From: ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid
On Sun, 16 Dec 2012, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandriva, in article
, Adam wrote:
>Moe Trin wrote:
[Thinkpad T60]
>It seems to be working properly so far. I've repartitioned its "60
>GB" ~55 GB HD into:
> 14 GB NTFS Windows XP (including swap and hibernate files)
> 14 GB ext4 for production distro
> 2 GB ext4 /mnt/accounts
> 14 GB ext4 for migration to next distro
> <4 GB swap (large enough for suspend/hibernate when 3 GB RAM)
> ~7 GB FAT32 for miscellaneous data
OK - the migration partition can also be used as "temporary" data
storage on the production system until then - but as I say, I just
try to have (known) "good" backups, so that I can turn back the clock
if needed. I know they're good because I've used them in the past to
do a "complete" restore.
>I figured that if I was going to be carrying this around, I'd probably
>have videos, MP3s, and other stuff to kill time on it, which is what
>the FAT32 partition is for.
Flash drives for that. but the migration partition is also useful.
>I can always change things later.
Agree
>> if you're using a LiveCD, do the boot messages show it finding an
>> Ethernet interface?
>Yes, although I haven't tried an RJ-45 cable yet.
Do you _have_ a spare cable? I know you have the long one which
will do in a pinch. Don't forget to make a note of the MAC address
for the DHCP server in the router.
>The Wi-Fi appears to connect, once I realized there was a case switch
>to turn it on.
Cookin' with gas! (Ran into the same problem on 'jade')
>> Minor curiosity - how shipped from where?
>UPS ground from the refurbisher (not Staples) in northern NJ.
Just curious - both UPS and FedEx work fine for me.
>I'm sure I could get it set up as a home system, but have no idea
>what's necessary for security when I bring it into the world.
Below - in essence, just a slightly higher level of paranoia.
>I found the official Hardware Maintenance Manual online which
>explains all those strange switches, keys and connectors, and I've
>requested the latest "Laptops for Dummies" from the public library.
>I'm hoping the book will at least change my general confusion into
>more specific questions.
It's no real difference from any other computer - with the exception
that it's more exposed to _physical_ loss/damage, _and_ you want to
be rather harsh/stiff on your firewall setup because you'll have to
depend on that rather than your router not forwarding everything and
the other hosts on the network being benign. MAKE SURE YOU DISABLE
"avahi" which is an open bear-trap. I have "extra" insurance that
is supposed to cover theft loss, so my main concern is the data
that may be on the system - encryption handles the sensitive stuff.
>No obvious date, but part of the bar code on the battery is 2011.
As in part of the serial number? - _probably_ good enough.
>> don't wait to long to upgrade the memory.
>Why -- is it getting harder to find? Although I'm planning to get a
>2 GB RAM card (making 3 GB total) and a computer case next month.
No, it's just the definition of "long". I wouldn't wait until next
summer to do so, but next spring is likely OK. Yes, the memory is
becoming less common, but not scarce.
>> Mentioned, the case is on the order of $10-15, but it's not going
>> to be useful for other than laptops.
>If it's that little, it's definitely worth getting.
That's what I'm seeing here, but what is available to you?
>Ditto ~$40 for 2 GB RAM. But not $100+ for a larger internal HD or
>something like that. Maybe a little for a USB mouse or another
>flash drive, but then those would be usable elsewhere.
The mouse and flash drive are trivial. The hard drive isn't that
critical - you're not hurting for space, and the drives will be
available for a long time (how long were MFM/ST-506 and [E]IDE/ATA
drives available).
>> You probably do want to buy the case of some kind (or at least a
>> "wrapper" or "sleeve") to provide some scratch/ding protection.
>Would I want/need both a wrapper/sleeve and a case?
I have them - I think I paid around $5 for the sleeve which is a nylon
fabric bonded to about 1/5 to 1/4 inch of foam with a zipper closure.
You don't NEED it, but you may find it useful. Having choice is good.
>> There is a lap pad with built-in fans to help cool things (fans
>> powered by USB cable) that neither my wife or I bothered with.
>Only if necessary. Reviews say this model runs cool.
The other problem is that the fans (even though small) are sucking
battery power I'd rather use for computing.
["LoJack for Laptops"]
>The Thinkpad T60 mentions "CompuTrace" by Absolute Software in the
>BIOS setup although that apparently that uses several Windows files.
Not familiar with it, but that's the same company.
>A web search turned up details on how to remove it (not trivial) and
>much discussion about whether or not to do so, since it does "phone
>home". I'm not even sure what happens when I run Linux.
Unless it can magically run out of the boot loader (which is unlikely)
then I'd ignore it (but remember, I wipe windoze and never use it).
Concepts: it has to know how to operate a network connection which may
be a static or DHCP setup, and that takes more space than the average
BIOS/boot loader is going to have - so this is something that's going
to have to wait until the O/S has the network up, when it becomes just
another application run out of the start-up scripts. I wouldn't
expect a windoze binary to run without some grunt-work on Linux.
>>> I know more or less how to configure its Wi-Fi to work with my LAN,
>>> but getting it usable on public networks may be another matter.
>> Only thing I needed to do was to change the firewall - the "away"
>> firewall accepts no incoming connections, while the "home" firewall
>> is a bit more trusting.
>OK then, that doesn't sound too bad.
It really isn't. The basic "get it running" stuff is essentially
clicking on a button in the "let me do this for you" tool that says
DHCP on wireless, and no mention of other security. It HAS to be
simple, because nearly all users are windoze with all of the skill
levels and technical understanding that implies. The "problems"
relate just about entirely to security and firewalls. Simple
answer to that is that there is no servers on the laptop that need
to be exposed publicly. Assuming your home systems have it (or more
correctly, the secure versions there-of), you COULD get by with a
FTP _CLIENT_ on the laptop (transferring files to/from by logging in
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--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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