Category Archives: Debian

[HOWTO] Add Launchpad Ubuntu PPA in Debian Squeeze Testing

I have installed Debian Squeeze Testing replacing Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat and miss some applications only available via Launchpad PPAs. Not that they can’t be compiled from their sources or installed by downloading debs, but it would be great if updates were available from update manager like in Ubuntu. So I decided to add some Ubuntu PPAs and they are working fine. So, I decided to share here with the hope that it would be helpful to my readers.

If you want to install a PPA in Squeeze Testing, make sure that the PPA has an entry for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx. Not that it will never work with Maverick PPAs, but Lucid is a better choice as Debian Squeeze has package versions more similar to Lucid than Maverick or Natty. Thus, it is a better choice to use Lucid PPAs. Instead of using just the PPA name (for example ppa:tiheum/equinox for Equinox theme PPA) use the deb line for Lucid (eg. deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/tiheum/equinox/ubuntu lucid main ) and add it to /etc/apt/sources.list or Software Sources (or Synaptic>Settings>Repositories>Third Party Source). After adding that, copy the PPA signature (available in “Signing Key” section in PPA page), eg. 1024R/4631BBEA for Equinox Theme PPA. Just use the part after “/” (i.e. 4631BBEA for this example) and use the following command in the terminal to get GPG keys for the PPA:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 4631BBEA

Note: If you are not able to sudo, you may either enable it or use su followed by commands instead.
After that, reload the package list and install the package.

This may not work for every program that there is but it works for many. Hope this helps.

[SOLVED] Unable to enter password on “UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY” in Debian Squeeze Testing

My harddisk apparently had some problems and I got “check forced” and let fsck do its job during the startup. However, I got;

/dev/sdXY: UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY
(i.e. without -a or -p options)
fsck died with exit status 4
failed (code 4)
File system check failed. A log is being saved in /var/log/fsck/checkfs if that location is writable. Please repair the filesystem manually … failed!
A maintenance shell will now be started. CONTROL-D will terminate and resume system boot. … (warning)
Give root password for maintainance
(or CONTROL-D to continue):

However, when I tried to enter the password, I got “Login Incorrect” for each key I pressed. Even when I pressed CONTROL-D, I got the same. I am not sure if it is a result of me installing and enabling Plymouth recently, but I fixed it by booting up in recovery mode. In recovery mode, password was accepted. Then I got dropped into shell. I typed in fsck /dev/sdXY (where X is either A, B, C or D and Y is a number) and then typed “y” to offered fixes. Then, I could boot into the system.

[HOWTO] Install Linux Kernel 2.6.36 or 2.6.37 in Debian Squeeze Testing or Ubuntu or any Debian based distribution without compiling

I have recently installed Debian Squeeze Testing and since I recently moved from Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat (which has 2.6.35), I wanted to install it in my Debian Squeeze (which has 2.6.32). However, compiling kernel is time consuming and tiresome, I decided to use the Ubuntu Kernel Mainline PPA like I always do. I navigated to the latest 2.6.37 directory (which is v2.6.37-rc1-maverick as of today) and downloaded the following files:
linux-headers-XXXXXX_all.deb
linux-headers-XXXXXX_i386.deb (if you have 64bit, choose amd64 version)
linux-image-XXXXXX_i386.deb (if you have 64bit, choose amd64 version)
Also, if you are not using Ubuntu, you may need to download wireless crda package from maverick packages.
After downloading, install in the following order (using dpkg or gdebi):
wireless-crda
linux-headers-XXXXXX_all.deb
linux-headers-XXXXXX_i386.deb (if you have 64bit, choose amd64 version)
linux-image-XXXXXX_i386.deb (if you have 64bit, choose amd64 version)

Now, reboot and you should get booted into a new kernel. If you have problems booting into the new kernel, simply boot into the old kernel and remove it via package manager.

[HOWTO] Install pastie in Debian Squeeze/Testing

Pastie is a clipboard manager for gnome with best feature set. It is available in Launchpad PPA for Ubuntu Lucid Lynx and Maverick Meerkat. However, it can be installed in Debian Squeeze/Testing from the same PPA.

To install, just open up Synaptic>Settings>Repositories>Third Party Software and click Add. Add the following line (yes Lucid, not Maverick):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/hel-sheep/pastie/ubuntu lucid main

When added, close the Repositories dialog and close Synaptic. Now, open up the terminal and execute the following commands:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys DE4CA452
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pastie python-gnome2

Note: If you are not able to sudo, use su followed by commands without “sudo” and it will work.

This should install pastie in your Debian. Have fun.

[SOLVED] “Unable to find specified executable” Alert when new mail arrives in Thunderbird/Icedove

I recently installed Icedove in my Debian Desktop and I got an alert box saying “Unable to find specified executable”.


I had preserved the profile from previous installation (Thunderbird) and the add-on Gnome Integration was installed in my older installation which was automatically carried over to my new installation. I do not have Gnome currently installed in my system and I do not have the necessary binary (/usr/bin/notify-send) for the add-on to use.

To solve this, one of the two solutions can be used.

Remove Gnome Integration
If you do not have Gnome installed, it makes more sense to uninstall the Gnome-Integration add-on from Tools>Addons in Icedove/Thunderbird. Restart Thunderbird/Icedove and the alert should not appear anymore.

OR

Install libnotify-bin from package manager
If you are using Debian or similar system, you will find a package called libnotify-bin in Package Manager or install it from terminal.

sudo apt-get install libnotify-bin

Note: if you have not configured your system to allow you to sudo, but you want to be able to, read this article. Otherwise run it as root by using su.
After installing it the alert will probably not appear anymore.

[HOWTO] Recover an application that was removed due to update in Ubuntu and other Debian based systems

Sometimes when you are using PPA repositories or mixing multiple repositories or using a Development version, you encounter a problem and some of your applications might be removed. I want to illustrate the problem with my current Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Alpha installation, which I use as the only OS in my computer. This is not recommended but since I have always managed to solve issues that come up due to development versions, I have mostly used development versions because I get to see the upcoming changes and report problems if anything that bothers me.
With the latest repositories list update, I got into a problem with Filezilla, because I have been using Lucid getdeb repo with my system and Filezilla is in their repo as well as the official repo. When I marked for the latest updates in Synaptic Package Manager, I could see that filezilla, amongst others, was in the package to be removed which was because the package filezilla-common was to be upgraded and the filezilla that was installed, and had no update, had dependency issues. I upgraded the package filezilla-common anyways and lost filezilla. Ideally, since I am using a development version, I should have marked all the changes, and then reviewed the list of programs that are to be removed and unmark them or mark them for reinstallation which automatically unmarks the conflicting updates. Since packages like gdm, gnome-panel and some others which are required for the system to boot properly into the desktop were also marked for removal, I marked them for re-installation or unmarked them so that they remained in the system. But for experimenting, I did not mark it and it got removed. Now, when I try to install the package, I get the error:

filezilla:
Depends: filezilla-common (=3.3.2.1-1ubuntu1) but 3.3.3-1ubuntu1 is to be installed

and it cannot be marked for installation.
Since I need filezilla, I need to get it back installed. For this, the easiest way is to remove the alternate repository and reload the software list. If that does not help, you could just wait for the next repository update and reload it and then install it.
If you can’t wait or if that does not solve the problem, then you can follow the method I explained with 0ad here in my older blog post. I can also find the compatible deb file (download it from some other location and check for compatibility) and install it with gdebi (double click).
If you can’t find it, just find the latest version (which may be found in the directory /var/cache/apt/archives or can be downloaded from http://packages.ubuntu.com) and then install with dpkg i.e.

sudo dpkg -i filezilla_3.3.2.1-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb

This will, however, leave broken packages and synaptic will not let you do any other installation/update without resolving it. But most of the time, you can run the particular program without problems. The next update might fix the problem and you can just reinstall the broken package. But in case if it does not or if you don’t want to wait, you can downgrade to the older version of the conflicting package that you upgraded which caused your program to be removed. You can find the deb online or in /var/cache/apt/archives and install it using dpkg. In my case, it is the older version of filezilla-common that I need. So, all I do is run the following command to install the older version which will replace the newer version:

sudo dpkg -i /var/cache/apt/archives/filezilla-common_3.3.3-1~getdeb2_all.deb

and then to reconfigure the package filezilla, I also installed the older version of filezilla:

sudo dpkg -i /var/cache/apt/archives/filezilla_3.3.3-1~getdeb2_amd64.deb

Hope this helps resolving and recovering your lost programs.

Best Download manager for Linux

I am using Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat and had been using the following programs for downloading stuff from the Internet:

Firefox Default Download Manager for HTTP/FTP Downloads and Deluge for Torrents.

It was not much convenient because Firefox resume does not always work in case of crashes or in case of power cuts. Also it does not support multi-threaded downloads. So, I decided to try out Fatrat along with Flashgot firefox add-on. Fatrat and Flashgot both can be installed from Ubuntu Software Center. If you are using beta or development version of Firefox, then you need to get it from Firefox Addons Website or Flashgot website.

Fatrat, like Free Download Manager (which is currently only available for Windows), can be used as a torrent client, HTTP/FTP Download Manager, Rapidshare download (it waits for appropriate time automatically and downloads), Youtube Download (at the time of writing this, Youtube download seems not to be working) and much more.


It supports remote control via jabber and web interface.


Since Flashgot does not support Fatrat by default, you will need to add support for Fatrat. When it asks for path, enter /usr/bin/fatrat. After that, you can select and right click a link and Flashgot it. You can also select Flashgot>Fatrat when the download box comes up.


When you click OK, Fatrat should show the add link dialog.

Have fun downloading.

[HOW TO] Installing Kernel 2.6.30 (or any latest version available) in Debian Lenny or Ubuntu without having to go through Compiling

I have recently switched to Debian Lenny (from Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope) and it is quite stable. However, I wanted to try the latest stable linux kernel (2.6.30 as of now) in this machine and see how it goes. However there are not much problems, I just wanted to install it. I went to Debian Kernel Archive and downloaded the packages but it does not seem to work. So I headed over to the Ubuntu Kernel Archive and the kernel there worked. This is how I did it.

More