The great AT Linux/BSD/*NIX FAQ project!

[Electrode]

This thread is an attempt to answer the most frequently asked questions about UNIX-related operating systems, and provide useful tips as well. If you have a good tip, or an answer to a question that everyone seems to be asking, post it here!

Also, before you complain about the lack of detailed explanations of what everything in the FAQs does, that's not the purpose of this thread. If you want in-depth explanations of the inner workings of things, check out the Linux Documentation Project. But if you just want to know how to make something work, without the extensive (and usually outdated) background info and confusing non-direct instructions, this is the place to be.

Hopefully, this resource of info will encourage more people who are fed up with Microsoft's policies to switch to a better OS.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Thats a great idea! Thanks for volunteering!

 

[Electrode]

Alright then, I suppose I will begin things:

Q: How do I unpack a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file?
A. tar xzvf filename (it it's a .tar.gz)
tar xjvf filename (it it's a .tar.bz2)

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Electrode
Alright then, I suppose I will begin things:

Q: How do I unpack a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file?
A. tar xzvf filename (it it's a .tar.gz)
tar xjvf filename (it it's a .tar.bz2)

See, its not that tough

Ill post a few things if I get some time, inspiration, and motivation

 

[AndyHui]

Excellent. I await your contribution.

You can see from the latest FAQs the kind of length and depth we are aiming for.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Originally posted by: Electrode
Alright then, I suppose I will begin things:

Q: How do I unpack a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file?
A. tar xzvf filename (it it's a .tar.gz)
tar xjvf filename (it it's a .tar.bz2)

I'll help
$gunzip -c filename | tar xvf -
$rpm -i filename
$./configure && make && make install

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

this is a good idea, it would help bring a less windows-centric frame of mind to these forums (hopefully). i'd be glad to contribute. after all, most of the stuff newbies will want to know will be the stuff i already know fairly well

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

either we'd have to generalize them and make larger faq's (i.e. a faq titled "how do i install programs" which has instructions for tarballs, rpm's, bsd ports, gentoo ports, etc), or we would have to have a different style faq then the current one. i mean, if one Q. is "how do i install a tar.gz file?", then the A. is not gonna be 6 paragraphs long. plenty of rtfm links too

so my question is, are we gonna have it like current AT faqs, or would we have a more traditional style faq, where each question gets an answer, but not an in-depth explanation of everything related to it.

there's no way we'd be able to cover all of the popular questions in depth like that.

 

[AndyHui]

I have no problems with a unified FAQ that answers several related questions.

Eug's DVD FAQ and Sohcan's 64-bit CPU FAQ are similar in style, answering multiple questions.

I really need a "Does Linux support NTFS FAQ" though.

 

[Electrode]

<< I really need a "Does Linux support NTFS FAQ" though. >>

Very well. I will begin writing it, and edit when it is done.

BTW, about format, I was thinking of a "general *NIX questions" FAQ that would hold all of the simple stuff that doesn't need a long explanation, and in-depth FAQs for those things that do, such as compiling kernels, NTFS support, samba, and CD burning. I wil try to write all of those, BTW, but everyone is welcomed (and encouraged) to help.

 

[Chaotic42]

How about Linux kernel compilation?

1. Download latest version from your favorite FTP site
2. Decompress it
3. Run make menuconfig
4. Choose all options
5. Run make dep
6. make clean
7. make bzImage (anyone still use zImage?)
8. make modules
9. make modules_install
10. Update your bootloader with the new kernel info

 

[AndyHui]

Chaotic42: nice start, but I need more detail. What does each step do, why are you doing it, that sort of thing.

 

[Electrode]

Question: Does Linux support NTFS?
Short Answer: Kinda.

Medium Answer:
All modern Linux kernels (all 2.4.x and many 2.2.x) DO support NTFS in read-only mode.

Long Answer:
Although you can read NTFS partitions created with any version of Windows NT, you can not WRITE to an NTFS partition created with Windows 2000, XP, or anything yet to come. NTFS partitions created with Windows NT 4.0 and earlier CAN be written to, but this tends to make a mess of the filesystem, so make sure to do a chkdsk when you boot into NT after writing from Linux.

Below are in-depth instructions on how to gain access to your NTFS partition form Linux.

To access your NTFS partition:
1. Open a shell if you haven't already.
2. Become root. Do this by running su and entering your root password when prompted.
3. Create a mount point for the NTFS partition. mkdir /mnt/ntfs
4. Mount your NTFS partition. mount -t ntfs -o umask=000 /dev/device /mnt/ntfs
Replace device with the name of your NTFS partition. See below for advice on how to find this if you don't know.
5. The contents of the NTFS partition is now part of your tree. When you want to access a file on it, just think of /mnt/ntfs as C:\ and you're all set.
6. When you are done, repeat steps 1 and 2 (if you exited the shell) and run umount /mnt/ntfs

If you want all that to be done automatically when you boot Linux (doesn't take effect until you reboot of course):

1. Open a shell and become root as described before.
2. Open your fstab file. kedit /etc/fstab
Note that this assumes you have KEdit (part of the kdeapps package) installed. If you don't, replace kedit with vim, xemacs, gnotepad, or whatever text editor you like.
3. Add this line somewhere in the file:
/dev/device /mnt/ntfs ntfs umask=000 0 0
4. Save and exit.

Note that you have to make sure the directory /mnt/ntfs exists before you reboot, or else it just won't work.


To figure out what device your NTFS partition is:

1. What kind of hard drive is it on?
If it's on an internal IDE drive, it will be HDxy
If it's on a SCSI drive, or a pen drive, or an IDE drive hooked up to USB or FireWire, or any number of bizzare methods, it will be SDxy

2. Which device letter (x) is it?
IDE drives will be A for primary master, B, for primary slave, C for secondary master, and so on.
SCSI and other drives will be A for the first detected, B for second, and so on.

If that doesn't help, run dmesg | less and look through it for clues.

3. Which partition number (y) is it?
The first partition on the disk will be 1, and the second will be 2, and so on.


So if it's the second partition on your primary master IDE drive, the device is HDA2



If you get an error about NTFS not being supported by your kernel, the first thing you should try is to install the NTFS kernel module:

1. Open a shell and become root.
2. Install the module. modprobe ntfs

If no errors, try mounting again. If you do get an error, you might have to build yourself a new kernel.


This is, of course, just a draft. If anyone can suggest improvements, please do so.

 

[AndyHui]

I think you better say something explicitly about not being able to write to NTFS (especially NTFS 5 partitions).

Trust me....a lot of people need to be hit over the head with things and don't get it when it is implied.

 

[Electrode]

changes made.

I am now working on a FAQ that covers installing software via RPM, BSD and Slackware-style packages, and autoconf-based packages (configure/make/make install). I don't know anything about Gentoo or Debian package managers, so I'll need some contributions.

 

[AndyHui]

It's a great start, Electrode.

I'll put it up as part of the next round of updates (should be some time during the week once I finish writing my articles).

 

[Electrode]

Question: How do I install software from .rpm packages?
Short answer: rpm -i package

Explanation:
RPM (Redhat Package Manager) is a way to distribute software for *NIX systems. You're most likely to work with these when you're running SuSE, Mandrake, or Redhat.

First, you need to download the packages. If a "dev package" (same name as the main package, but with dev added) is available, you should get it in addition to the main package unless you want library hell later down the road. Make sure you get the RPM that matches your distro the closest.

Once you have downloaded the package, it's time to open a shell and install it.

1. Open a shell.
2. Become root. Run su and enter your root password when asked.
3. Install the package. rpm -ivh package file name
4. If there are no errors, you can assume the package is installed and the program is ready to go.

That's all there is to it. I haven't dealt with RPM dependancy hell in awhile, so I can't offer any help. Someone please contribute some info!

Question: How do I install .tgz binary packages in Slackware and BSD?
Short Answer: pkg_add packagename

Explanation:
Most BSD's and Slackware Linux use compressed tar files (.tgz) with extra header info for package management. These are perfectly valid gzipped tar's and can be unpacked with tar xzvf, but they are intended to be installed with the package manager.

First, you need to download the package. Find the one that most closely matches your distro, then download it. Once it's downloaded, you must install it.

1. Open a shell.
2. Become root. Run su and enter your root password when asked.
3. Install the package. pkg_add filename
4. Confirm installation by running the program.

You're all set.

Question: How do I install software from source code packages?
Short Answer: Untar, then ./configure && make && make install

Explanation:
By far, the most common way free software for *NIX is distributed is as raw source code. Therefore, you really should know how to compile code if you are serious about using *NIX.

The package will most likely be a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file. You will need to unpack these before you can install the program.

1. Open a shell.
2. Untar the file. tar xzvf filename (if it ends in .bz2, replace the "z" with a "j")

Now that you have the file unpacked, it's time to compile it. Read the file called INSTALL if it's there for instructions, and follow them to the letter. Most packages can be installed using this method:

1. Configure the package. ./configure --prefix=/usr
2. Compile it. make
3. Become root. su and enter your root pass when asked.
4. Install it. make install

You're done.

 

[BlackOmen]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
How about Linux kernel compilation?

1. Download latest version from your favorite FTP site
2. Decompress it
3. Run make menuconfig
4. Choose all options
5. Run make dep
6. make clean
7. make bzImage (anyone still use zImage?)
8. make modules
9. make modules_install
10. Update your bootloader with the new kernel info

1. Download the kernel source from your favorite FTP site. There will be files of the type linux-2.x.yy. Avoid files where x is odd. These are development kernels and will most likely do bad stuff. Getting the latest where x is a even number is a good idea. Appended to the end will be a .bz2 or .gz. .bz2 files employ better comperssion (smaller size), so download these to save a bandwidth. download the file to somewhere in your home directory.

2. Install the source. Open a terminal emulator and copy the gz or bz2 file to /usr/src. If the compressed archive is in your current directory, you would type cp ./linux-2.4.18.tar.bz2 /usr/src. Enter /usr/src/ with cd /usr/src. Usually, there is a symbolic link pointing to the current kernel source. For instance, if you are running kernel 2.2.20, there will be a file, linux, which points to linux-2.2.20. Remove this link with rm linux. Uncompress the kernel source with tar zxf linux-2.4.18.tar.gz where linux-2.4.18 is the version you downloaded, and you downloaded a .gz file. Use tar yxf linux-2.4.18.tar.bz2 is you downloaded a .bz2 file. Now you will have a new directory, either linux, or linux-2.4.18. If it is linux, rename it to linux-2.4.18 with mv linux linux-2.4.18. We need to recreate the symbolic link we removed earlier. Enter ln -s linux-2.4.18 linux to create the symbolic link. We can now just type cd /usr/src/linux instead of cd /usr/src/linux-2.4.18 to enter the new kernel source. Enter the directory now cd linux. We now need to "clean" the source. Enter make mrproper. The kernel source is now correctly installed.

Sidebar: mrproper is Finnish for Mr. Clean, and Linus (the man for which Linux takes its name) is Finnish. This returns the source to its original state.


Ok, guys, let me know if you like this. I'm planning on going into make menuconfig with an indepth description of how to configure the kernel.

Edit: I'd appreciate any cleanups/additions you have.

 

[Electrode]

How to build a Linux kernel:

One of the more complex tasks that many Linux users will have to face is compiling a custom kernel. This is often done to add features that were not enabled in the kernel that came with the distro, or to disable unneeded or unwanted features that were. It's also the only way to take advantage of experimental code, unofficial patches, and other things that you might want.

This procedure will tell you how to compile a kernel with the Preemptibility patch added. This patch will decrease latency quite a bit, which is good if you plan to do multimedia stuff like playing 3D games, rendering, video editing, and the like. The latest stable kernel at the time this was written, and thus the one that will be used in the example, is 2.4.18.

How it's done:

1. Download the kernel source.
2. Download the preempt-kernel and lock-break patches.
3. Open a shell.
4. Become root. su and enter root password when asked.
5. Move all of the files you downloaded in steps 1 and 2 to /usr/src. mv linux-2.4.18.tar.bz2 *.patch /usr/src
6. Enter the /usr/src directory. cd /usr/src
7. Check if there is a linux directory placed here by your distro. ls linux
If there is, you might need to re-arrange your include directories. See the bottom of the FAQ for info on how this is done, then come back here.
8. Unpack the new source. tar xjvf linux-2.4.18.tar.bz2
If you get an error about j not being a supported option, replace it with y.
9. Apply the patches. patch -p0 < preempt-kernel-rml-2.4.18-4.patch && patch -p0 < lock-break-rml-2.4.18-1.patch
10. Enter the Linux source directory. cd linux
11. Configure the kernel. This is the long and difficult part of the process. If you want to use the graphical config program, run make xconfig. If you want to use the non-graphical config program, run make menuconfig. I don't think that either one is better than the other, it's a matter of personal taste. If you like your arrow keys, use menuconfig. If you like your mouse, use xconfig.

Either way, you'll be presented with a menu, with a list of submenus, many of which have submenus of their own. Just go through each one, enabling support for hardware you have and features you want. Most options have detailed descriptions available, just use the help button.

Also note that many features can be built as modules. If you want to be able to disable and enable a feature at will while the OS is running, hit M.

12. Once you have completed your configuration, it's time to actually compile the kernel. time make dep modules modules_install bzImage
13. Now, copy the bzImage file (the kernel itself) somewhere meaningful. cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/mykernel
14. You must now set up your bootloader. Every bootloader does this differently, but since LILO is probably the most common, I will give instructions for it:
1. Open /etc/lilo.conf in a text editor. kedit /etc/lilo.conf
2. Locate the chunk beginning with image = whose label matches the boot menu entry you normally select to boot Linux. Copy it and paste it at te end of the file
3. Change the image = line to image = /boot/mykernel and change the label to something else. It can be almost anything, but it can not contain spaces.
4. Save and exit.
5. Update to boot sector. lilo
15. Your new kernel is now built and installed. Reboot and select the entry you just created to boot your new kernel.
16. If all goes well, you're done. If not, go back over your kernel config and make absolutely certain that everything is correct. Then repeat steps 12 and 13, then run lilo again.

Congrats, you're now running your own custom kernel!


If your distro included a /usr/src/linux directory
Many distros seem to symlink the /usr/include/linux and /usr/include/asm directories to locations in /usr/src/linux. This makes the kernel compilation process a bit more difficult, since you can't build it in the /usr/src/linux directory. To fix this:

1. Check to see if the include directories are indeed symlinks. ls -l /usr/include/asm
If the result line ends like asm -> /usr/src/linux/include/asm you've got symlinks, so read on to fix this. If it just says asm or /usr/include/asm, it's properly set up and you don't need to change anything, so go to step 7.
2. Remove the symlinks. rm /usr/include/asm /usr/include/linux
3. Make proper directories in their place. mkdir /usr/include/asm /usr/include/linux
4. Copy the asm headers. cp -R /usr/src/linux/include/asm/* /usr/include/asm
5. Copy the linux headers. cp -R /usr/src/linux/include/linux/* /usr/include/linux
6. Make a autoconf.h file. touch /usr/include/linux/autoconf.h
7. Delete the old linux source, it is no longer needed. rm -rf linux
8. Go back to the kernel build instructions above.

updated with new info by popular demand

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

some additions for debian. (i'm not a writer so you'll wanna fix these up )

to install a package you run apt-get install package, package being the name of the debian package. the package name is not a file name persay, it is just a general label. to find out the name of a package you are looking for, you can search by using apt-cache search searchstring, searchstring being the software you are looking for. if an application's configuration files are controlled by debconf, you can reconfigure the package by running dpkg-reconfigure package[/a].

apt/apt-get/dpkg man pages will also give you a good idea of what else you can do with the debian package management system.

like i said i am not a writer, plus i'm in a hurry hopefully i can do some more later.

 

[nihil]

i suppose it would also be a good idea to cover rpm's. also, provide links to sites where you can find how-to's and other useful documentation. maybe it would also be helpful to give a basic rundown on programs for linux that are like the windows favorites (ie: aim clients, irc clients, xmms, etc..)

 

[n0cmonkey]

Question: How do I install software from source code packages?
Short Answer: Untar, then ./configure && make && make install

Explanation:
By far, the most common way free software for *NIX is distributed is as raw source code. Therefore, you really should know how to compile code if you are serious about using *NIX.

The package will most likely be a .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 file. You will need to unpack these before you can install the program.

1. Open a shell.
2. Untar the file. tar xzvf filename (if it ends in .bz2, replace the "z" with a "j")

Now that you have the file unpacked, it's time to compile it. Read the file called INSTALL if it's there for instructions. Follow them to the letter. Most packages can be installed using this method:

1. Configure the package. ./configure --prefix=/usr
2. Compile it. make
3. Become root. su and enter your root pass when asked.
4. Install it. make install

You're done.

I bolded a part of this that should be stressed.

Not all tarballs should be installed the way listed (djb's programs come to mind) and the INSTALL and README files should be read by the user to make sure they are doing things correctly

 

[n0cmonkey]

OpenBSD ports:

You can install ports with the instructions on the following pages: BSD FAQ8 Ports and AnonCVS examples (look for getting ports)

Ports should be installed in /usr/ports, but they can be installed anywhere (I am not sure of all the

implications of installing ports in a different location though).


What are OpenBSD ports?

The ports are software packages in source form that can be downloaded and installed from the command

line. The ports infrastructure takes care of download, compilation, installation, and all dependancies.

AT users like Nothinman say that ports are for users with too much time on their hands, and he may be

right. Packages provide pre-compiled binaries for installation, while ports compiles everything from

source. Ports take longer to install, but the customization can make up for that.


Ok, I have it installed anbd I see a port I want to add, but how do I do it?

I will use tcpstat 1.4 as an example.

cd /usr/ports/net/tcpstat
cd to the directory where the port information is stored.

sudo make
You can also su to root, but I prefer sudo. This command will download the source, check dependancies (and download/install any necessary dependancies), apply any changes necessary for OpenBSD, and compile the source.

sudo make install
This command creates a package and installs that package. Ports and packages are installed in

/usr/local/. tcpstat would be installed in /usr/local/bin.

There are more advanced options to ports, and I will mention some later on.

Ok, I want an AIM client, but I dont know what is available.

OpenBSD ports makes searching quite easy.

cd /usr/ports
cd to the ports directory.

make search key=aim
This will create a search looking for the keyword "aim." This search retuns the following (on OpenBSD 3.0-stable):

Port: everybuddy-0.2.1beta6
Path: net/everybuddy
Info: chat program that combines AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo! Chat
Maint: Josh Rivel <dorqus@bsdfreek.com>
Index: net
B-deps: audio/esound devel/gmake x11/gtk+
R-deps: audio/esound x11/gtk+
Archs: any

Port: gaim-0.45
Path: net/gaim
Info: Gtk-based AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client
Maint: Joshua Stein <jcs@rt.fm>
Index: net
B-deps: graphics/gdk-pixbuf
R-deps: graphics/gdk-pixbuf textproc/ispell
Archs: any

Port: gaim-0.45-esd
Path: net/gaim,esd
Info: Gtk-based AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) client
Maint: Joshua Stein <jcs@rt.fm>
Index: net
B-deps: audio/esound graphics/gdk-pixbuf
R-deps: audio/esound graphics/gdk-pixbuf textproc/ispell
Archs: any

There may be other AIM clients, but their descriptions do not include the word "aim." After you have

found the program you want, you can install either the port or the package.


I am trying to install a port with a dependancy for X windows, but I dont want to install X.

I will use ethereal as an example for this one.

cd /usr/ports/net/ethereal
cd to the ethereal port.

su
Switch to the root user.

FLAVOR=no_x11 make
This is what you enter if you are using sh/ksh (probably similar for BASHers).

setenv FLAVOR no_x11
Set this if you are using CSH. There may be an easier way to do this with csh, but I do not know one (Im a ksher ).

make

Finish the install from csh.


The first message I get when installing the no_x11 flavor of the ethereal port is ===>ethereal-0.8.19-no_x11 depends on: zsh-* - not found

The ports system then begins downloading the zsh source files for a ports installation.

How can I download a port without installing it?

If you want the source:

cd /usr/port/audio/mpg321
Change to the directory of the port.

sudo make fetch
Again, I prefer sudo over using root. A make fetch will download the files, but not do anything further.

If you would like a binary of the file, download a package from an OpenBSD site (3.0 packages linked)


How can I find out what ports I have installed?

pkg_info

This will list all ports installed on a system. You can pipe (|) the output to grep if you are

searching for something specific.

pkg_info | grep irssi
Just an example.


How do I remove a port?

An installed port is basically a package.

pkg_delete irssi-0.7.38
This command would delete irssi version 0.7.38 if it was installed on the system.

This could cause problems with dependancies! If the package you are deleting is a dependancy for

another port you will get an error! If this is the case, you should not delete the package, but should

remove all dependants first, and then delete the package.

If you do not want to, do this:

pkg_delete -f qtlibs-2.1
This will Force the deletion. This is a bad idea and can cause problems so it is not recommended. It

is best to play it safe and take a little longer doing everything.


note, this may also apply to FreeBSD and NetBSD, but I have less (or no) experience with these OSes.

 

[n0cmonkey]

bump

 

[Sunner]

An update to the first question about unpacking tar.gz's.

tar -z doesn't work on all UNIX's, the tar that ships with Solaris doesn't support it for instance.

Anyways, how about making this post a sticky, and you could update the original post(the one on top) to make it easier to read.

Or maybe make a HTML document somewhere if thats easier?