Run like Hell

Dual-Boot on UEFI PCs: Booting Ubuntu only works randomly

2013-04-24T21:51:00.001+02:00

In my posting about using ubuntu on a Windows 9 laptop, i ended with:

But now rebooting works like expected (with Ubuntu and Windows 8).

After some more reboots and trying to start ubuntu, booting ubuntu only works randomly. Sometimes it worked after walking through BIOS/UEFI. Sometime it did not work at all.
Even doing some more boot-repairs did not make any improvement.
Just give up and no ubuntu on this machine?
I found some strange things, which did not work either. But at the end there was one solution which worked:

Disable secure boot
Run boot-repair once again

.After disabling secure boot on BIOS/UEFI you have to run boot-repair until it really write grub once again (first execution asked for some additional packages to install and did not wrote grub).
Now the statement from the other posing could be done:

But now rebooting works like expected (with Ubuntu and Windows 8).

Linux and UEFI: Files, Mountpoints, Commands...

2013-04-22T21:28:00.000+02:00

With Windows 8 secure boot is used. That means if you want to add a Linux kernel, this kernel has to be signed. After installing Ubuntu on a Windows 8 machine, here the directory listing of the /boot directory:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   844882 Okt 9 2012 abi-3.5.0-17-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root    17402 Apr 21 18:48 boot.efi.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root        0 Apr 21 18:49 boot.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   147884 Okt 9 2012 config-3.5.0-17-generic
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root      512 Jan 1 1970 efi
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root     4096 Apr 21 18:45 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 23040071 Apr 21 16:33 initrd.img-3.5.0-17-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   176764 Jan 3 23:48 memtest86+.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   178944 Jan 3 23:48 memtest86+_multiboot.bin
-rw------- 1 root root 2901710 Okt 9 2012 System.map-3.5.0-17-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5129040 Okt 17 2012 vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5130968 Okt 17 2012 vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-generic.efi.signed

The directory grub contains all files related to grub/grub2. The directory efi is a mountpoint:

/dev/sda3 on /boot/efi type vfat (rw)
/dev/sda3 258048 48975 209073 19% /boot/efi

This partition is a partition, which was created from Windows 8 and contains the following:

./efi/Boot
./efi/Boot/bg-BG
./efi/Boot/bg-BG/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/BCD.LOG
./efi/Boot/cs-CZ
./efi/Boot/cs-CZ/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/cs-CZ/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/da-DK
./efi/Boot/da-DK/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/da-DK/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/de-DE
./efi/Boot/de-DE/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/de-DE/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/el-GR
./efi/Boot/el-GR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/el-GR/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/en-GB
./efi/Boot/en-GB/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/en-US
./efi/Boot/en-US/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/en-US/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/es-ES
./efi/Boot/es-ES/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/es-ES/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/et-EE
./efi/Boot/et-EE/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/fi-FI
./efi/Boot/fi-FI/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/fi-FI/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/fr-FR
./efi/Boot/fr-FR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/fr-FR/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/hr-HR
./efi/Boot/hr-HR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/hu-HU
./efi/Boot/hu-HU/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/hu-HU/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/it-IT
./efi/Boot/it-IT/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/it-IT/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ja-JP
./efi/Boot/ja-JP/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ja-JP/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ko-KR
./efi/Boot/ko-KR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ko-KR/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/lt-LT
./efi/Boot/lt-LT/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/lv-LV
./efi/Boot/lv-LV/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/memtest.exe
./efi/Boot/nb-NO
./efi/Boot/nb-NO/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/nb-NO/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/nl-NL
./efi/Boot/nl-NL/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/nl-NL/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pl-PL
./efi/Boot/pl-PL/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pl-PL/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pt-BR
./efi/Boot/pt-BR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pt-BR/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pt-PT
./efi/Boot/pt-PT/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/pt-PT/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/qps-ploc
./efi/Boot/qps-ploc/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/qps-ploc/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ro-RO
./efi/Boot/ro-RO/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ru-RU
./efi/Boot/ru-RU/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/ru-RU/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/sk-SK
./efi/Boot/sk-SK/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/sl-SI
./efi/Boot/sl-SI/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/sr-Latn-CS
./efi/Boot/sr-Latn-CS/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/sv-SE
./efi/Boot/sv-SE/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/sv-SE/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/tr-TR
./efi/Boot/tr-TR/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/tr-TR/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/uk-UA
./efi/Boot/uk-UA/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-CN
./efi/Boot/zh-CN/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-CN/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-HK
./efi/Boot/zh-HK/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-HK/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-TW
./efi/Boot/zh-TW/bootmgr.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/zh-TW/memtest.exe.mui
./efi/Boot/BOOTSTAT.DAT
./efi/Boot/Fonts
./efi/Boot/Fonts/chs_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/cht_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/jpn_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/kor_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/malgunn_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/malgun_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/meiryon_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/meiryo_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/msjhn_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/msjh_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/msyhn_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/msyh_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/segmono_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/segoen_slboot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/segoe_slboot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Fonts/wgl4_boot.ttf
./efi/Boot/Resources
./efi/Boot/Resources/bootres.dll
./efi/Boot/Resources/de-DE
./efi/Boot/Resources/de-DE/bootres.dll.mui
./efi/Boot/BCD
./efi/Boot/BCD.LOG1
./efi/Boot/BCD.LOG2
./efi/bootmgr
./efi/BOOTNXT
./efi/EFI
./efi/EFI/Microsoft
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bg-BG
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bg-BG/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bg-BG/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/boot.stl
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgr.efi
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/cs-CZ
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/cs-CZ/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/cs-CZ/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/cs-CZ/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/da-DK
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/da-DK/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/da-DK/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/da-DK/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/de-DE
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/de-DE/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/de-DE/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/de-DE/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/el-GR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/el-GR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/el-GR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/el-GR/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-GB
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-GB/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-GB/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-US
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-US/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-US/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/en-US/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/es-ES
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/es-ES/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/es-ES/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/es-ES/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/et-EE
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/et-EE/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/et-EE/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fi-FI
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fi-FI/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fi-FI/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fi-FI/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fr-FR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fr-FR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fr-FR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/fr-FR/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hr-HR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hr-HR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hr-HR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hu-HU
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hu-HU/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hu-HU/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/hu-HU/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/it-IT
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/it-IT/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/it-IT/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/it-IT/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ja-JP
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ja-JP/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ja-JP/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ja-JP/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ko-KR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ko-KR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ko-KR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ko-KR/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lt-LT
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lt-LT/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lt-LT/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lv-LV
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lv-LV/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/lv-LV/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/memtest.efi
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nb-NO
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nb-NO/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nb-NO/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nb-NO/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nl-NL
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nl-NL/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nl-NL/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/nl-NL/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pl-PL
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pl-PL/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pl-PL/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pl-PL/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-BR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-BR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-BR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-BR/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-PT
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-PT/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-PT/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/pt-PT/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/qps-ploc
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/qps-ploc/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/qps-ploc/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/qps-ploc/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ro-RO
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ro-RO/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ro-RO/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ru-RU
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ru-RU/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ru-RU/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/ru-RU/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sk-SK
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sk-SK/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sk-SK/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sl-SI
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sl-SI/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sl-SI/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sr-Latn-CS
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sr-Latn-CS/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sr-Latn-CS/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sv-SE
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sv-SE/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sv-SE/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/sv-SE/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/tr-TR
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/tr-TR/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/tr-TR/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/tr-TR/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/uk-UA
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/uk-UA/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/uk-UA/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-CN
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-CN/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-CN/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-CN/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-HK
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-HK/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-HK/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-TW
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-TW/bootmgfw.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-TW/bootmgr.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/zh-TW/memtest.efi.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BOOTSTAT.DAT
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/chs_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/cht_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/jpn_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/kor_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/malgunn_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/malgun_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/meiryon_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/meiryo_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/msjhn_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/msjh_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/msyhn_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/msyh_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/segmono_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/segoen_slboot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/segoe_slboot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Fonts/wgl4_boot.ttf
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Resources
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Resources/bootres.dll
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Resources/de-DE
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Resources/de-DE/bootres.dll.mui
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD.LOG
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD.LOG1
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/BCD.LOG2
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bkpbootmgfw.efi
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootx64.efi.grb
./efi/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootx64.efi
./efi/EFI/Boot
./efi/EFI/Boot/bkpbootx64.efi
./efi/EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi
./efi/EFI/ubuntu
./efi/EFI/ubuntu/shimx64.efi
./efi/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi
./efi/EFI/ubuntu/grub.cfg

Using Ubuntu on a Windows 8 Laptop: because of UEFI more problems as expected

2013-04-21T21:19:00.001+02:00

Today i tried to install Ubuntu on a Windows 8 Laptop. First thing: you have to use 12.04 or greater because Windows 8 uses secure boot with UEFI.

But after the first boot with a USB-stick i got:

(initramfs) Unable to find a medium containing a live file system

?? - If you ask google you get something like: Do not use a usb 3.0 port... Great... There is no usb 2.0 port on my device....
So just trying around with a usb 2.0 hub - does not work
Looking inside BIOS i found XHCI:

And after that Ubuntu is installed without any problems... (hmm - that is not really true: resizing the Windows 8 partition could not be done via Ubuntu installer - but just do this in Windows 8 - this will work without any problems).
Ok - end of this posting? Unfortunately not, because Windows 8 does not boot anymore.
I think this is ok ;-)
Asking Google gives the following solution: Just use Boot-repair.

sudo bash
add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair
apt-get update
apt-get install boot-repair
boot-repair

And after that the grub menu looks like this:

But now rebooting works like expected (with Ubuntu and Windows 8).
[If you still have problems that booting ubuntu does not work on every startup, read here]

Using Virtualbox images with Hyper-V

2013-03-21T21:39:00.000+01:00

In 2008 i wrote about using vmware images with virtualbox. To migrate a host from virutalbox to Hyper-V, you have to do nearly the same, but you have to convert the hdd:

Convert your Virtualbox-hdd with VBoxManage.exe clonehd:
(from vdi to vhd)

C:\Users\schroff>"\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" clonehd
"c:\Users\schroff\VirtualBox VMs\Debian64-DS\Debian64-DS.vdi"
"c:\Users\schroff\VirtualBox VMs\Debian64-DS-Hyper-V"\Debian-DS.vhd
-format vhd

0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%
Clone hard disk created in format 'vhd'. UUID: c42129a8-c145-4a50-908c-023c8ed2b711

Create a new virtual machine with Hyper-V:

Create a vswitch
Create a new host and add as existing hdd your cloned vhd-file
Change the network adapter to legacy network adapter

Start your new system...

Hyper-V: Compile Linux Kernel with Microsoft device drivers

2013-03-21T20:41:00.000+01:00

After knowing, that running a linux inside Hyper-V is only working with the "legacy" network adapter (look here), i was trying to build a kernel with the drivers (Microsoft has added the drivers into the Linux kernel versions >2.6.32).
There is one nice tutorial out there:

IT FROM ALL ANGLES: Hyper-V Guests: Compile Linux Kernel 2.6.32 on Debian

But the menus of menuconfig have changed with kernel version 3.0. Microsofts Hyper-V kernel modules are no longer located inside the staging section. They can be found here:

Device Drivers --> Network device support -->

Device Drivers --> Microsoft Hyper-V guest support -->

Device Drivers --> HID Support --> Special HID Drivers -->

All other steps work like described in IT FROM ALL ANGLES: Hyper-V Guests: Compile Linux Kernel 2.6.32 on Debian.
Microsoft offers a ISO-image for installing the kernel modules for some special kernel version for this linux distributions:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, 5.8, 6.0-6.3 x86 and x64
CentOS 5.7, 5.8, 6.0-6.3 x86 and x64

The ISO-image can be downloaded from this location.

Note: If you try to build the kernel in you virtual machine, you need at least 6GB in /usr/src for compiling your kernel...

Hyper-V: Installing a debian linux in a virtual machine - trouble with the (non legacy) network adapter

2013-03-17T21:03:00.000+01:00

First try with a virtualization solution like Hyper-V is to install a guest. So let's try debian linux.
The installer runs through this points:

Name & path of the virtual machine
RAM
Network (how to configure a virtual switch with internet connectivity or how to configure internet connectivity with NAT)
at this point you have to choose no connection (i will explain this later)
Create a hdd
The summary should look like this:

Next step you have to open the configuration of this virtual machine. There you can see a network adapter with the following properties:

Bandwith management? This sounds really good. There are two types of network adapters:

A network adapter requires a virtual machine driver in order to work, but offers better performance. This driver is included with some newer versions of Windows. On all other supported operating systems, install integration services in the guest operating system to install the virtual machine driver. For instructions, see Install a Guest Operating System. For more information about which operating systems are supported and which of those require you to install integration services, see About Virtual Machines and Guest Operating Systems (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128037).

A legacy network adapter works without installing a virtual machine driver. The legacy network adapter emulates a physical network adapter, multiport DEC 21140 10/100TX 100 MB. A legacy network adapter also supports network-based installations because it includes the ability to boot to the Pre-Execution Environment (PXE boot). However, the legacy network adapter is not supported in the 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2003.

And now think about, for which type of network adapter the standard kernel has a kernel modul (or you can get sources for)... Right. Only the legacy adapter.
So you have to delete the network adapter and add a legacy network adapter. After this step, your virtual machine should look like:

The bandwidth management is gone, but your kernel can use the tulip module and your network is working... Here you have to choose a virtual switch, which you can create like described in these two postings: how to configure a virtual switch with internet connectivity or how to configure internet connectivity with NAT.

It is not really suprising, that Microsoft adds as default to each new virtual machine a network adapter, which only works on a few linux distributions. You can download drivers from microsoft via this page (scroll down to "integration services"). But to add the default each for every new virtual machine, so that you have to delete this one and add the "legacy" adapter.

But after knowing this, it is no problem to install debian linux (or any other linux) onto your Hyper-V.

Hyper-V: Howto configure NAT for virtual machines

2013-03-17T10:03:00.000+01:00

In my last posting i explained how to configure a vEthernet adapter to get connectivity to the internet. But there was one "problem": You had to provide one seperate IP for each virtual host, you want to connect to the internet.
But there is a solution (NAT) for this problem and it is easy to configure this with Hyper-V on Windows:
[If you have not configured the "brigde"-solution i explained the last posting, then skip step 1 and start with step number 2]

Unbridge your VSwitchExternal from Wifi
(select both adapter in network adapters and do a right click an use "remove bridge")
Create a new internal virtual switch via Hyper-V's virtual switch manager (look here, how to do this) and name it VSwitchNAT
Edit properties of your Wifi adapter
(right click and then properties)
Open the tab "Sharing" and enable both Checkboxes.
Choose "VSwitchNAT" for Home networking connection

And after that your virtual machines are using a private subnet which will be NATted by your laptop. This private subnet can be configured via VSwitchNAT:

Edit properties of VSwitchNAT vEthernet adpater
Edit properties of ipv4 and here you can edit the subnet

Hyper-V on Windows 8: External virtual switches do not work - Howto connect a virtual host to the internet

2013-03-16T20:36:00.002+01:00

First thing you have to do after enabling Hyper-V is to set up your network for your virtual machines. This is not so easy, because some things do not work...
So let's start: Open the Virtual Switch Manager

There you have three options:

external (connectivity to the internet)
internal (connectivity between virtual machines on this Hyper-V and the host)
private (only connectivity between virtual machines on this Hyper-V)

Sounds like 1 is the option, which should be used, but this option does not work (you can find many postings via google, from guys, which chose this option and did not get any connectivity to anywhere...). On my laptop i was not able to get connectivity from the virtual host to the internet. Even worse: After configuring an external virtual switch my Windows 8 had no connectivity to the internet, too.

But there is a workaround:

Create a internal virtual switch and call it "VSwitchExternal"
Open network adapters (via control panel->network) and select your network adapter (Wifi) and the new vEthernet adapter (via CRTL and click them):
Now do a right click and choose "add to network brigde"

Now this vEthernet adapter VSwitchExternal will work and your laptop is still connected to the internet.
But you should be aware, that the virtual machine now needs its own ip on your external network. How to configure NAT for your virtual machine, so that you use the same address like your laptop, is explained in this posting.

Windows 8: Enabling Microsofts Hyper-V virtualization platform

2013-03-15T20:26:00.000+01:00

If you are running a Microsoft Windows 8 Professional, you can use Microsofts virtualization platform Hyper-V. To get the management window you have to open

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Hyper-V Management Tools

and double click the icon:

If this icon (or the path) is not there, you have to enable Hyper-V:
Open your control panel and choose programs & features:

Then on the left side choose: activate Windows-features.
The following dialog should appear:

Choose Hyper-V

Ok - now some reboots and then the Hyper-V manager should be there and you can also start it via dosshell:

%windir%\system32\mmc.exe "%windir%\system32\virtmgmt.msc"

And you will get:

Nexus 7: Encrypting all data

2013-02-22T21:04:00.001+01:00

After loosing all data on a completely discharged Nexus 7 (look here), i decided to encrypt the storage with my own password, so that i should be able to give the right pin into the "type password to decrypt storage"-question (hopefully).

Advantage:
never loose my data again
Disadvantage
on every bootup i have to enter my new pin....

First step: go to ->settings:

select "Encrypt tablet". If your tablet is not plugged in and not completely charged you get:

After plugging in and charging you get:

Tapping on "Encrypt tablet" leads to:

And then:

Ok... Irreversible and many reboots... Scared? ;-)
GO!

And after some reboots i had to give my password to decrypt storage for bootup:

(This is exactly the same screen, which was shown after rebooting the completely discharged Nexus 7. So hopefully after next complete discharge, i can start the Nexus without loosing all data)

Android Update: 4.2.2

2013-02-16T20:36:00.001+01:00

Three months after the upgrade from Android 4.2 to 4.2.1 i got the option to update my Nexus 7 to 4.2.2. As before there is no official statement about the bugfixes or changes in this new version. The only thing is the confirmation screen the:

After the update the system information shows this:

The size of the update was 47.7 MB. Some applications had network errors after the update (like the ebay app), but after a restart everthing was fine again...
The really nice thing with Nexus 7 is, that you get every Android update....

Nexus 7: "Type password to decrypt storage" after completely discharged

2013-01-29T20:54:00.000+01:00

After not using the Nexus 7 for some weeks, i got the following screen:
No password worked... Switch off/on... same screen again.

How to get out of this loop?

Switch the device off (press and hold power button)
Press and hold all three buttons. You will see the following:
Use the volume buttons to navigate to Recover Mode
Press the power button the confirm
Now you will see the Android with a red triangle
Now while holding the power button, press volume up
Use the volume keys to navigate to wipe data/factory reset
Press power button to select this option
Go to Yes, erase all user data and press power button

And the "Type password to decrypt storage"-screen is gone... (and all data, too ;-)
[The official documentation can be found here.]

Windows 8: Configuring focus follows mouse and auto-raise behaviour

2013-01-17T20:45:00.001+01:00

After switching to Windows 8 i was trying to configure the same mouse over behaviour as i am used to on my debian linux.
If you just want focus follows mouse and auto-raise=true, then follow the description given here.
If you want focus follows mouse and auto-raise=false, then you have to do some more work:

Read this technet article
Open the registry editor and go to HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop\UserPreferencesMask
Here you have to change the first bit to 1 and the seventh bit to 0

Example:
The number in UserPreferenceMask is 9E --> 10011110
Change the first bit to 1 --> 10011111
Seventh bit is already 0 --> 10011111

One thing left: Logoff or restart you pc and you are done...

More Features on Windows 7 & 8 with replacing Microsofts default driver "PCL6 Class Driver" with HP "Univeral Print Driver"

2013-01-11T21:03:00.000+01:00

If you have to use HP printers on Windows 7 or 8, you can use the drivers provided by Microsoft. But if you want to change printing properties like duplex mode or pages per sheet and you select "Eigenschaften.. / Properties..."

you only get:

But there is an easy way to change this to this dialog:

where you can change this things very easy. Just use HPs Universal Driver (link) and replace the other one. If you want some more information about this driver, you can read this pdf.

Apache ODE: Modelling BPEL with Eclipse and BPEL Designer

2012-12-16T21:18:00.000+01:00

After installing the BPEL designer into eclipse here the first steps to get a project and a first workflow:
First you have to create a new project and choose BPEL Project:

Inside this new project you have to add a bpel process:

and here we go:

Using Apache's BPEL: Installing the Designer into Eclipse (ODE)

2012-12-14T21:34:00.000+01:00

After more than 5 year after getting in touch with BPEL and many postings about Oracles BPEL PM and SOA Suite i wanted to see, how easy it is to get started with Apaches BPEL implementation.It is called ODE (Orchestration Director Engine) and eclipse provides BPEL Designer Project as modelling infrastructure.
So let's begin: Start eclipse and add use "Install New Software" to add this site:

And then one restart and the modeller is ready...

Google indoor maps: How to use...

2012-12-05T20:51:00.000+01:00

Yesterday i read at heise.de about Google indoor maps were released for Germany. So i tried to take a look at the indoor map of Frankfurt Aiport but i only got:

No indoor map. Was this headline wrong? I searched around and found http://www.google.de/mobile/maps/:

Newest Android version is installed on my tablet... Why does this not work? So i zoomed that the map scale showed 50m:

No indoor map at all... but there are some numbers... maybe levels? (and no public plans for level 0?)

Windows 8: Blue screen of death (BSoD) is back and its more helpful like ever before

2012-12-01T21:05:00.000+01:00

After installing Cisco VPNClient on a Windows 8 pc, the system got unstable and every 30-60s a BSoD and a reboot occured.

After 5 times the BSoD changed to the following screens:

i chose troubleshoot:

Reset did not really looked like what i wanted, so i chose "refresh your pc":

Your files and personalization settings won't change
Your pc settings will be restored to their defaults
Apps from Windows store will be kept
Apps that you've installed from discs or websites will be removed
A list of removed apps will be saved on your desktop

Doesn't look good, but i think this is better than starting from scratch:

And after several minutes Windows 8 was stable again, but i lost all applications installed from discs and websites. Only some portable programs were still there...

Android Update: 4.2.1

2012-12-01T20:40:00.001+01:00

Two weeks after the upgrade von Android 4.1 to 4.2 my devices was updated to Android 4.2.1.
There is no official statement about the bugfixes or changes in this version. The only information is the confirmation screen before the update:

(The webpage http://www.android.com/whatsnew/ only contains a description about 4.2. No information about 4.2.1).
After the update:

The size of the update was only 1.1 MB. So it is not really suprising, that the kernel version for 4.2.1 is the same as for 4.2...
After the update several applications hung and the Nexus 7 was not really responsive -> but after a additional reboot everything was fine again....

Android 4.2: Developer Options

2012-11-21T20:32:00.001+01:00

If you try to build your own Android applications, you have to enable "Developer Options" on your device. After upgrading my Nexus 7 to Android 4.2 there is no entry "Developer Options" inside the settings menu. Google has hidden this entry in order to do not confuse normal users...
This is the way to enable Developer Options (again):

go to settings->about tablet
tap 7 times on "build number"

After four times you will see:

and after seven times:

Now you can enable "show touches" and "pointer location" and get the following:

Android: Running my first application on my Nexus 7

2012-11-19T07:51:00.001+01:00

After running the android application in an emulator, it is time to install the application on a real device. If you want to install the application on your Nexus 7, you have to follow this steps:

put your Nexus 7 in USB debugging mode
(Settings -> Developer Options {} -> USB debugging)
(Android version >4.1 you have to use this instruction)
change USB mode to PTP
(take a look here to do this)
check connectivity with adb command:
schroff@hades:$ ./adb devices
List of devices attached
0XXXXXXXXXXXXX device

schroff@hades:$

After this: start eclipse and open your project (how to create a project look here) and change "run"->"run configurations" -> "target" to "Always prompt to pick device":

and after hitting run:

Now on the Nexus 7 the icon appeared:

and the app started like in the emulator:

Android: Building my first app (on windows 7)

2012-11-16T20:37:00.000+01:00

After hitting the error:

X Error of failed request: BadRequest (....)

on debian linux, i decided to give windows 7 a try:
Everything from step 1 to 24 (look here) of my posting was the same. But then i got:

and after some seconds the emulator was initiliazed:

And my first application is there: MainActivity (second from bottom, left lane). A double click started the application:

So next step is, to run this application on my nexus 7....

Android: Building my first app (on debian linux)

2012-11-15T20:31:00.001+01:00

To build my first app, i followed the tutorial given by developer.android.com. (before you can start, you have to set up your developement tools)

Start eclipse
type CTRL-N
And after hitting finish, eclipse looked like this:
At this point the tutorial recommends to look at some files and directories (look http://developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/running-app.html), but here i will skip this and go straight to running my app
To run inside an emulator click on the Virtual Device Manager (eclipse):
So i tried to build a new virtual device:
But this failed with:
[2012-11-08 20:23:12 - SDK Manager] Unable to find a 'userdata.img' file for ABI armeabi to copy into the AVD folder.
Therefor this link gave a solution:
Click on Android SDK Manager
After the successful installation, the drop down "CPU/ABI" showed some content:
Now the virtual device is there....
But choosing start i got this error:

Ok. No direct rendering enabled on my debian laptop....
So after running though all this steps, my summary is:

Looks quite good.
Before you start, you should use the Android SDK Manager
(eclipse --> Window --> Android SDK Manager)
Do not use a linux device without direct rendering

Android 4.2 for Nexus 7 rolled out...

2012-11-14T08:51:00.001+01:00

Today i was notified with this little icon:

Two week ago i already wrote a posting about the new features of Android 4.2 and not only new devices got this version. Here some screenshots of the update:

And here we go:

Android-App Development: commandline tools of the android-sdk

2012-11-07T20:45:00.001+01:00

After setting up the development environment for Android apps, i was curious about the downloaded android sdk. So what about just trying to look into this "android-sdk" directory:
It contains the following directories (only first two levels listed:

.
├── add-ons
├── platforms
│   └── android-16
├── platform-tools
│   ├── aapt
│   ├── adb
│   ├── aidl
│   ├── api
│   ├── dexdump
│   ├── dx
│   ├── fastboot
│   ├── lib
│   ├── llvm-rs-cc
│   ├── NOTICE.txt
│   ├── renderscript
│   └── source.properties
├── temp
└── tools
    ├── adb_has_moved.txt
    ├── android
    ├── ant
    ├── apkbuilder
    ├── apps
    ├── ddms
    ├── dmtracedump
    ├── draw9patch
    ├── emulator
    ├── emulator-arm
    ├── emulator-x86
    ├── etc1tool
    ├── hierarchyviewer
    ├── hprof-conv
    ├── lib
    ├── lint
    ├── mksdcard
    ├── monitor
    ├── monkeyrunner
    ├── NOTICE.txt
    ├── proguard
    ├── source.properties
    ├── sqlite3
    ├── support
    ├── systrace
    ├── templates
    ├── traceview
    └── zipalign

The first command i tried was:

schroff@hades:$ ./apkbuilder

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
THIS TOOL IS DEPRECATED and may stop working at any time!

If you wish to use apkbuilder for a custom build system, please look at the
com.android.sdklib.build.ApkBuilder which provides support for
recent build improvements including library projects.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A command line tool to package an Android application from various sources.
Usage: apkbuilder <out archive> [-v][-u][-storetype STORE_TYPE] [-z inputzip]
            [-f inputfile] [-rf input-folder] [-rj -input-path]

    -v      Verbose.
    -d      Debug Mode: Includes debug files in the APK file.
    -u      Creates an unsigned package.
    -storetype Forces the KeyStore type. If ommited the default is used.

    -z      Followed by the path to a zip archive.
            Adds the content of the application package.

    -f      Followed by the path to a file.
            Adds the file to the application package.

    -rf     Followed by the path to a source folder.
            Adds the java resources found in that folder to the application
            package, while keeping their path relative to the source folder.

    -rj     Followed by the path to a jar file or a folder containing
            jar files.
            Adds the java resources found in the jar file(s) to the application
            package.

    -nf     Followed by the root folder containing native libraries to
            include in the application package.

Hmm. Does not really look as i expected.
DDMS opened the following window named Davlik Debug Monitor:

The command hierarchyviewer launched this window:

Last try: monitor came up with:

But i think, i have to follow the tutorial to see, how all these things work together. At least all commands work (no seg faults)...