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valis's Avatar
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29-Aug-2009, 03:14 PM #1
ubuntu basic questions
1. Every time I go to install a web product (flash, etc) I get prompted for the root password. I am running knoppix live, straight from the cd, and am not sure of the version, as I had to switch back to puppylinux to get here. Is there a default root password to install? I get the same error when I install the apps from my thumb drive.

2. What are the benefits of knoppix vs something like puppylinux? It would appear to me that I can do the same with puppylinux as I can with knoppix (wrt to web browsing, which is all I am going to use this for), so can't really see a reason to get knoppix up and running other than to familiarize myself with it, which is obviously a good enough reason. That, and knoppix, I believe, comes with OO.

3. I would imagine I can can save a profile to a thumbdrive with either os; please advise if this is incorrect.

4. At this state, I don't plan to partition the hd to accomodate linux; I think I can fiddle enough with a live cd and be able to get at least a working knowledge of it and in a few months set up a dual boot. But I do enjoy powering off the pc and all viruses and what not being gone.

5. How do I configure the network properties in knoppix? windows > start > run > ncpa.cpl. PL, setup, follow the prompts for the nic. Couldn't find squat for this in knoppix.

I know a lot of this is due to the fact that knoppix is far more advanced than PL, and has a lot of the core features that PL is missing. Stuff I have no clue about, and therefore will have to tinker with to learn. But at the very least I need to know how to install things either with the default root or some setting that does not require the password to install.

tia,

v
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29-Aug-2009, 03:27 PM #2
Hi,
I think the default p/w in live cd is 'root'.

As to knoppix or puppy - a lot depends on one's needs & how the o/s gets on with your hardware.
For instance I'm now dualbooting with 'Crunchbang' linux 'cos it's a branch off Ubuntu & my Dell wireless works 'out of the box' with __buntu of 9.04 vintage. But that's just a preference rather than configuring it myself.

Yes, a lot depends on what features you want as to which flavour you settle on..

As to the other parts of your post ... I'll have to pass as it's still very new to me.

Glad you're enjoying it though!!!

Richard
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30-Aug-2009, 10:41 AM #3
You can set the root password by executing the following command in a terminal:

sudo passwd

May I suggest *Ubuntu. Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu to a VHD. This allows you to experience Linux natively without having to repartition. Of course, you can also use a VM.

I can answer the rest, but I need to know what version of Knoppix you're using. (The Network Configuration should be on the Knoppix menu in most versions of Knoppix.)
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valis's Avatar
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30-Aug-2009, 11:11 AM #4
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1002richards View Post
Hi,
I think the default p/w in live cd is 'root'.
tried that, along with admin, administrator,and just blank,and got nothing.

Quote:
As to knoppix or puppy - a lot depends on one's needs & how the o/s gets on with your hardware.
For instance I'm now dualbooting with 'Crunchbang' linux 'cos it's a branch off Ubuntu & my Dell wireless works 'out of the box' with __buntu of 9.04 vintage. But that's just a preference rather than configuring it myself.

Yes, a lot depends on what features you want as to which flavour you settle on..

As to the other parts of your post ... I'll have to pass as it's still very new to me.

Glad you're enjoying it though!!!

Richard

richard, thanks for the input.

this is indeed fun, just not quite as fun as teaching myself the guitar....sort of wavering between the two, and both are suffereing.
valis's Avatar
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30-Aug-2009, 11:13 AM #5
Quote:
Originally Posted by avisitor View Post
You can set the root password by executing the following command in a terminal:

sudo passwd

May I suggest *Ubuntu. Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu to a VHD. This allows you to experience Linux natively without having to repartition. Of course, you can also use a VM.

I can answer the rest, but I need to know what version of Knoppix you're using. (The Network Configuration should be on the Knoppix menu in most versions of Knoppix.)
yeah, ubuntu's next. already had knoppix burned, so too hell with it, I got it, may as well use it. I would say it's at LEAST a year old, though. probably should just bite the bullet and iso ubunto and go from there.

does ubunto come with OO and what not, and I'm assuming it can be run live?

and eventually dual boot; pretty sure i've seen that on some clients rigs.

thanks, avisitor. Much appreciated.

v
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30-Aug-2009, 12:44 PM #6
Hi Tim,

There is another way or two to install flash as described below.

1) If you are a single user of a Live CD system (such as me), the way I do it is to download the file install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz, and install it into my home directory account.

2) If there is more than one user, then to use flash, it must be installed in the /usr/share/adobe directory (I think, as I have not had the need to do it).

The first method:
1) Download install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz via your user running Firefox into your Desktop directory (I make it the default directory for all of my downloads). By doing the installation with user permissions, root access is not required, since only you will be using flash.

2) gunzip install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz

3) tar -xf install_flash_player_10_linux.tar

4) chmod +x install_flash_player_10_linux

5) ./install_flash_player_10_linux (assuming execution by user in ~/Desktop)
This results in the library being deposited in the directory, ~/.mozilla/plugins:
libflashplayer.so

7) Next you will have to symbolically link the following directory to make it all work with JRE as follows:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~/.mozilla/plugins$ ls -lt
total 10056
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ubuntu ubuntu 61 2009-08-30 10:41 libjavaplugin_oji.so -> /home/ubuntu/jre1.6.0_15/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
-rwxr-xr-x 1 ubuntu ubuntu 10278616 2009-07-17 23:10 libflashplayer.so

Note: I have my JRE installed in my home default user account directory, i.e. /home/ubuntu/jre1.6.0_15

If you choose to install flash in the /usr/share/adobe directory, then you will have to make the symbolic link in that subdirectory where the libflashplayer.so is located to the other libjavaplugin_oji.so file located in the /usr/share subdirectory for jre1.6.0_15.

Naturally, I have setup, and initialization scripts that do all the work for me to restore my environment when I power up with the Live CD. I also save my Firefox profile at the end of every session.

-- Tom

P.S. I highly recommend you drop by Barns & Noble and purchase (or look for a better deal on the Web):
Knoppix Hacks by Kyle Rankin (published by O'Reilly). It should answer all of your questions.

The neat thing about Knoppix is the cheat codes, for which there is one I have used in the past to free up the CD drive (although I have a DVD-RAM & a CD drive): toram is the cheat code to issue at the boot: prompt

Another neat thing about Knoppix is that there is a procedure for it to remaster custom Live CD environments. If you are interested I can dig it up and post it in a follow on message in this thread.
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Last edited by lotuseclat79; 30-Aug-2009 at 12:51 PM..
avisitor's Avatar
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30-Aug-2009, 12:52 PM #7
Yes, ubuntu comes with OO.o. Almost anything else you could want can be gotten with apt-get (or aptitude).

See my earlier post on setting the root password for Knoppix. I believe it's null in it's default configuration, effectively a disabled account.

FWIW, Wubi is a painless way to try out Ubuntu in a more permanent way then the live CD version.
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30-Aug-2009, 03:20 PM #8
Here Tim give this a try
It lets you run Ubuntu on C where your windows is.{creates a looped partition}
This isnt virtual machine or anything like that.
You can remove it later as well
it is absolutely the best way to get started with linux.
Ubuntu works good out of the box for most hardware.
I had tried a few distros in the past........Ubuntu is the one

http://wubi-installer.org/
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31-Aug-2009, 07:43 AM #9
Can't remember all the password arrangement but it is always shown at the distro web page. For Knoppix i would try "null" (just the return key) or knoppix.

Knoppix is dropping behind as many of the developers/maintainers have gone to new distros. Ubuntu is the market leader and will have a far better support in everything.

The setting of a Live CD is save in the ram and a special arrangement is needed is this is saved in the hard disk. I find it much much quicker and easier just install it. A 5Gb partition should be ample because a CD is 700Mb and the distro normally expands to about 3.5Gb.

Puppy and some small distros like Slax compress everything back on exit and occupy a much smaller hard disk space.
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31-Aug-2009, 08:30 AM #10
You can boot the ubuntu live CD and create a bootable
live flash drive very easily.
It will setup a persistent directory for you and save all changes
there.
You just need to tell it how big to make it.
Click on System > Administration > USB Startup Disk Creator. When you are setting up the drive, just enable the options for persistence so it saves all your stuff. You'll See the slider to set how much of the drive is available for that.
You can run this just like an installed system and carry it around
in your pocket.
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valis's Avatar
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31-Aug-2009, 10:05 AM #11
Quote:
Originally Posted by lotuseclat79 View Post
Hi Tim,

There is another way or two to install flash as described below.

1) If you are a single user of a Live CD system (such as me), the way I do it is to download the file install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz, and install it into my home directory account.

2) If there is more than one user, then to use flash, it must be installed in the /usr/share/adobe directory (I think, as I have not had the need to do it).

The first method:
1) Download install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz via your user running Firefox into your Desktop directory (I make it the default directory for all of my downloads). By doing the installation with user permissions, root access is not required, since only you will be using flash.

2) gunzip install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz

3) tar -xf install_flash_player_10_linux.tar

4) chmod +x install_flash_player_10_linux

5) ./install_flash_player_10_linux (assuming execution by user in ~/Desktop)
This results in the library being deposited in the directory, ~/.mozilla/plugins:
libflashplayer.so

7) Next you will have to symbolically link the following directory to make it all work with JRE as follows:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~/.mozilla/plugins$ ls -lt
total 10056
lrwxrwxrwx 1 ubuntu ubuntu 61 2009-08-30 10:41 libjavaplugin_oji.so -> /home/ubuntu/jre1.6.0_15/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
-rwxr-xr-x 1 ubuntu ubuntu 10278616 2009-07-17 23:10 libflashplayer.so

Note: I have my JRE installed in my home default user account directory, i.e. /home/ubuntu/jre1.6.0_15

If you choose to install flash in the /usr/share/adobe directory, then you will have to make the symbolic link in that subdirectory where the libflashplayer.so is located to the other libjavaplugin_oji.so file located in the /usr/share subdirectory for jre1.6.0_15.

Naturally, I have setup, and initialization scripts that do all the work for me to restore my environment when I power up with the Live CD. I also save my Firefox profile at the end of every session.

-- Tom

P.S. I highly recommend you drop by Barns & Noble and purchase (or look for a better deal on the Web):
Knoppix Hacks by Kyle Rankin (published by O'Reilly). It should answer all of your questions.

The neat thing about Knoppix is the cheat codes, for which there is one I have used in the past to free up the CD drive (although I have a DVD-RAM & a CD drive): toram is the cheat code to issue at the boot: prompt

Another neat thing about Knoppix is that there is a procedure for it to remaster custom Live CD environments. If you are interested I can dig it up and post it in a follow on message in this thread.
Tom:

Thanks for the post. Lots of useful things there. Question, however; is 'prompt' the root password it is asking for?

thanks,

timothy
valis's Avatar
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31-Aug-2009, 10:06 AM #12
Quote:
Originally Posted by leroys1000 View Post
You can boot the ubuntu live CD and create a bootable
live flash drive very easily.
It will setup a persistent directory for you and save all changes
there.
You just need to tell it how big to make it.
Click on System > Administration > USB Startup Disk Creator. When you are setting up the drive, just enable the options for persistence so it saves all your stuff. You'll See the slider to set how much of the drive is available for that.
You can run this just like an installed system and carry it around
in your pocket.
this is exactly what I was looking for.

have to give this a crack. Pretty sure you guys will be seeing some questions about ubuntu coming up shortly.
lotuseclat79's Avatar
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31-Aug-2009, 12:41 PM #13
Quote:
Originally Posted by valis View Post
Tom:

Thanks for the post. Lots of useful things there. Question, however; is 'prompt' the root password it is asking for?

thanks,

timothy
Hi Tim,

In the Ubuntu Live CD environment, I get by with the sudo command which as you can see puts you into root account by using the '-i' parameter:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo -i
root@ubuntu:~#

I suspect that if you just hit the <Enter> key (as if a root account has not been created with a password) - you might be successful, but I don't know for sure if it is expecting a password.

I am attaching the file unixtoolbox.xhtml with a .txt suffix so rename it back if you download it. There are some helpful hints in the file which you should open with your browser.

-- Tom
Attached Files
File Type: txt unixtoolbox.xhtml.txt (167.1 KB, 57 views)
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valis's Avatar
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31-Aug-2009, 01:29 PM #14
thanks, tom....that will be a great help, I'm sure.......much appreciated.

timothy
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31-Aug-2009, 01:45 PM #15
Glad to see you checking out the Linux side of things Valis.

I suggest you also download a copy of VMware for windows. Install it and then you will be able to create multiple Linux versions and run them side by side on your windows platform. A really slick set up and so much better than dual booting.
For a web hosting server I prefer Fedora (Red Hat's free version) and CentOS. I stick with those two OS's since I run them on my remote servers. Ubuntu is a good one for a home desktop.
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