Category: Ubuntu

X Configuration for My ESA Plasma TV

We bought a TV a while ago with the thought that one day we could hook the computer up to it.  Well, that day has come, but I had trouble getting it to display correctly.

I enabled the restricted drivers for the nvidia video card.  I could run nvidia-settings to configure the displays.

I had to add some options to me screen section in the xorg.conf to make it look like this:

Section “Screen”
Identifier     “Screen0”
Device         “Device0”
Monitor        “Monitor0”
DefaultDepth    24
Option         “TwinView”
Option         “NoTwinViewXineramInfo” “1”
Option         “metamodes” “1024x768_85,NULL”
Option         “TwinViewOrientation” “RightOf”
Option         “ModeValidation” “AllowNon60HzDFPModes,NoEdidModes,NoEdidDFPMaxSizeCheck,NoVertRefreshCheck,NoHorizSyncCheck,NoMaxSizeCheck,NoDFPNativeResolutionCheck”
Option         “UseEDID” “FALSE”
SubSection     “Display”
Depth       24
EndSubSection
EndSection
Then, I found a nice tool to generate mode lines.  I put the modeline in the monitor section:

Section “Monitor”

# HorizSync source: builtin, VertRefresh source: builtin
Identifier     “Monitor0”
VendorName     “Unknown”
ModelName      “CRT-0”
HorizSync       28.0 – 55.0
VertRefresh     43.0 – 72.0
Option         “DPMS”
ModeLine       “1024x768_85”     69.54   1024 1056 1320 1352    576  586  594  605
EndSection

Resources

Options for xorg.conf

Modeline Tools

Java + Compiz

I have been having trouble with getting blank Windows with my Java programs.  The problem first appeared in programs I was working on in Eclipse, but then I found other programs I had downloaded from SourceForge also had the same problem.  Apparently, the problem comes from a conflict with Compiz-Fusion and Java.

Here is the solution:

Add the following line to /etc/environment —

AWT_TOOLKIT="MToolkit"

You possibly need to reboot for this change to take effect.

When I did this I got this error:

java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: Can't load library: /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/i386

The problem appears to be caused by using OpenJDK.  The solution was to use Sun’s JDK.  This post will not go into detail about how to switch, but here are some things to consider:

  • Install Sun’s JDK with Add/Remove Programs, apt-get, etc.
  • Use update-alternatives to point the OS to the correct Java Home
  • Run java -version to check that the correct version is in use
  • Update the installed JVMs in the Eclipse preferences to make sure that Eclipse is lauching programs with the correct JVM

Resources

Bootable ISO to USB Drive

I was trying to boot the Trinity Rescue Kit without having to burn a CD.  I never did get it to work, but I did get the Ubuntu ISO to boot.

Method 1 (didn’t work for me)

Step 1.  Download the ISO File.  Save it to a directory where you can browse to it.

Step 2.  Browse to the downloaded file.  Right click and choose “Open with ‘Archive Manager’.  (This is for linux.  You could use 7-zip in Windows, maybe WinZip).

Step 3.  Insert the USB Drive; notice where it mounts the drive.  For me it was at /media/disk.

Step 4.  Extract the ISO file by clicking the Extract button in Archive Manager.  Enter the path where the USB drive was mounted for the destination path.

This didn’t work for me.  I am assuming there is more to it than just copying the files onto the disk.

Method 2

Step 1.  Download  UNetbootin.

Step 2.  You need to make the file bootable.  I ran chmod +x unetbootin-linux-299.

Step 3.  When I ran it the first time, it told me that it needed mtools installed.  This was easy to install with: sudo apt-get install mtools

Step 4.  Run it from the terminal with ./unetbootin-linux-299

Step 5.  Choose the diskimage and pick the iso file.

Step 6.  Then, click OK

This worked on Ubuntu, but not on TRK.  When it booted into Ubuntu, it gave me a UNetBootin boot menu, and then it booted all the way into Ubuntu 8.10.

Resources

.iso to USB

Ubuntu: Installation from USB Stick

UNetBootIn