COMMANDS

pcloginnow - reset password for windows (have to have the module installed)
xset m # - set mouse speed (where # is a real is a digit)

unsquashfs to unpack the squash file to a directory.
mksquashfs to pack a directory into a squash file.
 
mv - rename or move a file:  (click here for more info)
       rename: "mv oldname.ext newname.ext"
       movemv file.txt xx/ - moves file.txt to the directory xx
       move: mv file.txt ../ - moves file.txt back one directory



xset dpms force standby - turns off monitor (tries to put system to standby)
xset dpms force suspend - turns off monitor (tries to suspend system)

xset s on - turn screensaver on
xset s off - turn screensaver off
xset s # - activate screen-saver after # or ## seconds (xset s must be on in)

eject - open internal tray
eject cdrom - open internal tray (same as eject)
eject cdrom0 - open internal tray (same as eject)
eject cdrom1 - open external tray
eject dev/sr0 - eject internal tray (in Xpud)
eject dev/sr1 - eject external tray (in Xpud)
eject -t cdrom1 - close external tray



(command) --h - help about the specific command
man (app name) - manual page about the application
man - lists the manuals for ALL applications
ls --h - list directory content (like dir coomand in windows) - options
eject - opens the cd drive
firefox www.sourceforge.net  - opens the specified website
numlockx - turn on numlock

startx - start Xorg
killall startx - exit Xorg
killall Xorg -  (with capital X) exit Xorg


set q - status info
about - about PartedMagic ( a window opens)
fdisk -l - list storage devices + info
lsusb - list usb connected devices
dmesg - information

lspci - detailed info about all pci buses ans devices
smesg - prints the message buffer of the kurnel


AUDIO RELATED COMMANDS

alsamixer - see "Alsamixer" below in this document
alsaconf - configure sound card (GUI)
amixer - information about current alsamixer settings such as volume levels etc.
aplay - command line player (more information needed)
arecord - command line recorder (more info needed)


BIOS RELATED COMMANDS

dmidecode -bios & hardware information
biosdecode -short bios info


NETWORK RELATED COMMANDS

ping - ping
ifconfig - Some network information (info needed)
route - Some network information (infor needed
netstat - *Print network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast memberships
arp - Displays mac and IP adress
arping - Similar to ping (more info needed)


DATE/TIME RELATED COMMANDS

date - today's date
cal - calendar
-j - use julian dates
-y xxxx -display calendar for the xxxx year (if no year specified the current calendar is displayed)


UPDATE COMMANDS 

apt-get -u upgrade - the -u lists individual packages 
apt-get upgrade - updates installed packages
apt-get dist-upgrade - updates packages and may add new ones




HOW TOs



Restore Grub boot using Super Grub disk, then go to package manager and reinstall Grub or replace it with Grub2
 

Change MAC address
"ifconfig eth0 hw ether 00:11:22:33:44:55"


Alsamixer (how to use it): audio program. Use the arrow keys to navigate in the program. Or use the numbers on the keyboard. The following lines describe what happens when you press certain keys IN the program.

"M" - mute and unmute. (when "m" appears in the boxes = mute)(when 00 = not mute).
"?" or "h" - Which key does what job
"/" or "F2" - Show Info screen
"F3" - Playback View (blaybakc controls only)- look on top left where it sais "View:", see it?
(the "int mic" column allow you to hear your microphone in your speakers)
"F4" - Capture View (Capture controls only)
"F5" - View All - shows you both Playback and Capture controls
"TAB" - Toggle view modes
"Space" - Not sure (Toggle capture facility is what they say)


Extract an ISO:  Put the .ISO file on your desktop and open Terminal.  
"cd Desktop"  
"mkdir xxx" - xxx is the name of the directory/folder
"mount -o loop isoname.iso xxx"


Add a new user: Type "adduser" to see the options. Ex: "adduser -h ali" adds the user ali in Home directory

Delete a  User: "deluser"


Create a launcher: Create a new file and save it with .desktop extension. In the file type: "[Desktop Entry]" in the first line and in the second line type "Exec=(command name)". Look at an existing .desktop file for more options. Open ANY desktop icon with Leafpad and you will see what I am talking about.


Create an invisible launcher:
Do the previous step but for the "Name=(type name)" just hit space for the name. Like this "Name= ". Or just leave it as "Name=" without writing anything after (=).

Install a Package
Navigate to the directory where the package is located.
(Use the ls command to find the contents of the directory and so the name of the package)
installpkg packagename.extension



Create a Live USB:
*find the name of your usb flash drive by typing fdisk -l  (It will be either /dev/sdb1, /dev/sdc1, or etc. Mine was /dev/sdb1 so that's what I used in the example below but yours could be different.)
umount /dev/sdb1
syslinux -d /boot/syslinux /dev/sdb1 
mount /dev/sdb1
head -n 2 /media/sdb1/boot/syslinux/ldlinux.sys


Mount a cdrom (XPud)
mkdir /mnt/cdrom - make a directory to mount the cdrom
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom - mount /dev/cdrom in the directory you created
  * /mnt/cdrom can be any directory of your choice
  *to eject cd, first "umount" it from terminal



Mount THE Flash drive (XPud)
mkdir /mnt/sdb1
mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1

Mount not-finalised CD/DVD: An open disk, formatted in the UDF filesystem (Vista), will not automatically mount in Linux. You have to mount it manually using the following command:
mnt /dev/sr0 - internal drive

mnt /dev/sr1 - external drive


Mandriva USB mount bug
If you get an error after you plug in a usb device open a terminal and type
service haldaemon restart


The sources.list file: This is the file where your list of repositories is kept. In LinuxMint it is located at /etc/apt/sources.list


Edit a file as root: If you want to edit file in the /etc or any other system directory on Ubuntu, Mint, Mandriva or any other OS distro, you need to edit the file as root. The easiest way is to open your text editor from the terminal as root and from the editor use the "Open" command. For instance, if you want to edit the file /etc/hostname with Gedit, then open Terminal and type sudo gedit to open the program (gedit) as root. Then use the "Open" button in the gedit program and open the /etc/hostname file.

File sharing: The easiest way to share files between any linux distributions (locally) is through Giver. It is probably available in your distribution's repositories.

Install Real Player bin:

- Ensure that the .bin file you downloaded is executable. You can make the .bin file executable by running the "chmod a+x RealPlayer11GOLD.bin" command from a terminal window.

- Run the .bin file by typing "./RealPlayer11GOLD.bin". Follow the prompts provided to finish installing the player.

- When you launch the player for the first time, a set-up assistant will take you through configuring your player.


Linux Mint - Right Alt in Firefox: To enable the [right ALT] shortcuts in firfox in Linux Mint go to Control Center > Keyboard > Layouts tab. Click Layout Options and uder Alt/Win key behavior click Alt and Meta are on all keys.

Capture Desktop: Install gtk-recordmydesktop from your repository. Open the program and click Advanced. Under the Performance tab set the frames per second to 22 or so.
This program does NOT capture the audio. Instead it captures audio from the microphone.