Super key

Some slang is so natural to the common folk that everybody forgets to explain:
so the Super key is what in that M$ world is called the windows key.

So for example GnomeDo is activated by Super + Space..
(GnomeDo: http://do.davebsd.com/ Video tutorial )

Solution Ubuntu 8.04.1 freezes or locks up

Three problems are often noted:
System freezes often running Firefox 3 with Flash?
I tried this, gave some results but didn't fix the problem totally.
Deinstall completely all Flash components not only Flash, but also libswfdec and the swfdec-mozilla plugin with Synaptic packet manager.

Go to http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer10.html
and download Flashplayer 10beta or search a newer one when available...
Install it by doubleclicking the install file.
++++++++++++++++++
This problem also may lead to unwanted closing of Firefox:

Aim:

If Firefox 3 closes down each time you visit certain sites, it may be because you have two flash movie players installed in Ubuntu. Uninstall one flash player to stop Firefox 3 from closing down.

How to stop Firefox 3 from closing down on some sites:

Go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager and search for "flash". Check if both Gnash and Adobe Flash Player plugin ("flashplugin-nonfree") are installed. If this is the case, mark one for complete removal and click on Apply.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Edit: This doesn solve the problem totally as after 10 minutes of Youtube the system froze again, but otherwise the problem is less severe...

Edit2: When I try to write a comment in Firefox 3 the system freezed too today.
Strange that even the SysRq+ alt +b didn't work to reboot..

Second cause: wireless connection interfering

Edit3 and temorary solution: I read that it might have something to do with my wireless and non wireless connection interfering with each other.
Use the command to find out what is working on your pc:

ifconfig

In my file /etc/network/interfaces I could only find:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

So I added the lines:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

wlan0 wasn't mentioned in my file.

How to edit your interfaces file:

sudo kwrite /etc/network/interfaces

( KDE )

sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

(Gnome)

sudo gedit /etc/network/interfaces

(XFCE)

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

(all ,save with Ctrl+ O and Ctrl + x quit).

Cause 3: A restricted ATI Video Driver

Edit4: Another reason that was given for lockups are the restricted ATI Video Driver.
I used the following tutorial to updat this one following method 2.
It looks far more complicated than it is to follow these instructions:
http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Hardy_Installation_Guide

source: http://forum.ubuntu-nl.org/topic/24231

Essentail skills: installing software

source: http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing

Quote:

How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu!

A graphical guide for all new users with a Windows background using Ubuntu ^{Revision 4}

---

Having problems installing something on your new Ubuntu operating system? "Where's the EXE?", "Where do I need to extract this to?", "How do I run it?", "Where did it go?" - have you been thinking questions like these? Don't worry, installing software, themes and other things on Ubuntu is actually very easy! This guide will help you understand with screenshots, instructional videos and to-the-point language.

• The package manager
• Installing software with Synaptic
  • The 3 steps: Search, mark and apply
  • But what if my program isn't available through Synaptic?
  • I installed it, but where did my program go?
  • How do I uninstall the program?
• Installing software with the terminal
• Installing a package manually (.deb, .rpm, .tar.gz, .package, klik:// → .cmg, .sh, .bin, .exe, ...)
• Appendix
  • Enabling extra repositories
  • Using CDs as offline repositories
  • Navigating the terminal
  • Adding a launcher/shortcut to your desktop
  • Changing permissions
  • Why I created this guide
  ======================================

How to Install Anything in Ubuntu Condensed

source: http://martin.ankerl.com/2007/04/19/how-to-install-anything-in-ubuntu-condensed/

This is a very condensed excerpt of the excellent article How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu.

Search, install, remove available packages (preferred method)

sudo aptitude search ABC
sudo aptitude install ABC
sudo aptitude remove ABC

.deb (you have to take care of dependencies on your own)

sudo dpkg -i ABC.deb

.rpm (requires sudo aptitude install alien)

sudo alien -i *.rpm

.tar.gz (requires sudo aptitude install checkinstall)

tar xzvf ABC.tar.gz
cd ABC
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall

.package, .sh, .bin (Just download and execute)

chmod +x ABC
./ABC

.exe (requires sudo aptitude install wine)

wine ABC.exe

Essenstial skills:navigating the terminal

Navigating the terminal

The standard terminal on Ubuntu is Gnome Terminal which can be found in Applications → Accessories → Terminal. A terminal is in a way very similar to a file manager in that it's always inside a specific folder and is able to navigate to other folders and do regular file management. By default it will be inside your home folder when you run it. To confirm that your terminal is indeed browsing your home folder, type pwd ending with a press on enter. The pwd command will output the path to the current folder.

To see a list of files and directories inside the current directory, run the command ls. If you want to navigate up the directory tree run cd ... If you want to navigate down the directory tree run cd NAME where NAME is the name of the folder you want to navigate to. Example: if Tom is inside his home folder and there's a directory called test inside it, he will run cd test to change directory. If he wants to go back he can run cd ... If he ever gets lost he can run cd by itself; this will take him back to his home folder.

--------------------------------------

Cursor Movement

You can navigate with the cursor using the same keystrokes as you would use in Emacs. A few examples:

C means the "Ctrl" key. M means the "Alt" key (meta key). Often the Ctrl key will act on one character (or smaller unit) and the Meta key (Alt) will act on one word (or larger unit).

• C-f — Forward one character.
• C-b — Backwards one character.
• M-f — Forward one word.
• M-b — Backwards one word.
• C-a — Move to the beginning of the line.
• C-e — Move to the end of the line.
• C-d — Delete one character.
• M-d — Delete one word.

You can also highlight text and use Ctrl-Shift-c to copy, and Ctrl-Shift v to paste (at least in GNOME Terminal in Ubuntu).

Scrolling the Terminal

To scroll the terminal text, use Shift-PageUp and Shift-PageDown. In GNOME terminal you can also use the mouse wheel to scroll.

Terminal History

Your computer stores a history of commands that you type. You can use the up arrow key or down arrow key to navigate through your history.

You can view your history by typing history in the terminal.

You can search for a previously typed command by using the key combination C-r (which means "reverse search" in Emacs).

You can also use grep to find previously typed commands like this: history | grep "search words here"

Excellent tutorial here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=73885

Graphical Bootloader

If you don't want to change you Master Boot Record and have a floppy drive, you can use the the GAG bootloader.
Also very handy if you want very extended boot possibilities:
http://gag.sourceforge.net/

How to reboot or shut when Linux system freezes?

After I press ctrl alt F2 and it drops me into the manual login.
Alternately you can use Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to restart X and return to the login screen.
Carrying on with Ctrl+Alt+F2 method, just login to the VT session and type in

Code:

sudo killall appname

Then return to your X session (Ctrl+Alt+F7), then continue with your duties.



Another alternative is to restart X (the graphical interface). When X freezes, simply push ctrl-alt-backspace. This will restart X without restarting the computer, then you can login again. Be aware though that you lose any unsaved data in any open applications.

If ctrl-alt-backspace won't do anything you can use a terminal (getting to it as you described) and then after login issuing

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart

If that doesn't do the trick either (which is rare) you can raise a skinny elephant. It's a silly name for a simple meme.

Hold down alt + SysRQ (often also labeled Print Screen) and press the following keys in order:

R - raising (switches keyboard from raw mode)
S - skinny (sync all mounted filesystems)
E - elephants (shuts down all processes except init)
I - is (terminates all processes except init)
U - utterly (remounts all filesystems in read-only mode)
B - boring (immediately reboots the system)

This is for when nothing else works.

Other description:

Should your system completely lock up, and you need to do a hard reboot - do this instead. It works by sending signals directly to the linux kernel, to unmount all partitions, kill processes, etc, relatively safely:

Holding ALT, tap [sys rq], r, e, i, s, u, b.

Wait a couple seconds between each of the letters to ensure it finishes the operations before starting the next. ‘b’ causes a reboot, so no need to touch the power button. On laptops like mine, you may need to hold the [fn] button while hitting [sys rq] - don’t hold it for any other buttons.

//////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Shutting down from the terminal:

Code:

sudo init 0

source: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=851434

Wht is the SysRq key?
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_SysRq_key

Keyboard shortcut (compare to Ctrl+Alt+Del in Windows):
Shut of the system: Alt + SysRq + o
Reboot the system: Alt + SysRq + b
SysRq is on my keyboard the same key as Prt Scr (Print Screen).

Supergrub makes Grub a supertool

Supergrub ( http://www.supergrubdisk.org/index.php ) is the ideal tool for managing boot up problems or managing your anxieties about them.
After my first Linux install some 5 years ago (using Lilo as boot manager) my pc wouldn't boot again at all, nor the linux install nor the windows xp; I used FixMBR.exe but should have used supergrub, because then I would have been able to access my linux install.

Anyway Supergrub is a great tool and I got a webpage it deserves here:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/SuperGrubDiskPage.html
Citation:
Situations where Super Grub Disk is useful:
Even if your computer has no bootloader problems right now, it is still a good idea to keep a Super Grub Disk somewhere around your computer for an emergency. All good system administrators should have one.

Super Grub Disk can boot up a computer when the 'IPL' (Initial Program Loader) code in the MBR does not point to the partition with the operating system that the user wants to boot up.
For example, when someone is dual booting Windows with a Gnu/Linux operating system and they have to re-install Windows. Now the computer will only boot Windows. Super GRUB Disk features the fastest and easiest way to re-install GRUB to MBR.
Super Grub Disk can also write other bootloader codes to MBR for you, from the operating system of your choice. For example, you can even restore the Windows bootloader code to MBR if you want to uninstall your Gnu/Linux operating system. Super Grub Disk can easily perform quite a large range of other very useful functions that make troubleshooting and diagnosis of bootloader problems a lot faster and easier. For example, SGD has the ability to scan a computer for various files involved in the booting process. This scanning can save the user a lot of time and tedious repetition.

Super Grub Disk helps Windows users who want to use GRUB as their boot manager. GRUB is actually a much better for managing multiple boot Windows arrangements than Windows' own bootloader. A few Windows users who are clever enough like to add a Linux distro that contains GRUB just for this purpose. So, Super Grub Disk also has functions even to help those who are installing more than one Windows or who have Windows installed in a non-first partition or hard disk.