Ubuntu

[Happy_Hamer]

I have an ICOM PCR 1000 that I am trying to share on www.globaltuners.com

They recommend using Linux

So I had an old PC that exceeds the computer requirements needed and I downloaded and installed Ubuntu.

I HAVE NEVER USED LINUX BEFORE.

So I tried setting it up using the directions on that site.

I could not figure it out. I was suppose to enter some stuff by creating a terminal and had to create a password.

I sent a support ticket to Global tuners and they just got back to me after a month, said my email was in their spam folder for some reason

So he told me to enter some link after wget in the Terminal??? which I tried I but I need a password that I forgot. :cool2:

He said I should reinstall ubuntu and start all over

WTF did I do? Does that sound right, reinstall it?

This will be a dedicated computer for Globaltuners only

Can anyone help, again I have ZERO clue what I am doing with Linux :ugh::ugh:

[KA9MOT]

Bill,
There are some folks around here who are like gods with Linux. Me, not so much, though I run Ubuntu 11:04 on this machine. I have problems with the much of the software available for Amateur Radio when run on Ubuntu. However, I'll try to help. What is the software that they want you to use?

[NQ6U]

If I understand you correctly, what's happened is that you've forgotten your Linux admin password. If that's the case then, as far as I know, you're going to have to reinstall the OS from scratch. It's a drag, but I don't think there's any way around it.

[KA9MOT]

Bill,

I've been playing with Linux since Mandrake 7.0 (1999?). I'm still not with it but really haven't tried. Anywho, your post got me to thinking, and I found the Ubuntu Forum and I think it is going to be a huge help to me. Maybe it can be some help to you as well.......

http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php

You'll have to register....

[ad4mg]

Just reset your password. It's quite simple:

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

At the end of the article, there is a video showing how you can do this with a live Ubuntu CD, in case your Grub bootloader doesn't pause long enough to give you the boot options.

I've done this several times (method 1). Takes about 3 minutes.

[AA8AE]

I'm trying to install Ubuntu. I've done it and uninstalled it several times now I keep getting error message "no root file system is defined. Please correct this from the partitioning menu." I'll be darned if I can figure out how to do this. I've even checked the Ubuntu forums without success for a fix. What am I doing wrong?

[ad4mg]

I'm trying to install Ubuntu. I've done it and uninstalled it several times now I keep getting error message "no root file system is defined. Please correct this from the partitioning menu." I'll be darned if I can figure out how to do this. I've even checked the Ubuntu forums without success for a fix. What am I doing wrong?
During the partitioning process, you should have the opportunity to define one of your partitions as the root. It is indicated as a forward slash, "/". The option is usually in a drop-down box, under "partition type". Some of the choices you may see in that drop-down are:

/
/home
/boot
swap

Is this installation on a machine currently running Windows? If so, you should choose the "side by side" installation, and allow the system to define your partitions for you.

I usually size the root partition at about 20GB, if you have the room. The swap partition should be at least as large as the total memory in the system, and if system memory is less than 512MB, I usually double that (1GB). The rest I leave for the home partition.

The root partition is where the OS is installed, along with the binaries for running your programs, and some other stuff, like configuration files.

The /home partition is for your data, including personalized program data for your user account.

The swap partition is like the Windows swap file ... it's virtual memory.

Somehow, you haven't defined the root "/" partition. It is the only partition that is absolutely mandatory, as Linux will create folders in lieu of the other partitions on the root partition. The swap partition is pretty important, too, to allow sufficient memory to run programs.

Let me know if this is a dual boot installation along side Windows, or if you're doing a 'clean' install on a blank machine.

[N6YG]

I'm trying to install Ubuntu. I've done it and uninstalled it several times now I keep getting error message "no root file system is defined. Please correct this from the partitioning menu." I'll be darned if I can figure out how to do this. I've even checked the Ubuntu forums without success for a fix. What am I doing wrong?

It interesting that so many people are having so much trouble installing Ubuntu. Personal I find it much easer to install than Windows. Maybe the problem is that Ubuntu has too many advanced installation options and features that are far to easy for Linux newbies to access..

The bottom line is if you're accepting the default installation options then you shouldn't be seeing this error..

So I have to ask what exactly are you trying to do? Why are you trying to manually partition your harddrive? is there a reason the default installation won't work for you. For example are you trying to dual boot Windows and Linux?

Dual booting is a somewhat advanced installation and requires at a minimum a basic understanding of hard drive partitioning and boot managers. If you don't know what "/" is then you probably shouldn't be trying to manually partition your hard drive without first educating yourself a bit on basic hard drive partitioning.

Basically If you are manually partitioning your hard drive you must manually tell Linux where you actually want the root " / " file system and where you want the "/home" file system and where you want the "Swap file" ...... If you don't know how to do this or don't want to learn then simply select the default installation and let the installer partition the hard drive with the default partitions for you.

Anyhow when manually partitioning your drive you need to select the partition for the root file system, then select either the ext4 or ext3 file system, and then you need to click the (probably empty) drop-down box for the mount-point. You want to select "/" for the root partition.

Also if you are setting up a dedicated partition for "/home" (highly recommended) then you need to select "/home" in the drop down menu when you select the partition you intend to use as your home partition.

If you're going to go through all the trouble of manually partitioning your drives then you might as well also create a dedicated partition for your "/home" directory and maybe even one for "/var" and "/usr". Personally it's the only way I would set up a Linux box. The advantages to having dedicated partitions or drives for your "/home" "/var" and "/usr" directory are far to numerous to mention.

Another useful tip you might be interested in. if you store a lot of large video files you should create a dedicated partition for those files and use a file system that is designed to effectively and efficiently handle large files. For example the XFS file system is an excellent file system for storing large multimedia files. You can then easily mount that dedicated partition in your "/home" directory under the sub directory "/My Videos"

Now you can always just use that partition as a dedicated drive as Windows does and access it through "My Computer" But why bother? It's not only annoying to have all your files scattered across multiple drives it also becomes difficult to remember where your files are. Hey you got to love Windows ass backwards storage scheme of A through Z drive lettering.

This is where Linux shines, Linux makes accessing partitions and secondary storage seamless. It does this by easily allowing you to mount entire drives or partitions as subdirectory in your "/home" folder thereby making the entire storage system seamless to the user regardless of how many drives and partitions you are using. It also makes it extremely easy to replace a failing drive or move your files to a larger drive when needed. This is one of the primary reasons I always suggest using a dedicated partition or drive for your "/home" directory. Using a dedicated '/home directory easily allows you to move all your personal files to a new hard drive without having to move the entire operating system.


Something else to consider. Linux newbies unfamiliar or unaccustomed to terminal commands are notorious for hosing their primary boot partitions. So depending on how many hard drives you have it's a very good idea to have two small boot/root partitions instead of just one.

This way you can back up your primary root partition to the secondary root partition. This way if you ever screw up your primary root partition you can simply activate the backup partition and boot from it. Or you can simply "dd" a copy of the backup partition to the primary partition. Trust me it's a hell of a lot easer then reinstalling all your software and setting.

Anyhow Heres a very simple guide that should help you understand the Ubuntu drive partitioner
http://www.easy-ubuntu-linux.com/ubuntu-installation-606-7.html

[WØTKX]

While playing around with it, I would suggest using a "spare drive". So if your Boot Sector gets hosed you won't lose anything. Personally, I use a commercial (paid) program called Partition Commander. It's slick and it won't let you make mistakes readily. It also has a bootable CD you can create that also works on a thumb drive. It will recognize almost ANY operating system on a drive, and let you 'eff with it.

It's not needed, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, and I have never lost data since I have used it. I've also recovered data with similar (paid) utilities for other folks that have hosed their drives. I spent less that $150 for a whole suite of utilities, and it was worth it to me.

However, the other folks here are on the right track. It's pretty easy to change passwords and get back in. You don't need to spend any money to fix this, it's just a bit tedious the first few times you have to muck about at a low level.

It's not as pretty as Windows installs (or even OSX) but Linux will install on almost anything when you get all your ducks in line.

[AA8AE]

During the partitioning process, you should have the opportunity to define one of your partitions as the root. It is indicated as a forward slash, "/". The option is usually in a drop-down box, under "partition type". Some of the choices you may see in that drop-down are:

/
/home
/boot
swap

Is this installation on a machine currently running Windows? If so, you should choose the "side by side" installation, and allow the system to define your partitions for you.

I usually size the root partition at about 20GB, if you have the room. The swap partition should be at least as large as the total memory in the system, and if system memory is less than 512MB, I usually double that (1GB). The rest I leave for the home partition.

The root partition is where the OS is installed, along with the binaries for running your programs, and some other stuff, like configuration files.

The /home partition is for your data, including personalized program data for your user account.

The swap partition is like the Windows swap file ... it's virtual memory.

Somehow, you haven't defined the root "/" partition. It is the only partition that is absolutely mandatory, as Linux will create folders in lieu of the other partitions on the root partition. The swap partition is pretty important, too, to allow sufficient memory to run programs.

Let me know if this is a dual boot installation along side Windows, or if you're doing a 'clean' install on a blank machine.


Luke, this will be a dual boot with Windows 7

[ad4mg]

Luke, this will be a dual boot with Windows 7
OK, this shouldn't be too bad. Use the "side by side" automatic partitioning option as described here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

Although I've never run into any problems, even though I manually create the partitions, it's a good idea to have a Windows recovery CD, or CD's available. The linked page above covers all the possibilities, even if you have problems booting Windows after the install. Stick with the "side by side" automatic installation, and you should have no problems!

Be aware that Ubuntu will resize your Windows partition, and this could take a while!

[KA9MOT]

During the partitioning process, you should have the opportunity to define one of your partitions as the root. It is indicated as a forward slash, "/". The option is usually in a drop-down box, under "partition type". Some of the choices you may see in that drop-down are:

/
/home
/boot
swap

Is this installation on a machine currently running Windows? If so, you should choose the "side by side" installation, and allow the system to define your partitions for you.

I usually size the root partition at about 20GB, if you have the room. The swap partition should be at least as large as the total memory in the system, and if system memory is less than 512MB, I usually double that (1GB). The rest I leave for the home partition.

The root partition is where the OS is installed, along with the binaries for running your programs, and some other stuff, like configuration files.

The /home partition is for your data, including personalized program data for your user account.

The swap partition is like the Windows swap file ... it's virtual memory.

Somehow, you haven't defined the root "/" partition. It is the only partition that is absolutely mandatory, as Linux will create folders in lieu of the other partitions on the root partition. The swap partition is pretty important, too, to allow sufficient memory to run programs.

Let me know if this is a dual boot installation along side Windows, or if you're doing a 'clean' install on a blank machine.

Thanks for the lesson! Hopefully there will be more in the future.