Grub Rescue

seekermeister said:

Based on the three distros that you stick with, I'm somewhat curious. I assume from your avatar that Debian is your true favorite, but since Ubuntu is based on Debian, I also assume that the same is true of Kubuntu. The poser for me is that if it is Debian based, then why did I have to use a rpm, instead of a deb to install Opera? If I recall, Suse has the ability to use debs with some kind of special installer, is that true of Ubuntu and Kubuntu?

Click to expand...

Yes, openSUSE needs to convert .deb's to RPM's for it to work.
You see debs and rpm's are packaged differently thus why you have those opposing formats.
The rationale was that linux was never meant to have binary blobs like windows, this way packagers can more easily package and maintain apps.
In windows sure everything is managed in one single universal format (.exe) but for open source developers its a terrible format to work with.
And yes technically linux has a universal installer, source tarballs (sort of like zip files but with source code to be compiled in it)
Its how those sources are compiled, managed and maintained is where the difference lays.
There are pros and cons to both formats
.deb is a little more standard
while .rpm offers delta rpm's a feature that makes large package files smaller.
There is no clear advantage nor disadvantage to either though in the past I found .deb better at managing dependencies.
Speaking of which, you might have encountered them by now, they are basically parts to an app that it needs to pull in to work.
This kind of thing points out the advantages and disadvantages of linux app installation and windows installation.
In windows its like getting an action figure with all the accessories, but if you want to use other toys parts tough luck, it may come with extra accessories that you dont want, like buying a My Little pony with an AK-47 in the set despite it more fitting for a G.I Joe (okay bad comparison to those nonsense toolbars and junk you get with some windows installers but same diff)
Linux uses more of a lego brick approach, sure all the pieces are there but it lets you assemble it.

seekermeister said:

Here is a little question that I think yo can answer pretty easily...I've found some wallpaper that I like on Suse that I would like to use on Windows, but have not found where Suse stores it's wallpaper navigating with Dolphin. I also tried using whereis, but the result I got is confusing:

View attachment 25973

The question is two part...what does the return in the terminal mean, and where is wallpaper actually kept in Suse?

EDIT: Disregard my question about the whereis return, I now see that is just the starting line.

Click to expand...

Most distros store their wallpaper in the /usr/share/wallpapers/ directory
though I know one or two who put it in the /usr/share/backgrounds/ directory
But that goes down to the distro, default UI and all that.

Thanks, I found most of them in usr/share/wallpaper, but the odd thing is that while I found one I was looking for, the other isn't there. Both wallpapers were some that I added, so it would seem that they should be in the same place. Don't know, but the problem may be that there was already a wallpaper with the exact same name, as part of the original group. I would have thought that it would add the new one with a modified name, but it didn't. The missing paper is currently my chosen one for my primary monitor though.

EDIT: I said it was the exact same name, but that's not exactly true, it name a numerical sequence prefix.

You can also download most of the wallpapers from the net too, most are availible for free.
Many times I used the Ubuntu wallpaper in windows.

I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but a question is bouncing around in my head that I need to spit out. I have a Syba Connectland CL-ENC50038 USB 3 docking station that I want to use with Linux. I haven't tried it yet, but I don't anticipate any problems with the station itself, but it came with two pieces of software for the functions of performing backups and more importantly, one that boosts the speed from 2.0 to the 3.0 rate. Both released by FNET PCClone EX Lite and TurboHDD USB respectively, both of which are in .exe formats, which I doubt will run on Linux. I can use the backup function to copy Linux, but only from Windows.

Is there software available in a format agreeable to Linux that will perform these functions?

Err... I honestly have no idea, google search does nothing so it may not be possible to use the device you want it to in linux.
I dont use USB docking stations, never really needed one

I was kind of surprised that it required special software to boost speed on USB 3 on Windows, since I thought the OS would handle that itself. What about Linux...would USB 3 speed be achievable without any extra programs being necessary to boost it?

Yes, linux has had USB3 support for a while now so it doesnt need any extras.
Makes sense why windows would need it though, windows 7 was not built for it.

Okay, didn't know that about W7. If so, that would mean that I only need one program, for backing up to the USB3 docking station drive, and not the speed booster. I did a backup to it on Kubuntu, but I now don't remember what I used. It was probably one of the programs already installed on it, because I don't recall downloading anything extra.

EDIT: Maybe I didn't, I just checked the Kubuntu folder on my internal backup drive, and it was empty. I deleted all data on the drive that I had been using in the docking station, to use it internally for Suse, so I'm not sure if I backed Kubuntu up to it or not?

Yeah I am unsure too.
Like I said I dont normally work with one of those.

Once you close the Desktop Window that initially appears on installation, how do you reopen it?

seekermeister said:

Once you close the Desktop Window that initially appears on installation, how do you reopen it?

Click to expand...

Huh what are you talking about?
The greeter?

I don't know what the greeter is? I'm talking about the window displaying the items in Home/Desktop.

EDIT: I Googled this:

seekermeister said:

I don't know what the greeter is? I'm talking about the window displaying the items in Home/Desktop.

Click to expand...

You mean the folder widget, it looks like this right?


If you closed it off by mistake here is how to get it back:

Click on the cashew like icon in the upper right corner of the screen (sometimes it will be in a box that says "default desktop" or just plain "desktop")
select "add new widgets"
the one you want is called the folder widget, just double click its entry in the popup that appears above the panel and it will be on your desktop.
settings for each widget can be achieved by hovering over them and clicking the wrench icon on the side or simply right clicking inside the widget.
In this case the one you want is "folder settings"

That produced a similiar window, but instead of the files in Desktop, it shows all of the folders in Home.

EDT: I didn't close it by mistake, it was quite intentional, because I thought it would be somewhat easier to get it back when wanted. When not, it's something of an eyesore.

Actually, I would prefer it to simply display the icons on the true desktop, like Windows does. I know how to add a item from the Launchpad, but not just general files? I guess I could copy the file that I wanted there, but that is more tedious than it should be.

EDIT: Got it now, I had to specify which folder in settings. Isn't there a fast and simple way to turn it off and on?

seekermeister said:

That produced a similiar window, but instead of the files in Desktop, it shows all of the folders in Home

Click to expand...

Correct, like I said you can change that with a right click or hovering your mouse over the widget and clicking the wrench icon.
In fact when you enter the settings the first thing that will come up is where the folder widget will point to.
There will be a pulldown bar where you can select where you want it to point to, and tickboxes

The question was wrong...deleted.

I didn't close it by mistake, it was quite intentional, because I thought it would be somewhat easier to get it back when wanted. When not, it's something of an eyesore.

Click to expand...

Yeah well keep in mind that KDE desktop widgets are not really windows in themselves, they work exactly the same way as widgets in OSX or what used to be Gadgets in windows 7 and Vista.
Each widget has its own default settings so one must be tweaked individually, and each time you remove it the next one goes back to default.
The ones in windows do the same thing here, trust me, if you never used desktop gadgets in windows 7 then you would never know how widgets in general work.

Actually, I would prefer it to simply display the icons on the true desktop, like Windows does. I know how to add a item from the Launchpad, but not just general files? I guess I could copy the file that I wanted there, but that is more tedious than it should be.

Click to expand...

Actually you can get a windows esque icon desktop quite easily without the need of widgets, going to that cashew thing I mentioned you can actually change the behavior of the desktop.
(you can also do it in a desktop right click too)
If you have noticed when you right click the desktop you get the wallpaper changer, but it has way more features then you think.
There is a pulldown menu at the top that says "layout" next to it.
You can choose many layouts here but the one that will give you the windows style desktop is called "folder"
This enables desktop dragging, more options for right click menus and most functionality that you have in windows.
KDE is a very robust desktop environment with loads of customization options and loads to play with.
In fact its more of a workspace then a desktop (thuus why theyt call it a workspace,)
Think of the desktop of Windows as just a normal desk, room yes but ways to play with not so much.
KDE is more like the office the desk is in and the things you can do with it are almost limitless.

EDIT: Got it now, I had to specify which folder in settings. Isn't there a fast and simple way to turn it off and on?

Click to expand...

Not really, as like I said each widget works like its own instance.

I will definitely take a look at those wallpaper changer settings, but it will have to wait a bit. Seems every time you post a response is when I'm watching a video in Windows.

Yep, I like that much better. Thanks.

Got another problem. Though the printer was working properly, I had to configure the scanner portion of it yesterday, by installing hplip, but didn't try to test it until I noticed an HP System tray icon this evening. While exploring the window it produced, I noticed that the update tab indicated that there was a newer version available, so I opted to install it. In the terminal-like window that appeared, it said something about having to login again, after the installation, and after that it said that there were 9 missing dependencies, which I chose to add (actually it installed 20+ items). Lastly, it asked whether to uninstall the old version before installing the new, and I gave a yes to that. I saw the uninstall occur, but it finished so quickly, I didn't have time to see if the new install happened. Apparently not, because the System Tray icon didn't reappear, even after first logging back in, nor after restarting. The only thing that appears in the Launchpad when I type scanner into the search window, is the option to configure it, but it says that no scanner is detected.

I then rechecked whether I could print, but that also faled, so I checked the configuration in Yast, and I found the checkbox for enabling the printer not checked, so I checked it, but I still can't print a page. This brings back memories of the problems I've had in the past with Suse and my printer...how do I solve it?