HOWTO: Post-Installation Configuration

macondo · posted: 2009-02-26 19:10

HOWTO: Post-installation Configuration

This is a very subjective matter, nothing is written on stone; this is just the way i
like my system.

The installation was uneventful, i gave antiX my hd and let it do its thing. After it
was thru installing i went to /etc/apt/sources.list and edited, making it a stable Lenny
type of distro, this is the way it looks:

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# Debian
deb http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ stable main contrib non-free 
deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib non-free 
#deb-src http://ftp.fr.debian.org/debian/ stable main contrib non-free 
 
# mplayer
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org lenny main

# wicd
#deb http://apt.wicd.net debian extras
#virtualbox
#deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian lenny non-free

# Remastersys
#deb http://www.remastersys.klikit-linux.com/repository debian/

###### Debian Unstable/Sid/sidux ##########
###### Use at your own risk! ########
#deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free
#deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org unstable main
#deb http://sidux.com/debian/ sid main contrib non-free firmware fix.main fix.contrib 
fix.non-free

Then i got rid of some packages i know i don't use:

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# dpkg -P fluxbox slim conky rox-filer vim-tiny claws-mail

I went to my .bashrc and added some aliases:

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# some more ls aliases
alias startx='startx -- -dpi 85'
alias x="startx"
alias agi="sudo apt-get install"
alias agud="sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade"

Which allows me to write 'x' instead of 'startx'
i can install packages with 'agi' as user, instead of 'sudo apt-get install'
now i can write as user:'agud' instead of 'sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade'

These are little things that make your life easier __{{emoticon}}__

For all this to work i have to configure sudo at /etc/sudoers

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# nano -wx /etc/sudoers 
and add these 2 lines at the bottom:

macondo ALL = NOPASSWD : ALL
giovi ALL = NOPASSWD: /sbin/halt, /sbin/reboot

this way i got control of everything and my wife can only reboot and poweroff.

Then i test it:
$ sudo apt-get update

fine.

Then i update/dist-upgrade the system:

$ agud

Install some apps i like:

$ agi xfonts-terminus xfe numlockx unclutter gpm preload localepurge debfoster ratpoison
sylpheed

I edit /boot/grub/menu.lst, and leave the top part looking like this:

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timeout 0
#color cyan/blue white/blue
#foreground ffffff
#background 0639a1

#gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

Because i only use linux in my box, i put the timeout as 0, if you dual boot leave the timeout as it comes by default.

i go to /etc/inittab and edit this line leaving like this:

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The default runlevel.
id:4:initdefault:

This cuts down on the eyecandy and without slim it boots faster, or so i think.

Then i edit my .xinitrc:

$ nano -wx .xinitrc

wipe it clean and leave it like this:

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#!/bin/sh

xrdb -merge .Xdefaults
numlockx &
unclutter -idle 2 &
icewm

then configure my terminal (urxvt)

$ nano -wx .Xdefaults

leaving like this:

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URxvt*background: black
URxvt*foreground: light green
URxvt*cursorColor: yellow
URxvt*saveLines: 20000
URxvt*leftScrollBar: true
URxvt*font: -xos4-terminus-*-*-*-*-14-*-*-*-*-*-iso8859-15

$ xrdb -merge .Xdefaults

Next time you launch the terminal, should show the changes.

To stop some daemons and boot faster:
$ sudo sysvconfig

and disabled:

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ifupdown
networking # i got no LAN
nvidia-kernel # got no nvidia
cups # i got no printer
wicd # i got no laptop

*IMPORTANT*
This part is very subjective, every user's needs are different, write down what you
disable/enable in case it doesn't work and put it back.

$ agud
$ sudo reboot

voilá!

Note: this is what works for me, it might not work for you.

Happy trails,
macondo
26 Feb 2009

PD: I had to remove 'openbsd-inet' in order to get in the internet. I removed it from the list.

impuwat · posted: 2009-02-26 20:02

Always fun to read your set up process. Seems like your list is shorter than it was with antiX Spartacus. And I actually understand most of what you are doing this time around __{{emoticon}}__

Thanks!

plvera · posted: 2009-02-26 20:15

Macondo:
This is a great list of tips. thanks!

Pedro

eriefisher · posted: 2009-02-26 23:40

Once again Macondo, nice stuf. Not a fan of sudo though. I always enjoy reading through your setups.

mariel77 · posted: 2009-02-28 05:51

I enjoy reading them too, and I understand them now too, but your great explanations help a lot with that.

macondo · posted: 2009-02-28 15:24

I'm glad some of you like it, i'm no writer, but i write as if i was the one trying to understand all this mumbo-jumbo.

Something i forgot to add was that after i'm finished with the configuration, i do this:

# update-alternatives --all

which allows me to designate what apps i want to be default. Choose the option number or if the default is ok, just press Enter.

Something i neglected to mention is that i have a substandard machine with 512 MB RAM, which seems a lot, but when using iceweasel+youtube all i got left is 50 MB RAM, thus, my obsession with cutting down the fat, eye-candy, i even deleted all the wallpapers.

My favorite wm is icewm hands down, but when i work (translator) i use ratpoison (only uses 1,5 MB RAM) and i can split the windows horizontally or vertically.

Vimperator is an addon for iceweasel, together with AdBlock and FullerScreen makes my life easier. Between vimperator and the keybindings i hardly touch the mouse and icons are useless, looks mean nothing to me, just speed matters in my book; i guess living in the third world changes your priorities. Phew! Enough of this rambling __{{emoticon}}__

OU812 · posted: 2009-02-28 16:03

I noticed in your .xinitrc you have icewm. If you use icewm instead of icewm-session, doesn't that mean icewm can't use your ~/.icewm/startup file? Or maybe it doesn't matter because you basically use your .xinitrc in a similar way?

john

macondo · posted: 2009-02-28 20:41

OU812 wrote:I noticed in your .xinitrc you have icewm. If you use icewm instead of icewm-session, doesn't that mean icewm can't use your ~/.icewm/startup file? Or maybe it doesn't matter because you basically use your .xinitrc in a similar way?

john

icewm-session will give you a background (solid color) and it's indispensable for a wallpaper. I need none of that, my way, i get the ugly gray background which is ok with me because it saves me RAM, i only look at it for a second, then press <Win key + f> launches iceweasel, then type <go + a> and vimperator gives me the antiX forum, talk about speed.
You're right, the .xinitrc replaces the .icewm/startup.

I just KISS it __{{emoticon}}__