Welcome to the Dreamlinux manual!
This page is a manual, providing you with some tips and tutorials for using your Dreamlinux 2.2 Multimedia GL Edition system.
To view a tutorial, simply click on the one you wish to view. To exit from the tutorial, click "Hide this block". The page is designed to work with Firefox 2.0 or later. If your browser is having trouble displaying the page, you may wish to download the browser from Firefox.com. Iceweasel (an open source version of Firefox) is installed by default on Dreamlinux. To run it, right-click on your desktop, and go to Network > Iceweasel.
If you wish to add a tutorial, please refer to the instructions at the end.
If you intended to visit the manual for another release, please visit the previous releases page.
The text in this manual is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
In simple terms, you can do redistribute and change the manual, even for commercial uses, provided that:
- You attribute http://www.dreamwiki.co.nr/ as the basis of your work
- You make it clear that this site in no way endorses your work
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The above conditions may be ignored provided that you are given specific permission from the copyright holder. To contact him, send him a personal message by clicking here.
Dreamlinux 2.2 Multimedia GL Edition contained several improvements over the previous release (2.2 Multimedia Edition):
- Beryl - Once of the main focuses of this release was the inclusion of Beryl, a 3D window manager, allowing you to create stunning effects on your desktop.
- Engage Configuration Tool - The MMGL Edition came with a tool that allows simple creation and arrangement of .eap icons for the Engage dock. It allows allows easy editing of the dock's behavior.
- Xfce Menu Item Creator - Another new tool allowed simple creation of Xfce menu icons for any application.
- Mkdistro Live Remaster - MkDistro Live Remaster is an application allowing you to remaster your Dreamlinux LiveCD. Once you've changed the background or the Engage panel, just run the tool and a new .iso file will be created.
After beta releases and three release candidates, the final release was on July 1st 2007.
To start using Dreamlinux, you must first get a copy of the CD. Dreamlinux is free to download, but the file is approximately 700MB in size, so if you have a slow connection, or a monthly download limit, you may have to buy or borrow a CD from elsewhere.
Purchasing a CD from a shop
A 2.2 MMGL Edition CD can be bought from LinuxCD.org.
Downloading and burning a CD
You can also make your own CD. You should remember that the file is 700MB, so it may take some time to download. The following table estimates how long the download will take:
| Connection speed | Actual download speed | Total download time |
|---|---|---|
| 512kbps | 64kbps | 30mins |
| 768kbps | 75kbps | 2h 40 mins |
| 1mbps | 128kbps | 2h |
| 2mbps | 256kbps | 1h |
| 4mbps | 512kbps | 30 mins |
| 8mbps | 1024kbps | 15 mins |
There are two methods of downloading Dreamlinux - downloading through a mirror and through a torrent.
To download from a mirror, click one of the following links:
A torrent download may be faster than the mirrors. If you've never used torrent files before, you will need to install a torrent client. Azureus is recommended for Windows. If you are on Linux, you should try the Bittornado package. If you are on Debian or a Debian-based distribution (such as Dreamlinux or Ubuntu), you need to run the following two commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bittornado
For other distributions, you should follow the standard installation procedure.
Then you will need to download a tiny .torrent file from LinuxTracker. Once you have this file, open it with your torrent client. Your download will then begin.
After your download has completed, you should check whether or not your download was corrupted. Because it is such a large file, there is a reasonable chance that this has happened. On Windows, you can use the MD5Summer application to do this. On Linux, open a terminal go to the directory where you downloaded the file and run the following command:
md5sum DL_2.2_070701MMGL_en.iso
If the code you are given is 10c6b84cf5f7f2bf05573a963a1bab42 , your download has not been corrupted. If it is different, you should re-download the file, as it may not work properly.
Next, you need to burn the CD. You should not use a normal burning program - you will need a special .iso burning tool. A recommended application for Windows is ImgBurn. On Linux, you can use Brasero. You'll need to be in the image burning mode. Try to use a speed of 4x or less, as although it will take longer, it means that your burn is less likely to be corrupted.
Normally, your computer boots from the hard disk, so the first step involves telling your PC to boot from the CD drive. This must be done before your operating system loads.
When your computer starts, see if you are told to press a button to enter "system configuration", "BIOS settings" or something similar. Once you have accessed these settings, you will need to select the option that instructs the computer to boot from CD. Try looking for "Boot Sequence" or something similar until you find it. If you cannot find it, try pressing one of the following buttons during startup: <Delete>, <Space>, one of the "F*" buttons (<F1>, <F2>, <F3> etc.). Chances are, one of these will either provide you with a menu allowing you to boot from CD, or it may just boot from the CD straight away. If you still can't find it, your computer may be too old to boot from the CD, in which case you will need to download a boot floppy that allows you to boot from CD. Try searching on Google for specific instructions for your computer.
Once it has booted from the CD and loaded GRUB, a graphical menu will load. Select "Dream" (the top option) by pressing <ENTER>. The kernel will be loaded, your hardware will be detected, and eventually you will be presented with an Xfce desktop.
If you would like to change resolution on the LiveCD, you can change it before the LiveCD boots. When on the menu, change the "Boot options:" line, adding the following:
screen=1024x768
You may have to replace 1024x768 with the appropriate resolution. If you are unsure which is the best one for your computer, try selecting the VESA option (failsafe mode) on the menu or try going to "More boot options" and choose the appropriate monitor size.
A partition is a section of your hard disk. Each partition can have its own operating system and files on it, allowing you to have Windows and Dreamlinux on the same computer. There are two partition editors on the Dreamlinux LiveCD - QParted (a graphical tool) and Cfdisk (a terminal tool). To open these, right-click on your desktop, and go to System > Dreamlinux Installer. Click on the application's name in the upper-left hand corner of the window.
To install Dreamlinux, you will need a new partition of at least 3GB. The best file systems for this are ext3, reiser4 or reiserfs. The mount-point should be "/". If you have less than 512MB of RAM, you may also wish to have a swap partition. This only needs to be about 500MB, and should be formatted as "swap".
Setting up a Windows-Dreamlinux dual-boot
If you set up your partitions correctly, you can have Windows and Dreamlinux on the same computer. If you do this, you're final setup will be similar to that in the screenshot of Cfdisk below. The following table lists the partitions, file systems and recommended sizes of the partitions you will need:
| Operating system | Is the partition required? | Filesystem | Mountpoint | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Yes | NTFS or FAT32 | Doesn't have a mountpoint | At least 3GB |
| Dreamlinux | Yes | ext3 or reiserfs | / | At least 3GB |
| Dreamlinux swap | No, but it will speed up your system if you have less than 512MB of RAM. | Swap | Swap | 500MB |
Below are two methods to achieve the dual-boot setup. You should only use the first method if you have no valuable data on your hard disk, or if you have backed up all the files you still need.
No valuble data on your hard disk / All data backed up
On your LiveCD, right-click on the Desktop, and go to System > Dreamlinux installer. Click on CfDisk. Delete all the partitions, and then create the three partitions shown in the screenshot.
Shut your PC down, and boot from your XP installation CD. You will be prompted during the installation to choose the partition you want to install on. Choose the Windows partition you created. You can format it as wither FAT32 or NTFS. NTFS is a better file system, but it you want to view the files stored on it with Dreamlinux, you have to run the ntfs-3g software, which is installed by default on Dreamlinux.
Once installed, reboot from the Dreamlinux LiveCD, and follow the installation instructions below. You should choose to install on the empty partition.
Windows installed with valuable data on it
It is highly recommended that you backup all valuable data before doing any partitioning as there is a chance that you may corrupt data. However, even if you decided not wish to back files up, you can avoid reformatting. On your LiveCD, right-click on the Desktop, and go to System > Dreamlinux installer. Click on QParted. Shrink the Windows partition so that there is at least 3GB of free space for Dreamlinux. In this space, create a new partition formatted as either ext3 or reiserfs.
Then use the "Installation with DLI (Dreamlinux Installer)" instructions to install the system, ensuring that you install on the new partition.
About the installer
Dreamlinux Installer (DLI, for short) started to gain life in the first days of 2007, mainly due to several restrictions of the Morphix Installer. Three of the several complaints we gathered in our Forum were:
- Sometimes it didn't finish the installation and didn't give any indication of it's current status;
- Its experimental feature of installing /home to a different partition wasn't working properly;
- It didn't show a swap partition if that was residing in a disk other than the one DL was being installed to.
Configuring and starting the installation
To run the installer, right-click on your desktop and go to System > Dreamlinux Installer.
At the top, you need to enter a computer name. This is the name of your computer as it will appear on a network. You can enter any name here.
You will also be asked to create a root password. The root account allows you to modify system files, which could damage your system if used wrongly. It is recommended that you only use the root account when you are certain what you need to change. On Dreamlinux, the default settings do not allow you to log in as root, but you can get root access by entering su in a terminal. After installation, you can allow logging in via the root account by changing the setting in the Dreamlinux Control Panel. You will be asked to enter the password twice, to ensure that it is not misspelled.
You also have to create your user account. Your "user name" and "user password" will be the name and password you have to enter when you login. Just as with the root password, you are asked to enter it twice.
Click "Reread" to get a list of partitions available on your hard disk. The "mountpoint" option allows certain parts of your installation to be on a different partition. For example, you could have a separate partition for /home. This means that you can keep all the files in /home if you need to format your other partition. There is a table in the "Partitioning" section, showing what the mountpoints and file systems should be. Once you are happy with your settings, click "Select" and the partition will appear in the menu on the right.
If you are unsure about how to use GRUB, you should leave the options at the bottom as the defaults. You can install GRUB on the MBR (Master Boot Record), which will overwrite your old boot loader and give you a Dreamlinux splash screen. Alternatively, you can install it on a root partition, but if this partition is formatted, you will not be able to boot with GRUB. Also, you can install on an existing GRUB. This will create a new Dreamlinux entry on the GRUB you currently use, allowing you to keep you old splash screen and configuration. You can also choose not to install GRUB. However, this is not recommended as you will have to configure your current boot loader manually. The name you are allowed to enter at the bottom will be the name that is displayed on the GRUB menu when you boot your computer.
Once you have completed the above, click on "Ok" and the installation process should start. A pop-up box will appear, telling you what the CD is currently installing. Once this completes, you should right-click your desktop, then click "Exit". Once you have shut your computer down, reboot and eject the Dreamlinux LiveCD. You should be presented with a GRUB menu. Press <ENTER> to boot Dreamlinux and enjoy your new installed system!
If you are running Dreamlinux on a desktop rather than a laptop, you may want to have the Numlock key turn on automatically upon startup. To do this, you will be installing a numlockx package, so you will need an internet connection.
Firstly, you need to open a terminal. To do this, right-click on your desktop, and select "Terminal".
Then, update your package lists and install the numlockx package by running the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
Next, you will need to edit a GDM configuration file. To open it, run the following command:
sudo mousepad /etc/gdm/Init/Default
Then, add the following code at the end, but before it says "exit 0":
if [ -x /usr/bin/X11/numlockx ]; then
/usr/bin/X11/numlockx on
fi
Finally, make save the file, and exit both Mousepad (the text editor) and the terminal. Then, switch off your Numlock key and restart graphical mode by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Backspace. Your Numlock key should be activated automatically.
The GL Edition is the first Dreamlinux release which includes Beryl by default, and the release has been focused around integrating it well. Initially, Beryl was only available after installation to the hard drive, however it can now be activated on the LiveCD. To get Beryl working, you will need a Nvidia or ATI graphics card. The drivers must be downloaded, so you will need an internet connection.
On the LiveCD
If you have a NVIDIA card, it is possible to activate Beryl on the LiveCD. You will need to be connected to the internet. See the dedicated section on this for details. Once connected, open a terminal and type:
sudo passwd morph
Then enter the new password for the morph user. You will be asked to do this twice to ensure you spelt the password correctly. After this, enter:
sudo init 3
This will take you out of graphical mode. You will be prompted to login. Enter morph as the user name and then insert the password you just chose. Once logged in, you will need to enter:
sudo nvidia-install
This will download and install the drivers, but may take some time if you have a slow internet connection. Once this has completed, you will be presented with a graphical login screen. Login as morph and enter your password. The desktop will load, and you must open a terminal and enter:
sudo ativar-beryl.rb
This will launch a window. Choose "Enable AiGLX/Beryl" and click "Ok". You will then have to log back in. Before doing this, click "Session", and choose "Beryl/GL Session", then click "Change Session" and login. Beryl should now have been activated. Use the "Beryl Manager" to change settings.
On the hard disk
Just as on the LiveCD, you must first install the appropriate driver. Right-click on the desktop to open the menu, and go to "System", and open "EasyInstall". Click on the "Hardware" tab and select "ATI/Nvidia Install", then choose the driver you want installed.
Once it has been downloaded and installed, you need to: logout, click on "Session", choose "Beryl/GL Session", and then log back in. On the menu, new items should have appeared: "Beryl Settings Manager" and "Emerald Theme Manager". These can be used to customize Beryl settings.
Dreamlinux comes with a wide variety of software, and is compatible with Debian packages, meaning that you can install thousands of packages from Debian repositories. The Dreamlinux LiveCD includes all of the following software preinstalled:
| Software title | Description |
|---|---|
| Beryl & AIGLX | This allows stunning 3D visual effects to be produced. |
| Office | Description |
| OpenOffice.org | The entire OpenOffice.org suite, which can be used to create documents, drawings, presentations, graphs and databases. |
| Orage | A configurable calender and alarm setter. |
| Evince | An application for document viewing, including PDF and ODT support. |
| Scribus | An desktop publisher. |
| Image editing | Description |
| GimpShop | A version of GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) designed to have Photoshop's menu style. |
| Gogh | A drawing program that works with pressure-sensitive input devices. |
| GSumi | A bitmap creation program that supports pressure-sensitive "ink" drawing. |
| GQview | A image previewer that easily allows quick navigation of the images on your system. |
| Gtkam | A program allowing transfer and viewing of photos onto and off a digital camera. |
| Vector drawing | Description |
| Inkscape | A vector graphics editor. |
| 3D Modeling | Description |
| Blender | A powerful 3D model creator and animator |
| YafRay | A 3D model creator with powerful lighting simulations. |
| Instant messenger | Description |
| aMSN | An unofficial improved port of Windows Live Messenger to Linux. |
| Internet | Description |
| Iceweasel | A version of Firefox, the most successful free browser, with "free" artwork. |
| Icedove | A version of Thunderbird, with "free" artwork. |
| Gftp | A program allowing FTP uploads onto a web server. |
| P2P | Description |
| Bittornado | A Linux bittorrent client. |
| Multimedia | Description |
| XMMS | A music and video player. |
| Mplayer | A movie player that supports DVD viewing |
| Gxine | A music and video player. |
| AviDemux | A video editor. |
| Kino | A video editor for DV files. |
| Dvd::Rip and Acidrip | These applications copy files from DVDs onto your hard disk. |
| StreamTuner | An application that plays music being streamed online. |
| Audacity | A sound recorder and editor. |
| Brasero | A tool for burning CDs and DVDs, including image file (.iso) file support. |
| FFMpeg | A video and audio converter. |
| GtkPod | Transfers and organizes music and videos on your iPod. |
| JackControl | A sound server. |
| Grip | A program designed to rip files from a CD and play them. |
| Gstreamer | A framework allowing creation of multimedia applications. |
| MT-DAAPD | An iTunes-compatible Mp3 server. |
| Emulators | Description |
| Wine | An application allowing you to run Windows applications on Linux. |
| Others | Description |
| Automount | Mounts your hardware and places items as links on the desktop. |
| Cool & Quiet | A power monitor. |
| Samba-Server | A implementation of Windows network protocols on Linux. |
| NTFS-3G | Allows reading and writing on NTFS partitions (Windows XP default). |
| Conky | A lightweight system monitor. |
| XfApplets | Allows you to use GNOME applets in Xfce. |
| Internet Sharing Wizard | An application designed to facilitate easy sharing of files over the internet / a network. |
| Ndiswrapper | A program that allows your Windows wireless drivers to work in Linux. |
| Upgrade Wizard | Designed by the Dreamlinux team to offer safer upgrading of systems. |
| Bulk Renamer | Allows renaming of multiple files. |
| Suspend2 (Hibernate) | This application saves the current state to the hard disk, and then powers down. When hibernated, the computer uses very low power (minimal standby power), so it can be left on for a long time without shutting down. The session can then be resumed at the touch of a button. |
The printer detection system used in Dreamlinux is called CUPS (Common Unix Printing System).
To start with, the printer needs to be detected by the system. Right-click on the desktop and go to System > Start Cups + Printer. Click "Start" then "Ok" and the detection process will begin.
If it does detect a printer, then a new window will be opened displaying an icon for each printer found. If none are found, you should open a terminal and run the following command:
sudo apt-get install hplip cupsys-driver-gimpprint cupsys-driver-gutenprint
This will install new drivers and increases the likelihood that your printer is detected.
Once your printer appears in the new window, right-click the icon and choose "Set default".
To check this has worked, open a program that allows printing such as OpenOffice Writer or Mousepad. Type in any text and attempt to print the document. If it is successful, you need to make CUPS run on every startup.
Go to System > Dreamlinux Control Panel, and click on "Services".
Press the <Down> arrow until you get to cupsys, then press <SPACE> to select it. Finally, press <TAB> then <ENTER> to exit services. Your printer should now work on any application.
The terminal can be one of the most useful tools on your Dreamlinux installation, but you will need some basic knowledge to use it effectively.
You can open a Terminal by right-clicking on the desktop, then left-clicking clicking Terminal.
Below, some of the basic commands are described. For a slightly more advanced tutorial, which is still aimed at complete novices, go to LinuxCommand.org.
su / sudo / su -c
su gives you root access. This is the equivalent of the administrator account on Windows XP. However, anybody can become "root" if they know the password without logging out and logging in. Being root allows you to edit all configuration files, run all applications, and update all software. You will often need to become root, but if you make a mistake or accidentally change something, you may break your installation. Therefore, it is recommended that you only become root (or "superuser" as it is also known) when required to.
sudo means "superuser do". This will run a command as root. su -c does a similar function. For example sudo thunar (or su -c thunar) will run Thunar (the file manager) with root privileges, allowing you to edit all files.
pwd
pwd tells you the directory you are in at the moment. If you open a terminal and type pwd, /home/yourusername will come up.
cd
cd stands for "Change Directory". When you open a terminal, you will be in your home folder (/home/yourusername). If you enter cd desktop, you will be taken to /home/yourusername/desktop. If you enter cd /etc, you will go to /etc, not /home/yourusername/etc. Also, if you enter cd .. , you will go "up" a folder i.e. from /home/yourusername to /home.
ls
ls gives a list of all the files in the folder you are in. Just as with Windows, some files may be hidden. To include these in the list, enter ls -a.
For simple terminal tutorials, go to LinuxCommand.org.
Your devices need to be mounted to access the files on them. Your devices may be mounted by default, but if they are not, you will need to use the terminal or edit files to mount them. To unmount them, do the same but replace mount with umount . Note that the command is umount NOT unmount.
Mounting a CD drive
Open a terminal and enter:
sudo mount **/dev/cdrom** .
Mounting a partition
To mount a hard drive partition, you will need to open a terminal, and enter mount /dev/hda1 (or the equivalent partition name). If you get an error saying that the device is not listed in /etc/fstab, run the following command:
sudo mousepad /etc/fstab
This will open the /etc/fstab file in Mousepad (a text editor). You will need to add the following line:
DEVICE MOUNTPOINT FILE SYSTEM OPTIONS 0 0
- DEVICE must be replaced by the path to the partition e.g. /dev/hda2 is the second partition on the first hard disk (hda).
- MOUNTPOINT must be replaced by where you want the partition to be accessed (usually /mnt/hda2). You will first have to create this folder. To do this, right-click your desktop, click Terminal, and enter:
sudo mkdir /mnt/hda2
- FILE SYSTEM is the type of file system you chose when you created it (Windows partitions are vfat (for FAT32) or ntfs (for NTFS)). Linux partitions will be ext3, reiserfs or reiser4, depending on what you chose during installation. If you want to edit files on an NTFS partition, right-click on your desktop and go to Settings > Start NTFS Writable.
OPTIONS will probably be replaced by defaults. For other options, see the tutorial on TuxFiles.
Mkdistro Live Remaster is part of the Mkdistro suite - a group of applications designed to help you create your own Linux distribution. In future releases, an Mkdistro EasyRemaster tool will be available, which allows you to remaster an installed system, but at the moment, the only Mkdistro application available is Mkdistro LiveRemaster.
LiveRemaster allows you to create your own customized Dreamlinux LiveCD. It is very simple to use, as it is all done automatically, and doesn't require the command line.
To begin with you must make any changes that you want on your final LiveCD. This could include, for example, changing the background or customizing Engage by adding new icons or changing its behavior. Most of the changes you wish to make can be done through the Dreamlinux Control Panel - available either by clicking the Engage icon or by right-clicking on the desktop, and going to System > Dreamlinux Control Panel.
Once you have customized your settings, you need to run the tool. To launch it, right-click on the desktop and go to Development > Mkdistro LiveRemaster.
You should be presented with a dialogue asking for a partition and a distribution name. By clicking on either Cfdisk or QParted, you can launch a partitioning application to free up space on your hard disk. See the partitioning tutorial for more information on partitioning. The partition you use should have at lease 4GB of free space. The partition you use should be formatted as ext3 or reiserfs if you have Linux installed, but if you do not, you should use ext2. Once you have done this, you can exit QParted or Cfdisk. Click on "Reread", and click on the partition you wish to use, and then click "Select". It should appear in the box on the right.
You will also be asked to choose the name for the new distribution. This can be anything you wish!
Once done click on "Ok", and the distribution creation will start. This may take a very long time. You do not need to enter anything else, so you can leave it running and come back later. Once is has finished, you need to burn the .iso file.
If you have Dreamlinux or another Linux distribution installed, you can reboot into this system. You will need to mount the new partition to access the .iso file. For instructions on burning an .iso file, see the "Getting a Dreamlinux CD" section.
By default, Windows cannot recognise files in other partitions. Provided that you made the new partition with an ext2 file system, you can use the tutorial here to access it. If you did not, you will need to burn from the LiveCD, which means you must have 2 CD drives. If you do not, then burning may not be possible until you install Dreamlinux.
Your new CD should be bootable and will give you a customized Dreamlinux experience!
Wi-fi (Wireless)
Wireless connections are configured using the Network Administration tool. To run it, right-click your desktop, click Terminal, and enter:
sudo network-admin
Is your card detected automatically?
On the Network Admin tool, you can tell if your wireless card has been detected. If it has, there will be a wireless option in the list of available connections. If it is not, you will have to install drivers manually using ndiswrapper.
Using ndiswrapper to install drivers
This is a tool that uses your Windows wireless drivers to make your card work on Linux. Firstly, you need to find the .inf and the .sys files for your Windows driver. These may be on your card's installation CD or on the manufacturer's website.
Extracting files from .cab
Sometimes the driver files are compressed into .cab files. If so, go to the directory which has the files in and enter:
sudo cabextract filename.cab
If it presents you with an error, you may need to install the unshield package. The file needs to be downloaded, so if you can get an internet connection on the computer, run:
sudo apt-get install unshield
If you cannot get an internet connection on the computer, you need to download the .deb file manually on another computer. The download location is here. You will need to copy it onto the computer you wish to install it on, then run:
dpkg -i unshield_0.5-3_i386.deb
Then go to the directory with the .cab file, and enter:
sudo unshield filename.cab
Once you have the .inf and .sys files copy them into the same directory, then run:
sudo ndiswrapper -i filename.inf
Your driver should now be installed. Then reboot your computer and run the network admin again with:
sudo network-admin
Configuring the connection
Click on "Configure" to change the settings. Click "Enable this connection", then enter the settings. If your router supports DHCP, you only need to enter the ESSID and the WPA key (leave this section blank if you do not have WPA enabled). If your router does not support DHCP, you need to enter the settings manually. Once you have finished, click "Ok", then "Activate", and you should be connected.
Network monitoring tools
The Gnome front end for network-manager is very friendly in XFCE. It will read wireless and wired connections with ease. You gain the ability to stumble onto networks, which is great for laptop users on the go looking for a network.
So far the only draw back noticed is that the network-manager applet needs to be reloaded if Engage is edited.
Firstly, you need to install the tool. To do this, right-click on your desktop and click on "Terminal". Then enter:
sudo apt-get install network-manager-gnome
Alternatively, you can open "Synaptic", by clicking on the icon on the Engage panel. Then click "Search" and find network-manager-gnome. Right-click it, then click "Mark for Installation". Then select "Apply".
In the Dreamlinux Control Panel, go to XFCE Settings, add the application to the list of auto-started applications.
Name: Network-Manager
Description:
Command: sudo nm-applet
Save this and close it. From now on, the GNOME Network Manager will load on startup, and will be found on the Engage Dock System Tray (or the XFCE system tray, if Engage is disabled)
Wired connection
To enable a modem connection, you need to run the connection wizard. This is accessible by right-clicking your desktop, and going to Settings > ADSL / PPPOE Configuration. Click on "Call the PPPOE wizard" to start configuring the connection. Once done, you can run the ADSL / PPPOE configuration again and you can create a "Connect" icon for your desktop.
At the moment, Dreamlinux does not support upgrades between releases, but this may be available for future releases thanks to the MkDistro tool. However, once Dreamlinux has been installed, you can update your system to the latest packages, but to get the newest release, you must download the latest .iso file.
Sometimes upgrades cause your configuration to be removed. This may, for example, cause some of the icons to change back to the defaults. If you want to make sure that your configuration is safe, open the Dreamlinux Control Panel and run the Upgrade Wizard. Select "Backup"
To do the upgrade, open a terminal and run sudo apt-get update , then sudo apt-get upgrade . Your PC has a list of the latest packages available. The update will fetch the latest package lists from the repositories of software. The upgrade command will download and install the newest packages that you don't yet have, and remove the older ones.
You should never use the apt-get dist-upgrade command, as this is for use with Debian only and is very likely to break your system.
Once you have finished upgrading, run the Upgrade Wizard again and click "Restore".
If you use a laptop or a notebook, often you may want to monitor how much battery power you have left. This tutorial adds a battery monitor into your system tray, and the instructions will work on both the LiveCD and on an installed system.
Firstly, right-click on your desktop and go to System > DCP-Control-Panel. Click on Services, and a terminal window should open. Use the <UP> and <DOWN> keys to highlight ( )acpid. Then press <SPACE>, and it should now have a cross like this:
(X)acpid
Press <TAB> to highlight "Ok", then press <ENTER> and the window should exit.
Next, right-click on your desktop and click "Terminal". Then enter:
sudo /etc/init.d/acpid start
Now, exit the terminal and right-click on the taskbar at the top of the screen. Then click on "Add Item". Search for "Battery Monitor" (shown to the right) and select it.
A dialog box will then present you with additional options. You can choose the defaults, but you may wish to change them:
Low percentage and Critical percentage represent the amount of battery that will be remaining for the computer to run the commands configured below.
The Low battery action and Command are what you want to happen when the battery level gets too low. The Critical battery action and Command are the same, but for when the battery level becomes critically low.
The other options below configure what you want to be displayed in the system tray. You can show the percentage of battery power remaining and decide whether or not you want an icon. The Show power in tooltip options will show the power remaining when you hover the mouse over it.
Once you have chosen your settings, click "Close", and from now on, including after rebooting, the system will monitor your remaining battery power and show it in the system tray.
To remove the battery monitor, right-click on it, and select "Remove Item". You should also open the Dreamlinux Control Panel, go to Services, and de-select the "acpid" service, as it is no longer required.
Engage is the name of the dock at the bottom of your screen. The final release of 2.2 MMGL Edition included a new tool to help customize Engage to suit your needs. To start the tool, right-click on your desktop, and go to System > Engage Admin.
Once your changes have been made, you should click "Close". Engage may exit after this. Once you exit the Engage admin, you should restart graphical mode by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Backspace. You will be presented with a login screen at which you should enter your usual username and password.
Create a new Engage icon
Thanks to the new tool, creating a new icon for Engage is simple.
To start with, you will need the name of the application. This is the name that will be displayed when you hover over the icon. Enter this into the "Name" field on the dialogue box.
The next field you have to fill is the "Executable name". This is the name that you enter in the terminal to run the application. Click on the field, and you will be taken to /usr/bin, which contains a list of all the commands available. Choose the appropriate command, then click "Open". If you are looking for an icon in the menu that is not in /usr/bin, open the /usr/share/applications directory in Thunar (the file manager), then right-click the icon you want, click "Properties" then "Launcher". The exectuable name will be displayed.
In the bottom-left, you have to fill in the icon size. This is the size of the icon that will be shown on the panel. For a normal size icon, this should be left at "128 128". However, it can be as low as "48 48".
The final field is the icon file. This is the image that will be displayed on Engage. You can search for the icon on Google, or click on the field to enter /usr/share/icons, which contains most of the icon files for your installed applications. The file must be in .ico format.
Finally, click "Create Engage Icon" and the .eap file should be added to the "Existing EAPs" list at the top of the configuration screen.
Choosing icons to be shown
You should see two lists on the Engage admin tool - "Existing EAPs" and "Engage apps". The former lists all available buttons you can use. The latter lists all EAPs currently on the panel. To add an icon, click on the EAP on the left list, and click "Add". To remove an EAP, click on the EAP on the right list, and click "Sub".
Changing Engage behaviour
The area at the bottom of the screen is used to change Engage's behaviour. Many things can be customized, such as transparecy, resolution and even whether or not the icons bounce. Click on the drop-down arrow, then click on the element you wish to change. If necessary, another field will appear on the right. If this happens, you should enter the appropriate figure here. Once done, click "Ok". To restart graphical mode so that the change to Engage are applied, press Ctrl+Alt+Backspace, and log back in.
Dreamlinux 2.2 Multimedia GL Edition is fully compatible with Debian packages, meaning that there are thousands of packages available for installation. To install software, you will require root access. To become root, you need to right-click your desktop, click "Terminal", then enter:
su
You will be asked to enter your password. If entered correctly, the next line of the terminal will begin with:
root@(nameoffolderyouarein):~#
Updating package lists
Software is downloaded from website directories called repositories. To get the list of the latest available packages, you need to run the following command:
Code:
apt-get update
Sometimes, this returns an error message saying that you need the GPG key, and will give you a very long string. To solve this, you need to run two commands:
gpg --recv-keys GPGKEYNAME
gpg --export -a LASTEIGHTCHARACTERS | apt-key add -
Once you have done this , you should run the previous "apt-get update" command again.
GPGKEYNAME needs to be replaced by the long string to were given. LASTEIGHTCHARACTERS should be replaced by the last eight letters/numbers on the string.
Searching in other Debian repositories
If you can't find the package you wish to install, search for the project's homepage on Google and look for the installation instructions. They may ask you to add another Debian repository. To do this, right-click on your desktop and click "Terminal". Then enter:
sudo mousepad /etc/apt/sources.list
Then a text editor should open. Scroll down and start a new line. Then add the code they told you to add. It should be something like:
deb http://www.example.com/ stable main
You want the packages designed for the current Debian Stable release (nicknamed "Etch"). Therefore, you should add "stable" or "etch" if you are given an option to.
Once you have done this, save the file and exit the Terminal.
To install the package, enter the following, replacing packagename with the piece of software you want to install:
apt-get install packagename
Package not found
Dreamlinux uses the Debian Stable repositories, which can be fairly out of date. Search on the Debian packages directory for your package, and see if it is present in "testing", "unstable" or "experimental" (the unstable and experimental repositories contain software which may still have many bugs).
If it is available in one of the alternate repositories, you need to edit your repositories:
mousepad /etc/apt/sources.list
The section beginning with #Stable lists the Debian repositories. At the end of each line, where it says "stable main contrib non-free", replace the text with "testing main contrib non-free".
Then run:
apt-get update
If you get a GPG error, please see the solution documented above.
Then run:
apt-get install packagename
Once you have done this, you should change any instances of testing or unstable back to stable, as otherwise, if you ever install other software or do an upgrade, you will be installing testing, not stable software.
Installing .deb packages manually
If you cannot find the package in any of the Debian repositories, you can search for the project's website on Google. Find the projects download page and download the .deb file to a location you can remember.
Then open a terminal and enter:
cd /path/to/.deb/file
You will need to replace /path/to/.deb/file with the path to the file you downloaded. This should not include the filename itself, just the directory it is en e.g. /home/user. The default download location for Firefox is ~/Desktop .
Enter the following command to list all files in the directory:
ls
Find the name of the file you just downloaded. Then run the following to install the package:
dpkg -i filename.deb
Installing from source
Sometimes, the only files you can download from the website are .tar, .tar.gz or .tar.bz2. These need to be extracted and installed to work.
Firstly, download the file and enter:
cd /path/to/file
You will need to replace /path/to/file with the folder that the file is in - do not include the name of the file itself. The default for Firefox is ~/Desktop.
Enter the following command and find the name of the file you just downloaded:
ls
If the file is a .tar file (not including .tar.gz or .tar.bz2), enter:
tar -xvvf filename.tar
If the file is a .tar.gz file, enter:
tar -xvvzf filename.tar.gz
If the file is a .tar.bz2 file, enter:
tar -xvvjf filename.tar.bz2
Then enter the following command again to list the files:
ls
You will notice that there is a new folder, with the same name as the file but without the .tar extension. Enter:
cd foldername
There should be a readme file included in the folder. Try opening it by entering:
mousepad README
This will contain instructions for compiling the code. If no readme is present, check on the project's website. If there are no instructions, try entering the following 3 commands:
./configure
make
make install
If you enter the "ls" command and list the files in the directory, you might see one file ending in .desktop. If so, the item can be added to the auto-generated Xfce menu by entering the following command:
mv filename.desktop /usr/share/applications
If not, you need to find the command to execute the file. Once you have it, you can create an Xfce menu item by right-clicking on your desktop and going to System > Menu item creator.
Your software should now be installed.
Sometimes the default tool for installing Nvidia and ATI drivers does not function correctly, and you need to install them manually. To do this, right-click on your desktop and click "Terminal".
Next, you need to obtain an updated Kanotix fglrx script.
cd /usr/local/bin
sudo rm install-fglrx-debian.sh
sudo wget http://kanotix.com/files/install-fglrx-debian.sh
sudo chmod 755 install-fglrx-debian.sh
Now that you have the updated script, press CTRL+ALT+F1 to switch to a text terminal (to get back to your X session, CTRL+ALT+F7). Log in to the Text Session as your self. Run the following command:
sudo fglrx-install
Now once the script is finished running, it should restart Xorg, and you should be all set and running with the latest 3D driver. If you can't get back to a graphical login screen, press Ctrl + Alt + F7.
VMWare Player is a free virtualization product. To install in, right-click on your desktop and click "Terminal". Then enter the following commands, one at a time, and press <ENTER>.
Firstly, you need to go to your home folder:
cd ~
Then you need to make a vmplayer folder:
mkdir vmplayer
Then go into the folder with the following command:
cd vmplayer
Now, the source code will be downloaded:
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmplayer/VMware-player-2.0.2-59824.i386.tar.gz
This command extracts the archive:
tar -xvf VMware*.tar.gz
Finally, you need to run the installation script:
sudo ./vmware-install.pl
For default configuration you can just hit <Enter> and choose the default answer for all questions. Once the script has finished running, VMware Player will be under the System section in the main menu.
For problems with your Dreamlinux system, you should check the following resources (in this order):
- Check for relevant information at the Dreamlinux tutorials page
- Search for a similar problem at the Dreamlinux forums
- Create a new thread at the forums, ensuring that you include as much information as you can e.g. which Dreamlinux version you are using, what error messages you were shown, what computer you have etc. Someone will be happy to help you.
If you think that you've found a bug in the software, ask at the [[| forums to see if it is a Dreamlinux problem, or go to the project's website (search for it on Google).
If you have feedback or a problem with this site, you can post it at the wiki forums. Alternatively, you can click the "discuss" link at the bottom of the page and post a message there. The owner of the site is the user "Oli", whom you can contact by clicking here.
Contributing to the manual
Thanks for using this guide - we hope that you find it helpful. If you have the time to add your own tutorial, or even just to begin one, click "edit" in the bottom-left hand corner, and enter the following code:
[[collapsible show="TITLE"]]
TUTORIAL CONTENT
[[/collapsible]]
If using this code is a problem, just click "discuss" at the bottom of the page. Then click "New post" and enter the content there. Other users will be more than happy to move the content for you.
Thanks for using Dreamlinux!