I had it setup as a switch rather than a router, and is relying on another DHCP server (DHCP passthru). It turns out you need to turn on RIP Version. This setting is found under “Advanced” > “LAN Setup”. The RIP version is “Off” by default. I selected RIP_1 and apply the settings. Now it works.

The other quirk that I have experienced is that for some routers, if you use WEP, you need to enter the long HEX key, rather than your passphrase for this to work.

I finally got a hint from this page (apparently Win7 doesn’t like 3.2 as well). The problem is the default harddrive configuration. If you have older virtual machines made under Virtualbox 3.1, you’ll notice that you HD is installed via an IDE controller. In 3.2, the default behaviour is to create your HD via SATA controller. The solution is simple, after going through the “wizard,” before doing the install:

1. go into your storage settings, and
2. remove the HD from the SATA controller (you can remove the SATA controller all together), and
3. go to the CD-rom’s controller, and click on the “+” HD icon, and add the VDI as the “IDE Primary IDE Master.” Most likely your virtual CD-rom is already configure as the “IDE Secondary IDE Master,”

Here is a screenshot of my settings:

You need to install the following (via apt-get or the gui version from ubunut):

• flashplugin-nonfree (the usual flash plug-in)
• nspluginwrapper
  
• flashplugin-nonfree-extrasound

Apparently I was the only one that did not the get the memo about installing the above. Now firefox is about 10 times more stable. Please also note, this is 32bit karmic koala (according to some forums 64bit has other issues). Kudos to this article, though it’s for hardy, it fixed my issues in karmic.

After an upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala / 32bit) Firefox 3.5 has been a nightmare. Like most people I have come to expect 99.99% uptime for my browser, so Firefox crashing every hour is just not acceptable. I’ve tried:

• flashplugin directly from adobe (thinking it’s a flash problem, but crash continues on pages with no flash)
• start a new profile
• disable all extensions

I’m not sure who to blame, ubuntu or firefox, but the state that Firefox is in is really a downer for anyone using Ubuntu.

I’ve decided to downgrade to firefox 3.0.x. However, it can not be done via apt-get. So, here is a brief instruction on how to donwgrade manually:

1. Download firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html
2. Extract the files and store it some where (to keep it simple, I put in in ~/home/bin/firefox)
3. (not sure if this step is necessary, but I did it just for good measure) I renamed ~/.mozilla to some other name as a backup before launching firefox 3.0
4. Run the firefox script in the folder, /your_path/firefox/firefox
5. To get all the plugins to work (e.g. flash, mplayer…etc): cp /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/*.* your_path/firefox/plugins

So far it seems a bit more stable. You can continue to keep you firefox-3.5. However, I would avoid firing it up, since it might upgrade your profile.

Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Yes, switch pitcher exists.

If you computer goes blank and hangs on exit (shutdown, logoff, hibernate), and you are using an intel driver (if you used to use i810 or 915resolutions), here is a brief howto for the non-technical folks:

1. sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
2. Change the line Driver “intel” to Driver “i810″. You can just comment it in case you want to change it back later.
3. sudo yum install 915resolution

If you want hibernation, you need add the following file into your /etc/pm/sleep.d/ directory.

4. sudo echo ‘/etc/init.d/915resolution start’ > /etc/pm/sleep.d/915resolution.sh
5. sudo chmod a+x /etc/pm/sleep.d/915resolution.sh
6. restart (or logout and login)

For the technical folks:

I have a Dell 700m with the following video card auto-detected “Intel Corporation 82852/855GM Integrated Graphics Device.” I read that the intel driver is now recommended, and thus default on Hardy. However it is having trouble exiting X. You’ll get a blank screen and system will hang when you do the following:

• shutdown
• hibernation
• ctrol+alt+backspace

The last one leads me to suspect that it is the driver that is causing the trouble. So, my solution, for now, is to switch back to the old i810 driver and use 915resolution. However, in Hardy 915resolution don’t auto-run on resume so you have to make it do so yourself. See #4-5 above.

If anyone is having a better solution, or if you know what the intel driver issue has been fixed, please let me know.

I figure it’s time I give Ubuntu another try. So, I downloaded 7.10 gutsy and popped into my computer. Installation is via a live CD interface. To my pleasant surprise, everything works out of the box. Let me say this again:

EVERYTHING WORKS OUT OF THE BOX

It recognized the wide screen (915resolution), wifi, and hibernation works. For this particular notebook, this is the first time, a linux installation actually went smoother then a XP installation (for XP I actually still have to download some drivers from dell). Kudos to the ubuntu community….

I tried the suspend-to-disc that came with the distro, but it is just not stable enough (I even tried out the quirks). I looked all over the internet trying to find an answer (no one seems to be having the same problem). Finally, on this page, I found the answer: stop and restart Network Manger.

Edit /etc/hibernate/common.conf and add the line:

RestartServices NetworkManager NetworkManagerDispatcher

I’m surprise that this is not a more common problem for people. Hope this helps and saves you some trouble.

See Matthias Hensler’s website get software suspend on your machine. See my previous post on my experience in getting Fedora 7 to work on a Dell Inspiron 700m.

A well told dark comedy that explores the things we do for the people we love, and also how little we know about the people we love. The tone and pace of the film reminded me of Woody Allen’s Match Point.