Ubuntu 9.04 Kernel Panic Problem

Great, I finally got my Ubuntu 9.04 up and running.

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop

I am an Ubuntu user and I make sure that I always have the latest version installed on my computer.

However luck was not by my side during the latest release of Ubuntu – 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)

After having installed Ubuntu while starting the new system the computer froze with Caps Lock and Scroll Lock LEDs blinking. I was really disappointed… I felt like crippled since i perform most of my productive tasks on Ubuntu…

I made a lot of researches in order to solve the problem, tried removing and reinstalling it, tried installing the nVidia drivers still nothing worked. Then and angel smiled at me…

I came across this forum which gave me my life saving answer…

So here is the explanation about the Kernel panic:

The default kernel installed on Ubuntu 9.04 is the 2.6.28-11 version which for some unknown reason was not compatible with my hardware configuration… (well that’s an assumption since it was working fine on other computers according to the other Ubuntu users)

I then read the forum post and chose the Optimal way (Part C with reference to the forum post) to repair the kernel panic problem.

The solution was to install the latest version of Kernel released for 9.04 but it seems it is not yet available on the repositories (Version 2.6.29-3)

Since my gnome desktop was not reliable i had to log on using recovery mode and chose the netroot option.

I then downloaded the three packages for i386 system:
$ wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.29.3/linux-headers-2.6.29-02062903-generic_2.6.29-02062903_i386.deb

$ wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.29.3/linux-headers-2.6.29-02062903_2.6.29-02062903_all.deb

$ wget -c http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.29.3/linux-image-2.6.29-02062903-generic_2.6.29-02062903_i386.deb

I then installed the downloaded packages using dpkg:
$ sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.29-02062903-generic_2.6.29-02062903_i386.deb linux-headers-2.6.29-02062903_2.6.29-02062903_all.deb linux-image-2.6.29-02062903-generic_2.6.29-02062903_i386.deb

After installation I restarted the computer on the new Kernel and it now works really great…

I am currently publishing this post from my Ubuntu 9.04…

Mounting .iso images manually in Ubuntu (using the terminal)

I have been trying to mount .iso images on my Ubuntu these last days, i looked over the internet and found many solutions, including some ready made scripts and even some applications which help mount iso images, an example is Gmount-iso. I really did not like the way it mounts since when i mount it i have to create a folder on the Desktop and mount it there itself. I looked for some scripts and i tried using them but i was still not able to mount them.

Finally while searching for another solution i ended up on this site which had both ways of mounting the iso image. One way was to use the Nautilus Script which i was really not satisfied and the second way was mounting it manually through the gnome terminal using the Kernel Loop Module.

First let’s see what the Kernel loop module does as it stated in the site:

Using the module loop it is possible to mount a filesystem file. squashfs is a “loop” with (de)compression (Compressed Loopback Device) and it is possible to mount a compressed filesystem like a block device and seamlessly decompress its data while accessing it.

So, firstly we need to load the loop module. Open the terminal and type in:
sudo modprobe loop

Root access is needed so you will be prompted for your root password.

A folder is then created in the /media/ directory (This folder is the mount point of the .iso image) using:

sudo mkdir /media/anyname

“anyname” can be replaced by any name of your choice.

Now we need to mount the .iso image file.

To make my task easy, i open Nautilus (the ubuntu file browser) and navigate to where the .iso file is found. I then Right-Click -> Copy then return to the terminal and type in:

sudo mount

and after a space i just press Ctrl+Shit+V or Simply Right-click on the terminal background and paste. The path and the filename will already be pasted thus:
sudo mount path_and_filename.iso

and further we type in the mount point of the .iso image in this case: /media/anyname/ followed by -t iso9660 loop where “iso9660″ specifies the type of image file being mounted. There on the whole the code will look like this:
sudo mount path_and_filename.iso /media/anyname/ -t iso9660 -o loop

The iso image is now mounted and accessible from the desktop in the form of a CD/DVD icon

Well after using our mounted .iso file we need to unmount it in order not to leave tasks incomplete (just a small discipline):
sudo umount /media/anyname

Then we simply delete the mount point that we created:
sudo rmdir /media/anyname

I found this a bit more practical even if we got a lot to type but it allows me to create a mount point of my choice without any problem and really flexible…

Well i really want to create an application which will help me implement this using a gnome gui… or maybe there is already one (definitely not Gmount-iso since it does not let me create any folder int the /media/ directory-premission denied)

Any suggestion and help are welcome. This small implementation will help out a lot and save a lot of time and do some clean jobs.

Changing the KDE4 Plasma Theme

I installed the KDE4 version of Kubuntu 8.04, but i was not really satisfied with the look of the interface and all… I wanted to change the theme but this fuctionality was not really present in the systems settings of Kubuntu.

Default KDE4 Theme

So i tried to google a bit and even when to the chat forum of #kubuntu-kde4. So i asked them how can i install new Plasma Themes. Then a nice guy gave me a link which guided me through the steps of how to change the plasma theme. It was not as easy as in the KDE 3.5.9 version since we got to make the changes manually. So here are the steps to be followed to give your plasma theme a new look:

I will take an example of the theme i downloaded from here.

1. Create a new folder where you are going to store the downloaded plasma themes
   • Go to the folder “~/.kde4/share/apps/”
   • Create a new folder and name it desktoptheme if it does not exist
2. Get a Plasma Theme
   • Go to the site KDE-Look.org and choose a theme to download.
   • Download the tar.gz file to any folder of ur choice (I downloaded the Glassified Theme)
3. Install the downloaded plasma theme
   • Extract the tar.gz file to a folder in the directory “~/.kde4/share/apps/desktoptheme/” (I created a folder called “glassified” since it’s the name of the theme i downloaded ). You will need to create the folder ‘desktoptheme’.
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “kquitapp plasma”. This will exit the plasma theme. We will get it back later after configuring the new theme.
   • Press “Alt+F2″ again and type “kate” to open the text editor.
   • Open the file “plasmarc” found in the folder “~/.kde4/share/config/”
   • Locate the line where it says [Theme] and change “name=default” to “name=[Name of folder u just created]” (In my case “glassified”). In case you do not find the line, just add it to the file ‘plasmarc’
   • Save the changes u made to the file and Exit
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “plasma”. This will bring the new plasma theme

The new Glassified Theme

The new theme gives a really nice look instead of the dull default KDE4 Desktop

 

An  update: 
There is a comment from the author “Tip” in the blog Easier installation of KDE4 themes – a deb package and a repository? which says:

“Have you noticed Right-clicking on desktop>Desktop Settings>New Theme?
Pretty simple plasma theme installation”

I am not pretty sure about it since i have not used Kubuntu for quite some time… but you can still check out if it’s possible… then it will not be difficult to change the plasma themes…

Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) Released

Yesterday Ubuntu released it’s latest version 8.04 also known as the Hardy Heron along with Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Edubuntu. The main difference between these distributions is that Ubuntu uses the GNOME Desktop Environment, Kubuntu uses KDE and Xubuntu uses Xfce Desktop Environment. Edubuntu is simply the educational version on Ubuntu. Since i am a Kubuntu user i will focus mainly on the features of the Latest Kubuntu.

Kubuntu has come with two different releases, one is the stable KDE 3.5.9 and the other one is a Remix Featuring the latest release of KDE 4.0.

Kubuntu 8.04 now features two versions of the K Desktop Environment, a
powerful graphical desktop environment which combines the ease of use,
contemporary functionality, and outstanding graphical design with the
technological superiority of the Kubuntu operating system. The stable
release of KDE in Kubuntu 8.04 is version 3.5.9. The edgier release of KDE
in Kubuntu 8.04 is version 4.0.3.

(This text has been taken from the Kubuntu website)

KDE 4

Some features of the KDE 4 are:

• Plasma – Size and the position of the panel is now configurable
• KHTML – repainting issues addressed and KHTML now supports more non-HTML4-compliant documents
• session switching has been included
• and more…

KDE 4 is available on the Kubuntu 8.04 Remix CD or it can be installed by typing apt-get install kubuntu-kde4-desktop in the Linix Konsole.

KDE 3

The KDE 3.5.9 is the stable version of KDE which includes the following features:

• A favourite email folders view in KMail as well as drag and drop support for the folders
• Easier scheduling in KOrganizer
• KGeography and Kig fixes within the KDE Edu module
• Fixes to KPDF
• and more…

Desktop Special Effects

Kubuntu 8.04 now provides the ability for 3D Desktop Effects such as spinning cube, true transparency, wobbly windows and other special effects. The Compiz Engine is needed to be able to use these Desktop Effects. There are 4 levels of Desktop Effects:

1. No Effects – All effects are disabled and the KDE Window Manager (KWin) is used
2. Standard Effects – Some simple effects such as shadows or shrinking windows
3. Extra Effects – Enhancing the Standard Effects and using more other effects
4. Custom Effects – This needs the Compiz Configuration Manager installed in the system to tweak the effects according the the user’s choice.

File System Support

Kubuntu 8.04 provides many new advancements and support for file systems. There are two new features in Kubuntu 8.04. It is now possible to install an encrypted file system during installation. This option is currently available only on the Alternate Installation CD. Every partition can be encrypted apart from the /boot partition providing the user a more secure version of Kubuntu. The second new feature is the ability to easily read and write any NTFS partitions.

Printer Auto Configuration

Kubuntu 8.04 now provides an applet that automatically configures a printer when it is attached to your system. This new applet also provides users with feedback on the status of the printer installation and configuration.

Wubi

Kubuntu 8.04 or Live CD’s provide a new installer for those running Windows. It is now possible to install Kubuntu as if it were any other application to be installed in Windows. There is no need to modify the partitions of the PC or use a different loader.

Some other features

• OpenOffice.org 2.4
• Personal Information Management using Kontact

If u wish to download Kubuntu u can click here

The other distributions can be downloaded in the links given below:

• Ubuntu Download
• Xubuntu Download
• Edubuntu Download

I have already started the download of Kubuntu-KDE4 version…

Hope you will enjoy using the new version of the Ubuntu distributions

(All images have been taken from the Kubuntu home page)

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Ubuntu Live Stats

I was just browsing the All about Linux blog, I came across a very interesting post which talked about a site which gives live updates about Ubuntu including Forum posts, Bugs, News, Security and others. So i had a look at the site and it was really a page where we got the updates Live… As soon as a new post was entered or there was a News, it just got updated in the lists without the need to refresh the page… That was too cool… Well these live updates are because the page was created in AJAX… I really do not know well about AJAX yet since i never got the chance to study it, but i would really like to know about AJAX and learn it… The site which i was talking about is the Ubuntu Live Stats where all those interested to get the latest news about Linux can have a look…

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