Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Welcome back to another edition of Questions and Answers! In this section we will endeavour to answer your Ubuntu questions. Be sure to add details of the version of your operating system and your hardware. I will try to remove any personally identifiable strings from questions , but it is best not to include things like serial numbers, UUID's or IP addresses.
When I was young and dumb, I had medical research as a client. The company I worked for used to send us to all their labs in the hospitals to repair equipment. You received no safety training or equipment. The medical technicians all wore latex gloves and face masks. Even in the TB lab, you got nothing. The lab technicians worked with stool samples and weird bacterial cultures, then typed on keyboards with silicone covers – that I had to touch with my bare hands. Looking back, I realise how foolish it was, but I knew no better. Now that I am old, everyone around me gets ‘flu in winter, gets all kinds of diseases, from gout to diabetes, and, somehow, I do not. I even miss out on the common cold. The only thing I can think of is that my immune system got some tough training in my FSE years. Like one’s immune system, don’t be afraid to tackle difficult problems, you will be rewarded in the end.
Q: I am running Ubuntu 16.04 on a Lenovo Yoga. English is not my first language, but my keyboard layout is US standard. I have installed the Character tool, but it’s not helpful – like windows, where alt+137 would give me a character. How does it work in Ubuntu, or does it even have something like that?
A: You will be pleased to know that the RIGHT HAND ALT key and your normal keys will produce the output you need. Go ahead and experiment in your notepad. I do not have the precise output layout for you, but here is the output of “Y, U, I, O” keys with the Right Alt key: “û, ü, ï, ö“.
Q: How does steganography work in Ubuntu? How do I work it? Please explain for dumb people. My computer is a Dell Optiplex with 4GB memory and i3 processor. Is this powerful enough?
A: Wow, you do have a high opinion of us here at FCM! Steganography is a very broad subject. As your question pertains to Ubuntu, I am going to assume you mean digital steganography. Let me address the second part of your question first. Any modern PC is powerful enough, because steganography, unlike encryption, does not need a lot of CPU power or RAM. You can, of course encrypt the text you are hiding, before hiding it. Now, for the first bit. Steganography in Linux is finding a way to hide your code. Media files are great as they are large, but do not be fooled; some malware may hide in the 4 kilobyte favicon in your browser. The idea is not to attract attention. This is ‘questions and answers’, not a tutorial, so I will link you to some sites. That said if you want a tutorial, let us know. https://linuxconfig.org/steganography-made-easy-in-linux https://www.howtoforge.com/tutorial/linux-image-steganography-and-watermarking/
Q: My computer is an HP Compaq 6300 small form factor. It has i5 and 8 GB RAM. I can’t get the network up. I have searched for a Linux driver on google, but I can’t find any. I have been told that I will have to compile my own kernel with the drivers. I have tried Manjaro, and MX Linux, and Antergos, before switching to Ubuntu. I have read Ubuntu has the best compatibility of all Linux, but it still does not work. Will you help me?
A: There are three possibilities: One - your network adapter is faulty. Two - it is disabled in your BIOS. Three - speaking of BIOS, the most probable cause is an old BIOS. If it is number three, I have good and bad news. The good news is a BIOS update will fix your problem, the bad news is you need Windows to flash said BIOS. The other option is to purchase a PCI network card if you do not want to go through the trouble.
Q: I want to convert videos on Ubuntu, H.264 and MP4. I use Ubuntu 17.10 with a Xeon 1225 CPU and 32 GB RAM, so I have the raw power, I just don’t know how. What is the best way to do it?
A: “Best” is subjective. You did not say if you want to convert to or from H.264. You also did not say if you want to re-encode or not. You also did not say if you prefer the terminal or a GUI. If you want to use a GUI, let me suggest Handbrake. Handbrake can also be used on the command-line (handbrake-cli). The other option I can give you is FFMPEG. There are also front-ends to FFMPEG. Look here: https://www.bugcodemaster.com/article/convert-videos-mp4-format-using-ffmpeg
Q: Why can’t Ubuntu Linux connect to our wifi like all our other devices? If I try to connect, the WIFI indicator seems like it is working and then eventually I get a prompt for username and pwd. I attempt to connect but the prompt returns again, ad nauseum. I cannot connect to the wifi. The documentation talks about certificates, but I am dumb, I don’t get it. Is there something else I can use other than network manager?
A: I trawled the internet a bit and I think I found the issue. (Usually a restart of the router and your ubuntu device will sort it out if your DHCP range is full). Navigate to /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections, edit the file matching your network SSID. Delete the line that says “phase2-altsubject-matches=” in the [801-1x] section. Save. You should be good.
Q: I got a shiny new SSD for Christmas and I would like to use FDE on it. I have been told that I can’t cache anything as it will be unencrypted. What happens when I close the lid of my laptop?
A: It seems the answer is not a simple one, I am going to point you to the interwebs: https://askubuntu.com/questions/620480/how-to-install-ubuntu-with-both-disk-encryption-and-ssd-caching
Q: Computer is a no-name black box with Ubuntu 18.04 on it. I need to install code:blox for school. My problem is that the PPA does not have Bionic in. http://ppa.launchpad.net/damien-moore/codeblocks-stable/ubuntu/dists/. How can I make it work as I need it asap?
A: With Ubuntu 18.04, it is now as simple as: sudo apt install codeblocks (note the spelling, it is important).
Q: I really liked Ubuntu, but I switched to Debian after I read about the spyware thing. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/12/richard-stallman-calls-ubuntu-spyware-because-it-tracks-searches/, but Debian feels like Ubuntu’s little brother, rather than the other way around. It feels less polished. Is there still spyware in Ubuntu, can I switch back?
A: Oh good grief, that is an old article with things probably blown out of proportion. I am going to treat it as a serious question, rather than a trolling attempt. Firstly, you are very welcome to inspect the source code for spyware, as Ubuntu is open source. Secondly, when that article was written, it was more of a knee-jerk reaction to the amazon search function. The choice, however is yours, and you will have to make the decision to switch. If you feel uncomfortable about the situation, why not install something derived from Ubuntu, where those developers would have looked at the source?
Q: I use Ubuntu 16.04, and I want to upgrade to Ubuntu 18.04, but I want to switch to Ubuntu Budgie instead. How can I do this? Do I use the Ubuntu Budgie CD to upgrade?
A: There is no way to upgrade from vanilla Ubuntu to an Ubuntu ‘flavour’. You can upgrade, then switch desktop environments. There is one caveat; the desktop environment you switch to will be the vanilla one, without the tweaks the developers of that distro put into it. If you want to switch to Ubuntu Budgie, my advice is do a backup of your data and do a fresh install.
Q: So, I copied my installation to a backup drive as I could not upgrade from 17.10 to 18.04; that installation was a bit worse for wear anyway, time for a new start. I did not want to go through the tedious motions of setting up and installing everything again, so I copied it to my new home. The problem was the next day when I turned my computer on again, that I could not log in. I ended up with a black screen. I was able to log in the previous day before copying my data across. Did I get a virus from the drive? I did not format it again after purchase. Will I lose everything? My computer has an SSHD and someone suggested I clear the cache, but I don’t know how.
A: The cache thing does sound plausible though, but I would have to go with the drive you did not format. I am not saying you have a virus, I am saying that it was probably formatted in FAT or NTFS. (Though it is always a good idea to format your drives from your supplier.) Windows file systems do not preserve permissions and are not case sensitive. You would probably have to chown all the data you copy across. Things like .rc files will prevent you from starting the GUI correctly if they are not owned by you. There will be manual work required.
Q&A alumi, Gord, says: When you copied your old system into the new installation, you wiped out essential files that Ubuntu depends upon. Reinstall 18.04, then just copy your data files from the old system.
Q: I would like to play Netflix on my laptop, but Chromium won’t allow it. I have a minimal install of Ubuntu as I have a very small SSD. Is it because of my minimal install?
A: Actually, from what I gather, it is Chromium - you need to use Chrome. (I can not test this for you as I can not afford Netflix). There is this, but I can not say if it will work in Ubuntu: https://arcolinux.com/how-to-play-netflix-in-your-chromium-browser/
Q: I have The Enigmatis games from GOG, and I want to install them on my Ubuntu laptop with integrated Intel gfx. They work great on my desktop with an Nvidia GT710 card. I copied the installers to my USB drive and transferred them to my laptop’s desktop, as it installs faster than USB key. About two-thirds the way through installing, they all fail. Does the install location matter? Or do I need to install a proprietary driver on my laptop? I don’t think this should be the case as the error is in the file copy process when installing, I never even get to running the games.
A: My advice is download the games directly onto your laptop, or do a full format on that USB thumb drive, then copy your stuff across, or even try another USB thumb drive completely. It is very common for USB thumb drives to corrupt large files. I think your copy is corrupted, rather than the avenues you have been going down.
Q: I have a multi-monitor setup on my Kubuntu Bionic PC - the one monitor seems to lose the plot as I move from one monitor to the other, going completely black. Due to the nature of our work, our computers are not connected to the internet, so I can’t browse for a solution. I have asked the IT chappie, but he seems baffled too. Most of my colleagues are drones who use Windows, so no help.
A: I have heard of something similar, and the solution was to change the refresh rate on the screens from 60hz to 59hz. However, I suggest asking your Administrator to roll out a newer kernel to you. This will most likely fix your problem.