases.

What background images are available for widescreen laptops and displays?

The Ubuntu Default Desktop and Ubuntu Monthly Calendar images are also available in a 16:9 aspect ratio for those with widescreen laptops and displays.

What is the Ubuntu Monthly Calendar background?

What is the Ubuntu Monthly Calendar background?

It's an image in the Human theme that will be changed once a month to give you a fresh desktop background.

All months seen so far are also selectable so you can go back and select an older background that you liked without it changing at the end of the month.

I upgraded to Hoary, and the desktop and most applications now appear in English.

If you have upgraded from Warthy to Hoary and did not have English as your default language, you might have noticed that most applications and the desktop now use English (partially or completely) as their language. The reason is that, to enable the support for another language, you must install a few additional packages which may have not been updated along with the rest of Ubuntu. For instance, if you want to add support for the Spanish (es) language, you should install (with Synaptic, apt-get or whatever method you prefer) the packages language-pack-es, language-pack-es-base and language-support-es. Substitute -es for the abbreviation of the language of your choice. Then, log out and back in and you should be able to enjoy Ubuntu in the language you want again.

I am experiencing problems with the official nVidia drivers.

Installing the nVidia drivers in Ubuntu using the official installer (ie. not using the Ubuntu packages) may give rise to a few annoyances. Specifically, you may find that all OpenGL applications (such as glxgears) segfault on start. This usually happens across reboots, ie. when you install the nVidia drivers using the official installer everything works as expected, but when you reboot you may no longer use OpenGL apps unless you reinstall the driver. This problem is caused by the nvidia-glx script being run at startup. It will notice that the nVidia OpenGL libraries present on the system are not those of the current Ubuntu package and delete them. To correct the problem, do the following.

• Uninstall all Ubuntu packages having to do with nVidia:

kernel-modules-restricted-'yourarch', nvidia-glx, nvidia-common, nvidia-kernel-source come to mind.

• In a terminal, execute the command: 'sudo rm /etc/rc?.d/S??nvidia-glx'. This will stop 'nvidia-glx' from running at startup.
• (Re)install the official nVidia drivers. You will have to exit your

session, switch to another VT (Ctrl-Alt-F1), login and issue the commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm stop cd /path/to/nvidia/installer sudo sh NVidia-Linux-x86-1.0-xxxx-yyyy.run sudo /etc/init.d/gdm start If it's your first time installing nVidia drivers, you may have to modify your X configuration according to the nVidia README. That's it. You should have working OpenGL graphics, preserved across reboots.

• Note to editors: please edit to give it a better layout.

Why do I get "Cannot move file to trash" when deleting files on other (non-root) filesystems?

When deleting files (moving them to trash) on filesystems other than the root filesystem (/), I get "Cannot move file to trash" with the question to delete the file immediately. Can't I tell the Gnome Trash applet to use my userhome trash for certain drives?

The trash mechanism of Gnome is written down here: http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xdg/2004-August/004539.html

When you move a file to trash from a filesystem that is not root (like another harddisk on /mnt/hdb1 for example), Gnome looks for $MOUNTPOINT/.Trash-$USER, where $USER is the username trying to use the trash. Since the filesystem of harddisks is usually not writable by the user (only by root), Gnome can't create that .Trash-$USER directory.

So the solution is: Create a directory <mountpoint>/.Trash-$USER for each user that will be working on this disk. Change ownership to $USER using chown, change permissions to 700 using chmod. After that, using the trash will be possible on this filesystem.

Example:

Assume the new harddisk is mounted on /mnt/hdb1. The user is "ubuntujoe". He has a directory /mnt/hdb1/ubuntujoe that he can use the way he likes, but he can't use the trash because his Gnome session doesn't have permissions to create /mnt/hdb1/.Trash-ubuntujoe.

• Open a terminal
• sudo mkdir /mnt/hdb1/.Trash-ubuntujoe (create directory)
• sudo chown ubuntujoe ubuntujoe /mnt/hdb1/.Trash-ubuntujoe (change ownership to ubuntujoe)
• sudo chmod 700 /mnt/hdb1/.Trash-ubuntujoe (change permissions so ubuntujoe is the only one able to access it)
• You're done. ubuntujoe should now be able to use the trash in /mnt/hdb1/ubuntujoe now.

Support

How do I right-click with an Apple one-button mouse?

I have an Apple system with only one mouse button. How can I perform actions which require right-clicking or middle-clicking?

The F11 and F12 keys can be used to simulate these actions.

How come I can't use more than 900 MB of RAM?

I have more than 900 megabytes of RAM, but the system only sees the first 900. Why is that?

The default generic i386 kernel only has support for 900 megabytes of RAM. After installation, you can select a different kernel as appropriate for your hardware. If you are running on a P4, for example, you might type: sudo apt-get install linux-686 Otherwise, if you are on a dual-processor workstation, you might type: sudo apt-get install linux-686-smp Choose from the list of linux packages the one that best suits your hardware.

How do I connect to Windows 2003 servers?

When I browse my network using the "Windows Network" method I can see all of the machines, but only connect to XP workstations. When I try to connect to Windows 2003 Servers, I get a permissions error. Now, when I try "Connect to Server" method, I fill out the details and enter my password when asked, it responds by asking for the password again. I have also added a computer account to Windows server for my Unbuntu machine then repeated these steps with the same results.

It seems entering 'servername' in the server field and 'sharename' in the share field is not sufficient. Try putting 'servername/sharename' in the server field and leaving the share field blank. We understand this is very counter-intuitive, but it works, we're working to improve this user interface.

fsck on vfat filesystem

How can I stop fsck on my vfat filesystem?

If you want to prevent fsck from checking Windows (vfat) partitions on boot (sometimes this seems to cause many error messages), then edit /etc/fstab and change the pass argument (6th column) to 0.

Hardware detection

How do I rerun hardware detection (prob/probing/re-probe)?

During second stage install Ubuntu probes your hardware and sets up X. If you change your Video Card, Sound Card or even Monitor, you may need to redo this.

This can be done with:- 'apt-get --purge remove xserver-xfree86'

The panel disappeared! What do I do?

My desktop started up one day with no panels at all (i.e. no "applications, computer" menu at the top, and no task list at the bottom). I don't know why.

The fix was to start a terminal (right click on desktop, "open terminal") and run the command "gnome-panel". They started up again fine ... I checked "Computer|Desktop Preferences|Sessions|Current Session" and scrolled down to confirm that "gnome-panel" has the Style "restart" ... so I stopped the command-line panels (by hitting ctrl-C in the terminal) and the panels vanished, and restarted happily.

How do I make Ubuntu work in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004?

You just need a quick manual hack.

Ubuntu currently auto-configures XFree86 during the installation process, asking the user only what resolutions they'd like to enable. The default color depth is automatically set to 24-bpp, and Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 does not support 24-bpp color depth. In practice, this results in garbled graphics output when the X Server starts and the login screen is displayed. To fix this problem, you may manually change the default color depth setting in the XFree86 config file.

Read the [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/HowToConfigureUbuntuForMicrosoftVirtualPC2004 How-To - Configure Ubuntu for Microsoft Virtual PC 2004] for further information.

What's the root password after I install? How do I use the root account?

The root account is disabled when you first install Ubuntu. The first user created during the installation has administrative rights on the system, and can run programs as root with sudo, using only their normal user password. For example: sudo apt-get update. If you wish to use the root account in more traditional UNIX fashion, you can set the root password by typing sudo passwd root. This will allow you to use su or login as root on the console. If you need a shell with root privileges, run sudo -s. All uses of sudo will require the user's password. Some additional comments about sudo can be found in the wiki [http://wiki.ubuntu.com/RootSudo here].

Development tools

What is the simplest way to install the development tools so that I can compile programs?

sudo aptitude install build-essential

Development tools are included on the CD, and so do not need to be downloaded.

Custom or Server Installation

The default installation is for a graphical desktop environment, but I'd like to install a server or other minimal system. How can I do this?

Type "custom" at the initial CD-ROM boot prompt. This will install only the base packages, after which you can install only what you need, using 'aptitude' or 'apt-get'.

Compiling a kernel module

I have installed Ubuntu, but I need to compile a kernel module (for example, in order to connect to the network). What do I do?

First, check whether the module you need is already present. Many additional drivers are included in the default Ubuntu kernel. If you still need to compile a module, the following command will install everything you need: # sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-uname -r All of the packages needed are available on the Ubuntu CD.

Space for Ubuntu?

What is the recommended RAM and how much hard drive space does Ubuntu need?

To install Ubuntu you should have at least 32MB of RAM.

You should have space on your hard disk to create a new disk partition of at least 1.8 GB for a standard Ubuntu desktop system, or at least 350 MB for a minimal custom installation.

Sound preview in Nautilus

How can I enable sound preview in nautilus?

Install "sox" via synaptic.

Note: You might need to enable universe.

Gnome session stops working

After upgrading all the packages from apt, my Gnome session stops working (panel doesn't show, session doesn't start, etc.) How can I fix this?

Try to reboot the system.

Some upgrades can be more intrusive than others, and in my most recent upgrade, Gnome experienced these problems. I tried to create a new user directory to no avail. Restarting the computer totally fixed the problem. [http://wiki.ubuntulinux.org/OwenMarshall OwenMarshall].

The computer clock becomes wrong everytime I dual boot to Windows. How do I solve this?

Everytime I dual boot to my Windows partition, my computer clock become X hours ahead/behind my local time. How do I solve that problem with Ubuntu?

• Edit the file /etc/default/rcS. in there is a setting for time ("UTC=").
• Set it to no ("UTC=no")

Configuring NFS service

I am trying to set up an NFS server. I think I've done everything right, but it doesn't seem to work. I get an error "mount: RPC: Remote system error - Connection refused". What have I missed?

By default, the portmap daemon listens only on the loopback interface (localhost). You can change this by editing /etc/default/portmap and removing the "-i 127.0.0.1" option from the command line arguments. After making this change, run sudo /etc/init.d/portmap restart.

Development tools

How can I install software development tools?

A default Ubuntu desktop installation includes a full-featured Python development environment, so if you want to develop in Python, you should already have everything you need.

If you want to develop in C or C++, install the build-essential package. The choice to exclude C/C++ development tools from the default desktop install was an explicit one. The discussion is archived here: http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/sounder/2004-September/000524.html

How do I remove the black "X" in the middle of my screen in addition to the normal mouse cursor?

I have a black "X" in the middle of my screen, in addition to the normal mouse cursor.

This is caused by problems with hardware acceleration of the cursor. You can work around this problem by editing /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and adding the following line:

Option "HWCursor" "false"

or

Option "SWCursor" "true"

to the Device section of the file.

Note that the option is specific for each video card driver.

To be sure to enter the proper information check the man page for your driver.

Examples:

man radeon

for ati cards or

man nv

for nvidia cards.

The result section should look like:

{{{Section "Device"

• Identifier "nVidia Corporation NV25 [Geforce4 Ti 4600] 0" Driver "nvidia"

  BusID "PCI:1:0:0" Option "HWCursor" "false"

EndSection }}}

What is DocBook ?

What is the DocBook standard, and how is it related to the documentation project?

Christoph Haas has written a nice introductory document about DocBook - read it [http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/DocBook here]

Reprobe Monitor

How can i reprobe my monitor?

Let's say that you installed you Ubuntu box with a 15 1024x768 monitor and than you move it and use it with a 19 1600x1200 monitor. You can easily reprobe you monitor freq and resolution:

- Identify the driver you are using for you video card (let's say radeon)

- Type, with root privileges (i.e. using sudo)

xresprobe radeon

of course instead of radeon use the appropriate driver

How do I register for an account to edit wiki

Select Join in the top right hand corner of the www.ubuntulinux.org site. You will be presented with the [https://www.ubuntulinux.org/join_form Registration form]. Full name Please fill in your full name - this will be used as your display name in the website and on the wiki. Email address Please enter a valid and current email address, that you have already set up. If this is not a current email address of yours, we will be unable to send you a password. You will then not be able to log in to the website or wiki, so please check it carefully. Please note: We do not issue you with an email address when you register. Changing your password Once you receive your password, please login. You are then able to change your password to a more memorable one in my preferences. If you've forgotten your password You are able to reset your password at [https://www.ubuntulinux.org/forgottenpassword Forgotten password]. Please remember to use the email address you entered when you registered on the site.