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## Refracta-6.0.4 release notes

Tips and Instructional topics. Not for support questions.
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### Refracta-6.0.4 release notes

by fsmithred » Sat Apr 16, 2011 3:23 am

Refracta 6.04 xfce/icewm
This is the XFCE/Icewm version of Refracta. It is based on
Debian 6.0 (Squeeze) and uses Debian repositories for packages. There
are a few packages installed that are not from the Debian repos. (Just
firefox and taskfer, I think.)
You can choose which desktop you want from the Session menu at the login
screen. Most of the directions below for finding things in the menu
apply to xfce. If you've chosen to use icewm, then you probably know
how to find stuff.
Most of the software packages are completely free and open source. There
are presently three non-free packages installed for the purpose of
hardware compatibility. If you don't like that fact, then please write
a letter to the hardware manufacturers, and ask them nicely to be more
cooperative with the open-source software community. Those packages are
listed here in case you want to remove them before installing to a hard
drive. If there's something else you think should be included, tell me.
firmware-ralink
firmware-iwlwifi
firmware-linux-nonfree
The contrib and non-free repos are enabled by default. To see which
packages you have installed that are not open-source, run 'vrms' from
a terminal.
========================================================================
PASSWORDS
The root password is root. The user password is user.
You can use the 'su' command to become root, or
use 'sudo <command>' for root permissions
or use 'sudo -i' to get a root terminal.
========================================================================
SSH SERVER
The ssh server is turned off. To start, stop or restart it, run
/etc/init.d/ssh start|stop|restart
To restore settings so that it starts automatically, run
update-rc.d ssh defaults
or run sysv-rc-conf and turn on ssh for runlevels 2-5.
SYSTEM and NETWORK INFORMATION
For System Information, look in the menu under
System --> System Profiler and Benchmark
or use one of the command-line utilities.
To get the current IP and MAC addresses, run 'netinfo' as user.
To manage the network connection, run Wicd Network Manager, found in the
Network section of the menu. For wired ethernet, you shouldn't need to
use it. For wireless, see below. If you like to configure static IP in
/etc/network/interfaces, then you may want to disable or remove wicd.
DISPLAY
If you need to configure xorg.conf from the console, run display-savior.
It will create /etc/X11/xorg.conf according to the options you select.
(/usr/local/bin/display-savior)
WEB BROWSERS
The default web browser is Kazehakase, which uses a lot less memory than
firefox/iceweasel.
Firefox 3.6.16 is installed in /usr/local/bin. The package manager
doesn't know about firefox, so you are responsible for updating it after
installation (if there are any security updates.)
To start firefox, choose it from the menu, in the network category. If
you make it your default browser, then it will also start from the main
menu or the panel icon. CORRECTION: No, it won't. Edit the panel
button to point to /usr/local/firefox/firefox.
-NoScript is installed and allowed for google and a few other sites. Use
the "S" icon in the lower right corner to whitelist sites.
-Download helper is also installed. It's the cherries? pawnshop balls?
near the address bar. Use for downloading/saving youtube videos.
WATCHING FLASH VIDEO
There is no flash or gnash browser plugin installed. If you want to
watch flash video, you can download the file with the download helper,
save it in your home folder, then open the file manager, right-click on
the file, and select youtube2avi. The file will be converted to .avi
format. When it's done, just click on the avi file, and it will open in
vlc media player. You may need to allow javascript for the website that
you're on or other websites in the noscript list before the download
helper icon becomes active.
If you'd rather convert to .mkv or .mp4, the scripts for that are in
/usr/local/bin. Just create your own custom actions in thunar (the file
manager) using the existing one as a template.
FLASHFIRE
This script deletes flash cookies hidden in $HOME/.adobe/ and
$HOME/.macromedia. You should use it if you install the Adobe Flash
browser plugin.
This build includes flashfire version 7, which runs in automatic mode
with the -a option or manual mode (asks before deleting) with -m. You
can run it from a terminal with one of the following commands:
flashfire -a
flashfire -m
Or, you could create a panel button for it and check the box that says,
"Run in terminal."
UPDATE FIREFOX
After installing Refracta, it's a good idea to update firefox. You can
do that with the following procedure. CORRECTION: Did this already.
It's running 3.6.16 now.
Open a terminal and give the command:
su
(then give the root password when asked)
Open firefox with the command:
/usr/local/firefox/firefox
In Firefox, click on Help, Check for updates, and Update Firefox.
When the update is finished, click on Restart Firefox.
Close firefox and reopen it from the menu as normal user. (For security,
it is important that you do not surf the web when running firefox as root.)
========================================================================
PRINTER
Printer Setup - Select "Printers" from the menu, or start the cups
print manager manually by opening a web browser and going to
http://localhost:631 then go into Administration
Give the root password when you're asked for one.
SCANNER
Scanner Setup - haven't tried it yet. Use Xsane.
========================================================================
INSTALLATION TO HARD DRIVE
There are a couple of ways to install this operating system to a hard
drive. You can use the old refractainstaller or the new one, which is
called refractainstaller-new and gives you a lot more choices. Both of
those installers must run in a graphical environment. The old
refractainstaller requires that you have a partition ready in advance.
You can use gparted for this. It also does not give you the option to
change the user name. You can run change-username.sh for this. (See
below for details.)
If you run refractainstaller-new, it will allow you to run gparted
during the installation process. Choose "Expert" for a list of options,
including multiple partitions, changing the user name, and encryption.
The "Simple" install is much like the old installer.
You can start either of these from the menu (in xfce) or call them by
name from a terminal.
If you want or need to install from console, you can run the older
new installer, named refractainstaller3b.sh
CHANGE USER NAME
After installation, if you want to change the name of the live user
run change-username.sh as root. You'll need to log out the user first,
then drop to console with ctrl-alt-F1 (or ctrl-alt-F2), then log in as
root.
Run it with the new user name you want and the old user name (user)
change-username.sh <newuser> <olduser>
When it's done, it should return you to a graphical login screen.
SNAPSHOT - MAKE YOUR OWN LIVE-CD
After you install to hard drive and configure the software and desktop
the way you want, run refractasnapshot to create an iso image that you
can burn to CD. You need a lot of free space on the hard drive to use
this. Run 'df -h' to make sure you're not using more than around 30-35%
of the disk.
MEMTEST
The CD contains memtest86+, but it's not carried over in the install. If
you want memtest in your installation, you can install it with your
favorite package manager. If you want memtest included in your snapshot,
copy memtest from /boot or from the CD to
/usr/local/lib/refractasnapshot/iso/live/
before running refractasnapshot.
=============================================
This build contains a lot of command-line utilities. A partial list
follows.
lvm2
cryptsetup
sshfs
fuse-utils
ntfs-3g
squashfs-tools
aufs-tools
syslinux
dosfstools
ntfsprogs
pmount
bzip2
unzip
p7zip-full
ps_mem.py
lshw
hwinfo
smartmontools
lm-sensors
hddtemp
hdparm
sdparm
read-edid
hardinfo
testdisk
fdupes
ddrescue
partimage
acpi-fakekey
sysv-rc-conf
memtest86+
openssh-server
rsync
zsync
whois
w3m
irssi
iftop
iptraf
zenmap
ethtool
pppoeconf
pppconfig
====================================================================
___ WIRELESS CONFIGURATION ___
Menu: Network ---> Wicd Network Manager ---> select the right one
Properties: WPA 1/2 (Passphrase)
Optional: Static IP and DNS
Connect
(Note: If this doesn't work, see below for manual network configuration,
or use a wire - eth0 is set for dhcp.)
=============================================
___ SSH INTO LIVE-CD FROM REMOTE HOST ___
# Start OpenSSH server with this command (as root):
/etc/init.d/ssh start
Log in from remote machine as [email protected]
(or IP number)
Give the user's password when asked (password = user)
Or log in as [email protected]
(or IP number) and give root password (root)
=============================================
___ MOUNT A REMOTE SHARE WITH SSHFS ___
# mount
sshfs [email protected]
:/home/user <mountpoint>
# unmount
fusermount -u <mountpoint>
================================
___ MOUNT/UNMOUNT ENCRYPTED PARTITION ___
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdX label
mount /dev/mapper/label <mountpoint>
umount <mountpoint>
cryptsetup luksClose /dev/mapper/label
==================================
___ MOUNT/UNMOUNT ENCRYPTED LVM ___
sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdxY label # then run lvdisplay to get the vg name and lv name
sudo vgchange -a y <volume_group_name> # (e.g. vol0)
mount /dev/mapper/<vg_name-lv_name> # (e.g. vol0-datapart)
umount /media/mapper_vgname-lvname
sudo vgchange -a n vol0
sudo cryptsetup luksClose label
====================================
___ TO CREATE AN ENCRYPTED PARTITION ___
cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdxY
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdxY label
mke2fs -j /dev/mapper/label
or:
mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/mapper/label
Then mount/unmount as above.
====================================
___ MOUNT NTFS PARTITION ___
mount -t ntfs-3g -o rw,umask=000 /dev/sdxY <mountpoint>
==================================
___ MOUNT WINDOWS SHARE ___
# This needs troubleshooting.
mount.cifs //windows-host/user <mountpoint> -o uid=user,gid=user
umount.cifs <mountpoint>
# This works:
Or connect through System Tools ---> Computer ---> Network (Tested with samba server.)
=================================
___ SAMPLE WIRELESS CONFIGURATION ___
Manual configuration (not needed if wicd works)
## Edit /etc/network/interfaces
## for WPA encryption with shared ASCII key.
## Use appropriate local IP numbers.
--- CUT ---
# wireless interface
iface wlan0 inet static
wpa-driver wext
wpa-ssid <ssid>
wpa-psk <wireless-password>
address 192.168.xxx.xxx
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1 (maybe)
auto wlan0
--- CUT ---
# Start/stop the interface with:
ifup wlan0
ifdown wlan0
# Add router or dns server address to /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 192.168.1.1
======================================
___ ADD BACPORTS REPO ___ (Useful only after installing to hard drive.)
# Add to /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main
aptitude (or apt-get) update
aptitude (or apt-get) -t squeeze-backports install "package"
=========================================

fsmithred
  Posts: 2101
  Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:13 pm

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