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#1 Re: Installation » [SOLVED] Can I convert Debian 12.4, bookworm, into Devuan? » 2024-03-17 14:50:02

edbarx

I installed gvfs and gvfs-backend and rebooted. USB stick drives are now automounted on Thunar.

Thanks.

#2 Re: Installation » [SOLVED] Can I convert Debian 12.4, bookworm, into Devuan? » 2024-03-17 13:26:37

edbarx

Yes, I rebooted. I will insert the USB thumb drive and issue the command inxi -F.

inxi F:

System:
  Host: debian Kernel: 6.1.0-18-amd64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce
    v: 4.18.1 Distro: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Portable System: Dell product: Inspiron N5110 v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 034W60 v: A11 serial: <superuser required> BIOS: Dell
    v: A11 date: 08/03/2012
CPU:
  Info: dual core model: Intel Core i3-2310M bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache:
    L2: 512 KiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 799 min/max: 800/2100 cores: 1: 798 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
    driver: i915 v: kernel
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
    unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: crocus gpu: i915 resolution: 1366x768~60Hz
  API: OpenGL v: 3.3 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB
    GT2)
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-18-amd64 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PulseAudio v: 16.1 status: active
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet driver: r8169
  IF: eth0 state: down mac: 78:2b:cb:dc:e5:ec
  Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter driver: ath9k
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: c0:f8:da:17:b5:5f
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros AR3011 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 state: up address: C0:F8:DA:17:B5:60 bt-v: 2.0
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 355.83 GiB used: 11.2 GiB (3.1%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Seagate model: ST320LT020-9YG142 size: 298.09 GiB
  ID-2: /dev/sdc type: USB vendor: Kingston model: DataTraveler 3.0
    size: 57.73 GiB
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 291.41 GiB used: 11.2 GiB (3.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 976 MiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) dev: /dev/sda5
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 53.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 0
Info:
  Processes: 174 Uptime: 1h 8m Memory: 2.75 GiB used: 1.71 GiB (62.4%)
  Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.26

#3 Re: Installation » [SOLVED] Can I convert Debian 12.4, bookworm, into Devuan? » 2024-03-17 12:43:53

edbarx

Thanks. It worked but the USB thumb drive automounter does not work. Can I have USB thumb drive automatically mounted as in Debian?

#4 Installation » [SOLVED] Can I convert Debian 12.4, bookworm, into Devuan? » 2024-03-17 07:47:17

edbarx
Replies: 8

Lately, I installed Debian 12. Can I convert it to Devuan without reinstalling everything? I know, this was an option when Devuan came into existence a decade ago.

Thanks.

chatGPT wrote:

ChatGPT

Yes, it is possible to convert a Debian system into a Devuan system without reinstalling, although it requires some caution and manual intervention. Devuan is a Debian derivative that aims to provide a Debian-compatible distribution without using systemd.

Here's a basic outline of the process:

1)    Backup: Before making any major changes to your system, it's crucial to back up your important data. While the conversion process itself is generally safe, there's always a chance of unexpected issues.

2)  Update Debian: Make sure your Debian system is fully up to date by running sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade to ensure that you have the latest packages installed.

3)  Add Devuan Repositories: Replace your Debian repositories with the corresponding Devuan ones. This typically involves modifying your /etc/apt/sources.list file. You can find the Devuan repository URLs on the Devuan website.

4)  Update Package Lists: After modifying your sources.list, run sudo apt update to update the package lists with the Devuan repositories.

5)  Install Devuan Keyring: Since you've added Devuan repositories, you'll need to install the Devuan keyring to verify package integrity. You can do this with the following command:

sudo apt install devuan-keyring

6)  Perform the Upgrade: Now, you can perform the distribution upgrade. Use the following command:

sudo apt full-upgrade

    This command will upgrade all installed packages to their latest versions available in the Devuan repositories. Follow any prompts or instructions that may appear during the upgrade process.

7)  Remove Unnecessary Packages: After the upgrade, you may want to remove any leftover Debian-specific packages that are no longer needed or compatible with Devuan. You can use commands like apt autoremove or apt purge to clean up the system.

8)  Reboot: Once the upgrade process is complete, it's a good idea to reboot your system to ensure that all changes take effect properly.

9)  Verify: After rebooting, log in and verify that your system is functioning as expected. Check for any errors or issues that may have arisen during the conversion process.

Keep in mind that while this process is generally straightforward, there's always a risk of something going wrong, so proceed with caution and make sure you have backups of your important data. Additionally, be aware that some Debian-specific configurations may not be fully compatible with Devuan, so you may need to adjust your system settings accordingly.

#5 Hardware & System Configuration » Configure a network filtering proxy to be used system-wide. » 2017-11-24 11:33:02

edbarx
Replies: 1

I would like some help to configure ASCII to use a proxy for all network connections. The proxy is installed on the same machine. I tried to use /etc/environment placing the strings 'http_proxy="localhost:8118"' and 'http_proxy=127.0.0.1:8118'. I only ended up with a broken network connection that couldn't be used.

Is it possible to configure network so that all network traffic reaching and leaving a machine has to first pass through a filtering proxy?

#6 Other Issues » Prevent kernel from displaying messages until modesetting is ready. » 2017-08-18 16:42:40

edbarx
Replies: 1

On my HP Probook 4540s as soon as the kernel takes control the display is unreadable with individual pixel lines shifted to the right by a constant number of pixels. This persists until modesetting is completed.

Is there a way of suppressing the kernel from using the screen during this time window? I know about the quiet and nomodeset parametes but these do not do what I want.

#7 Desktop and Multimedia » ASCII: vlc fails to run. » 2017-06-26 16:11:31

edbarx
Replies: 1

Trying to run vlc mediaplayer on ASCII fails to run with the error message:

$ /usr/bin/vlc
VLC media player 2.2.4 Weatherwax (revision 2.2.3-37-g888b7e89)
[00000000010cb118] core libvlc error: No plugins found! Check your VLC installation.

Running locate plugins | grep vlc displays a long list of .so files.

Does anyone know to to resolve the issue? Thanks.

#8 Other Issues » Devuan Git repository visibility problem. » 2017-06-09 06:17:27

edbarx
Replies: 2

Recently, I have uploaded a new project to git.devuan.org and set its visibility attribute to "public" ,but users who browse to my project on git, cannot see any files and obviously, cannot therefore download them.

What am I missing?

My latest project is a skeletal/barebones battery monitor that displays a percentage and more information on request using the backend services of upower.

#9 Re: Devuan » Enhancing simple-netaid » 2017-01-22 18:35:39

edbarx

I am almost ready upgrading the codeto support both secure and open wifi hotspots. A couple more functions, and it should be ready. This time, it is a complex commit involving several enhancements.

i) A new system of error reporting implemented in the C backend. Error messages now involve the file name, the function name and a text code to help debugging. C macros have been used together with normal C functions.
ii) A new backend command to list  the security settings of every essid (connection) file.
iii) Essid files now also contain what security system is required by individual connections. This has been added as a comment.
iv) Error reporting code for the backend has been compacted to make the source clearer to read.
v) backend.h removed and its contents copied to sn_error.h. snb_types.h created to hold two enumerations used by backend.c and core_functions.c.
vi) The frontend GUI now displays icons (Adwaita theme) in the connections list boxe, physical network interfaces list box and in the Create or Edit Connection dialog box. The list box of the latter is now owner drawn to use icons to represent various characteristics of surrounding wifi hotspots. Wifi power, frequency and security are displayed as icons excluding frequency till now.
Please note, I will make an effort to avoid having to force the Adwaita theme on users. I will find a way to use other means to provide the icons.
vii) GUI users can now point and click in the Create or Edit Connection dialog box.

Hopefully, that is all. I am saving it here to refer to it when I finally push all these changes.

#10 Devuan » Enhancing simple-netaid » 2017-01-15 15:09:35

edbarx
Replies: 1

At this time I am working on simple-netaid-gui and simple-netaid-backend to support open wifis and possibly other security systems other than WPA2. I read that WEP and WPA1 should not be used as they offer weak security that can easily be cracked.

I am using "iwlist wlan0 scan" to get the security settings of any surrounding wifis.

Anyone interested in simple-netaid who knows of a WIFI hotspot using WEP or anything other than WPA2 is encouraged to post the output of "iwlist wlan0 scan". I am only surrounded by WIFI sources all of which use WPA2.

Since WPA2 is also capable to communicate with a WEP router, at least that is what I read, supporting WPA2 in simple-netaid should also support WEP. But, this is my reasoning, as I cannot do any tests without having access to a hotspot using WEP.

If no answers are received I will continue by supporting WPA2 and open unsecured wifis. For that latter I can disable security on my home wifi for a few hours for the purpose of testing.

Constructive and civil comments are appreciated.

#11 Devuan » Bypassing networking problems with the installer. A suggestion. » 2016-12-09 17:31:23

edbarx
Replies: 2

Currently, on DNG there is a discussion about networking difficulties encountered during Devuan's installation. The core of the problem, undoubtedly is the lack of support for the many different Wifi devices that are on the market. Anyone who has been using GNU/Linux for some years know that quite some Wifi manufacturers frown over GNU/Linux and are very reluctant to publish any data about their devices so that Linux developers can write appropriate drivers.

The intention of this post is to suggest a way to bring Devuan to those who are finding it difficult to install it. A solution among the many available is to provide a .tar.gz file containing a minimal installation as obtained by debootstrap. I would add some tweaks to it like adding a root account and basic wired (ethernet) networking. Such an archive would provide potential users to get hold of Devuan irrespective of whether an installer succeeds or not.

The procedure would be this:

  1. Download the .tar.gz file and print the steps to get a working Devuan installation.

  2. Boot the GPARTED Live CD.

  3. Create a partition with a native Linux filesystem like ext3 and ext4.

  4. Mount the newly created and formatted partition.

  5. Extract the .tar.gz file in the new partition.

  6. Chroot into the new partition.

  7. Continue with the installation of a graphical environment and a bootloader.

  8. Exit chroot and unmount the partition.

  9. Reboot to test the new partition.

The advantage of this procedure is it follows the same steps a Windows user would take, as the commands to be executed while using  the GPARTED CD, can be automated in a shell script and even an executable. So, the procedure would reduce to download .tar.gz file and the installer executable, boot GPARTED CD, copy both files to /home, run executable and follow any instructions from the installer.

It is useless getting frustrated at the lack of cooperation from hardware manufacturers regarding Wifi support.

#12 Re: Documentation » Moving /home to a separate partition after installation. » 2016-12-08 13:34:33

edbarx
Malinas wrote:

Hi edbarx,

Since you mention using a Live CD starting from step 7, why not do everything from the Live CD?

Modifying my method as a result of understanding the reasons behind it is a good thing that I fully encourage. I cannot and I do not intend to shackle independent problem solving.

#13 Documentation » How to connect to Wifi without a network manager. » 2016-12-05 17:57:05

edbarx
Replies: 6

Introduction:
Sometimes an installation finishes without setting up a working network connection. In such cases, a user might find themselves requiring network access to get the necessary packages to properly setup Wifi.

Warning:
Some wifi manufactures do not cooperate with open source developers to publish the required information about their devices so that free software developers can write open drivers. In this case, either reverse engineering takes place when possible technically and legally, or a proprietary closed driver is provided.

For a list of Wifi makers and whether they provide open source drivers check the link: https://wiki.debian.org/WiFi

Note:
Please note that once you have a wifi driver installed you can use a network manager to manage your connection. If you decide to do that, comment any lines added to your /etc/network/interfaces as a result of this howto.

The Procedure for Wifis using encryption:

  1. Open a terminal and run nano to open /etc/network/interfaces.

    # nano /etc/network/interfaces

  2. For Wifi add these lines:

    iface wlan0 inet dhcp
	wpa-ssid my_wifi_name
	wpa-psk "my_very_hard_password"

    Replace my_wifi_name with your wifi's SSID and my_very_hard_password with your wifi password.

  3. Save and exit nano.

  4. To connect, use ifup as follows:

    # ifup wlan0

    Please note you may need to use another name for wlan0. You can list your network devices by running:

    ip link

    Ifup will display text informing the user whether a connection has been established.

To disconnect a connection established with ifup, run:

# ifdown wlan0

The Procedure for OPEN Wifis:

  1. First bring up the network interface wlan0 or whatever you have.

    #ifconfig wlan0 up

  2. Assuming your wifi hotspot's name, ESSID, is freeopenwifi, run:

    # iwconfig wlan0 essid freeopenwifi

  3. Run dhclient to assign an ip address so that the connection becomes useable.

    # dhclient wlan0

To disconnect a connection established with ifconfig and iwconfig, follow the following short procedure:

  1. First clear the DHCP lease with:

    # dhclient -r wlan0

  2. Then, either bring the connection down:

    # ifconfig wlan0 down

    OR force a null connection:

    # iwconfig wlan0 ap 00:00:00:00:00:00

Enjoy.  big_smile

#14 Documentation » Moving /home to a separate partition after installation. » 2016-12-05 07:24:31

edbarx
Replies: 3

Warning:
Please note that this procedure can easily result in permanent data loss. Be sure to have a backup before taking the plunge. Other than that, enjoy! smile

If you have installed Devuan to one partition and you are regretting that fact, be informed that you can easily assign a separate partition for /home, or any other directory you deem deserve to be transferred to a separate partition. This can be done without reinstalling because conventional GNU/Linux doesn't hide its operational 'secrets' from its users. smile

If not already present create a directory under /mnt, say my_home:

mkdir /mnt/my_home
cd /mnt/my_home

The first thing to do is obviously to find enough free space for the new partition. Then, use a tool (gparted) to format the new partition to some native Linux filesystem like ext3 or ext4. Other filesystems exist but you have to inform yourself about the pros and cons in using them instead of ext3 and ext4. Once you have a separate formatted partition, you will need to copy the contents of the /home directory to the new partition. This can be done using various CLI tools under root. You can use cp -a and rsync. I use cp -a although in  the past I used rsync. Make sure to mount the new partition before attempting to write to it and pay special attention to the mount point you will be using because you don't want to corrupt the existing partition.

Let us say, the new partition to hold the contents of /home is /dev/sda10:

The Procedure:

  1. To mount the partition:

    # mount /dev/sda10 /mnt/my_home

  2. To copy /home to the new partition:

    # cp -a /home/* /mnt/my_home

  3. Unmount the partition:

    # umount /mnt/my_home

  4. After that, you will need to edit the /etc/fstab file so that at boot the new partition is mounted on /home. This can be done by adding a new entry to the file as root. To find the uuid of the partition, use the blkid command to list the uuids of the partitions.

  5. Add the new entry to the fstab file as shown:

    UUID=the_long_long_uuid  /home           ext4    defaults,noatime        0       2

    Save the file.

  6. Reboot to test  whether the installation uses the new partition. Use mount without parameters for that.

  7. When you are 100% sure that the installation is using the new partition, you can delete the data under /home which is hidden when /home is used as a mount point. Don't do this while your installation is running, instead use a LiveCD for that. Be cautious because you can easily delete your valuable data especially if you dare to do this procedure without making a backup. A backup is very strongly recommended.

  8. Using a Live Devuan CD, issue this command as root although it shouldn't be necessary to be root.

    1. Create a temporary directory under mount for the Live Linux CD session as follows:

      mkdir /mnt/my_devuan_installation

    2. Mount the root partition of the installation of which you want to purge the contents of /home.

      mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/my_devuan_installation

      I assumed /dev/sda2 contains the blessed installation.

    3. Perform the dangerous cleanup:

      rm -rf /mnt/my_devuan_installation/home/*

    4. Unmount the partition:

      # cd /
umount /mnt/my_devuan_installation

NOTE:
This same procedure can be used to transfer any directory to a dedicated partition. However, different mount parameters have to be used in /etc/fstab because /home does not have the same permissions as system directories and you don't want to render your system insecure or unusable.

Enjoy! smile

#15 Documentation » Upgrading from Jessie to ASCII » 2016-12-03 18:31:59

edbarx
Replies: 0

Sometimes, hardware drivers require one to dist-upgrade and use the Testing branch. This happened to me when I purchased my latest laptop (HP Probook 4540s). The issue was 3D acceleration failed.

The Procedure:

  1. Boot your installation of Devuan Jessie and open /etc/apt/sources.list with nano or whatever text editor you prefer. Do this as root.

  2. In the text, replace any occurrences of the word "jessie" with "ascii". At the end save your work.

  3. Do an update as follows

    apt-get update

  4. Upgrade the kernel, dpkg, apt and aptitude. This may pull many other packages. Don't worry, it happened to me. In the case of the kernel you will need to check which version is available for ASCII. Make sure you install that one.
    You may get the possible kernel versions as follows:

    apt-get install linux-image

    When you know which kernel version is to be installed, run

    apt-get install linux-image-version dpkg apt aptitude

    "version" stands for a kernel version number.

  5. Reboot.

  6. In a terminal and outside the graphical environment, do a dist-upgrade as follows:

    apt-get dist-upgrade

    This will pull a very long list of packages.

  7. When the installation is ready, reboot.

Warning:
Please, be informed that some packages may fail to install due to the fact ASCII is in active development. In that case, my advice is to remove the broken packages and try to compile them from source.

#16 Documentation » How to boot GRUB with HP Probook 4540s » 2016-12-01 13:12:04

edbarx
Replies: 0

What is required:

  • To use GPT, EFI boot mode must be used. Legacy Boot mode does not seem to support the use of GPT formatted disks. Please, note I haven't tried an MBR formatted disk as I prefer the advantages of GPT over MBR

  • An EFI System Partition must be present if GPT is used.

  • The laptop's EFI firmware assumes the first stage of the bootloader is placed in the EFI system partition under:

    /EFI/Microsoft/Boot

  • The name of the first stage must be bootmgfw.efi

  • During setup grub-efi creates a primary bootloader with name grubx64.efi and places it under /boot/EFI/debian or /boot/EFI/devuan. The EFI System Partition must be mounted on /boot/efi.

  • So to make this laptop boot grub-efi in EFI mode with Secure boot disabled it is necessary to have an EFI System Partition with boot flags boot and efi.

  • The installation of Devuan or Debian should have the EFI system partition mounted on /boot/efi when grub-efi is setting itself up.

The Howto:
Boot the computer with gparted disk to create a new 200 MB FAT32 formatted partition to serve as an EFI System Partition. Also remember to use the boot and esp flags for the partition.

During the installation of Devuan or Debian make sure grub-efi is installed and setup. This should result in the primary bootloader being saved under /boot/EFI/devuan or /boot/EFI/debian. An EFI System Partition must exist for grub-efi to properly setup itself.

Search the EFI System Partition for a file named grubx64.efi under /boot/EFI/devuan or /boot/EFI/debian assuming the EFI System Partition is mounted on /boot/efi. 'efi' is a directory under /boot. Make a backup of grubx64.efi and rename grubx64.efi to bootmgfw.efi. Finally, move bootmgfw.efi to /boot/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/. You will need to create any missing directories.

Enjoy!

#17 Re: News & Announcements » Devuan GNU+Linux Beta2 release » 2016-12-01 11:02:46

edbarx

A Big Well Done to anyone involved in setting up and maintaining this forum.

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