This application, written in Python + GTK, collect informations about user’s hardware and software configuration, then compile an installation report according with the notebook page template of Ubuntu-it’s wiki.

For installation instructions and other informations about the project, please read this.

Realtek has released new version of r81* modules and now we’ll proceed to compile and install the right module we need, but please note that I have a RTL8101E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller, so I tested this procedure on Ubuntu 8.04 «Hardy Heron» only with r8101 module.

We need to install build-essential and kernel headers to compile the sources:

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

Now download in Home dir the driver (r8101 or r8168) and unzip it:

tar xvf downloaded_archive.tar.bz2
cd downloaded_archive

To compile and install the module type:

sudo -E make clean modules
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a

In order to avoid that r8169 will be loaded at the boot time, we need to edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-network (it could be necessary to create it) and add this line:

blacklist r8169

Finally, update the initial ramdisk typing this:

sudo update-initramfs -u

You can see that this way doesn’t need any patch to get a working module, this update should be the right solution for a several number of issues which users reported me (hardware incompatibilities, system freezes…). In case of problems, please leave a comment, I’ll reply soon.

This howto could be a solution for a large number of ethernet adapters issues.

The first step is downloading the right driver (r8101 or r8168) for the adapter:

• r8168 supports RTL8111B, RTL8168B, RTL8111, RTL8168 and RTL8111C;
• r8102 supports RTL8100E, RTL8101E and RTL8102E-GR.

Don’t try to compile the module now, it will not work, we need to apply a patch in order to make it working with Hardy’s kernel

Dowload in Home dir the patch for r8168 module or that for r8101, open a terminal and type these instructions to extract the tarball (I think it’s unnecessary, but filenames and paths could change, in according with the driver version):

cd ~/
tar -xvf r8101-1.007.00.tar.bz2
cd r8101-1.007.00/src

Now apply the patch to the r8168 sources dir:

patch < ~/r8168-8.005.00.hardy.diff.txt

Or, if you need r8101 driver, type this:

patch < ~/r8101-1.007.00.hardy.diff.txt

Finally, compile and install the module:

cd ..
make clean modules
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a

To avoiding r8169’s loading at boot, create and open a new file, /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-network:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-network

And add this line:

blacklist r8169

Finally, update the initial ramdisk:

sudo update-initramfs -u

At the next boot, your ethernet adapter will work really fine

So, I had an idea: why don’t generalize it and make it compatible with other projects bugtrackers?

Ok, let’s start analyzing the code:

from MoinMoin import config, wikiutil

projects = {
    "ubuntu"    : "https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/%d",
    "debian"	: "http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=%d",
    "gnome"     : "http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=%d",
    "kde"       : "http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=%d",
    "xfce"      : "http://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=%d"
    }

projects_emblems = {
    "ubuntu"    : "https://launchpadlibrarian.net/9608570/ubuntu_emblem.png",
    "debian"	: "http://www.debian.org/favicon.ico",
    "gnome"     : "https://launchpadlibrarian.net/11396521/gnome.png",
    "kde"       : "https://launchpadlibrarian.net/7101115/klogo-official-crystal-14.png",
    "xfce"      : "https://launchpadlibrarian.net/4040580/mouse.png"
    }

def NoProjectSelectedException(Exception):
    """
    The macro raises an instance of this exception
    when the argument doesn't contain any project
    valid name.
    """
    def __init__(self, message):
        """
        Default __init__ method.
        """
        Exception.__init__(self, message)

def args_to_dict(args):
    """
    This method converts a string in a dictionary.
    It uses project's name (if valid) as key, and
    a list of bug ids as value.
    For example:

    The call:

    args_to_dict("gnome 3 4 6 ubuntu 1 9 6 kde 7 xfce")

    returns:

    {'kde': [7], 'xfce': [], 'gnome': [3, 4, 6], 'ubuntu': [1, 9, 6]}
    """
    args_dict = dict()
    project_selected = None
    for i in projects.keys():
        args_dict[i] = list()
    if args:
        args_list = args.split()
        for cur in args_list:
            if cur in projects.keys():
                project_selected = cur
            elif project_selected != None:
                try:
                    args_dict[project_selected].append(int(cur))
                except ValueError:
                    raise ValueError, u"Carattere non valido, i bug devono essere indicati con numeri interi: %s"
            else:
                raise NoProjectSelectedException, u"Nessun progetto selezionato per i bug elencati: %s"
    return args_dict

def execute(macro,args):
    """
    Execute method. It formats and returns
    the result.
    """
    request=macro.request
    formatter=macro.formatter
    result=""
    try:
        args_dict = args_to_dict(args)
    except ValueError, e:
        raise ValueError(e.message % args)
    except NoProjectSelectedException, e:
        raise NoProjectSelectedException(e.message % args)
    for i in args_dict.keys(): # i = current project
        for j in args_dict[i]: # j = current bug id
            result += u'<img src="%s" />' % projects_emblems[i]
            # result+='<img src="https://launchpadlibrarian.net/7094128/launchpad-icon.png" /> '
            # result+=formatter.url(on=1,url="http://launchpad.net/bugs/%s" % i)
            result+=formatter.url(on=1,url=projects[i] % j)
            result+=u"#%d" % j
            result+=formatter.url(on=0)
            result+=" "
    return result

Just like all wiki macros, it gets a string and returns a formatted output, in according with a specific model: input string contains projects’ names and lists of related bugs’ ids, then the output will be an HTML line containing the project emblem, followed by bugtracker links.

The correct syntax is:

[[Bug(project1 bug_id_1 project2 bug_id_1 bug_id_2 project3 bug_id_1 bug_id_2 bug_id_3)]]

Isn’t it easy? There aren’t separators, you need to remember that bugs ids refer to the first previous project (the ids order isn’t important). In case of error, depending by its kind, one of two exceptions will raise.

If you would have an example, open an Ubuntu-It wiki page in text mode and insert this:

Bug segnalati: [[Bug(ubuntu 68 3 5 gnome 21 kde 9 xfce 8 debian 76)]]

That’s the result of the previous example:

That’s all!

One more thing: I would bring to your attention the Ubuntu Italian Documentation Team bazaar branch, where you can find the source code of all our MoinMoin mods.

I’m Alessio and this is “Everybody lies“, my personal blog (yes, I’m an House M.D. fan) where you should find any kind of information about me and my projects.

For more information about my activities in Ubuntu, visit my wiki homepage.