Hardware
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Hardware

Digital Cameras

Most USB digital cameras will be automatically detected by Kubuntu. Simply plug in and switch on your USB digital camera, Kubuntu will then ask you if you would like to import the photos from your camera. Click on Import, Kubuntu will then show you a preview of your photos. Choose a location to save your photos to, then click on Import. Kubuntu will then save your photos to your hard drive.

If you do not get the auto-import popup with your camera, it might be worth installing digiKam from the Universe repository (see the section called “Managing Repositories”). Launch digiKam after installation by choosing K-Menu->Graphics->digiKam (Photo Management) from the desktop menu system.

3D Graphic Cards

3D Nvidia Video Card Driver

  1. Install the nvidia-glx package from the Restricted repository (see Chapter 3, Adding, Removing and Updating Applications).

  2. sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup 
    sudo nvidia-glx-config enable 

  3. You may adjust the settings of the new driver by running the application nvidia-settings (see the section called “Start a Program Manually”). If you wish, add a menu entry for this program (see the section called “Edit K-Menu).

  4. Read the section called “Restart KDE without rebooting the computer”

Disable the Nvidia Graphics Logo on Startup

  1. Read the section called “3D Nvidia Video Card Driver”

  2. sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup 
    kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

  3. Find this section

    ...
    Section "Device"
    Identifier	"NVIDIA Corporation NV11 [GeForce2 MX/MX 400]"
    Driver		"nvidia"
    BusID		"PCI:1:0:0"
    ...

  4. Add the following line below it

    Option  "NoLogo"

  5. Save the edited file ( an example)

  6. Read the section called “Restart KDE without rebooting the computer”

3D ATI Video Card Driver

  1. Install the xorg-driver-fglrx package from the Restricted repository (see Chapter 3, Adding, Removing and Updating Applications).

  2. echo fglrx | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
    sudo depmod -a ; sudo modprobe fglrx
    sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup 
    sudo sed -i -e 's/"ati"/"fglrx"/' /etc/X11/xorg.conf
  3. If you are using an NForce2-based motherboard you will also need to do the following:

    kdesu kate /etc/X11/xorg.conf

    Change “Section "Device"” add the following line:

    Option  "UseInternalAGPGART" "no"
  4. Restart your machine for changes to take effect.

Wireless Cards

Many wireless cards are automatically detected by Kubuntu during installation. A complete listing of wireless cards which work with Kubuntu can be found on the Ubuntu Wiki. Please add your wireless card to the list if it works with Kubuntu.

Some cards may not work out of the box with Kubuntu. If this is the case, please look at the Wireless Troubleshooting Guide on the Ubuntu Wiki which is an excellent resource for troubleshooting wireless cards.

All information regarding wireless networking on Kubuntu is collected at Wireless Networking Central on the Ubuntu Wiki.

List Wireless Devices

  1. To list PCI devices:

    lspci -v
  2. To list USB devices:

    lsusb -v

Configuring Keyboard

Change Keyboard Shortcuts

You might want to modify the default keyboard shortcuts in Kubuntu. To do so, choose K-Menu->System Settings->Regional & Accessibility from the desktop menu system. Select Keyboard Shortcuts button to modify your keyboard shortcuts.

Multiple Keyboard Layouts

You may want to have access to more than one keyboard layout. This is useful if you write in more than one language.

To add new keyboard layouts:

  1. Choose: K-Menu->System Settings->Regional & Accessibility->Keyboard Layout

  2. In the Layout tab, check the Enable Keyboard Layouts box.

  3. Choose the country in which the keyboard layout you want is used, and click Add. The country should appear in the Active Layouts list.

  4. Click the country in the Active Layouts list, and choose the appropriate Layout variant for the country selected. This is important for countries where more than one language are commonly spoken.

  5. Click on Apply to save your settings.

  6. A flag icon should now appear in the system tray showing the current keyboard layout being used. Click the flag icon to switch to the other keyboard layout.

Input Non-latin Characters

Skim is a KDE guipanel to input non-latin characters. To use Skim for input in your native language:

  1. Ensure that your language-support package is installed. If you selected your native language during installation, this has already been installed.

  2. Press Ctrl-Space to activate it and enter characters.

  3. Configure Skim by right clicking the icon in the system tray, and choosing Configure

Modems

Winmodems

Most winmodems are not supported by Kubuntu by default, but drivers can be found that will enable the use of such modems. First you need to identify what chipset your winmodem is using:

wget -c http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/scanModem.gz 
gunzip -c scanModem.gz > scanModem 
chmod +x scanModem
sudo ./scanModem 
kate Modem/ModemData.txt

Check the output in Kate, it should list what modem chipset you have. Once you are aware of the chipset you have, see SettingUpModems and follow the directions for your modem.

ADSL Modems

All PPOE and ADSL modems that use ethernet for the connection (and some that use USB) are supported by Kubuntu. For router-style ADSL modems, just connect it up, configure the modem as per your ISPs instructions and configure networking in Kubuntu. For information on PPPOE modems see ADSLPPoE on the Ubuntu wiki.

Printers

Some printers will be automatically detected by Kubuntu; for those that are not, choose K-Menu->System Settings->Printers then choose Add->Add Printer/Class and run the Printer Install Wizard.

There are some printers that need further setup. Search the databases at LinuxPrinting.org or check the Ubuntu Wiki's Printer page for possible information on your printer.

CDROMs

Speed up CD/DVD-ROM access (enable DMA)

  1. Assuming that /dev/cdrom is the location of the CD/DVD-ROM

  2. sudo hdparm -d1 /dev/cdrom 
    sudo cp /etc/hdparm.conf /etc/hdparm.conf_backup 
    kdesu kate /etc/hdparm.conf

  3. Append the following lines at the end of file

    /dev/cdrom {
    dma = on
    }

  4. Save the edited file ( an example)

Mount CD/DVD-ROMs and show all hidden and associated files

  1. Assuming that /media/cdrom0/ is the location of CD/DVD-ROM

  2. To mount CD/DVD-ROM

    sudo mount /media/cdrom0/ -o unhide

  3. To unmount CD/DVD-ROM

    sudo umount /media/cdrom0/

Forcefully eject CD/DVD-ROMs manually

  • sudo eject

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