This is a continuation of my previous post regarding creating custom live media. The previous post dealt with specifying software only from Fedora's repositories. This installment furthers the live media effort to include software from third party repositories, as well as some custom tweaking
Note that if you choose to distribute this media, you should be aware of any licensing issues from the third party repositories.
Let's get on with it!
Create Your Kickstart File
Next, create your kickstart file. I'll call mine giltner-livedvd-kde-multimedia.ks
~/spin/giltner-livedvd-kde-multimedia.ks
# giltner-livedvd-kde-multimedia.ks
#
# Description:
# - Fedora Livecd Spin with the K Desktop Environment (KDE)
#
# Maintainer(s):
# - Giltner Tech <giltnertech@gmail.com>
%include fedora-livecd-kde.ks
repo --name="rpmfusion-nonfree" --mirrorlist=http://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/mirrorlist?repo=nonfree-fedora-$releasever&arch=$basearch
repo --name="rpmfusion-nonfree-updates" --mirrorlist=http://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/mirrorlist?repo=nonfree-fedora-updates-released-$releasever&arch=$basearch
repo --name="rpmfusion-free" --mirrorlist=http://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/mirrorlist?repo=free-fedora-$releasever&arch=$basearch
repo --name="rpmfusion-free-updates" --mirrorlist=http://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/mirrorlist?repo=free-fedora-updates-released-$releasever&arch=$basearch
repo --name=local --baseurl=file:///home/giltner/spin/repo
repo --name="adobe-linux-i686" --baseurl=http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/linux/i386/
#repo --name="fedora-chromium-stable" --baseurl=http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/spot/chromium-stable/fedora-$releasever/$basearch/
#repo --name="virtualbox" --baseurl=http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/rpm/fedora/$releasever/$basearch
#repo --name="livna" --mirrorlist=http://rpm.livna.org/mirrorlist
%packages
#######################################
# Repo RPMs
# Installs repositories on the target system from the repos listed above
#######################################
rpmfusion-free-release
rpmfusion-nonfree-release
adobe-release-i386
#livna-release
#######################################
# Software from "local" repo, i.e., --basefile=file:///path/to/rpm/files
# This is a great spot to put your own RPM files, or downloaded RPM files
#######################################
autoplus
libdvdcss2
opera
#######################################
# Adobe - http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Flash
#######################################
AdobeReader_enu
flash-plugin
#######################################
# Livna - The home of libdvdcss, that which allows DVD playback
# This repo suffers intermittent troubles. Install from local repo instead
#######################################
#libdvdcss
#######################################
# RPM Fusion
# Install multimed software and codecs
#######################################
gstreamer-plugins-ugly
gstreamer-plugins-bad
gstreamer-plugins-bad-extras
gstreamer-ffmpeg
totem
totem-mozplugin
totem-pl-parser
####totem-xine -- cannot find for some reason.
mozplugger
gecko-mediaplayer
xmms
xmms-faad2
libmad
libid3tag
libdvdread
libdvdnav
libquicktime
vlc
ffmpeg
xine-ui
imagination
dvdrip
k9copy
dvd95
#######################################
# Prepare for nVidia driver compilation
# Install now, to save downloading later
#######################################
gcc
binutils
rpm-build
%end
%post --nochroot
#######################################
# MPlayer Multimedia Codecs
# Additional codecs. You can never have too many!
#######################################
wget http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/all-20110131.tar.bz2
tar -jxvf all-20110131.tar.bz2
mkdir -p $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/codecs
cp all-20110131/* $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/codecs
ln -sf $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/codecs $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/lib/codecs && ln -sf $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/codecs $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/win32 && ln -sf $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/local/lib/codecs $INSTALL_ROOT/usr/lib/win32
rm -f all-20100303.tar.bz2
rm -rf all-20100303
#######################################
# nVidia Driver Scripts
# Handy scripts to install drivers after OS installation
#######################################
mkdir $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech
cat << --nVidia1-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/nVidia_driver_1
#!/bin/bash
clear
echo The nVidia driver scripts will install the proprietary nVidia drivers.
echo
echo This first script will update selinux, and install the PAE kernel.
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
yum -y update selinux-policy\*
yum -y install kernel-PAE
echo You must now reboot your system to activate the new kernel
echo before continuing with the next stage.
--nVidia1--
cat << --nVidia2-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/nVidia_driver_2
#!/bin/bash
clear
echo The nVidia driver scripts will install the proprietary nVidia drivers.
echo
echo This second script will install kernel headers, nVidia drivers, backup
echo the existing initramfs image, and create a new initram image.
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
yum install kernel-PAE-devel akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686
mv /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r)-nouveau.img
dracut /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r)
echo You must now reboot your system. The driver should be installed and working.
--nVidia2--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/nVidia_driver_1
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/nVidia_driver_2
#######################################
# Virtualbox
# Need to install VirtualBox after OS is installed on target
#######################################
cat << --virtualBox-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installVirtualbox_4.1
#!/bin/bash
echo This script will download the VirtualBox repo file, GPG key, and install VirtualBox.
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
rpm --import http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc
wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/rpm/fedora/virtualbox.repo
mv virtualbox.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/
chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/virtualbox.repo
echo Repository installed. Continuing with installation.
yum -y install VirtualBox-4.1
--virtualBox--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installVirtualbox_4.1
#######################################
# Chromium Fedora People Repo
#######################################
cat << --fedoraChromium-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installChromium
#!/bin/bash
echo This script will install the FedoraPeople Chromium repo, and install the Chromium browser
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
wget http://repos.fedorapeople.org/repos/spot/chromium-stable/fedora-chromium-stable.repo
mv fedora-chromium-stable.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/
chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-chromium-stable.repo
echo Repository installed. Continuing with installation.
yum -y install chromium.i686 chromium-ffmpegsumo.i686
--fedoraChromium--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installChromium
#######################################
# Google Earth Repo
#######################################
cat << --googleEarth-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installGoogleEarth
#!/bin/bash
echo This script will install the Google signing key, Earth repo, and install Earth with dependencies
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
rpm --import https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub
cat << --googleEarthRepo-- >> /etc/yum.repos.d/google-earth.repo
[google-earth]
name=google-earth
baseurl=http://dl.google.com/linux/earth/rpm/stable/i386
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
--googleEarthRepo--
chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/google-earth.repo
echo Repository installed. Continuing with installation.
yum -y install google-earth-stable mesa-libGL.i686 bitstream-vera-fonts-common libxml2.i686 gtk2.i686 libSM.i686 qt-x11 redhat-lsb-desktop.i686 redhat-lsb-printing.i686 redhat-lsb.i686
--googleEarth--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installGoogleEarth
#######################################
# Google Music Manager Repo
#######################################
cat << --googleMusic-- >> $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installGoogleMusic
#!/bin/bash
echo This script will install the Google signing key, Music repo, and install Music Manager
echo
echo Press Enter to continue, or Ctlr-C to exit.
read $Dummy
rpm --import https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub
cat << --googleMusicRepo-- >> /etc/yum.repos.d/google-musicmanager.repo
[google-musicmanager]
name=google-musicmanager
baseurl=http://dl.google.com/linux/musicmanager/rpm/stable/i386
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
--googleMusicRepo--
chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/google-musicmanager.repo
echo Repository installed. Continuing with installation.
yum -y install google-musicmanager
--googleMusic--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/GiltnerTech/installGoogleMusic
%end
Place any RPM files you wish to include inside of the repo folder. In my example above, I placed Autoplus, libdvdcss2, and Opera RPM files inside my local folder.
Now, let's build the image
As root, do
setenforce 0
createrepo /home/giltner/spin/repo
livecd-creator --config=/home/giltner/spin/giltner-livedvd-kde-multimedia.ks.ks --fslabel=GiltnerMultimedia --cache=/var/cache/live
Let's take a look at the above example one section at a time.
The first several lines are comments. You can freely modify this to suit your needs.
%include
This line pulls in all data from the specified file. Multiple include declarations are acceptable. The above kickstart basically adds multimedia support on top of the Fedora KDE spin.
I happen to have a separate kickstart file that adds additional software from the official Fedora repos, called giltner-livedvd-kde.ks. If I want to combine the two, I can change the %include line to point to my other kickstart file, which includes fedora-livecd-kde.ks. This keeps things separate.
clearpart and part
These lines clear the partition table of the media, and resets the root partition size to that of a DVD. It throws an error when creating the image, but appears to work just fine.
repo
The repo lines add a repository that will be used to create the media. Note that this does not install the repository on the live media (thus, installed system). This merely tells livecd-tools where to pull software from for the installation.
Note the repo line named "local". This points to a local directory from which to install RPM files from. Here, you can create your own RPM's, or download them from the Internet and place them here manually.
packages
This section is rather straightforward. The only thing I did here is group software according to which repo they were installed from.
post --nochroot
This section issues commands just as you would at a terminal, and does so inside the live image, and gets transferred to the build system. Customizations can be made here to the target system, for example, by using sed to edit existing files.
The first thing I've done in my example is to download and install additional multimedia codecs.
The rest of this section creates bash scripts, inside a folder called GiltnerTech in root's home, to install additional software after the target system is installed.
Creation of the bash scripts is fairly simple. Take for example the following lines.
cat << --fileExample-- >> /root/test.sh
#!/bin/bash
echo Hello World!
--fileExample--
chmod 755 $INSTALL_ROOT/root/test.sh
What happens here is cat places the everything that follows the cat line, up to but not including the --fileExample-- label, into a file called /root/test.sh. Then, the file is marked as executable.
The file created will look like this:
/root/test.sh
#!/bin/bash
echo Hello World!
This will create a nicely loaded KDE DVD with plenty of multimedia add-ons, repos configured, and some custom scripts to install more software.
More Info
Fedora, How to create and use a Live CD
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Fedora 17 - Custom Spins
If you have multiple computers that you install Fedora on, custom live CD's or DVD's can be a wonderful time saver for multiple installations. You can build upon an existing spin, or start from scratch and build your own Fedora spin from the ground up.
If you build upon an existing Fedora spin, when the next version of Fedora is released you'll be armed with a kickstart file from the old release. The benefit here is that the list software you've installed into your live media can be easily transferred to the next Fedora release.
Note that you will need plenty of space in /var for this to complete. For a CD, you'll need about 700MB for the install packages, 5.5 gigs for the install target, and 700mb for the ISO image.
Let's get going!
Install Software
As root,
yum -y install livecd-tools spin-kickstarts
livecd-tools contains the necessary software to create the images.
spin-kickstarts contains the official Fedora spins kickstart files. This will be a big time saver, and give you a foundation with which to build your live CD from. It can also be used as a reference for building your own independant kickstart files from scratch
Overview
Now that everything, including reference materials, has been installed, let's start looking at what we have
/usr/share/spin-kickstarts is where the kickstart files for Fedora spins are located. Let's take a look at a few of the lines in the fedora-livecd-kde.ks file, which is used to build the Fedora Live KDE CD that is downloaded from the Fedora website.
fedora-livecd-kde.ks
%include fedora-live-kde-base.ks
%include fedora-live-minimization.ks
%packages
-desktop-backgrounds-basic
-scribus
calligra-words
fuse
%end
%post
%end
The first thing this kickstart file does is load two other kickstart files, using %include. This is how I will be building my own KDE spin, by reading in the official kickstart file, and adding on from there.
Then follows the packages section located within the %packages and subsequent %end lines. Adding packages is as simple as specifying the package name. Remove a package my preceding the name with a dash.
The post section, located within the %post and subsequent %end lines, is for issuing commands after "installation" to the live media image is complete.
Setup Your Build Environment, and Test
Create a directory in which to build your live media, and copy the kickstart files to this directory
mkdir ~/spin
cp /usr/share/spin-kickstarts/*ks ~/fedora_spin
Next, create your kickstart file. I'll call mine test-livedvd-kde.ks
~/spin/test-livedvd-kde.ks
# test-livedvd.ks
#
# Description:
# - Giltner Fedora Remix
#
# Maintainer(s):
# - Giltner Tech <giltnertech@gmail.com>
%include fedora-livecd-kde.ks
clearpart --all
part / --size=4096 # Sets filesystem limit to a DVD, instead of CD
%packages
-calligra #Remove Calligra
-calligra-words
-calligra-sheets
-calligra-stage
libreoffice
libreoffice-kde
kate # Include text editor
%end
%post
%end
Let's take a look at the above example.
As root, do
setenforce 0
livecd-creator --config=/home/giltner/spin/test-livecd-kde.ks --fslabel=Test --cache=/var/cache/live
This process, depending on the speed of your Internet connection, can take some time. The build process, minus download time, on my system is about an hour. The first time I ran a small test, I didn't expect it to take as long as it did. To that point, here is an unofficial rundown of the build process, based on my watching of the filesystem.
When the terminal is blank, or a few error lines
If you either burn and boot the ISO image, or boot it up in a virtual machine, you will have a Fedora KDE desktop, without Calligra, and with Kate.
Using the above, you can easily customize the installed software that resides on the live media, and thus gets installed from that media. If you take a look at the existing kickstart files, you'll see that there's lots more that can be done!
And I'll be addressing a slightly more advanced kickstart file in my next post!
If you build upon an existing Fedora spin, when the next version of Fedora is released you'll be armed with a kickstart file from the old release. The benefit here is that the list software you've installed into your live media can be easily transferred to the next Fedora release.
Note that you will need plenty of space in /var for this to complete. For a CD, you'll need about 700MB for the install packages, 5.5 gigs for the install target, and 700mb for the ISO image.
Let's get going!
Install Software
As root,
yum -y install livecd-tools spin-kickstarts
livecd-tools contains the necessary software to create the images.
spin-kickstarts contains the official Fedora spins kickstart files. This will be a big time saver, and give you a foundation with which to build your live CD from. It can also be used as a reference for building your own independant kickstart files from scratch
Overview
Now that everything, including reference materials, has been installed, let's start looking at what we have
/usr/share/spin-kickstarts is where the kickstart files for Fedora spins are located. Let's take a look at a few of the lines in the fedora-livecd-kde.ks file, which is used to build the Fedora Live KDE CD that is downloaded from the Fedora website.
fedora-livecd-kde.ks
%include fedora-live-kde-base.ks
%include fedora-live-minimization.ks
%packages
-desktop-backgrounds-basic
-scribus
calligra-words
fuse
%end
%post
%end
The first thing this kickstart file does is load two other kickstart files, using %include. This is how I will be building my own KDE spin, by reading in the official kickstart file, and adding on from there.
Then follows the packages section located within the %packages and subsequent %end lines. Adding packages is as simple as specifying the package name. Remove a package my preceding the name with a dash.
The post section, located within the %post and subsequent %end lines, is for issuing commands after "installation" to the live media image is complete.
Setup Your Build Environment, and Test
Create a directory in which to build your live media, and copy the kickstart files to this directory
mkdir ~/spin
cp /usr/share/spin-kickstarts/*ks ~/fedora_spin
Next, create your kickstart file. I'll call mine test-livedvd-kde.ks
~/spin/test-livedvd-kde.ks
# test-livedvd.ks
#
# Description:
# - Giltner Fedora Remix
#
# Maintainer(s):
# - Giltner Tech <giltnertech@gmail.com>
%include fedora-livecd-kde.ks
clearpart --all
part / --size=4096 # Sets filesystem limit to a DVD, instead of CD
%packages
-calligra #Remove Calligra
-calligra-words
-calligra-sheets
-calligra-stage
libreoffice
libreoffice-kde
kate # Include text editor
%end
%post
%end
Let's take a look at the above example.
- The first several lines beginning with a hash (#) are comments. They are there for reference.
- Under that, is the clearpart and part lines. This clears any partitions setup inside any included file (and must come after all include lines) and sets the filesystem to a single layer DVD
- Next is the packages section. Here, we remove all of Calligra, and include Kate.
- Nothing exists in the post section for this example.
As root, do
setenforce 0
livecd-creator --config=/home/giltner/spin/test-livecd-kde.ks --fslabel=Test --cache=/var/cache/live
This process, depending on the speed of your Internet connection, can take some time. The build process, minus download time, on my system is about an hour. The first time I ran a small test, I didn't expect it to take as long as it did. To that point, here is an unofficial rundown of the build process, based on my watching of the filesystem.
When the terminal is blank, or a few error lines
- All necessary RPM packages are downloaded to /var/cache/live.
- /var/tmp/imgcreate-*/install_root is prepared
- The packages are installed to /var/tmp/imgcreate*/install_root.
- Install_root is cleaned, and moved to /var/tmp/imgcreate*/tmp-*
- Contents of the ISO image are created in /var/tmp/imgcreate*/iso-*
- The ISO image is created in /var/tmp/imgcreate-*/out
- The ISO image is moved and renamed to /home/giltner/spin/Test.iso
- The /var/tmp/imgcreate* directory is removed
If you either burn and boot the ISO image, or boot it up in a virtual machine, you will have a Fedora KDE desktop, without Calligra, and with Kate.
Using the above, you can easily customize the installed software that resides on the live media, and thus gets installed from that media. If you take a look at the existing kickstart files, you'll see that there's lots more that can be done!
And I'll be addressing a slightly more advanced kickstart file in my next post!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Fedora 17 - Install Scanner
Fedora's live KDE disk does not ship with any scanning software. There are two very useful programs that I use for scanning, depending on what I am scanning.
Xsane
The most flexible scanning software available. Xsane gives you fine grain control over scanning. One very handy feature is the ability to batch scan multiple areas of your scanner, which is great for scanning photos using time-consuming high resolution settings.
Simple-scan
Just as the name indicates. A very simple scanner. Place document, hit scan, and go. The one very nice feature of simple-scan is the ability to batch scan several sheets into a single PDF file, provided you have the hardware to do so. Many multifunction printers have an automatic document feeder feature
Sane
Before any scanning software can be used, the backend that controls the scanner must be installed. Sane, an acronym for Scanner Access Now Easy, is just that. Install it, and go. Any sane compatible scanner will work. I've had success with HP MFC printers, and I have a Canon scanner. Both work with no issues, including the wireless HP MFC printer!
As root,
yum -y install sane-backends-drivers-scanners
sane-find-scanner
You may find it necessary to unplug and re-plug in the USB cable to your scanner before trying one of the below scanning programs.
Xsane
As root, with your USB scanner attached and powered up
yum -y install xsane
Simple Scan
As root,
yum -y install simple-scan
Xsane
The most flexible scanning software available. Xsane gives you fine grain control over scanning. One very handy feature is the ability to batch scan multiple areas of your scanner, which is great for scanning photos using time-consuming high resolution settings.
Simple-scan
Just as the name indicates. A very simple scanner. Place document, hit scan, and go. The one very nice feature of simple-scan is the ability to batch scan several sheets into a single PDF file, provided you have the hardware to do so. Many multifunction printers have an automatic document feeder feature
Sane
Before any scanning software can be used, the backend that controls the scanner must be installed. Sane, an acronym for Scanner Access Now Easy, is just that. Install it, and go. Any sane compatible scanner will work. I've had success with HP MFC printers, and I have a Canon scanner. Both work with no issues, including the wireless HP MFC printer!
As root,
yum -y install sane-backends-drivers-scanners
sane-find-scanner
You may find it necessary to unplug and re-plug in the USB cable to your scanner before trying one of the below scanning programs.
Xsane
As root, with your USB scanner attached and powered up
yum -y install xsane
Simple Scan
As root,
yum -y install simple-scan
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Fedora 17 - Install Java
There are two ways to install Java. The simplest is to install the
open source variant from the Fedora repository. It's easy to install,
and most importantly it keeps itself up to date.
The second way is to install the official Sun Java binaries manually. The benefit is you'll be working with the official libraries. The downside is updates are done manually, instead of automatically through the Fedora repos.
I would highly recommend using the open source Java. Simply install it, and forget it! I've yet to have an issue with it.
Open Source Java
As root,
yum -y install java-1.7.0-openjdk icedtea-web
Official Java Binaries
32-bit Java binaries
As root,
yum -y install wget
wget -O jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm http://javadl.sun.com/webapps/download/AutoDL?BundleId=67385
yum -y localinstall jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm
alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 20000
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javaws javaws /usr/java/latest/bin/javaws 20000
alternatives --install /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin.so libjavaplugin.so /usr/java/latest/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so 20000
rm -f jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm
64-bit Java binaries
As root,
yum -y install wget
wget -O jre-7u06-linux-x86_64.rpm http://javadl.sun.com/webapps/download/AutoDL?BundleId=67387
yum -y localinstall jre-7u06-linux-x86_64.rpm
alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 20000
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javaws javaws /usr/java/latest/bin/javaws 20000
alternatives --install /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin.so libjavaplugin.so.x86_64 /usr/java/latest/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so 20000
rm -f jre-7u06-linux- x86_64.rpm
The second way is to install the official Sun Java binaries manually. The benefit is you'll be working with the official libraries. The downside is updates are done manually, instead of automatically through the Fedora repos.
I would highly recommend using the open source Java. Simply install it, and forget it! I've yet to have an issue with it.
Open Source Java
As root,
yum -y install java-1.7.0-openjdk icedtea-web
Official Java Binaries
32-bit Java binaries
As root,
yum -y install wget
wget -O jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm http://javadl.sun.com/webapps/download/AutoDL?BundleId=67385
yum -y localinstall jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm
alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 20000
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javaws javaws /usr/java/latest/bin/javaws 20000
alternatives --install /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin.so libjavaplugin.so /usr/java/latest/lib/i386/libnpjp2.so 20000
rm -f jre-7u06-linux-i586.rpm
64-bit Java binaries
As root,
yum -y install wget
wget -O jre-7u06-linux-x86_64.rpm http://javadl.sun.com/webapps/download/AutoDL?BundleId=67387
yum -y localinstall jre-7u06-linux-x86_64.rpm
alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/latest/bin/java 20000
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javaws javaws /usr/java/latest/bin/javaws 20000
alternatives --install /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin.so libjavaplugin.so.x86_64 /usr/java/latest/lib/amd64/libnpjp2.so 20000
rm -f jre-7u06-linux- x86_64.rpm
Fedora 17 - Adobe Flash
Fedora does not come shipped with the Adobe Flash player. The
following directions install the Adobe software repository, and install
the Flash Player. Please note that the instructions are different for
32 and 64 bit systems.
32-bit systems
As root,
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
yum -y install flash-plugin
64-bit systems
As root,
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-x86_64-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
yum -y install flash-plugin
If you had Firefox open at the time of install, you will need to close Firefox and reopen it in order to use the Flash player
32-bit systems
As root,
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
yum -y install flash-plugin
64-bit systems
As root,
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-x86_64-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
yum -y install flash-plugin
If you had Firefox open at the time of install, you will need to close Firefox and reopen it in order to use the Flash player
Fedora 17 - Multimedia Add-ons
Fedora ships with no closed source or proprietary multimedia codecs.
As such, Fedora is not equipped to play MP3's or many video clips
out-of-the-box. Here's how to install most of what you'll need for a
rich multimedia experience.
What we will be doing is installing the RPM Fusion repository and installing several packages from there. Afterwards, we'll download a codec tarball from Mplayer, and install that as well. Then, the Livna repository will be installed (then disabled by default), and from there libdvdcss will be installed so as to play DVDs.
Upon completion, your Fedora installation will be well equipped for multimedia!
As root:
yum install -y --nogpgcheck http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.noarch.rpm
yum -y install xine-ui gstreamer-plugins-bad-extras gstreamer-ffmpeg gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad totem totem-mozplugin totem-nautilus totem-pl-parser totem-xine mozplugger gecko-mediaplayer xmms xmms-faad2 libmad libid3tag libdvdread libdvdnav libquicktime vlc ffmpeg wget xine-lib-extras-freeworld xmms-mp3 lame
wget http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/all-20110131.tar.bz2
tar -jxvf all-20110131.tar.bz2
mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/codecs
cp all-20110131/* /usr/local/lib/codecs
ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/lib/codecs && ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/local/lib/win32 && ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/lib/win32
rm -f all-20100303.tar.bz2
rm -rf all-20100303
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release.rpm
sed -i 's/enabled=1/enabled=0/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/livna.repo
yum --enablerepo=livna -y install libdvdcss
Enjoy!
What we will be doing is installing the RPM Fusion repository and installing several packages from there. Afterwards, we'll download a codec tarball from Mplayer, and install that as well. Then, the Livna repository will be installed (then disabled by default), and from there libdvdcss will be installed so as to play DVDs.
Upon completion, your Fedora installation will be well equipped for multimedia!
As root:
yum install -y --nogpgcheck http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.noarch.rpm
yum -y install xine-ui gstreamer-plugins-bad-extras gstreamer-ffmpeg gstreamer-plugins-ugly gstreamer-plugins-bad totem totem-mozplugin totem-nautilus totem-pl-parser totem-xine mozplugger gecko-mediaplayer xmms xmms-faad2 libmad libid3tag libdvdread libdvdnav libquicktime vlc ffmpeg wget xine-lib-extras-freeworld xmms-mp3 lame
wget http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/all-20110131.tar.bz2
tar -jxvf all-20110131.tar.bz2
mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/codecs
cp all-20110131/* /usr/local/lib/codecs
ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/lib/codecs && ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/local/lib/win32 && ln -sf /usr/local/lib/codecs /usr/lib/win32
rm -f all-20100303.tar.bz2
rm -rf all-20100303
yum -y install --nogpgcheck http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release.rpm
sed -i 's/enabled=1/enabled=0/g' /etc/yum.repos.d/livna.repo
yum --enablerepo=livna -y install libdvdcss
Enjoy!
Fedora 17 - Customize Gnome
After installation, there’s a number of things I like to tweak for a
comfortable working environment, as well as modify what software is
installed. Please note that this is Gnome specific.
yum install gnome-tweak-tool
Tweak User Interface with gnome-tweak-tool
gnome-tweak-tool can be used to modify several settings. Before we can use it, we have to install it.
As root,
yum install gnome-tweak-tool
Open gnome-tweak-tool, found in Activities -> Applications -> Advanced Settings, and let’s start changing things!
Desktop
- Turn Have file manager handle the desktop on
- This turns the desktop back on, including Computer, Trash, and other such icons
- Turn Always show location entry, instead of the pathbar on
- In the Nautilus file manager, this allows you to type in the path to display, instead of clicking.
Shell
- Turn Show date in clock on
- This displays the date on the top of the screen, along with the clock
- Change Arrangement of buttons on the titlebar to All
- This brings back the maximize and minimize buttons.
Theme
- Turn Menus Have Icons on
- This shows icons next to menu items. I prefer them.
- Turn Buttons Have Icons on
- This shows icons next to buttons. These two options make the user interface slightly more efficient, in my humble opinion.
- Chage Action on title bar middle click to Toggle shade
- When the title bar of a window is middle clicked, it will shade the window. Shading will remove the contents from view, leaving just the menu bar. Similar to rolling up a window shade to see outside.
Fedora 17 - Customize KDE
After installation, there’s a number of things I like to tweak for a
comfortable working environment, as well as modify what software is
installed. Please note that this is KDE specific.
Tweak User Interface
Kickoff Menu
To show application name instead of application type (ie, display Firefox instead of Web Browser)
Change the single-click-to-open, to double-click-to-open.
Remove Software
kdepim
I do not care for akregator, blogilo, kmail, knode, knotes, kontact, or korganizer. So I pull them out.
As root,
yum remove kdepim
Updating the system is very easy. One single step does the trick.
As root,
yum upgrade or yum -y upgrade
Install Software
Evolution
I install this as a replacement to kdepim. It handles email and contacts just the way I need it.
As root,
yum install evolution
Enjoy!
Tweak User Interface
Kickoff Menu
To show application name instead of application type (ie, display Firefox instead of Web Browser)
- Right click on the blue “F” KDE menu -> Application Launcher Settings
- Ensure “Show application by name” is checked
- Click “OK”
Change the single-click-to-open, to double-click-to-open.
- Click the blue “F” KDE menu -> System Settings
- Select “Input Devices”
- Select “Mouse” on the left side
- Ensure the “Double click to open files and folders” button is selected
- Click “Apply”
- Close as desired
Virtual Desktops
I prefer to have multiple virtual desktops, instead of just one, as shipped.
- Click the blue “F” KDE menu -> System Settings
- Select “Workspace Behavior”
- Change “Number of desktops” as desired
- Click “Apply”
- Close as desired
As an alternative, you can simply right click on the
workspace pager in the task bar (just to the right of the three-dot
activity manager) and select “Add Virtual Desktop”.
Task Manager
By
default, the task manager will display tasks from all virtual desktops.
I prefer to show only those tasks on the current desktop.
- Right click in task manager area (open space on bottom panel)
- Select “Task Manager Settings”
- Ensure “Only shows tasks from the current desktop” is checked.
- Click “Apply”
- Close as desired.
kdepim
I do not care for akregator, blogilo, kmail, knode, knotes, kontact, or korganizer. So I pull them out.
As root,
yum remove kdepim
Update System
Updating the system is very easy. One single step does the trick.
As root,
yum upgrade or yum -y upgrade
Evolution
I install this as a replacement to kdepim. It handles email and contacts just the way I need it.
As root,
yum install evolution
Firefox
I much prefer Firefox to Konqueror
As root
yum install firefox
I much prefer Firefox to Konqueror
As root
yum install firefox
Enjoy!
Fedora 17 Installation
Obtaining Media
There are multiple ways of installing Fedora. You can simply go to the main Fedora website, http://fedoraproject.org, click the Download link in the main menu. The main download option will provide you with the full ISO image of the 64 bit, live Gnome desktop. Please note that the 64 bit version may not be suitable for older PC’s. There are other downloads available. If you scroll down that page and look to the right, there are two links of interest to take note of.
All download methods
This provides you with links to a multitude of download options. You can download the media directly, use BitTorrent, or Metalinks.
Media choices include DVD install (also for upgrading from previous versions for Fedora), Live CDs of Gnome and KDE, and network install CDs (requires Internet connection)
Fedora Spins
Spins are Fedora live CDs that contain a different software. The KDE spin uses the KDE desktop instead of Gnome. The XFCE spin uses the lightweight, yet GTK aware XFCE desktop. The Games spin focuses on games, both 2D and 3D.
While spins contain different sets of software, they all contain software that is available in the Fedora software repositories online. You can easily install all the games you want from the KDE spin, or install the XFCE desktop from the main Desktop CD.
Installation
I would highly recommend using one of the Live CD's as installation media for a couple of reasons. First, you can take Fedora (or the specific desktop environment) for a test drive before you choose to install. Secondly, and most importantly, if you run into trouble later, you'll have a disk that boots into a live environment so you can fix any problems that may arise.
After you’ve downloaded and burned your ISO image to disk, it’s time to get started! Insert the disk in your optical drive, boot up from the media.
Before continuing, see the end of this page for any installation caveats that may cause problems.
Step 1 - Boot Options
The first screen you’re greeted with is the GRUB bootloader screen. The basic options provided are to start Fedora, or go a troubleshooting section with other options including “Test this media & start Fedora 17.” This is my preferred choice, particularly when using a CD/DVD for the first time.
Note that pressing “Tab” will provide you a full kernel configuration screen, should you need to pass custom parameters.
This will take a bit of time to boot, depending on the speed of your hardware.
Step 2 - Start the Installer
Here, the Fedora desktop is presented to you. The “Install to Hard Drive” application can be in one of a few different spots, depending on the spin you’ve chosen to install from. The main Gnome spin has it in the quick lauch bar. KDE and XFCE have it on the desktop.
Open the Install to Hard Drive app, and the Anaconda installer will start.
Step 3 - Keyboard Layout
The first screen asks you for your keyboard layout.
Step 4 - Storage devices
This screen asks you what kind of storage devices you’re using. Unless you have something custom, and likely expensive, the Basic Storage Devices option should suffice. An ordinary PC or laptop will fall into this category. Your hard drives will be analyzed after clicking Next.
Step 5 - Hostname
Here you can set your hostname. While default will work just fine, be encouraged to change the hostname to your liking.
Step 6 - Time Zone
Change the time to where you live. The important setting here is whether your system clock is set to UTC. Left unchecked, and it tells Fedora your system clock is set to local time.
Step 7 - Set root password
Set the password for the root user.
Step 8 - Partitioning
This section is highly subjective, and the configuration will be different depending on your specific needs and preferences.
If you’re just taking Fedora for a test drive, I would recommend the “Use All Space option, and uncheck Use LVM. This would be the most simplistic layout.
Step 9 - Choose Boot Loader Location
Unless your layout is custom, the default should be just fine. Clicking next here will begin the installation. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, and check back later.
Step 10 - Reboot
You’ll now be asked to reboot your system. Depending on your configuration, you may need to remove the installation media.
Step 11 - Welcome
Nothing to configure here. Just click next.
Step 12 - License Information
This just explains where you can find the license information regarding Fedora, which contains 100% free and open source software. No proprietary or closed source software binaries reside in this distribution. In case you want to read over the licenses, you can go here http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal/Licenses/LicenseAgreement
Step 13 - Create a User Account
Enter your full name, login name, and password. You may opt to add yourself to the Administrators group for convenience. Network Login is for configuring NIS and other forms of managed user authentication. This can be safely ignored unless you know for sure otherwise.
Advanced will open the user manager, and allow you to create more than one user, as well as provide detailed configuration options for your user account. This can generally be ignored.
Step 14 - Date and Time
Here you can configure your system clock to synchronize over the network or Internet. If you have an ‘always-on’ Internet connection, or a NTP time server configured on your network, I recommend turning this on.
Step 15 - Hardware Profile
This area asks you whether or not to send Fedora developers a detail of your computer hardware. By doing so, you provide developers insight as to what hardware to maintain. You can certainly feel free to not send any info at all.
Step 16 - Login
Now you can login to Fedora, and enjoy your Linux experience!
Gotcha’s
Below is a list of problems you may or may not run into, and a way to correct the problems.
Installing on a Disk Drive Used for Windows 7 (And probably Vista)
I used a hard drive that was used in a Windows 7 RAID 1 array. During Fedora installation, I deleted the partitions and recreated my own structure.
Note, I’m not sure if it was the fact that the disk was used in a Windows RAID array, or the fact that it was formatted by Windows 7. Either way, the below solution worked perfectly.
The Problem
GRUB bootloader failed to install.
The Solution
I zeroed out the entire hard drive with a very simple (and very destructive) command while booted up from the Live CD. I could have simply zeroed out the MBR, and next several blocks.
But, I chose the radical solution instead.
You must know what you’re doing with this command, specifically, which hard drive you need to zero out. This command will cause irreparable data loss. Which is exactly what I needed, targeted at the correct hard drive.
Before using the dd command, you should know what hard drive you need to zero out, ie /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc. You should be able to figure this out from the partitioner in Step 8.
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1
For reference, the dd command is an abbreviation for data definition. However, it’s best to think of it as ‘data destroyer’ every time you invoke that command! Triple check it before pressing Enter. Just my two cents.
As a side note, if you want to wipe out an entire disk, use the following command (targeted at the correct disk, of course!)
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda
There are multiple ways of installing Fedora. You can simply go to the main Fedora website, http://fedoraproject.org, click the Download link in the main menu. The main download option will provide you with the full ISO image of the 64 bit, live Gnome desktop. Please note that the 64 bit version may not be suitable for older PC’s. There are other downloads available. If you scroll down that page and look to the right, there are two links of interest to take note of.
All download methods
This provides you with links to a multitude of download options. You can download the media directly, use BitTorrent, or Metalinks.
Media choices include DVD install (also for upgrading from previous versions for Fedora), Live CDs of Gnome and KDE, and network install CDs (requires Internet connection)
Fedora Spins
Spins are Fedora live CDs that contain a different software. The KDE spin uses the KDE desktop instead of Gnome. The XFCE spin uses the lightweight, yet GTK aware XFCE desktop. The Games spin focuses on games, both 2D and 3D.
While spins contain different sets of software, they all contain software that is available in the Fedora software repositories online. You can easily install all the games you want from the KDE spin, or install the XFCE desktop from the main Desktop CD.
Installation
I would highly recommend using one of the Live CD's as installation media for a couple of reasons. First, you can take Fedora (or the specific desktop environment) for a test drive before you choose to install. Secondly, and most importantly, if you run into trouble later, you'll have a disk that boots into a live environment so you can fix any problems that may arise.
After you’ve downloaded and burned your ISO image to disk, it’s time to get started! Insert the disk in your optical drive, boot up from the media.
Before continuing, see the end of this page for any installation caveats that may cause problems.
Step 1 - Boot Options
The first screen you’re greeted with is the GRUB bootloader screen. The basic options provided are to start Fedora, or go a troubleshooting section with other options including “Test this media & start Fedora 17.” This is my preferred choice, particularly when using a CD/DVD for the first time.
Note that pressing “Tab” will provide you a full kernel configuration screen, should you need to pass custom parameters.
This will take a bit of time to boot, depending on the speed of your hardware.
Step 2 - Start the Installer
Here, the Fedora desktop is presented to you. The “Install to Hard Drive” application can be in one of a few different spots, depending on the spin you’ve chosen to install from. The main Gnome spin has it in the quick lauch bar. KDE and XFCE have it on the desktop.
Open the Install to Hard Drive app, and the Anaconda installer will start.
Step 3 - Keyboard Layout
The first screen asks you for your keyboard layout.
Step 4 - Storage devices
This screen asks you what kind of storage devices you’re using. Unless you have something custom, and likely expensive, the Basic Storage Devices option should suffice. An ordinary PC or laptop will fall into this category. Your hard drives will be analyzed after clicking Next.
Step 5 - Hostname
Here you can set your hostname. While default will work just fine, be encouraged to change the hostname to your liking.
Step 6 - Time Zone
Change the time to where you live. The important setting here is whether your system clock is set to UTC. Left unchecked, and it tells Fedora your system clock is set to local time.
Step 7 - Set root password
Set the password for the root user.
Step 8 - Partitioning
This section is highly subjective, and the configuration will be different depending on your specific needs and preferences.
If you’re just taking Fedora for a test drive, I would recommend the “Use All Space option, and uncheck Use LVM. This would be the most simplistic layout.
Step 9 - Choose Boot Loader Location
Unless your layout is custom, the default should be just fine. Clicking next here will begin the installation. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, and check back later.
Step 10 - Reboot
You’ll now be asked to reboot your system. Depending on your configuration, you may need to remove the installation media.
Step 11 - Welcome
Nothing to configure here. Just click next.
Step 12 - License Information
This just explains where you can find the license information regarding Fedora, which contains 100% free and open source software. No proprietary or closed source software binaries reside in this distribution. In case you want to read over the licenses, you can go here http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal/Licenses/LicenseAgreement
Step 13 - Create a User Account
Enter your full name, login name, and password. You may opt to add yourself to the Administrators group for convenience. Network Login is for configuring NIS and other forms of managed user authentication. This can be safely ignored unless you know for sure otherwise.
Advanced will open the user manager, and allow you to create more than one user, as well as provide detailed configuration options for your user account. This can generally be ignored.
Step 14 - Date and Time
Here you can configure your system clock to synchronize over the network or Internet. If you have an ‘always-on’ Internet connection, or a NTP time server configured on your network, I recommend turning this on.
Step 15 - Hardware Profile
This area asks you whether or not to send Fedora developers a detail of your computer hardware. By doing so, you provide developers insight as to what hardware to maintain. You can certainly feel free to not send any info at all.
Step 16 - Login
Now you can login to Fedora, and enjoy your Linux experience!
Gotcha’s
Below is a list of problems you may or may not run into, and a way to correct the problems.
Installing on a Disk Drive Used for Windows 7 (And probably Vista)
I used a hard drive that was used in a Windows 7 RAID 1 array. During Fedora installation, I deleted the partitions and recreated my own structure.
Note, I’m not sure if it was the fact that the disk was used in a Windows RAID array, or the fact that it was formatted by Windows 7. Either way, the below solution worked perfectly.
The Problem
GRUB bootloader failed to install.
The Solution
I zeroed out the entire hard drive with a very simple (and very destructive) command while booted up from the Live CD. I could have simply zeroed out the MBR, and next several blocks.
But, I chose the radical solution instead.
You must know what you’re doing with this command, specifically, which hard drive you need to zero out. This command will cause irreparable data loss. Which is exactly what I needed, targeted at the correct hard drive.
Before using the dd command, you should know what hard drive you need to zero out, ie /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc. You should be able to figure this out from the partitioner in Step 8.
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1
For reference, the dd command is an abbreviation for data definition. However, it’s best to think of it as ‘data destroyer’ every time you invoke that command! Triple check it before pressing Enter. Just my two cents.
As a side note, if you want to wipe out an entire disk, use the following command (targeted at the correct disk, of course!)
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Welcome To Giltner Tech
Welcome to my collection of Linux tutorials.
These tutorials are written to target individuals who are somewhat comfortable with the command line. As long as you know that commands that modify the system outside of your home directory require you to be the root user, you're good to go. Becoming the root user on the command line is as easy as su - (including the hyphen) and entering the root password.
Feel free to post any questions on the appropriate page, or email me at giltnertech at gmail dot com.
Have fun!
Note: All documentation is provided as is. I offer no warranty, expressed or implied. Use at your own risk.
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