Re: [PLUG] Filesystem problems with new USB drive
On 2018-07-20 14:48:39, Ben Koenig wrote: > John, > > 1 of 2 things is going wrong here. > I'd like to offer a 3rd possibility. It's possible the drive itself could be counterfeit. There are plenty of websites out there with more information, but I'll include this snippet from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive#Counterfeit_products Counterfeit USB flash drives are sometimes sold with claims of having higher capacities than they actually have. These are typically low capacity USB drives which are modified so that they emulate larger capacity drives (for example, a 2 GB drive being marketed as a 64 GB drive). When plugged into a computer, they report themselves as being the larger capacity they were sold as, but when data is written to them, either the write fails, the drive freezes up, or it overwrites existing data. Software tools exist to check and detect fake USB drives, and in some cases it is possible to repair these devices to remove the false capacity information and use its real storage limit. I did a bit of searching and found a tool called "f3" that claims to be able to detect counterfeit drives. http://oss.digirati.com.br/f3/ https://github.com/AltraMayor/f3/ https://askubuntu.com/questions/1011248/fakeflashfraud-f3-what-are-the-different-types-of-counterfeits John, before you continue with trying to format and label the drive, I'd recommend you try running the f3 tool mentioned above to be sure the drive itself isn't a fake. If it is, then you're most likely going to lose data if you attempt to store any data on it. You would almost certainly want to ask for a refund too. -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Filesystem problems with new USB drive
On 2018-07-20 19:30:25, John Jason Jordan wrote: > On Sat, 21 Jul 2018 09:45:37 +0900 > Bryan Linton dijo: > > > Counterfeit USB flash drives are sometimes sold with > > claims of having higher capacities than they actually > > have. These are typically low capacity USB drives which > > are modified so that they emulate larger capacity drives > > (for example, a 2 GB drive being marketed as a 64 GB > > drive). > > Aha! > > [...] > Bad news: The device `/dev/sdd' is a counterfeit of type limbo > [...] > > So there we have it. Both drives will soon be on their way back to > China with complaints filed with eBay. > > Now that I know the truth I looked at the packaging. The only thing in > writing is a heavy paper folded through the blister pack. Reading > through it there is not one word about how big the drive is. There is a > round sticker on the drive itself that says '256G,' but that could > easily have been added by the cons. All they had to do was have the > paper and sticker printed, pop the blister pack apart and apply them, > and place the listing on eBay. > > And considering that the goods say nothing about the size I can guess > what will happen when eBay gets my complaint. The seller will insist > that they never said the drive was 256GB. Well, we'll see what happens. > The optimist in me wants to believe that maybe it was a crooked employee that switched the larger capacity drives out for a smaller one to sell for his own profit, rather than the entire business being crooked, but I suppose in reality it's just as probable that a single scammer is running the whole operation. > Thanks a million for bringing this up! > You're very welcome! I hope you manage to resolve the situation between you, the seller, and ebay to your satisfaction! -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Sorting incoming mail with procmail recipe
On 2018-11-02 13:11:46, Rich Shepard wrote: > I've still not corrected procmail's putting messages from one mail list in > my inbox. This started only a couple of weeks ago and I thought I had it all > worked out, but I don't. > > The messages are addressed To: grass-u...@lists.osgeo.org and the procmail > recipe for this is, > :0: > * ^(From|Cc|To).*osgeo.org > spatial-analyses > > Since procmail processes each description line as a regex the above format > should work for all recipes. And, this format does work for the other mail > lists to which I subscribe. I want to learn why it's not working with this > one. > > All suggestions and ideas are welcome, > Hello, It's been many years since I've used procmail, but on the surface, it appears that that rule should work. One minor nit is that it's usually recommended to escape literal periods because "osgeo.org" will match "osgeo.org" as well as things like "osgeoAorg", "osgeoBorg", "osgeoCorg" etc. So you'd want to escape that period to make: "osgeo\.org" However, that should have no bearing on why the rule isn't matching. The only thing I can think of is that there is a rule above that one which messages from that list hit first, and therefore get put into that file instead of the one you've indicated. Does anything change if you move this rule higher up in the ruleset? Can you run procmail in the foreground with debugging information (or pipe detailed logs to a file) to glean any useful information? Failing that, it appears that procmail has been unmaintained since 2001 and fuzzing efforts have discovered several bugs in it. [1][2] I've been using "fdm" for... so long I can't even remember. Probably about 10 years or so by now. I can recommend fdm as a good and powerful MDA if you're willing to consider switching to an alternative. [3] I know that when one asks a question of "I'm having problems with program_A" and someone responds with "Then use program_B" it may not always be helpful, but given that procmail hasn't been maintained for coming up on close to 20 years now, I thought it was important to at least point out a possible alternative to procmail given the assertation that it contains several bugs. If you do manage to get procmail working, please update the list with the solution. Thanks! [1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Procmail [2] https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-ports&m=141634350915839&w=2 [3] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fdm -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Ancient Thinkpad T61 BIOS
On 2020-06-20 11:35:44, John Jason Jordan wrote: > I have placed the order for the replacement SSD drive, but some time > before it gets here I want to update the BIOS. My motivation is that > the T61 came with SATA at 1.5GB/s, and by updating to the 'Middleton' > BIOS I can get 3.0GB/s. However, I am pretty lost when it comes to > flashing a BIOS - I've only ever done it once, a long time ago. > Lenovo's website doesn't seem to list mt computer, but I'm probably > looking in the wrong place. The forums provide links for the new BIOS, > and all of them are dead. > > Here are the details from the bottom of the case: > > Type 6460-7EU > S/N L3-C3254 07/09 > > (I think the 07/09 means September, 2007.) > > If anyone has ever flashed the BIOS on a T61 I could use some advice. > Hello John, Updating the BIOS on a T61 should be fairly straightforward. I've updated the BIOS on a T60, X61t, T440p, and T460 and they're all pretty much the same. I found these two links from Lenovo's website titled, "BIOS Update Utility - ThinkPad R61 14.1inch widescreen with IEEE 1394, ThinkPad T61, T61p" Windows EXE: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/DS013832 Bootable CD: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/migr-67989 The text at the bottom lists a large number of supported models of the R61, which includes "7Ex" which I'm assuming matches the "7EU" of your model. For the T-series, it only lists "T61, T61p", which I'm assuming means it supports all models of the T61. IIRC, there was a 14.1" and 15" model of the T60 and/or T61, and they needed separate BIOSes. Perhaps my memory is mistaken, or perhaps Lenovo found a way to unify the BIOS updates somehow. The easiest way to update the BIOS would be to download the bootable CD, burn it, and boot from it, following the prompts. If you want to save a CD, you can use the "geteltorito" program to extract an image you can write to a USB stick and boot from that: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/geteltorito/ (Packages are likely available in other distros, the above is simply the first link that came up in a search). One thing to mention, when I first updated my T60's BIOS to a newer version, I began to get worried because it appeared to have gotten stuck in a reboot loop right after POSTing. However, after rebooting itself about 4-5 times in a row (one of them getting stuck on the POST screen for a lot longer than the others) the system came up fine and has worked flawlessly for years afterwards. So don't panic if your system reboots several times after updating. Other than that, just be sure to follow the advice in the readme.txt. E.g. Make sure the battery is fully charged and the system is connected to AC power. Updating a BIOS can be a bit intimidating the first time one does it because of the risk of bricking the system if something goes wrong, but so long as you follow the instructions and read the readme files beforehand, they're actually pretty straightforward. Please let me know if you have any other questions! -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Ancient Thinkpad T61 BIOS
On 2020-06-20 21:19:11, John Jason Jordan wrote: > On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 09:25:57 +0900 > Bryan Linton dijo: > > >On 2020-06-20 11:35:44, John Jason Jordan wrote: > >> I have placed the order for the replacement SSD drive, but some time > >> before it gets here I want to update the BIOS. My motivation is that > >> the T61 came with SATA at 1.5GB/s, and by updating to the 'Middleton' > >> BIOS I can get 3.0GB/s. However, I am pretty lost when it comes to > >> flashing a BIOS - I've only ever done it once, a long time ago. > >> Lenovo's website doesn't seem to list mt computer, but I'm probably > >> looking in the wrong place. The forums provide links for the new > >> BIOS, and all of them are dead. > >> > >> Here are the details from the bottom of the case: > >> > >>Type 6460-7EU > >>S/N L3-C3254 07/09 > >> > >> (I think the 07/09 means September, 2007.) > >> > >> If anyone has ever flashed the BIOS on a T61 I could use some advice. > >> > > > >Hello John, > > > >Updating the BIOS on a T61 should be fairly straightforward. > > > >I've updated the BIOS on a T60, X61t, T440p, and T460 and they're > >all pretty much the same. > > > >I found these two links from Lenovo's website titled, "BIOS Update > >Utility - ThinkPad R61 14.1inch widescreen with IEEE 1394, > >ThinkPad T61, T61p" > > > >Windows EXE: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/DS013832 > >Bootable CD: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/migr-67989 > > > >The text at the bottom lists a large number of supported models of > >the R61, which includes "7Ex" which I'm assuming matches the "7EU" > >of your model. > > > >For the T-series, it only lists "T61, T61p", which I'm assuming > >means it supports all models of the T61. IIRC, there was a 14.1" > >and 15" model of the T60 and/or T61, and they needed separate > >BIOSes. Perhaps my memory is mistaken, or perhaps Lenovo found a > >way to unify the BIOS updates somehow. > > > >The easiest way to update the BIOS would be to download the > >bootable CD, burn it, and boot from it, following the prompts. > > Thanks a million for your advice and suggestions. > Happy to help! > It's getting late, so I'll deal with this in more detail tomorrow. But > I should mention that mine is a 15.6" model. I think I'd like to use > the CD version. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow using your > suggestions. > I did some more research, and it appears that the T60 has two separate BIOSes for the widescreen and non-widescreen versions, but the T61 appears to be compatible with both. https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade_Downloads#T_Series > >Please let me know if you have any other questions! > > I will probably have some. Buthopefully in the morning I'll be able to > think better. :) > One thing I forgot to mention, you may want to consider installing a third-party modified BIOS. Indeed if SATA II is your goal, the pages on ThinkWiki seem to imply that the official BIOS won't enable SATA II speeds. https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Middleton%27s_BIOS "SATA II Mod: While the X61/T61/R61/X300 possess a SATA II-interface (up to 3.0 GBit/s) they were limited to SATA I (up to 1.5 GBit/s) in the BIOS to maintain compatibility with older drives. Normal hard drives will rarely max out SATA I speeds, but nowadays, SSDs can handle the full 3.0 GBit/s (and more)." And indeed, on Lenovo's forums, I found this page: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T61-and-prior-T-series-plus-Other-Legacy-ThinkPads/T61-Support-SATA-II/m-p/64464?page=6#97928 "For Santa Rosa-based systems, the Intel ICH8 supports a SATA bus speed of up to 3.0 Gb/s. Lenovo made a design decision to prioritize maintaining compatibility with Ultrabay disk drives, which are connected via a SATA-to-PATA conversion chip which could not handle a 3.0 Gb/s SATA bus speed reliably. Therefore the system was standardized to 1.5 Gb/s." So it would seem that if SATA II is your goal, the only option is to use a third-party BIOS. Obviously, they aren't officially supported by Lenovo and would void your warranty, though considering the age of the T61 series, I'm sure any warranties on them expired about a decade ago. >From reading the above, you may sacrifice compatibility with using a hard disk in the Ultrabay were you to install the third-party BIOS. I'm not sure if this wou
Re: [PLUG] Ancient Thinkpad T61 BIOS
On 2020-06-22 16:42:05, John Jason Jordan wrote: > On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 16:14:44 -0700 > Tomas Kuchta dijo: > > >32b/64b should matter when you are using existing windows installation. > >When you are booting the media it is all matching the booted OS or BIOS > >update application. > > I'm having problems, but I'm not sure if the BIOS is the culprit. > > To back up and clarify where I am: I had three ISO files in the > download, and two of them seemed to be (from the scant instructions) > for updating to the Middleton BIOS from within Windows, so I ignored > them and burned the third one to a DVD. I used the DVD to update the > BIOS, which finished without error. I had no working hard drive to test > with, so I used an Xubuntu 20.04 live USB drive, which booted and > performed well for the 5-10 minutes that I poked around in it. > > Amazingly, although I ordered the 1TB WD Blue SSD on Saturday, it > arrived a few hours ago. I didn't have the adapter for it yet, but I > discovered that the T61 has a caddy to hold the drive, so the adapter > was unnecessary. I inastalled the drive and booted to the 20.04 USB > drive, then used Gparted to create an 80GB partition for / and the > remainder for ~/, and completed the installation. When it finished > there were a few updates, so I installed them. > > Now the problems: It always boots finr, but within 5-15 minutes of > working it hangs. There is no recovery other than the power button; > everything is frozen, that is, I can still move the mouse around, but I > can't click on anything. > > I'm fiddling with settings, so just about everything involves a slight > disk activity. But maybe not everything - recently I minimized a window > to the tray, and then changed my mind and clicked to restore it, but > the desktop was frozen again. I don't know if minimizing a window > involves a disk activity, but this might be an example where it froze > without involving the disk. > > Of course, haviung just flashed the BIOS, disk activity is at the top > of my suspect list. But there is a pretty endless list of other > possibilities. > > I could use some suggestions for things to poke at. Any ideas? > Hello, My first thoughts are that there are a lot of variables here, so I would try to narrow them down one-by-one. Namely, - The BIOS - The new SSD - The operating system - The CPU/heat issues As suggested by another poster, the first thing I would try is a different OS. Either a version downgrade, or a different distro entirely. If it still hangs, then I would try putting the SSD into a known-working system to rule out any problems with the SSD itself. Many modern systems can boot an OS from a USB connection, so you may be able to boot from it by simply putting it in a USB caddy and plugging it in. Some fiddling in the BIOS boot-order may be necessary though. Failing that, reflashing the BIOS with the latest official Lenovo version is what I'd try. One other thing to consider is thermal issues. The T61 series is quite old, so I'm wondering if maybe the thermal paste on the CPU has dried up. There should be some utilities that can monitor the various thermal zones of the laptop via ACPI. If it looks like the temperature is high, it's possible the hangs may be due to the laptop overheating. Cleaning off and re-applying fresh thermal paste may fix this issue. One final thing, I'm not sure about the T61, but the T60 used thermal *pads* on the GPU and chipset, not thermal *paste*. Thermal *paste* was only used on the CPU. It might not be a bad idea to purchase new thermal pads (of the correct thickness, since they can be trimmed with scissors if they're too large in length or width) in advance if you're already going to be disassembling it to apply new thermal paste. If you decide to do this, the HMM (Hardware Maintenance Manual) is quite detailed and should provide enough instructions and figures to guide you through disassembling everything piece-by-piece. https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/thinkpad-hmm.html https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/42x3546_04.pdf I'd also make sure to blow out any dust that's accumulated in the fan and heatsink too. Please report back any success or failure! -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Swapping key functions with .Xmodmap
On 2017-11-16 08:06:18, Rich Shepard wrote: > > [...] > > I tried modifying my existing .Xmodmap which swaps the left CapsLock and > Ctrl keys by copying the remove and add sequence for Super_L and Alt_L. > Unfortuately, xmodmap did not like this: > > remove Lock = Caps_Lock > remove Control = Control_L > remove Super = Super_L > remove Alt = Alt_L > keysym Control_L = Caps_Lock > keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L > keysym Alt_L = Super_L > keysym Super_L = Alt_L > add Lock = Caps_Lock > add Control = Control_L > add Super = Super_L > add Alt = Alt_L > keysym Alt_L = Meta_L Alt_L > > I must have a syntax error that I don't recognize. A clue stick is needed. > Fair warning, I'm running OpenBSD and not Linux, but I'm in a similar situation. I have a Japanese keyboard, which means that the spacebar is about 2 inches long. I've mapped the specialized kanji conversion keys (one to the left, and two to the right) to function as the spacebar too. I've also remapped Caps_Lock to be Control, without bothering to remap Caps_Lock anywhere else. There are also a few other changes that are commented. You most likely won't want or need these. My .xmodmap is the following: remove Lock = Caps_Lock keysym Caps_Lock = Escape ! These are for the Thinkpad keys keycode 234 = XF86Back keycode 233 = XF86Forward ! This maps the kanji-conversion keys to keycode 129 = space keycode 131 = space keycode 208 = space ! Map the yen key to backspace (or backslash/pipe) !keycode 133 = BackSpace keycode 133 = backslash bar ! Map PrtScr to Compose keycode 111 = Multi_key My first suggestion would be to see if you can simply remap them without trying to use the "remove" keyword. If that doesn't work, I wonder if using the keycode xev gives you instead of the keysym is what xmodmap is expecting. In the following line from xev, state 0x0, keycode 115 (keysym 0xffeb, Super_L), same_screen YES Notice that the keycode for my left Windows key is 115, and the keysym is "Super_L". Hopefully that gives an idea of where to start. If not, please report back to the list. I hope this helps! -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Swapping key functions with .Xmodmap
On 2017-11-16 14:40:50, Rich Shepard wrote: > > Since the existing .Xmodmap has the remove commands (which I see in the > man page) I assume that they're needed for all keys being modified. > I don't think the remove commands are needed for anything except changing "special" keys, like Caps_Lock, Control, Shift, etc. The manpage only uses the "add" and "remove" keywords for changing Caps_Lock and Control, and even then only to add and remove the "lock" in Caps_Lock and the "control" in control. The actual keymappings themselves are changed with the keysym command. ! Swap Caps_Lock and Control_L ! remove Lock = Caps_Lock remove Control = Control_L keysym Control_L = Caps_Lock keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L add Lock = Caps_Lock add Control = Control_L The other examples given in the manpage don't use "add" or "remove" and simply remap the keys as-is. % xmodmap -e "keysym Multi_key = Multi_key Meta_L" % xmodmap -e "keysym Alt_L = Meta_L Alt_L" % xmodmap -e "keysym BackSpace = Delete" ! make shift-, be < and shift-. be > ! keysym comma = comma less keysym period = period greater The .xmodmap file I posted previously maps the additional keys on my keyboard to generate a space when pressed. I would be surprised if it didn't work for your keyboard as well, provided the proper keycodes were exchanged so that they map to the wanted keys on your own keyboard. If not, does running "xmodmap -verbose .xmodmap" provide any additional details? -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] Finding a contact at SpiritOne
Hello plug@ I've been trying to contact SpiritOne since October 13th of this year (2017). I've tried contacting billing@, support@, as well as the two email addresses listed on the front page of their site (forrest at aracnet, and paul at spiritone). I've received no response to any of them. I have an email-only subscription with them, and receive an authentication error any time I try to retrieve email from my account. At this point, I'd just like to cancel my service, but cannot contact anyone to even do that! I'm currently living and working in Japan, so with a 17-18 hour timezone difference trying to find the time to call them during office hours is difficult. I was planning on calling them soon, since work is winding down a bit as the holidays approach, but a recent email on the list said that even their phone number has been disconnected, so even calling them may not be a possibility. Also, the credit card I've been using to pay them expires in a few months. I'm billed annually, so it will have been expired by the time it renews. I initally wanted to receive a prorated refund, but at this point, I'd be happy to just know that my account has been cancelled and won't auto-renew or be sent to collections because of SpiritOne's inability to be contacted regarding the matter. Does anyone know of *any* possible way I can get into contact with someone at SpiritOne? An email, phone number, carrier pigeon address, or anything at all? -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Finding a contact at SpiritOne
On 2017-12-10 08:17:39, David Fleck wrote: > On Sun, 2017-12-10 at 14:31 +0900, Bryan Linton wrote: > > I initally wanted to receive a prorated refund, but at this point, > > I'd be happy to just know that my account has been cancelled and > > won't auto-renew or be sent to collections because of SpiritOne's > > inability to be contacted regarding the matter. > > > > Does anyone know of *any* possible way I can get into contact with > > someone at SpiritOne? An email, phone number, carrier pigeon > > address, or anything at all? > > > Some people have reported that bill...@spiritone.com works, at least > some of the time. If you use Facebook, you may want to check out https > ://www.facebook.com/groups/1616813681672836/, the "Aracnet & SpiritOne > Refugees" Facebook group. You will find many fellow sufferers there, > and possibly some useful information. > I don't have or use facebook, but I guess I can try emailing billing@ a few more times. > Personally, we were billed monthly and in early Oct. I gave up on > trying to contact SO, called up the credit card co. and told them I > disputed the Oct. monthly charge, and any charges from then on. That > seems to have worked for us. I'm not sure how that will apply to your > situation, though. > Yeah, I considered that as a last resort. I wasn't sure I still had the option since I was billed at the end of September and thought I only had 60 days to issue a chargeback/dispute, but upon checking VISA's site, it looks like I have 120 days. I'll keep this as a last resort, since I'd really like to solve this amicably if at all possible. > Good luck- > Thanks! -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Thinkpad W510 screen replacement?
On 2018-04-06 15:32:19, "Mke C>" wrote: > > I'm also curious to hear from anyone who has performed this procedure and > has any wise insights to share or thoughts & prayers to offer an > unsuspecting victim. > If you're looking for a maunal, the magic phrase is "hardware maintenance manual" plus your model of Thinkpad. Lenovo is usually pretty good about keeping these accessible on their website, but sometimes older models can get buried somewhere. I tried searching for it at levovo.com and it didn't pop out immediately, so you might have better luck finding it at some third-party sites. The IBM/Lenovo HMMs are very detailed manuals with good descriptions and lots of pictures, and should be all you need. That being said, I highly recommend checking out some third-party websites (or even searching for a video on youtube). I've replaced screens in a T60 and T440p, and the HMM says to do more disassembly than is really necessary. One has to somewhat precariously balance the screen on a towel placed on the keyboard while one is working and to also be wary of the cables holding it so they don't break, but it saved me from having to completely strip the system down to the frame like the HMM recommended. Third-party sites can also tell you about other caveats. E.g. the T61t models have the bezel around the screen glued on with some *really* strong adhesive. I was careful and managed to remove it over the course of about 20-30 minutes, but many people recommended just purchasing a replacement bezel because of how likely it is to break and to just rip it off in pieces. The HMMs will give you all you need to replace whatever parts you want, but the third-party sites will give you extra tips like the above. All in all, the Thinkpads are generally easy to work on if one is even minimally handy. With most models, it mostly just involves removing and replacing screws. In my experience, the T and X series have been very easy to work on. The W series is basically an extension of the T series, so they should be easy to work on as well. I haven't looked at the newer ultralight models like the Yoga or X1 Carbon yet, but at least the workhorse laptops are easy to work on. -- Bryan ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
