Dell Optiplex 760 Internal Speaker and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)

Due to overwhelming demand (OK, one person), I’ve decided to post something.

I’ve been using a version of Linux as my main desktop OS for maybe five or ten years now. Although Linux, speaking generically about the various distributions, has made progress on many fronts, it can still be a pain when it comes to peripherals (e.g., audio, video, cameras, iphones, scanners, etc.).

Today, I am (again, long story) creating a tutorial on getting the internal speaker working on my Dell OptiPlex 760. I need to create this so I can remind myself what I’ve already learned a couple of times now.

I’m using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, also known as Lucid Lynx. These instructions probably won’t work if you are using another version of Ubuntu (Editorial comment: because of how they, seemingly, randomly change applications and configurations).

In any case, the Dell PC has an internal speaker that no version of Ubuntu I’ve tried defaults to using. I can plug in external speakers or a headphones and hear the sound fine. But the internal speaker is not enabled, and as far as I can see, unless you add some software or find the right configuration file/command line instructions, you can’t enable it.

So, this tutorial is to remind myself how to do so. Before I go farther, please insert the standard disclaimer here. This entire site is provided “as is”, without any warranty whatsoever. Following these instructions may cause high fever, dandruff, and/or the complete loss of all data on your device – not to mention Thermal Nuclear War.

1. System –> Administration –> Synaptic Package Manager
2. Type in your password then use the “Quick search” box to find gnome-alsamixer.
3. Mark it for installation and Apply the change.
4. Applications –> Sound & Video –> GNOME ALSA mixer
5. Check if “Beep”, “IEC958”, or “Mono” are “Muted” (i.e., the little box at the bottom of the columns for each of the categories is checked). If any are muted, unmute each one and test your sound. How you test your sound is a task left to you, dear reader. If all else fails, unmute all sources on the mixer. If that fails, check the Master level to ensure it’s not set to zero (i.e., at the bottom of its slider). Done. At least, it works for me.

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Ubuntu 8.1 Login Screen Resolution Problem

By checking the Ubuntu forums, I found that I am not the only one to have problems with the login screen resolution. It seems it is a well known bug, but nothing has been done to correct it. So, as with many things Linux, you have to edit a system configuration file.

Before we begin, a word about shop safety. Do not attempt these changes if you do not know what you are doing. Changing any system configuration file may render your PC non-functional. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here. There be dragons here. Instructions pertain to Ubuntu 8.1 and ATI 7000/VE video card on a Dell OptiPlex GX260.

First, backup the file you will need to edit by opening a terminal window (Applications/Accessories/Terminal). In that window, type the following:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

Assuming this succeeded (which you will not know about unless you check after typing the command above to see that a copy of xorg.conf is now in xorg.conf.bak), you can, while still in the terminal window, type the following command which will allow you to start editing the xorg.conf file with administrator rights (that is, the system will allow you to save changes to the file):

gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

You will probably be asked to enter your password. Do so. Once the edit screen appears, scroll down to the section that looks likes the one below. Note: I have snipped off part of one line because it would cause problems in displaying on my WordPress blog. Your actual line will probably extend for some length.:

Section "Screen"
	Identifier	"Default Screen"
	Monitor		"Configured Monitor"
	Device		"Configured Video Device"
	Defaultdepth	24
	SubSection "Display"
		Depth	24
		Modes		"640x480@75"	"800x600@56"	"640x480@72"	[SNIP: edited to fit the width of my blog]
		Virtual	2560 1024
	EndSubSection
EndSection

Once you’ve found this section, put your cursor between the word “Modes” and “640X480@75”, or whatever your first resolution mode is. At that spot, type in the resolution you want your login screen to default to using the format as shown (e.g., “800X600@56”, remembering to include the quote marks). Note: the resolution MUST match something both your monitor and video card can work with. Failure to do so could cause your monitor to fail. What I did was copy the resolution that I wanted from the long list and then pasted it at the insert point noted in my instructions. Once you’ve done this, save the file, exit the editor, and exit the terminal window. Then, making sure you don’t have any other application open with unsaved data, logout of Ubuntu (or reboot) and check to make sure your login screen is now running at the resolution you changed it to. If so, you are done. If not, and once you are logged back in, open a terminal window and copy your original configuration file back:

sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Aloha!

Xerox 4110 Printer Driver Under Ubuntu 8.04 LTS

Insert disclaimer here. YMMV. These instructions are provided “as is” without any warranty whatsoever. Proceed at your own risk. You have been warned.

Configuring devices in Linux is, many times, not as easy as it is in Windows because device manufacturers tend to create the drivers Windows needs, but do not do so for other operating systems.

I came across this, in kind of a reverse sort of way, when I recently replaced the hard drive in my PC at work because it was running out of space. Rather than try to clone the Windows and Xandros partitions, which I think I could of done with PartitionMagic, I decided to install everything from scratch (replacing Xandros with Ubuntu). I won’t go into detail why I decided to do things that way but, essentially, Windows seems to run faster when you do a clean install.

In any case, as part of re-doing things, I needed to install the printer driver for our Xerox 4110. This is a network connected copier/scanner. I couldn’t remember for sure how I installed the Windows software but I thought I just used the “Add Printer” wizard, chose a network connected install, typed in the IP address, and pointed Windows at the drivers. But, I guess not because that didn’t work this time. I tried various variations but just could not get connected to the Xerox machine. I could ping it, but the Wizard could not connect to it. I even tried adding the default port (9100) to the IP address but that didn’t work. As a last resort, I tried shutting down the Windows firewall but that didn’t make a difference. So I gave up and decided to try to connect via Ubuntu Linux.

Once booted in Ubuntu, I clicked on System/Administration/Printing and then clicked on the “New Printer” button. Up popped a dialog box that required two actions: choose the connection type and enter the IP address. The selections for connection type included: LPT #1, AppSocket/HP JetDirect, Internet Printing Protocol (ipp), LPD/LPR Host or Printer, Windows Printer via SAMBA, and Other. What you see and which you need to choose is dependent on how your system is set-up. For me, I chose “LPD/LPR Host or Printer” because this is the default set-up for the 4110. I then typed in the IP address and clicked on the “Probe” button. I have no idea what the Probe button is supposed to do and as far as I could see, it didn’t do anything. I then clicked on the “Forward” button.

Select Connection and Location

At this point, I should note that if you don’t already have the PostScript driver for the 4110, you will need to download that from Xerox here. I chose the Windows XP version, saved the zipped file to a directory, and extracted the files. The specific file you will need is the one with the .ppd extension located in /your directory/4110_WHQL_PS_Eng_Driver/PrinterDriver/Win2K_XP.

To continue with the installation, after you click on the “Forward” button, Ubuntu will search for a default driver. It will, of course, fail as the driver you need is not part of the default database. A new dialogue box will then pop up asking you to either choose a driver from the database or provide a PPD file. I chose the PPD file option and pointed Ubuntu to the file by navigating to where I had downloaded and unzipped the file.

Provide PPD file

Once I had selected the file and clicked on the forward button, I came to a new screen that asks if there are any of several options that may be installed on the 4110. I left the defaults but you may need to change some things.

Installed Options

Click on “Forward” and the next screen asks you fill in a printer name (I used Xerox 4110), description (Xerox 4110), and Location (copier room).

Printer Name, Description, and Location

Clicking on “Forward” should bring you to the last screen where you can print a test page and, if you wish, make this your default printer (mine is an HP LaserJet 2200D so I didn’t choose the Xerox as the default). If all went well, a test page should be waiting for you at the Xerox machine. If not, I guess you’ll have to try some troubleshooting.

Aloha!

Final screen

UPDATE

If, like me, you weren’t able to get printing working under Windows, you may wish to try the procedure below. As before, YMMV, insert disclaimer here, if you don’t know what you are doing, don’t
do this.

In Windows, start the printer wizard and click the “Next” button.

Add printer wizard.

At this screen, keep the default “Local printer attached to this computer.” Yes, I know, the Xerox 4110 is not connected to your PC through a regular port but this is the way to get to configure a new port. So, ensure local printer is chosen and click the “Next” button.

Local printer attached to this computer.

The next screen will show Windows searching for a new Plug and Play printer. Since the 4110 is not a Plug and Play printer, Windows won’t find it. Click “Next”

Install printer manually.

Here you choose “Create a new port:” with the type of port being “Standard TCP/IP Port”.

Click “Next”

Create a new port: Standard TCP/IP Port.

Add port welcome screen.

At the Add Port screen you will need to enter the “Printer Name or IP Address” of the 4110. As you fill in the address, Windows will automatically create a Port Name, which I left as is.

Printer IP Address.

Windows does not have the driver for a 4110, so you will need to click on the “Have Disk…” button.

Have Disk button.

Now you navigate to where you have the 4110 printer driver stored. I will assume you’ve already downloaded the driver from Xerox and unzipped it into a directory. Where ever that directory is, is where you “Browse…” to and select the applicable .inf file.

Install from disk.

The rest of the screen captures are self explanatory.

Do not make this your default printer unless it is your default.

Print test page.

Done.

Xandros Out, Ubuntu In

I’ve used Xandros Linux at work (dual booting with Windows XP Pro) for several years now but am testing Ubuntu as a replacement. Here’s why.

Since the version of Xandros Desktop 4 that I use is based on the stable version of Debian, I couldn’t expect much in the way of updates to the underlying operating system nor applications. But I could and do expect timely bug or security fixes. But very few have been released for Xandros. In fact, the last Xandros Desktop update was about a year ago. Given that bugs and security flaws are fixed on an ongoing basis and given that many of these bug and security fixes mitigate problems that include bad guys having the ability to gain root access, any distribution that ignores these updates is asking a lot of its customers.

In addition, the lack of updates to the underlying operating system means, in some cases, that updated applications will not install due to unmet dependencies. For example, I’ve talked about how Firefox 3 will not install due to unmet dependencies regarding the GTK+ package. There is presently no way to install the required version of GTK+ because of unmet dependencies. Hence, Firefox 3 cannot be installed. There are other examples, the number of which grow by the day.

So if I were to switch to something else, what process did I use to choose the distribution I eventually chose? First, I wanted something that I was at least a little familiar with. That means Linux Mint, Kubuntu, or Ubuntu because that’s what I have at home. All three of these are Debian based so that is also a consideration.

Secondly, it would need to be something that has security and bug fixes updated on an ongoing basis. All three distributions are pretty good at doing that with almost daily updates. But since Ubuntu seems to be the base system that the other two work off of, it has been my experience that Ubuntu tends to gets updated first with the other two following (usually in a matter of a few days).

There were other considerations but these tended to cross all distributions. Namely, I needed something that would integrate with our Novell Netware 4.x servers, log into our Windows-based web servers, and access our Lotus Notes mail server.

Access to Netware servers is covered via the NCPFS package. I’ve posted before on the installation and use of this package so I won’t re-do that here (follow the link here)(Note: there is one correction to the instructions on that page. It should read ipx_configure –auto_interface=on –auto_primary=on where the correction is the addition of “=on” to the auto_interface switch).

Accessing our web server is relatively easy on Ubuntu via the already installed /Places /Connect to Server utility so I won’t go into here. I would guess, but do not know for sure, that the other distributions would probably have a way of logging in.

Accessing Lotus Notes is a little harder. You would think that since Novell is involved in the development of the Evolution email application that they might include acess to Lotus Notes. But as far as I know, that isn’t true. Although there was (is?) a Linux-based Notes client, I’m not sure how hard it is to install on a non-Red Hat distribution. If you want to give that a try, you could start here or here.

What I did was buy Codeweavers CrossOver for Linux. This is a superset of Wine and emulates a Windows environment. With this installed, I just ran the Windows Notes 6.5.1 client install and I had access to our Notes server.

The only problem I’ve had with CrossOver is that I can’t yet get Microsoft Office Professional 2000 to install. I don’t know what the problem is but I hope to have it done Real Soon Now.

Other than that, I seem to be up and running and am not missing Xandros, at all.

Aloha!