Friday, October 31, 2008

Ubuntu post-installation notes

Well, I have to reinstall Ubuntu Linux (not the latest version, though) .


1/ Partitionize two partitions: 60 GB (ext3) for root, and 400MB for swap
2/ Install Ubuntu from live CD (using the mentioned partitions as "/" and "swap" mount point)
3/ Get a quick reference in hard-copy or from either wiki or ubuntuforums.org .
4/ Open a terminal/konsole (by Alt+F2 and typing: gnome-terminal )
5/ Add extra repositories of APT by editing sources.list:
$ sudo cp -p /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.listBACKUP
$ sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list


+ Add "universe" and "multiverse" repositories to the end of ALL repositories lines
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME main restricted

==>
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME main restricted universe multiverse

(with the CODENAME is "hardy" for 8.04 or lower, "feisty" for 7.04 or lower, etc...)

+ Then we add SECURITY, BACK-PORTS, PLF and CANNONICAL repositories:
## UBUNTU SECURITY UPDATES
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME-security main restricted universe multiverse

## BACKPORTS REPOSITORY (May contain illegal packages. Use at own risk.)
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu CODENAME-backports main restricted universe multiverse

## PLF REPOSITORY (May contain illegal packages. Use at own risk.)
deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ CODENAME free non-free

## CANONICAL COMMERCIAL REPOSITORY (Hosted on Canonical servers)
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu CODENAME-commercial main

+ Save the file (sources.list)

6/ Update the APT repositories list with approriate GPG key :
$ wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
$ sudo apt-get update


7/ Install gcc, g++, make, and libc , by using APT with "build-essential" :
$ sudo apt-get install build-essential


8/ Install more build tools, such as cvs, xorg, xlibs, ... :
$ sudo apt-get install cvs xorg-dev xlibs-dev libxft-dev libx11-dev


9/ Install MS TrueType core fonts (Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Courier New, Times New Roman) :
$ sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts


10/ Install xvnkb (Vietnamese typing) from .deb package :
$ wget http://people.vnoss.org/~wangji/xvnkb-0.2.9a-utf_i386.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i xvnkb-0.2.9a-utf_i386.deb

+ 2nd method: from source (prerequisite: steps 7 and 8 above)
$ cvs -d ':pserver:anonymous@xvnkb.cvs.sf.net:/cvsroot/xvnkb' login
$ cvs -z3 -d ':pserver:anonymous@cvs.sf.net:/cvsroot/xvnkb' checkout xvnkb
$ cd xvnkb
$ ./autogen.sh
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install


11/ Install Adobe Flash Player using APT :
$ sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
$ sudo update-flashplugin

+ 2nd method: get from Adobe site and install manually
$ wget http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
$ tar -cxvf install_flash_player_9_linux.tar.gz
$ sudo cp -f install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/
$ sudo cp -f install_flash_player_9_linux/libflashplayer.so ~/.mozilla/firefox/


12/ Install codecs for music/movie player :
$ sudo apt-get install w32codecs


13/ Install MPlayer plugin for Firefox/Mozilla (automatic install MPlayer) :
$ sudo apt-get install mozilla-mplayer

or if you prefer VideoLAN client instead of MPlayer (automatic install VLC) :
$ sudo apt-get install mozilla-plugin-vlc


14/ Install ntfs-3g (old kernel version need this driver for better writing to NTFS partition) :
$ sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g ntfs-config


15/ Install xchm (I prefer CHM Reader plugin of FF, though) :
$ sudo apt-get install xchm


16/ Install stardict :
$ sudo apt-get install stardict stardict-tools

+ Note: The dictionary data (available at: http://stardict.sourceforge.net/Dictionaries_misc.php ) should be put in /usr/share/stardict/dic to work for StarDict. The pronounciation data (WyabdcRealPeopleTTS directory) should be put in the /usr/share directory, and with read permission allowed) .


17/ Change password for 'root' user :
$ sudo passwd root
Enter new UNIX password: ...
Retype new UNIX password: ...


18/ Add another user (my annoying brother) :
$ sudo mkdir -p /home/kidlaze
$ sudo useradd kidlaze -m /home/kidlaze
$ sudo passwd kidlaze
$ sudo chown kidlaze /home/kidlaze

+ 2nd method (GUI):
$ sudo users-admin



UPDATED: To make the default permission for newly created file/directory, you may change the usermask for easier dealing with permission problem, by adding the command at the end of start-up scripts :
$ sudo gedit ~/.bashrc

Add this simple command, at the end of the file .bashrc :
umask 002

Then save the file.

Personally speaking, I like changing the shell prompt, by editing the rc file in a similar way (adding the below command to the end of .bashrc file) :
PS1="[bibo @ \h: \w]\$ "



Well, that's enough for a basic user. For more applications, pls take a look at part 2 and more .


Have fun !

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