Posts Tagged → linux
More 1001ha WiFi woes
I’ve just upgraded Ubuntu on my netbook to version 10.10. I’ve been having further problems which I believe are related to the wireless adapter. This link helped a great deal:
http://projectgus.com/2010/10/ubuntu-on-asus-eeepc-900ax/
But again, why is all this necessary on such a popular netbook, running such a popular operating system?
Asus Eee PC 1001ha Wireless Fix
I’m typing this using an Asus Eee PC 1001ha running Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.04. It took a wee bit of struggling to get the wireless working but thanks to an article on the Ubuntu Wiki, I was able to get it working.
However, there is a further issue that occurs every time there’s a kernal upgrade. Having had a working wireless network connection, the Network Manager ceases to work when the new kernel is installed.
One solution is, of course, to stick with the previous, working kernel. However, I have discovered the following (relatively) easy fix, that needs to be followed when a new kernel is released.
‘lspci’ from the command line informs that that the 1001ha has an onboard RaLink RT3090 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe card. After much Google-ing, I found that the following command will rebuild the offending kernel module:
dpkg-reconfigure rt3090-dkms
This will take a wee while. Then, to activate the change, you need to:
modprobe rt3090sta
You don’t need to reboot the machine – you should see the Network Manager come to life in the top-right of the screen.
Et voila!
I must admit that I find it strange that this is necessary at all, on one of the most popular netbooks, using a netbook-specific netbook distribution of Linux. But anyway, there you have it, problem solved!
Apple Mac appreciation
In contrast to my other post, I have had some positive experience using Apple computers recently…
I decided to set up a small, low-power server in one of our offices at AdvoCard. It’s not our main server (that’s a PowerMac G5 on the other site), it simply has to serve files to an office comprising eight PCs and one printer.
I hit upon the idea of using an old Apple Mac Mini G4. As I say, they are small, quiet, have low power consumption, and can be picked up cheaply on Ebay. Debian GNU/Linux is an available distribution which is still supports the PowerPC processor (unlike Apple itself, which stopped supporting PowerPC on its last but one release of OS X (10.5 – Leopard) – see rant.
There’s even a site dedicated to this kind of set-up:
http://sowerbutts.com/linux-mac-mini/
I set up the server 50 days ago and according to the logs on the system, it’s been running smoothly ever since. Here’s to the next 500 days!
Debian Linux for Servers
I’ve built quite a few Debian-based office servers in the last few years. Recently, I used this tutorial which was very helpful (given that I don’t do this every day, I can’t always remember every step – so tutorials are good for me).
There are lots of good reasons for using Debian. My main ones are:
- It’s a (relatively) straightforward OS to install on many machines
- The aptitude package manager allows for easy updates/upgrades
- The range of packages available is amazing
- The security is good, by default
- Debian is a great for stability – servers can run for years without rebooting
My most recent server build has been installing Debian on an old Apple Mac Mini. It’s based around the PowerPC processor, which Apple no longer supports. I’ll be blogging again soon about my this experience.
Boot multiple linux distros from USB stick
One of my most used tools is a live Linux distribution booted from a USB drive. I’ve been a fan of pendrivelinux.com for a while which gives tutorials for getting various distributions up and running on a USB drive.
Amongst other things, running a live pen drive installation allows me to run various diagnostic and recovery tools on a PC (which may be unable to boot into Windows). Also, using a USB stick means that you can update the distribution without wasting a CD-R (although many old machines can’t boot directly from a USB device).
This latest article caught my eye, as it’s a way to install multiple distributions on the one (large) USB stick. Admittedly, I haven’t had a chance to road test it yet but it looks very promising.
Boot Multiple ISO from USB (MultiBoot USB) | USB Pen Drive Linux