IThinkIKnowIt.com

Okay, people trying to take shortcuts and give the /etc file directory full rights will find that Linux does not like this at all (I did it once…and never again)!

If you are having that propblem, you do not need to re-install (I use Ubuntu alot by the way).

First of all if you have this problem, the best way is to reboot and enter the GRUB (on Ubuntu this means pressing ESC at the start), then you should have a selection available to you, enter Rescue Mode (or Recovery mode), this gives you root admin access.

At the line prompt type:

chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers

You should then be able to reboot and all the settings are back.

Learn the lesson…..

As I have seen some really long winded ways of doing this, I thought I would make it easier by giving the following advice:

How to install a LAMP server on Ubuntu 9.04 and many other server configurations:

Open up terminal and type:

sudo tasksel

And then select the items you want to install and off you go

With the world of programming and application design taking off, I found one of the best ideas is to use Virtual Machines. I currently run VMware Player on Windows 7 and run a few Ubuntu VMs in it.

One of the issues I had starting was how to create a Virtual Machine without buying any software so here are the steps:

1. Download VM player from VMware – Click here
2. Now you want to get a virtual disk, if you have bought certain software you can make your own ones, or I have found a few on the net you can download, there is a good one at Forever for Now
3. I would suggest creating a directory at the high level for your VMs (make it easier), e.g. C:\vm
4. Copy the .vmdk file you just downloaded into this directory
5. Now you need a file that makes the VM work, this is a .vmx file, yet again without the software to make one you can copy and paste the below script into a text editor and save it as a .vmx file:<

   .encoding = "windows-1252"
   config.version = "8"
   virtualHW.version = "3"
   ide0:0.present = "TRUE"
   ide0:0.filename = "Ubuntu.vmdk"
   memsize = "1024"
   MemAllowAutoScaleDown = "FALSE"
   ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
    
   #ide1:0.fileName = "auto detect"
   #ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
    
   ide1:0.fileName = "D:"
   ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
    
   ide1:0.autodetect = "FALSE"
   floppy0.present = "FALSE"
   ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
   usb.present = "TRUE"
   sound.present = "TRUE"
   sound.virtualDev = "es1371"
   displayName = "Ubuntu"
   guestOS = "ubuntu"
   nvram = "Ubuntu.nvram"
   MemTrimRate = "-1"
    
   ide0:0.redo = ""
   ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
   uuid.location = "56 4d be 41 1b 4c 00 4c-82 9d cd 52 f9 ae 14 21"
   uuid.bios = "56 4d be 41 1b 4c 00 4c-82 9d cd 52 f9 ae 14 21"
   ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:ae:14:21"
   ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"
    
   tools.syncTime = "TRUE"
   ide1:0.startConnected = "TRUE"
   uuid.action = "create"
   checkpoint.vmState = ""
   tools.remindInstall = "FALSE"
   #gui.fullScreenAtPowerOn = "TRUE"
    
   extendedConfigFile = "ubuntu.vmxf"
    
   virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"
   tools.upgrade.policy = "manual"
    
   vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "16777216"
    
   ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"
    
   usb.autoConnect.device0 = "path:1/4/2 autoclean:1"

6. Now you need to edit the line in the .vmx file

   ide0:0.filename = "Ubuntu.vmdk"

   To reflect the disk you have downloaded and placed in the vm directory.

7. Also read through the .vmx file and adjust any settings you think you need, for instance the memsize in the above example is 1024, you might want to increase or lower this depending on the size of your PCs RAM
8. After this you should now have a folder with the .vmdk file and the .vmx, you should now be able to double click on the .vmx file and this should boot into the Virtual machine through VMware Player
9. For those who want to get Ubuntu set up, download the latest ISO from the Ubuntu website and place it in the vm folder, then you need to edit the .vmx file, change the line

   ide1:0.fileName = "D:"

   to reflect the iso image, for example

   ide1:0.fileName = "ubuntu-9.04-desktop-i386.iso"

If you have any issues, please comment and I will aim to respond ASAP

Good Luck