Linux
How to Change Default Players in Linux
You might want to watch an MP4 or AVI video in the GNOME Media Player. Perhaps you prefer listening to music in Audacious, VLC Media Player, Parole or something more exotic. Fortunately, you can change which media player Linux defaults to for each file type individually or as a whole.…
How to Fix snap Package Dependency Errors in Ubuntu
Ubuntu now allows you to use the snap command to install apps from a store. While it’s not designed to replace the Debian-derived apt-get system currently in use on most Ubuntu Linux installations, it does have the benefit of being fairly platform-agnostic. This is why it’s become popular on Ubuntu…
How to Display the $PATH Variable on Newlines in Linux
The PATH environment variable specifies a set of directories where your commands go, and if you type a command with nothing else in front of it the Linux shell looks for it in one of these directories. You can always type echo $PATH at the command line to see a…
How to Fix Broken Login Screen Packages on Ubuntu
If you’ve been removing a bunch of packages, then you might have accidentally removed something like lightdm. This package allows you to log into your graphical desktop, and in many cases will automatically take you to it. Upon removal and reboot of the machine, you’ll probably just find a blank…
Fix: Volume boot has Only 0 Bytes Disk Space Remaining
If you’re using Ubuntu Linux or perhaps a derivative like Kubuntu or Ubuntu MATE, then you might receive a dialog message that reads “The volume “boot” has only 0 bytes disk space remaining.” When Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu or any other derivative attempts to update, it tries to install new kernel…
How to Find MP3 Duration from the Linux Command Line
Linux users who are used to working with music files from the command line might already be using ffmpeg, but it’s difficult to extract just the length of a file using this otherwise powerful tool. There are a few ways to use it, but there are also a few other…
How to Print Double Sided PDF in Ubuntu
In many cases, PDF files themselves have replaced printing. However, it’s still extremely useful to print these in a wide variety of situations. You won’t have to use the command line at all either, which might disappoint some but excite others. While there are command line tools for printing PDF…
How to Sort Directories by Actual Size in Linux
Linux file browsers behave much like File Explorer under Windows or the Finder under OS X in that sorting directories by size doesn’t work quite the way that many users would expect it to. You can sort directories by the number of subdirectories that they contain or the number of…
How to Cycle Windows in a Different Order in Linux
Most users of Linux on any device that has a keyboard knows the Alt+Tab shortcut. It’s a common one on many types of operating systems today, but it generally only moves applications in a single direction. Some programmers have to sort through their windows in the exact order they appear…
How to Configure and Troubleshoot Fonts in Linux
Users who’ve installed fonts but can’t see them in any of their applications may need to update the font cache so they render properly. There might also be a problem with the installation or even the file that contains the font itself. More commonly a program might be attempting to…
How to Enable Spell Checking in *buntu Office Applications
If you’re having trouble enabling spell checking in LibreOffice or Abiword and you’re using one of the *buntu Linux distributions or a comparable Debian-based version, then you might not have any languages installed on your system. In most cases, the distribution installed these automatically, but you might have accidentally removed…
How to Set bash Variables to Random Numbers
You can easily generate a random number at the bash prompt, which you can then use to set said number as a variable. This is useful for everything from writing certain types of scripts to running tabletop roleplaying adventures. Whether you might be writing a D&D campaign or authoring a…
How to Install, Configure and Run automysqlbackup in Linux
Remembering to always back up a MySQL server can be difficult, but fortunately, there’s a script that can automate the entire process. You won’t even have to write any bash Linux code because skilled programmers already drafted the automysqlbackup script for you. You may even be able to install it…
How to Fix Unmet Dependencies Error on Ubuntu
Error The following packages have unmet dependencies has plagued Ubuntu users for a while now, and there are more and more sightings of the error on various versions of Ubuntu. The APT package management system is easy to use, but in some occasions, such as when you’re mixing in third-party…
How to Fix Lost Terminal Windows on the Linux Desktop
It’s very easy to open a terminal window by holding down Ctrl+Alt+T in Linux and FreeBSD, which encourages users to hit this every time they want to run pretty much anything. This has become something of an embarrassment of riches since it encourages people to use the powerful command line…
How to Take Screenshots from the Linux Command Line
Like with most things in the GNU/Linux environment, there’s a way to take a screenshot from the command line. There are a few different primary reasons users would like to do this. One is to have further control over how the screenshot is taken, especially when dealing with timing. Another…
Fix: SSH Error ‘could not resolve hostname server’
You’ll sometimes see an error telling you that ssh couldn’t resolve a hostname when you attempt to use it. If you’re getting this error, then you should first make sure that you’re connected to the network. Users of any type of wireless networking will also want to make sure that…
How to Enable and Disable a Webcam in Linux
A decent graphical hardware manager is one of the few things that many mainstream Linux distributions still lack, which can make it difficult to enable and disable a webcam. You might think that Linux refuses to recognize your laptop’s internal webcam when in actuality it’s simply turned off. Almost distributions…
How to Increase Signal Strength for Weak Wifi Signal on Linux
WiFi signal integrity is a major issue for many Linux users, but there’s unfortunately a great deal of static regarding the issue. Some people actually shy away from using any distribution of Linux because they believe they’ll lose the ability to work with wireless Internet if they do so. This…
How to Partition and Configure Drives for Linux UEFI Boot
Actually doing the partitioning work for any U/EFI-based Linux or Windows implementation isn’t much more difficult than writing partition tables for a standard MBR-based operating system. Using the newer GUID Partition Table (GPT) technology can be confusing, though, since it doesn’t support extended or logical partitions. This is counterintuitive to…
How to Configure the UFW Firewall in Linux
UFW actually stands for Uncomplicated Firewall and not Ubuntu firewall like many people believe. This name reflects the fact that it’s surprisingly easy to configure. Most users will only need to set literally three options before they’re relatively safe. Those who want to set some advanced configuration options won’t have…
How to Install qpdfview on Ubuntu
Ubuntu users looking for a lightweight tabbed PDF viewer have long turned to qpdfview, but it’s always been difficult to install it. People either needed to use a special PPA repository or download the source code themselves to build it. Either of these methods was unnecessarily complicated for many people,…
How to Fix mod_authz_host Apache Errors in Linux
When installing the apache2 service on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Arch, Scientific Linux, Debian Server, Ubuntu Server or any of the other distributions that support it, you might find that you get an error about the mod_authz_host module that prevents the execution of the service. You’d likely find this error…
How to Shutdown Ubuntu with the PC Power Button
When you push the physical power button in Ubuntu or its derivatives, it will generally prompt you to select an option and thus allow you to either shut the system down or simply suspend it. This isn’t expected behavior for many people used to pushing the physical power button and…
How to Completely Remove Windows 7 and Install Ubuntu?
Whether you’ve finally decided to make the jump to a pure Linux environment or you’re revitalizing a laptop with a damaged install of Windows 7, you can completely remove everything currently installed on the drive and replace it with the new operating system. Most Ubuntu installation instructions focus primarily on…