MX Linux Users Manual

8/29/2015
MX Linux Users Manual
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MXLinuxUsersManual
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TableofContents
Section1:Introduction
Subsection1.1:AboutMXLinux
Subsection1.2:AboutthisManual
Subsection1.3:Systemrequirements
Subsection1.4:Support
Subsection1.5:Bugs,issuesandrequests
Section2:Installation
Subsection2.1:Introduction
Subsection2.2:Creatingabootablemedium
Subsection2.3:PreInstallation
Subsection2.4:Firstlook
Subsection2.5:TheInstallationprocess
Subsection2.6:Troubleshooting
Section3:Configuration
Subsection3.1:Peripherals
Subsection3.2:BasicMXApps
Subsection3.3:Display
Subsection3.4:Network
Subsection3.5:Filemanagement
Subsection3.6:Sound
Subsection3.7:Localization
Subsection3.8:Customization
Section4:Basicuse
Subsection4.1:Internet
Subsection4.2:Multimedia
Subsection4.3:Office
Subsection4.4:Home
Subsection4.5:Security
Subsection4.6:Accessibility
http://www.mepiscommunity.org/user_manual_mx15/mxum.html
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Subsection4.7:System
Subsection4.8:Backup
Subsection4.9:Games
Subsection4.10:Googletools
Section5:SoftwareManagement
Subsection5.2:Repositories
Subsection5.3:Synaptic
Subsection5.4:Troubleshooting
Subsection5.5:Othermethods
Section6:Advanceduse
Subsection6.1:WindowsprogramsunderMXLinux
Subsection6.2:Virtualmachines
Subsection6.3:AlternateWindowManagers
Subsection6.4:CommandLine
Subsection6.5:Scripts
Subsection6.6:AdvancedMXApps
Subsection6.7:SSH
Section7:Underthehood
Subsection7.2:Thefilesystemstructure
Subsection7.3:Permissions
Subsection7.4:Configurationfiles
Subsection7.5:Runlevels
Subsection7.6:Thekernel
Subsection7.7:Kernelpanicandrecovery
Section8:Glossary
MXLinuxUsersManual
1Introduction
1.1AboutMXLinux
MXLinuxisaspecialversionofantiXdevelopedinfullcollaborationwiththeMEPISCommunity,usingthebesttoolsandtalentsfromeachdistro.ItisamidweightOS
designedtocombineanelegantandefficientdesktopwithsimpleconfiguration,highstability,solidperformanceandmediumsizedfootprint.ItdeploysXfce4.12asDesktop
EnvironmentontopofaDebianStablebaseongoingbackportstotheCommunityReposkeepitcurrent.
Theamountandsizeofapplicationshavebeenrestrictedbothtoreducedownloadsizeandtolimittheneedtoremoveunwantedpackagesoneclickinstallationofmany
popularadditionalpackagesisavailableintheMXPackageInstaller.
AlthoughantiXisitscodeparent,MXLinuxcomeswithadistinctsetofapplicationsandproceduresthatinmanyinstancesdiffercompletely.Itreliesontheexcellent
upstreamworkbyLinux,Debian,andXfce.Italsoincorporatestheindependentandinnovativedevelopmentproductssmxiandinxi.
ThefollowingDevelopmentTeammembers(devsATmxlinuxDOTorg)playedaparticularlysignificantroleinthecreationofMXLinux.
LeadDeveloper:anticapitalista
PrimaryCoders/Packagers:Adrian,BitJam,kmathern,Stevo,timkb4cq
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ProjectManager:jerry3904
Significantcontributors:chrispop99,Dolphin_Oracle,EadwineRose,fusen,GaerBoy,Ko,m_pav,megatotoro,namida12,pcallahan80,richb,Utopia,zeeone
SpecialthanksforstrongongoingsupportofthisprojectgototheMepisCommunityPackagerstovideoproducersDolphin_Oracleandm_pavtoourvolunteers,especially
GordonCooper,mikeinsantarosaandOldGizaandtoallourTranslators!
1.2AboutthisManual
Figure11:The*need*formanuals(xkcd.com)
ThisUsersManualistheproductoflargegroupofvolunteersfromtheMXLinuxcommunity.Assuch,itwillinevitablycontainerrorsandomissions,althoughwehave
workedhardtominimizethem.Pleasesenduscorrectionsorsuggestionsusingoneofthemethodslistedatthebeginning.Updateswilloccuronlineonaregularbasisthe
backupcopyontheharddrive(/usr/local/share/doc/mxum.html)willbeupdatedlessoftenthroughthestandardpackageprocedures.
TheManualisdesignedtowalknewusersthroughthestepsofobtainingacopyofMXLinux,installingit,configuringittoworkwithonesownhardware,andputtingitto
dailyuse.Itaimstoprovideareadablegeneralintroduction,andpurposelygivespreferencetographicaltoolswhenavailable.Fordetailedorinfrequenttopics,theusershould
consulttheResourcesorpostontheForum.
NewusersmayfindsomeofthetermsusedinthisManualtobeunfamiliarorconfusing.Wehavetriedtolimittheuseofdifficulttermsandconcepts,butsomearesimply
unavoidable.TheGlossarylocatedattheendofthedocumentprovidesdefinitionsandcommentsthatwillhelpingettingthroughdifficultpassages.
Allcontentis2015byantiXLinuxandreleasedunderGPLv3.Citationshouldread:
MXLinuxCommunityDocumentationProject.2015.UsersManualforMXLinux.
1.3Systemrequirements
ForanMXLinuxsysteminstalledonaharddrive,youwouldnormallyneedthefollowingcomponents.(SeealsoLiveMediumoptionsinSection6.6.)
Minimum
ACD/DVDdrive(andBIOScapableofbootingfromthatdrive),oraliveUSB(andBIOScapableofbootingfromUSB)
Amoderni486IntelorAMDprocessor
512MBofmemory
5GBfreeharddrivespace
ASoundBlaster,AC97orHDAcompatiblesoundcard.
Recommended
ACD/DVDdrive(andBIOScapableofbootingfromthatdrive),oraliveUSB(andBIOScapableofbootingfromUSB)
Amoderni686IntelorAMDprocessor
1GBRAMormore
Atleast10GBfreeharddrivespace
A3Dcapablevideocardfor3Ddesktopsupport
1.4Support
WhatkindofsupportisavailableforMXLinux?Theanswertothisquestiondependsonthetypeofsupportyoumean:
Userbasedproblems.AraftofsupportmechanismsexistsforMXLinux,fromdocumentsandvideostoforumsandsearchengines.SeetheCommunitySupportpage
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fordetails.
Hardware.Hardwareissupportedinthekernel,wherecontinuousdevelopmentgoeson.Verynewhardwaremaynotyetbesupported,andveryoldhardware,though
stillsupported,maynolongerbesufficientforthedemandsofthedesktopandapplications.
Desktop.Xfce4isamaturedesktopthatremainsunderdevelopment.TheversionshippedwithMXLinuxisconsideredstableimportantupdateswillbeappliedasthey
becomeavailable.
Applications.ApplicationscontinuetobedevelopedafterthereleaseofanyversionofMXLinux,meaningthattheshippedversionswillgetolderastimepasses.This
problemisaddressedthroughacombinationofsources:Debian,individualDevelopersincludingMXDevs,andtheCommunityPackagingTeam.
Security.SecurityupdatesfromDebianwillcoverMXLinuxuserswellintotheforeseeablefuture.
1.5Bugs,issuesandrequests
Bugsareerrorsinacomputerprogramorsystemthatproduceincorrectresultsorabnormalbehavior.MXLinuxdefinesissuesasupstreambugsaboutwhichtheDevTeam
candonothing.Finally,requestsareadditionsrequestedbyusers,eitherasnewapplicationsornewfeaturesforexistingapplications.MXLinuxdealswiththeseinthe
followingmanner:
AllthreeofthesearemanagedbymeansoftheTracker.
UsersshouldmakeapostintheBugsandRequestForum,beingcarefultoprovideinformationabouthardware,system,anderrordetails
DevsaswellasCommunitymemberswillrespondtothosepostswithquestions,suggestions,etc.
IfDevsconcludethatalegitimatebug/issue/requestisinvolved,theycreateanewentryinTracker.
UserscanconsultTrackertomonitorprogressontheirpost
Figure12:Tracker
2Installation
2.1Introduction
AnMXLinuxLiveMedium(USBorCD)bootsyourcomputerwithoutaccessingtheharddisk.ItcopiesavirtualfilesystemintoRAMthatactsasthecenterofatemporary
operatingsystemforthecomputer.WhenyouendyourLivesession,everythingaboutyourcomputerisbacktothewayitwas,unchanged(contrastSection6.6.1).
Thisprovidesanumberofbenefits:
ItenablesyoutorunMXLinuxonyourcomputerwithoutinstallingit.
ItallowsyoutodeterminewhetherMXLinuxiscompatiblewithyourhardware.
IthelpsyoutogetafeelforhowMXLinuxworksandtoexploresomeofitsfeatures.
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YoucandecidewhetherMXLinuxiswhatyouwantwithoutpermanentlyaffectingyourcurrentsystem.
RunningfromtheLiveMediumalsohassomedisadvantagesifusingaLiveCD:
BecausetheentiresystemisoperatingfromacombinationofRAMandthemedium,MXLinuxwillrequiremoreRAMandrunmoreslowlythanifitwereinstalledon
theharddrive.
SomeunusualhardwarethatrequiresspecializeddriversorcustomconfigurationmaynotworkinaLiveMediumsessionwherepermanentfilescantbeinstalled.
InstallingandremovingsoftwareisalsonotpossiblebecausetheCDisareadonlymedium.
2.1.1PAEornonPAE?
MXLinuxisavailableintwomodesfor32bitarchitecture:PAEandnonPAE.PAEstandsforPhysicalAddressExtension,awayofallowing32bitoperatingsystemsto
accessrambeyondaround4GB.ItispossibletouseanonPAEversiononaPAEsystem,butnotviceversa.MXLinuxnonPAEisexactlythesameasMX14PAEexceptit
uses:
the486kernelinsteadofthe686one
anolderversionofFlashbydefault
ThemethodyouusetodeterminewhetheryouneedthePAEornonPAEversiondependsontheOSyoucurrentlyrun.
Linux.Openaterminalandenterthiscommand(installinxifirstifnecessary):inxif.IftheCPUFlagsentrydoesnotincludePAEinthelist,thenyoullneedthenon
PAEversion.
Mac.IntelversionsofOSXsupportPAE.
Windows
Windows2000andearlier:nonPAE
WindowsXPandVista.RightclickMyComputer>Properties,Generaltab.IfitsaysPhysicalAddressExtension(=PAE)atthebottom,thenPAEisthecorrect
versiontoinstall.
Windows7.OpentheCommandPromptwindowbyclickingtheStartbutton>AllPrograms>Accessories>CommandPrompt.Aterminalwindowwillappear.
Enterthiscodeatthecommandpromptwherethecursorispositioned:
wmicosgetPAEEnabled
IfPAEisenabled,youwillgetareturnlikethis:PAEEnabled.ThatreturnmayormaynotbefollowedbythewordTRUE.
Windows8.PAEenabledbydefault.
2.2Creatingabootablemedium
2.2.1ObtaintheISO
MXLinuxisdistributedasanISO,adiskimagefileintheISO9660filesystemformat.ItisavailableintwoformatsofftheDownloadpage.
Theoriginalreleaseofagivenversion.
Thisisastaticversionthat,oncereleased,remainsunaltered.
Thelongerthetimesincerelease,thelesscurrentitis.
Amonthlyupdateofagivenversion.ThismonthlyISO(bothPAEandNONPAE)iscreatedfromtheoriginalreleaseusingMXSnapshot(seeSection6.6.2).
Itincludesallupgradessincetheoriginalrelease,andthusremovesthenecessityofdownloadingalargenumberoffilesafterinstallation.
ItalsoenablesuserstorunLivewiththemostrecentversionoftheprograms.
NotguaranteedtofitonaCD,asupgradesmayhavechangedISOsize.
Onlyavailableasdirectdownload!
Purchase
ItispossibletopurchaseaCDorUSB(originalreleaseonly)fromOSDiskwiththeISOalreadyloadedandreadytouse:usethelinksontheDownloadpage.MXLinux
receivesasmallamountbackfromeachpurchasethatitusestocovercosts.
Download
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MXLinuxcanbedownloadedintwowaysfromtheDownloadpage.
Direct.Clickonthecorrectlinkforyourarchitectureandmode,andsavetheISOtoyourHardDisk.Availableforbothoriginalreleaseandmonthlyupdate.
Torrent.BitTorrentfilesharingprovidesaninternetprotocolforefficientmasstransferofdata.Itdecentralizesthetransferinsuchawayastoutilizegoodbandwidth
connectionsandtominimizestrainonlowbandwidthconnections.AnaddedbenefitisallBitTorrentclientsperformerrorcheckingduringthedownloadprocess,so
thereisnoneedtodoaseparatemd5sumcheckafteryourdownloadiscomplete.Ithasalreadybeendone!
TheMXLinuxTorrentTeammaintainsaseededBitTorrentswarmofthelatestMXLinuxISO(originalreleaseonly),registeredatLinuxTracker.orgwithin24hours
ofitsofficialrelease.Herearethebasicsteps:
HowtoCreateaTorrent
GototheDownloadpageandclickonthecorrectTorrentlink
WhentheLinuxTrackerpageopens,findandclickthelinkforthetorrent(e.g.,MX14.3pae)intherowlabeledTorrent
Onthenextscreen,lookforthelinklabeledDownloadNowandclickonit
MakesureOpenwith<NameOfYourDefaultTorrentClient>isselectedandclickOK
Yourtorrentclient(Transmissionbydefault)willthenshowthetorrentinitslisthighlightitandclickStarttobeginthedownloadprocess.
Figure21:LinuxTracker:smalllinktotorrent
Figure22:LinuxTracker:smalldownloadlink
2.2.2CheckvalidityofdownloadedISOs
AfteryouhavedownloadedanISO,thenextstepistocheckitsmd5sumagainsttheofficialone.Itwillbeidenticaltotheofficialmd5sumifyourcopyisauthentic.The
followingstepswillletyouverifytheintegrityofthedownloadedISOonanyOSplatform.
Windows
UserscancheckwithatoolcalledWinMD5FREE.Downloadandunzipit,thenputtheexefileinanyfolderonyourharddrive.Itisreadytouse,noinstallationrequired.
Linux
InMXLinux,navigatetothefolderwhereyouhavedownloadedtheISOandthemd5sumfile.Rightclickthemd5sumfile>Checkdataintegrity.Adialogboxwillpopup
saying<nameofISO>:OKifthenumbersareidentical.YoucanalsorightclicktheISO>Computemd5sumandcompareitwithanothersource.
Forsituationswherethatoptionisnotavailable,openaterminalinthelocationwhereyoudownloadedtheISO,thentype:
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md5sumfilename.iso
Besuretoreplacefilenamewiththeactualfilename(typeinthefirstcoupleoflettersthenhitTabanditwillbefilledinautomatically).
Comparethenumberobtainedbythiscalculationwiththemd5sumfiledownloadedfromofficialsite.Iftheyareidentical,yourcopyisidenticaltotheofficialrelease.
Mac
Macusersneedtoopenupaconsole/terminalandchangeintothedirectorywiththeISOandmd5sumfiles.Thenissuethiscommand:
md5cfilename.md5sum
Besuretoreplacefilenamewiththeactualfilename.
2.2.3CreatetheLiveMedium
DVD
BurninganISOtoaDVDiseasy,aslongasyoufollowsomeimportantguidelines.
DonotburntheISOontoablankCD/DVDasifitwereadatafile!AnISOisformattedandbootableimageofanOS.YouneedtochooseBurndiskimageorBurn
ISOinthemenuofyourCD/DVDburningprogram.Ifyoujustdraganddropitintoafilelistandburnitasaregularfile,youwillnotgetabootableLiveMedium.
UseagoodqualitywritableDVDRwitha4.7GBcapacity.
USB
YoucaneasilycreateabootableUSBthatworksonmostsystems.MXLinuxincludestwotoolsforthiswork.
Unetbootin,acrossplatformutility.Ifnecessary,downloadandinstallUnetbootinfromtheUnetbootinhomepage.
PlugintheUSBstickyouaregoingtouseandreformatittoFAT32usingGParted,ifnotalreadyinthatformat.OnWindows,usetheMyComputerscreen,
rightclickyourUSBdeviceinthemenuandselectFormat,thenFAT32.
StartUnetbootin,andeitherdownloadtheISOusingthetopradiobutton,orclickonthebuttonwiththe3dotstolocateyourISOfile.
Makesurethedevicethatisidentifiedinthebottomlineiswhatyouwanttouseandthattherearenofilesonitthatyoudonotwantdestroyed.
ClickOKtocreatethefilesnecessary(itwilltakesometime)ontheUSBdevice.
Eitherclicktorestartthesystem,orexittorebootmanually.
antix2usb:seeSection6.6.3.
Figure23:Unetbootin
2.3PreInstallation
2.3.1ComingfromWindows
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IfyouaregoingtoinstallMXLinuxasareplacementforMicrosoftWindows,itisagoodideatoconsolidateandbackupyourfilesandotherdatacurrentlystoredin
Windows.Evenifyouareplanningtodualboot,youshouldmakeabackupofthisdataincaseofunforeseenproblemsduringtheinstall.
Backingupfiles
Locateallofyourfiles,suchasofficedocuments,pictures,video,ormusic:
Typically,mostofthesearelocatedinMyDocumentsfolder.
SearchfromtheWindowsstartmenuforvarioustypesoffilestomakesureyouhavefoundandsavedthemall.
Onceyouhavelocatedallsuchfiles,burnthemtoaCDorDVD,orcopythemtoanexternaldevicesuchasaUSBthumbdrive.
Backingupemail,calendar,andcontactdata
Dependingontheemailorcalendarprogramyouuse,youremailandcalendardatamaynotbesavedinanobviouslocationorunderanobviousfilename.Mostemailor
schedulingapplications(suchasMicrosoftOutlook)areabletoexportthisdatainoneormorefileformats.Consultyourapplicationshelpdocumentationtofindouthowto
exportthedata.
Emaildata:Thesafestformatforemailisplaintext,sincemostmailprogramssupportthisfeaturebesuretozipthefiletoensurethatitscontentsareincluded.Ifyou
areusingOutlookExpress,yourmailisstoredina.dbxor.mbxfile,eitherofwhichcanbeimportedintoThunderbird(ifinstalled)onMXLinux.UsetheWindows
searchfeaturetolocatethisfileandcopyittoyourbackup.OutlookmailshouldbeimportedfirstintoOutlookExpressbeforebeingexportedforuseinMXLinux.
Calendardata:exportyourcalendardatatoiCalendarorvCalendarformatifyouwishtouseitinMXLinux.
Contactdata:themostuniversalformatsareCSV(commaseparatedvalues)orvCard.
Accountsandpasswords
Althoughnotusuallystoredinreadablefilesthatcanbebackedup,itsimportanttoremembertomakenoteofvariousaccountinformationyoumayhavesavedinyour
computer.YourautomaticlogindataforwebsitesorserviceslikeyourISPwillhavetobeenteredinalloveragain,somakesuretostoreoffdisktheinformationyouneedto
accesstheseservicesagain.Examplesinclude:
ISPlogininformation:Youwillneedatleastyourusernameandpasswordforyourinternetserviceprovider,andthephonenumbertoconnectifyouareondialupor
ISDN.Otherdetailsmightincludeadialoutnumber,dialingtype(pulseortone),andauthenticationtype(fordialup)IPaddressandsubnetmask,DNSserver,gateway
IPaddress,DHCPserver,VPI/VCI,MTU,Encapsulationtype,orDHCPsettings(forvariousformsofbroadband).Ifyouarenotsurewhatyouneed,consultyour
ISP.
Wirelessnetworking:Youwillneedyourpasskeyorpassphrase,andnetworkname.
Webpasswords:Youwillneedyourpasswordstovariouswebforums,onlinestores,orothersecuredsites.
Emailaccountdetails:Youwillneedyourusernameandpassword,andtheaddressesorURLsofthemailservers.Youmayalsoneedtheauthenticationtype.This
informationshouldberetrievablefromtheAccountsettingsdialogofyouremailclient.
Instantmessaging:YourusernameandpasswordforyourIMaccount(s),yourbuddylist,andtheserverconnectioninformationifnecessary.
Other:IfyouhaveaVPNconnection(suchastoyouroffice),aproxyserver,orotherconfigurednetworkservice,makesureyoufindoutwhatinformationis
necessarytoreconfigureitintheeventthatyouneedto.
Browserfavorites
Webbrowserfavorites(bookmarks)areoftenoverlookedduringabackup,andtheyarenotusuallystoredinaconspicuousplace.Mostbrowserscontainautilitytoexport
yourbookmarkstoafile,whichcanthenbeimportedintothewebbrowserofyourchoiceinMXLinux.Herearesomeexportmethodsforcommonwebbrowsers:
InternetExplorer:clickFile>importandexport,selectexportfavorites,selectthefavoritesfolder(toexportallfavorites),selectexporttofileoraddressandentera
filenameforthefavorites.
Firefox3andabove:clickBookmarks>OrganizeBookmarksorShowAllBookmarks,highlightthebookmarkfoldertobackup,clickImportandBackupExport
HTML...,enterafilenameforthebookmarks.
Softwarelicenses
ManyproprietaryprogramsforWindowsarenotinstallablewithoutalicensekeyorCDkey.UnlessyouaresetondoingawaywithWindowspermanently,makesureyou
havealicensekeyforanyprogramthatrequiresit.IfyoudodecidetoreinstallWindows(orifdualbootsetupgoesawry),youwillbeunabletoreinstalltheseprograms
withoutthekey.
Ifyoucannotfindthepaperlicensethatcamewithyourproduct,youmaybeabletolocateitintheWindowsregistry,oruseakeyfindersuchasProduKey.Ifallelsefails,try
contactingthecomputersmanufactureforhelp.
RunningWindowsprograms
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WindowsprogramswillnotruninsideaLinuxOS,andMXLinuxusersareencouragedtolookfornativeequivalents(seeSection4).Applicationsthatarecriticalforauser
mayrununderWine(seeSection6.1),thoughitvariessomewhat.
2.3.2AppleIntelcomputers
InstallingMXLinuxonApplecomputerswithIntelchipsisgenerallyproblematic,thoughthesituationvariestoacertaindegreewiththeexacthardwareinvolved.Users
interestedinthequestionareadvisedtoconsulttheDebianmaterialsandforumsforrecentdevelopments.
Links
InstallingDebianonAppleComputers:
Debianforums
2.3.3HarddriveFAQs
CreateanewpartitionwithGParted
PartitionaMultibootsystem
WhereshouldIinstallMXLinux?
Beforestartingtheinstall,youneedtodecidewhereyouaregoingtoinstallMXLinux.
Entireharddrive
Existingpartitiononaharddrive
Newpartitiononaharddrive
Youcansimplyselectoneofthefirsttwoduringinstallation,butthethirdrequiresthecreationofanewpartition.Youcandothisduringinstallation,butitisrecommended
thatyoudothatbeforeyoustarttheinstallation.Ineithercase,youwillbeusingGParted,ausefulandverypowerfultool.
MORE:GPartedManual
Figure24:CreatinganewpartitionwithGparted
HowcanIeditpartitions?
AveryhandytoolforsuchactionsisStartmenu>System>Diskmanager.Thisutilityprovidesagraphicalpresentationofallthepartitionsonthemachine(excluding
swap)withasimpleinterfaceforquicklyandeasilymounting,unmountingandeditingsomepropertiesofdiskpartitions.Changesareautomaticallyandimmediatelywrittento
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/etc/fstabandarethuspreservedforthenextboot.
DiskManagerautomaticallyallocatesmountpointsin/media,using/media/LABEL(e.g.,/media/HomeData)ifthepartitionislabeledor/media/DEVICE(e.g.,/media/cdrom)if
not.ThesemountpointsarecreatedbyDMwhenapartitionismounted,andremovedimmediatelywhenapartitionisunmounted.
HELP:here.
WhatarethoseotherpartitionsonmyWindowsinstallation?
RecenthomecomputerswithWindowsaresoldwithadiagnosticpartitionandrestorepartition,inadditiontotheonethatcontainstheOSinstallation.Ifyouseemultiple
partitionsshowingupinGPartedthatyouwerenotawareof,theyareprobablythoseandshouldbeleftalone.
ShouldIcreateaseparateHome?
Youdonothavetocreateaseparatehome,sincetheInstallerwillcreata/homepartitionwithin/(root).Buthavingitseparatemakesupgradeseasierandprotectsagainst
problemscausedbyusersfillingupthedrivewithalotofpictures,music,orvideodata.
Howbigshould/(root)be?
Theinstalledbasesizeisalittleunder2.5GB,sowerecommendaminimumof5GBtoallowforbasicfunctions.
Thisminimumsizewillnotallowyoutoinstallmanyprograms,andmaycausedifficultydoingupgrades,runningVirtualBox,etc.Recommendedsizefornormaluseis
therefore10GB.
Ifyouhave/homelocatedwithin/andstorealotofbigfiles,thenyouwillneedalargerrootpartition.
Gamersplayingbiggames(e.g.,Wesnoth)shouldnotethattheywillneedabigger/partitionthanusualfordata,images,soundfilesanalternativeistouseaseparate
Datadrive.
DoIneedtocreateaSWAPfile?
TheInstallerwillcreateaSWAPfileforyou(seeSection2.5.1).Ifyouintendtohibernate(andnotjustsuspend)thesystem,swapmayneedtobesomethingontheorderof
2GBorelsethehibernationwillfailwhenthecurrentmemoryuseismorethan1GB.
Whatdonameslikesdamean?
Beforeyoubegininstallation,itiscriticalthatyouunderstandhowLinuxoperatingsystemstreatharddrivesandtheirpartitions.
Drivenames.UnlikeWindows,whichassignsadrivelettertoeachofyourharddrivepartitions,Linuxassignsashortdevicenametoeachharddriveorotherstorage
deviceonasystem.Thedevicenamesalwaysstartwithsdplusasingleletter.Forinstance,thefirstdriveonyoursystemwillbesda,thesecondsdb,etc.Thereare
alsomoreadvancedmeansofnamingdrives,themostcommonofwhichistheUUID(UniversallyUniqueIDentifier),usedtoassignapermanentnamethatwillnotbe
changedbytheadditionorremovalofequipment.
Partitionnames.Withineachdriveeverypartitionisreferredtoasanumberappendedtothedevicename.Thus,forinstance,sda1wouldbethefirstpartitiononthe
firstharddrive,whilesdb3wouldbethethirdpartitionontheseconddrive.
Extendedpartitions.PCharddiskswereoriginallypermittedonlyfourpartitions.ThesearecalledprimarypartitionsinLinuxandarenumbered1to4.Youcan
increasethenumberbymakingoneoftheprimarypartitionsintoanextendedpartition,thendividingthatintologicalpartitions(limit15)thatarenumberedfrom5
onward.Linuxcanbeinstalledintoaprimaryorlogicalpartition.
2.4Firstlook
2.4.1BoottheLiveMedium
LiveCD/DVD
SimplyplacetheDVDinthetrayandreboot.
LiveUSB
YoumayneedtotakeafewstepstogetyourcomputertobootcorrectlyusingtheUSB.
TobootwiththeUSBDrive,manycomputershavespecialkeysyoucanpressduringbootingwhichallowyoutochoosethatdevice.TypicalBootDeviceMenukeys
areEscoroneoftheFunctionkeys.Lookcarefullyatthefirstscreenthatshowsupwhenrebootingtofindthecorrectkey.
Alternatively,YoumayhavetogointotheBIOStochangethebootdeviceorder:
Bootthecomputer,andhittherequiredkey(e.g.,F2,F10orEsc)atthebeginningtogetintotheBIOS
Clickon(orarrowoverto)theBoottab
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IdentifyandhighlightyourUSBdevice(usually,USBHDD),thenmoveittothetopofthelist.Saveandexit
IfunsureoruncomfortableaboutchangingtheBIOS,askforassistanceintheForums.
OnoldercomputerswithoutUSBsupportintheBIOS,youcanusethePlopLinuxLiveCDthatwillloadUSBdriversandpresentyouwithamenu.Seethewebsitefor
details.
OnceyoursystemissettorecognizetheUSBDriveduringthebootprocess,justplugintheDriveandrebootthemachine.
TheBlackScreen
OccasionallyitmayhappenthatwhenyoubootupwiththeLiveMedium,youenduplookingatanemptyblackscreenthatmayhaveablinkingcursorinthecorner.This
representsafailuretostartX,thewindowssystemusedbyLinux.Possibilitiesandsolutionsforthisfailureincludethefollowing.
RebootandpressF5,thenselectvesa,agenericvideodriverthatprovidesbasicfunctionalityformostvideocards.
IfmonitorusesnVidia,ATIorfglrxdrivers,thenCtrlAltF1shouldgetyoutoacommandline,whereyoucanloginasregularuser,thenbecomerootandrunsgfxi
(seebelow).
Incorrectresolution.Normally,theresolutionisconfiguredautomatically,butitcanfail.RebootandpressF7tocorrect.
Kernelmodesetissues.Addthecheatcodenomodeset(seetheMX/antiXWiki).
2.4.2Theopeningscreen
Figure25:LiveMediumbootscreen(MX14.3)
WhentheLiveMediumbootsup,youwillbepresentedwithascreenwithanumberofverticalentries,belowwhichisarowofhorizontaloptions.(Theinstalledscreenlooks
quitedifferent.)
Menuentries
Table1:MenuentriesinLiveboot
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Entry
Comment
MX<VERSION>(<RELEASEDATE>)
Thisentryisselectedbydefault,andisthestandardwaythatmostuserswillboottheLivesystem.SimplypressReturnto
bootthesystem.
FrugalInstall
RunMXLInuxasapersistentliveisoonaharddrive.SeetheMX/antiXWikifordetails.
CommandLineInstall
Bootsdirectlytothecommandline.DoesnotstartXwindows.Thiscanbeusefultoinstallonsystemswithverylimited
RAM.
RootPersistence
EnablesrootpersistencesoaLiveUSBactslikeaninstalledsystem.Willpromptforcreationofpersistencefilesifnot
alreadyavailable.
StaticRootPersistence
JustlikerootpersistencebutchangesaresavedimmediatetodiskinsteadofbeingstoredinRAM.Willpromptforcreation
ofpersistencefilesifnotalreadyavailable.
HomePersistence
Onlyenableshomepersistence.Thissavesfilesandsettingsinyourhomedirectorybutdoesnotsavesystemwidesettings
andpackagesthathavebeeninstalled.Willpromptforcreationofpersistencefilesifnotalreadyavailable.
BootfromHardDrive
Bootsfromthefirstinternalharddrive.
MemoryTest(memtest86+)
RunsatesttocheckRAM.IfthistestpassesthentheremaystillbeahardwareproblemorevenaproblemwithRAMbut
ifthetestfailsthenyouknowsomethingiswrong.
Customentriesmayalsoappearinthemainmenu.
Options
F1Help.HelpsysteminEnglishonly.Containsmuchofthesameinformationthatisgivenhere.
F2Language.SetthelanguageforthebootloaderandtheMXsystem.Thiswillautomaticallytransfertotheharddrivewhenyouinstall.
F3TimeZone.Setthetimezoneforthesystem.Thiswillautomaticallytransfertotheharddrivewhenyouinstall.
F4Options.OptionsforcheckingandbootingtheLivesystem.Mostoftheseoptionsdonottransfertotheharddrivewhenyouinstall.
checkmd5:checktheintegrityoftheLivemedia.
checkfs(LiveUSBonly):checkthefilesystem(s)ofthebootmedia.
toram:transfertheLivesystemtoRAMforfasteroperation.
nousb2:canhelptobootLiveUSBonsomeoldersystem.
noacpi:canhelptobootLiveCDandLiveUSBonsomeoldersystems.Thisoptionstransferswhenyouinstall.
HPLaptop:enablecontrolofscreenbacklightonsomeHPlaptopsystems.Thisoptiontransferswhenyouinstall.
F5VideoMode.TheseoptionscanhelpwhenyouhavetroublegettingXwindowstowork.Theycanalsohelpifthescreensuddenlygoesblankorlosessyncearlyin
thebootprocesswhichcanbecausedbyaproblemwithKernelModeSetting(KMS).Theseoptionswilltransferwhenyouinstall.
vesa:thisisthesafestbootmodeavailable.ItdisablesKernelModeSettingandforcesuseofthevesadriverwhichworkswithalmostallhardware.Donot
expectgreatgraphicsperformance.
safe:disableKernelModeSettingbutallowthesystemtoselectahardwarespecificgraphicsdriver.
F6Console.Setresolutionofvirtualconsoles.MayconflictwithKernelModeSetting.CanbeusefulifyouarebootingintoCommandLineInstallorifyouaretryingto
debugtheearlybootprocess.Thisoptionwilltransferwhenyouinstall.
F7DPI(LiveCD/DVD).SetthedotsperinchinXwindows.Thiswillscalethefontsizes.ThelargertheDPI,thelargerthefontswillbe.Thissettingwilltransfer
whenyouinstall.
F7Save(LiveUSB).Thiscansaveallyourmenuselectionsandtypedinbootparametersasthenewdefaults.ItisaveryeasywaytoquicklycustomizeaLiveUSBfor
languageandtimezone.
menus:usethecurrentmenuselectionsasthedefaults.
custom:createanewmainmenuentryusinganybootcodesyouhaveenteredmanually.Ifyoudontenteranybootcodesthenancustomentrywontbemade.
both:usethecurrentmenuselectionsasthedefaultsandalsocreateacustommainmenuentry.
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reset:removeanycustommainmenuentryandrestoretheoriginalmenudefaults.
MORE:Linuxstartupprocess
2.4.3Thedesktop
Xfce4.12
ThedesktopiscreatedandmanagedbyXfce4.12,anditsappearanceandarrangementhavebeenheavilymodifiedforMXLinux.
Figure26:Defaultdesktop
Panel
ThedefaultdesktopofMX14hasasingleverticalpanelontheleftsideofthescreen.Defaultpanelelementsfromtoptobottom:
Clockinanalogformat(doubleclickfororagecalendar)
WindowButtons:areawhereopenapplicationsareshown
Webbrowser
Settingsmanager
NotificationArea
Updatemanager
Keyboardmanager
Networkmanager
Volumemanager
Otherapplicationsmayinserticonsherewhenrunning.
Powermanager
Logoutbutton.
Pager:displaysavailableworkspaces
Start(Whisker)menu
TochangethedefaultPanel,seeSection3.8.
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Tips&Tricks
Figure27:SettingsManager
Somehandythingstoknowatthebeginning:
Ifyouarehavingproblemswithsound,network,etc.,seeSection3.
IfyouneedrootprivilegeswhenrunningLive,thepasswordisroot(ifinaterminal,firstentertheusernamesu)
Adjustsoundgeneralloudnessbyrightclickingspeakericon>OpenMixer.
SetthesystemtoyourparticularkeyboardlayoutbyclickingStartmenu>Settings>Keyboard,Layouttab,andselectingthemodelwiththepulldownmenu.
AdjustpreferencesformouseortouchpadbyclickingStartmenu>Settings>MouseandTouchpad.
ExitthesessionbyclickingontheexitbuttonabovetheStartmenuicon.
TrashcanbeeasilymanagedintheFileManager(Thunar),whereyouwillseeitsiconintheleftpane.Rightclicktoempty.ItcanalsobeaddedtotheDesktopor
Panel.
KeepyoursystemcurrentbywatchingforthegreenindicatorofavailableupdatesontheUpdateManager(AptNotifier)icon.SeeSection3.2.1fordetails.
Handykeycombinations(seealsoSettingsManager>Keyboard>ApplicationShortcuts).
Table2:Handykeycombinations
Keystrokes
Action
CtrlAltEsc
Changesthecursorintoawhitextokillanyprogram
CtrlAltBksp
Closesthesessionandreturnsyoutotheloginscreen
CtrlAltF1
DropsyououtofyourXsessiontoacommandlineuseCtrlAltF7toreturn.
AltF1
OpensthisMXLinuxUsersManual
AltF2
Bringsupadialogboxtorunanapplication
AltF3
OpenstheApplicationFinderwhichalsoallowseditingmenuentries
AltF4
Closesanapplicationthatisinfocus
PrtScr
OpenstheScreenshooterforscreencaptures
Applications
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Applicationscanbestartedinvariousways.
ClicktheStartmenu(Whisker)icon,inlowerleftcornerofdefaultdesktop.
ItopenstoFavoritescategory,andyoucanhovermouseoverothercategoriesonrightsidetoseecontentsintheleftpane.
Atthetopisapowerfulincrementalsearchbox:justtypeinafewletterstofindanyapplicationwithoutneedingtoknowitscategory.
Figure28:Whiskermenu
Rightclickthedesktop>Applications.
Ifyouknowthenameoftheapplication,youcanuseApplicationFinder,startedeasilyinoneoftwoways.
Rightclickthedesktop>Runcommand...
AltF2
Oncetheapplicationhasbeenidentified,clickonthegreendownarrowfordetailsandmenuediting.
Figure29:ApplicationFinderidentifyingapplication
Defineakeystrokeofyourowntoopenafavoriteapplication.Forinstance,togetadropdownterminal:
ClickStartmenu>Settings,thenKeyboard,Applicationshortcutstab
ClickAdd
IntheCommandfieldoftheboxthatpopsupputit:xfce4terminaldropdown
Pressthekeyorkeycombinationyouwanttouse(suchasF4)
ClickClose.Nowyoucanuseyourkeystrokeasatoggletoshowandhidetheterminal.
System
Systeminformation
ClickStartmenu>System>SystemProfilerandBenchmarkforanicegraphicdisplay
Openaterminalandenter:inxiF
Videoandaudio
Formonitorsettings,clickSettingsManagericononPanel>Display
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MakehandyquickmonitorchangeswithStartmenu>Settings>MonitorSettings
SoundadjustmentisdonethroughStartmenu>Multimedia>AudioMixer(orrightclickVolumemanagericon)
NOTE:fortroubleshootingareassuchasdisplay,soundorinternet,consultSection3:Configuration.
Links
Xfcedocumentation
XfceFAQs
2.4.4Exiting
ItisimportanttoexitMXLinuxcorrectlywhenyouhavefinishedyoursessionsothatthesystemcanbebroughtdowninasecureway.Allrunningprogramsarefirstnotified
thatthesystemisgoingdown,givingthemthetimetosaveanyfilebeingedited,exitfrommailandnewsprograms,etc.Ifyoujustturnthepoweroff,youriskthe
possibilitiesofdamagingtheoperatingsystem.
TheusualwaytoexitistoclicktheLogOuticonabovethePager.
Permanent
Toleaveasessionforgood,selectoneofthefollowingontheLogOutdialogbox:
Logout.Choosingthiswillendeverythingyouaredoing,ifyouhavenotclosed/stoppedthingsyourself,andbringyoubacktotheloginscreenwiththesystemstill
running.
YoucanalsogetbacktotheloginscreenbyclickingCtrlAltBksp,butanyopenprogramsandprocesseswillnotbesaved.
Thecommandatthebottomofthescreen,Savesessionforfuturelogins,ischeckedbydefault.Itstaskistosavethestateofyourdesktop(opened
applicationsandtheirlocation)andrestoreitduringthenextstartup.Ifyouhavehadproblemswithyourdesktopfunction,youcanuncheckthistogetafresh
startifthatdoesnotsolvetheproblem,clickSettingsmanager>SessionandStartup,Sessiontab,andpresstheClearsavedsessionsbutton.
RestartorShutDown.Selfexplanatoryoptionsthatalterthesystemstateitself.
Temporary
Youcantemporarilyleaveyoursessioninoneofthefollowingways:
Lockscreen.ThisoptioniseasilyavailablefromaniconinthetoprightcorneroftheStartmenu.ItprotectsyourDesktopfromunauthorizedaccesswhileyouare
awaybyrequiringyouruserpasswordtoreturntothesession.
Startaparallelsessionasadifferentuser.ThisisavailablefromaniconinthetoprightcorneroftheStartmenu.Youchoosethistoleaveyourcurrentsession
whereitisandallowsasessionforadifferentusertobestarted.
Suspend.ThisoptionisavailablefromtheLogOutdialogbox,andplacesyoursystemintoalowpowerstate.Informationonsystemconfiguration,openapplications,
andactivefilesisstoredinmainmemory(RAM),whilemostofthesystemsothercomponentsareturnedoff.ItisveryhandyandworksverywellinMXLinux.
2.5TheInstallationprocess
2.5.1Detailedinstallationsteps
InstallingMX14
Tobegin,boottotheLiveMediumandclickontheInstallericonintheupperleftcorner.Theinstallerwillopeninatwopaneformat:installationstepstotakeintherightpane,
Helpintheleft.Theinstallerisveryeasytousewithdetailedinstructions,andastepbystepvideoislinkedabove.Werestrictourselvesheretoasequenceofimageswith
clarifyingcomments.
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Figure210:InstallerScreen1
Comments
Usedisk.Ifunsurewhichisthepartitionyouwant,usethenamesyouseeinGParted.ThediskyouselectwillbeexaminedcursorilyforreliabilitybySMART.If
problemsaredetected,youwillseeawarningscreen.Youwillneedtodecidewhethertoacceptthatriskandcontinue,selectanotherdiskorterminatetheinstallation.
Formoreinformation,clickStartmenu>System>GSmartControlandPerformtestsonthedrive.
Figure211:SMARTwarningofriskoffailure
Modifypartitions.Mostusersfeelthatitisbettertocarryoutanysuchmodificationsbeforeyoustartinstallationtoavoidanyproblemsforinstancenewlycreated
partitionsmaynotshowupinthedropdownmenus.SeeSection2.3.2.
Autoinstallusingentiredisk.SelectthisoptionifyouplantousetheentireharddriveforMXLinuxandyouarentparticularabouthowthepartitionsaresetup.If
youselectthis,theinstallerwillcreatearootandswappartitionforyouusingtheentiredrive.Youcanoptionallyspecifyanamountofspacetoleaveunused,ifyou
plantocreatemorepartitionsafterward.Makesureyouunderstandthatselectingthisoptionwilldeleteanyexistingpartitionsanddata.Onlychoosethisifyou
arenotgoingtokeepanythingontheselectedharddrive.
Custominstallonexistingpartitions.IfyouareinstallingMXLinuxtoadualbootwithanotheroperatingsystem,oryouwishtodefinethesizesofyourpartitions
manually,youneedtoselectthisoption.Ifyouhavenotpreviouslysetupyourpartitions(seeSection2.3),youmayclickthebuttontorunGPartedatthispointand
createthem.Youmusthaveyourpartitionscreatedbeforemovingonifyouwanttoselectthisoption.
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Comments
(IfyouchoseAutoinstallusingentirediskonScreen1,youwillnotseethisscreen.)
ChoosePartitions.Specifytherootandswappartitionsyouhavesetuppreviouslyifyousetupaseparatepartitionforyourhomedirectory,specifyithere,otherwise
leave/homesettoroot.
Notethatthe/homepartitionbeingrootmeansherethattheusers/homefolderwillbeinsidethesame(root)partitionwhereMXisbeinginstalled
Manyusersprefertolocatetheirhomedirectoryinadifferentpartitionthatthatof/(root),sothatanyproblemwithoreventotalreplacementofthe
installationpartitionwillleavealltheusersindividualsettingsuntouched.
Preferences.
CheckPreservedatain/homeifyouaredoinganupgradeandalreadyhavedatainanexistinghomepartitionThisoptionisnotgenerallyrecommendedbecause
oftheriskthatoldconfigurationswillnotmatchthenewinstallation.
SelectCheckforbadblocksifyouwanttodoascanforphysicaldefectsontheharddriveduringformatting.Thisisrecommendedforuserswitholderdrives.
Finally,youcanoptionallyselectthetypeoffilesystemyouwanttouseontheharddrive.Ifyoudontknowwhattochoosehere,thedefaultext4is
recommendedinMXLinux.
Comments
Notethatthepartitionshownhere(sda1)isjustanexampleyourparticularselectionofpartitionmaywelldiffer.
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Ifyouhaveanydoubtsaboutthatwhetheryouwanttodestroyallthedataonthepartitionthatyouseelistedinthiswarningmessage,clickNoandthenusetheBack
buttontoreviewyourchoices.
Comments
Mostaverageuserswillacceptthedefaultshere,whichwillinstallthebootloaderintotheverybeginningofthedisk.Thisistheusuallocationandwillcausenoharm.
WhenyouclickNext,apopupmessagewillchecktoseethatyouacceptthelocationofthebootloader.
Comments
Manyuserschooseauniquenamefortheircomputer:laptop1,MyBox,StudyDesktop,UTRA,etc.Youmayalsojustleavethedefaultnameasitis.
YoucanjustclickNexthereifyouhavenocomputernetwork.
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Comments
Thedefaultsettingswillusuallybecorrecthere,aslongasyouwerecarefultoenteranyexceptionsattheLiveMediumbootscreen.
ThesettingscanbechangedagainonceyouhavebootedintoXfcewithTimeSet,Keyboard,etc.
Figure217:InstallerScreen6(extra)
Comments
ThisscreenonlyshowsifViewwasclickedonScreen6
Servicesareapplicationsandfunctionsassociatedwiththekernelthatprovidecapabilitiesforupperlevelprocesses.
Theseapplicationsandfunctionsrequiretimeandmemory,soifyouareconcernedaboutthecapacityofyourcomputer,youcanlookatthislistforitemsthatyouare
sureyoudonotneed.Forinstance,auserwhohasnoneedforBluetooth(foramouseorkeyboard,forexample)cancomfortablyuncheckthatservice.
Ifyoudonotunderstandwhataserviceisanddoes,youwoulddobesttoleaveitalone.
Ifyoulaterwanttochangethestartupservices,agraphicaltoolcalledBootUpManager(BUM)isinthereposandmakesthejobmucheasier.
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Comments
Thelevelofsecurityonthepasswordsyouchooseherewilldependgreatlyonthesettingoftheactualcomputer.Ahomedesktopisgenerallylesslikelytobebroken
intothanalaptoporacomputerinapublicspace.
IfyoucheckAutologin,youwillbeabletobypasstheloginscreenandspeedupthebootprocess.Thedownsideofthatchoiceisthatanyonewithsomekindofaccess
toyourcomputerwouldbeabletologdirectlyintoyouraccount.
YoucantransferchangesyoumaketoyourLivedesktoptotheHDinstallationbycheckingthelastbox.
2.6Troubleshooting
2.6.1Postinstallationbootproblems
Whenrebootingafteraninstallation,itsometimeshappensthatyourcomputerreportsthatnooperatingsystemorbootablediscwasfound.Italsomaynotshowanother
installedOSsuchasWindows.Usually,theseproblemsmeanthatGRUBdidnotinstallproperly,butthatiseasytocorrect.
Ifyoucanbootintoatleastonepartition,opentherearootterminalandrunthiscommand:
updategrub
Otherwise,proceedwithMXBootRepair.
BoottotheLiveMedium.
LaunchMXTools>BootRepair.
MakesurethatReinstallGRUBBootloaderisselected,thenclickOK.
Ifthisstilldoesnotfixit,youmayhaveafaultyharddrive.Usually,youwillhaveseenaSMARTwarningscreenaboutitwhenyoubeganyourinstallation.
2.6.2Lockingup
IfMXLinuxislockingupduringinstallation,itisusuallyduetoaproblemwithfaultycomputerhardware,orabadDVD.IfyouhavedeterminedthattheDVDisnotthe
problem,itmaybeduetofaultyRAM,afaultyharddrive,orsomeotherpieceoffaultyorincompatiblehardware.
AddoneoftheBootOptions.Themostcommonproblemarisesfromthegraphicdriver(MX/antiXWiki).
YourDVDdrivemaybehavingproblems.Ifyoursystemsupportsit,createanMXLinuxbootableUSBflashdriveandinstallfromthat.
Systemsoftenlockupduetooverheating.Openthecomputerscaseandensurethatallthesystemsfansarerunningwhenitisturnedon.IfyourBIOS
supportsit,checktheCPUandMotherboardtemperaturesandcomparethemtothetemperaturespecificationsforyoursystem.
Shutdownyourcomputerandremoveanynonessentialhardware,thenattempttheinstallationagain.NonessentialhardwaremayincludeUSB,serial,and
parallelportdevicesremovablePCI,AGP,PCIE,modemslot,orISAexpansioncards(excludingvideo,ifyoudonothaveonboardvideo)SCSIdevices(unless
youareinstallingtoorfromone)IDEorSATAdevicesthatyouarenotinstallingtoorfromjoysticks,MIDIcables,audiocables,andanyotherexternal
multimediadevices.
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3Configuration
ThissectioncoversconfigurationinstructionsinordertogetyoursystemrunningcorrectlyfromafreshinstallationofMXLinux,andashortguidetopersonal
customization.
3.1Peripherals
3.1.1Smartphone
Android
SharingfileswithanAndroiddevice.
ManyphonesrunningAndroid4.xxincludemtpcapability,andyoucanusethefollowingprocedure.
Connectphone.
OpenThunar.Whentheupperleftpane(Devices)showsyourphonesname,clickonit.
Navigatetothelocationyouarelookingfor.
PhoneslackingmtpcapabilitycanbeaccessedviaawebbrowserbyinstallinganappfromGooglesPlayStoresuchasAirDroid.
MusicfilescanbeviewedandmanagedusingClementine.ClickonDeviceintheleftpane,thendoubleclickCDDriveifnecessary.
Figure31:ThunarconnectedtoanAndroidphone
iPhone
ThroughtheiPhone4series,MXLinuxisabletomountaniPhoneinThunarandrevealitscontentsformanipulation.SinceiOS5.0,iPhoneswillnotallowaLinuxinstallation
toberecognizedasatrustedconnection,andusersusuallyturntoacloudstorageservicetocarryouttransfers.
SeealsoSection4.2.
Blackberry
OpenSynapticandsearchonblackberrytofindthefilesthatneedtobeinstalled.
3.1.2Printer
Attached
MXLinuxofferstwoutilitiesforconfiguringandmanagingprinters.
PrintSettingsapplication
ClickStartmenu>System>PrintSettings
CUPSinabrowser
ClickStartmenu>System>Printers(CUPS)
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Figure32:theCUPSadminstrationscreenformanagingprinters
Network
SambaonMX14allowsprintingviathenetworktosharedprintersonothercomputers(Windows,Mac,Linux)andNAS(NetworkAttachedStorage)devicesofferingSamba
services.SeealsoSection3.7Filemanagement.
UsingtheMX14PrintingUtilitytoSetUpPrinters
ClickStartmenu>System>PrintSettings
SelectServer>New>Printer
SelectNetworkPrinter>WindowsPrinterviaSAMBA
Inthedialogwindowforsmb://entereitherservername/printernameorserveripaddress/printername.Forexample:bigserver/usbprinter1or192.168.0.100/printer2
Ifyouhavetroubleidentifyingtheserverandprinternames,clickStartmenu>System>MXFindSharesfordetails.
LeavethebuttonselectedforPromptuserifauthenticationisrequired,thenclickForward
LeavethebuttonselectedforSelectprinterfromdatabaseandthenclickForward
SelectthedriverandthenForward
DescribePrinterifnecessaryandthenApply
Whentheprinterappearsinthewindow,rightclickProperties>PrintTestPagetomakesuretheconnectionanddriverareoperatingcorrectly.
UsingtheMX14Printers(CUPS)UtilitytoSetUpPrinters
ClickStartmenu>Printers(CUPS)ManagePrintersinaBrowserutility
SelectAddingPrintersandClasses>AddPrinter
Inthedialogwindowenterrootspassword
InAddPrinter>selectappropriatechoice(e.g.,WindowsPrinterviaSAMBA)>Continue
IntheConnectionwindow,entersmb://servername/printernameusingsamemethodoffindingthesenamesasinPrintingutilityinstructionsabove>Continue
Enterprinternameanddescriptionsasyouwouldlike...DonottickShareThisPrinter>Continue
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SelecttheprinterMake>Continue>AddPrinter>choosevariousoptions>SetDefaultOptions
GotoMaintenance>PrintTestPagetomakesuretheconnectionanddriverareoperatingcorrectly
Troubleshooting
ThereisatroubleshootingutilityintegratedintothePrintSettingsapplication.ClickHelp>Troubleshoot.
ForHPprinters,theextrapackagehplipguiwillinstallausefulappletintotheNotificationAreawhichprovidestroubleshootingtools.
Ifyourprintersuddenlystopsprinting,checkthatisstillenabledbyclickingStartmenu>System>Printsettings,thenrightclickyourprinterandenableitagain.
3.1.3Scanner
ScannersaresupportedinLinuxbySANE(ScannerAccessNowEasy)whichisanapplicationprogramminginterface(API)thatprovidesstandardizedaccesstoanyraster
imagescannerhardware(flatbedscanner,handheldscanner,videoandstillcameras,framegrabbers,etc.).
Basicsteps
YoucanmanageyourscannerinMXLinuxwiththedefaultSimpleScan.
Troubleshooting
MakesureyourscannerislistedassupportedbySANEonthislist.
3.1.4Webcam
MostlikelyyourwebcamwillworkinMXLinux.Ifnot,thereisarecentdetaileddiscussionofsetupintheArchWiki.
3.2BasicMXApps
MXApps
Figure33:MXToolsdashboard
AnumberofapplicationshavebeendevelopedspecificallyforMXLinuxtosavetheusereffortwithimportantrepetitioustasksofteninvolvingunintuitivesteps.(Advanced
toolsaretreatedinSection6.6.)
3.2.1MXAptnotifier
Thisextremelyhandyandversatileappletmonitorspackageupdatesandnotifiesyouwhentheyareavailablewithagreenarrowabovetheyellowbox.
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Figure34:ViewandupgradescreenfromMXAptnotifier
HELP:here.
3.2.2MXBootrepair
Thebootloaderisthefirstsoftwareprogramtorunandisresponsibleforloadingandtransferringcontroltothekernel.Itsometimeshappensthatthebootloaderonan
installation(GRUB2)becomesdysfunctional,usuallybecausetheuserhasmadechangesofsomekind.Thistoolallowsyoutorestorethebootloadertoafunctionalstate.
Figure35:MXBootRepairmainscreen
HELP:here.
3.2.3MXBroadcomManager
MXBroadcomManager
Broadcomchipsetsareoftendifficulttosetup,andthisapplicationrenderstheprocessmucheasierbydetectinghardwareandpermittingLinuxandWindowsdriverstobe
added,removed,andblacklisted.
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Figure36:MXBroadcomManagerdetectingwirelessandwiredhardware
HELP:here.
3.2.4MXCheckAptGPG
Apt(Aptget)includespackageauthenticationinordertoimprovesecurity.Youcanstillinstallnonauthenticatedpackages,butyouwillrunintoanerror:Thefollowing
signaturescouldntbeverifiedbecausethepublickeyisnotavailable.Thishelpfulutilitysavescarryingoutthemanystepsnecessarytoobtainthatkey.
Figure37:ResultsofcheckingrepopublickeyswithMXCheckAptGPG
HELP:here.
3.2.5MXCodecsInstaller
Acodecisapieceofsoftwarethatenablesencoding/decodingadigitaldatastreamorsignal.MostcodecswillbeinstalledinMXLinuxbymultimediaapplicationssuchas
VLC,butsomearerestricted.Thistoolallowseasyinstallationofcertainrestrictedcodecswhiletransferringtheresponsibilitytotheuser.
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Figure38:MXCodecsinstallermainscreen
HELP:here.
3.2.6MXFindShares
Thissimplebuthandyutilityshowsallshares,i.e.,computerresourcesavailabletoausersmachine.
Figure39:SearchresultsscreenofMXFindShares
HELP:here.
3.2.7MXFlashManager
Thisapplicationfacilitatestheinstallation,removalandespeciallytheupdatingofFlashplayers.
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Figure310:MXFlashManagermainscreen
HELP:here.
3.2.8MXMenuEditor
MXMenuEditor
Thissimplemenueditormakesiteasytoedit,addordeletemenuitems.Anyeditsaresavedtotheusersdirectory/.local/shared/applications/,whichtakesprecedenceover
the/usr/share/application/whentheXfcemenugetsbuiltduringstartup.
Figure311:MXMenuEditorwiththecategoryMultimediaexpanded
Note:theMXMenuEditordoesnotappearontheMXToolsdashboard,soisaccessedbyclickingStartmenu>System>MXMenuEditor.
HELP:here.
3.2.9MXPackageInstaller
PackageInstaller
Withthisapplication(originallycalledmetapackageinstaller)youcaninstallpopularpackagesinasimplifiedmanner.ThisabilityisparticularlyusefulforMXLinux,sincethe
CDsizelimitimposedontheOSrestrictsthenumberofapplicationsthatcanbeprovidedbydefault.Itisalsoveryhandyforinstallinglanguagepacks,whichcanbe
troublesometochasedownwithothermethods.
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Figure312:MXPackageInstallermainscreen
Ifyouwouldliketosuggestchangesinthepackagelist,pleasepostontheMXForum.
HELP:here.
3.2.10MXSoundCard
Computersfrequentlyhavemorethanonesoundcardavailable.Inacommonsituation,forinstance,aseparatecardmaybepresentforHDMIoutput.Unlessthecorrectsound
cardisidentifiedforthesystem,theuserwillhearnothingandconcludethatsoundisnotworking.Thiscleverlittleapplicationallowstheusertoselectwhichsoundcard
shouldbeusedbythesystem,whetherinaparticularinstanceoringeneral.
Figure313:MakingtheselectioninSoundCard
HELP:here.
3.2.11MXSwitchUser
Thistinybuthandytoolallowsausertoswitchoutofthecurrentsessionintoasessionofanotheruser,withoutneedingtologoutandthenbackin.
Figure314:MXSwitchUserinformationscreen
HELP:here.
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3.2.12MXUserManager
EverythinginLinuxrunsunderaspecificuser,andeachuserspermissionsgovernwhetherandhowitruns.Thesuperuser(root)cancreateusers,givethemspecific
passwords,restrictwhattheycando,etc.Moreover,eachuserbelongstooneormoregroups.Newusersareautomaticallyaddedtothesegroups:lp,dialout,cdrom,floppy,
sudo,audio,dip,video,scanner,plugdev,users,fuse,lpadminandnetdev.Inaddition,someapplicationswheninstalled(VirtualBox,forexample)willcreateanewusergroup,
butmayormaynotadduserstoit.
Thisapplicationaidsinadding,editing,removingusersandgroupsinyoursystem.
Figure315:MXUserManagerrepairscreen
HELP:here.
3.3Display
3.3.1Resolution
Resolutionreferstothephysicalnumberofcolumnsandrowsofpixelscreatingthedisplay(e.g.,1920x1200).Inmostcases,theresolutioniscorrectlysetbythekernel
duringinstallationorwhenanewmonitorisconnected.Ifnot,youcanchangeitinthefollowingways:
ClickStartMenu>Settings>Display.Usethepulldownmenustosetthecorrectvaluesforthemonitoryouwanttoadjust.
ForNvidiacards,youcaninstallthepackagenvidiasettingsthatwillgiveyouagraphictoolthatyoucanusetoaltersettingsasrootwiththecommand:nvidia
settings
Indifficultsituations,itispossibletomanuallyaltertheconfigurationfile/etc/X11/xorg.conf.Alwaysbackupthefilebeforeyouchangeit,andchecktheForumfor
helpabouttheuseofthatfile.
3.3.2Graphicdriver
Ifyouarenotsatisfiedwithyourdisplaysperformance,youmayneedtoupgradeyourgraphicdriver(makesuretofirstbackupthefile/etc/X11/xorg.conf,ifused)using
oneofthetwofollowingtools(seeSection6.5.2):
UsesgfxiforATI,fglrxandNvidiadrivers.
ForlegacyNvidiacards,clickStartmenu>System>Nvidia_Install.
Itisalsopossible,butmorecomplicated,todownloaddirectlyfromthemanufacturer.Thismethodwillrequireyoutoselectanddownloadthecorrectdriverforyoursystem
forsysteminfo,openaterminalandenter:lspcigrepVGA.
Herearedriverwebsitesforthethreemostpopularbrands(doawebsearchon<brandname>linuxdriverforothers):
Nvidia
ATI
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Intel
Inteldriversmustbecompiled(Section4.5.2),butNvidiaandATIdriversareeasilyinstalled:
NavigateinThunartothefolderwheretheyweredownloaded
Rightclickthefile,selectthePermissionstab,checkIsexecutable
Rightclickanemptyspace>OpenTerminalhere,andtype(usingtherealnameofthefile):shfilename.run
3.3.3Fonts
Basicadjustment
1. ClickStartMenu>SettingsManager>Appearance,Fontstab
2. Clickonthepulldownmenutoseethelistoffontsandpointsizes
3. Selecttheoneyouwant,andclickOK
Figure316:ChangingfontdetailsinSettingsManager
Advancedadjustments
1. Someapplicationsmaynotheedthesystemwidefontchoices.
2. Iceweasel:clickEdit>Preferences>Content,andmakeanydesiredchanges.
Addingfonts
1. ClickStartMenu>System>SynapticPackageManager.
2. Usethesearchfunctionforfonts.
3. Selectanddownloadtheonesyouwant.TheMicrosoftcorefontspackagettfmscorefontsinstallerprovideseasyinstallationoftheMicrosoftTrueTypeCoreFonts
forusewithwebsitesandMSapplicationsthatrununderWine.
4. Extractifnecessary,thencopyasroot(easiestinarootThunar)thefontfolderto/usr/share/fonts/.
5. YournewfontsshouldbeavailableinthepulldownmenuinSettingsmanager>Appearance,Fontstab.
3.3.4Dualmonitors
MultiplemonitorsaremanagedinMXLinuxwithStartmenu>Settings>Display.Youcanuseittoadjustresolution,whetheroneclonestheother,whichoneswillbe
turnedon,etc.
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Figure317:SelectingdisplayandresolutioninSettingsManager
3.3.5Powermanagement
ClickthePowerManagerpluginsiconinthePanel.HereyoucaneasilyswitchtoPresentationmode,orgototheSettingstosetwhenadisplayshutsdown,whenthe
computergoesintosuspension,theactioninitiatedbyclosingthelidofalaptop,brightness,etc.Onalaptop,batterystatusandinformationisdisplayedandabrightnessslider
isavailable.
3.4Network
InternetconnectionsarehandledbyNetworkManagerclicktheappletintheNotificationAreatoseestatus,connectandexploreoptions.
Rightclicktheapplet>EditConnectionstoopenupaSettingsboxwithfivetabs.
Wired.InmostsituationsthisrequiresnoattentionhighlightandclicktheEditbuttonforspecialsetups.
Wireless
NetworkManagerwillusuallyautomaticallydetectyournetworkcardanduseittofindavailableaccesspoints.Insomesituations,thecommandlinetoolCeniin
thereposmaybehelpful.
Fordetails,seeSection3.4.2below.
MobileBroadband.Thistaballowsyoutousea3G/4Gmobiledeviceforaccesstotheweb.ClicktheAddbuttontosetup.
VPN.ClicktheAddbuttontosetup.
DSL.ClicktheAddbuttontosetup.
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Figure318:NetworkManagermainscreen
MORE:UbuntuWiki:NetworkManager
3.4.1Wiredaccess
MXLinuxtypicallypicksupwiredinternetaccessuponbootwithoutmuchproblem.
Ethernetandcable
MXLinuxcomespreconfiguredforastandardLAN(LocalAreaNetwork)thatusesDHCP(DynamicHostConfigurationProtocol)toassignIPaddressesandDNS(Domain
NameSystem)resolution.Thiswillworkinmostcasesasis.YoucanchangetheconfigurationwithNetworkManager.
WhenyoubootMXLinux,yournetworkadaptersareassignedashortinterfacenamebyudev,thekernelsdevicemanager.Fornormalwiredadaptersthisisusuallyeth0
(withsubsequentadapterseth1,eth2,eth3,etc).USBadaptersoftencomeupontheeth0interfaceinMXLinux,buttheinterfacenamecanalsodependontheadapters
chipset.Forinstance,atheroscardsoftenshowupasath0,whileralinkusbadaptersmayberausb0.Formoreadetailedlistofallfoundnetworkinterfaces,openaterminal,
becomeroot,andenter:ifconfiga.
ItiswisetoconnecttotheInternetthrougharouter,asnearlyallwiredrouterscontainoptionalfirewalls.Inaddition,routersuseNAT(NetworkAddressTranslation)to
translatefrombigInternetaddressestolocalIPaddresses.Thisaffordsanotherlayerofprotection.Connecttotherouterdirectly,orthroughahuborswitch,andyour
machineshouldautoconfigureviaDHCP.
KnownMX14.3Issue
TheMX14.3PAEISO(butnotthenonPAE)containsbymistakeapredefinednetworkwiredinterfacein/etc/network/interfacesthatblocksNetworkManagerfrombeing
abletohandlewiredconnections.Correctthefileinthefollowingmanner:
OpenThunar,migrateto/etc/network/
Rightclicktheinterfacesfile>Editasroot
Thefileshouldonlyhavethefollowinglines:
#interfaces(5)fileusedbyifup(8)andifdown(8)
autolo
ifaceloinetloopback
Ifanyotherlinesarepresentbelowthose,commentthemoutbyputtingahashsignatthebeginning
Saveandreboot.
ADSLorPPPoE
IfyouuseADSLorPPPoE,connectingtotheinternetiseasyinMXLinux.RightclicktheNetworkManagericon,thentheDSLtab.ClicktheAdd...buttonandfillinthe
requiredinformation,checkingtoconnectautomaticallyifyouwant.
NOTE:ifyouencounterproblemswhenusingaUSBdevicetoconnect,plugtheunitintothecomputer,openaterminalandtype:
dmesg|tail
PostamessageonForumwiththeoutputtogetsomehelpinfindingthedriveryouneed.
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Figure319:SettingupDSLservice
DialUp
OntheDevicetabyouwillneedtosetuptheserialinformation.Acceptingthedefault/dev/modemmaywork,butyoumightneedtotryanotherinterface.ThesearetheLinux
equivalentsoftheCOMportsunderMSDOSandMSWindows:
Table3:LinuxequivalentsforCOMports
Port
Equivalent
COM1 /dev/ttyS0
COM2 /dev/ttyS1
COM3 /dev/ttyS2
COM4 /dev/ttyS3
3.4.2Wirelessaccess
MXLinuxcomespreconfiguredtoautodetectaWiFicard,andinmostcasesyourcardwillbefoundandsetupautomatically.Therearetwostandardwayswirelesscanbe
supportedinMXLinux:
WithanativedriverthatcomesaspartoftheLinuxkernel(example:ipw3945forIntel).
WithaWindowsdriverusingtheapplicationNdiswrapper(availablefromtherepos),whichwrapsyourWindowsdriversothatitcanbeusedinaLinuxsystem
(example:bcmwl5forsomeBroadcomchipsets).Seebelowformore.
SometimesthereisbothanativeLinuxdriverandaWindowsdriveravailable.Youmaywanttocomparethemforspeedandconnectivity,andyoumayhavetoremovetheone
youarenotusingtopreventaconflict.Wirelesscardscanbeeitherinternalorexternal.USBmodems(wirelessdongles)usuallyshowuponthewlaninterface,butifnotthen
checkothersonthelist.NOTE:ThesuccessfulmethodvariesforusersbecauseofthecomplicatedinteractionsamongtheLinuxkernel,wirelesstools,andthelocalwireless
cardchipsetandrouter.
BasicWirelessSteps
ClickStartmenu>Settings>NetworkConnections(orjustclickontheNetworkManagericonintheNotificationArea),andthentheWirelesstab.Oneof3situationswill
arise.
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1. Awirelessnetworkhasbeenfound.
Clickonthelinethatgivesthenameofthenetwork.
ClickEditintherightpanel,andenteryourinformation.
Whendone,clickOK.
2. ThefoundnetworkdoesnotfunctionafterthecompletionofStep1.
Findoutbasicinformationbyopeningaterminalandenteringoneatatime:
lspci
lsusb
Becomerootinthatopenterminalandenter:
iwconfiga
Theoutputfromthefirstcommands(examplebelow)willgiveyoutheexactname,modelandversion(ifany)ofyourwirelesschipset,aswellastheassociated
driverandthemacaddressfromthesecond,thenameoftheaccesspoint(AP)youarelinkedtoandotherconnectioninformation.
Network
Card2:IntelUltimateNWiFiLink5300driver:iwlwifi
IF:wlan0state:upmac:00:21:6a:81:8c:5a
Usetheinformationyouhavegatheredinoneofthefollowingways:
Doawebsearchusingthatinformation.Someexamplesusingtheabovelspcioutput.
1)linuxIntelUltimateNWiFiLink5300(rev03)
2)debianstable00:21:6a:81:8c:5a
ConsulttheLinuxWirelesssitebelowtofindoutwhichdriveryourchipsetneeds,whatconflictsmightexist,andwhetheritneedsfirmwareinstalled
separately.
PostyourinformationontheForumandaskforhelp.
SometimesusingtheterminalapplicationCeni(intherepos)canrevealhiddenaccesspointsandotherdifficultfactors.NOTE:usingCenitoconfigureyour
networkinterfaceinMXLinuxwillinterfereand/ordisablemanagementofthatinterfacebythedefaultNetworkManager.Cenistoresitsconfigurationinfoin
/etc/network/interfaces.Anyinterfacedefinedin/etc/network/interfaceswillbeignoredbyNetworkManager,asNetworkManagerassumesthatifadefinition
exists,youwantsomeotherapplicationmanagingthedevice.
3. Nowirelessinterfaceisfound.
Openaterminalandtypethesecommandsoneatatime:
lspci
lsusb
Alternatively,thiscommandmaybeused
inxin
Lookforthenetworkentry,andnotethedetailedinformationonyourspecifichardware,andlookformoreinformationaboutthatfromtheLinuxWirelesssite
listedbelow,oraskontheForum.
Ifyouhaveanexternalwifideviceandnoinformationonanetworkcardisfound,unplugthedevice,waitafewsecondsthenplugitbackin.Openaterminal
andenter
dmesg|tail
Examinetheoutputforinformationaboutthedevice(suchasthemacaddress)thatyoucanusetopursueyourissueonthewebortheforum.
ProbablythemostcommonexampleofthissituationarisingiswiththeBroadcomwirelesschipsetsseetheTechnicalDocumentationWiki.
Firmware
Forsomecardsitisnecessarytoinstallfirmware(forexample,firmwareticonnectivityforTexasInstrumentsWL1251).MXLinuxcomeswithagooddealoffirmware
alreadyavailable,butyoumayhavetotrackdownyourparticularneed,againusingtheLinuxWirelesswebsitelinkedbelow.
Ndiswrapper
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NdiswrapperisanopensourcesoftwaredriverwrapperthatenablestheuseofWindowsdriversforwirelessnetworkdevicesinLinux.ItdoesnotcomepreinstalledinMX
Linux,butisintherepos.NOTE:theWindowsdriveryouusemustmatchtheOSarchitecture(e.g.,Windows32bitdriverforMXLinux32bitedition).Ingeneral,Windows
XPdriversarerequired.
TheeasiestmethodofmanagingNdiswrapperistouseMXBroadcomManager(Section3.2.3).Analternativeistoinstallthesetwopackagesfromtherepos.
ndisgtk
ndiswrapperutils
ThiswillgiveyouasimplegraphicalmethodofinstallingandremovingWindowsdrivers.
Figure320:simpleapplicationformanagingWIndowswirelessdrivers
MORE:here.
Security
WirelesssecurityishandledbyNetworkManager.Herearethebasicstepsyouneedtofollow:
RightclicktheNetworkManagericonintheNotificationArea>Editconnections
ClickontheWirelesstab
Highlightthenameoftheaccesspointyouwanttoconnectto(forexample,linksysorstarbucks2345)
ClicktheEditbuttonandthentheWirelessSecuritytab
Usethepulldownmenutoselectthesecurityyouwant(forexample:WPAandWPA2Personal)
EnterthepasswordandclickSave.
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Figure321:WirelesssecurityinNetworkManager
ItisequallypossibletouseCenitohandlewirelesssecurity,aslongassubsequentlyyouwillnotbeusingNetworkManager,withwhichitinterferes.
Links
LinuxWireless
DebianWiki:Wifi
ArchWiki:Wireless
3.4.3MobileBroadband
Forwirelessinternetaccessusinga3G/4Gmodem,pleaserefertotheDebianWikis3Gpageslinkedbelowforcompatibilityinformation.Many3G/4Gmodemswillbe
recognizedonMXLinuxbyNetworkManager.
Troubleshooting
Onsomesystems,modemconnectionsfailduetoanupgradeofthepackagesudevandlibudev1.Tosolvethis,openSynaptic,highlightthepackages,andthenclick
Package>Forceversion...UsethepulldownmenutodroptoalowerversionandclicktheApplyicon.
Insomecasesthissolutionhasnotworkedconsistentlyforusers,buttheyhavefoundthatthecompleteremovalofNetworkManagersolvedtheproblems.
MORE:DebianWiki:3Gmodem
3.4.4Commandlineutilities
Commandlineutilitiesareusefulforseeingdetailedinformation,andarealsocommonlyusedintroubleshooting.Detaileddocumentationavailableinthemanpages.Themost
commononesbelowmustberunasroot.
Table4:Wirelessutilities
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Command
Comment
ifconfig
Mainconfigurationutilityfornetworkinterfaces.
ifup<interface>
Bringsupthespecifiedinterface.Forexample:
ifupeth0willbringuptheethernetporteth0
ifdown<interface>
Theoppositeofifup
iwconfig
Wirelessnetworkconnectionutility.Usedbyitself,displayswirelessstatus.Canbeappliedtoa
specificinterface,e.g.toselectaparticularaccesspoint
rfkill
Disablesoftblockforwirelessnetworkinterfaces(e.g.,wlan).
depmoda
Probesallmodulesand,iftheyhavechanged,enablesnewconfiguration.
3.5Filemanagement
FilemanagementinMX14iscarriedoutthroughThunar,afastandpowerfultool.Muchofitsbasicuseisselfevident,butherearegoodthingstoknow:
Hiddenfilesareoutofsightbydefault,butcanbemadevisibleviathemenu(View>ShowHiddenFiles)orbypressingCtrlH
TheSidePanecanbehidden,anddirectory(folder)shortcutscanbeplacedtherebyrightclicking>SendTo
Thecontextmenuhasbeenpopulatedwithcommonactionsthatvarybywhatispresentorunderfocus.
Rootactionisavailableviathecontextmenutoopenaterminal,editasroot,oropenaninstanceofThunarwithrootprivileges.
ThunareasilyhandlesFTPtransfers,seebelow.
Figure322:CustomactionssetupinThunar
3.5.1TipsandTricks
EnablethumbnailimagesinThunar
Whenworkinginadirectorythatrequiressuperuserprivileges,youcanrightclick>OpenrootThunarhere.
YoucansetuptabswithFile>NewTab(orCtrlT),thenmoveitemsfromonelocationtoanotherbydraggingthemtoatabandreleasingit.
Actionslistedinthecontextmenucanbeedited/deleted,andnewonesadded,byclickingEdit>Configurecustomactions...
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Variousoptionsandhiddencommandsarealsovisible,seeLinksbelow.
Compressedfilescanbemanagedbyarightclickonthefile.Thearchiverworkinginthebackgroundisfileroller(Startmenu>Accessories>ArchiveManager).
Tofindfiles,openThunarandrightclickanyfolder>Findfileshere.Adialogboxwillpopuptogiveyouoptions.Runninginthebackgroundiscatfish(Startmenu>
Accessories>Catfish).
Tosetupasoftlink(AKAsymlink),rightclickthetarget(fileorfolderyouwantthelinktopointto)>Createsymlink.Thenrightclickthenewsymlink,cutitand
pasteittowhereyouwantit.
Thunarcustomactions
3.5.2FTP
TheFileSharingProtocol(FTP)isusedtotransferfilesfromonehosttoanotherhostoveranetwork.
OpenThunarandclickontheBrowseNetworkiconintheleftpane
Intheaddressfield,typetheservernamewiththeftp://prefix.Forexample,toreachtheMXdocumentation(ifyouhavepermission)youwouldenterthisaddress:
ftp://mepiscommunity.org
Uppopsanauthorizationdialogbox.Fillinusernameandpassword,andletitsavepasswordifyouarecomfortablewiththat.
Thatsit.Onceyouhavenavigatedtothefolderyouarealwaysgoingtouse,youcanrightclickthefolder>Sendto>SidePanetocreateaverysimplewayto
connect.
ForadiscussionofhowFTPworks,seethispage.
3.5.3Filesharing
Therearevariouspossibilitiestosharefilesbetweencomputersorbetweenacomputerandadevice
Samba.SAMBAisthemostcompletesolutiontosharefileswithWindowsmachinesonyournetworkwithoutmakingchangestotheWindowsmachines.SAMBAcan
alsobeusedbymanynetworkmediaplayersandNetworkattachedstorage(NAS)]devices.SAMBAofferssomeotherservicesforinterfacingwithWindows
networks,suchasdomainauthentication,messagingservices,andnetbiosnameresolution.Fordetails,seebelow.
NFS.ThisisthestandardUnixprotocolforsharingfiles.ManyfeelitisbetterthanSambaforsharingfiles,anditcanbeusedwithWindows(2000&XP)machinesif
youinstallServicesforUnixorathirdpartyNFSclientonthem.Details:seeMX/antiXWiki.
Bluetooth:Forfileexchange,installbluemanfromtherepos,reboot,pairwiththedevice,thenrightclickthebluetoothiconintheNotificationArea>SendFilesto
Device.
3.5.4Shares(Samba)
Figure323:UsingThunartobrowsenetworkshares
Thunarcanconnecttosharedfolders(AKASambaShares)onWindows,Mac,LinuxcomputersandNAS(NetworkAttachedStorage)devices.ForprintingwithSamba,see
Section3.1.2.
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SelectBrowseNetworkintheleftpanetoshowvariousnetworks,includingWindowsNetwork
ClicktheNetworkyouwanttoseeavailableWorkgroups(oftencalledWORKGROUPbydefault).Nowdrilldowntofindwhatyouarelookingfor.
SelectaWorkgroupforavailableSambaServers
SelectaServerforavailableSambaShares
SelectaSambaSharetoseealltheavailablefolders
AshortcutfortheselectedSharewillbecreatedintheNetworksidebarsection
3.5.5Creatingshares
OnMX,SambacanalsobeusedtocreateSharesforothercomputers(Windows,Mac,Linux)toaccess.CreatingPublicSharesisfairlystraightforward,butkeepinmindthat
creatingSambaSharesisacomplexareafromaconfigurationperspective.Forexample,thetaskcreatingSharesthatarespecifictoindividualusersandareauthenticated
properlyisbeyondthescopeofthishelp.ComprehensivereferenceguidescanbefoundatUsingSambaandSamba.org.
Basicmethod
CreateasharewiththeSambaconfigurationtool
ClickStartmenu>System>SambatobringuptheSambaServerConfigurationtool.ClickontheplussignicontoaddasharedetailsavailablebyclickingontheHelpicon.
NOTE:usersoftenfindthattheconfigurationtoolmustbeaugmentedwiththemanualmethod,below.
Manualmethod
Createasharemanually
Ifforsomereasonyouneedorwanttocreatesharesmanually,followthesesteps.
Useanexisting/home/foldernameorcreateafolderandmakeitRead&WriteforOwner,Group:users,andOthers.Inotherwords,makeitopentotheworld.Starting
withasimplePublicShareisagoodplacetolearn.NOTE:Ifyouareconcernedaboutnetworksecuritydonotusethisapproach.Instead,studythereferencesaboveto
learnhowtocreatesecureshares.
ToestablishtheSambaShare,youmustedittheconfigurationfileasroot.Itcanbefoundat:/etc/samba/smb.confEdittheline:workgroup=xxxxxtomatchwhatever
WindowsWorkgroupnameyouareusing(defaultisWORKGROUP)
AttheveryendofthefileaddthefollowinglinestoestablishyourShare
[SHARENAME]
path=/home/username/foldername
guestok=yes
readonly=no
browseable=yes
forcecreatemode=777
forcedirectorymode=777
Savethefile.Whenaddingashare,theSambadaemonshouldreaditandimplementthechangesimmediately.Ifyoumakechangestoanexistingshare,youwillneedto
restartSambatomakesureyourchangestakeeffectbygoingtotheterminalandbecomingrootandentering:servicesambarestart
Youcanalsocheckformistakesinsmb.confbyrunningtestparmfromtheterminal
GotoanothercomputerandtestyourabilitytoseeyourSambaSharebybrowsingthenetworkandtestingread&writetotheShare
MORE:XfceDocs:Thunar
3.6Sound
MXLinuxsounddependsbydefaultonAdvancedLinuxSoundArchitecture(ALSA),whichformspartofthekernel.Inmostcasessoundwillworkoutofthebox,thoughit
mayneedsomeminoradjustment.Clickonthespeakericontomuteallaudio,thenagaintorestore.PlacecursoroverspeakericonintheNotificationAreaandusescrollwheel
toadjustvolume.
3.6.1SoundCardSetup
ThesoundcardisconfiguredandvolumeofselectedtracksadjustedbyrightclickingthespeakericonintheNotificationArea>OpenMixer.Ifyouhavemorethanonesound
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card,besuretoselecttheoneyouwanttoadjustusingthepulldownmenuatthetopoftheMixer.Ifthatdoesnotseemtoworkafterloggingoutandbackin,see
Troubleshooting,below.
NotethatbydefaultLeftandRightoutputsarelinkedtokeepthembalanced,butyoucanunlinkthembyclickingonthechainiconbelowanypairofchannelslidersclick
againtorelink.Beloweachsliderpair,clickonthesmallspeakericonwillmutethatchannel.Thecenterbuttonofathreebuttonmousecanbeconfiguredfordirectaccessto
theAudioMixerbyrightclickingthespeakericon>Preferences.
Systemvolume.AdefaultvolumeissetduringbootoftheLiveMediumorinstallation,butitmaynotbeoptimalforagivensystem.Tochangeit,clickandholdthe
slidersinthechannelMasterandmovethemtothelevelyouwish.ThendothesameforthechannelPCMifyoudonotseethischannel,clickontheSelectControls
buttoninthelowerleftcornerandaddit.ToseetheMasterVolumewithoutopeningtheMixer,placethecursorovertheSpeakericon.
Systembeepwhenloggingoutorbooting.Adjustasdesired.Toturnoffcompletely,itmayhelptomovetheslidersallthewayup,thenallthewaydown.Changetakes
effectafterloggingout/in.NotethattheBIOSmayhaveabeepswitchaswell,notealsothatnotallmixershavetheBeepControl.
Other.Followthesameprocedureusingthechannel(e.g.,Headphone)youwanttoadjust.Ifyoursoundsetuprequireschannelsthatarenotvisible,usetheSelect
Controlsbuttontoaddthem.
3.6.2Simultaneouscarduse
Theremaybetimeswhenyouwouldliketousemorethanonecardsimultaneouslyforinstance,youmaywanttohearmusicboththroughheadphonesandthroughspeakers
inanotherlocation.ThisisnoteasytodoinLinux,butthesolutionsonthisMX/antiXWikipagemaywork,ifyouarecarefultoadjustthecardreferencestoyourown
situation.Seealsothispage.
3.6.3Troubleshooting
Nosound,thoughspeakericonisintheNotificationArea.
Tryraisingallcontrolstoahigherlevel.
ClickontheSelectControlsbuttontoaddotherchannelsthatyoumightneed,thenraisethevolumeonthose.
IfyouhaverecentlyinstalledPulseAudio(seebelow),opentheALSAmixer(AudioMixer)andmakesurethespeakersarenotmuted.
Edittheconfigurationfiledirectly:seeSection7.4.
Nosound,nospeakericonisintheNotificationArea.Itcouldbethatthesoundcardismissingorunrecognized,butthemostcommonproblemisthatofmultiple
soundcards,whichweaddresshere.
1. Solution1:clickStartmenu>Settings>MXSoundCard,andfollowthescreentoselectandtestthecardyouwanttouse.
2. Solution2:installPulseAudioanduseitsvolumecontrol(pavucontrol)toselectthecorrectsoundcard
3. Solution3:entertheBIOSandturnoffHDMI
Particularapplications.Someapplicationshavesoundsetupsthatrequirespecialsteps.
Skype.Fromversion4.3xonward,SkypeonlysupportsPulseAudio(seebelow).ThisresultsinnosoundcardbeingchosenonasystemthatusesALSAalone,
sothattheonlyitemintheSkype>Options>SoundDevicespulldownmenusisDefault,whichdoesnotwork.TheonlysolutionistoinstallPulseAudio
(below),whichisdesignedtoworkwithALSAseebelow.
3.6.4Soundservers
WhereastheSoundCardisahardwareitemaccessibletotheuser,theSoundServerissoftwarethatworkslargelyinthebackground.Itpermitsgeneralmanagementofsound
cards,andprovidestheabilitycarryoutadvancedoperationsonthesound.Themostcommonisdescribedhere.
InstallPulseAudio
PulseAudio.PulseAudioisanadvancedopensourcesoundserverthatcanworkwithseveraloperatingsystems.Ithasitsownmixer,calledpavucontrol,thatis
installedalongwithitinMXLinuxifusingtheMXPackageInstaller.Itallowstheusertocontrolthevolumeanddestinationofthesoundsignal.
BecausePulseAudiocloselyintegrateswithotherpartsofthesoftware,itisbestinstalledthroughMXPackageInstaller.
AccordingtotheDebianWiki,itispossibletoswitchPulseAudioon/offasneeded.
AfterPulseAudiohasbeeninstalled,youcanusethevolumeiconintheNotificationAreabyrightclickingthespeakericon>Openmixer,andselectingtolinkto
thePulseAudioMixer.AnalternativeistoaddthePulseAudioVolumeControltothePanelbyrightclickingthepanel>Panel>AddNewItemsandselectingthe
LauncherthenclicktheplussigntoselecttheControlyouwant.
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Figure324:SelectingthePulseAudioMixerintheAlsaMixer
3.6.5Links
MX/antiXWiki:Soundnotworking
ALSA:SoundCardMatrix
ArchLinuxWiki:ALSAInformation
PulseAudioDocumentation:Freedesktop
3.7Localization
MX14ismaintainedbyaninternationalDevTeamthatconstantlyworkstoimproveandexpandtheoptionsforlocalization.Therearemanylanguagesintowhichour
documentshavenotyetbeentranslated,andifyoucanhelpwiththiseffortpleasepostontheTranslationForum.
3.7.1Installation
TheprimaryactoflocalizationoccursduringtheuseoftheLiveMedium.
Whenthebootloaderscreenfirstcomesup,makesuretousethefunctionkeystosetyourpreferences.
F2.Selectthelanguage
F3.Selectthetimezoneyouwishtouse.
Ifyouhaveacomplicatedoralternativesetup,youcanusebootcheatcodes.HereisanexampletosetaTartarkeyboardforRussian:lang=rukbvar=tt.Afull
listofthebootparameters(=cheatcodes)canbefoundintheMX/antiXWiki.
Ifyousetthelocalevaluesatthebootscreen,thenScreen7shouldshowthemduringinstallation.Ifnot,orifyouwanttochangethem,selectthelanguageand
timezoneyouwant.
3.7.2Postinstallation
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Figure325:AddinganotherkeyboardlayoutinSettingsManager
HerearetheconfigurationstepsyoucantaketolocalizeyourMXLinuxafterinstallation.
Changethekeyboard:
ClickStartMenu>Settings>SettingsManager>Keyboard,Layouttab.
UncheckUsesystemdefaults,thenclickonthe+Addbuttonatthebottomandselectthekeyboard(s)youwantavailable.
Exit,thenclickKeyboardSwitcher(flag)intheNotificationAreatoselectactivekeyboard.
Getlanguagepacksformajorapplications:clickStartmenu>System>MXPackageInstaller,providetherootpassword,thenclickLanguagetofindandinstall
languagepacksfortheapplicationsyouuse.
Changetimesettings:clickStartMenu>System>TimeSetandselectyourpreferences.IfyouareusingthedigitalclockDateTime,rightclick>Propertiesto
choose12h/24handotherlocalsettings.
Getspellcheckertouseyourlanguage:installtheaspellormyspellpackageforyourlanguage(e.g.,myspelles).
Getlocalweatherinfo:rightclickthePanel>Panel>AddNewItems>WeatherUpdate.Rightclick>Properties,andsetthelocaleyouwanttosee(itwill
guessbyyourIPaddress).
ForIceweasellocalization,installtheappropriateiceweasell10npackageforyourlanguageofintereste.g.,forSpanish(Spain),installiceweasell10nes.
3.7.3Furthernotes
ItmayhappenthatanindividualapplicationmaynothaveatranslationinyourlanguageunlessitisanMXapplication,wecandonothingaboutthat,soyoushouldsend
amessagetothedeveloper.
SomedesktopfilesthatareusedtocreatetheStartmenumaybemissingacommentinyourlanguage,eventhoughtheapplicationitselfdoeshaveatranslationinthat
languagepleaseletusknowwithapostintheTranslationForum.
3.8Customization
Xfce4makesitveryeasytochangebasicfunctionandlookofausersconfiguration,andtheintegrationofXfce4.12hasnowprovidedadditionalfeatures.
Mostimportantly,remember:Rightclickisyourfriend!
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GreatcontrolisavailablethroughtheSettingsManager(Panelicon)
UserchangesarestoredinXfce4configfilesinthedirectory:/.config/
MostsystemwideXfce4configfilesarein/etc/skel/or/etc/xdg/
MORE:XfceTipsandtricks
3.8.1Generallook
TheoverallappearancecanbecustomizedinStartmenu>Settings>SettingsManager.
ClickonAppearancetochangestyle,icons,fontsandsomesettings.
ClickonWindowManagertoselectthewindowtreatment.
ClickonDesktop(alsobyrightclickingdesktop)tochangebackground,menus,andsomeiconsettings.
ManagedefaultdesktopiconssuchasRemovableDevicesbyrightclickingdesktop>DesktopSettings...>Iconstab.
MORE:Xfce4docs:Appearance.
3.8.2Panel
Figure326:Preferencesscreenforcustomizationofpanels
Tomovethepanel,unlockitbyrightclickingapanel>Panel>PanelPreferences.
Tochangedisplaymode,selectfromthepulldownmenu:Horizontal,Vertical,orDeskbar.
Toautomaticallyhidethepanel,choosefrompulldownmenu:Never,Always,orIntelligently(hidesthepanelwhenawindowoverlapswithit).
Installnewpanelitemsbyrightclickinganemptyspace>Panel>AddNewItems.Youthenhave3choices:
Selectoneoftheitemsonthemainlistthatpopsup
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Ifwhatyouwantisnotthere,selectLauncher.Onceitisinplace,rightclick>Properties,clicktheplussignandselectanitemoffthelistthatpopsup.
Ifyouwanttoaddanitemnotoneitherlist,thenselecttheemptyitemiconbelowtheplussignandfillinthedialogboxthatpopsup.
NewiconsshowupatthebottomofthePaneltomovethem,rightclick>Move
Changethelook,orientation,etc.byrightclickingthepanel>Panel>PanelPreferences.
Touseahorizontalinsteadofaverticalpanel,rightclickthepanel>Panel>PanelPreferences,andunlockthepanel.Thengraboneofthehashedends,andswingit
around,relocatingtheiconsasyouwish.
AddordeleteapanelinPanelPreferencesbyclickingontheplusorminusbuttontotherightofthetoppanelpulldownmenu.
MORE:Xfce4docs:Panel.
3.8.3Desktop
Customizingthedesktop
Thedefaultdesktop(AKAwallpaper,background)canbechangedinvariousways.
Rightclickanyimage>Setaswallpaper
Ifyouwantthewallpapersavailabletoallusers,becomerootandputtheminthe/usr/share/xfce4/backdropsfolderyouwillprobablyhavetocreatethisfolder,eitherin
arootThunarorinarootterminalusingthecommandmkdir.
Ifyouneedtorestorethedefaultwallpaper,itisin/usr/local/share/backgrounds/.
ManyothercustomizationsareavailableinSettingsManager.
AddstandardiconssuchasTrashorHometothedesktopinDesktop,iconstab.
Windowbehaviorsuchasswitching,tiling,andzoomingcanbecustomizedinWindowManagerTweaks.
WindowswitchingviaAlt+Tabcanbecustomizedtouseacompactlistinsteadoftraditionalicons
WindowswitchingviaAlt+Tabcanalsobesettoshowthumbnailsinsteadoficonsoralist,butitrequiresturningoncompositingwhichsomeoldercomputers
mayhavedifficultysupporting.Toenable,firstdeselectCycleonalistlistontheCyclingtab,thenclickontheCompositortabandcheckShowwindows
previewinplaceoficonswhencycling.
Windowtilingcanbeaccomplishedbydraggingawindowtoacornerandreleasingitthere..
WindowzoomingisavailablebyusingtheAlt+MouseWheelcombination.
ToselectadifferentwallpaperforeachWorkspace,gottoBackgroundandunchecktheoptionApplytoallworkspaces.Thenselectawallpaperandrepeatthe
processforeachworkspacebydraggingthedialogboxtothenextworkspaceandselectinganotherwallpaper.
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Figure327:Settingdifferentbackgroundsforeachworkspace
Conky
YoucandisplayalmostanykindofinformationonthedesktopbyusingConky
Installconkymanager2fromtherepos.
ClickStartmenu>AccessoriestofindConkyManager.
InConkyManager,youcanhighlighteachconkyandhitPreviewtoseewhatitlookslike.Besuretocloseeachpreviewbeforegoingtoanother.
IfitseemsthatConkyManagerhasfrozen,checkforawindowwiththepreviewhidingbehindit.
Checktheboxtoselectanyconkyyouwanttouse.Itwillbeautoinstalled.
Theconfigurationfilesarestoredinthefolder/conkymanager
MORE:Conkyhomepage
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Figure328:ManyconkyconfigurationsareavailableinConkyManager2
3.8.4Keyboard
Bydefault,MX14usesthekeyboardlayoutthatmatchestheuserslanguagechoice.Tomakeanotherlayoutavailable,seeSection3.7.2.
3.8.5Menu(Whisker)
CustomizingWhiskermenu
FunwiththeWhiskermenu
MXLinuxcomesbydefaultwiththeWhiskerMenu,thoughaclassicmenucanbeeasilyinstalledbyrightclickingapanel>Panel>AddNewItems>ApplicationsMenu.
WhiskerMenuishighlycustomizable.
Rightclickthemenuicon>Propertiestosetpreferences.
Favoritesareeasytoadd:rightclickanymenuitem>AddtoFavorites.
SimplydraganddropFavoritestoarrangethemaswished.Rightclickanyentrytosortorremove.
Whiskermenufeatures
Menuentriescanbeeditedwithtwoapplications(themenuentrydesktopfilesarelocatedin/usr/share/applications/andcanalsobeeditedasrootdirectly).
MXMenuEditor(Section3.2.7).
AnativeXfceapplication
ClickStartmenu>Accessories>ApplicationFinder(orAltF3),andrightclickanyentry.
ContextmenucontainsEditandHide(thelattercanbeveryuseful).
SelectingEditbringsupascreenwhereyoucanchangename,comment,commandandicon.
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Figure329:Menuentryeditscreen
3.8.6Logingreeter
Forcommonmodificationsofthelogingreeter,seetheMX/antiXWiki.
3.8.7Bootloader
Thebootloader(GRUB)menuofaninstalledMX14canbemodifiedbyclickingStartmenu>System>Grubcustomizer.Thistoolallowsuserstoconfiguresome
importantGrubsettingssuchasthebootentrylistconfiguration,namesofpartitions,etc.
3.8.8Defaultapplications
General
ThedefaultapplicationstobeusedforgeneraloperationsaresetbyclickingStartmenu>Settings>Settingsmanager>PreferredApplications,whereyoucansetfour
preferences.
Webbrowser
Mailreader
Filemanager
Terminalemulator
Particular
Manydefaultsforspecificfiletypesaresetduringanapplicationsinstallation.Forinstance,*.docxand*.xlsxfilesareassociatedwithLibreOfficewhenitisinstalled.But
oftenmultipleoptionsexistforagivenfiletype,andauserwouldliketodeterminewhichapplicationwouldlaunchthefile.Acommonexampleiswhenauserwantstoopen
an*.mp3filewithadifferentmusicplayerthanClementine(default).Asimplemethodexiststomakethatchange.
Rightclickanyexampleofthefiletypeyouareinterestedin
Makeoneofthefollowingselections
Openwith<listedapplication>.Thiswillopenthefilewiththeselectedapplicationforthisparticularinstance,butwillnotaffectthedefaultapplication.
OpenwithOtherApplication.Scrolldownthelisttohighlighttheoneyouwant(includingUseacustomcommand),thencheckOpen.Theboxatthe
bottomUseasdefaultforthiskindoffileischeckedbydefault,soyourselectionwillnowbecomethenewdefaultapplicationthatislaunchedwhenyouclick
onanyfileofthatparticulartype.Unchecktheboxforonetimeusage.
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Figure330:Changingdefaultapplication
4Basicuse
4.1Internet
4.1.1Webbrowser
MXLinuxcomeswithIceweaselinstalled,whichisaforkofMozillasFirefoxthataddsbackportedsecurityfixestothedeclaredDebianstableversionandomits
trademarkedartwork.Beyondthesetwochanges,itisidenticaltoFirefox,andsupportsallthesameaddons.
Iceweaselhomepage
Wikipedia:MozillaproductsrebrandedbyDebian
Firefoxaddons
EarlierversionsofMXLinuxusedthelightweightbrowserQupZillaasdefault,whichisalsobasedonFirefox.Itsmostrecentreleasesareworthyofconsiderationby
anyoneinterestedinlimitedspaceandsimplerdesign.SupportsanumberofthemostpopularFirefoxaddons.
QupZillahomepage
OtherbrowsersincludingFirefoxareavailableforeasydownloadandinstallationviatheMXPackageInstaller.
4.1.2Email
ClawsMail.BasedonGTK+,thislightweightandfastemailclientisinstalledwithMXLinuxandavailablebyclickingStartMenu>Internet.Alargenumberof
usefulplugins(RSSaggregator,calendar,laptopLEDhandling,etc.)areavailablefromtherepos.SincesettingupaGmailaccountisnotintuitivewithClawsMail,here
arethevaluesyouwillneed:
Server:imap.googlemail.com
Send:UseSTARTTLScommandtostartSSLsession
IMAP4:UseSSLforIMAP4connection
IMAP4Port:993
Clawsmailhomepage
Clawsmailpluginlist
ClawsMailUserManual
Thunderbirdisanotherpopularchoice.ItintegrateswellwithGoogleCalendarandGoogleContacts,seeSection4.10.MXPackageInstaller.
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4.1.3Chat
XChatIRC.ThisIRCchatprogramisinstalledbydefaultinMXLinux,andmakestheexchangeoftextmessageseasierfortheuser.
XChathomepage
Pidgin.Thisgraphical,modularinstantmessagingclientiscapableofusingmultiplenetworksatonce.MXPackageInstaller.
Pidginhomepage
Skype.Apopularproprietaryprogramforinstantmessagingaswellasvoiceandvideochat.ItiscrossplatformandcanbeinstalledonMXLinuxwithoutproblem
usingtheMXPackageInstaller>Network(thislinkwillalsoinstallPulseAudioforsound,seeSection3.6.3).MXPackageInstaller.
InstallingSkype
Troubleshooting:occasionallySkypedoesnotpickupaparticularwebcam.Thatcanoftenbesolvedbyopeningaterminal,becomingroot,andissuingtwocommands
oneatatimethatwillfirstunload,thenreloadthedriver.(Ifthatworks,thenascriptcanbewrittentoexecutethosecommandsautomatically.)
modproberuvcvideo
modprobeuvcvideo
Skypehomepage
SeealsoSection4.11.7GoogleTalk.
4.2Multimedia
ListedherearesomeofthemanymultimediaapplicationsavailableinMXLinux.Advancedprofessionalapplicationsalsoexist,andcanbefoundthroughtargetedsearchesin
Synaptic.
4.2.1Music
Figure41:PlayingasongfilewithClementine
Players
Clementine.AmodernmusicplayerandlibraryorganizerthatcanplayeverysourcefromaCDtoaCloudService.Installedbydefault.
Clementinehomepage
Audacious.Afullfeaturedmusicplayerandmanager.MXPackageInstaller.
Audacioushomepage
DeaDBeeF.Alightweightplayerwithasmallmemoryfootprint,robustsetofbasicfeatures,andfocusonmusicplayback.MXPackageInstaller.
DeaDBeeFhomepage
Rippersandeditors
Asunder.AgraphicalAudioCDripperandencoderthatcanbeusedtosavetracksfromAudioCDs.
Asunderhomepage
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EasyTAG.Asimpleapplicationforviewingandeditingtagsinaudiofiles.
EasyTAGhomepage
4.2.2Video
HowtoenableNetflixinChrome
Players
VLC.Playsalargerangeofvideoandaudioformats,DVDs,VCDs,podcasts,andmultimediastreamsfromvariousnetworksources.Installedbydefault.
VLChomepage
SMplayer.Amediaplayerthatcanplayvirtuallyallvideoandaudioformats.MXPackageInstaller.
SMplayerhomepage
Minitube.StandaloneplayerofYouTubevideosprovidesendlessstreamforanysearchterm.Installedbydefault.
Minitubehomepage
Netflix.DesktopcapabilityofstreamingNetflixmoviesisinstalledbythispackage.MXPackageInstaller.
Netflixhomepage
Pipelight.AllowsyoutorunyourfavoriteSilverlightapplicationdirectlyinsideyourLinuxbrowser.MXPackageInstaller.
Pipelightoverview
Figure42:RunningdesktopNetflixonMXLinux
Rippersandeditors
HandBrake.Avideoripperthatiseasytouse,fastandsimple.
HandBrakehomepage
DeVeDe.ThisutilityautomaticallyconvertsmaterialtoformatscompatiblewithaudioCDandvideoDVDstandards.
DeVeDehomepage
DVDStyler.Anothergoodauthoringutility.MXPackageInstaller.
DVDStylerhomepage
OpenShot.Asimpletouseandfeaturerichvideoeditor.MXPackageInstaller.
OpenShothomepage
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4.2.3Photos
Figure43:UsingthecroptoolinMirage
Mirage.InstalledbydefaultinMXLInux,thisspeedyapplicationiseasytouseandallowsyoutoviewandeditdigitalphotos.
Mirageprojectpage
Fotoxx.Thisfastapplicationallowseasyphotoeditingandcollectionmanagement.
Fotoxxhomepage
GIMP.TheHelppackage(gimphelp)mustbeinstalledseparately,andisavailableinmanylanguages.MXPackageInstaller.
GIMPhomepage
4.2.4Screencasting
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Figure44:MainscreenofSimpleScreenRecorder
SimpleScreenRecorder.Asimplebutpowerfulprogramtorecordprogramsandgames.MXPackageInstaller.
SimpleScreenRecorderhomepage
RecordMyDesktop.Capturesaudiovideodataofalinuxdesktopsession.MXPackageInstaller.
RecordMyDesktophomepage.
4.2.5Illustrations
Pinta.Thiseasytousedrawing/editingprogramprovidesasimplifiedmethodtocreateandmanipulateimages.
Pintahomepage
LibreOfficeDraw.Diagrams,drawingsandpicturescanbecreatedandmodifiedwiththisapplication.
LODrawhomepage
Inkscape.Thisillustrationeditorhaseverythingneededtocreateprofessionalqualitycomputerart.MXPackageInstaller.
Inkscapehomepage
4.3Office
4.3.1Officesuite
MXLinuxcomeswithagreatfreeofficesuitecalledLibreOffice,whichistheLinuxequivalentandneardropinreplacementforMicrosoftOffice.Thesuiteisavailableunder
StartMenu>Office>LibreOffice.LibreOfficesupportsthe.docx,.xlsxand.pptxfileformatsofMicrosoftOffice2007andabove.
Figure45:MaindashboardinLibreOffice
Installedbydefault.
WordProcessor:LibreOfficeWriter.Anadvancedwordprocessorcompatiblewith.docand.docxfiles.
Spreadsheet:LibreOfficeCalc.Anadvancedspreadsheetcompatiblewith.xlsand.xlsxfiles.
Presentation:LibreOfficeImpress.Usedforpresentations,etc.,compatiblewith.pptand.pptxfiles.
Draw:LibreOfficeDraw.Usedtocreategraphicsanddiagrams.
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Math:LibreOfficeMath.Usedforformathematicalequations.
Availablefromtherepos.
Base:LibreOfficeBase.Usedtocreateandmanipulatedatabases.IfusingthisapplicationtocreateorusedatabasesinthenativeLibreOfficeformat,youmust
alsoinstalllibreofficebasedriversandlibreofficesdbchsqldb
4.3.2Officefinances
GnuCash.Financialsoftwareforofficeuse.Itiseasytolearn,andallowsyoutotrackbankaccounts,stocks,incomeandexpenses.CanimportdatainQIF,QFXand
otherformats,andsupportsdoubleentryaccounting.MXPackageInstaller.TheHelppackage(gnucashdocs)needstobeinstalledseparately.
GnuCashhomepage
Figure46:NewaccountinGnuCash
4.3.3PDF
QPDFview.Afastandlightweightviewerthatincludesanumberofbasictools.Installedbydefault.
QpdfViewhomepage
AdobeReaderforLinuxoffersgreaterfunctionality(suchascommentingorformfilling).MXPackageInstaller(underOffice).
AdobeReaderhomepage
PDFShufflermakessimplethereordering,deletingandaddingofPDFpages.
PDFShufflerhomepage
gscan2pdfisahandymethodofscanningdocumentstoPDF.MXPackageInstaller(underGraphics).
gscan2pdfhomepage
Forotherfunctions(e.g.,creatingaPDFformusingLibreOffice),seeMX/antiXWiki:PDF.
4.3.4Desktoppublication
Scribus.Professionalpagelayoutthatproducespressreadyoutput.AvailableviaMXPackageInstaller.
Scribushomepage
4.3.5Videoconferencing
TeamViewer.CrossplatformapplicationforRemoteSupportandOnlineMeetings.Freeforprivateuse.
TeamViewerhomepage
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4.4Home
4.4.1Finances
Grisbiisveryusefulforthehome.ItcanimportQIF/QFXfiles,andhasanintuitiveinterface.
Grisbihomepage
4.4.2MediaCenter
KodiEntertainmentCenter(formerlyXBMC)allowsuserstoplayandviewmostvideos,music,podcasts,andallcommondigitalmediafilesfromlocalandnetwork
storagemedia.
Kodihomepage
KodiWiki
4.4.3Organization
Notes.ThishandyXfceplugin(xfce4notesplugin)allowsyoutocreateandorganizestickynotesforyourdesktop.
Noteshomepage
Osmo.Nicecompactapplicationthatincludescalendar,tasks,contactsandnotes,
Osmohomepage
Lightningcalendar.
Figure47:ThepersonalinformationmanagerOsmo
4.5Security
4.5.1Firewall
Gufw.Apersonalfirewallconfigurationutilitythatmakesiteasierfortheusertoconfigurethefirewall.
Gufwhomepage
Wikipedia:Personalfirewall
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4.5.2Antivirus
KlamAV.UsefultostopLinuxusersfromunknowinglypassingvirusinfectedemailsandotherdocumentstosusceptibleusers.
KlamAVhomepage
Wikipedia:Antivirus
4.5.3AntiRootkit
chkrootkit.Thisapplicationscanssystemsforknownandunknownrootkits,backdoors,sniffersandexploits.
chkrootkithomepage
Wikipedia:Rootkit
4.5.4Passwordprotection
KeePassX.Apasswordmanagerorsafethathelpsyoutomanageyourpasswordsinasecureway.
KeePassXhomepage
4.5.5Webaccess
Dansguardian.Providesaflexiblemethodoffilteringwebaccessforkidsaccordingtoyourneeds.
Dansguardianhomepage
Figure48:WebfilterinactiononDansguardian
4.6Accessibility
VariousopensourceutilitiesexistforMXLinuxuserswithdisabilitiesbyvirtueofXfce4tools.
Installatspifromthereposandreboot.
ClickStartmenu>Settings>Accessibility,andtickEnableAssistiveTechnologies.
Changetheavailableoptionstosuityourliking.
MORE:Xfce4documentation
4.7System
4.7.1Getrootprivileges
Therearetwowaystoobtainroot(adminstrative,superuser)privilegesthatyouneedtomakesystemchanges(e.g.,installingsoftware)usingaterminal.
su:requiresrootspasswordandgrantsprivilegesforentireterminalsession
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sudo:requiresyourownpasswordandgrantsprivilegesforasinglecommand
Inotherwords,suletsyouswitchusersothatyoureactuallyloggedinasroot,whilesudoletsyouruncommandsinyourownuseraccountwithrootprivileges.Also,su
usestheenvironment(userspecificconfiguration)oftheuserroot,whilesudoallowsrootlevelchangesbutkeepstheenvironmentoftheuserissuingthecommand.
Ingeneral,MXLinuxusesatrueroot,meaningthatthisManualandtheForumwillgenerallyinstructtheuseofsu.
Fordetails,consultthemanpages.
4.7.2Gethardwarespecs
ClickStartmenu>System>SystemProfilerandBenchmarkforanicegraphicdisplaythatincludestheresultsofvarioustests.
Openaterminalandenterthiscommand:
inxiF
SeeSection6.5forthemanyotherfeaturesofinxi.
4.7.3Createsymboliclinks
Asymboliclink(alsosoftlinkorsymlink)isaspecialkindoffilethatpointstoanotherfileorfolder,muchlikeashortcutinWindowsoranaliasinMacintosh.Asymboliclink
doesnotcontainanyactualdata(asahardlinkdoes),itjustpointstoanotherlocationsomewhereinthesystem.
Therearetwowaystocreateasymlink:Thunarorthecommandline.
Thunar
Navigatetothefileorfolder(targetofthelink)thatyouwanttopointtofromanotherlocationorunderanothername
Rightclickwhatyouwanttolink>CreateSymlink,andasymlinkiscreatedwhereyoucurrentlyare
Rightclickthenewsymlink>Cut
Navigatetowhereyouwantthelinktobe,rightclickanopenarea>Paste.Changeifdesiredthelinkname.
Commandline:Openaterminalandtype:
lnsTargetFileOrFolderLinkName
Besuretoincludefullpathaswellasfile/foldernames.
Thesswitchindicatesthatasymboliclinkandnotahardlink(thatpointsdirectlytodata)isbeingcreated.
Forexample,tosymlinkafilenamedfooinyourDownloadsfoldertoyourDocumentsfolder,enterthis:
lns~/Downloads/foo~/Documents/foo
4.7.4Findfilesandfolders
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Figure49:SearchscreenofCatfish
CatfishisinstalledbydefaultinMXLinux,andcanbelaunchedfromtheStartmenu>Accessories.ItisalsointegratedintoThunarsothattheusercanrightclickafolder
>Findfileshere.
Catfishhomepage
CLI
Therearesomeveryhandycommandsforuseinaterminal.
locate.Foreachgivenpattern,locatesearchesoneormoredatabasesoffilenamesanddisplaystheonesthatcontainthepattern.Forexample,typing:
locateiceweasel
willreturnanextremelylonglistwitheverysinglefilethathasthewordiceweaselinitsnameorinitspath.Thiscommandissimilartofindandisbestusedwhenthe
exactfilenameisknown.
Locateexamples
whereis.Anothercommandlinetool,installedbydefault.Foreachgivenpattern,whereissearchesoneormoredatabasesoffilenamesanddisplaysthefilenamesthat
containthepattern,butitignorespathssothereturnlistismuchshorter.Forexample,typing:
whereisiceweasel
willreturnamuchshorterlistsomethinglikethis:
iceweasel:/usr/bin/iceweasel/etc/iceweasel/usr/lib/iceweasel
/usr/bin/X11/iceweasel/usr/share/iceweasel/usr/share/man/man1/iceweasel.1.gz
Whereisexamples
which:Arguablythemostconvenienttoolofall,foragivenpattern,whichattemptstoidentifytheexecutable.Forexample,typing:
whichiceweasel
returnsasingleitem:
/usr/bin/iceweasel
Whichexamples
4.7.5Killrunawayprograms
Desktop
1. PressCtrlAltEsctochangethecursorintoaskullandcrossbones.Clickonanyopenscreentokillit,rightclicktocancel.Becarefulnottoclickonthe
desktoporyoursessionwillendabruptly.
2. TaskManager:clickStartmenu>System>TaskManager,selectprocessandrightclicktostop,terminateorkill.
3. Atraditionaltoolisalsoavailable:clickStartmenu>System>Htop,whichbringsupaterminalshowingallrunningprocesses.Locatetheprogramyouwant
tostop,highlightit,pressF9,thenReturn.
Terminal:PressCtrlC,whichwillusuallystopaprogram/commandyoustartedinaterminalsession.
Iftheabovesolutionsdontwork,trythesemoreextrememethods(listedinincreasingseverity).
RestartX.PressCtrlBksptokillallsessionprocesses,leavingyoubackattheloginscreen.Anyunsavedworkwillbelost.
UsemagicSysRqkey(REISUB).HolddowntheAltSysRqorAltPrtScrnkey(sometimesonlytheleftAltkeywillwork),andslowlypressthekeysREIS
UByoursystemshouldshutdowncorrectlyandreboot.Thepurposeofthismagickeyistogothroughseveralstagesthatnurseyoursystemsafelyoutofa
failureofsomesort,andoftenonlythefirst2lettersaresufficient.Example,AltSysRq+R,thenE,thentrywhatyouwereattemptingtodobeforethefailure,if
thesystemisstillunresponsive,continuewiththeI,tryagainandifyoustillhavenojoy,youmayaswellfinishthesequence.
Wikipedia:REISUB
Ifnothingelseworks,holddownthepowerbuttonofyourcomputerfor10secondsorsountilitshutsdown.
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Figure410:TaskManagermainscreen,readytokillaprocess.
4.7.6Trackperformance
General
GUI
Xfceplugins.Xfce4.12bringsanumberofpluginsformonitoringthesystemthatcanbeplacedinthePanel,includingBatteryMonitor,CPUFrequency
Monitor,CPUGraph,DiskPerformanceMonitor,FreeSpaceChecker,NetworkMonitor,Sensorplugin,SystemLoadMonitor,andWavelan.Theycanallbe
installedwiththemetapackagexfce4goodies.
Xfce4Goodieshomepage
Conky.SeeSection3.8.3.
CLI
lmsensors.ThishardwarehealthmonitoringpackageisinstalledbydefaultinMXLinux.Openaterminal,becomeroot,andenter:
sensorsdetect
ClickReturntoansweryestoallquestions.Whenithasfinished,youwillbeabletogetdetailedinformationaboutthereadingsofthesensorsthatareavailableon
yoursystembyopeningaterminalandentering:sensors.
Lmsensorshomepage
Battery
BatterylevelismonitoredbythePowerManagerpluginonthePanel,andadedicatedPanelpluginisalsoavailable.
4.7.7Scheduletasks
GUI
Scheduledtasks(gnomeschedule).Averyhandywaytoschedulesystemtaskswithouthavingtodirectlyeditsystemfiles.
Gnomeschedulehomepage
CLI
Youcanmanuallyeditcrontab,asimpletextfilethatholdsalistofcommandsthataretoberunatspecifiedtimes.
Crontaboverview
Easycrontabgenerator
4.7.8Correcttime
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Ifyourclocktimeisalwayswrong,thereare4possibleissues:
wrongtimezone
wrongselectionofUTCversuslocaltime
BIOSclocksetwrong
timedrift
TheseissuesareusuallyaddressedbyusingTimeSet(Startmenu>System)forcommandlinetechniques,seetheMX/antiXWiki.
Figure411:ScreenofTimeSet,showingvariousoptions.
4.7.9ShowKeyLock
OnmanylaptopsthereisnoindicatorlightfortheactivationoftheCapsLockorNumLockkeys,whichcanbeveryannoying.Tosolvethiswithanonscreennotifier,install
indicatorkeylockfromtherepos.
4.8Backup
Themostimportantpracticeistobackupyourdataandconfigurationfilesregularly,aprocessthatiseasyinMXLinux.Itishighlyrecommendedthatyoubackuptoa
differentdrivethantheoneyourdataison!Theaverageuserwillfindoneofthefollowinggraphicaltoolsconvenient,thoughCLImethodswillalsowork.
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Figure412:MainscreenofLuckyBackup
LuckyBackup.Aneasyprogramtobackupandsyncyourfiles.Installedbydefault.
LuckyBackupmanual
SystemBack.Makesiteasytocreatebackupsofsystemandusersconfigurationfiles.
SystemBackhomepage
Cloudservice.Therearemanycloudservicesthatcanbeusedforbackinguporsynchingyourdata.DropBoxandGoogleDriveareprobablythebestknown,butmany
othersexist.
Cloning.Createacompleteimageoftheharddrive.
Clonezilla.DownloadClonezillaLivefromtheClonezillahomepage,andthenrebootintoit.
CLItools.SeethediscussionintheArchWiki:Cloning
CLIcommandsfordoingbackups(rsync,rdiff,cp,dd,tar,etc.).
ArchWiki:Backup
SeealsoSection6.6.2SavesystemtoliveISO.
4.8.1Data
Makesureyoubackupyourdata,includingdocuments,graphics,music,andmail.Bydefault,mostofthisisstoredinyour/homedirectoryunlessyouhaveaseparatedata
partitionorexternaldatalocation.
4.8.2Configurationfiles
Hereisalistofitemstoconsiderforbackup.
/home.Holdsmostofthepersonalconfigurationfiles.
/root.Holdsthechangesyouhavemadeasroot.
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.Xconfigurationfile,ifthereisone.
TheGRUB2files/etc/grub.d/and/etc/default/grub.
4.8.3Listofinstalledprogrampackages:
Itsalsoagoodideatosaveinyour/homedirectoryafilethatcontainsthelistofprogramsthatyouhaveinstalledwithSynaptic,aptgetorGdebi.Ifinthefutureyouneedto
reinstall,youlljusthavetopastethenamesofthefilesintoanaptgetinstallcommand.Youcancreateaninventoryofallpackagesonyoursysteminstalledsinceinstallation
bycopyingthislongcommandandpastingitinaterminal.
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ToreinstallALLthosepackagesatonce:makesurethatallneededrepositoriesareenabled,thenissuethesecommandsoneatatime:
dpkgsetselections<apps_installed.txt
su
aptgetupdate
aptgetdselectupgrade
4.9Games
MXLinuxcomeswithonlyafewsimplegames,butmanymoreareavailable.BrowsingtheextensivelistofgamesavailablethroughSynaptic(clickSections>Gamesatthe
bottomoftheleftpanel)orfollowingthelinksbelowwillbringupmanyothertitlesforyourenjoyment.
Thefollowinglistcontainssomeexamplestowhetyourappetite.
4.9.1AdventureandShooterGames
ChromiumB.S.U.:Afastpaced,arcadestyle,topscrollingspaceshooter.Installedbydefault.
ChromiumB.S.U.homepage:
BeneathASteelSky:Asciencefictionthrillersetinableakpostapocalypticvisionofthefuture.
BeneathaSteelSkyhomepage
Kq:Aconsolestyleroleplayinggame,similartoFinalFantasy.
Kqhomepage
Mars.Aridiculousshooter.Protectyourplanetfromtheoncomingdoomofyourjealousneighbours!
Marshomepage
Figure413:EnemywarshipsontheattackinChromiumB.S.U
4.9.2ArcadeGames
Defendguin:AcloneofDefender,whereyourmissionistodefendlittlepenguins.
Defendguinhomepage
FrozenBubble:Coloredbubblesarefrozenatthetopoftheplayingscreen.AstheIcePressdescends,youmustpopoutgroupsoffrozenbubblesbeforethePress
reachesyourshooter.
FrozenBubblehomepage
PlanetPenguinRacer:afunracinggamewithyourfavoritepenguin.page:
Tuxracerhomepage
Rili:Atoytraingame.
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Rilihomepage
Supertux:Aclassic2DjumpnrunsidescrollinggameinastylesimilartotheoriginalSuperMariogames.
Supertuxhomepage
Supertuxkart:Amuchimprovedversionoftuxkart.
Supertuxcarthomepage
Figure414:Rilitrainneedsaturnchoicesoon
4.9.3BoardGames
Gottcodegames:Gottet(Tetrisclone),PegE(Pegsolitairegame)andSimsu(BasicSudokugame).Installedbydefault.
Gottcodehomepage
Mines(gnomines):Aminesweepergamefor1player.
DoSSiZola:ThegoalofthebasicIsolagameistoblocktheopponentbydestroyingthesquareswhichsurroundhim.
Do'SSiZo'lahomepage
Gnuchess:Achessgame.
Gnuchesshomepage
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Figure415:HightensionmomentinMines.
4.9.4CardGames
Herearesomefuncardgamesavailablefromtherepos.
Hearts(gnomehearts):Theclassicheartsgame.
Gnomeheartshomepage
Pysolfc:Over1,000sogamesfromasingleapplication.
Pysolfchomepage
4.9.5DesktopFun
Xpenguins.Penguinswalkaroundyourscreen.CanbecustomizedwithothercharacterslikeLemmingsandPoohBear(needtoallowprogramstoruninrootwindow).
Xpenguinshomepage
Oneko.Acat(neko)followsyourcursor(themouse)aroundthescreen.Canbecustomizedwithadogorotheranimal.
HowtouseOneko
PhunLand.Phunisafreegamelike2Dphysicssandboxwhereyoucanplaywithphysicslikeneverbefore.Theplayfulsynergyofscienceandartisnovel,andmakes
Phunaseducationalasitisentertaining.
HowtousePhun
Xteddy.Putsacuteteddyonyourdesktop.Alternativelyyoucanaddyourownimage.
Xteddyhomepage
Tuxpaint.Adrawingprogramforkidsofallages.
Tuxpainthomepage
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Figure416:BuddinggeniusatworkinTuxpaint
4.9.6EducationalGames
ScratchandScratchJr.Afreeprogramminglanguageandonlinecommunitywhereyoucancreateyourowninteractivestories,games,andanimations.
Homepage:Scratch
Figure417:CodingscreenforDancePartyusingScratch
4.9.7Tactics&StrategyGames
Freeciv:AcloneofSidMeyersCivilization(versionI),aturnbasedmultiplayerstrategygame,inwhicheachplayerbecomestheleaderofastoneagecivilization,
tryingtogainascendencyastheagesprogress.
Freecivhomepage
Lbreakout2:LBreakout2isabreakoutstylearcadegamewhereyouuseyourpaddletoaimaballatbricksuntilallbricksaredestroyed.Manylevelsandsurprises.
Installedbydefault.
Lgameshomepage
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Lincity:AcloneoftheoriginalSimcity.Youmustbuildandmaintainacityandkeepitspeoplesatisfiedsothatyourpopulationgrows.
Lincityhomepage
BattleforWesnoth:Ahighlyratedturnbasedstrategygamewithafantasytheme.Buildyourarmyandfighttoregainthethrone.
BattleforWesnothhomepage
Figure418:TryingtobreakthroughthefirstwallinLbreakout
4.9.8Windowsgames
AnumberofWindowsgamescanbeplayedinMXLinuxbyusingaWindowsemulatorsuchasCedegaorDOSBox,orsomemayevenrununderWine:seeSection6.1.
4.10Googletools
Figure419:IntegratedGoogleCalendarandContactsinThunderbird
4.10.1Gmail
GmailaccountscanbeintegratedintoClawsMailandThunderbird,seeSection4.1.2.
4.10.2GooglesContacts
GooglesContactscanbelinkedintoThunderbirdbyusingtheaddongContactSync.
MORE:gContactSynchomepage
4.10.3Gcal
GcalcanbesetuponatabinThunderbirdwiththeaddonsLightningandGoogleCalendarTab.
MORE:Lightningcalendarhomepage
4.10.4Gtasks
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GtaskscanbeincludedinThunderbirdbytickingtheTasksentryofthecalendar.
4.10.5GoogleEarth
GoogleEarthforLinuxisavailablefromtherepos.Whenyouinstallit,itactuallyonlyplacesaGoogleEarthLinux.binfileinyour/homefolder.Openaterminalandenter:
makegoogleearthpackage
Thiscommandcreatesa*.debfileinthesamelocation(name:googleearthfollowedbytheversionnumber)thatcanbeinstalledinthestandardfashionusingdpkg.
4.10.6GoogleTalk
ThereisabrowserplugincalledgoogletalkpluginavailablefromtheGooglereposthatallowsyoutomakeavoiceorvideocalltosomeonefromyourGmailaccount.
5SoftwareManagement
5.1Introduction
5.1.1Methods
Synapticistherecommendedmethodforbeginnerstomanagesoftwarepackages,althoughothermethodsarealsoavailableandmayberequiredforcertain
situations.
5.1.2Packages
SoftwareoperationsinMXareaccomplishedthroughtheAdvancedPackageTool(APT)system.Softwareisprovidedintheformofapackage:adiscrete,non
executablebundleofdatathatincludesinstructionsforyourpackagemanageraboutinstallation.Theyarestoredonserverscalledrepositories,andcanbebrowsed,
downloaded,andinstalledthroughspecialclientsoftwarecalledapackagemanager.TherecommendedpackagemanagerforMXisSynaptic,thoughthecommandlineutility
aptgetisalsoincludedforthosewhopreferit.ThegraphicalutilityGdebiislaunchedfordownloaded*.debfileswithasingleclickonthefilenameanalternativeistoopena
terminalandusethecommanddpkginstallpackagename.deb
Themajorityofpackageshaveoneormoredependencies,meaningthattheyhaveoneormorepackagesthatmustalsobeinstalledinorderforthemtowork.TheAPT
systemisdesignedtoautomaticallyhandledependenciesforyouinotherwords,whenyoutrytoinstallapackagewhosedependenciesarenotalreadyinstalled,yourAPT
packagemanagerwillautomaticallymarkthosedependenciesforinstallationaswell.Itcanhappenthatthesedependenciescannotbemet,preventingtheinstallationofa
package.
5.2Repositories
APTrepositories(repos)aremuchmorethanjustwebsiteswithdownloadablesoftware.Thepackagesonrepositorysitesarespeciallyorganizedandindexed
tobeaccessedthroughapackagemanager,ratherthanbrowseddirectly.
5.2.1Standardrepos
MXLinuxcomeswithasetofenabledrepositoriesthatofferyoubothsecurityandchoice.IfyouarenewtoMXLinux(andespeciallyifyouarenewtoLinux),it
isrecommendedthatingeneralyoustickwiththedefaultrepositoriesatfirst.Forsecurityreasons,theserepositoriesaredigitallysigned,meaningthat
packagesareauthenticatedwithanencryptionkeytomakesuretheyareauthentic.IfyouinstallpackagesfromnonDebianreposwithoutthekey,youwillget
awarningthattheycouldnotbeauthenticated.Togetridofthiswarningandmakesureyourinstallationsaresecure,youneedtoinstallmissingkeysusing
CheckAptGPG(MXTools).
Repositoriesaremosteasilyadded,removed,oreditedthroughSynaptic,thoughtheycanalsobealteredbyhandbyeditingthefilesin/etc/apt/inaroot
terminal.InSynaptic,clickSettings>Repositories,thenclickthebuttonNewandaddtheinformation.Therepoinformationisoftengivenasasingleline,likethis:
debhttp://main.mepisdeb.org/mepiscr/mxtest/mx14test
Becarefultonotethelocationofthespaces,whichseparatetheinformationintofourchunksthatarethenenteredintoseparatelinesinSynaptic.
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Figure51:Repos,withoneofthedisabledMXtestreposhighlighted.
Somerepositoriescarryspeciallabels:
contrib,whichdependonorareaccessorytononfreepackages.
nonfree,whichdonotmeettheDebianfreesoftwareguidelines(DFSG).
security,whichcontainsecurityrelatedupdatesonly.
backports,whichcontainpackagesfromnewerversionsofDebianthathavebeenbackwardscompiledforDebianStable(theversionMXisbuiltwith)tokeepyour
OSuptodate.
MX,whichcontainthespecialpackagesthatmakeMXwhatitis.
ThecurrentlistofstandardMXrepositoriesiskeptintheMX/antiXWiki.
5.2.2Communityrepos
MXLinuxhasitsownCommunityReposwithpackagesthatthePackagersbuildandmaintain.ThesepackagesaredistinctfromofficialMXpackagescoming
fromDebianStable,andtypicallyhavebeenbackportedfromDebianversionsindevelopment(testingorevenexperimental).TheCommunityReposarecriticaltoMX
Linux,sincetheypermitanOSbasedonDebianStabletostayabreastofimportantsoftwaredevelopments.
NOTE:Thetwotestingreposshouldonlybeenabledtodownloadpackagesfortesting,andimmediatelydisabledafterward.Theyshouldnotbeusedonmain
productionmachinesormissioncriticalsetups,asthereisbydefinitionariskthattheywillbreakyoursystem.
Tofindoutmoreaboutwhatisavailable,whothepackagersare,andevenhowtogetinvolved,seeMXCommunityPackagingProject.
5.2.3Dedicatedrepos
InadditiontothegeneralrepositoriessuchasDebian,MX,andCommunity,therealsoexistacertainnumberofdedicatedrepositoriesassociatedwithasingle
application.Whenyouaddoneofthem,eitherdirectlyorthroughSynaptic,thenyouwillreceiveupdates.Somearepreloadedbutnotenabled,othersyouwill
addyourself.
Hereisacommonexample(VirtualBox):
debhttp://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/stablecontrib
5.2.4Developmentrepos
Onefinalcategoryofrepositoryexistsforacquiringthemostrecent(andthusleaststable)buildofanapplication.Thisisdonethroughaversioncontrol
systemsuchasGitthatcanbeusedbytheendusertostaycurrentwithdevelopment.Theusercancheckoutacopyoftheapplicationsourcecodeintoa
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directoryonalocalmachine.
More:Wikipedia:Softwarerepository
5.3Synaptic
Synapticisafriendly,easytousefrontend(GUI)totheAPTpackagingsystem.Itisagraphicaltoolthatallowsyoutoinstall,remove,upgrade,downgrade,orgetinformation
onallthesoftwarepackagesavailableintheonlinerepositoriesonyourrepositorylist.Notethatyourrootpasswordisrequiredand,naturally,youwillneedtobeconnectedto
theInternet.
5.3.1Installingandremovingpackages
Installing
HerearethebasicstepsforinstallingsoftwareinSynaptic:
ClickStartmenu>System>SynapticPackageManager,supplyingtherootpasswordifnecessary.
HittheReloadbutton.ThisbuttoncausesSynaptictocontacttheonlinerepositoryserversanddownloadanewindexfilewithinformationonwhatpackagesare
available,whatversionstheyare,andwhatotherpackagesarerequiredforthemtobeinstalled.Ifyougetamessagethatsomeoftherepositoriesfailedtobecontacted,
waitaminuteandthentryagain.
Ifyoualreadyknowthenameofthepackageyouarelookingfor,justclickinthepaneontherightandstarttyping,andSynapticwillincrementallysearchforwhatyou
type.
Ifyoudontknowthepackagesname,usetheSearchboxintheupperrightcornertolocatesoftwarebasedonnameorkeywords.ThisisoneofSynapticsgreatest
advantagesoverothermethods.
Alternatively,useoneofthefilterbuttonsinthebottomleftcorner:
SectionsprovidessubareassuchasEditors,GamesandAmusement,Utilities,etc.Youwillseeadescriptionofeachpackageinthebottompane,andcanusethe
tabstodiscovermoreinformationaboutit.
Statusgroupspackagesbytheirinstallationsituation.
Originwillshowpackagesfromaspecificrepository.
CustomFiltersprovidesvariousfilteroptions
SearchResultswillshowalistofprevioussearchesfortheSynapticsessionyouarein.
ClicktheemptyboxnexttothepackageyouwantandselectMarkforInstallation.Ifthepackagehasdependencies,youwillbenotifiedandtheywillautomaticallybe
markedforinstallationaswell.Youcanalsojustdoubleclickthepackageifitistheonlyoneyouareinstalling.
Rightclickthepackagenameagain,andcheckcarefullythepackageslistedunderMarkRecommendedforInstallationMarkSuggestedforInstallationisworthlooking
ataswell.
SomepackagesalsohaveRecommendedandSuggestedpackagesthatcanbeviewedviarightclickingthepackagename.Theseareadditionalpackagesthatadd
functionalitytotheselectedpackage,anditisagoodideatolookthemover.
ClickApplytobegintheinstallation.Youcansafelyignoreanywarningmessage:Youareabouttoinstallsoftwarethatcantbeauthenticated!
Theremaybeadditionalsteps:justfollowthepromptsasyoureceivethemuntiltheinstallationcompletes.
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Figure52:Checkingrecommendedpackagesduringpackageinstallation.
Removing
RemovingsoftwarefromyoursystemwithSynapticseemsasstraightforwardasinstalling,butthereismoretoitthanmeetstheeye:
Toremoveapackage,simplyrightclickitandselectMarkforRemovalorMarkforCompleteRemoval.
Removaluninstallsthesoftware,butleavessystemconfigurationfilesincaseyouwanttokeepyoursettings.
CompleteRemovalremovesthesoftwareandthesystemconfigurationfilesaswell(purging).Yourpersonalconfigurationfilesrelatedtothepackagewillnotbe
removed.CheckalsoforotherconfigurationfileremnantsinSynaptic,categoryNotinstalled(residualconfig).
Whenyouhaveotherprogramsthatdependonthepackagebeingremoved,thosepackageswillhavetoberemovedaswell.Thisusuallyhappenswhenyouremove
softwarelibraries,services,orcommandlineapplicationsthatserveasbackendstootherapplications.MakesureyoureadcarefullythesummarySynapticgivesyou
beforeclickingOK.
Removinglargeapplicationsthatarecomposedofmanypackagescanbringcomplications.Manytimesthesepackagesareinstalledusingametapackage,whichisan
emptypackagethatsimplydependsonallthepackagesyouneedfortheapplication.Thebestwaytoremoveacomplicatedpackagelikethisistoinspectthe
dependencylistforthemetapackage,andremovethepackageslistedthere.Takecare,however,thatyoudontuninstalladependencyofanotherapplicationyouwant
tokeep!
YoumayfindthatthestatuscategoryAutoremoveablebeginstoaccumulatepackages.Thesewereinstalledbyotherpackagesandarenolongerneeded,soyoucan
clickonthatstatuscategory,highlightallthepackagesintherightpane,andthenrightclickthemtoremove.
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Figure53:Gettingreadytoclearouttheautoremovablepackages.
5.3.2Upgradinganddowngrading
Synapticenablesyoutoquicklyandconvenientlykeepyoursystemuptodate.
Upgrading
Unlessyouareusingamanualmethodinaterminal,upgradingistypicallytriggeredbytheappearanceofagreenarrowontheAptnotifierintheNotificationArea.Thereare
twowaystoproceedwhenthisarrowappears.
RightclicktheAptnotifiericon>Upgradeallpackages.Thisisthefastermethodbecausethereisnowaitforsoftwaretoload,run,etc.Examinethepackagesthatare
availableforupgrade,thenhitReturntocompletetheprocess.
LeftclicktheicontoopenSynaptic
ClicktheMarkAllUpgradesiconbelowthemenubartoselectallavailablepackagesforupgrade,orclickontheInstalled(upgradable)linkintheleftpanelto
reviewthepackagesortoselectupgradesindividually.
ClickApplytobegintheupgrade,ignoringthewarningmessage.Astheinstallationprocessbegins,youhavetheoptionofwatchingthedetailsinaterminal
withinSynaptic.
Withsomepackageupgrades,youmaybeaskedtoconfirmadialog,enterconfigurationinformation,ordecidewhetherornottooverwriteaconfigurationfileyouhave
altered.Payattentionhere,andfollowthepromptsuntiltheupgradecompletes.
Downgrading
Sometimesyoumaywanttodowngradeanapplicationtoanolderversion,forinstancebecauseofproblemsthatarosewiththenewone.ThisiseasytodoinSynaptic:
1. OpenSynaptic,supplytherootpassword,andclickReload.
2. ClickonInstalledinthepanelontheleft,thenfindandhighlightthepackageyouwanttodowngradeinthepanelontheright
3. Onthemenubar,clickPackage>Forceversion...
4. Selectfromtheavailableversionsonthepulldownlist
5. ClickForceVersion,theninstallintheusualmanner.
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Figure54:UsingForceversiontodowngradeapackage
Pinning
Sometimesyoumaywanttopinanapplicationtoaspecificversiontokeepitfrombeingupgradedinordertoavoidproblemswithmorerecentones.Thisiseasytodo:
1. OpenSynaptic,supplytherootpassword,andclickReload.
2. ClickonInstalledinthepanelontheleft,thenfindandhighlightthepackageyouwanttopininthepanelontheright.
3. Onthemenubar,clickPackage>Lockversion...
4. Synapticwillhighlightthepackageinredandaddalockicontothefirstcolumn.
5. Tounlock,highlightthepackageagainandclickPackage>Lockversion(whichwillhaveacheckmark).
5.4Troubleshooting
Synapticisveryreliable,butsometimesyoumaygetanerrormessage.AfulldiscussionofsuchmessagesmaybefoundinthesourcegivenSection5.5.4,soherewewill
onlymentionacoupleofthemostcommon.
Yougetamessagethatsomereposfailedtodownloadrepositoryinformation:thisisusuallyatransientevent,andyousimplyneedtowaitandreload.
Iftheinstallationofapackageshowsthatsoftwareyouhavealreadyinstalledandstillwantwillberemoved,clickCanceltobackoutoftheoperation.
Itmayhappenwithanewrepositorythatyouseeanerrormessageafterreloadingthatsayssomethinglike:W:GPGerror:[somerepositoryURL]Release:The
followingsignaturescouldntbeverified.Thismessageappearsbecauseaptgetincludespackageauthenticationinordertoimprovesecurity,andthekeyisnotpresent.
Tofixthis,clickStartmenu>System>MXCheckAptGPGandfollowtheprompts.
Occasionally,packageswillfailtoinstallbecausetheirinstallscriptsfailoneormoresafetychecksforinstance,apackagemighttrytooverwriteafilethatispartof
anotherpackage,orrequiredowngradinganotherpackageduetodependencies.Ifyouhaveaninstallorupgradethatisstuckononeoftheseerrors,itiscalledabroken
package.Tofixthis,clickontheBrokenpackagesentryintheleftpanel.HighlightthepackageandtryfirsttofixtheproblembyclickingEdit>FixBrokenPackages.If
thatisnotsuccessful,thenrightclickthepackagetouninstallit.
Shouldyouuninstall?Occasionally,conflictsinpackagedependenciescancausetheAPTsystemtorequiretheuninstallationofalargenumberof
importantpackagesinordertoinstallsomeotherpackage.Thisisrarewiththedefaultconfiguration,butbecomesincreasinglylikelyasyouadd
unsupportedrepositories.BEVERYATTENTIVEwheneverinstallingapackagewouldrequirethatothersberemoved!Ifalargenumberofpackages
aregoingtoberemoved,youmaywanttoinvestigateanothermethodofinstallingthisapplication.
Shouldyoukeep?Whenupgrading,youmaysometimesbeinformedthatanewconfigurationfileisavailableforacertainpackage,andbeasked
whetheryouwanttoinstallthenewversionorkeepyourcurrentversion.
IfthepackageinquestionisfromanMXrepository,itisrecommendedthatyouinstallthemaintainersversion
Otherwise,answerkeepthecurrentversion(N),whichisalsothedefaultchoice.
MORE:MX/antiXWiki.
5.5Othermethods
5.5.1Aptitude
AptitudeisapackagemanagerthatcanbeusedinsteadofaptgetorSynaptic.Itisavailablefromtherepos,andisparticularlyhelpfulwhendependencyproblemsarise.Canbe
runasastraigntCLIorasaprimitiveGUI.
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Figure55:Aptitudeshomescreen(GUI),showingdependencyresolver.
Fordetailsonthisoption,seetheMX/antiXWiki.
5.5.2Debpackages
ThesoftwarepackagesinstalledthroughSynaptic(andAPTbehindit)areinaformatcalleddeb(shortforDebian,theLinuxdistributionthatdevisedAPT).Youcanmanually
installdownloadeddebpackagesusingthegraphicaltoolGdebiorthecommandlinetooldpkg.Thesearesimpletoolstoinstalllocaldebpackages.NOTE:ifdependencies
cannotbesatisfied,youwillreceiveanoticeandtheprogramwillstop.
Figure56:Gdebireadytoinstall.
InstallingdebfileswithGdebi
1. Navigatetothedebpackageyouwanttoinstallandclickonit.Gdebiwillopentheinstalldialog.
2. ClickInstall.
3. Enteryourrootpasswordwhenprompted.
4. Gdebiwillattempttoinstallthepackage,andreporttheresults.
Installing*.debfileswithdpkg
1. Navigatetothefoldercontainingthedebpackageyouwanttoinstall.
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2. Rightclickandemptyspacetoopenaterminalandbecomeroot
3. Installthepackagewiththecommand(substitutingtherealpackagename,ofcourse):
dpkgipackagename.deb
4. Ifyouareinstallingmultiplepackagesinthesamedirectoryatthesametime,youcandoitallatonceusing:
dpkgi*.deb
NOTE:Inashellcommand,theasteriskisawildcardintheargument.Inthiscaseitwillcausetheprogramtoapplythecommandtoanyfilewhosenameendswith
*.deb.
5. Ifrequireddependenciesarenotinstalledonyoursystemalready,youwillgetunmetdependencieserrorsasdpkgdoesnotautomaticallytakecareofthem.Tocorrect
theseerrorsandfinishtheinstallation,runthiscode:
aptgetfinstall
6. Aptgetwillattempttorectifythesituationbyeitherinstallingtheneededdependencies(iftheyareavailablefromtherepositories),orremovingyour.debfiles(ifthe
dependenciescannotbeinstalled).
5.5.3CLImethods
Itisequallypossibletousethecommandlinetoinstall,remove,update,switchrepositoriesandgenerallytomanagepackages.InsteadoflaunchingSynaptictocarryout
commontasks,forinstance,manyuserswilljustopenaterminal,becomerootanduseoneofthesecommands.
Table5:Commoncommandstomanagepackages
Command
Action
aptgetinstallpackagename
Installacertainpackage
aptgetremovepackagename
Removeacertainpackage
aptgetpurgepackagename
Completelyremoveacertainpackage
aptgetautoremove
Clearoutleftoverpackagesafteraremoval
aptgetupdate
Refreshthepackagelistfromtherepos
aptgetupgrade
Installallavailableupgrades
aptgetdistupgrade
Intelligentlyhandleschangingdependencieswithnewversionsofpackages
Formoreinformation,consultthemanpageforaptget.
5.5.4Moreinstallmethods
Soonerorlatersomesoftwarethatyouwanttoinstallwillnotbeavailableintherepositoriesandyoumayneedtouseotherinstallationmethods.Thesemethodsinclude:
RPMpackages:SomedistributionsofLinuxusetheRPMpackagingsystem.RPMpackagesaresimilartodebpackagesinmanyways,andthereisacommandline
programavailablefromMXLinuxtoconvertRPMpackagestodebscalledalien.ItdoesnotcomeinstalledwithMXLinux,butisavailablefromthedefault
repositories.Afteryouhaveinstalleditonyoursystem,youcanuseittoinstallanrpmpackagewiththiscommand(asroot):alienipackagename.rpm.Thatwill
placeadebfilewiththesamenameinthelocationoftherpmfilethatyoucantheninstallasdescribedabove.Formoredetailedinformationonalien,seetheinternet
versionofitsmanpageintheLinkssectionatthebottomofthispage.
Sourcecode:Anyopensourceprogramcanbecompiledfromtheprogrammersoriginalsourcecodeifthereisnootheroption.Inidealcircumstances,thisisactuallya
prettysimpleoperation,butsometimesyoucanrunintoerrorsthatrequireamoreskilltosortthrough.Sourceisusuallydistributedasatarball(tar.gzortar.bz2file).
SeetheLinksforatutorialoncompilingprograms.
Miscellaneous:Manysoftwaredeveloperspackagesoftwareintheirowncustomways,usuallydistributedastarballsorzipfiles.Theymaycontainsetupscripts,ready
torunbinaries,orbinaryinstallerprogramssimilartoWindowssetup.exeprograms.InLinux,suchprogramsoftenendin.bin.GoogleEarth,forexample,isoften
distributedthisway.Whenindoubt,consulttheinstallationinstructionsprovidedwiththesoftware.
5.5.5Links
MX/antiXWiki:Synapticerrors
MX/antiXWiki:InstallingSoftware
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MX/antiXWiki:Compiling
Gdebi
TheDebianpackagemanagementtools
DebianAPTGuide
Wikipedia:Alien
6Advanceduse
6.1Window sprogramsunderMXLinux
Thereareacertainnumberofapplications,bothopensourceandcommercial,thatwillallowWindowsapplicationstorununderMXLinux.Theyarereferredtoasemulators,
meaningthattheyreplicatethefunctionsofWindowsonaLinuxplatform.ManyMSOfficeapplications,gamesandotherprogramscanberunusinganemulatorwithvarying
degreesofsuccessrangingfromnearnativespeedandfunctionalitytoonlybasicperformance.
6.1.1Opensource
WineistheprimaryopensourceWindowsemulatorforMXLinux.ItisakindofcompatibilitylayerforrunningWindowsprograms,butdoesnotrequireMicrosoft
Windowstoruntheapplications.NewWineversionsarerapidlypackagedbytheCommunityRepositorymembersandmadeavailabletousers.
WineHomePage
MX/antiXWiki:Wine
DOSBoxcreatesaDOSlikeenvironmentintendedforrunningMSDOSbasedprograms,especiallycomputergames.
DOSBoxhomepage
DOSBoxWiki
DOSEMUissoftwareavailablefromthereposthatallowsDOStobebootedinavirtualmachine,makingitpossibletorunWindows3.1,WordPerfectforDOS,DOOM,etc.
DOSEMUHomePage
MX/antiXWiki:DOSEMU
Figure61:Photoshop5.5runningunderWine
6.1.2Commercial
CrossOverOfficeallowsyoutoinstallmanypopularWindowsproductivityapplications,pluginsandgamesinLinux,withoutneedingaMicrosoftOperatingSystemlicense.
SupportsMicrosoftWord,ExcelandPowerPoint(upto2003)particularlywell.
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CrossOverLinuxHomePage
Wikipedia:Crossover
ApplicationCompatibility
CedegaisdesignedtorunDirectXandOpenGLgamesfromtheMicrosoftWindowsPlatformunderLinux.PopulargamessuchasElderScrollsIV:Oblivion,Battlefield2142,
WorldofWarCraft,Madden2007andCivilizationIVcanbeplayedonMXLinuxwiththisapplication.
Cedegahomepage
MXWiki:Cedega
Cedegagamedatabase
Links
Wikipedia:Emulator
Checklistofgamesandemulators
DOSEmulators
6.2Virtualmachines
Virtualmachineapplicationsareaclassofprogramsthatsimulateavirtualcomputerinmemory,allowingyoutoinstallanyoperatingsystemonthemachine.Itisusefulfor
testing,runningnonnativeapplications,andprovidingusersthefeelingofhavingamachineoftheirown.ManyMXLinuxusersmakeuseofvirtualmachinesoftwaretorun
MicrosoftWindowsinawindowtoseamlesslyprovideaccesstosoftwarewrittenforWindowsontheirdesktop.Itisalsousedfortestingtoavoidinstallation.
6.2.1Setup
VirtualBox:installandconfigure
VirtualBox:setupasharedfolder
AnumberofvirtualmachinesoftwareapplicationsforLinuxexist,bothopensourceandproprietary.MXmakesitparticularlyeasytouseVirtualBox,sowewillfocusonthat
here.Fordetailsandthemostrecentdevelopments,seetheLinkssectionbelow.HereisanoverviewofthebasicstepstosetupandrunVirtualBox:
Installation.ThisismosteasilydoneviatheMXPackageInstaller(inMXToolsontheMenu).VirtualBoxappearsintheMiscsection.ThiswillenabletheVirtualBox
repository,downloadandinstallthelatestversionofVirtualBox.Therepositorywillbeleftenabled,allowingautomaticupdatesviaaptnotifier.
Postinstallation.Checkthatyouruserbelongstothevboxusersgroup.OpenMXUserManager>GroupMembershiptab.Selectyourusernameandmakesurethat
vboxusersintheGroupslististicked.Confirmandexit.
ExtensionPack.YoushoulddownloadandinstalltheOracleVMVirtualBoxExtensionPackfromtheOraclewebsite(seeLinks).Afterthefileisdownloaded,navigate
toitwithThunarandclickonthefilesicon.TheExtensionPackwillopenVirtualBoxandinstallautomatically.
Location.Virtualmachinefilesarestoredbydefaultinyour/homefolder.Theycanbefairlylargeandifyouhaveaseparatedatapartitionyoumayconsidermakingthe
defaultfolderthere.GotoFile>Preferences>Generaltabandeditthefolderlocation.
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Figure62:Windows2000runninginVirtualBox
6.2.2Use
CreateaVirtualMachine.TocreateavirtualmachinestartVirtualBox,thenclicktheNewicononthetoolbar.YouwillneedaWindowsCDoraLinuxISO.Follow
thewizard,acceptingallsuggestedsettingsunlessyouknowbetteryoucanalwayschangethemlater.YoumayneedtoincreasethememoryallocatedtotheGuest
abovetheminimumdefaultfigure,stillleavingsufficientmemoryforyourHostOS.ForWindowsGuests,considercreatingalargervirtualHDthanthe10GBdefault
whileitispossibletoincreasethesizelater,itisnotastraightforwardprocess.SelectaHostDriveorVirtualCD/DVDDiskFile
Selectamountpoint.Oncethemachineissetup,thenyoucanselectthemountpointtobeeithertheHostDriveoraVirtualCD/DVDDiskFile(ISO).ClickSettings
>Storage,andadialogboxwillpopupwhereyouwillseeinthemiddleaStorageTreewithanIDEControllerandaSATAControllerbelowit.Byclickingonthe
CD/DVDDriveiconintheStorageTree,youwillseetheCD/DVDDriveiconappearintheAttributessectionintherightsideofthewindow.ClickontheCD/DVD
DriveiconintheAttributessectiontoopenadropdownmenuwhereyoucanassigntheHostDriveoraVirtualCD/DVDdiscfile(ISO)tobemountedontheCD/DVD
Drive.(YoucanselectadifferentISOfilebyclickingonChooseaVirtualCD/DVDdiskfileandnavigatingtothefile.)Runthemachine.Thedeviceyouselected(ISO
orCD/DVD)willbemountedwhenyoustartthevirtualmachineandyourOScanbeinstalled.
GuestAdditions.OnceyourGuestOSisinstalled,besuretoinstallVirtualBoxGuestAdditionsbybootingintotheGuestOS,thenclickingDevices>InstallGuest
AdditionsandpointingtowardtheVBoxGuestAdditions.isothatitwillautomaticallylocate.ThiswillallowyoutoenablesharingfilesbetweenGuestandHostandto
adjustyourdisplayinvariouswayssothatitsuitsyourenvironmentandhabits.
Moving.ThesafestwaytomoveorchangethesettingsofanexistingVirtualMachineistocloneit:rightclickthenameofanexistingmachine>Clone,andfillinthe
information.Tousethenewclone,createanewVirtualMachineandinthewizardwhenyouselecttheHardDisk,choose"Useexistingharddisk"andselectthenew
clones*.vdifile.
Documentation.ExcellentdocumentationforVirtualBoxisavailablethroughHelponthemenubarorasaPDFfromthewebsite.
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Figure63:SettingtheISOforanewVirtualBoxguest(SomeOS)
Links
Wikipedia:VirtualMachine
Wikipedia:Comparisonofvirtualmachinesoftware
VirtualBoxhomepage
VirtualBoxExtensionPack
6.3AlternateWindow Managers
Awindowmanager(originallyWIMP:window,icon,menu,andpointingdevice)inLinuxisessentiallythecomponentwhichcontrolstheappearanceofGraphicaluser
interfacesandprovidesthemeansbywhichtheusercaninteractwiththem.MXLinuxistightlytiedtoXfce,aspartofitsoverallapproach,butotherpossibilitiesexistfor
users.MXLinuxmakesiteasytoinstallthemostpopularalternativesthroughtheMXPackageInstaller,asdescribedbelow.
Figure64:MATErunningontopofMXLinux
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GnomeUltra,aGTK+baseddisplaymanageranddesktopthatprovidesanultralightdesktopenvironment.
GnomeUltra(GOULD),anultralightdesktopenvironment
IceWM,awindowmanagerfortheXWindowSystemwhosegoalisspeedandsimplicity.
IceWMHomePage
IceWMFAQandHowto
KDesktopEnvironment,orKDEforshort,averylargeandpowerfulenvironment.Twoversionsavailable:LiteandStandardLiteoffersmoreapplicationchoices.For
installationandconfigurationwhenusedoverMXLinux,seetheMX/antiXWiki.
KDEHomePage
KDEForum
LXDEisafastandlightdesktopenvironmentwhosecomponentscanbeinstalledseparately.
LXDEhomepage
LXDEWiki
MATEisthecontinuationofGNOME2providinganintuitiveandattractivedesktopenvironment.
MATEhomepage
MATEDocumentation
Onceinstalled,youcanchoosethewindowmanageryouwantfromtheSessionTypepulldownmenuonthedefaultloginscreen(lightdm)andlogintoasyounormally
would.Ifyoureplacetheloginmanagerwithanotherfromtherepos,makesureyoualwayshaveatleastoneavailableuponreboot.
Wikipedia:XWindowManagers
6.4CommandLine
AlthoughMXoffersacompletesetofgraphicaltoolsforinstalling,configuring,andusingyoursystem,thecommandline(alsocalledtheconsole,terminal,
BASH,orshell)isstillausefulandattimesindispensabletool.Herearesomecommonuses:
LaunchaGUIapplicationtoseeitserroroutput.
Speedupsystemadministrationtasks.
Configureorinstalladvancedsoftwareapplications.
Executemultipletasksquicklyandeasily.
Troubleshoothardwaredevices.
ThedefaultprogramtorunaterminalinanMXdesktopwindowisXFCETerminal,whichcanbefoundatStartMenu>System>XfceTerminal(Terminal
Emulator).Somecommandsareonlyrecognizedforsuperuser(root),whileothersmayvarytheoutputdependingonuser.
Toobtaintemporaryrootpermissions:
1. openXfceTerminal.
2. typesu.
3. enterrootspassword(nothingwillshowonthescreen)
YouwillrecognizewhenXfceTerminalisrunningwithrootprivilegesbylookingatthepromptlinerightbeforethespacewhereyoutype.Insteadofa$,youwill
seea#inaddition,theusernamechangestorootwritteninred.Ifyoutrytorunasaregularuseracommandthatrequiresrootprivilegessuchasiwconfig,youmayreceive
anerrormessagethatthecommandwasnotfound,seeamessageboxthattheprogrammustberunasroot,orsimplyfindyourselfatthepromptagainwithnomessageatall.
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Figure65:Usernowhastemporaryadministrative(root)privileges
6.4.1Firststeps
FormoreinformationonrunningXfceTerminalforsolvingsystemproblems,pleaserefertothetopicTroubleshootingattheendofthissection.Also,itis
advisabletomakebackupsofthefilesyouareworkingonasarootuserwiththecommandscpandmv(seebelow).
Thoughterminalcommandscanbefairlycomplex,understandingthecommandlineisjustamatterofputtingtogethersimplethings.Toseehoweasyit
canbe,openXfceTerminalandtryafewbasiccommands.Thiswillallmakemoresenseifyoudoitasatutorialexerciseratherthanjustreadingit.
Letsstartwithasimplecommand:ls,whichliststhecontentsofadirectory.Thebasiccommandliststhecontentsofwhateverdirectoryyouarecurrentlyin:
ls
Thatsausefulcommand,butitsjustafewshortcolumnsofnamesprintedacrossthescreen.Supposewewantmoreinformationonthefilesinthis
directory.Wecanaddaswitchtothecommandtomakeitprintoutmoreinformation.Aswitchisamodifierweappendtoacommandtochangeitsbehavior.Inthis
case,theswitchwewantis:
lsl
Asyoucanseeonyourownscreenifyouarefollowingalong,thisswitchprovidesmoredetailedinformationonthefilesinanydirectory.
Ofcourse,wemightwanttoseethecontentsofanotherdirectory(withoutgoingtherefirst).Todothis,weaddanargumenttothecommand,specifying
whichfilewewanttolookat.Anargumentisavalueorreferenceweaddtoacommandtotargetitsoperation.Bygivinganargumentof/usr/bin/,wecanlistthe
contentsofthatdirectory,ratherthantheonewherewecurrentlyare.
lsl/usr/bin
Therearealotoffilesin/usr/bin/!Itwouldbeniceifwecouldfilterthisoutputsothatonlyentriesthatcontained,say,thewordfirewouldbelisted.Wecando
thisbypipingtheoutputofthe/ls/commandintoanothercommand,grep.Thepipe,orcharacter,isusedtosendtheoutputofonecommandtotheinputof
another.Thecommandgrepsearchesforthepatternyougiveitandreturnsallmatches,sopipingtheoutputofthepreviouscommandtoitfilterstheoutput.
lsl/usr/bingrepfire
Finally,supposewewanttheseresultssavedinatextfileforuseatalatertime.Whenweissuecommands,theoutputisusuallydirectedtotheconsole
displaybutwecanredirectthisoutputsomewhereelse,suchastoafile,usingthe>(redirect)symboltoinstructyourcomputertomakeadetailedlistofall
thefilesthatcontainthewordfireinaparticulardirectory(bydefaultyourHomedirectory,andtocreateatextfilecontainingthatlist,inthiscasenamed
FilesOfFire
lsl/usr/bingrepfire>FilesOfFire.txt
Asyoucansee,thecommandlinecanbeusedtoperformcomplextasksveryeasilybycombiningsimplecommandsindifferentways.
6.4.2Commoncommands
Hereisalistofrudimentaryterminalcommands.Foracompletereference,seetheLinkssection,below.
Filesystemnavigation
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Table6:Filesystemnavigationcommands
Command
Comment
cd/usr/share
Changescurrentdirectorytothegivenpath:/usr/share.Withnoargument,cdtakesyou
toyourhomedirectory.
pwd
Printsthecurrentworkingdirectorypath
ls
Liststhecontentsofthecurrentdirectory.Usetheaswitchtoshowhiddenfilesaswell,and
thelswitchtoshowdetailsonallfiles.Oftencombinedwithotherterms.lsusblistsalltheusb
devices,lsmodallthemodules,etc.
Filemanagement
Table7:Filemanagementcommands
Command
Comment
cpsourcefiledestinationfile
Copyafiletoanotherfilenameorlocation.UsetheR
switch(recursive )tocopyentiredirectories.
mvsourcefiledestinationfile
Moveafileordirectoryfromonelocationtoanother.Also
usedtorenamefilesordirectoriesandtomakeabackup:
forexamplebeforechangingacriticalfilesuchasxorg.conf
youmightusethiscommandtomoveittosomethinglike
xorg.conf_BAK.
Deleteafile.UsetheRswitchtodeleteadirectory,andthef
switch(force )ifyoudontwanttobepromptedtoconfirm
rmfilename
eachdeletion.
catfile.txt
Printsthecontentsofafileonthescreen.Onlyuseontext
files.
grep
Findagivenstringofcharactersinagivenpieceoftext,
andprinttheentirelineitwason.Usuallyusedwithapipe,
e.g.catsomefile.txtgrep/somestring/willdisplaytheline
fromsomefile.txtthatcontainssomestring.Tofindanetwork
usbcard,forinstance,youcouldtype:lsusbgrepNetwork .
Thegrepcommandiscasesensitivebydefault,usetheiswitch
tomakeitcaseinsensitive.
Copiesanythingbitbybit,socanbeusedfordirectories,
partitions,andwholedrives.Basicsyntaxisddif=<somefile>
dd
of=<someotherfile>
Symbols
Table8:Symbols
Command
Comment
Thepipesymbolusedtosendtheoutputofonecommandtotheinputofanother.
>
Theredirectsymbol,usedtosendtheoutputofacommandintoafileofdevice.Doubling
theredirectsymbolwillcausetheoutputofacommandtobeaddedtoanexistingfilerather
thanreplacingit.
&
Addingtheampersandtotheendofacommand(withaspacebeforeit)causesittorunin
thebackgroundsothatyoudonthavetowaitforittocompletetoissuethenextcommand.
Doubleampersandindicatesthatthesecondcommandshouldonlyberunifthefirsthasbeen
successful.
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Troubleshooting
FormostnewLinuxusers,thecommandlineismainlyusedasatroubleshootingtool.Terminalcommandsgivequick,detailedinformationthatcanbeeasily
pastedintoaforumpost,searchbox,oremailwhenseekinghelpontheweb.Itisstronglyrecommendedthatyoukeepthisinformationathandwhenasking
forhelp.Beingabletorefertoyourspecifichardwareconfigurationwillnotonlyspeedupyourprocessofobtaininghelp,butalsoitwillletothersofferyou
moreaccuratesolutions.Herearesomecommontroubleshootingcommands(seealsoSection3.4.4).Someofthemmaynotoutputinformation,ornotas
muchinformationunlessyouareloggedinasroot.
Table9:Troubleshootingcommands
Command
Comment
lspci
Showsaquicksummaryofdetectedinternalhardwaredevices.Ifadeviceshowsas/unknown/,youusually
haveadriverissue.Thevswitchcausesmoredetailedinformationtobedisplayed.
lsusb
Listsattachedusbdevices.
dmesg
Showsthesystemlogforthecurrentsession(i.e.sinceyoulastbooted).Theoutputisquitelong,and
usuallythisispipedthroughgrep,less(similartomost)ortail(toseewhathappenedmostrecently).Forexample,
tofindpotentialerrorsrelatedtoyournetworkhardware,trydmesggrepinet.
top
Providesarealtimelistofrunningprocessesandvariousstatisticsaboutthem.AlsoavailablefromtheStart
menuasHtop.
Accessingdocumentationforcommands
Manycommandswillprintoutasimpleusageinformationmessagewhenyouusethehelporhswitch.Thiscanbehelpfulforquicklyrecallingthe
syntaxofacommand.Forexample:cphelp
Formoredetailedinformationonhowtouseacommand,consultthecommandsmanpage
ManualpagesareconvenientlyaccessedthroughtheStartmenubyplacingahashmarkandthecommandnameintothesearchboxatthetop.For
example,youcanviewthemanpageforthecopycommandwiththisentryinthesearchbox:#cp
Themanpagemayalsobereadattheconsolewiththecommandman<commandname>.Bydefault,manpagesaredisplayedintheterminalsmostpager,
meaningthatonlyonescreenfulofthefileisdisplayedatatime.Keepthesetricksinmindtonavigatetheresultingscreen:
Thespacebar(orPageDownkey)advancesthescreen.
Theletterb(orPageUpkey)movesthescreenbackward.
Theletterqexitsthehelpdocument.
Alias
Youcancreateanalias(personalcommandname)foranycommand,shortorlong,thatyouwant.DetailsintheMX/antiXWiki.
6.4.3Links
BASHBeginnersGuide
CommandLineBasics
6.5Scripts
Ascriptisasimpletextfilethatcanbewrittendirectlyfromakeyboard,andconsistsofalogicallysequencedseriesofoperatingsystemcommands.The
commandsarehandledoneatatimebyacommandinterpreterwhichinturnrequestsservicesfromtheoperatingsystem.Thedefaultcommandinterpreterin
MXisBash.ThecommandsmustbeunderstandabletoBash,andcommandlistshavebeenestablishedforprogramminguse.AshellscriptistheLinuxcounterpartofbatch
programsintheWindowsworld.
ScriptsareusedthroughouttheLinuxOSandapplicationsthatrunonitasaneconomicalmethodofexecutingmultiplecommandsinaneasilycreatedand
modifiedmanner.Duringboot,forinstance,manyscriptsareinvokedtostartupspecificprocessessuchasprinting,networking,etc.Scriptsarealsousedfor
automatedprocesses,systemadministration,applicationextensions,usercontrols,etc.Finally,usersofallkindscanemployscriptsfortheirownpurposes.
6.5.1Asimplescript
Letsdoaverysimple(andfamous)scripttogetthebasicidea.
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1. OpenthetexteditorLeafpad(StartMenu>Accessories),andtype:
#!/bin/bash
clear
echoGoodmorning,world!
2. SavethatfileinyourhomedirectorywiththenameSimpleScript.sh
3. Rightclickthefilename,selectProperties,andcheckAllowthisfiletorunasaprogramonthePermissionstab.
4. Openaterminalandtype:
sh/home/UserName/SimpleScript.sh
5. ThelineGoodmorning,world!willappearonyourscreen.Thissimplescriptdoesntdoverymuch,butitdoesestablishtheprinciplethatasimpletext
filecanbeusedtosendcommandstocontrolyoursystemsbehavior.
NOTE:Allscriptsopenwithashebangasinthethebeginningofthefirstline:itisacombinationofanumbersign,anexclamationpoint,andthepathtothecommand
interpreter.Here,Bashistheinterpreteranditisfoundinthestandardlocationforuserapplications.
6.5.2Ausefulscript
Letslookatausefulscriptfortheordinaryuserthatreducesallthemovesinvolvedinbackingupmultiplesetsoffilesintoasinglekeystroke.Thescriptbelow
reliesitselfonasystemscriptcalledRdiffbackupthatwouldneedtobeinstalledfromthereposforthescripttowork.Itcopiesonedirectorytoanother,keepingarecord
ofthedifferencesinaspecialsubdirectorysoyoucanstillrecoverfileslostsometimeago.(Incidentally,RdiffbackupreliesinturnonascriptcalledDiff.)
Inthisexample,ausernamednewbiewantstosetupascripttobackupdocuments,music,mailandpicturesfromthe/homedirectorytoanexternaldrive.
1#!/bin/bash
2#
3#ThisRdiffBackupscriptbacksuptoasecondharddrive
4#Itmustberunasrootinordertomountthesecondharddrive
5
6#Torestorefiles,issuethecommand:cpa/mnt/sda1/username/home
7#Torestore,butnotoverwrite:
8#cpaireply=no/mnt/sda1/username/home
9
10#Mounttheexternaldevices
11
12mount/dev/sdb1
13mount/dev/sdb2
14mount/dev/sdb3
15
16#Executethebackup
17
18rdiffbackup/home/newbie/Documents/mnt/sdb2/Documents
19rdiffbackup/home/newbie/Music/mnt/sdb1/Music
20rdiffbackup/home/newbie/Mail/mnt/sdb2/Mail
21rdiffbackup/home/newbie/Pictures/mnt/sdb3/Pictures
22
23#Unmounttheexternaldevices
24
25umount/dev/sdb1
26umount/dev/sdb2
27umount/dev/sdb3
Nowletslookatthisscriptscomponents:
Lines28:anumbersignhasbeenplacedinfrontoftheselines(calledcommentingthemout)toindicatetoBashthattheyarenotpartofthe
sequenceofcommandstobeexecuted.Theirpurposehereistoprovideanyonewholooksatthisscriptwithinformationaboutsuchthingsasthe
scriptsorigin,creator,purpose,andlicense(metadata).
Line10:goodscriptsseparatethecommandsintoclearlylabeledproceduralsections,alsoinlines15and22.
Lines1214:thethreedevicestobeusedforthebackuphavetofirstbemountedsotheyareavailabletothesystem.
Lines1821:herebashistoldtousethesystemscriptrdiffbackuptocomparetheoriginaldirectories(sources)withthebackupdirectories(targets),
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copyoverthedifferencesitfinds,andkeeparecordofthechanges.
Lines2527:oncethebackupworkisdone,theexternaldrivesareunmountedfromthesystem.
Anyonewhowantedtousesuchascriptwouldhavetocarryoutafewexecutionsteps:
1. Copythewholescript.
2. RightclickthedesktopandselectCreateNew>Textfile...
3. Givethefileanamethatmakessense(nospaces,though),andaddtheshextensionsoyouwillrecognizeitisascript.Forthisexample,youmight
selectBackup_DocsMusicMailPictures.sh
4. Openthenewtextfileandpasteinthescript.
5. Changeanynames,locations,etc.towhattheyareonyourparticularsystem.Intheexampleabove,youmaywellhavedifferentnamesand/orlocations
forthedirectoriestobebackedup,anddifferentdeviceswheretheyaresupposedtogo.
6. Savethatscriptinaplaceyoucaneasilyfinditwhenyouneedit,letssayyoumakeanewdirectory/home/scriptsforit.
7. Rightclickthescript,selectProperties,clickonthePermissionstab,andchecktheIsexecutableboxandclickOK.
8. Whenyouarereadytobackup,openaterminalandtype:sh/home/scripts/Backup_DocsMusicMailPictures.shHINT:usethetabkeytoautocompletethefile
nameafteryoutypethefirstfewletters.
Links
LinuxShellScriptingTutorial
DirectoryofLinuxCommands
6.5.3Preinstalleduserscripts
ThefollowingscriptsallowuserstohelpkeeptheirMXLinuxinstallationuptodateandrunningasarollingrelease.
smxi
Whenrun,smxiallowsuserstoinstallanewkernel,installATIandNVIDIAgraphicsdrivers,runaptgetupgradeoraptgetdistupgradesafely,andlotsmore!Writtenbya
programmernamedh2,thescriptisprettymuchselfexplanatory,butforusageoptions,executesmxih.
smximustberunoutsideoftheXwindowsystem(i.e.,notfromthedesktop)formostfunctions.
Fromyourdesktop:
PressCtrlAltF1togettoaterminalprompt.
Loginasroot(suandpassword)
Type:smxi
Atboot:
TypeewhenontheGRUBmenutobeabletoeditit
Add3totheendofthekernellineinGRUBsmenuentryforMXLinux
Thesystemwillbootdirectlytotheconsole.
Loginasroot(suandpassword)
Type:smxi
smxiwillaskaseriesofquestionsthefirsttimeitisrun,includingwhichsystemoptionsyouwanttorun.Thefollowingoptionsarerecommended:
continuenochanges
aptget
aptgetdistupgrade
Aftersmxihascompleteditsoperationsitwillaskifyouwanttorestartthedesktop.NOTE:RunningsmxiGinarootterminalwhileinsidearunningXsessionallowscertain
featuresofsmxitorun,suchasremovingunwantedkernelsetc.
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smxihomepage
smxidocumentation
sgfxi
Thish2scriptrunsinsidesmxiorseparately,anddealswithinstallinggraphicaldrivers(seealsoNvidia_Install,below).SgfxicurrentlysupportsATI,fglrxandNVIDIA
drivers.Italsosupportsconvertingfromortoxorgfreedriverslikeati,intel,ornv.Followtheprocedureabovetostartthescript,replacingsmxiwithsgfxi.
Sgfxirequiresaworkinginternetconnection!SomewirelessinternetconnectionsmaybedroppedwhenoperatingoutsideofX.Ifthisappliestoyourinternetconnectioneither
temporarilyswitchovertoawiredinternetconnectionbeforeproceedingorusethePartialinstallinX,completionoutsideofXmethodinstructionsinthenextsectionbelow.
Thesgfxiscriptautomaticallydownloadsandinstallsthekernelheadersandeverythingelseitneeds.Thenitdownloadsthebinarygraphicdriverinstallersfromeithernvidiaor
ATI,preparessystem,installs,thensetsupxorg.conf,allinafairlyclean,reasonablyintuitiveway.Plusitupdatesitselfsoanynewdriversreleasedwillbeinstalled.Finally,
sgfxiallowsyoutoeasilyswitchbetweenproprietarynonfreedriverslikeATIsfglrxandnVidiasnvidiadriverandthefreexorgdrivers.
sgfximanual
inxi
Athirdscriptfromh2includedinMXLinuxisinxi,aconvenientcommandlinesysteminformationscript.Enterinxihinaterminaltoseealltheoptionsavailable,which
includeanentirerangefromsensoroutputtotheweather.
Nvidia_Install
CreatedbyMXLinuxuserkmathern,thisscripthastwoadvantagesoversgfxi:
Itcanberunfromyourdesktop(itwillaskyoufortherootpasswordwhenitstarts)
ItwillinstallthecorrectdriversforlegacyNvidiacards
LaunchbyclickingStartmenu>System>Nvidia_Install,enterrootpasswordwhentheterminalopens,andfollowtheprompts.
Figure66:Nvidia_Installbeginsitswork
6.6AdvancedMXApps
InadditiontotheconfigurationMXAppsdiscussedinSection3.3,MXLinuxincludesutilitiesfortheadvanceduseravailablefromMXTools.
6.6.1Liveremaster/persistence(RemasterCC)
Remaster
WARNING:foruseinaLivesessiononly!
Theprimarypurposeofliveremasteringistomakeitassafe,easy,andconvenientaspossibleforuserstomaketheirowncustomizedversionofMXLinuxthatcanbe
distributedtoothercomputers.
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TheideaisthatyouuseaLiveUSB(oraLiveHD:afrugalinstalltoaharddrivepartition,seeSection8.4)asthedevelopmentandtestingenvironment.Addorsubtract
packagesandthenwhenyouarereadytoremaster,useuseasimpleremasterscriptorGUItodotheremasterandthenreboot.Ifsomethinggoeshorriblywrong,simply
rebootagainwiththerollbackoptionandyouwillbootintothepreviousenvironment.
Persistence
WARNING:foruseinaLivesessiononly!
LiveUSBwithpersistence
PersistenceisahybridbetweenaLiveMediumandafullinstallitallowsyoutoretainanyfilesyouinstalloraddduringalivesession.
Figure67:Theremasterandpersistencetool
HELP:here.
6.6.2SavesystemtoISO(Snapshot)
ThistoolmakesacopyofyourrunningsystemandcreatesanISOfromit.
TheISOcanbeputonaLiveMediumintheusualmanner(seeSection2.2).TotheninstallfromtheLiveMedium,openarootterminalandenterthecommand:minstall.
Figure68:OpeningscreenofSnapshot
HELP:here.
6.6.3CreateliveUSB(antix2usb)
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WARNING:foruseonaharddriveinstallationonly!
TherearetwotoolsavailablebydefaulttocreateMXLinuxliveonaUSBstick:antix2usbandUNetbootin(seeSection2.3.3).antix2usbislimitedtoLinuxuse,buthasa
numberofadvantages:
Itisfaster.
ItgivesusersthesignificantadvantageofsettinguppersistencepriortocreatingtheUSBstick.
ItallowsapartitiontobecreatedontheUSBdrive.
Itoffersotheradvancedoptions.
Figure69:Mainscreenofantix2usb
HELP:here.
6.7SSH
SSH(SecureShell)isaprotocolusedtosecurelylogontoremotesystems.ItisthemostcommonwaytoaccessremoteLinuxandUnixlikecomputers.MX14comeswith
themainpackagesnecessarytorunSSHinactivemode,themainonebeingOpenSSH,afreeimplementationoftheSecureShellthatconsistsofawholesuiteofapplications.
Startorrestartthesshdaemonasrootwiththecommand:
/etc/init.d/sshstart
Tostartthesshdaemonautomaticallywhenthecomputerstarts,clickSettingsmanager>SessionandStartup>ApplicationAutostart.ClicktheAddbutton,then
inthedialogboxinsertanamesuchasStartSSH,ashortdescriptionifyouwant,andthecommand
/etc/init.d/sshstart
PressOKandyouaredone.Onceyourestart,theSSHdaemonwillbeactive.
KDEusersonMXLinuxcandothesameusingPreferences>Settings>Start&Stop>AutomaticStart.
6.7.1Troubleshooting
Occasionally,SSHdoesnotworkinpassivemode,sendingamessageofdeniedconnection.Thenyoucantrythefollowing:
Editasrootthefile/etc/ssh/sshdconfig.Aboutline16youwillfindtheparameterUsePrivilegeSeparationyes.Changethatto
UsePrivilegeSeparationno
Addyourself(ortheintendedusers)tothegroupsshusingMXUserManageroreditingasrootthefile/etc/group.
Sometimesthecertificatescanbemissingoroutdatedaneasywaytorebuildthemistorun(asroot)thecommand
sshkeygenA
Checkifsshdisrunningbytyping
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/etc/init.d/sshstatus
Thesystemshouldanswer[ok]sshdisrunning.
Ifyouareusingafirewall,checkthatport22isnotblocked.ItmustallowINandOUTtraffic.
MORE:Opensshmanual
7Underthehood
7.1Introduction
MXLinuxultimatelyinheritsitsfundamentaldesignfromUnix,anoperatingsystemthathasbeenaroundinvariousformssince1970,muchearlierthanMSWindows.
FromthatLinuxwasdeveloped,fromwhichDebiandevelopsitsdistribution.Thebaseoperatingsystemisthetopicofthissection.UserscomingfromMicrosoftWindows
typicallyfindalotofunfamiliarconcepts,andgetfrustratedtryingtodothingsthewaytheyareaccustomedtodoingthem.
ThissectionwillgiveyouaconceptualoverviewofsomebasicaspectsofMXLinux,andhowtheydifferfromothersystemstohelpeaseyourtransition.
Links
Wikipedia:Unix
LinuxHomePage
WikipediaDebian
7.2Thefilesystemstructure
Therearetwobasicusesofthetermfilesystem.ThefirstistheOperatingSystemsFilesystem.Thisreferstothefilesandtheirorganizationthatthe
operatingsystemusestokeeptrackofallthehardwareandsoftwareresourcesithasasitsdisposalwhilerunning.
TheotheruseofthetermfilesystemreferstotheDiskFilesystem,designedforthestorageandretrievaloffilesonadatastoragedevice,mostcommonlya
discdrive.TheDiskFilesystemissetwhenthediskpartitionisfirstformatted,priortowritinganydataonthepartition.
TheOperatingSystemsFilesystem
OneofthefirstproblemsmanynewLinuxusersstrugglewithishowthefilesystemworks.IfyouhavebeenlookingaroundyourMXLinuxsystemtryingtofind
theC:\driveorD:\drive,forinstance,youaresearchinginvain:MXLinuxhandlesharddrivesandotherstoragemediadifferentlyfromWindows.Ratherthanhavinga
separatefilesystemtreeoneverydevice,MXLinuxhasasinglefilesystemtree(calledthe/root/ofthefilesystem)whichismarked/andcontainseveryattacheddevice.
Whenastoragedeviceisaddedtothesystem,itsfilesystemisattachedtoadirectoryorsubdirectoryofthefilesystemthisiscalledmountingadriveordevice.Ifyouopen
ThunarandclickonFileSystemintheupperleftpane,youwillnoticeanumberofdirectorieswithnamesbasedontheUnixFilesystemHierarchyStandard.
Figure71:TheMXfilesystemviewedinThunar
HereisasimpledescriptionofthemajordirectoriesinMXLinuxalongwithacommonexampleofwhenuserscommonlyworkwithfilesthere:
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/bin

Thisdirectorycontainsbinaryprogramfileswhichareusedbythesystemduringstartup,butwhichalsomayberequiredbyuseractionsoncethe
systemisfullyupandrunning.
Example:Manybasiccommandlineprograms,suchastheBashshell,andutilitieslike/dd/,/grep/,/ls/,and/mount/arelocatedhere,inaddition
toprogramsonlyusedbytheOS.
/boot
Asyoumightguess,filesthatLinuxneedstobootarelocatedhere.TheLinuxkernel,thecoreoftheLinuxoperatingsystem,iskepthere,asare
bootloaderssuchasGRUB.
Example:nofilehereiscommonlyaccessedbyusers.
/dev
Inthisdirectoryarespecialfilesthatlinktothevariousinput/outputdevicesonthesystem.
Example:nofilehereiscommonlyaccesseddirectlybyusers,exceptinCLImountingcommands.
/etcThisdirectorycontainsconfigurationfilesforthesystemsuchasaswellasapplicationconfigurationfiles.
Example:Thefile/etc/fstabspecifiesmountpointsforadditionalfilesystemsondevices,partitions,etc.thatcanbeconfiguredforyouroptimaluse.
Example:displayproblemssometimesinvolveeditingthefile/etc/X11/xorg.conf.
/home
Heretheuserspersonaldirectories(dataandsettings)reside.Ifthereismorethanoneuser,aseparatesubdirectoryissetupforeach.Nouser
(exceptroot)canreadanotherusershomedirectory.Theusersdirectorycontainsbothhidden(wherethefilenameisprecededbyadot)and
visiblefileshiddenfilescanberevealedbyclickingView>ShowHiddenFilesinThunar.
Example:userstypicallyorganizetheirownfilesatfirstbyusingdefaultdirectoriessuchasDocuments,Music,etc.
Example:yourFirefoxprofileislocatedin.mozilla/firefox
/lib
Thisdirectorycontainssharedobjectlibraries(analogoustoWindowsDLLs)thatarerequiredatboottime.Inparticular,kernelmoduleswillbe
foundhere,under/lib/modules.
/media
FilesforremovablemediasuchasCDroms,floppydrives,andUSBmemorysticksareinstalledherewhenthemediaareautomounted.
Example:Afterdynamicallymountingaperipheraldevicelikeaflashdrive,youmayaccessithere.
/mnt
Physicalstoragedevicesmustbemountedherebeforetheycanbeaccessed.Afterdrivesorpartitionsaredefinedinthe/etc/fstabfile,thentheir
filesystemismountedhere.
Example:Userscanaccessdrivesandpartitionsmountedhere.
/opt
Thisistheintendedlocationofmajorthirdpartyapplicationsubsystemsinstalledbytheuser.
Example:ifyouinstallGoogleEarth,thisiswhereitwillbeinstalled.Somedistrosalsoplaceuserinstalledprogramsin/usrsubdirectories.
/proc
Thelocationforprocessandsysteminformation
Example:nofilehereiscommonlyaccessedbyusers
/root
Thisisthe/homedirectory/fortheroot(administrator)user.Notethatthisisnotthesameas/thefilesystemroot.
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Example:nofilehereiscommonlyaccessedbyusers,butfilessavedwhileloggedinastherootusermaybesavedhere.
/sbin
Programsareinstalledhereiftheyarerequiredbythesystemstartupscriptsbutwillnotnormallyberunbyusers,otherthanrootinother
words,systemadministrationutilities.
Example:nofilehereiscommonlyaccessedbyusers,butthisiswherefileslikemodprobeandifconfigarelocated.
/tmp
Thisisthelocationoftemporaryfilesproducedbyprogramssuchascompilersastheyrun.Ingeneral,theseareshorttermtemporaryfiles,of
usetoaprogramonlywhileitisrunning.
/usr
Thisdirectorycontainsmanythingsforuserapplications,andisanalogousinsomewaystotheWindowsdirectoryProgramFiles.
Example:manyexecutablesarelocatedin(/usr/bin)
Example:documentation(/usr/docs)andconfigurationfiles,graphicsandiconsarein(/usr/share).
Example:manyfilesspecifictoMXLinuxarelocatedin/usr/local/
/var
ThisdirectorycontainsfilesthatareconstantlychangingwhileLinuxisrunning,e.g.logs,systemmailandqueuedprocesses.
Example:youcanlookin/var/log/whentryingtodeterminewhathappenedduringaprocess
TheDiskFilesystem
Thediskfilesystemissomethingaboutwhichtheaverageuserdoesnotneedtobemuchconcerned.ThedefaultdiskfilesystemusedbyMXLinuxiscalled
ext4,aversionoftheext2filesystemthatisjournaledi.e.,itwriteschangestoalogbeforeenactingthem,renderingitmorerobust.Thefilesystemext4issetduring
installationwhenyouryourharddriveisformatted.
Byandlarge,ext4hasmoreyearsonitstrackrecordthananyofitsrivals,andcombinesstabilityandspeedforthesereasons,wedonotrecommend
installingMXLinuxontoadifferentdiskfilesystemunlessyouarewelleducatedinthedifferences.However,MXLinuxcanreadandwritetomanyother
formatteddiskfilesystems,andmayevenbeinstalledonsomeofthem,ifforsomereasononeofthemispreferredoverext4.
Links
WikipediaFilesystem
Wikipedia.Comparisonoffilesystems
WikipediaExt4
Logfilesinthe/var/log/directory
7.3Permissions
MXLinuxisanaccountbasedoperatingsystem.Thismeansthatnoprogramcanrunwithoutauseraccounttorununder,andanyrunningprogramis
therebylimitedbythepermissionsgrantedtotheuserwhostartedit.
InMXLinuxthereisoneandonlyoneuseraccountthathaspermissiontodoeverythingthisaccountiscalledroot(nottobeconfusedwiththerootofthefile
system,mentionedinSection6.1see:rootfilesystem.Therootuserhasauniquepasswordthatissetduringsysteminstallation.Whenyourunprograms(suchasSynapticor
MXLinuxSystemAssistants)thatneedtoaccessorchangeprotectedoperatingsystemfilesanddirectories,youwillbepromptedfortherootpassword.Onceyouenterit,
MXLinuxwillbeabletomakethespecificchangesitneeds.
NOTE:MuchofthesecurityandstabilitythatLinuxisknownforhingesontheproperuseoflimiteduseraccounts,andtheprotectionprovidedbydefaultfileanddirectory
permissions.Forthisreason,youshouldoperateasrootonlyforaprocedurethatrequiresit.NeverlogintoMXLinuxasroottorunthecomputerfornormalactivities!
Basicinformation
ThedefaultfilepermissionsstructureinLinuxisfairlysimple,butmorethanadequateformostsituations.Foreachfileorfolder,therearethreepermissions
thatcanbegranted,andthreeentities(owner/creator,group,others/world)towhichtheyaregranted.Thepermissionsare:
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Readpermissionmeansthatdatacanbereadfromthefileitalsomeansthefilecanbecopied.Ifyoudonthavereadpermissionforadirectoryyoucantevenseethe
namesoffileslistedinit.
Writepermissionmeansthatthefileorfoldercanbechanged,appended,ordeleted.Fordirectories,itspecifieswhetherausercanwritetofilesinthedirectory.
Executepermissionmeanswhetherornottheusercanrunthefileasascriptorprogram.Fordirectories,itdetermineswhetherornottheusercanenterandmakeit
thecurrentworkingdirectory.Everyfileandfolderacquiresasingleuserdesignatedasitsownerwhenitiscreatedonthesystem.(Notethatifyoumoveafilefrom
anotherpartitionwhereithasadifferentowner,itwillkeeptheoriginalownerbutifyoucopyandpasteit,itwillbeassignedtoyou.)Italsohasasinglegroup
designatedasitsgroup,bydefaultthegrouptowhichtheownerbelongs.Thepermissionsyougranttoothersaffecteveryonewhoisnttheownerorintheowning
group.
NOTE:Foradvancedusers,thereareadditionalspecialattributesbeyondread/write/executethatcanbeset:stickybit,SUID,andSGID.Formoreinformation,seeLinks
section.
Viewing,settingandchangingpermissions
TherearemanytoolsavailableinMXLinuxtoviewandmanagepermissions.
ThunarTovieworchangeafilespermissions,rightclickthefileandselectProperties.ClickthePermissionstab.Hereyoucansetthepermissionsgrantedtothe
owner,group,andothersusingthepulldownmenus.Forsomefiles(likescripts,forinstance),youneedtochecktheboxtomakethemexecutable,andforfolders
youcancheckaboxtolimitthedeletionoffilesinsideittotheowners.NOTE:youmustbeoperatingasroottochangethepermissionofafileordirectorywhose
ownerisroot.
MXUserManagerisaneasywaytochangepermissionsbyassociatingauserwithspecificgroups.
CLIcommandsAlthoughMXUserManagercoversmostdailysituations,sometimesitcanbepreferabletodealwiththecommandline.Basicpermissionsare
representedbyr(read),w(write)andx(execute).Toviewpermissionsofafileonthecommandline,typethis:lslNameofFile
Thelswitchwillcausethefiletobelistinlongformat,displayingitspermissionsamongotherinformation.
rwrrnewbieusers277Jan714:42.asoundrc
Theboldedrwrrbitrightaftertheopeningdash(indicatingitisaregularfile)containsread/write/executepermissionsforowner,groupandothers:9
characterstotal.Hereitshowsthattheownerhasreadandwritebutnotexecute(rw),butthegroupandotherscanonlyread(r).Theownerinthiscaseis
specifiedtobenewbiewhobelongstothegroupusers.
Ifforsomereasonitwasnecessarytochangetheownershipofthisfiletorootusingthecommandline,youwouldusethechowncommandlikethis:
chownroot/home/newbie/.asoundrc
Fordetailsonusingchown,aswellasthemoredetailedchmod,seeLinkssection.
Links
MX/antiXWiki:Permissions
FilePermissions
7.4Configurationfiles
Withonlyrareexceptions,programandsystemsettingsonMXLinuxarestoredindiscreteplaintextconfigurationfilesthereisnoRegistrywhichrequires
specialtoolstoedit.Mostconfigurationfilesarejustsimplelistsofparametersandvalueswhicharereadbyprogramswhentheylaunchtodeterminetheir
behavior.
7.4.1Userconfigfiles
Filesthatholdindividualusersettings(suchashighscoresforyourgames,orthelayoutofyourdesktop)arestoredwithinaUsershomedirectory,typically
asahiddenfileordirectory,andcanonlybeeditedbythatuserorbyroot.Thesepersonalconfigurationfilesareactuallylessoftenediteddirectlythan
systemfilesbecausemostoftheuserconfigurationisdonegraphicallythroughtheapplicationsthemselves.WhenyouopenanapplicationandclickEdit>
Preferences,forexample,yourselectionsarewrittentoa(usuallyhidden)configurationfileinyouruserdirectory.LikewiseinFirefox,whenyoutypeabout:configinthe
addressbar,youareeditingthehiddenconfigurationfiles.
7.4.2Systemconfigfiles
Filesthatholdsystemwideconfigurationsordefaults(suchasthefilethatdetermineswhichservicesautomaticallylaunchduringbootup)arelargelystoredin
the/etc/directoryandareonlyeditablebyroot.Mostofthesefilesarenevertoucheddirectlybyregularusers,suchastheseforinstance:
/etc/rc.d/rc5.dContainsfilestocontrolrunlevel5intowhichMXLinuxbootsafterlogin.
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/etc/sysconfig/keyboardUsedtoconfigurethekeyboard.
/etc/network/interfacesDefinesinternetinterfacesonthesystem.
Someconfigurationfilescancontainjustafewlines,orevenbeempty,whileothersmaybequitelong.Theimportantpointisthatifyouarelookingfora
configurationfileforanapplicationorprocess,headforthe/etcdirectoryandlookaround.
7.4.3Example
Soundproblemscanbesolvedwithanumberofgraphicalandcommandlinetools,butonceinawhileauserneedstoeditdirectlythesystemwide
configurationfile.Formanysystems,thiswillbe/etc/modprobe.d/sndhdaintel.conf.Itisasimplefilewhosetopparagraphlookslikethis:
#somechipsrequirethatthemodelbesetmanually
#forexampleasusg71seriesmayneedmodel=g71v
optionssndhdaintelmodel=auto
Totrytogetsound,youmightdecidetosubstitutetheexactinformationaboutthesoundmodelinplaceofthewordauto..Tofindoutyoursoundmodel,you
couldopenakonsoleandtype:lspcigrepAudio
Theoutputwilldependonthesystem,butitwilltakethefollowingform:
00:05.0Audiodevice:nVidiaCorporationMCP61HighDefinitionAudio(reva2)
Nowyoucanplugthatinformationbackintotheconfigurationfile:
#somechipsrequirethatthemodelbesetmanually
#forexampleasusg71seriesmayneedmodel=g71v
optionssndhdaintelmodel=nvidia
Youwouldsavethefile,rebootthemachine,andhopefullyyoursoundshouldbeworking.Youcouldalsotrymoreprecisionbyusingmodel=nvidiamcp61
instead,ifthefirstdidnotwork.
Links
UnderstandingLinuxConfigurationFiles
7.5Runlevels
MXLinuxbootsupbyexecutingtheprograminit.Aftercompletingthebootprocess,initexecutesallstartscriptsinadirectoryspecifiedbythedefaultrunlevel(this
runlevelisgivenbytheentryforidin/etc/inittab).LikemostotherLinuxversions,MXLinuxhas7runlevels:
Table10:RunlevelsinMXLinux
Runlevel
Comment
Haltthesystem
Singleusermode:providesarootconsolewithoutlogon.Usefulifyouloseyourrootpassword
Multiuserwithnonetwork
Consolelogon,noX(i.e.noGUI)
Notused/custom
DefaultGUIlogon
Rebootthesystem
MXLinuxdefaultstorunlevel5,thereforeanyinitscriptssetupinthelevel5configfilewillrunatboot.
Use
Understandingrunlevelscanbehandy.WhenusershaveaproblemwithXWindowManager,forinstance,theycannotcorrectitonthedefaultrunlevel5,
becauseXisrunningonthatlevel.Buttheycangettorunlevel3toworkontheprobleminoneoftwoways.
FromtheDesktop:pressCtrlAltF1togetoutofX.Toactuallydroptorunlevel3,becomerootandtypetelinit3thiswillstopalltheotherservicesstilloperating
onrunlevel5.
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FromtheGRUBmenu:presse(foredit)whenyouseetheGRUBscreen.Onthesubsequentscreen,addaspaceandthenumber3attheendofthelineofbootoptions
locatedoneabovethelowestline(theactualbootcommand).PressF10toboot.
Oncethecursorisataprompt,loginwithyournormalusernameandpassword.Usefulcommandswhenyouarelookingatthepromptonrunlevel3include:
Table11:Commonrunlevel3commands
Command
Comment
runlevel
Returnsthenumberoftherunlevelyouareon.
halt
Runasroot.Shutsthemachinedown.Ifthatdoesnotworkonyoursystem,trypoweroff.
reboot
Runasroot.Rebootsthemachine.
<application>
Runstheapplication,aslongasitisnotgraphical.Forinstance,youcanusethecommand
nanotoedittextfiles,butnotleafpad.
CtrlAltF7
IfyouusedCtrlAltF1todropoutfromarunningdesktopbutdidnotcontinuedownto
runlevel3,thiscommandbringsyoubacktoyourdesktop.
telinit5
Runasroot.Ifyouareonrunlevel3,enterthiscommandtogettotheloginmanager
lightdm.
NOTE:thesecommandsmaychangeinthefutureifMXLinuxswitchestoanewsystemmanager.
Links
Wikiipedia:Runlevel
TheLinuxInformationProject:RunlevelDefinition
7.6Thekernel
Introduction
Toprovideabackground,hereisasimplifieddiagramanddescriptionofthekernelspositioninaLinuxOS,borrowedfromAnatomyoftheLinuxkernel.
Figure72:DiagramoftheLinuxkernel
Atthetopistheuserspace,orapplicationspace.Thisiswheretheuserapplicationsareexecuted.Belowtheuserspaceisthekernelspace.Here,theLinuxkernelexists.There
isalsotheGNUCLibrary(glibc).Thisprovidesthesystemcallinterfacethatconnectstothekernelandprovidesthemechanismtotransitionbetweentheuserspace
applicationandthekernel.Thisisimportantbecausethekernelanduserapplicationoccupydifferentprotectedaddressspaces.Andwhileeachuserspaceprocessoccupiesits
ownvirtualaddressspace,thekerneloccupiesasingleaddressspace.
Upgrading
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Unlikeothersoftwareonyoursystem,thekernelisnotupgradedautomaticallyexceptbelowtheminorrevisionlevel(indicatedbythethirdnumberinthekernelname).Hereis
abasicapproachformanuallyupgradingtheLinuxkernelonyoursystem.
Askyourselfsomequestions:WhydoIwanttoupgradethekernel?IsthereadriverIneedfornewhardware,forinstance?AmIawarethatImighthaveproblemsof
onekindoranother?
First,findoutwhatyoucurrentlyhaveinstalled.OpenaterminalandenterinxiS.Forinstance,auserofthedefaultMX14.3PAEwouldseesomethinglikethis:
$inxiS
System:Host:mxcustomKernel:3.140.bpo.3686PAEi686(32bit)
Desktop:Xfce4.10.3Distro:MX14.3Symbiosis
Besuretowritedownthenameofthekernel(boldedabove)fromtheoutputofthatcommand.
Second,selectandinstallanewkernel.OpenSynaptic,searchonlinuximageandlookforahigherkernelnumberthatmatchesthearchitecture(e.g.,686)and
processor(e.g.,PAE)thatyoualreadyhave,unlessyouhaveagoodreasontochange.AdefaultMX14.3PAEuserwouldseeatleastthispossibility:linuximage3.16
0.bpo.2686PAENotethatthenewkernelmustmatchthehostcomputersarchitectureandprocessor.Installtheoneyouwantorneedintheusualmanner.
Third,installthelinuxheaderspackagethatmatchthenewkernelyouselected.Therearetwomethodsofdoingthis.
LookcarefullyattheSynapticentriesbeginninglinuxheadersandmatchthekernel.Forinstance,ifyouselectedlinuximage3.160.bpo.2686PAE,thenyou
wouldinstall:linuxheaders3.160.bpo.2686PAE
Alternatively,youcaninstalltheheadersmoreeasilyafterrebootingintothenewkernelbytypingthefollowingcodeinarootterminal:
aptgetinstalllinuxheaders$(unamer)
Headerswillalsobeinstalledifyouuseacommandsuchasmaprepare.
Whenyoureboot,youwillautomaticallybootintothehighestavailablekernel.Ifitdoesntwork,youhavetheoptiontoreturntowhatyouwereusing:reboot,and
whenyouseetheGRUBscreenhighlightAdvancedOptionsforwhateverpartitionyouwanttobootinto,thenselectthekernelandpressenter.
Advancedprocedures
Otherconsiderationsandchoicesexistwithrespecttokernels:
OtherprerolledkernelsexistsuchastheLiquorixkernel,whichisaversionoftheZenkernelandisintendedtoprovideabetterdesktopuseexperienceintermsof
responsiveness,evenunderheavyloadssuchasduringgaming,pluslowlatency(importantforaudiowork).ThatismosteasilyinstalledforMX14.xthroughSynaptic:
enabletheCommunityRepositorytestingrepos(Synaptic)toseeandselectit.
Distros(e.g.,MXscodeparentantiX)oftenrolltheirown.
Knowledgeableindividualsmaycompileaspecifickernelforaparticularreason.
Links
Wikipedia:Linuxkernel
AnatomyoftheLinuxkernel
Linuxkernelarchives
InteractivemapofLinuxkernel
7.7Kernelpanicandrecovery
AkernelpanicisarelativelyrareactiontakenbytheMXLinuxsystemwhenitdetectsaninternalfatalerrorfromwhichitcannotsafelyrecover.Itcanbe
causedbyanumberofdifferentfactorsthatrangefromhardwareproblemstoabuginthesystemitself.Whenyougetakernelpanic,tryrebootingwiththe
MXLinuxLiveMedium,whichwillovercometemporarilyanysoftwareproblemsandhopefullyallowyoutoseeandoffloadyourdata.Ifthatdoesntwork,then
unplugallunnecessaryhardwareandtryagain.
Yourfirstconcernistoaccessandsecureyourdata.Hopefully,youhaveitbackedupsomewhere.Ifnot,youcanuseoneofthedatarecoveryprogramssuch
ddrescuethatissuppliedwithMXLinux.Yourlastresortistotakeyourharddrivetoaprofessionalrecoverybusiness.
ThereareanumberofstepsyoumighthavetotaketorecoverafunctionalMXLinuxsystemonceyouhaveyourdatasafe,althoughultimatelyyoumayhave
toreinstallusingtheLiveMedium.Dependingonthetypeoffailure,thefollowingstepsmaybeundertaken:
1. Removepackagesthatbrokethesystem.
2. Reinstallthegraphicdriver.
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3. ReinstallGRUBusingMXBootRepair.
4. Resettherootpassword.
5. ReinstallMXLinux,checkingtokeeping/homeonScreen2sothatyourpersonalconfigurationswillnotbelost.
BesuretoaskontheForumifyouhaveanyquestionsabouttheseprocedures.
Links
GNUCLibraryHomePage
Ddrescue
8Glossary
Introduction
Linuxtermscanbeconfusingandoffputtingatfirst,sothisGlossaryprovidesalistoftheonesusedinthisManualtogetyoustarted.
applet:Aprogramdesignedtobeexecutedfromwithinanotherapplication.Unlikeanapplication,appletscannotbeexecuteddirectlyfromtheoperatingsystem.
backend:Also/backend./Thebackendincludesthevariouscomponentsofaprogramthatprocesstheuserinputenteredthroughthefrontend.Seealsofrontend.
backport:Backportsarenewpackagesthathavebeenrecompiledtorunonareleaseddistributioninordertokeepituptodate.
BASH:Thedefaultshell(commandlineinterpreter)onmostLinuxsystemsaswellasonMacOSX,BASHisanacronymforBourneagainshell.
BitTorrent:Also/bittorrent/or/torrent./AmethodinventedbyBramCohentodistributelargefileswithouttheneedforasingleindividualtoprovidethehardware,
hostingandbandwidthresourcesrequired.
bootblock:AnareaofadiskoutsidetheMBRhavinginformationforloadingtheoperatingsystemthatisneededtostartacomputer.
bootloader:ProgramthatinitiallychoosesanoperatingsystemtoloadaftertheBIOShasfinishedinitializingthehardware.Extremelysmallinsize.thebootloadersonly
jobistohandcontrolofthecomputerovertotheOperatingSystemskernel.Advancedbootloadersofferamenutochoosebetweenseveralinstalledoperatingsystems.
chainloading:Also/chainloading./Insteadofdirectlyloadinganoperatingsystem,abootmanagerlikeGRUBcanusechainloadingtopasscontrolfromitselftoaboot
sectoronaharddiskpartition.Thetargetbootsectorisloadedinfromdisk(replacingthebootsectorfromwhichthebootmanageritselfwasloaded)andthenewboot
programisexecuted.Inadditiontowhenitisnecessary,asinbootingWindowsfromGRUB,theadvantagetochainloadingisthateachoperatingsystemonthehard
diskdriveandtherecouldbedozenscanberesponsibleforhavingthecorrectdatainitsownbootsector.SoGRUBresidingintheMBRneednotberewritten
everytimethereareanychanges.GRUBcansimplychainloadtherelevantinformationfromthebootsectorofagivenpartitionwhetherithaschangedorremainedthe
samesincethelastboottime.
cheatcode:CodescanbeenteredwhenbootingaLiveMediumtochangethebootingbehavior.TheyareusedtopassoptionstotheMXLInuxoperatingsystemtoset
parametersforparticularenvironments.
commandlineinterface(CLI):Alsoknownasconsole,terminal,commandprompt,shell,orbash.ThisisaUNIXstyletextinterface,whichMSDOSwasalso
designedtoresemble.Arootconsoleisonewhereadministrativeprivilegeshavebeenacquiredafterenteringtherootpassword.
desktopenvironment:Thesoftwarewhichprovidesagraphicaldesktop(windows,icons,desktop,taskbar,etc)foranoperatingsystemuser.
diskimage:AfilecontainingthecompletecontentsandstructureofadatastoragemediumordevicesuchasaharddriveorDVD.SeealsoISO.
Distribution:ALinuxDistribution,ordistro,isaparticularpackagingoftheLinuxkernelwithvariousGNUsoftwarepackages,anddifferentdesktopsorwindow
managers.SinceunliketheproprietarycodeusedintheMicrosoftandAppleOSsGNU/LinuxisFree,OpenSourceSoftware,literallyanyoneintheworldwhohas
theabilitycanfreelybuildonwhathasbeendoneandinnovateanewvisionofaGNU/Linuxoperatingsystem.MXLinuxisadistrobasedontheDebianLinuxfamily.
filesystem:Alsofilesystem.Thisreferstothewaythatfilesandfoldersarelogicallyarrangedonacomputersstoragedevicessotheymaybefoundbytheoperating
system.Itcanalsorefertothetypeofformattingonastoragedevice,suchasthecommonWindowsformatsNTFSandFAT32,ortheLinuxformatsext3,ext4or
ReiserFS,andinthissensereferstothemethodactuallyusedtoencodebinarydataontheHardDiskDrive,floppy,flashdrive,etc.
firmware.Thesmallprogramsanddatastructuresthatinternallycontroltheelectroniccomponents
freeasinspeech:TheEnglishwordfreehastwopossiblemeanings:1)withoutcost,and2)withoutrestrictions.Inpartoftheopensourcesoftwarecommunity,an
analogyusedtoexplainthedifferenceis1)freeasinbeervs.2)freeasinspeech.Theword/freeware/isuseduniversallytorefertosoftwarethatissimply
withoutcost,whereasthephrase/freesoftware/looselyreferstosoftwarethatismoreproperlycalledopensourcesoftware,licensedundersometypeofopensource
license.
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frontend:Alsofrontend.Thefrontendisthepartofasoftwaresystemthatinteractsdirectlywiththeuser.Seealsobackend.
GPL:TheGNUGeneralPublicLicense.Thisisalicenseunderwhichmanyoperate:Aprogramdesignedtobeexecutedfromwithinanotherapplication.Unlikean
application,appletscannotbeexecuteddirectlyfromtheoperatingsystem.nsourceapplicationsarereleased.Itspecifiesthatyoumayview,modify,andredistributethe
sourcecodeofapplicationsreleasedunderit,withincertainlimitsbutthatyoumaynotdistributetheexecutablecodeunlessyoualsodistributethesourcecodeto
anyonewhoasksforit.
GraphicalUserInterface(GUI):Thisreferstoaprogramoroperatingsysteminterfacethatusespictures(icons,windows,etc),asopposedtotext(commandline)
interfaces.
homedirectory:Oneofthe17topleveldirectoriesbranchingfromtherootdirectoryinMXLinux,/homecontainsasubdirectoryforeveryregistereduserofthe
system.WithineachUsershomedirectorys/hehasfullreadwriteprivileges.Further,mostoftheuserspecificconfigurationfilesforvariousinstalledprogramsare
storedinhiddensubdirectorieswithinthe/home//username/directoryasisdownloadedemail.Otherdownloadedfilesusuallygobydefaultintothe
home//username//Documentsor/home//username//Desktopsubdirectories.
IMAP:TheInternetMessageAccessProtocolisanprotocolthatallowsanemailclienttoaccessaremotemailserver.Itsupportsbothonlineandofflinemodesof
operation.
interface:Apointofinteractionbetweencomputercomponents,oftenreferringtothelinkbetweenacomputerandanetwork.ExamplesofinterfacenamesinMX
LinuxincludeWLAN(wireless)andeth0(basicwired).
IRC:InternetRelayChat,anolderprotocoltorendertheexchangeoftextmessageseasier.
ISO:Adiscimagefollowinganinternationalstandardthatcontainsdatafilesandfilesystemmetadata,includingbootcode,structures,andattributes.Thisisthenormal
methodfordeliveringLinuxversionssuchasMXLinuxovertheInternet.Seealsodiskimage.
kernel:Thelayerofsoftwareinanoperatingsystemthatinteractsdirectlywiththehardware.
LiveCD/DVD:Abootablecompactdiscfromwhichonecanrunanoperatingsystem,usuallywithacompletedesktopenvironment,applications,andessential
hardwarefunctionality.
LiveMedium:ageneraltermthatincludesbothLiveCD/DVDandLiveUSB.
LiveUSB:AUSBflashdriveonwhichanoperatingsystemhasbeenloadedinsuchawaythatitcanbebootedandrun.SeeLiveDVD.
macaddress:ahardwareaddressthatuniquelyidentifieseachnode(connectionpoint)ofanetwork.Itisformedofastringofusuallysixsetsoftwodigitsor
characters,separatedbycolons.
manpage:Shortformanual,manpagestypicallycontaindetailedinformationaboutswitches,arguments,andsometimestheinnerworkingsofacommand.EvenGUI
programsoftenhavemanpages,detailingavailablecommandlineoptions.
MBR:MasterBootRecord:thefirst512bytesectorofabootableharddiskdrive.SpecialdatawrittentotheMBRenablesthecomputersBIOStopasstheboot
processofftoapartitionwithaninstalledoperatingsystem.
md5sum:Aprogramthatcalculatesandverifiesafilesdataintegrity.TheMD5hash(orchecksum)functionsasacompactdigitalfingerprintofafile.Itisextremely
unlikelythatanytwononidenticalfileswillhavethesameMD5hash.BecausealmostanychangetoafilewillcauseitsMD5hashtoalsochange,theMD5hashis
commonlyusedtoverifytheintegrityoffiles.
mirror:Alsomirrorsite.AnexactcopyofanotherInternetsite,commonlyusedtoprovidemultiplesourcesofthesameinformationtosupplyreliableaccesstolarge
downloads.
module:Modulesarepiecesofcodethatcanbeloadedandunloadedintothekernelupondemand.Theyextendthefunctionalityofthekernelwithouttheneedtoreboot
thesystem.
mountpoint:Theplaceontherootfilesystemwhereafixedorremovabledeviceisattached(mounted)andaccessibleasasubdirectory.Allcomputerhardwareneeds
tohaveamountpointinthefilesystemtobeusable.Moststandarddevicessuchaskeyboard,monitorandyourprimaryharddiskdrivearemountedautomaticallyat
boot.
mtp:MTPstandsforMediaTransferProtocolandoperatesatthefilelevelsothatyourdevicedoesntexposeitsentirestoragedeviceOlderAndroiddevicesusedUSB
massstoragefortransferringfilesbackandforthwithacomputer
NTFS:MicrosoftsNewTechnologyFileSystemdebutedin1993ontheWindowsNTOperatingSystem,gearedtobusinessnetworks,andwithrevisionsenteredthe
mainstreamWindowsusersdesktopcomputersinlaterversionsofWindows2000.IthasbeenthestandardfilesystemsinceWindowsXPwasintroducedinlate2001.
Unix/LinuxorientedfolksayitstandsforNiceTryFileSystem!
opensource:Softwarewhosesourcecodehasbeenmadeavailabletothepublicunderalicensethatallowsindividualstomodifyandredistributethesourcecode.In
somecases,opensourcelicensesrestrictthedistributionofbinaryexecutablecode.
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package:Apackageisadiscrete,nonexecutablebundleofdatathatincludesinstructionsforyourpackagemanageraboutinstallation.Apackagedoesntalways
containasingleapplicationitmightcontainonlypartofalargeapplication,severalsmallutilities,fontdata,graphics,orhelpfiles.
packagemanager:Apackagemanagersuchas(SynapticorGdebi)isacollectionoftoolstoautomatetheprocessofinstalling,upgrading,configuring,andremoving
softwarepackages.
Panel:ThehighlyconfigurablepanelinXfce4appearsbydefaultattheleftsideofthescreenandcontainsnavigationicons,openprogramsandsystemnotifications.
PartitionTable:ApartitiontableisaharddiskarchitecturethatexpandsontheolderMasterBootRecord(MBR)partitioningschemeusinggloballyuniqueidentifiers
(GUID)toenabletheexistenceofmorethantheoriginalfourpartitions.
port:Avirtualdataconnectionthatcanbeusedbyprogramstoexchangedatadirectly,insteadofgoingthroughafileorothertemporarystoragelocation.Portshave
numbersassignedforspecificprotocolsandapplications,suchas80forHTTP,5190forAIM,etc.
repo:Ashortenedformofrepository.
repository:Asoftwarerepositoryisaninternetstoragelocationfromwhichsoftwarepackagesmayberetrievedandinstalledviaapackagemanager.
root:RoothastwocommonmeaningsinUnix/LinuxOSs,andtheyareintimatelyconnected,butthedistinctionisimportanttounderstand.
Therootfilesystemisthebasiclogicalstructureofallthefilestheoperatingsystemcanaccess,whetherprograms,processes,pipesordata.Itshouldfollow
theUnixFilesystemHierarchyStandard,whichspecifieswhereinthehierarchytolocatealltypesoffiles.
Therootuserwhoownstherootfilesystemandsohasallpermissionsnecessarytodoanythingtoanyfile.Whileitissometimesnecessarytotemporarily
assumethepowersofthe/rootuser/toinstallorconfigureprograms,itisdangerousandviolatesthebasicsecuritystructureofUnix/Linuxtologinandoperate
as/root/unlessabsolutelynecessary.Inacommandlineinterface,aregularusercantemporarilybecomerootbyissuingthecommandsuthenenteringtheroot
password.
runlevel:ArunlevelisapresetoperatingstateonaUnixlikeoperatingsystem.Asystemcanbebootedintoanyofseveralrunlevels,eachofwhichisrepresentedbya
singledigitinteger.Eachrunleveldesignatesadifferentsystemconfigurationandallowsaccesstoadifferentcombinationofprocesses(i.e.,instancesofexecuting
programs).SeeSection7.5.
script:Anexecutabletextfile,containingcommandsinaninterpretedlanguage.UsuallyreferstoBASHscriptswhichareusedextensivelyunderthehoodoftheLinux
operatingsystem,butotherlanguagesmaybeusedaswell.
session:Aloginsessionistheperiodofactivitybetweenauserlogginginandloggingoutofasystem.InMXLinux,thistypicallyindicatesthelifetimeofaparticular
userprocess(theprogramcodeanditscurrentactivity)thatXfceinvokes.
sourcecode:Thehumanreadablecodeinwhichsoftwareiswrittenpriortobeingassembledorcompiledintomachinelanguagecode.
switch:Aswitch(also/flag/,/option/or/parameter/)isamodifierappendedtoacommandtochangeitsbehavior.AcommonexampleisR(recursive),whichtellsthe
computertocarryoutthecommandthroughallsubdirectories.
symlink:Alsosymboliclinkandsoftlink.Aspecialtypeoffilethatpointstoanotherfileordirectoryandnottodata.Itallowsthesamefiletohavedifferentnames
and/orlocations.
tarball:Anarchivingformat,likezip,popularontheLinuxplatform.Unlikezipfiles,though,tarballsmayuseoneofanumberofdifferentcompressionformats,such
asgziporbzip2.Theyusuallyendinfileextensionslike.tgz,.tar.gz,or.tar.bz2.ManyarchiveformatsaresupportedinMXwithagraphicalapplicationcalledArchive
Manager.UsuallyanarchivecanbeextractedsimplybyrightclickingonitinThunar.
Unix:AlsoUNIX.TheoperatingsystemwhichLinuxismodeledafter,developedinthelate1960satBellLabsandusedprimarilyforserversandmainframes.Like
Linux,Unixhasmanyvariations.
UUID(UniversallyUniqueIDentifier).Auniversallyuniqueidentifier(UUID)isa128bitnumberthatidentifiesuniqueInternetobjectsordata.
windowmanager:Acomponentofadesktopenvironmentthatprovidesthebasicmaximize/minimize/close/movefunctionsforwindowsintheGUIenvironment.
Sometimesitcanbeusedasanalternativetoafulldesktopenvironment.InMXLinux,thedefaultwindowmanagerisXfce4.
X:AlsoX11,xorg.TheXWindowSystemisanetworkinganddisplayprotocolwhichprovideswindowingonbitmapdisplays.Itprovidesthestandardtoolkitand
protocoltobuildgraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs)onUnixlikeoperatingsystemsandOpenVMS,andissupportedbyalmostallothermodernoperatingsystems.
DocumentgeneratedbyeLyXer1.2.5(20130310)on20150707T10:52:39.475123
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