1 |
<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?> |
2 |
<!-- $Header: /home/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/faq.xml,v 1.59 2004/04/15 07:15:17 swift Exp $ --> |
3 |
<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd"> |
4 |
|
5 |
<guide link="/doc/en/faq.xml"> |
6 |
<title>Gentoo Linux Frequently Asked Questions</title> |
7 |
<author title="Chief Architect"> |
8 |
<mail link="drobbins@gentoo.org">Daniel Robbins</mail> |
9 |
</author> |
10 |
<author title="Reviewer"> |
11 |
Colin Morey |
12 |
</author> |
13 |
<author title="Editor"><!-- zhen@gentoo.org --> |
14 |
John P. Davis |
15 |
</author> |
16 |
<author title="Editor"> |
17 |
<mail link="stocke2@gentoo.org">Eric Stockbridge</mail> |
18 |
</author> |
19 |
<author title="Editor"> |
20 |
<mail link="zhware@gentoo.org">Stoyan Zhekov</mail> |
21 |
</author> |
22 |
<author title="Editor"> |
23 |
<mail link="carl@gentoo.org">Carl Anderson</mail> |
24 |
</author> |
25 |
<author title="Editor"> |
26 |
<mail link="peesh@gentoo.org">Jorge Paulo</mail> |
27 |
</author> |
28 |
<author title="Editor"> |
29 |
<mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail> |
30 |
</author> |
31 |
|
32 |
<abstract> |
33 |
This FAQ is a collection of questions and answers collected from the gentoo-dev |
34 |
mailing list and from IRC -- if you have any questions (or answers!) to add, |
35 |
please contact either an author or a member of the documentation team. |
36 |
</abstract> |
37 |
|
38 |
<license/> |
39 |
|
40 |
<version>2.2</version> |
41 |
<date>April 15, 2004</date> |
42 |
|
43 |
<chapter> |
44 |
<title>Featured Questions</title> |
45 |
<section> |
46 |
<title>Getting Started</title> |
47 |
<body> |
48 |
|
49 |
<ul> |
50 |
<li> |
51 |
<uri link="#doc_chap2_sect1">How is Gentoo pronounced, and what does it |
52 |
mean?</uri> |
53 |
</li> |
54 |
<li> |
55 |
<uri link="#doc_chap2_sect2">What makes Gentoo different?</uri> |
56 |
</li> |
57 |
</ul> |
58 |
|
59 |
</body> |
60 |
</section> |
61 |
<section> |
62 |
<title>Installation</title> |
63 |
<body> |
64 |
|
65 |
<ul> |
66 |
<li> |
67 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect1">I'm finding things to be really unstable and |
68 |
I'm using "-O9 -ffast-math -fomit-frame-pointer" optimizations. What |
69 |
gives?</uri> |
70 |
</li> |
71 |
<li> |
72 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect2">How can I change the root (or any other user's) |
73 |
password?</uri> |
74 |
</li> |
75 |
<li> |
76 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect3">How do I add a normal user?</uri> |
77 |
</li> |
78 |
<li> |
79 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect4">Why can't a user su to root?</uri> |
80 |
</li> |
81 |
<li> |
82 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect5">How do I disable devfs?</uri> |
83 |
</li> |
84 |
<li> |
85 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect6">Can I upgrade Gentoo from one release to |
86 |
another without reinstalling?</uri> |
87 |
</li> |
88 |
<li> |
89 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect7">My kernel doesn't boot (properly), what should |
90 |
I do now?</uri> |
91 |
</li> |
92 |
<li> |
93 |
<uri link="#doc_chap3_sect8">My proxy requires authentication, what do I |
94 |
have to do?</uri> |
95 |
</li> |
96 |
</ul> |
97 |
|
98 |
</body> |
99 |
</section> |
100 |
<section> |
101 |
<title>Package Management</title> |
102 |
<body> |
103 |
|
104 |
<ul> |
105 |
<li> |
106 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect1">In what format are the packages stored?</uri> |
107 |
</li> |
108 |
<li> |
109 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect2">I want to perform the ./configure step myself. |
110 |
Can I?</uri> |
111 |
</li> |
112 |
<li> |
113 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect3">What if rsync doesn't work for me?</uri> |
114 |
</li> |
115 |
<li> |
116 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect4">How do I use emerge from behind a |
117 |
firewall?</uri> |
118 |
</li> |
119 |
<li> |
120 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect5">Can I rsync from another operating |
121 |
system?</uri> |
122 |
</li> |
123 |
<li> |
124 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect6">I have only slow modem connection at home. Can |
125 |
I download sources somewhere else and add them to my system?</uri> |
126 |
</li> |
127 |
<li> |
128 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect7">.tar.gz sources for installed software are |
129 |
piling up in /usr/portage/distfiles using valuable space. Is it safe to |
130 |
delete there files?</uri> |
131 |
</li> |
132 |
<li> |
133 |
<uri link="#doc_chap4_sect8">What's in /var/tmp/portage? Is it safe to |
134 |
delete the files and directories in /var/tmp/portage?</uri> |
135 |
</li> |
136 |
</ul> |
137 |
|
138 |
</body> |
139 |
</section> |
140 |
<section> |
141 |
<title>Usage</title> |
142 |
<body> |
143 |
|
144 |
<ul> |
145 |
<li> |
146 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect1">I have installed openssh on my box, but can |
147 |
only log in as root - my normal user account doesn't work.</uri> |
148 |
</li> |
149 |
<li> |
150 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect2">I can start X applications as root only</uri> |
151 |
</li> |
152 |
<li> |
153 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect3">How do I set up an International Keyboard |
154 |
Layout?</uri> |
155 |
</li> |
156 |
<li> |
157 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect4">DNS name resolution works for root only.</uri> |
158 |
</li> |
159 |
<li> |
160 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect5">Why can't my user use their own crontab?</uri> |
161 |
</li> |
162 |
<li> |
163 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect6">How do I get numlock to start on boot?</uri> |
164 |
</li> |
165 |
<li> |
166 |
<uri link="#doc_chap5_sect7">How do I have my terminal cleared when I log |
167 |
out?</uri> |
168 |
</li> |
169 |
</ul> |
170 |
|
171 |
</body> |
172 |
</section> |
173 |
<section> |
174 |
<title>Maintenance</title> |
175 |
<body> |
176 |
|
177 |
<ul> |
178 |
<li> |
179 |
<uri link="#doc_chap6_sect1">ReiserFS and filesystem corruption issues -- |
180 |
how to fix'em, etc.</uri> |
181 |
</li> |
182 |
<li> |
183 |
<uri link="#doc_chap6_sect2">Metalogd doesn't log in real time!</uri> |
184 |
</li> |
185 |
</ul> |
186 |
|
187 |
</body> |
188 |
</section> |
189 |
<section> |
190 |
<title>Development</title> |
191 |
<body> |
192 |
|
193 |
<ul> |
194 |
<li> |
195 |
<uri link="#doc_chap7_sect1">Where can I report bugs?</uri> |
196 |
</li> |
197 |
<li> |
198 |
<uri link="#doc_chap7_sect2">How often are new releases made?</uri> |
199 |
</li> |
200 |
<li> |
201 |
<uri link="#doc_chap7_sect3">How can I add a question or answer to this |
202 |
FAQ?</uri> |
203 |
</li> |
204 |
<li> |
205 |
<uri link="#doc_chap7_sect4">My speaker beeps like crazy while compiling |
206 |
Mozilla. How do I disable console beeps?</uri> |
207 |
</li> |
208 |
</ul> |
209 |
|
210 |
</body> |
211 |
</section> |
212 |
<section> |
213 |
<title>Resources</title> |
214 |
<body> |
215 |
|
216 |
<ul> |
217 |
<li> |
218 |
<uri link="#doc_chap8_sect1">Where can I find more information about Gentoo |
219 |
Linux?</uri> |
220 |
</li> |
221 |
<li> |
222 |
<uri link="#doc_chap8_sect2">Can I buy a CD of Gentoo Linux?</uri> |
223 |
</li> |
224 |
<li> |
225 |
<uri link="#doc_chap8_sect3">Why, when I hit reply to a post on a Gentoo |
226 |
mailinglist, does my answer only go to the original poster and not the |
227 |
entire list?</uri> |
228 |
</li> |
229 |
<li> |
230 |
<uri link="#doc_chap8_sect4">This FAQ hasn't answered my question. What do I |
231 |
do now?</uri> |
232 |
</li> |
233 |
</ul> |
234 |
|
235 |
</body> |
236 |
</section> |
237 |
</chapter> |
238 |
|
239 |
<chapter> |
240 |
<title>Getting Started</title> |
241 |
|
242 |
<section> |
243 |
<title>How is Gentoo pronounced, and what does it mean?</title> |
244 |
<body> |
245 |
|
246 |
<p> |
247 |
A <e>Gentoo</e> is a species of a small, fast penguin, pronounced "gen-too" (the |
248 |
"g" in "gentoo" is a soft "g", as in "gentle"). The latin name of the Gentoo |
249 |
penguin is <e>Pygoscelis papua</e>. The name <e>Gentoo</e> has been given to the |
250 |
penguin by the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands. |
251 |
</p> |
252 |
|
253 |
</body> |
254 |
</section> |
255 |
<section> |
256 |
<title>What makes Gentoo different?</title> |
257 |
<body> |
258 |
|
259 |
<p> |
260 |
Gentoo uses a BSD ports-like system called <uri |
261 |
link="/proj/en/portage">Portage</uri>. Portage is a package management system |
262 |
that allows great flexibility while installing and maintaining software on a |
263 |
Gentoo system. It provides compile-time option support (through <uri |
264 |
link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=1">USE flags</uri>), |
265 |
conditional dependencies, "fake" installs, safe installation (through |
266 |
sandboxing) and uninstallation of software, system profiles, <uri |
267 |
link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=4#doc_chap1">configuration |
268 |
file protection</uri> amongst several other <uri |
269 |
link="/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=3">features</uri>. |
270 |
</p> |
271 |
|
272 |
<p> |
273 |
With Gentoo you can build your entire system from source completely using your |
274 |
choice of optimizations. You have complete control over what packages are or |
275 |
aren't installed. Gentoo provides you with numerous choices so you can install |
276 |
Gentoo to your own taste. This is why Gentoo is called a |
277 |
<e>meta-distribution</e>. |
278 |
</p> |
279 |
|
280 |
<p> |
281 |
Gentoo is very actively developed. Not only the <e>ebuilds</e> themselves (the |
282 |
package format Gentoo uses) but the entire distribution uses a rapid pace |
283 |
development style. Patches to the packages are quickly integrated in the |
284 |
mainline tree, documentation is updated on daily basis, portage features are |
285 |
added frequently, releases succeed each other quickly, ... |
286 |
</p> |
287 |
|
288 |
</body> |
289 |
</section> |
290 |
</chapter> |
291 |
|
292 |
<chapter> |
293 |
<title>Installation</title> |
294 |
<section> |
295 |
<title> |
296 |
I'm finding things to be really unstable and I'm using "-O9 -ffast-math |
297 |
-fomit-frame-pointer" optimizations. What gives? |
298 |
</title> |
299 |
<body> |
300 |
|
301 |
<p> |
302 |
Don't bother using anything higher than <c>-O3</c> since it isn't supported by |
303 |
current versions of gcc. Very aggressive optimizations sometimes cause the |
304 |
compiler to streamline the assembly code to the point where it doesn't quite |
305 |
do the same thing anymore. |
306 |
</p> |
307 |
|
308 |
<p> |
309 |
Please try to compile with CFLAGS <c>-march= -O2</c> first before reporting a |
310 |
bug. |
311 |
</p> |
312 |
|
313 |
</body> |
314 |
</section> |
315 |
<section> |
316 |
<title>How can i change the root (or any other user's) password?</title> |
317 |
<body> |
318 |
|
319 |
<p> |
320 |
You can use <c>passwd</c> to change the password for the user you are logged |
321 |
into. For extra options and setting, please see <c>man passwd</c> once you've |
322 |
completed the install. |
323 |
</p> |
324 |
|
325 |
</body> |
326 |
</section> |
327 |
<section> |
328 |
<title>How do i add a normal user?</title> |
329 |
<body> |
330 |
|
331 |
<p> |
332 |
The command <c>adduser gentoo</c> will add a user called gentoo. The next step |
333 |
is to give this user a password and <c>passwd</c> will do exactly that. |
334 |
</p> |
335 |
|
336 |
<p> |
337 |
Instead of <c>adduser</c> you can also use: |
338 |
</p> |
339 |
|
340 |
<pre caption="Using useradd"> |
341 |
# <i>useradd gentoo -m -G users,audio,wheel -s /bin/bash</i> |
342 |
</pre> |
343 |
|
344 |
<p> |
345 |
This will add a user gentoo, will make possible for him/her to use sound-related |
346 |
devices (<path>/dev/sound/*</path>), will make possible for him/her to switch to |
347 |
root (using <c>su</c>) and will make <path>/bin/bash</path> his/her login shell. |
348 |
</p> |
349 |
|
350 |
<p> |
351 |
You can also install <c>superadduser</c> using <c>emerge superadduser</c> and |
352 |
then issue <c>superadduser gentoo</c> to add a user called gentoo. Just follow |
353 |
the instructions given to you by <c>superadduser</c>. |
354 |
</p> |
355 |
|
356 |
</body> |
357 |
</section> |
358 |
<section> |
359 |
<title>Why can't a user su to root?</title> |
360 |
<body> |
361 |
|
362 |
<p> |
363 |
For security reasons, users may only <c>su</c> to root if they belong to the |
364 |
<e>wheel</e> group. To add a <e>username</e> to the <e>wheel</e> group, issue |
365 |
the following command as root: |
366 |
</p> |
367 |
|
368 |
<pre caption="Adding a user to the wheel group"> |
369 |
# <i>gpasswd -a username wheel</i> |
370 |
</pre> |
371 |
|
372 |
</body> |
373 |
</section> |
374 |
<section> |
375 |
<title>How to I disable devfs?</title> |
376 |
<body> |
377 |
|
378 |
<p> |
379 |
If you plan on using Gentoo with the "old-style" <path>/dev</path> approach, you |
380 |
can disable devfs by passing the <c>gentoo=nodevfs</c> to the kernel. If on the |
381 |
other hand you want to use <uri link="/doc/en/udev-guide.xml">udev</uri> (2.6 |
382 |
kernels only), you can disable devfs by passing the <c>devfs=nomount</c> option |
383 |
to the kernel. Don't forget to read up on our <uri |
384 |
link="/doc/en/udev-guide.xml">udev guide</uri> too. |
385 |
</p> |
386 |
|
387 |
</body> |
388 |
</section> |
389 |
<section> |
390 |
<title> |
391 |
Can I upgrade Gentoo from one release to another without reinstalling? |
392 |
</title> |
393 |
<body> |
394 |
|
395 |
<p> |
396 |
In fact there is no difference between the various releases |
397 |
<b>after they have been installed</b>. Gentoo 1.4 and later are |
398 |
<c>glibc-2.3.x</c> based. As such running <c>emerge sync; emerge -u world</c> |
399 |
will bring your entire system up to speed with the "latest Gentoo". |
400 |
The true differences between individual releases lie in the installation. |
401 |
</p> |
402 |
|
403 |
</body> |
404 |
</section> |
405 |
<section> |
406 |
<title>My kernel doesn't boot (properly), what should I do now?</title> |
407 |
<body> |
408 |
|
409 |
<p> |
410 |
You don't need to redo every step of the installation, but only the |
411 |
kernel-stuff and all associated steps. Suppose you have installed Gentoo |
412 |
on <path>/dev/hda1</path> (/boot) and <path>/dev/hda3</path> (/) with |
413 |
<path>/dev/hda2</path> being the swap space: |
414 |
</p> |
415 |
|
416 |
<pre caption = "Reconfiguring the kernel"> |
417 |
<comment>Boot from the LiveCD and wait until you receive a prompt</comment> |
418 |
<comment>We first mount all partitions:</comment> |
419 |
# <i>mount /dev/hda3 /mnt/gentoo</i> |
420 |
# <i>mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/gentoo/boot</i> |
421 |
# <i>swapon /dev/hda2</i> |
422 |
# <i>mount -t proc none /mnt/gentoo/proc</i> |
423 |
<comment>Then we chroot into our Gentoo environment and configure the kernel:</comment> |
424 |
# <i>chroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash</i> |
425 |
# <i>env-update && source /etc/profile</i> |
426 |
# <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i> |
427 |
# <i>make menuconfig</i> |
428 |
<comment>Now (de)select anything you have (de)selected wrongly at your</comment> |
429 |
<comment>previous attempt. Then quit and compile your kernel:</comment> |
430 |
# <i>make dep && make bzImage modules modules_install</i> |
431 |
<comment>Now copy over your bzImage file, overwriting your previous one:</comment> |
432 |
# <i>cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot</i> |
433 |
<comment>If you use LILO, rerun lilo -- GRUB users should skip this:</comment> |
434 |
# <i>/sbin/lilo</i> |
435 |
<comment>Now exit the chroot and reboot.</comment> |
436 |
# <i>exit</i> |
437 |
# <i>umount /mnt/gentoo/proc /mnt/gentoo/boot /mnt/gentoo</i> |
438 |
# <i>reboot</i> |
439 |
</pre> |
440 |
|
441 |
<p> |
442 |
If on the other hand the problem lays with your bootloader configuration, |
443 |
follow the same steps, but instead of configuring/compiling your kernel you |
444 |
should reconfigure your bootloader (recompilation isn't necessary). |
445 |
</p> |
446 |
|
447 |
</body> |
448 |
</section> |
449 |
<section> |
450 |
<title>My proxy requires authentication, what do I have to do?</title> |
451 |
<body> |
452 |
|
453 |
<p> |
454 |
When you have to download something using <c>wget</c>, use the |
455 |
following syntax to authenticate yourself: |
456 |
</p> |
457 |
|
458 |
<pre caption = "Proxy-authentication using wget"> |
459 |
# <i>wget --proxy-user=</i><comment>username</comment><i> --proxy-passwd=</i><comment>password</comment><i> <url></i> |
460 |
</pre> |
461 |
|
462 |
<p> |
463 |
To have Portage automatically use this scheme, define it in |
464 |
<path>/etc/make.conf</path>: |
465 |
</p> |
466 |
|
467 |
<pre caption = "/etc/make.conf"> |
468 |
FETCHCOMMAND="wget --proxy-user=<comment>username</comment> --proxy-passwd=<comment>password</comment> -t 5 --passive-ftp -P \${DISTDIR} \${URI}" |
469 |
RESUMECOMMAND="/usr/bin/wget --proxy-user=<comment>username</comment> --proxy-passwd=<comment>password</comment> -c -t 5 --passive-ftp -P \${DISTDIR} \${URI}" |
470 |
</pre> |
471 |
|
472 |
<p> |
473 |
Sadly, <c>rsync</c> doesn't seem to support username/password |
474 |
authentication for proxies. See <uri link="#doc_chap4_sect3">What |
475 |
if rsync doesn't work for me?</uri> for more information on how to |
476 |
handle this situation. |
477 |
</p> |
478 |
|
479 |
</body> |
480 |
</section> |
481 |
</chapter> |
482 |
|
483 |
<chapter> |
484 |
<title>Package Management</title> |
485 |
<section> |
486 |
<title>In what format are the packages stored?</title> |
487 |
<body> |
488 |
|
489 |
<p> |
490 |
They exist in our portage tree as <e>ebuild</e> autobuild scripts; Gentoo is |
491 |
primarily a ports-based distribution, meaning that we provide scripts |
492 |
(<c>.ebuild</c> files) and a special system (Portage) so that you can build |
493 |
apps from sources. We generally only build binaries for releases and snapshots. |
494 |
The <uri link="/doc/en/gentoo-howto.xml">Development HOWTO</uri> covers the |
495 |
contents of an ebuild script in detail. For full binary ISO releases, we |
496 |
create a full suite of binary packages in an enhanced <c>.tbz2</c> format |
497 |
(<c>.tar.bz2</c> compatible with meta-information attached to the end of the |
498 |
file). |
499 |
</p> |
500 |
|
501 |
</body> |
502 |
</section> |
503 |
<section> |
504 |
<title>I want to perform the ./configure step myself. Can I?</title> |
505 |
<body> |
506 |
|
507 |
<p> |
508 |
Yes, but it is not trivial, and the next method only works when it is a simple |
509 |
ebuild (i.e. just <c>./configure</c> and <c>make && make install</c>). |
510 |
Be sure to read the ebuild itself to see how Gentoo handles it. |
511 |
</p> |
512 |
|
513 |
<p> |
514 |
Start with unpacking the ebuild: <c>ebuild |
515 |
/usr/portage/<category>/<package>/<ebuild> unpack</c>. |
516 |
</p> |
517 |
|
518 |
<p> |
519 |
Next, go to <path>/var/tmp/portage/<package>-<version>/work</path>. |
520 |
Inside it you'll find the unpacked sources. Execute the steps you need to |
521 |
perform to configure and compile the package. |
522 |
</p> |
523 |
|
524 |
<p> |
525 |
When finished, execute <c>touch |
526 |
/var/tmp/portage/<package>-<version>/.compiled</c> to trick Portage |
527 |
into thinking it configured and compiled the package. Then finish up with |
528 |
<c>ebuild /usr/portage/<category>/<package>/<ebuild> |
529 |
merge</c>. |
530 |
</p> |
531 |
|
532 |
</body> |
533 |
</section> |
534 |
<section> |
535 |
<title>What if rsync doesn't work for me?</title> |
536 |
<body> |
537 |
|
538 |
<p> |
539 |
If you're behind a firewall that doesn't permit rsync traffic, then you can use |
540 |
<c>emerge-webrsync</c> which will fetch and install a Portage snapshot for you |
541 |
through regular HTTP. <c>emerge-webrsync</c> uses <c>wget</c> to download, so |
542 |
proxy is fully supported. |
543 |
</p> |
544 |
|
545 |
<pre caption="Using emerge-webrsync"> |
546 |
# <i>emerge-webrsync</i> |
547 |
</pre> |
548 |
|
549 |
</body> |
550 |
</section> |
551 |
<section> |
552 |
<title>How do I use emerge from behind a firewall?</title> |
553 |
<body> |
554 |
|
555 |
<p> |
556 |
Edit the PROXY settings in <path>/etc/make.conf</path>. If that doesn't work, |
557 |
edit <path>/etc/wget/wgetrc</path> and edit http_proxy and ftp_proxy |
558 |
appropriately. |
559 |
</p> |
560 |
|
561 |
</body> |
562 |
</section> |
563 |
<section> |
564 |
<title>Can I rsync from another operating system?</title> |
565 |
<body> |
566 |
|
567 |
<p> |
568 |
There's a program called unison that works under both UNIX and Win32, available |
569 |
from <uri>http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/</uri>. |
570 |
</p> |
571 |
|
572 |
</body> |
573 |
</section> |
574 |
<section> |
575 |
<title> |
576 |
I have only slow modem connection at home. Can I download sources somewhere |
577 |
else and add them to my system? |
578 |
</title> |
579 |
<body> |
580 |
|
581 |
<p> |
582 |
Definitely. You can run <c>emerge --pretend package</c> to see what programs |
583 |
are going to be installed. To find out the sources for those packages and where |
584 |
to download the sources from, you can run <c>emerge -fp package</c>. Download |
585 |
sources and bring them on any media home. Put the sources into |
586 |
<path>/usr/portage/distfiles</path> and run <c>emerge package</c> to see it |
587 |
picking up the sources you just brought in! |
588 |
</p> |
589 |
|
590 |
</body> |
591 |
</section> |
592 |
<section> |
593 |
<title> |
594 |
.tar.gz sources for installed software are piling up in |
595 |
/usr/portage/distfiles/ using valuable space. Is it safe to delete these |
596 |
files? |
597 |
</title> |
598 |
<body> |
599 |
|
600 |
<p> |
601 |
Yes, you can safely delete these files. But if you are on a slow |
602 |
connection, such as a modem, you might want to keep the archives if |
603 |
possible; often several ebuilds will be released for the same version of |
604 |
a specific piece of software - if you have deleted the archive and you |
605 |
upgrade the software it will have to be downloaded from the internet |
606 |
again. |
607 |
</p> |
608 |
|
609 |
</body> |
610 |
</section> |
611 |
<section> |
612 |
<title> |
613 |
What's in /var/tmp/portage? Is it safe to delete the files and |
614 |
directories in /var/tmp/portage? |
615 |
</title> |
616 |
<body> |
617 |
|
618 |
<p> |
619 |
During compilation, Gentoo saves the sources of the package in |
620 |
<path>/var/tmp/portage</path>. It is safe to clean out all contents of this |
621 |
directory. |
622 |
</p> |
623 |
|
624 |
</body> |
625 |
</section> |
626 |
</chapter> |
627 |
|
628 |
<chapter> |
629 |
<title>Usage</title> |
630 |
<section> |
631 |
<title> |
632 |
I have installed openssh on my box, but can only log in as root - my normal |
633 |
user account doesn't work. |
634 |
</title> |
635 |
<body> |
636 |
|
637 |
<p> |
638 |
This is most probably because your user account doesn't have a valid shell |
639 |
specified. Check for your user entry in <path>/etc/passwd</path> and see if it |
640 |
ends in /bin/bash (or any other shell). If it doesn't, you must set a shell for |
641 |
the user. This is done using the usermod command, like this: |
642 |
</p> |
643 |
|
644 |
<pre caption="Using usermod"> |
645 |
# <i>usermod -s /bin/bash myuser</i> |
646 |
</pre> |
647 |
|
648 |
</body> |
649 |
</section> |
650 |
<section> |
651 |
<title>I can start X applications as root only.</title> |
652 |
<body> |
653 |
|
654 |
<p> |
655 |
Your <path>/tmp</path> directory has the wrong permissions (it needs the |
656 |
sticky bit set). Type the following as root: |
657 |
</p> |
658 |
|
659 |
<pre caption="Changing /tmp permissions"> |
660 |
# <i>chmod 1777 /tmp</i> |
661 |
</pre> |
662 |
|
663 |
</body> |
664 |
</section> |
665 |
<section> |
666 |
<title>How do I set up an International Keyboard Layout?</title> |
667 |
<body> |
668 |
|
669 |
<p> |
670 |
Edit the <c>KEYMAP</c> variable in <path>/etc/rc.conf</path>. |
671 |
Then either reboot or restart the keymaps script: |
672 |
<c>/etc/init.d/keymaps restart</c>. |
673 |
</p> |
674 |
|
675 |
</body> |
676 |
</section> |
677 |
<section> |
678 |
<title>DNS name resolution works for root only.</title> |
679 |
<body> |
680 |
|
681 |
<p> |
682 |
<path>/etc/resolv.conf</path> has the wrong permissions; <c>chmod</c> it as |
683 |
follows: |
684 |
</p> |
685 |
|
686 |
<pre caption="Changing permissions on /etc/resolv.conf"> |
687 |
# <i>chmod 0644 /etc/resolv.conf</i> |
688 |
</pre> |
689 |
|
690 |
</body> |
691 |
</section> |
692 |
<section> |
693 |
<title>Why can't my user use their own crontab?</title> |
694 |
<body> |
695 |
|
696 |
<p> |
697 |
You need to add that user to the <c>cron</c> group. |
698 |
</p> |
699 |
|
700 |
</body> |
701 |
</section> |
702 |
<section> |
703 |
<title>How do I get numlock to start on boot?</title> |
704 |
<body> |
705 |
|
706 |
<p> |
707 |
If you log on graphically, or want numlock to be activated when |
708 |
you issue <c>startx</c>, then you must <c>emerge numlockx</c> and |
709 |
add <c>/usr/X11R6/bin/numlockx</c> to |
710 |
<path>/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc</path> (for <c>startx</c>) or |
711 |
<path>/etc/X11/Sessions/</path> (for any graphical login manager) such |
712 |
as <path>/etc/X11/Sessions/Gnome</path> for GDM. |
713 |
</p> |
714 |
|
715 |
<p> |
716 |
If you work in commandline, you only need to <c>rc-update add |
717 |
numlock default</c> and numlock will be activated on the next |
718 |
reboot. |
719 |
</p> |
720 |
|
721 |
</body> |
722 |
</section> |
723 |
<section> |
724 |
<title>How do I have my terminal cleared when I log out?</title> |
725 |
<body> |
726 |
|
727 |
<p> |
728 |
To have your terminal cleared, add <c>clear</c> to your |
729 |
<path>~/.bash_logout</path> script: |
730 |
</p> |
731 |
|
732 |
<pre caption = "Clearing the terminal during logout"> |
733 |
$ <i>echo clear >> ~/.bash_logout</i> |
734 |
</pre> |
735 |
|
736 |
<p> |
737 |
If you want this to happen automatically when you add a new |
738 |
user, do the same for the <path>/etc/skel/.bash_logout</path>: |
739 |
</p> |
740 |
|
741 |
<pre caption = "Making new users their terminal clear on logout"> |
742 |
# <i>echo clear >> /etc/skel/.bash_logout</i></pre> |
743 |
</body> |
744 |
|
745 |
</section> |
746 |
</chapter> |
747 |
|
748 |
<chapter> |
749 |
<title>Maintenance</title> |
750 |
<section> |
751 |
<title>ReiserFS and filesystem corruption issues -- how to fix'em, etc</title> |
752 |
<body> |
753 |
|
754 |
<p> |
755 |
If your ReiserFS partition is corrupt, try booting the Gentoo |
756 |
Linux boot CD and run <c>reiserfsck --rebuild-tree</c> on |
757 |
the corrupted filesystem. This should make the filesystem consistent |
758 |
again, although you may have lost some files or directories due |
759 |
to the corruption. |
760 |
</p> |
761 |
|
762 |
</body> |
763 |
</section> |
764 |
<section> |
765 |
<title>Metalogd doesn't log in real time!</title> |
766 |
<body> |
767 |
|
768 |
<p> |
769 |
Metalog flushes output to the disk in blocks, so messages aren't immediately |
770 |
recorded into the system logs. If you are trying to debug a daemon, this |
771 |
performance-enhancing behavior is less than helpful. When your Gentoo Linux |
772 |
system is up and running, you can send metalog a USR1 signal to temporarily |
773 |
turn off this message buffering (meaning that <c>tail -f |
774 |
<path>/var/log/everything/current</path></c> will now work in real time, as |
775 |
expected) and a USR2 signal to turn buffering back on again. If you want to |
776 |
disable buffering permanently, you can change METALOG_OPTS="-B" to |
777 |
METALOG_OPTS="-B -s" in <path>/etc/conf.d/metalog</path>. |
778 |
</p> |
779 |
|
780 |
<pre caption="Turning metalog buffering on/off"> |
781 |
<codenote>To turn the buffering off:</codenote> |
782 |
# <i>killall -USR1 metalog</i> |
783 |
<codenote>To turn the buffering back on:</codenote> |
784 |
# <i>killall -USR2 metalog</i> |
785 |
</pre> |
786 |
|
787 |
</body> |
788 |
</section> |
789 |
</chapter> |
790 |
|
791 |
<chapter> |
792 |
<title>Development</title> |
793 |
<section> |
794 |
<title>Where can I report bugs?</title> |
795 |
<body> |
796 |
|
797 |
<p> |
798 |
For bugs within a specific program, contact the program's author. Otherwise, |
799 |
use our Bugzilla bug tracker at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri>. You can |
800 |
also visit us in <c>#gentoo</c> on the <uri |
801 |
link="http://www.freenode.net">FreeNode</uri> IRC network. |
802 |
</p> |
803 |
|
804 |
</body> |
805 |
</section> |
806 |
<section> |
807 |
<title>How often are new releases made?</title> |
808 |
<body> |
809 |
|
810 |
<p> |
811 |
New releases are announced on the <uri |
812 |
link="http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/lists.xml">gentoo-announce</uri> |
813 |
mailing list. In reality the packages themselves are updated shortly after the |
814 |
main authors release new code. As for when Gentoo makes new releases, check our |
815 |
<uri link="/proj/en/releng">Release Engineering Project</uri> page. |
816 |
</p> |
817 |
|
818 |
</body> |
819 |
</section> |
820 |
<section> |
821 |
<title>How can I add a question or answer to this FAQ?</title> |
822 |
<body> |
823 |
|
824 |
<p> |
825 |
Submit a new bug over at <uri>http://bugs.gentoo.org</uri> and add it to the |
826 |
"Docs-user" product, "Gentoo Linux FAQ" component. |
827 |
</p> |
828 |
|
829 |
</body> |
830 |
</section> |
831 |
<section> |
832 |
<title> |
833 |
My speaker beeps like crazy while compiling Mozilla. How do I disable console |
834 |
beeps? |
835 |
</title> |
836 |
<body> |
837 |
|
838 |
<p> |
839 |
Console beeps can be turned off using setterm, like this: |
840 |
</p> |
841 |
|
842 |
<pre caption="Using setterm"> |
843 |
# <i>setterm -blength 0</i> |
844 |
</pre> |
845 |
|
846 |
<p> |
847 |
If you would like to turn off the console beeps on boot |
848 |
you need to put this command in <path>/etc/conf.d/local.start</path>. However, |
849 |
this only disables beeps for the current terminal. To disable |
850 |
beeps for other terminals, pipe the command output to the |
851 |
target terminal, like this: |
852 |
</p> |
853 |
|
854 |
<pre caption="Using setterm (bis)"> |
855 |
# <i>setterm -blength 0 >/dev/vc/1</i> |
856 |
</pre> |
857 |
|
858 |
<p> |
859 |
You need to replace /dev/vc/1 with the terminal you would like to disable |
860 |
console beeps for. |
861 |
</p> |
862 |
|
863 |
</body> |
864 |
</section> |
865 |
</chapter> |
866 |
|
867 |
<chapter> |
868 |
<title>Resources</title> |
869 |
<section> |
870 |
<title>Where can I find more information about Gentoo Linux?</title> |
871 |
<body> |
872 |
|
873 |
<p> |
874 |
The official Gentoo documentation can be found on |
875 |
<uri>http://www.gentoo.org</uri>; general Linux information is at |
876 |
<uri>http://www.tldp.org</uri>. |
877 |
</p> |
878 |
|
879 |
</body> |
880 |
</section> |
881 |
<section> |
882 |
<title>Can I buy a CD of Gentoo Linux?</title> |
883 |
<body> |
884 |
|
885 |
<p> |
886 |
Yes! LiveCDs for all supported architecture are available on |
887 |
our <uri link="http://store.gentoo.org/">Gentoo Store</uri>. When you |
888 |
purchase a CD from our store, you are also supporting our development. |
889 |
So, please consider buying from our store if possible :-) |
890 |
</p> |
891 |
|
892 |
<p> |
893 |
You can also find fresh CDs from |
894 |
<uri link = "http://cart.cheapbytes.com/cgi-bin/cart/0070010933">Cheapbytes |
895 |
</uri> and <uri link = "http://www.tuxcds.com/section.php?section=42"> |
896 |
tuxcds</uri> for a very good price. These people also bounce back a |
897 |
portion of the profits to the Gentoo project, so buy them while they are hot! |
898 |
</p> |
899 |
|
900 |
</body> |
901 |
</section> |
902 |
<section> |
903 |
<title> |
904 |
Why, when I hit reply to a post on a Gentoo mailing list, does my answer |
905 |
only go to the original poster and not the entire list? |
906 |
</title> |
907 |
<body> |
908 |
|
909 |
<p> |
910 |
The mailing list administrators have decided to go with minimal munging |
911 |
(altering of mail headers), which means that they have decided against |
912 |
altering headers to have replies go to the mailing list. There are various |
913 |
reasons for this. For example, if a subscriber has a full mailbox, the |
914 |
entire list receives notice of this every time that something is posted. |
915 |
</p> |
916 |
|
917 |
<p> |
918 |
Most GUI based mailers have a "reply to all" function. This will ensure that |
919 |
your reply goes to the mailing list as well as the original poster. Most |
920 |
users of text based emailers already know the methods to use, but if you |
921 |
don't, in Pine, there is a "reply to group" option. Setting Mutt to reply to |
922 |
the list is covered in the unofficial documentation at |
923 |
<uri link="http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=1085">forums.gentoo.org</uri>. |
924 |
</p> |
925 |
|
926 |
<p> |
927 |
Some list members do not like this method, but it was very heavily |
928 |
discussed when it went into effect, with arguments on both sides. |
929 |
Eventually the list administrators decided to keep it this way. Discussing |
930 |
it on the mailing list will sometimes bring a polite explanation and other |
931 |
times a rather brusque comment to check the archives. Although the |
932 |
administrators regret the inconvenience that it may cause some users, it is |
933 |
felt that at present it is preferable to the alternative for several |
934 |
reasons, many of these covered |
935 |
<uri link="http://www.unicom.com/pw/reply-to-harmful.html">here</uri>. |
936 |
</p> |
937 |
|
938 |
<p> |
939 |
(There are other eloquent arguments in favor of munging, and yes, the list |
940 |
administrators have seen them). |
941 |
</p> |
942 |
|
943 |
</body> |
944 |
</section> |
945 |
<section> |
946 |
<title>This FAQ hasn't answered my question. What do I do now?</title> |
947 |
<body> |
948 |
|
949 |
<p> |
950 |
A good first step is to browse through the relevant <uri |
951 |
link="http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml">documentation</uri>, failing that, |
952 |
the various Gentoo Linux mailing lists listed on <uri |
953 |
link="http://www.google.com">Google</uri>. To search through the Gentoo |
954 |
mailing lists, just enter "lists.gentoo.org foo" to search for "foo". If all |
955 |
else fails, or you just want to hang out with Gentoo folks, visit us on irc: |
956 |
<c>#gentoo</c> on <c>irc.freenode.net</c>. |
957 |
</p> |
958 |
|
959 |
</body> |
960 |
</section> |
961 |
</chapter> |
962 |
|
963 |
</guide> |