Intermittent Wi-Fi on Asus M50VM

Intermittent Wi-Fi on Asus M50VM

This machine has a Qualcomm Atheros AR928X which is apparently long in the support tooth.

Open a terminal and simply run:

echo "options ath9k nohwcrypt=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/ath9kfix.conf > /dev/null

No idea what it does, but it works.  From:

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/289898

unetbootin

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gezakovacs/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unetbootin

ttf-mscorefonts-installer failure to download

I have been receiving notifications about "failure to download extra data files" from update notifier. It asked me to download fonts in request from the ttf-mscorefonts-installer package. However, whenever I click on the "run this action now", a window pop up (see figure below) and it never got downloaded


wget http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/contrib/m/msttcorefonts/ttf-mscorefonts-installer_3.6_all.deb -P ~/Downloads

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/ttf-mscorefonts-installer_3.6_all.deb

SD card Canon exFAT format will not mount

exFAT SD Canon EOS card won't mount

sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils

Redshift geoclue fix

Install from the Software Manager "Redshift-gtk".  This will automatically also install "Redshift" the command line package.

then add this to stop the failures:

sudo apt-get install geoclue-2.0

OSMC and VPN on Raspberry Pi December 2016 guide

Download OSMC Installer
Install OSMC to SD card

Search for how to install Exodus
https://koditvguide.com/exodus-kodi-how-to-insall-exodus-on-kodi/

How to Install Exodus Kodi Add-on Guide
Open Kodi and navigate to SYSTEM > File Manager > Add Source > None
Type the following EXACTLY http://fusion.tvaddons.ag and select Done
Highlight the box underneath and enter a name for this media Source like “Fusion”. and then click OK
Go back to your Home Screen and then to SYSTEM > Add-Ons > Install from Zip File > “Fusion”
Select xbmc-repos > english > repository.exodus-x-x-x.zip and wait for the Add-on enabled notification
Select Get Add-Ons or Install from Repository (on Isengard or higher) > Exodus Add-on repository > Video Add-ons > Exodus > Install
Wait for Add-on enabled notification

Make sure SSH is enabled on the Pi
Find IP address of the Pi in the onboard settings

Also select the remote rc6-mce-lircd if you're using the Mediagate remote.

Under Settings/Interface select "Expert" and then set Zoom to -4 for the Panasonic TV.

Download FileZilla
Copy Zomboided zip file to /tmp on the Pi
https://trevorappleton.blogspot.com/2014/03/remotely-copy-files-to-and-from-your.html

Download PuTTY
Enter IP (10.0.0.19 or 192.168.1.74 or something like that)
login as osmc
password is osmc
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y -qq openvpn

To add a VPN using Zomboided:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=299829
Be sure to use the automated version.  Manual caused me trouble.

Open FileZilla
Select File/Site Manager
Enter under "Host" the network address of your Pi.
Logon Type: Normal
User: osmc
Password: osmc
Accept that the host key is unsecure.
You'd have downloaded Zomboided already and it should be in your downloads folder.  Navigate there with the left pane window. Highlight and then right click "Upload" to transfer to the /tmp folder on the Pi.

Download the Zomboided Repository for Kodi
Navigate in Windows (That's what I used for this tutorial) to your Raspberry Pi's IP Address.
Copy the freshly downloaded Zomboided Repository ZIP file to the Raspberry Pi's Downloads folder.
On the Raspberry Pi, go to System, then Settings, then Add-Ons.
Choose Install from ZIP and navigate to the Downloads folder (Home/Downloads)
Once installed, go to the Install from Repository option in Add-Ons.
Under Zomboided Repository, then Services, choose VPN
Manager and Install
Go back to the main Kodi screen and go to Programs.
Choose VPN Manager and then Add-on Settings.
Select Wizard. Choose your VPN Service and then input your Username and Password.
Choose your Encryption Level, then the Profile or VPN you wish to use and you are done!

Open the Zomboided addon
Under the VPN Configuration tab fill out the username and password.
Under the VPN Connections tab manually select "First VPN connection"
It should ask you which server you want to select.

No thumbnails in Thunar (XFCE) when on remote files viewed with Samba?

No thumbnails in Thunar (XFCE) when on remote files viewed with Samba?

Edit:Preferences:Show thumbnails:Always

Low disk space on Boot partition

Low disk space on /boot is caused by old Linux kernels hogging space.

In Mint,

Open Update Manager
View/Linux Kernels
Acknowledge warning
Remove unused/old kernels one at a time


On Ubuntu,

sudo apt-get purge $( dpkg --list | grep -P -o "linux-image-\d\S+" | grep -v $(uname -r | grep -P -o ".+\d") )

HP printers and Debian or Ubuntu or Linux Mint

sudo apt-get install hplip hplip-gui

edimax ew-7811utc ubuntu

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential git

git clone https://github.com/gnab/rtl8812au.git

cd ~/rtl8812au

make

sudo make install

sudo modprobe 8812au

If you insisted upon downloading Dropbox for Debian from their website, which was a very bad idea in the first place...

Install from the Dropbox website, then:

dropbox stop && dbus-launch dropbox start

on Lubuntu go to

Start/Preferences/Default applications for LXSession

In the Autostart section, Manual autostarted applications, copy/paste:

dbus-launch dropbox start -i

then hit "+ Add"

and reboot

The following doesn't work in Xubuntu! Damned if I know why.  Maybe this command runs before dropbox starts in the first place, who knows?

on Xubuntu go to
Start/Session and Startup/Add
name and description your choice
dropbox stop && dbus-launch dropbox start

So now I tried to gedit the rc.local file to autorun on startup:
sudo apt-get install gedit
sudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc.local
add this line right above "exit 0" very near the bottom
sleep 30; dropbox stop && dbus-launch dropbox start
save
reboot

And now this didn't work either. Running out of patience.

Ok, trying this:

Open terminal.
dropbox stop
sudo gedit /usr/bin/dropbox
Create a new line after "import os" and add the following:
os.environ['DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS'] = ""
Save and restart

Success lives here!

Dell 1501 WiFi

Dell 1501

WiFi is Broadcom BCM4311 rev 01

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

ensure wifi light is on, if not use function/f2 to turn it on

Linux tips and tricks

Over the years, I've accumulated quite a few notes on tips and tricks to improve my user experience on Linux.  They're all for the Debian/Ubuntu/Mint based distributions.  I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I meant, nor edit them for clarity, mostly because I don't even remember the train of thought and experience which led me down most of these paths.

Nevertheless, some of this info might be useful to someone at some point.  If even one person finds assistance here, my mission will be complete.

Good luck!

Dropbox on Debian and therefore Ubuntu based distros

Below are my notes which fixed the continual headache which is Dropbox on Debian/Ubuntu based Linux distros.  I've just dragged and dropped with no editing for clarity.  Hopefully this might be useful to someone.

As a side note, installing Dropbox from the official software manager in Ubuntu and Mint seems to have finally been ironed out.  DO NOT INSTALL DROPBOX BY DOWNLOADING IT DIRECTLY FROM DROPBOX.COM!!  This advice holds true at the end of 2017, which is absolutely shameful by this point.  Hopefully they fix it in the future.  Rant over.  Enjoy!

A permanent fix:

Open terminal.

dropbox stop
sudo gedit /usr/bin/dropbox

Create a new line after "import os" and add the following:

os.environ['DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS'] = ""

Save and restart


The following is a temporary fix which won't recur if rebooted.

If the icon is missing from the lower right hand corner, open up a terminal and type "dropbox stop && dbus-launch dropbox start"

Also, from:  https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/204928873-Dropbox-tray-icon-not-responding-now-totally-gone-in-Linux-Mint-17-3-Cinnamon-64-bit

1. System settings >> General

2. Uncheck "Enable support for indicators"

2.a If you are uncomfortable performing the following steps just restart your system now and continue with step 7. Otherwise continue with step 3.

3. Press [ALT]+[F2] to open the command window

4. Run "cinnamon --replace" to restart cinnamon

It might be necessary to also kill Dropbox and start it again. In this case continue below:

5. Press [CTRL] +[T] to open a bash terminal

6. Run the following command to kill all Dropbox processes:

kill $(ps aux | grep '[d]ropbox' | awk '{print $2}')

7. Start Dropbox as usual. The tray icon should behave correctly now.

Don't install Dropbox from their website.  Use the package in the Software Manager.  (At least it is now under Mint 18.)

And don't even try to move the default folder to a different hard drive.  You will fail because the drives don't auto-mount on reboot, and you will just get completely pissed off at the ridiculousness of the whole goddamned thing.

After Windows 10 Fall Creators Update have to enter PIN twice, or scan fingerprint sensor twice to access Windows

From search window, type "netplwiz" and then run command.

Uncheck the box "Users must enter a name and password to use this computer."

Hit Apply, then OK.

Restart.

After rebooting, return to "netplwiz" and re-check the same box.

Hit Apply, then OK.

Restart.

Worked for me on my Lenovo T470s.