June 2005 - openSUSE Users - openSUSE Mailing Lists

Zaurus SL-5500 and SuSE 9.3
by Jay Vollmer 30 Jun '05

30 Jun '05

Hi Everybody. Is anyone out there successfully using a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 with SuSE 9.3? If so, please tell me about it. -- JAY VOLLMER JVOLLMER(a)CONSOLIDATEDLINT.COM TEXT REFS DOUBLEPLUSUNGOOD SELFTHINK VERGING CRIMETHINK IGNORE FULLWISE

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Is sound management ready for the 'Linux Desktop'?
by Colin Murphy 30 Jun '05

30 Jun '05

I've recently introduced my dear, grey haired old mother to the delights of computers and, seeing as she is using one of my machines, she will be using Linux, specifically Suse 9.2. While she has had a little experience of some Windows systems it's all fairly new to her, so watching her using a Linux desktop is quite revealing. It seems she gets stuck just as often with either OS, mainly with pop-ups and sudden change of focus of windows on the screen, along with silly things like typing e,s and c for the ESC key. We are using KDE along with applications like KMail. Obviously these things will come with practise and experience - the point to note being that the learning curve seems pretty much the same for Linux and Windows. The killer app that has fired up my mothers keenness to use the computer is Skype and it is the sound element that has proved to be a real stumbling block for her. I have many years of Linux experience, though I'm no expert, and it is sound that always seems to cause me the greatest amount of grief also. This begs the question, are the sound features in Linux letting the Desktop usage side down? The specific problem here with Skype was with setting up the 'voice capture' side of things. It works to a fashion now, after some Googling I started setting levels using alsamixer from a terminal, other mixers like KMix and KAMix didn't have a slider control for a 'Digital' element, which is required. It still isn't working quite right, this setting needs to be adjusted after every reboot - alsamixer isn't as GUI user friendly as I would want for my mother and is a cause of irritation. Can anyone tell me how I can set these in a more permanent fashion? I have found the way Linux handles sound to be a very confusing subject, confusing for a user since almost all of the documentation seems to be for the developer arena. Is it now time for this to change and make all of the sound features more user friendly. I am not talking about playback, that has been fairly flawless in it's automatic configuration in any Suse install I've done in the past few years. I'm talking of more complicated things like recording and capturing from other sources. Truth be told, I have no idea how well this stuff is handled in Windows either, nor do I care. I do know that if I have a problem trying to do some of this stuff in Linux and I turn to Google for help my head soon starts to spin with terms like aRTs and ALSA and a seemingly fraught battle between then for domination of my speaker socket. Are there any key pieces of knowledge about the sound systems that one should know to ever have a hope in understanding how it's all handled? Thanks for reading. -- Colin Murphy - Colin(a)SpudULike.me.uk

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I had sound in 9.0 but not in 9.2
by Thomas E Beasley Jr 30 Jun '05

30 Jun '05

Hi all, I have unsuccessfully attempted to fix the sound card issues in my 9.2 install - no sound - though I had sound in 9.0. Since I upgrade every-other release, I still have until October to get it going. Is there such a thing as a sound card that is fool-proof for Linux? If so, I'd buy one. My vendor has recommended Turtle Beach. Anyone have any experience with this card running 9.2. My old sound card has worked with SuSE since 6.4. Funny it should fail with 9.2 . Thanks in advance, Tom

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Re: [SLE] I had sound in 9.0 but not in 9.2
by Stan Glasoe 30 Jun '05

30 Jun '05

On Wednesday 29 June 2005 9:06 pm, Thomas E Beasley Jr wrote: > On Wed, 2005-06-29 at 17:56 -0500, Stan Glasoe wrote: > > On Wednesday 29 June 2005 2:01 pm, Thomas E Beasley Jr wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > > > I have unsuccessfully attempted to fix the sound card issues in my > > > 9.2 install - no sound - though I had sound in 9.0. Since I upgrade > > > every-other release, I still have until October to get it going. Is > > > there such a thing as a sound card that is fool-proof for Linux? If > > > so, I'd buy one. My vendor has recommended Turtle Beach. Anyone have > > > any experience with this card running 9.2. > > > > > > My old sound card has worked with SuSE since 6.4. Funny it should > > > fail with 9.2 . > > > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > > > Tom > > > > Turtle Beach's Santa Cruz has been working mostly perfect for me since > > 8.x days... once I figure out what the heck the latest release is up to > > as far as sound goes. It always works during install but doesn't always > > work after the first hard reboot. AlsaMixerGUI has been my friend and > > learning which control needs to be tweaked. KMix is now looking as good > > as AlsaMixerGUI for being able to tweak all your sound card > > capabilities plus KMix sits in the KDE systray with volume > > mouse-over/wheel effects. > > > > My opinion is that Linux sound is getting better but whether or not it > > will be foolproof is very system and sound card dependent. My onboard > > AC97 sound has been disabled since I went with the add-in card because > > I couldn't get it to work reliably after several SuSE version updates. > > The Santa Cruz just keeps cruising. > > > > Stan > > Thanks Stan et al. I'll give Turtle Beach Santa Cruz a try. In the mean > time, if there is an an underling Kernel problem, is there a patch? -Tom Haven't had to do any kernel patch for sound on my system - yet. Most often its a different module to load, or module configuration/parameters in /etc/modprobe.conf, etc. Sometimes a recompile or an update of arts or alsa may fix things. Most often it has been volume or other settings in AlsaMixerGUI or KMix that has fixed the issue. But IF a kernel patch was needed then I would hope its available from whoever. Which most likely won't be Santa Cruz... Stan

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bad sound quality must be hardware?
by mlist＠safenet-inc.com 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

Is there any possibility that crashing-crunching audio noise that now obscures all audio output could be anything but a hardware problem? The desired sound can still be heard at the expected volume, but the noise is equally loud (like an old AM radio near a thunderstorm). My sound needs are minimal (play an audio CD occasionally, play a video or flash clip, rarely play a movie from DVD). So I don't have a sound-card... just the generic on-motherboard AC97. I hadn't even had the speakers switched on for several weeks before I upgraded from SuSE 9.2 to 9.3 (install, not update), so I don't know for certain that it's not software. (Unlikely, I know, but...) It's not the speakers ( tried headphones). I checked all cable connections for snug fit... well, really there's just the one internal cable from the CD drive to MB. Nothing is unduly hot and nothing smells bad in the vicinity of the motherboard. The noise is intermittent and rises and falls with volume-slider settings. Looks like I need to spend a few bucks on a soundcard? Any other diagnosing I should do first? All software is straight off the DVD and kept up with YOU... but a software glitch couldn't make noise that way, could it? Kevin The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it.

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APCUPSD (Battery Backup) Question
by Robert Paulsen 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

Hi, Running SuSE 9.3 with an APC BX1000 UPS. I have installed apcupsd-3.10.16-3 from the SuSE DVD and it is working really well via a USB connection. There are two things that are a little off. The instructions describe a variety of tests to perform. All worked well with two exceptions... 1. When I disconnect the USB cable apcupsd is supposed to report that it has lost connection with the UPS. Well after running the test 3 or 4 times, it only once actually reported this. In all cases it reported that connection had been re-established when I plugged it back in. 2. "apcaccess status" shows the following: APC : 001,034,0828 DATE : Sun Jun 26 23:52:21 CDT 2005 HOSTNAME : paulsen RELEASE : 3.10.16 VERSION : 3.10.16 (04 November 2004) suse UPSNAME : paulsen CABLE : USB Cable MODEL : Back-UPS RS 1000 UPSMODE : Stand Alone STARTTIME: Sun Jun 26 19:25:20 CDT 2005 STATUS : LINEV : 124.0 Volts LOADPCT : 21.0 Percent Load Capacity BCHARGE : 100.0 Percent TIMELEFT : 42.1 Minutes MBATTCHG : 5 Percent MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes MAXTIME : 20 Seconds LOTRANS : 097.0 Volts HITRANS : 138.0 Volts ALARMDEL : Always BATTV : 27.3 Volts NUMXFERS : 0 TONBATT : 0 seconds CUMONBATT: 0 seconds XOFFBATT : N/A SELFTEST : NO STATFLAG : 0x02000000 Status Flag MANDATE : 2004-07-08 SERIALNO : JB0428020143 BATTDATE : 2001-09-25 NOMBATTV : 24.0 FIRMWARE : .g8 .D USB FW:g8 APCMODEL : Back-UPS RS 1000 END APC : Sun Jun 26 23:52:21 CDT 2005 Notice that the "STATUS:" line is blank. Sometimes it shows "ONLINE" but usually not. Anyone else have experience with this?

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linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media.
by Paul Cartwright 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

the files involved are /var/log/messages and /var/log warn I am now getting these error message lines every 2 seconds: Jun 29 13:32:10 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. Jun 29 13:32:12 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. Jun 29 13:32:14 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. Jun 29 13:32:16 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. Jun 29 13:32:18 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. Jun 29 13:32:20 linux kernel: VFS: busy inodes on changed media. I think it is referring to /dev/tty10 and I have no clue why. linux:/var/log # ls -l /dev/tty1? crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 10 2005-06-29 13:33 /dev/tty10 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 11 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty11 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 12 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty12 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 13 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty13 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 14 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty14 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 15 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty15 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 16 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty16 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 17 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty17 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 18 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty18 crw--w---- 1 root tty 4, 19 2005-03-19 14:36 /dev/tty19 -- Paul Cartwright Registered Linux user # 367800 X-Request-PGP: http://home.comcast.net/~p.cartwright/wsb/key.asc

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Problems using Intel Raid Controller Card SRCU31L With SuSE 9.2
by Eduardo J. Vega A 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

Hello guys,,, I'm trying to install on a server SuSE 9.2, but the RAID Controller Card it's an Intel SRCU31L and it seems that the Driver Module for that Card had being removed from the SuSE Kernel to "save" space.... so the SuSE installer didn't detect any Disk at the RAID controller Card. I found that installing on a IDE Disk after all the installation it's done, I can see the RAID Array... I know that I can use dd to pass the IDE (hda) partitions to the SCSI Raid Array Disk (/dev/i2o/scd) but what else do I need to modify ? Grub (which config files) ? Fstab ? any other stuff because the new change of the name of the devices in order to pass all of the OS to the IDE disk to the SCSI Raid Array one ? Note: I also try to load at the booting time the Intel Driver but it said that was for Red Hat 6.2 and after it has being loaded it didn't detect any Disk on the RAID Controller Card. Thanks --ed --ed He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you .Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

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spamassasin ignoring config file
by Robert Manfreda 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

Hi Are there any spamassassin users on this list? I'm running Suse 9.0 as my email server, and have a Qmail+Qmailscanner+Spamassasin installation. My problem is that I can't get spamassassin (spamd to be exact, version 2.64) to read /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cf file. I want to do a subject rewrite on spam mail, but when I restart spamd daemon, he just ignores any changes I made to the config file. I tried to run it with -D parameter (debug), and the file location is correct. /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cf: rewrite_subject 1 subject_tag [SPAM] /etc/sysconfig/spamd: SPAMD_ARGS="-d -c -a -L -x -u nobody" Otherwise spamd does his job normally by putting "X-Spam-Status" and "X-Spam-Level" headers in every checked message. any ideas? robert

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Speed problem in a new install of 9.3
by Clayton 29 Jun '05

29 Jun '05

Not sure where to look to try and figure out what the problem is. I was running SuSE9.3 on a P3 1GHz with 1GB RAM and an ATI 7000 video card... standard IDE hard drive. Onboard sound... ummm.. Realtec NIC. Nothing special.. things ran reasonably well on it - SuSE9.3 basic 32 bit install, with VMWare, Oracle10g and a Java based app or two. It finally died and I got a new machine. The new one is an AMD64 3000+ with 1GB RAM, and an ATI 9600 video card. Now I have a SATA drive instead of IDE... onboard sound/NIC etc. Same 9.3 32-bit install (YOU updated of course) with the same exact VMWare images, Oracle10g and the Java apps. I've had to go with the 32bit install on the 64bit machine because of the Oracle version I have to work with and a few other commercial/custom apps that are 32 bit only (the long list of dependancies the apps have means I have to uninstall most of the 64 bit install and install 32 bit versions... not worth the hassle). Anyway, I'm finding that the new machine - with in theory should be significantly faster than my old machine is in fact... slower than the old machine. I can't find out what's making it slower either. I've been monitoring my processes, and nothing out of the ordinary - that I can see anyway. But... my processor load sometimes pegs at 100% for no apparent reason - X for example taking 100% for minutes at a time.... but nothing is happening on screen... I'm not doing anything either (reading a text file... nothing processor/GUI intensive). There are times when I simply cannot do anything at all until the OS finishes whatever it is that's keeping it busy and returns control to me. Any suggestions where I can look or what I can monitor to try and find what it is that's making the system so slow? I do have one odd (repeating entry) in my /var/log/messages... ----------- Jun 24 06:36:42 smaug nmbd[6462]: find_domain_master_name_query_fail: Jun 24 06:36:42 smaug nmbd[6462]: Unable to find the Domain Master Browser name SMAUG<1b> for the workgroup SMAUG ------------ Jun 24 06:21:42 smaug nmbd[6462]: Unable to sync browse lists in this workgroup. Jun 24 06:36:42 smaug nmbd[6462]: [2005/06/24 06:36:42, 0] nmbd/nmbd_browsesync.c:find_domain_master_name_query_fail(353) ----------- This seems related back to a Samba share I have... I think, but I'm not sure since I don't know what is actually going wrong. Well, like I said, any suggesions would be more than welcome. C

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