Linux Enable Audio for Alienware M17x R3

We’ve tested this with Backtrack 5 R3 and LMDE 1204; hopefully it will work with any *nix distribution using ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture). As root, run this command:

echo 'options snd-hda-intel model=dell-m6-amic' >> /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Reboot and enjoy.

Additionaly, an Intel power saving feature may cause intermittent audio loss. We can edit this file:

sudo pluma /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/intel-audio-powersave

And change the audio_powersave option from:

case $1 in
    true) audio_powersave 1 ;;
    false) audio_powersave 0 ;;
    help) help;;
    *) exit $NA
esac

exit 0

to:

case $1 in
    true) audio_powersave 0 ;;
    false) audio_powersave 0 ;;
    help) help;;
    *) exit $NA
esac

exit 0

Once again, reboot and enjoy. Thanks to cmpellison from the Linux Mint Forums http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=117800 for providing this fix.

Disable the PC Speaker Beep in LMDE

This fix is specific to LMDE 1204, however it will apply to any *nix system that has the pcspkr or snd-pcsp module enabled. Our LMDE system does have the snd-pcsp blacklisted by default, but at some point it appears there was a switch to the pcspkr module without an accompanying update to the alsa-base-blacklist.conf file. Basically, these modules just enable the built-in PC speaker in a system, which can be incredibly annoying, especially when working at the command line, because it beeps everytime one uses the TAB key for a command completion that fails.

Remove the Splash Screen on Linux at Boot Time

Many distributions provide a splash screen at boot time for the purposes of branding and to add some visual flair. However, this screen hides system information presented during the boot process that many users may want to see. We’ll be using Backtrack 5 R2 as an example, but this should work on most *nix distributions employing GRUB as a boot loader.

Updating Flash on Chromium and LMDE

Currently, the Flash plugin supplied with Chromium on LMDE (Linux Mint Debian Edition) is out of date, at version 11, while the current version available from Adobe is 11.2.202.261. Flash can easily be updated at the command line with:

apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

After the install, Chromium will automatically load the plugin without requiring a restart- nice. To check the currently installed version run:

update-flashplugin-nonfree --status

Adobe states on their website that

NOTE: Adobe Flash Player 11.2 will be the last version to target Linux as a supported platform. Adobe will continue to provide security backports to Flash Player 11.2 for Linux.

We’re curious as to where the future of Flash on Linux, and Flash in general lies. We personally believe HTML5 is the way of the Jedi, but we are curious to see how developers utilizing Flash for interactive content, Zynga with Farmville for instance, will make the transition. Thoughts?

Enabling Command Line Completion in BASH

Command line completion- pressing TAB after typing a character or characters to complete a command or file name -is enabled by default on many Linux distributions, but not every one, such as Backtrack 5 R3. This guide should be applicable to most *nix distributions using BASH, with little or no alteration. This option can be enabled globally (for all users), or locally (for an individual user). Some distributions may need the bash-completion package installed prior to these steps, which should be available through your distribution’s package manager.

Global (all users)- at the command line, enter:

gedit /etc/bash.bashrc

Local (individual user)- at the command line, enter:

gedit ~/.bashrc

Remove the comments from these lines:

24 # enable bash completion in interactive shells
25 #if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ] && ! shopt -oq posix; then
26 #    . /etc/bash_completion
27 #fi

So the file looks like this:

24 # enable bash completion in interactive shells
25 if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ] && ! shopt -oq posix; then
26     . /etc/bash_completion
27 fi

For any assistance, please ask in the comments section below, or by email via the Contact link above.

Enable PulseAudio at startup on Backtrack 5 R3

Open the main Backtrack menu and select:

System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications

Select Add and in the Command field, enter /usr/bin/pulseaudio.

The Name and Comment fields are self-explanatory.

Logout and Log back in. PulseAudio should now be enabled at startup. Please feel free to ask for help in the comments section or by email via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Enable WICD at startup on Backtrack 5 R3

Open the main Backtrack menu and select:

System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications

Select Add and in the Command field, enter wicd-gtk.
(wicd-client will also work)

The Name and Comment fields are self-explanatory.

Logout and Log back in. The WICD applet should be present on your task bar. This is all that should be necessary to enable WICD automatically in a desktop environment, but you can follow these steps to have the WICD daemon start at boot time. This will make WICD available automatically at the command line, and speed up the process of having WICD perform an automatic connection when logging in to the desktop. At the command line, enter this:

dpkg-reconfigure wicd && update-rc.d wicd defaults

You should see ouput similar to:

 Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/wicd ...
   /etc/rc0.d/K20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc1.d/K20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc6.d/K20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc2.d/S20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc3.d/S20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc4.d/S20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd
   /etc/rc5.d/S20wicd -> ../init.d/wicd

dpkg-reconfigure wicd && shouldn’t really be necessary, but it may help with some older installations, and shouldn’t hurt anything otherwise. A good example of what update.rc is doing can be found here: http://www.debuntu.org/how-to-managing-services-with-update-rc-d/

Reboot your system and WICD should now be enabled at the command line, and once you login to your desktop. Please feel free to ask for help in the comments section or by email via the Contact link at the top of the page.