June 2020 - nmglug - lists.coactcloud.com

Next meeting Thursday
by Ted Pomeroy 28 Jun '20

28 Jun '20

NMGLugers, I have been updating both Debian and Xubuntu. On Debian I did the upgrade from Stretch to Buster. I encountered a program called 'minissdp' as part of the upgrade and had a few issues with it. It is designed to allow network awareness of Upnp, so it requires setting permissions to open a port for gathering data. I left it unconfigured during the upgrade, as this was allowed, but subsequent updating flagged it as partially installed. I finally removed it. With Buster running all other routine things I do seem to work, though I have not been using it long enough to rule out all problems. Updating now brings up warnings that the trusted gpg signatures do not match, so I will re-visit this issue which I had resolved in Stretch. I will be trying to sort out whether minissdp is needed or not and what to do to configure my apt files to correct the error messages about the trusted.gpg. I will have to research this and try to remember what I may have done to the keys involved. With Xubuntu I am using both 18.04 and 20.04 on different hardware. My thoughts on this are that I should try the six month release cycle, but my gut says I prefer the stability of fewer glitches and more gradual changes in the two year release cycle. The six month cycle gives newer kernel updates that bring the newest modules and controls. This has alerted me to learning more about systemd which is the control mechanism for the on the fly kernel adjustment and system administration. It also dawned on me that 'mount' no longer lists just the mounted devices, but lists the several mounted cgroups as well. If one needs to know hardware it is better to use 'lsblk' instead. And 'df -H' to see how much space is available on your drives. Systemd and control groups are new to me, so I will be reading the manual and looking at the tutorials to find out more as I go along. With the Xubuntu I will be trying to learn and catch up to the control group system, but I think I will settle with the LTS two-year cycle for updates as a rule and use a usb-installed system to see what the new, six month, release is doing. Where I tutor newcomers I will definitely favor the LTS version. We have a virtual meeting on July 2, at 5:30 pm, MDT. I will comment more on these issues and attend in Xubuntu 20.04 to see how that works. I do not anticipate any issues with the connection. We are still meeting virtually as noted on our website. Thank you, Ted P.

1 0

meeting tomorrow 06/18
by Ted Pomeroy 17 Jun '20

17 Jun '20

NMGLugers, We meet tomorrow evening. I hope all are well. I did do the swap as file on an instance of Xubuntu 18.04. It works pretty well for me. This is a usb install, so highly portable. I may change it to any upgrade after 20.04.1, but for now I am sticking to LTS. I've been helping a few individuals, but mostly with the gui menus, so not too deep. Otherwise I am doing well, but not doing anything too deep. It must be the warm weather. See you tomorrow. Thank you, Ted P

1 0

considering comcast/xfinity
by Mark Galassi 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

techies in Santa Fe: considering switching from uswest/qwest/centurylink (which will not do good speeds downtown) to xfinity/comcast (which says they will). i'll try it for a month. any advice on what cable modem hardware to get? any other things to consider for downtown santa fe broadband?

5 6

Swap file,
by Ted Pomeroy 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

NMGLUgers, I'm having trouble typing so apologies for the empty email just sent. I hope turning off the touchpad will fix that. I have just added a swap file to a usb install that I am using here. I made a few errors, but got through the process. I used the 'dd if=/dev/zero of=swapfile bs=1024 count=1048576' to create the space. Notes say this eliminates holes in the swap which would stymie the kernel. The info I used was from: https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-add-swap-space-on-ubuntu-18-04/ I had to add some steps to place my file in the root directory, rather than my home directory where I started by default. but it seems to be working. I was also on my way to system upgrade to 20.04, but will wait til the Updater allows this, apparently after the 20.04.1 release. Suits me, I'm not a fan of finding errors, though I should be. I prefer to wait till there is consensus and some refinement of a new LTS release. It is fun to add the swapfile, not a partition, as this is a new consensus. I will see how it works out on a usb that I use for portability and my own testing. Thank you, Ted P

2 1

Swap file done
by Ted Pomeroy 13 Jun '20

13 Jun '20

NMGLugers,

1 0

Re: [nmglug] Freezing
by Brian O'Keefe 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

Thanks again Ted, I looked for /boot/efi and there is a directory with many files. Below is how I got there. In the screenshot you can see Swap is using very little memory when I use my machine normally. The second screenshot shows the directory /etc/boot on the disk /de/sda1 and the linux file system on /dev/sda2. gparted has only two partitions (see below from gparted). So the question begs how swap memory is an issue at all? Here's the output of my digging for swap and not finding it in the directory as shown below, /etc/boot. I also found an ubuntu directory and listed the files. Again other than grub the results are Greek to me! :/boot/efi/EFI# ls BOOT ubuntu root@brian-VivoBook-ASUS-Laptop-X505ZA-F505ZA:/boot/efi/EFI# cd ubuntu root@brian-VivoBook-ASUS-Laptop-X505ZA-F505ZA:/boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu# ls BOOTX64.CSV grub.cfg grubx64.efi mmx64.efi shimx64.efi I am loathe to increase the swap memory when it doesn't appear to be a problem according to System Monitor. Anyway, here are my search results to find /etc/boot. /home/brian# cd /boot root@brian:/boot# ls config-5.3.0-55-generic memtest86+.elf config-5.4.0-33-generic memtest86+_multiboot.bin efi System.map-5.3.0-55-generic grub System.map-5.4.0-33-generic initrd.img vmlinuz initrd.img-5.3.0-55-generic vmlinuz-5.3.0-55-generic initrd.img-5.4.0-33-generic vmlinuz-5.4.0-33-generic initrd.img.old vmlinuz.old memtest86+.bin root@brian:/boot# cd efi root@brian:/boot/efi# ls EFI root@brian:/boot/efi# cd EFI root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI# ls BOOT ubuntu root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI# cd BOOT root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT# ls BOOTX64.EFI fbx64.efi mmx64.efi root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI/BOOT# cd /boot/efi/EFI root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI# ls BOOT ubuntu root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI# cd ubuntu root@brian:/boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu# ls BOOTX64.CSV grub.cfg grubx64.efi mmx64.efi shimx64.efi Again, many thanks. Brian PS: this is not a serious issue as I can do a hard shutdown and boot up again. Next time I'm hopefully going to be doing nothing important and I can just walk away and see if the machine un-freezes. I'll let you know if I go that route and the results. On 6/7/20 7:55 AM, Ted Pomeroy wrote: > Brian, Right, looks like you did a fresh install of 20.04 and the > default in Ubuntu is now a swap file, not a partition. So... you could > give a try at the method of increasing swap as described in your first > email in this thread. the series of commands basically disconnects > swap, then you blank some desire amount of free space, then designate > this as the swap directory and enable it. Let us know how it works > out. Thank you, Ted P. > > On Sat, Jun 6, 2020 at 10:18 PM Brian O'Keefe <okeefe(a)cybermesa.com > <mailto:okeefe@cybermesa.com>> wrote: > > One observation that just came to me is the issue again copied > below is relating to increasing swap is as a partition in 20.04 > but as you can see I do not have a swap partition but I have a 2GB > something...file? Also a couple of screenshots from system > monitor. It seems that swap has plenty of memory, at least as I > run four applications open and hidden process. Maybe they are of > some help? > > > Thanks > > Brian > >>> 0 >>> >>> yes Ubuntu 20.04 hangs freeze although I have 8 GB of >>> Ram and i7 >>> >>> I could temporary fix this issue in my side, by >>> expanding swap partition from 2 GB to 16 GB >>> >>> I am not sure but I think there is problem in Ubuntu >>> 20.04 memory management, here in my side it keep >>> consuming memory, then when both memory and swap are >>> full, the computer start to freeze and hang >>> >>> the solution steps are: >>> >>> 1- check the amount of swap you have >>> >>> |grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo | >>> >>> 2-turn off the swap process >>> >>> |sudo swapoff -a | >>> >>> 3-resize the swap(in my case i expand it to 16 gb) >>> >>> |sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1G count=16 | >>> >>> 4- attach the swap to partition >>> >>> |sudo mkswap /swapfile | >>> >>> 5- activate swap(enable it) >>> >>> |sudo swapon /swapfile | >>> >>> 6- see the new swap size >>> >>> |grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo | >>> >>> done >>> >>> -- >>> _______________________________________________ >>> nmglug mailing list >>> nmglug(a)lists.nmglug.org <mailto:nmglug@lists.nmglug.org> >>> http://lists.nmglug.org/listinfo.cgi/nmglug-nmglug.org >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> nmglug mailing list >>> nmglug(a)lists.nmglug.org <mailto:nmglug@lists.nmglug.org> >>> http://lists.nmglug.org/listinfo.cgi/nmglug-nmglug.org >> -- >> >> _______________________________________________ >> nmglug mailing list >> nmglug(a)lists.nmglug.org <mailto:nmglug@lists.nmglug.org> >> http://lists.nmglug.org/listinfo.cgi/nmglug-nmglug.org > -- > --

3 6

Re: [nmglug] Freezing
by Brian O'Keefe 07 Jun '20

07 Jun '20

Thanks Ted. I appreciate the info and the advice to hold off. I too have read that some graphic cards can cause lock-up. I'll leave all alone. I'll upgrade, if anything is now upgradable since the install is so recent. Still.... Have a great day! On 6/7/20 10:00 AM, Ted Pomeroy wrote: > Brian, Yes, wait on taking action. Try to identify the problem. Also, > I recommend staying clear of EFI partition for now. It is for > compliance with the UEFI standards for hardware and kernel boot. You > can read the Wikipedia.com article. I have had to adjust the EFI boot > order, but only on certain machines. If you boot and login okay no > changes needed. > So, right, plenty of ram, more swap might be desirable, but seems > unnecessary. I would make it a habit to run and read 'top' on a > regular basis to see what is running and what is using ram. Virtual > memory is not an issue. In top Shift+e changes the units for ram to > make it easier to interpret. Also look at idle(id) and waiting(wa) > percentages. I have found these interesting and instructive. Even > after closing Firefox and then starting top, I find it takes several > seconds to get idle up to 96% or so. > So, try to re-create or better identify the series of events that lead > to freezes. Have you read the release notes? Some graphics cards are a > boot up issue, and the new kernel is different from previous ones. You > might roll back if you have an option during boot, to get to the > lowest kernel number. Once in awhile new kernels leave off support for > older parts. or special graphics cards. Audio and wifi not likely to > be the issue. Keep up and join us at the next NMGLUG if you can. > Thank you, Ted P

1 0

Freezing
by Brian O'Keefe 06 Jun '20

06 Jun '20

Hi All, My Asus laptop has been freezing up for no reason that I could think of. I found out my swap partition is 2GB and this person solved it by increasing the swap partition to 16GB. I'm reluctant to start messing with partitions, though I have at times, w/o one of you brainiacs look at the procedure. If anyone can look this over I'd appreciate it but no obligations. Stay safe! Brian 0 <https://askubuntu.com/posts/1242975/timeline> yes Ubuntu 20.04 hangs freeze although I have 8 GB of Ram and i7 I could temporary fix this issue in my side, by expanding swap partition from 2 GB to 16 GB I am not sure but I think there is problem in Ubuntu 20.04 memory management, here in my side it keep consuming memory, then when both memory and swap are full, the computer start to freeze and hang the solution steps are: 1- check the amount of swap you have |grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo | 2-turn off the swap process |sudo swapoff -a | 3-resize the swap(in my case i expand it to 16 gb) |sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1G count=16 | 4- attach the swap to partition |sudo mkswap /swapfile | 5- activate swap(enable it) |sudo swapon /swapfile | 6- see the new swap size |grep SwapTotal /proc/meminfo | done --

2 5

Meeting and Stretch problem/solved
by Ted Pomeroy 04 Jun '20

04 Jun '20

NMGLugers, I think we are scheduled to meet tonight at 5:30 on a Jit.si link. I hope to be there from here. I had a problem updating Stretch (Debian 9) this week and had to find a way to resolve the situation: _apt as a user is unprivileged and the trusted.gpg file was not getting me to the Debian servers. I did find a solution in several steps. Had to remove the 'trusted.gpg' file in etc/apt; clear the /usr/var/apt/lists folder. With that done I was able to update and dist-upgrade. I briefly considered an upgrade to Buster (Debian 10), but I was not ready to backup my files this week and I have many files. This led me to the interesting discussion on the Debian wiki about changes to Apt. Hope to see you all, or some of you, tonight. Thank you, Ted P.

1 0

[ABQLUG] Next meetup will be tomorrow (1 year anniversary)
by ABQLUG 01 Jun '20

01 Jun '20

Fellow NMGLUGers, ABQLUG will be hosting it's monthly meetup (virtually) tomorrow, June 2nd 2020. This will also be our first anniversary meetup as well! Let's discuss the future of ABQLUG. I personally would like to discuss what we can do with the website for new users. I would like to make some posts and pages that will (1) allow new users to get started with Linux (2) allow new users find success in the long term (3) allow give resources to users that are having a hard time with Linux. To make this work, we are going to need help! Please attend this coming up virtual meetup for more details. Again, it will be on June 2nd 2020 at 6:00 pm (give or take) located here: https://live.abqlug.com/OneYear If you would like to help volunteer, and can't make the meetup, please email us at: community(a)abqlug.com If you are on a desktop or laptop you can attend the meetup by using a current version of Firefox or Chromium. If you are on iOS or Android, you can download the Jitsi Meet app from the Play Store, Apple Store, and F-Droid. Or you can Firefox on your mobile device. More information can be found here on how to join: https://www.abqlug.com/attendee/ ~ Jared

1 0