Markgraf

Background for the migration to Ububtu (Linux)

We are running a 'home' network with 4 desktop PCs and a laptop. The network is connected with a Linksys Wireless-G router, where the three desktops are hard wired and the laptop can be either wired or wireless via a D-Link USB adapter. The network is used for run of the mill applications like e-mail, internet, bill paying and letter writing as well as for website development and maintenance. Finally, we make intensive use of all of the PCs for storing, cataloging and editing digital photographs.

After tiring of being jerked around for so many years by the guys in Redmond I decided that it was time to move on. My background is in IT and truthfully, 20 odd years ago, when the boys from Redmond started to really stick it to the guys from Armonk I thought it would be the best thing for the industry. I made the migration at that time from mainframes to PCs and it really was an improvement for the back office IT people as well as the end users. During the transition I considered UNIX, and for some time had several UNIX boxes running in my installation, but I never thought it would work out at the desktop user level.

What flavor of Linux?

The first choice which presents itself in this process is: What Linux Distribution to use. I spent more than a day looking around and reading reviews etc. and I ended up choosing UBUNTU. At least at this time it seems to be the most popular flavor and it is highly recommended for non-geek users who are new to the Linux world. The backers of the distribution, Canonical Ltd. from South Africa, seem to be fully committed to the Open Source movement (so much so that you are informed each time you try to install anything that is not truly Open Source) and to maintaining Ubuntu as a free distribution 'forever'.

There are several versions of Ubuntu currently available. The one I am using for this series is nicknamed Hardy Heron and is numbered 8.04 (this number means that it was released in April, 2008). This is what is called an LTS (Long Term Support) release, with support guaranteed for 3 years from release date (i.e. until April 2011) for the desktop version, and 5 years for the server version.

Resolving the memory limitation

This problem is prabably a throwback to the days when memory was less abundant and inexpensive than nowadays, also to the memory size limitations of the older, 32 bit processors. In order to resolve the problem we have to substitute some of the standard Ubuntu desktp modules with those implemented on the server version.

Unfortunately, to do this you will need to enter some command line statements.

To do this you need to open a Terminal window (Applications - Accessories - Terminal) and type the following 5 commands, one at a time:

1. sudo apt-get install linux-restricted-modules-server
2. sudo apt-get install linux-ubuntu-modules-2.6.24-18-server
3. sudo apt-get install linux-image-2.6.24-18-server
4. sudo apt-get install linux-headers-server
5. sudo apt-get install linux-image-server linux-server

What we are doing in these commands is unstructing Ubuntu to download (apt-get) and install these 5 software modules from the server version. The sommand SUDO means 'Super User Do', and after the first one you will be prompted for your password. You are in effect executing these commands as the root user for your computer, which gived you the right to do ANYTHING!

I found this tip here, if you want to go see and read some of the comments that have been posted.

Creating a /home Partition on an existing Ubuntu system

This is a bit more complicated than the memory problem, but following some easy instructions will get it done quickly.

For this solution I am going to refer you to a section of the Ubuntu help site, but there are a few small comments where I found that the instructions needed a little massaging before they worked. I suggest that you go there and print out the item (it's 2 pages) then come back and read the modifications that I will list now.

Change 1.

Near the bottom of the first page, where it says "Now, mount the partition..." - before you try to mount the partition you need to create a 'mount point' using the mkdir command. Just type sudo mkdir with the same name that you use in the Fstab. (in the /media directory)

Note 1.

On the copy command, even with the 'exclude .gvfs' that is mentioned I still got a few errors, it took a long time to copy, but even with the errors it worked fine.

Once you have done this your system will have a partition for the OS and another for your data. If/when you have to install Ubuntu again - or even another Linux distrubution like Debian, you will be able to do it without disturbing your data and settings.

Cautionary Note

The first time I did this on a laptop it worked without a hitch. The second time, on my primary desktop, I ran into some problems. It took most of the day, but eventually I got everything back in place and running normally. So - do it with care and be sure that you back everything up before you start.