Debian Upgrades

After putting it off for a long time, I began upgrading my Debian 11 systems to Debian 12. After reviewing the in-place upgrade process, I wrote scripts to handle each stage of the process. There’s probably a way to do it in one script, but I didn’t feel like messing with that.

The first script updates the current Debian installation. Then, after a reboot, the second script uses sed to replace all the isntances of bullseye with bookworm in /etc/apt/sources.list and in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bullseye.backports.list if it exists. The script also adds non-free-firmware where necessary, and if the backports list exists, renames it to bookworm.backports.list. Then it performs a full upgrade using the updated source lists. Finally, the third script confirms the upgrade by displaying the release and version information. Then it cleans the apt cache and removes orphaned packages.

Overall, the process has worked quite well for me. The only real problem I’ve come across so far was with my main laptop, an HP ElietBook 850 G3 with the i3 window manager. In a termnal window, I lose the half of the bottom line when the window is full. Applications run unside the terminal such as Micro and Bat look fine, but the bottom line of Htop is cutoff when it’s maximized. It only occurs on this particular laptop. The only change has been the upgrade to Bookworm, none of my configuration files have changed. Online searches have provided me with nothing useful.

I’ve got one more deskotp computer on which to do an in-place upgrade, my Gitea server. I’m going to hold off on that for a while until I get a feel for backing up the database. Maybe once I feel comfortable with that, I can do a complete rebuild of the system and provide it with a larger root partition or maybe just a single partition.

Other than that, I have an HP mini-PC that’s currently running Debian 11 with Cinnamon. That one was upgraded in-place from Debian 10. I plan to wipe it and do a fresh Debian 12 installation with i3wm. I also have two older laptops that are currently running BunsenLabs 11 which I’m considering changing to Debian and i3. BunsenLabs uses Openbox and after using a tiling window manager for a while, a floating window manager just doesn’t have much appeal. Plus, on those laptops, I really don’t need most of the applications and utilities that are included with the distro.

Penultimate Day 2022

I don’t have much to talk about as the year draws to a close. Most of my tech efforts have been forcused on Bash scripts. I’ve kept myslelf busy writing new scripts to install software or to solve problems that come up. Last year I wrote a script to retrieve the latest version numbers of the programs I download from GitHub. This year that script has undergone a lot of changes, mostly enhancing how the output is displayed.

My Windows 10 installation died on me , and I decided that I really didn’t want to go through the effort of reinstalling it. I took out the Windows drive in case I needed to get any data from it. In October, I installed Debian 11 on the HP 8300 and set up a Gitea server as a local repository for my scripts, configuration files, and other projects. It has been working out rather well, and I’m pushing changes on a nearly daily basis.

I’m still playing around with the i3 window manager on the 850 G3 laptop. I cloned an i3 setup I liked with plans to put it on that laptop and maybe a couple other machines. I still need to incorporate a few things into the configuration files. I cloned an Openbox set up on minmal Debian that I want to try out on one of the laptops as well.

Recently, I discovered that BunsenLabs release a new Openbox distribution (Beryllium) based on Debian 11. I installed it on the HP Mini 110. I wish I could say it went well, but there was a problem with the network. The wired connection sort of works on the local network and the Internet, but it won’t resolve domains on the Internet. I installed Debian 11 on it with the same results. After reinstalling Beryllium, I disconnected the wired connection and set up a DHCP reservation for the wireless. Of course, I had to modify a few of my scripts to accommodate that adjustment. I suspect the problem may be a driver issue since the ethernet device is Realtek. I haven’t put it on the Gateway laptop yet, but I don’t expect any problems since both network interfaces are Intel.

As of this time last year, my main machine was running Mint 20.2 and I was thinking about upgrading to 20.3 which was still in beta at the time. This year, I’m on 20.3 and thinking about going to 21.1. No matter how I do the upgrade, it’s going to be inconvenient. If I go straight to Mint 21.1, I’ll have to wipe the SSD and install it from scratch. The alternative is to use the upgrade tool to move to 21, then do an inplace upgrade to 21.1. I don’t really want to upgrade, but it needs to be done eventually..

I made the switch from https to ssh for pushing commits to my GitHub repositories, but I haven’t been able to get it to work. I obviously missed something but I have no idea what I missed. The repos up there are all terribly out of date, but at least I have my repository on my local network. I suppose I’ll figure it out eventually. In the meantime, I can still access it and I can keep on eye on the repositories I follow.

Back in August GitHub announced they were sundowning the Atom Editor on 15 December. Shortly after the announcement, I started looking at alternatives. Geany looks good and I’ve put on a few systems using a script that also adds some themes to it. I began using VSCodium, the open source version of VS Code without the telemetry. I’ve decided to make it my primary GUI editor. There are a few feature missing that I liked in Atom, but they’re not deal breakers. Still, I will miss Atom.

What’s the plan for 2023?

• Put revamped i3WM on the 850-G3, upgrade the storage to a larger M.2 SSD, and make it my primary laptop.
• Upgrade the 800 G2 SSF to Linux Mint 21.1, even if I have to do it from scratch.
• Screen on ProBook # 20. Either replace it or swap drives between the 3 laptops.
• Install Debian with Openbox on the HP 2650p.
• Install MATE on the Gitea server. Hopefuilly, that will add X-org and Network Manager.
• Install ThinLinc or some other remote desktop software on all machines for GUI remote access.

Penultimate Day 2019

Today is the penultimate day of the penultimate year of the current decade. I just wanted to get that out of the way.

I spent a lot of time this year working the Bash scripts – writing them, rewriting them, and tweaking them. Generally, I write scripts to solve a problem or to make a task easier. As far as I’m concerned a script is never really finished, it’s abandoned when it’s no longer useful.

There were several scripting projects this year. I created small function library, a script containing functions that I commonly use and incorporated it into many of my scripts. It’s quite handy in that if I need to change something in the function, I only have to make one change.

Another project was to create a set of utilities for installing, updating and removing youtube-dl. Many Debian and Ubuntu-base distributions have youtube-dl in their repositories but it is usually out of date and can’t be updated easily. The youtube-dl GitHub site always has the latest version and is updated whenever there are changes.

My youtube-dl installation scripts removes the version installed by the package manager and downloads the current version to the location recommended by youtube-dl.org. I also created a script to completely remove youtube-dl and an update script that can be run as a cron job.

This past year saw several Linux upgrades. When Debian 10 Buster came out, I installed it on my Dell Latitude E6500 laptop with very few problems. My Lenovo M91p went from Linux Mint 19.1 to 19.2 and 19.3. I upgraded my HP 6570b laptop from Mint 18.3 to 19.2 and then 19.3. I have a Panasonic Toughbook that I switched from MX Linux 18.1 to Lubuntu 18.04 and that’s working out well.

I even found my wife’s old HP Netbook on which I had previously installed Linux Lite and put Lubuntu on that. I’m liking Lubuntu on the Netbook. It’s a bit under-powered and slow but I’ve noticed that it has good battery life and it works reasonably well for listening to audio books or writing code.

Back in January, I did some work on the FnLoC and LLoC programs. I split the code into multiple files to reduce duplication of code for common functions between the two programs and created a make file to compile them. I moved the Windows versions of the code into a separate repository. With the Windows version, I didn’t split the code into multiple files as I did with the Linux version. To be honest, I didn’t feel like figuring out the make file inside my Windows environment.

Those are the highlights for 2019. In the coming year I’m planing to set up a media server using a Raspberry Pi 4. I haven’t decided whether to store the media on my NAS or on an external hard drive. I have a computer set up to rip my DVDs and I’ve been working on my collection. I’ll be using the same system to rip music CDs, cassette tapes, and vinyl albums.

I’ve been putting off reloading my main system, the Lenovo M91p. When I reloaded it a year ago, I somehow ended up with a weird partition scheme. I have a backup of all my data and TimeShift snapshots. The actual OS installation will be easy but I’m not looking forward to reinstalling applications. I know I’m just procrastinating.

Other projects I’m contemplating are playing around more with virtual machines (VirtualBox, QEMU, Gnome Boxes). My experiences with VirtualBox haven’t been all that great but I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Gnome Boxes.

I’ve been giving serious thought to cleaning up and rearranging my little office, even considering remodeling it – laminate flooring, new shelves and desktop surfaces. I’d also be relocating my Cisco switch and moving some other network equipment around. I have an old Linksys router and a few old laptops that I can use to build a small network lab.

Downgrade Update

The memory I ordered to upgrade the Dell SFF so I could replace the Dell USFF arrived yesterday. It turned out that the Dell doesn’t support 8GB modules. I was about to see about returning them in exchange for four 4GB modules when it occurred to me that they might work in the Lenovo M91p. I tried it and it worked great.

I tried the memory I took out of the Lenovo in the Dell and found that two of the 4GB modules wouldn’t work. Later research indicated that the Dell wouldn’t support the latency of those modules. To the two modules that did work, I added two of the original 2GB modules, bringing it up to 12GB. That will be adequate for my needs in Windows. I’ve been running Windows 10 on the Dell USFF with only 4GB for a while.

In my research, I found some information indicating that although Lenovo says that the M91p supports 16GB of RAM, it will actually support 32GB. This weekend I plan to put those 4GB modules back into the other bank and see if it works. If it does, then she’ll have 24GB to work with.

This weekend I’ll work on installing the remaining applications and transferring my data to get the Dell up and running.

This morning, I put two 2GB modules into an extra USFF 780. When I finish this downgrade project, I’ll have three Ultra-Small Form Factor Dell 780s to be used for whatever. I’m sure I can find a use for them as Linux-based appliances or something.

Computer issues

I’ve been running into numerous computer issues at home lately. It started when my son fired up his laptop for the first time in over a year and couldn’t connect to my wireless network. It turns out that he was still on XP Service Pack 2 which didn’t support WPA2. (I had switched from WEP to WPA2 over a year ago when I purchased the X2000 router. I installed SP3 and got him connected. Then after running a gazillion MS updates, he had virtually no free disk space and was only running on 512MB of RAM. I found 2GB of memory for him and a a larger hard drive. I attempted to clone the drive but for whatever reason my cloning attempts failed. I reloaded Windows from scratch. It still ran like crap and I attributed the slowness to his outdated Celeron processor. I had a reasonably nice Dell laptop so I put a 250GB drive into it, loaded Windows and got it configured for him. It’ll be a Christmas present for him, definitely an improvement over what he has.

While working on my son’s laptop, the Windows on my dual-boot Gateway laptop went tango-uniform. I can’t boot into Windows at all but the Linux partition is still good. I really don’t want to reinstall Windows on it because I’d have to reinstall Linux as well. I recall that I had to slipstream drivers to install Windows. I probably still have the CD I made. I haven’t decided what to do with it. I definitely need to pull some data files from the Windows partition so I can install my genealogy program on my Windows PC. Other than that, I’ll probably set it aside for a while. I might just put Linux on it and donate it to a good cause.

Last weekend, one of the grandchildren told me that their computer was shutting down unexpectedly. I had recently upgraded my wife to a better computer so I wiped her old one and set it up for them. The first time they used it was yesterday evening and it crashed with the dreaded “NTLDR missing or corrupt” error. I tested the hard drive and it seems to be healthy. I’m tempted to install Mint on it.

I took a look at the PC that had allegedly been shutting down. I inspected the motherboard and found no questionable capacitors or anything else amiss. I tested the hard drive and the memory and found them both to be in good working order. It didn’t shut down during testing so I turned my attention to the operating system. I ran a virus scan with Avast and another with Malwarebytes and found incredible amounts of malware, mostly browser toolbars and search enhancers. I cleaned it up and it’s running much better. Not having a desk for it, I installed a Cisco wireless card and set it up as a “mobile” PC. I installed the PC in a small TV cart with wheels, added a monitor and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

I’ve been running Linux Mint (Cinnamon) on a Dell E5500 for nearly two months and I’m quite happy with it. I had found a great deal on a Logitech wireless mouse and used that with it for a while, before finally getting myself a Logitech wireless trackball. The trackball is a bit bigger than the mouse but I generally prefer trackballs anyway.

With the end of Microsoft support for Windows XP coming up in a few months, I am definitely looking to decrease my reliance on Windows and expand the use of Linux in my household. For those tasks that are currently bound to Windows applications, I’m looking for Linux alternatives.

To make my administrative life a little easier, I took my AD login batch file, modified it a bit and put it in the All Users Startup Menu so that the shares on the NAS are automatically mapped, to include the appropriate home folder.

Ubuntu Upgrades

Last night I upgraded my main computer from 10.04 to 12.04. I should have waited until the weekend as it took all evening. Once it was completed and I rebooted, I went to bed. I spent quite a bit of time this morning tweaking the desktop and figuring out the changes to how my applications now work, particularly their look and feel. So far I’m not exactly thrilled with the changes and the upgrade has not enhanced my user experience and I’m sure I’ll find more “features and enhancements” as I go forward.

I’ve got three more Linux installations to upgrade but I will wait until the weekend. I’ve got a laptop that dual boots with Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows XP and a desktop running Mint and XP. The DNS server shouldn’t be too bad since it’s a command-line interface.

 

Weekend Project Update 2

Late Friday night, I rearranged the server and network area and, hopefully, things are better arranged and looking more organized. I introduced some cable management by running cables and cords through tubes or tying together with zip ties.

I exported my old tech blog database to a .CSV file and copied it up to the NAS. When I find the time, I’ll look and see if there’s anything worth reposting. I don’t think there is. After exporting the database I shut down FrankenWeb and retired it. I’ll keep it around a while in case I need something off of it. I’ll take a look at it and see if I can determine why it was shutting down.

I moved the Linux DNS server to the rack, sitting it on top of the domain controllers. I placed a Wyse Winterm 9455XL with XP Embedded on the shelf above the servers to act as a print server, sharing the Samsung laser printer which is working well in that capacity. That’s good because the motherboard I was going to use for an XP machine to share the printer was too large for the case I had obtained.

I need to find a good reference book for configuring and administrating Ubuntu servers. I still need to look at the DNS configuration and set up NTP on the Linux DNS box. I’d like to have DNS and NTP up and running well before I introduce the logon server. I will definitely need some good reference material to set up Samba on that to provide the basic logon services I’m looking for.

Once the Linux servers are up, configured properly and all the clients are working with them, I will be able to retire both W2K domain controllers. I may keep one of them for data backup, perhaps installing Linux.

Linux Migration Update

I think I’ve got most of the hardware I need to make the Linux migration happen. I’ve got two computer on which I’ll install Ubuntu 10.04 Server. One will be primarily to provide DNS and NTP services while the other will be the logon server using Samba. It will also be my secondary DNS server. Configuring everything should be interesting. I’ll probably test with Linux PCs first since they don’t currently log in to the domain.

I’m not sure how logon scripts are going to work. If I have a script on the Logon server, I imagine there would have to be someway of determining what OS is in use and run an appropriate script. Maybe I’ll have to run the scripts from each computer. I’m sure all of this has been done before and I’ll have to dig to find the answers.

I’ve got a motherboard and I just obtained a case for the PC that will share the Samsung printer on the network. I’ll load it with XP and that will probably be it’s only function.

Once it’s all installed, configured and debugged, I can retire the old domain controllers and remove them from the network. At the moment, I can’t think of any function they could serve. I might throw Linux on them and use them for backup.

I don’t know what purpose it would serve other than something to play around with but I’m thinking of taking that old 120Mhz Pentium, install that IDE/Compact Flash thing, and install either Puppy Linux or Damn Small Linux on it. Maybe I’ll keep the DOS drive and dual boot it. (I guess I’ve got a fondness for DOS.) It’s not something I’m going to do right away as I’ve got other projects to get done. I wonder how much memory it has.

My PC still needs an OS upgrade. I’ve been chugging along on W2K too long. I probably ought to clean out the extra hardware and dispense with the removable bay. There’s probably not a lot of anything that’s going to get done until after my road trip.