HauntedShell » Troubleshooting

Finally: CSS & XHTML Compliant

Kwame — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:28:16 +0000

Haunted Shell validates as both XHTML and CSS compliant. There were a few minor issues with tag placement and a misplaced quote I had to fix up. Easiest validation I’ve ever done. Part of the reason validation was so easy was because the template (Changing man by Stuff And Nonsense) I built my theme from was so elegant and very compliant.

The main issue however was caused by the thickbox.css file used by the NextGen Gallery plugin. That I fixed by using a more compliant thickbox.css file from TheStable.info.That fixed my validation problems but unfortunately does look quite as good. I tried using the NextGen Smooth Gallery plugin which makes allows me to use NextGen Gallery’s excellent managament features and Smooth Gallery’s drool-inducing presentation. Bad idea, even more CSS errors.

Turns out all I needed to do was download the SlimBox plugin, enable it then go into the NextGen gallery settings and change the thumbnail effect to lightbox. That’s all. I get standards complaince and drool-inducing effects.

Edit: However, it seems like posts in which I include galleries won’t validate a XHTML compliant. That should not affect the home page itself since none of the galleries appear there. Have to take a further look into this.

Update: Turns out the problem wasn’t caused by the NextGen Gallery plugin(at least not directly). Seems like the NGG plugin may create validation problems for you if they are explicitly placed within tags(Thanks, Mule!). So I think I now have my layout and design problems licked. Now to focus on writing.

CPU Frequency Scaling for Dell Dimension 3000

Kwame — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:37:30 +0000

I use a Dell Dimension 3000 at home. It has a 2.8Ghz Pentium 4 so it generates a bit of heat and power usage. I generally tend to enable CPU frequency scaling on any computer I use. So I went through the normal procedure I use. First:

kwame@amaterasu:~$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure gnome-applets

Select yes when I’m asked if I want to allow cpufreq-selector to run with root priveleges.

Then I add the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor applet to the panel. I then select my desired scaling governor or speed and voila!

Not so with this computer. For some reason, it decided that “CPU frequency scaling is unsupported”. Turns out the kernel module for frequency scaling was not being loaded. So, it was off to the commandline:

kwame@amaterasu:~$ sudo modprobe p4_clockmod

Depending on your processor, you might have to change the module. See below.

Pentium 4, Celeron D, Pentium D, Celeron M : p4_clockmod
Pentium M, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo: speedstep_centrino
AMD K6: powernow_k6>
AMD K7 (Athlon, Duron, Sempron 32): powernow_k7
AMD K8 (Athlon 64, Turion 64, Sempron 64, Opteron 64): powernow_k8
None of above: acpi_cpufreq (may or may not work!)

Next is to load a module for your policy governor- which is a rule that determines how the scaling is carried out.

kwame@amaterasu:~$ sudo modprobe cpufreq_ondemand

There are 4 governors I know about – ondemand, performance, conservative and powersave. To load the appropriate module, you do a modprobe cpufreq_.

Once that is done. I remove the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor applet and add it again. Now that’s better.

One more thing to do. Use your favorite editor to open up /etc/modules and add the modules you used, each to a line and save. Now when you boot up, everything should be fine and dandy.

NB: The commands were meant for a Dell Dimension 3000 but you should be to tweak them for your own setup. Remember, ask for clarification when in doubt . You can probably get some more details from PolishLinux.

All that glitters is not beryl

Kwame — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:11:33 +0000

I was trying to install Beryl on a friend’s machine earlier today and I run into a few speed bumps. Beryl would exit immediately I started it and gave me this message:

/usr/bin/compiz: GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap is missing /usr/bin/compiz: Failed to manage screen: 0 /usr/bin/compiz: No manageable screens found on display :0.0

I did a little looking around online and I found out that I needed to add the following to the Device section of my xorg.conf file

Option "UseFBDev" "true" Option "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps" "true" Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"

I then gave X the three fingered salute( for all you ex Win 98 users, I’m not talking about that one… I mean Ctrl-Alt-Backspace) and Beryl was loading now. But unfortunately, I hit another pothole. Window decorations were not displaying. Tried the normal GTK and Emerald decorations but no success with any of them. Turns out my version of libdecoration0 was being held back for some reason. This is what my sources.list looked like before I installed beryl:

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty main restricted universe multiverse deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty-updates main restricted deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty-security main restricted universe multiverse deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy

The beryl packages were supposed to come from the download.tuxfamily.org repo but the libdecoration0 seemed to be loaded from the main ubuntu servers.

So I commented out the entries for the ubuntu servers:

#deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty main restricted universe multiverse #deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ feisty-updates main restricted #deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu feisty-security main restricted universe multiverse deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy

Then:

apt-get update apt-get install libdecoration0

When I reloaded Beryl, window decorations were back!!
Screenshots right after this commercial break:

Cantenna Chronicles – Part 1

Kwame — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:51:23 +0000

One of the problems I have with living off campus is that of internet access.. There is a wireless hotspot I can connect to but who want’s to pay for slow internet access when you can get slightly faster internet access for free. The only hitch: I live so far from campus, my received signal levels are just depressing.

That leaves me with three options:

Forget about ever getting internet access ( not really much of a choice).
Suscribe to the commercial hotspot.
Find a way to improve my signal level

Now the first option is like asking me not to breathe. The second is not such a bad option, I make it a point not to pay for internet access if I can get it for free (umm…. legally of course. >:) ). So I guess it’s time to get out my toolkit and start voiding warranties. Now the best way to improve your wireless signal is to get a better antenna. I didn’t have much in the way of resources so I decided to opt of a ‘cantenna’, which basically is a waveguide antenna (if you need details, you won’t find them here. Ever heard of google?). Anyways, what I needed was a tin can, a bit of thick copper wire, an N-connector and a pigtail. Now anyone who lives in Ghana knows those last two items are virually impossible to find. So I had to improvise. I had these cables for an indoor antenna I got from a friend. One end has a magnetic base with a female SMA connector and the other end has a male SMA connector. There was also an SMA to RP-TNC connector included as well.

So I’ll it a try and see what happens. Updates coming soon.

Unbricking Linksys WRT54G v5

Kwame — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:07:28 +0000

Before I begin: This WILL void your warranty (if you haven’t done that already) and might result in damage to your router or cause you to sustain injury. You have been warned. I will not take any responsibility for any mishaps that may occur as a result of this post.

My Linksys WRT54G version 5 suddenly stopped working over the weekend. On powering the router, all lights powered on and stayed that way. I had previously been running DD-WRT Micro.I tried holding the reset button for 30 seconds, powering the router, holding for another 30 seconds and then usnig TFTP tool to flash the router but that did not work. My situation was desperate and I was ready for desperate measures. So I used this guide : http://voidmain.is-a-geek.net/redhat/wrt54g_revival.html So I had to open up the router and short out pins 15-16 on the chip. The problem though was that in the pictures I saw, there were differences in the location of some of the components. So I’m posting a picture of what my board looks like just in case anyone has something similar to mine:

I won’t go into the details of the process since they are already documented elsewhere. All I’ll add is, funnily enough, after shorting out the pins, my router started working properly without me needed to reflash the firmware. Might work differently for you though.