Return of the prodigal Dell

[Urmas]

I "Linuxed" a P4 Dell desktop recently... all went well - users satisfied - until the HD "went". So... I "got" it back; installed a 320GB HD (and a DVD drive... so I installed Ubuntu Ultimate... saves time.)Couple of things... the computer is set up for two users, "talonmies" (with privileges) and "hurjat" (user only). Disk has a separate "/home" partition AND a separate (ext3) storage partition "/ROHOMU", which should be read/write accessible for both users. How to do this?Item two... a moody monitor... it's a "vintage flat screen"; a HP (Pavilion) FX70. Capable of doing 1024x768, but if I go by autodetection (horizsync & vertrefresh get detected as per specs), the defaut is a larger resolution, and a fuzzy picture. I can select a lower reso for sessions, no problem, but that leaves the login screen... not good. So, I've chosen a HP 14" from the list... takes care of that. However, everything ain't right... if I do <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Backspace>, it's a lottery... either I get the login screen just fine... or display goes bonkers. Also, it goes "out-of-range" during (yes, during) shutdown. Here's them relevant parts of xorg.conf:

Section "Device" Identifier "ATI Technologies Inc Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE]" Boardname "ati" Busid "PCI:1:0:0" Driver "ati" Screen 0 Option "MergedFB" "off"EndSectionSection "Monitor" Identifier "HP D7382A LC" Vendorname "Hewlett-Packard" Modelname "HP 1024 LE Flat Panel 14-inch Display" Horizsync 32-54 Vertrefresh 50-105 modeline "640x480@72" 31.5 640 664 704 832 480 489 491 520 -vsync -hsync modeline "640x480@75" 31.5 640 656 720 840 480 481 484 500 -vsync -hsync modeline "640x480@85" 36.0 640 696 752 832 480 481 484 509 -vsync -hsync modeline "800x600@56" 36.0 800 824 896 1024 600 601 603 625 +hsync +vsync modeline "800x600@72" 50.0 800 856 976 1040 600 637 643 666 +hsync +vsync modeline "800x600@75" 49.5 800 816 896 1056 600 601 604 625 +hsync +vsync modeline "800x600@85" 56.3 800 832 896 1048 600 601 604 631 +hsync +vsync modeline "800x600@60" 40.0 800 840 968 1056 600 601 605 628 +hsync +vsync modeline "832x624@75" 57.284 832 864 928 1152 624 625 628 667 -vsync -hsync modeline "1024x768@60" 65.0 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -vsync -hsync modeline "1024x768@43" 44.9 1024 1032 1208 1264 768 768 776 817 +hsync interlace +vsync Gamma 1.0EndSectionSection "Screen" Identifier "Default Screen" Device "ATI Technologies Inc Radeon RV100 QY [Radeon 7000/VE]" Monitor "HP D7382A LC" Defaultdepth 24 SubSection "Display" Depth 24 Virtual 1024 768 Modes "1024x768@43" "1024x768@60" "832x624@75" "800x600@60" "800x600@85" "800x600@75" "800x600@72" "800x600@56" "640x480@85" "640x480@75" "640x480@72" EndSubSectionEndSection

Edited February 20, 2008 by Urmas

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Item 1: Set the fstab entry for the storage partition with "defaults,gid=users".Item 2: Install the ATI Linux drivers to get the full use of the vid card's capabilities.

[Urmas]

Item 2: Install the ATI Linux drivers to get the full use of the vid card's capabilities.

Bit reluctant to do that... I'm not the one doing the admin stuff... losing GUI after Kernel update would be a major disaster.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Well, you'll probably not be able to choose many monitor viewing options with the generic Linux vid drivers. :(You can try to modify xorg.conf manually to allow higher resolutions and refresh rates, but that doesn't always work.

Edited February 20, 2008 by V.T. Eric Layton

[Urmas]

... to allow higher resolutions and refresh rates...

Not the problem here... the opposite, rather. Got no problems while logged in... it's the logout/change user/kill X part that ain't working nice.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

What does X do when you logout?

[Urmas]

What does X do when you logout?

It "exits" X gracefully... won't get stuck on desktop or anything like that. It's AFTER X is "gone" that things get interesting... quoting myself:

if I do <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Backspace>, it's a lottery... either I get the login screen just fine... or display goes bonkers.

And by "bonkers" I mean... er... remember an old TV with a picture that won't "hold" but begins ro "rotate". That kind of thing.

[Bruno]

Hi UrmasI would mount the /ROHOMU either in /media . . . or in /home ( so not /home/hurjat but simply /home ) . . then indeed like Eric suggests setting the gid= in the fstab and chmod -R the directory to 777.For the display problem . . . you could do a test with an xorg.conf without all those "modeline"-lines and see if that helps. . . . The problem is that Ubuntu re-configures the hardware each time at boot again . . . . so you might have to tell the user to use "reboot" and not "logout" ( you should be able to change user without logging out ) Bruno

[Urmas]

As for the mounting issue... here's /etc/fstab:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.## <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>	   <dump>  <pass>proc			/proc		   proc	defaults		0	   0# /dev/sda1UUID=1c9445e7-c99d-4159-8cf7-637ac582f6b5 /			   ext3	defaults,errors=remount-ro 0	   1# /dev/sda4UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856 /ROHOMU		 ext3	defaults		0	   2# /dev/sda2UUID=d2b754ee-c532-461e-8c81-dfb239f36f78 /home		   ext3	defaults		0	   2# /dev/sda3UUID=8ec01d21-7f18-40bd-a4eb-967a589376d8 none			swap	sw			  0	   0/dev/scd0	   /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/scd1	   /media/cdrom1   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/fd0		/media/floppy0  auto	rw,user,noauto,exec 0	   0

... user IDs (viewed fom "main", "talonmies" account...

talonmies@pikkarainen:~$ iduid=1000(talonmies) gid=1001(talonmies) ryhmät=4(adm),20(dialout),21(fax),24(cdrom),25(floppy),26(tape),29(audio),30(dip),44(video),46(plugdev),104(scanner),106(fuse),108(lpadmin),110(admin),115(netdev),117(powerdev),1001(talonmies),1002(hurjat)talonmies@pikkarainen:~$

Do I need to login to "hurjat" to get that uid?This mounting biz hasn't quite sunk in yet...

Hi UrmasI would mount the /ROHOMU either in /media . . .

So... go to Gparted and change the mount point?

[Bruno]

Do I need to login to "hurjat" to get that uid?

Or look at /etc/group

So... go to Gparted and change the mount point?

Nope . . just make a /ROHOMU directory in /home and change the fstab entry:

# mv /ROHOMU /ROHOMU-backup# mkdir /home/ROHOMU # umount /ROHOMU # mount -t ext3 /dev/sda4 /home/ROHOMU

Next change the fstab and check if /home/ROHOMU looks okay . . . . and if all is well, even after a reboot delete the /ROHOMU-backup directoryB) Bruno

[Urmas]

Next change the fstab and check if /home/ROHOMU looks okay . . . . and if all is well, even after a reboot delete the /ROHOMU-backup directoryB) Bruno

OK... did that (didn't backup, since it's empty)... change fstab?

[Bruno]

OK... did that (didn't backup, since it's empty)... change fstab?

yep sure . . the fstab should mount the partition in the right place after reboot ( so /dev/sda4 on /home/ROHOMU ) Bruno

[Urmas]

OK... rebooted... can see "ROHOMU" in Nautilus in /home./etc/fstab:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.## <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>proc /proc proc defaults 0 0# /dev/sda1UUID=1c9445e7-c99d-4159-8cf7-637ac582f6b5 / ext3 defaults,errors=remount-ro 0 1# /dev/sda4UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856 /home/ROHOMU ext3 defaults 0 2# /dev/sda2UUID=d2b754ee-c532-461e-8c81-dfb239f36f78 /home ext3 defaults 0 2# /dev/sda3UUID=8ec01d21-7f18-40bd-a4eb-967a589376d8 none swap sw 0 0/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0/dev/scd1 /media/cdrom1 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0 0/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec 0 0

/etc/group:

root:x:0:daemon:x:1:bin:x:2:sys:x:3:adm:x:4:talonmies,hurjattty:x:5:disk:x:6:lp:x:7:mail:x:8:news:x:9:uucp:x:10:man:x:12:proxy:x:13:kmem:x:15:dialout:x:20:talonmies,hurjatfax:x:21:hurjat,talonmiesvoice:x:22:cdrom:x:24:haldaemon,talonmies,hurjatfloppy:x:25:haldaemon,talonmies,hurjattape:x:26:hurjat,talonmiessudo:x:27:audio:x:29:talonmies,hurjatdip:x:30:talonmies,hurjatwww-data:x:33:backup:x:34:operator:x:37:list:x:38:irc:x:39:src:x:40:gnats:x:41:shadow:x:42:utmp:x:43:video:x:44:talonmiessasl:x:45:plugdev:x:46:haldaemon,talonmies,hurjatstaff:x:50:games:x:60:users:x:100:nogroup:x:65534:dhcp:x:101:syslog:x:102:klog:x:103:scanner:x:104:hplip,talonmies,hurjatnvram:x:105:fuse:x:106:hurjat,talonmiesssl-cert:x:107:lpadmin:x:108:talonmiesmessagebus:x:109:admin:x:110:talonmiescrontab:x:111:ssh:x:112:avahi-autoipd:x:113:avahi:x:114:netdev:x:115:talonmieshaldaemon:x:116:powerdev:x:117:haldaemon,talonmiesgdm:x:118:slocate:x:119:ntfs:x:1000:clamav:x:120:mysql:x:121:talonmies:x:1001:hurjat:x:1002:talonmies,root,hurjatntp:x:122:

[Bruno]

use gid=1002 in the fstab Bruno

[Urmas]

Rebooted to hurjat... uid=1001, gid=1002.Er...# /dev/sda4UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856 /home/ROHOMU ext3 defaults, gid=1002 0 2Like this?

[Bruno]

# /dev/sda4UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856 /home/ROHOMU ext3 defaults, gid=1002 0 2Like this?

Well, the "defaults" probably kind of overrides the gid . . so you will have to replace that with other options . . AND the space after the "," has to go.Here is what "defaults" stands for: rw,suid,dev,exec,auto,nouser,asyncSo I would suggest something like:

/dev/sda4 /home/ROHOMU ext3  rw,auto,user,exec,gid=1002,umask=000 0 0

( BTW: I would replace the UUID_crazy_number by "/dev/sda4" )Have a read here: http://www.tuxfiles.org/linuxhelp/fstab.html for more useful optionsB) Bruno

[Urmas]

OK, Amsterdam... here we are:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.## <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>	   <dump>  <pass>proc			/proc		   proc	defaults		0	   0# /dev/sda1UUID=1c9445e7-c99d-4159-8cf7-637ac582f6b5 /			   ext3	defaults,errors=remount-ro 0	   1# /dev/sda4UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856 /home/ROHOMU ext3  rw,auto,user,exec,gid=1002 0 0# /dev/sda2UUID=d2b754ee-c532-461e-8c81-dfb239f36f78 /home		   ext3	defaults		0	   2# /dev/sda3UUID=8ec01d21-7f18-40bd-a4eb-967a589376d8 none			swap	sw			  0	   0/dev/scd0	   /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/scd1	   /media/cdrom1   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/fd0		/media/floppy0  auto	rw,user,noauto,exec 0	   0

Standing by...

[Bruno]

Sorry Urmas . . I adapted fine-tuned the line while you were editing the file . . . :PReplaced "UUID=6e380750-d190-4ebc-ab15-ce4039d82856" with "/dev/sda4" and added ",umask=000" just before the "0 0" Bruno

[Urmas]

Roger that, Amsterdam:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.## <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>	   <dump>  <pass>proc			/proc		   proc	defaults		0	   0# /dev/sda1UUID=1c9445e7-c99d-4159-8cf7-637ac582f6b5 /			   ext3	defaults,errors=remount-ro 0	   1# /dev/sda4/dev/sda4		/home/ROHOMU ext3  rw,auto,user,exec,gid=1002,umask=000 0 0# /dev/sda2UUID=d2b754ee-c532-461e-8c81-dfb239f36f78 /home		   ext3	defaults		0	   2# /dev/sda3UUID=8ec01d21-7f18-40bd-a4eb-967a589376d8 none			swap	sw			  0	   0/dev/scd0	   /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/scd1	   /media/cdrom1   udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec 0	   0/dev/fd0		/media/floppy0  auto	rw,user,noauto,exec 0	   0

Standing by...

[Bruno]

YES !! . . . That should do the trick . . . . now reboot . . . . and make a link in each /home directory ( so in both /home/hurjat and /home/talonmies ) to the /home/ROHOMUB) Bruno

[Urmas]

Er... something no worky; I'm logged in as "talonmies"... can't write to /home/ROHOMU. Anf the "/home/ROHOMU" folder shows that the "size" is not there; only shows the free space of the "real" home partition.

Edited February 21, 2008 by Urmas

[Bruno]

Please show "ls -l /home/ROHOMU" Bruno

[Urmas]

talonmies@pikkarainen:~$ ls -l /home/ROHOMUyhteensä 0talonmies@pikkarainen:~$

[Bruno]

Sorry . . what was I thinking . . I was looking for: "ls -l /home" Bruno

[Urmas]

(Meanwhile... went to GParted... noticed it was not mounted... mounted it. An oops, was it? )

talonmies@pikkarainen:~$ ls -l /homeyhteensä 28drwxrwxr-x 46 hurjat	hurjat	 4096 2008-02-21 19:58 hurjatdrwx------  2 root	  root	  16384 2008-02-18 17:11 lost+founddrwxr-xr-x  2 root	  root	   4096 2008-02-21 09:51 ROHOMUdrwx------ 66 talonmies talonmies  4096 2008-02-21 20:49 talonmiestalonmies@pikkarainen:~$

[Bruno]

Okay . . . it's clear . . . please do:

# chmod -R 777 /home/ROHOMU# chown -R 1002:1002 /home/ROHOMU

Bruno

[Urmas]

Done. :)As usual: standing by...

Edited February 21, 2008 by Urmas

[Bruno]

. . . reboot and do "ls -l /home" again to see if the changes stickB) Bruno

[Urmas]

talonmies@pikkarainen:~$ ls -l /homeyhteensä 28drwxrwxr-x 46 hurjat	hurjat	 4096 2008-02-21 19:58 hurjatdrwx------  2 root	  root	  16384 2008-02-18 17:11 lost+founddrwxrwxrwx  2	  1002 hurjat	 4096 2008-02-21 09:51 ROHOMUdrwx------ 66 talonmies talonmies  4096 2008-02-21 21:38 talonmiestalonmies@pikkarainen:~$

[Bruno]

Okay . . . . now try to write to it . . . from both accounts. Bruno