Tag Archives: fix
Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron update manager freezes issue
June 27th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
I may be a Windows pro, but I am an amateur in every extent of the word when it comes to Ubuntu Linux. I’ve installed 7.10 twice and upgraded once to 8.04, which I run on one of the computers at my desk. I tinker with it much less than I intended to. However, I have searched posts and Googled some to solve (read: find solutions posted by others) a few Ubuntu problems here and there.
One such issue was with the Update Manager on Ubuntu 8.04, otherwise known as Hardy Heron. After upgrading 7.10 to 8.04, the Update Manager failed to work. It would appear to freeze up at the point where you would expect the password box to appear.
So digging into the forums, I found a thread that led me to the /etc/hosts file. The beginning of my hosts file read as such:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 PCNAME.NETWORKNAME
To fix the issue with the Update Manager, all I had to do was remove the “.NETWORKNAME” part. It is also worth noting the third octet of the second IP address is a “1″, not a “0″.
The thread on the Ubuntu Forums where I detail this (user: brown705) is here. In the thread, specifically post #6, is where I reference the original source of the solution.
UPDATE: This is also the same fix for the sudo “unable to resolve host” error.
10 things you can *try* when Windows XP will not boot
June 26th, 2008. Published under Uncategorized. No Comments.
This article, on TechRepublic, is called “10 things you can do when Windows XP won’t boot”, but I think my title is more accurate. Many, many things can cause Windows XP to not boot, so this list is most certainly not a definitive list that will make XP boot once again. But, it does cover the basics, and there is a decent chance on of these will fix things. It is worth noting that number ten, “Perform an in-place upgrade”, will cause a lot of extra work, in that you’ll have to reinstall most of your apps, since a fresh new registry is written to the disk. More importantly, if I remember correctly (its been a while since I’ve done this myself), it also overwrites the “Documents and Settings” folder on the system drive, which would wipe out all user profiles (read: wipe out your My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, etc). Usually not the best option. Oh, you say you don’t have a backup of your data? Tsk, tsk.
I would add a section in number ten and first recover data. Here are three ways to first recover data:
- Remove the drive and set it as a slave in another computer. This would allow you to copy data over using the other computer’s OS. You then burn to disc or copy to USB drive or whatever.
- Remove the drive and put it in an external enclosure that will allow you to plug the drive into another computer. Same result as the first option, where you can burn or copy the data using the other computer. Or better yet, just buy a new hard drive for your computer, install Windows (or another OS), reinstall all your apps, then use the old hard drive in the external enclosure to copy over your data to your new hard drive. Then wipe the old hard drive clean and use this old hard drive and external enclosure to regularly backup your data, as you should have been in the first place.
- Use an “OS on a CD” solution, such as the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows, or a Linux Live CD, or the like. The UBCD for Win is great. I keep one in my briefcase at all times. Anyway, boot your computer to the UBCD4Win disk, which is loaded with diagnostic tools and stuff. If these don’t work, at least you should be able to recover data from this environment using your burner or USB drive.