Re: Best procedure for full backup of live system

2009-10-17 Thread Michael David Crawford

Nerius Landys wrote:

   dd if=/dev/ad4 of=MBR_backup bs=512 count=1

to back up the MBR, so I can recontruct the boot program and partition
table.  But they don't mention that in the Handbook.


While that will back up the Master Boot Record, it's not sufficient for 
the general case of MS-DOS style partitions.  It will only include the 
primary and extended partitions.


The logical partitions, which exist inside an extended partition, are a 
linked list whose elements are distributed across your disk somewhere. 
If you have any extended partitions, you need to back them up too.  They 
aren't part of the 512-byte MBR so just using dd to grab the first 512 
bytes won't do.


The Linux sfdisk program can create a machine readible text file that 
includes any logical partitions.  Does FreeBSD also have sfdisk? 
Perhaps it's in ports.  I don't have my FreeBSD box handy right now so I 
can't just look.


... and as has been pointed out, you'll also want your BSD disklabel 
which is a whole different beast.


Mike
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Re: Change one file in an ISO image

2009-09-16 Thread Michael David Crawford

Bryant Eadon wrote:

Have you tried mounting it as a vnode ? and mounting it R/W ?

mdconfig -a -t vnode -f file.img
mount -t type /dev/md0 /mnt/rw_dvd

Where type may be cd9660 or some other format of the image.

I haven't seen reported success with this method (checked with various 
google searches), but perhaps there's something along these lines *will* 
work.


Pardon my political incorrectness...

If you can't get it to work under FreeBSD, I'm pretty sure that it works 
under Linux:


  mount -t iso9660 -o loop file.img /mnt

(I'm not sure that iso9660 is the right filesystem type, but man 
mount will tell you.)


Once mounted that way you can use it like any other filesystem.

I actually did this once, but it was years ago.

Mike
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Re: [OFF?] Mac OX Driver

2009-09-13 Thread Michael David Crawford

Mario Lobo wrote:
Is it possible to use a Mac driver on FreeBSD? Has this ever been tried or 
done? should I bury my hopes?


Mac OS X has a unique C++ driver architecture called the I/O Kit.  It's 
quite unlike the driver systems in any other OSes I've seen.


If you have the source to the Mac driver, you might be able to glean 
information from it that would help you write a FreeBSD driver.  Even 
better would be to have the hardware specs to your sound board.


Apple has some tech notes on porting drivers from other platforms to Mac 
OS X.  Maybe reading them could give you some insight as to how to port 
them in reverse.


One doesn't generally port device drivers between such different 
systems; it's more like doing a complete rewrite.


Mike
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What I'd Like To See In A Netbook

2009-09-10 Thread Michael David Crawford
Just in case there are any netbook manufacturers listening in, or 
employees of such manufacturers:


What I'd really like to see is a netbook with a regular size screen. 
I've been shopping around some, and have so far been unable to find what 
I desire.


What I mean by that is that I want a notebook with a low-power, 
inexpensive processor and modest memory.  That will work fine if one 
runs an operating system such as FreeBSD.


But I want at least a fourteen inch screen, preferably fifteen inch.

The best advice anyone has been able to give me is to buy a budget 
laptop, or an older model, perhaps used.  The older Apple PowerPC 
laptops are the closest to what I want.


What I want to do with this big netbook is to troll community websites 
 while hanging out at cafes, as well as working on my own websites, 
which are predominantly text - lots of essays and articles.


I used to have a twelve inch Apple iBook, and it did work for me, but I 
now vastly prefer my fifteen inch MacBook Pro.  The problem with the 
MacBook Pro is that it is a very expensive unit, it is the main source 
of my livelihood, and I fear it being damaged or stolen if I use it to 
troll all those community websites using the WiFi at Starbucks.


So what I want is a second notebook just for cafe use, so I can leave my 
MacBook Pro at home.  This big netbook needs to be inexpensive enough 
that it wouldn't be that big a deal if it were stolen, or seriously damaged.


Just viewing web pages or writing in a text editor shouldn't require a 
lot of CPU power or memory.  It wouldn't need CD/DVD or floppy drives. 
It wouldn't need Bluetooth, just 802.11 networking.  It wouldn't need a 
webcam built into the lid.  It wouldn't need a very big hard drive. 
Because the electronics would be low-power, it wouldn't need a fan.


An Atom or ARM processor would be just fine for such a unit.  If it were 
running FreeBSD or Linux, I expect that 512 MB would be *far* more than 
enough memory.


I'm pretty sure that if someone were to actually produce such a big 
netbook, there would be lots more potential customers than just myself. 
 I have actually considered purchasing one of the netbooks of today, 
but after looking them over, I have to say that their tiny screens would 
be very disruptive to my writing Muse.


Thank You All For Humouring Me On This.

Mike
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Re: Is there such thing as a 'soft checksum' tool?

2009-09-06 Thread Michael David Crawford

M I'm looking for a pseudo-checksum tool for use with cataloging images.


I've seen such tools advertised, but they were proprietary products and 
only worked on windows.


One way you could approach it might be to use a blur filter to blur each 
of your images, and then to compare the blurred images.  Small 
differences in individual pixels would be blurred away.


Mike
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Re: itunes on FreeBSD

2009-09-01 Thread Michael David Crawford

I am working on a GPL audio application called Ogg Frog:

   http://www.oggfrog.com/free-music-software/

It isn't ready for release yet, but when it is released for sure I will 
support FreeBSD.  I will set up a port for it that hopefully can be 
included with the official ports.


The initial release will be little more than a player, but later 
releases will support CD ripping, encoding, CD burning and integration 
with portable players.


While Ogg Frog itself will be GPL, the audio core will be MIT licensed 
and contributed to the ZooLib C++ cross-platform application framework, 
to eventually become a media framework for ZooLib, which previously 
hasn't had any media support.  Video will come eventually, but not for 
quite a while.


Mike
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Re: memory usage displsy

2009-09-01 Thread Michael David Crawford

Per olof Ljungmark wrote:
Well, my problem is that if I add up all I *can* see in top or ps it 
never gets near the by now 3G plus memory shown as Active. Maybe one 
gig is accounted for,


I'm not that familiar with FreeBSD yet, but the kernel uses memory which 
might not be charged against any process.


For example, to map some virtual memory requires memory to store the 
mappings in.


Open files have kernel structures, as do filesystems.

If top or ps were only to show userspace memory allocations, then you're 
right, a lot of memory would be unaccounted for.


Mike
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Re: SUID permission on Bash script

2009-08-29 Thread Michael David Crawford

per...@pluto.rain.com wrote:
 Actually, absent some careful cooperation between the kernel
 and the interpreter to prevent a race condition that can cause
 the interpreter to run (with elevated permissions) a completely
 different script than the one that was marked setuid, setuid
 scripts _are_ insecure in a way that _cannot_ be fixed by any
 degree of care that might be taken in the writing of the script.

Wow.  I had no idea.

A while back a coworker asked me to help figure out why he couldn't get 
his script to run setuid on Linux.  Some investigation turned up that 
the Linux kernel explicitly forbids setuid programs whose first two 
bytes are # and !.


So it disables even setuid scripts that don't use the shell, like Python 
or Perl scripts.


I came across a page that explained all the different ways setuid 
scripts could screw up - one would have to be a rocket scientist to 
avoid all the potential pitfalls.


Mike
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Re: SUID permission on Bash script

2009-08-29 Thread Michael David Crawford
Perhaps a better idea than a setuid shell script, would be to figure out 
just what it is about your script that really needs to be executed as root.


When write a C program that can do just that one thing - and absolutely 
nothing else.


If it takes any kind of input, or command line parameters, then it must 
validate them very carefully, to ensure that it's not being misused.


Then your script could call that C program whenever it needs that 
privileged operation performed.


Suppose you were to give the keys to your Lamborghini to a parking 
attendant.


Wouldn't you want to trust that he wasn't going to sell your Lamborghini 
to a chop shop?


Writing a setuid program is just like that: writing one poorly is like 
handing your race car keys to a car thief.


He might not steal your car today, but if you're not careful about how 
you hand out your trust, he will someday.


Mike
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Re: SUID permission on Bash script

2009-08-28 Thread Michael David Crawford

RW wrote:

So are scripts actually incapable of running setuid?


They aren't on Linux.  I learned about that a while back when I 
investigated setuid scripts for a coworker.


It's not that setuid shell scripts are really more inherently insecure 
than programs written in C.  The problem is more that those who write 
such scripts tend not to observe the proper precautions.


For example if you don't set the PATH explicitly, and you don't give 
absolute pathnames to all the subprograms you run, then a trojan that 
has the same name as some standard program can get run as root.


If a program is going to be setuid at all, you really have to know what 
you're doing when you write it or else you'll find yourself opening a 
can of worms.


Mike
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What does one call name server registration?

2009-07-15 Thread Michael David Crawford

Hi,

I'm having a problem making myself clear to my domain name registrar's 
tech support.


I have set up djbdns on a couple of my own servers, and want them 
registered AS name servers with whoever handles such registration.


Most registrars allow one to just enter their hostnames and IPs and they 
take care of it automagically.


But my once-beloved registrar HJ Linnen just outsourced all their 
registration services to NameScout, and they haven't got a clue.


When I looked into it in my account page at NameScout, they said to 
email tech support, so I did.


And tech support replied with the end-user instructions for assigning 
name servers to the domains one has registered with them.  That's not 
what I want.


What I have are two pairs in the following format:

  1.2.3.4 a.ns.example.com
  5.6.7.8 b.ns.example.com

I would like a domain to be able to set its name servers to be 
a.ns.example.com and b.ns.example.com, and then when that domain is 
resolved the lookup is delegated to either 1.2.3.4 or 5.6.7.8.


What is the process called, of registering such name servers?  If I can 
tell NameScout support to do that for me, possibly they can get 
themselves a clue on my behalf.


Thanks!

Mike
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Re: What does one call name server registration?

2009-07-15 Thread Michael David Crawford

Valentin and Olivier,

Thank you very much for your kind help.

I think what I needed were *both* NS and GLUE records.  The NS record 
establishes a host as a nameserver, and the GLUE record allows the name 
server's own domain name to be within the domain it is the name server 
for - that is, GLUE records prevent infinite loops when looking up the 
domain it is a part of.


I found a page in NameScout's Help section that said that if I just 
enter a totally new name server into my domain admin, they would take 
care of registering it automatically.  That seems to have worked, but it 
was not at all obvious that that's what I needed to do.


They also don't have any kind of automated interface for changing the 
name server info - one has to email tech support to do that.


I could see it causing a lot of trouble, if confused users enter 
incorrect info, and NameScout interprets that as a request to establish 
NS and GLUE records for a new name server!


Clearly, I myself have a lot of studying to do.

The Wikipedia article on the Domain Name System is very helpful, for 
anyone else wanting info on this topic.


Mike
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XC86Config mouse settings for VirtualBox?

2009-06-13 Thread Michael David Crawford
I'm running FreeBSD 5.2 in VirtualBox.  The reason for the old version 
is that that's the version described in The Design and Implementation of 
the FreeBSD Operating System - I want to browse and tinker with the 
kernel sources as I read the book.


(Which is excellent - I recommend it highly.)

The problem I've got is that I cannot get the mouse to work under X11.

If I don't enable the mouse daemon in sysinstall, then I can't move the 
mouse at all in X11.


If I do enable the mouse daemon, then in X11 the cursor mostly stays in 
one corner or another, but flies wildly about the screen if I try to 
move it.


I've spent two or three hours monkeying with this, and have gotten 
nowhere.  Frankly I am astonished that I couldn't find what I needed 
either at the http://www.virtualbox.org/ website or in google.


VirtualBox is nice when it works, but a major problem with it is that it 
is *very* poorly documented.  For example nowhere on the VirtualBox 
website does it say that it emulates a PS/2 mouse, or that the emulated 
video is only VESA and not any particular model of video card.


Wherever it might come close to clueing me in on these things, it just 
says to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions - which are not yet 
available for FreeBSD!


I'm able to get the X11 video working OK, using the VESA driver.  Just 
not the mouse.


Once I get a working XF86Config, I'll be happy to share it with the world.

I'm using VirtualBox 2.2.4 under Fedora 10 on an x86_64 Xeon e5420 box.

Thanks!

Mike
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Re: Need a filesystem with unlimited inodes

2009-06-10 Thread Michael David Crawford
Could you use several large hard drives each with several partitions 
that each have one filesystem?


With eight drives and eight partitions on each, you would multiply the 
maximum total number of inodes by 256.


Mike
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Re: Need a filesystem with unlimited inodes

2009-06-10 Thread Michael David Crawford

Frank Bonnet wrote:

It seems ZFS would match his needs , why don't use it ?


Does ZFS really work on FreeBSD?  It seems like every day someone is 
posting about ZFS either getting corrupted or panicking their kernel.


Mike
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Re: please recommend a disk-exercising program?

2009-06-07 Thread Michael David Crawford
Check the downloads section at the disk manufacturer's website.  All the 
disk vendors have utilities that can test their disks.


Generally these utilities can use proprietary commands to exercise 
self-test functions that generally aren't accessible to non-proprietary 
test code.


Most of the utilities are DOS boot disk images.  You make either a 
floppy or a CD from them, then boot off of it.


Mike
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Re: What do ASCII codes 128-159 stand for?

2009-05-25 Thread Michael David Crawford

Lars Eighner wrote:

That is all the ASCII codes there are.  ASCII is a a seven-bit standard.



 There is no such thing as ASCII codes from 160-255.  ASCII is a 7-bit
standard.  You cannot express 160 in seven bits.




No, because there are no ASCII codes between 128 and 159.  ASCII is a 7-bit
standard.



which as I have mentioned, is a seven-bit standard.


Just to clarify, are you saying that ASCII is a 7-bit standard?

Innocently,

Mike
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Re: How can this 'top' command output make sense? Load over 7 and total CPU use ~5%

2009-05-24 Thread Michael David Crawford

This guy advises buying an old G4 Mac laptop to use as a netbook:

   http://lowendmac.com/ed/herlihy/09ph/ibook-netbook.html

While Apple might be planning to stop supporting PowerPC, one could run 
FreeBSD on it.


Mac-Pro has good prices on used Mac laptops.  A G4 PowerBook is $500 to 
$650 depending on what kind of burner is installed.


   http://www.mac-pro.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.66/.f

I was just now looking into ARM netbooks.  I think there's only one 
actual shipping model so far, but ARM shows great promise because ARM 
CPUs use very little power.  I expect there will be lots of them by the 
end of the year.


Is there a FreeBSD ARM port? There's not one for 7.2.

Mike
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Re: My FreeBSD-current/Xen install notes

2009-05-22 Thread Michael David Crawford



VIMAGE and jails are OS-level virtualization, orthogonal to Xen.


I want to run Xen so I can build and test Ogg Frog[1] on each of the 
target platforms I plan to support.  I built a fancy Xeon box so that I 
could even build and test on all the platforms simultaneously.


I also operate a couple Internet servers, which are themselves Xen DomUs 
at commercial Xen Virtual Private Server hosting services.


I'd like to place each service that they operate into a jail, so that if 
someone manages to bust in because of a security hole in one of the 
server programs, they would only be able to get at the contents of that 
particular jail.


But all of the jails are just subdivisions of a single operating system; 
I can't run other OSes within them.


[1] http://www.oggfrog.com/free-music-software/
No, there is nothing to download yet.  Real Soon Now.

Mike
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Partitioning for multiple systems

2009-04-26 Thread Michael David Crawford
I have a machine I plan to use solely for testing.  I have FreeBSD 
8.0-CURRENT on it right now, and would like to add FreeBSD 7.2-RC2 as 
well as CentOS 5.3 Linux.


Presently I have three Master Boot Record primary partitions - slices 
in the FreeBSD parlance, if I understand correctly:


- A Linux slice to be used for CentOS' /boot
- A BSD slice subdivided into partitions that hold 8.0-CURRENT
- A big FAT slice (so to speak) meant to be split up for 7.2 and CentOS

A PC-style Master Boot Record can hold a maximum of four primary 
partitions, or it can hold three primaries and a single extended 
partition that is subdivided into logical partitions.


The geometries of the logical partitions aren't given in the MBR, but 
exist as a linked list.


I *should* be able to split that FAT slice up into a primary for 7.2 and 
an extended partition that will hold CentOS' other partitions; however:


In Googling about this, I have read some dire warnings about FreeBSD 
being unable to understand logical partitions; apparently installing 
FreeBSD *before* an extended partition will result in all your logicals 
getting trashed.  One is advised to put all the FreeBSD MBR partitions 
*after* the extended partition.


Is that the case?  Have you any advice for me?

One more thing: if it's possible, I'd like for the /home directory to be 
shared between both of my FreeBSD installations.  In a normal 
installation, there is a real /usr/home directory, with /home being a 
symbolic link.


If I'm running FreeBSD out of one MBR partition (or slice), can I mount 
a directory that's in a different one?


Thanks for your help!

Mike
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Re: Modern FreeBSD Installer?

2009-04-26 Thread Michael David Crawford
I got cursed up in heaps on the debian-user list, because I had the gall 
to assert that just installing a service shouldn't actually start it 
running.


I said that because I had done a full Gnome install on my PowerMac 8500. 
 What I didn't realize ahead of time was that it was going to install 
gdm, the Gnome Display Manager - Gnome's version of an X11 login prompt.


Unfortunately, the X server didn't recognize my video, so I was 
presented with a black screen and no way to get out of X11.


I don't remember exactly how I fixed that, but I do recall that the 
whole process was very painful and that I had to remove gdm.


Apple doesn't have a problem providing GUI installers for Macintoshes 
because they have the full specs on all the video cards, and lots of 
engineers and QA personnel.


But Open Source developers often have incomplete specs, and are 
chronically lacking in coders with the needed expertise.  They're often 
lacking in hardware to test with as well.


I can see all kinds of reason why a graphical installer would be nice - 
but it shouldn't be there at all unless you can count on it working 
reliably.  The appeal of a nice installer is probably not worth the 
effort it would require to achieve that reliability.


Just about every day I read on the FreeBSD-Current list about ZFS 
failing or even crashing the whole system.  There are many, many 
profound benefits a reliable ZFS implementation could bring to the 
community.  That would be a better use of the community's limited resources.


Mike
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Re: Modern FreeBSD Installer?

2009-04-23 Thread Michael David Crawford
The partitioner will allow you to create more partitions than the 
FreeBSD partition table will allow.  Rather than giving it the name of a 
special file in the /dev/directory, it will name it just X.  You can 
create as many partitions named X as you like.


Then the newfs will fail.

I experienced this the other day, and have been meaning to file a bug 
report about it.


Mike
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Michael David Crawford
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Re: Can you ACTUALLY print from FreeBSD?

2009-04-20 Thread Michael David Crawford

/usr/local/share/cups/drivers/pscript5.dll: No such file or directory



Googling that shows it to be a file shared with Windows boxes when 
you're running samba.  I don't know if you set up samba or not, but I 
would ignore this error for now.  It's likely unrelated to the printing 
problem that you're having.


Windows client computers can download printer drivers from their print 
servers.  I imagine the above DLL is meant to enable that.


Mike
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