A. Technical Information

A..1 Locations of configuration files

A..2 Details of how Sidious boots

There are four ways that Sidious Linux can boot. All use the same init=/etc/initrc Bourne shell script as the starting point after the kernel is loaded.

A..2.1 kernel-root

When the root filesystem is a type supported by the Sidious kernel (without modules), then it can be the filesystem mounted by the kernel as root. Currently, support is built-in for:

• cramfs
• ext2

Additionally, the `` -smp'' kernel supports NFS and XFS. (The standard kernel cannot mount XFS directly and must load XFS from a module.)

This method of booting is best suited for configurations with low memory and/or low disk space. It is configured by running LILO with the right root= option, and no initrd option. /etc/initrc detects that mode 1 is being used by seeing that the root file system is not a RAM disk. If it is a RAM disk, then one of the other two boot methods is being used:

A..2.2 pivot-root

For laptops, there are problems with the first booting method, which can be solved by using an initial RAM disk (initrd) as the original root filesystem mounted by the kernel. A script inside the the initial RAM disk (/etc/initrc) then loads kernel support for the desired root filesystem and mounts it for you. This is described in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/initrd.txt. The advantages are:

• Allows a single kernel to be used, along with modules packed into the initrd image for various filesystem support. These filesystems are currently supported by the initrd image:
  • xfs
  • nfs
  • iso9660

  The required module(s) are automatically loaded depending on the setting of SIDIOUS_ROOTFS in /etc/sidious.config (NOTE: it is the /etc/sidious.config in the initrd that matters here!)

• Allows special mount options to be passed to the root filesystem, such as `` noatime'' or `` osyncisdsync'' for XFS. (It is often not possible to add these options with "remount" after mounting.) Laptops need `` noatime'' to help the disk spin down more often.

• If needed, a filesystem could be checked before it is even mounted for the first time at boot (this would require the proper fsck tools to be installed in the initrd image.)

• Several options for a root filesystem can be tested in sequence by the /etc/initrc. The set of options tried depends on the options enabled when the initrd was created (from the Sidious 8 tree.) As the machine boots, the initrd image is mounted on /initrd/ with the loop device, so it is possible to change the (real) root device without re-running LILO. Be careful when editing anything in /initrd/.

A..2.3 initrd-root

Similar to pivot-root, except the root filesystem stays the initial RAM disk. If the /etc/initrc script finds no suitable root partition, it drops to an interactive bash shell. This is usually used for installation or rescue floppies.

A..2.4 nfs-root

If the "NFS-Root Server" option is enabled on another Sidious host, any number of disk-less clients on the same subnet can boot sharing the same root filesystem as the server. The boot procedure follows these steps:

• Ethernet boot PROM (or a small program on an etherboot floppy for your specific network card) initializes the ethernet card and makes a broadcast request to find the NFS-Root Server's DHCP server. The server assigns an IP address and gives the filename of a Linux kernel image modified with the mknbi-linux program.
• Kernel is obtained from the same host which answered the DHCP request using tftp.
• Hostname, nfsroot, and IP parameters are placed on kernel's command line (/proc/cmdline) and the kernel is booted.
• /etc/initrc is the first process, and booting continues as usual. Root is always mounted READ-ONLY in this case.

A..2.5 Detailed sequence for pivot-root method

1. The PC BIOS loads LILO from one of three places:
   • Master boot record of first IDE or SCSI hard drive.
   • Floppy image boot record on CDROM ("eltorito" CD-boot.)
   • Floppy boot record from real floppy
   Modern PC BIOSes support all three of these modes.

2. LILO loads and executes the secondary boot loader. The location on the filesystem at lilo-install time is: /boot/boot.b

3. LILO maps an EXT2 ramdisk image (compressed for floppies). The location on the filesystem at lilo-install time is: /boot/kernel-sidious.initrd

   This image contains modules for several kernel versions at once. It must contain XFS modules if they are not part of the kernel. The other important thing on this image is the /etc/sidious.config file which contains SIDIOUS_ROOT*.

4. LILO maps a modular kernel and boots the kernel. The location on the filesystem at install time is: /boot/kernel-2.4.xxx

5. Kernel uncompresses itself and boots.

6. Kernel starts built-in drivers, EXT2 and initrd must be supported.

7. Kernel copies the mapped version of /boot/initrd.img -> /dev/rd/0, automatically uncompressing it if needed.

8. Kernel frees original copy of initrd and mounts /dev/rd/0 as root.

9. Kernel starts ``init'', process ID 1. As specified by LILO, this is the sh script /etc/initrc located inside the RAM disk.

10. /etc/initrc reads configuration from /etc/sidious.config. This is the central point for most settings in Sidious Linux. The reconfig utility provides an easy way to change settings inside this file.

11. /etc/initrc starts the devfsd, which manages the /dev/ directory and creates links with conventional names for Linux devices, like `` /dev/hda1'' for the first hard disk partition.

12. /etc/initrc looks for the real root partition and mounts it on /new-root.

13. /etc/initrc then uses the ``pivot_root'' system call to make /new-root the new "/" and the original root directory becomes "/initrd/".

14. /etc/initrc looks for the /boot/kernel-sidious.initrd file, and if it is uncompressed and the loop driver is supported in the Kernel, then it unmounts /dev/rd/0 from /initrd and mounts the initrd file on /initrd. /dev/rd/0 originally came from the initrd, so the contents are still the same, but changes to sidious.config (which lives inside initrd) and other files in /initrd/ will be remembered on reboot. (NOTE: This is now pretty useless, because all of the settings that a user would want to change are now in /etc/sidious.config, not /initrc/etc/sidious.config which only affects the very early booting steps.)

15. /sbin/init is run by /etc/initrc. init is configured by /etc/inittab.

A..2.6 Booting Bugs

• devfsd complains that "events have been lost" because it is started too late in the boot process?

A..3 BIOS Settings for specific machines

In general, if a machine has a ``Plug-and-Play OS'' option in its BIOS menu, this should be turned off. Windows should work fine either way, and Linux will have a better chance of booting with all your peripherals correctly configured if you turn this OFF.

A..3.1 BIOS Settings for Dell Precision 210s and 410s

Time: and Date: (set clock to UNIVERSAL TIME ... try "date -u")

Diskette Drive A:   3.5 inch, 1.44 MB
Diskette Drive B:     Not Installed

Drives:
Primary   Type Cyls Hds  Pre   LZ Sec Size
 Drive 0: Auto (only if present, otherwise machine boots slowly!)
 Drive 1: Auto (only if present, otherwise machine boots slowly!)
Secondary
 Drive 0: Auto (only if present, otherwise machine boots slowly!)
 Drive 1: Auto (only if present, otherwise machine boots slowly!)

  Reserved Memory:        None
        CPU Speed:       XXX MHz
         Num Lock:        On
             ACPI:        Off
Chassis Intrusion:    Not Detected
Thermal Power-off:      Enabled
  Video DAC Snoop:        Off

  Keyboard Errors:    Do Not Report (otherwise won't boot w/o keyboard)
  System Password:     Not Enabled
  Password Status:      Unlocked
    Boot Sequence:   Device List (press Ctrl + -> to edit list)
                              Diskette Drive A:
                              PXE (if it is there at all, put it here.)
                              CD-ROM device
                              Hard drive C:
   Setup Password:     Not Enabled
    Auto Power On:    Disabled  00:00
 Power Management:      Disabled
    Wakeup On LAN:       Off

            Sound:       On
              NIC:       On (Don't select On/PXE off or netboot won't work!)
            Mouse:       On
    Serial Port 1:       Auto
    Serial Port 2:       Auto
    Parallel Port:       378h
    Parallel Mode:       PS/2
    IDE Hard Disk:       Auto
         Diskette:       Auto
          Speaker:       On
(not on 210s)SCSI: Primary & Secondary (Slows booting, but won't hurt)

A..3.2 BIOS Settings for Dell Precision 610s and 420s

System Time ....................................... (Set to UTC "date -u")
System Date ....................................... (Set to UTC "date -u")

Diskette Drive A: ................................. 3.5 inch, 1.44 MB
(except for the fundware machine, which is "Not Installed")
Diskette Drive B: ................................. Not Installed
Zip Floppy Support ................................ Disabled

Primary Drive 0 ................................... Auto
Primary Drive 1 ................................... Auto or OFF
Secondary Drive 0 ................................. Auto or OFF
Secondary Drive 1 ................................. Auto or OFF


Boot Sequence ..................................... (Press enter ->)
    1. Diskette drive (if present)
    2. CD-ROM device
    3. Hard drive C:

System Memory ..................................... (Whatever it says)
CPU Information ................................... (Press enter ->)
                     CPU Speed .................... Normal

Integrated Devices ................................ (Press enter ->)
                     Sound ........................ On
                     Network Interfae Controller... On
                     SCSI Controllers.............. On
                     Mouse Port.................... On
                     USB Emulation................. Off
                     Serial Port 1................. Auto
                     Serial Port 2................. Auto
                     Parallel Port................. (Press enter again! ->)
                                Mode............... PS/2
                                I/O Address........ 378h
                     IDE Interface................. Auto
                     Diskette Interface............ Auto
                     PC Speaker.................... On
                     Primary Video Controller...... AGP
                     Video DAC Snoop............... Off
PCI IRQ Assignment (Yikes!) ....................... (Don't mess with this)
System Security ................................... (Don't enable this)

Keyboard NumLock .................................. On
Report Keyboard Errors ............................ Do Not Report

Auto Power On ..................................... Disabled
Remote Wake Up .................................... Off
AC Power Recovery ................................. Last

A..4 I-Opener stuff

A..4.1 I-Opener CPU core voltage settings

Look for ``SW4'' on the motherboard next to the CPU socket.

pos:
  2  1  V
 ---------
  0  0  2.0
  0  1  2.2
  1  0  2.6
  1  1  2.8

When upgrading from a Rise MP6 (2.8V core) to AMD K6-III (2.2V core) you need to flip SW4 position 2 to the other side. Then boot immediately into the BIOS setup and double that it is reporting the correct voltage for your CPU before allowing the machine to run for extended periods!

A..4.2 I-Opener BIOS settings

STANDARD CMOS SETUP

  Date: (Preferably, set these to Universal Time (UTC)
  Time:  othwerise see the CMOS_CLOCK setting in sidious.conf)

  Drive C : Auto ... ... Auto
  Drive D : Auto ... ... Auto
  Drive A : None
  Drive B : None
  Video   : EGA/VGA
  Halt on : All, but Keyboard

BIOS FEATURES SETUP

  Virus Warning           : Disabled
  CPU Internal Cache      : Enabled
  External Cache          : Disabled
  Quick Power On          : Disabled
  Boot Sequence           : C only
  Swap Floppy Drive       : Disabled
  Boot Up Floppy Seek     : Disabled
  Boot Up NumLock Status  : Off
  Gate A20 Option         : Fast
  Memory Parity/ECC Check : Disabled
  Typematic Rate Setting  : Disabled
                 Rate     : 6
                 Delay    : 250
  Security Option         : Setup
  PCI/VGA Palette Snoop   : Disabled
  OS Select for DRAM>64MB : Non-OS2
  All Shadow Settings     :*Disabled*

CHIPSET FEATURES SETUP

  DRAM Timing             : SDRAM 10ns
  SDRAM Cycle Length      :*2*
  DRAM Read Pipeline      : Enabled
  Sustained 3T Write      : Enabled
  Cache R/WPU W Pipeline  : Enabled
  CPU Timing              : Fast
  Video BIOS Cacheable    : Enabled
  System BIOS Cacheable   : Enabled
  Memory Hole             : Disabled
  Init Display First      : PCI Slot
  Framebuffer Size        : 8MB
  AGP Aperture Size       : 64MB
  OnChip USB              : Enabled
  USB Keyboard Support    : Disabled

POWER MANAGEMENT SETUP

  Power Management        : User Define
  PM Control by APM       :*Yes*
  Video Off method        :*DPMS*
  Video Off After         :*NA*
  Modem IRQ               : 3
  Doze Mode               :*Disable*
  Suspend Mode            :*Disable* (breaks pegasus driver)
  HDD Power Down          : 4 Min
  Soft-Off by PWRTBTN     : Instant-Off
  PWRON After PW-Fail     : Former-Sts
     ** PM Events **
  VGA                     : OFF
  LPT & COM               : NONE
  HDD & FDD               : OFF
  PCI Master              : OFF
  RTC Alarm Resume        : Disabled
  Modem Ring Resume       : Disabled
  Primary INTR            : OFF
( IRQ3 ... IRQ15          : P P P D P D S S S P P P D ... not displayed)

PNP/PCI CONFIGURATION

  Resources Controller by : Auto
  Reset Config Data       : Disabled

  CPU to PCI Write Buffer : Enabled
  PCI Dynamic Bursting    : Enabled
  PCI Master 0 WS Write   : Enabled
  PCI Delay Transaction   : Enabled
  PCI#2 Access #1 Retry   : Enabled
  AGP Master 1 WS Write   : Enabled
  AGP Master 1 WS Read    : Disabled

  Assign IRQ For USB      : Enabled
  Assign IRQ For VGA      : Enabled

INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS

  OnChip IDE Channel0     : Enabled
  IDE Prefetch Mode       : Enabled
  IDE HDD Block Mode      : Enabled
  Primary Master PIO      : Auto
  Primary Slave PIO       : Auto

  Onboard FDD Controller  : Disabled
  Onboard Serial Port 1   : Auto
  Onboard Serial Port 2   : Auto
  UART 2 Mode             : Standard

  Onboard Parallel Port   : 378/IRQ7
  Onboard Parallel Mode   : Normal (not optimal?)

A..4.3 I-Opener Keyboard mappings

Key symbols for loadkeys from the I-Opener keyboard.

59-68 Back -> Print
87 Hangup
88 Home
127 Blank Key
125 Pizza
110 Prev
107 Next
102 Help
111 Delete
104 PgUp
109 PgDn

A..5 Detailed Changes for Sidious 9.x

Read the ``Release Notes'' for a higher-level view of what's different.

Changes in Sidious 9.39

• Upgraded ``make'' from 3.79.1 to 3.80 (caution: it actually uses your PATH variable properly now!)
• 2.6 Kernel support: upgraded modutils (now 3.1), wireless-tools (v27), and made minimal hacks on /sbin/hotplug so it supports loading of firmware for centrino 2200 wireless.
• /usr/wm/bin/start-fvwm script uses modprobe, and try intel-agp, also for 2.6 compat.
• /usr/audio/bin/soundstart script modprobes one driver at a time for 2.6 compat.
• In /etc/initrc, only start ``update'' for 2.2 kernels. Mount /sys/ for 2.6 kernels.
• In /etc/rc.d/rc.reconfig, create modprobe.conf (for 2.6) and include in modules.conf.
• Included hacked-for-2.6 vmnet and vmmon src in /usr/local/lib/vmware/modules/source/ but they are not the default!
• Stop nscd with nscd -K to prevent core files in /.
• Fix gpm bug causing mouse scroll wheel to go only in one direction.
• Correct dev= syntax for cdrecord to detect CD/DVD capabilities.
• Wait for smbd and nmbd to shut down properly before restarting.
• Added Package Install/Remove/Upgrade to /upgrade-sidious script for things like Open Office, Xine, Gimp, Wine, alternate compilers.
• Installed dialog-1.0 for use by /upgrade-sidious (before it relied on the old krusty one from teTeX.)
• Fixed ispell.el version in old emacs 19.34.
• initrc now mounts /dev/pts/ if a 2.6 kernel is being used. Should really figure out how ``udev'' works since DEVFS since seems to be DOA.
• xosview: Don't try to display diskmeter for 2.6 kernel (it is no longer in /proc/stat - need to find new location) and accept either bat0 or bat1.
• Fixed ``mplayer -ao nas2''. Now, if AUDIOSERVER is set to a valid machine, mplayer will automatically use network audio even if you are not root.
• Upgraded bidwatcher to 1.3.16 to fix e-bay breakage.
• Added uudeview-0.5.20.
• Patched ``mount LABEL='' so it works with RAID-1 (instead of failing and complaining about duplicate labels.)
• rc.inet needed to set ``dummy'' to 0.0.0.0, not just take it down. (Otherwise, rc.firewall was still seeing its address.)
• The dhclient-script now inserts local nameservers 2nd in the list, after the first nameserver provided by dhclient. Some dhcp servers are setting as many as three of their own nameservers and then for some reason glibc ignores our own 127.0.0.1 as the fourth.
• Added a call to ghostscript in ljfilter, if it sees PostScript. The ``POSTSCRIPT'' option can be added in printcap if you really have a PostScript printer. 600 dpi is hardcoded for now.
• Increase priority of gpm and only kill it just before restarting (so mouse doesn't freeze for entire rc.reconfig time period.)
• Allow mii-watch to be run on any interface, not just eth0.
• Load ``LOG'' chain for mac-address filtering even when other logging option has been turned off in rc.firewall.
• Add call to rc.ddns from rc.firewall, if called with -ddns.
• Added via82cxxx_audio (in case the alsa one fails) and via-rhine ethernet support.
• Fixed mii-watch so it handles both link up and down events, re-running rc.inet for each.
• Made start-fvwm actually obey the SIDIOUS_X_CVS option instead of always falling back on the CVS server.
• Install GNU units version 1.81.
• Install Window Manger ctwm-3.5.2.
• Upgrade ntfsprogs. This includes a version of ntfsresize that is safe to use even if Windows has not defragmented.
• Auto-detect pcnet32 for VMWare ethernet.
• Added mmsclient for downloading mms:// URLs from Web sites.
• Added log rotation script for /var/log/messages and compression for /var/log/warnings if it gets too big.
• Fix bug in hcp http downloader timeout-retry behavior.
• Prevent parse error from occuring in start-fvwm if XFree86 VideoRam reconfig setting was put at AutoDetect.
• Added sis900 to auto-detected PCI ethernets.
• Use SIDIOUS_FW_DHCPD_* in dhcpd startup because iptables firewall does nothing to block dhcpd traffic.
• Mozilla 1.7 (still no Java or Flash.)
• Replaced Netscape with WWW icon.
• Added 1280x960 selection to fixed X display sizes.
• Fix vmware-config.pl so it looks for kgcc first. This allows 2.4.19 builds to still work.
• 2.4.2x kernel has broken sbp2 scsi-rescanning. Modify /etc/initrc to force new ieee1394 CDROM devices to be recognized.
• Always allow relaying from 192.168.* and 127.0.0.*, not just 127.0.0.1.
• Added WIFI status meter to xosview.
• Cosmetic changes to /etc/initrc startup script.
• In rc.autofs, load lockd and nfsd when automounter is started.
• DHCPD: Added function to start dhcpd to rc.functions (dhcpd is now [re]started by rc.inet, and rc.nfsd for backward compatibility.) The dhcpd itself has been modified to not fail as long as it managed to attach to at least one network interface. (Default behavior when no explicit i/f's were given on the command line was to exit if any broadcast-capable i/f doesn't have a section in the dhcpd.conf.) Also added possibility to encapsulate dhcpd.conf if desired. (Old way, with dhcpd.conf.hostname, still works too.)
• Added basic MAC/IP/Hostname settings used by dhcpd and named. (As an alternative to manually creating full dhcpd.conf and named zone files to do the same thing.)
• For modular kernels, also try usb-ohci if usb-uhci didn't work.
• Installed vsftpd-1.2.2.
• Re-built slamrmo module (for HP-DEC's PCI modem card) and made the ppp script quiet if it fails to find that type of modem.
• Added sidious-alt, sidious-acpi, and sidious-noacpi to CD boot menu. Some systems may need alternate kernel options to boot with all peripherals working.
• Fixed /sbin/hotplug umask option so /mnt/usb can be read by normal users.

Changes in Sidious 9.38d

• Made ncurses5 the new default instead of ncurses4.
• Make the latest /etc/group get onto the CD release.
• Added possibility to use TCP with nfsd.o (-si4 kernel only).
• Once again, fixed brokenness of md.o as a module for raid installs.

Changes in Sidious 9.38c

• hcp 1.1 to 1.2 - made it HTTP/1.1 compliant and added a re-try feature.
• Fix bug in dillo.wrapper preventing cookies from working.
• Fixed swsusp self-recovery from corrupted swap partitions (old ``noresume'' option needed to be ``noresume2'' in lilo.conf.)
• Upgraded to gphoto 2.1.4.
• Increased delay that initrc waits before starting from 3 to 6 seconds hoping that it will reduce the chances of odd crashes I've been seeing when USB devices are connected on startup (2.4.26 kernel.)
• Added missing hsf modem drivers in 2.4.26-si4 kernel.
• Deleted typo in reconfig.in that caused cd-booter to fail.
• PCMCIA cleanup in initrc: remove ide-cs (new name) instead of ide_cs.
• Do not complain when ``chattr -R +S /etc /boot'' is not supported.
• Updates to ``Bugs'' section in the manual.

Changes in Sidious 9.38

• Compacted the python installation a bit. If it is re-installed, consider re-running /usr/local/lib/python-compact.sh before creating a CD. The difference should be about 10 MB on the CD.
• Added encapsulated httpd.conf. Apache startup itself must still be done from rc.local with apachectl start/startssl.
• Made /sbin/hotplug only ignore ``net'' events during boot-up (because the startup scripts will find the network interface and bring up the interface in the foreground.) Other hotplug events during boot-up are now delayed, and run after /etc/rc.d/rc.boot touches the file /var/run/booted.
• Upgraded xfsprogs to version 2.6.10. This should cure some of the problems that mkfs used to have with some SCSI and/or RAID configurations.
• Don't log warnings about netbios attempts on firewall.
• Changed ide_cs.o to ide-cs.o to match change made in kernels. Unapplied previous patch on pcmcia-cs-3.2.7-si so that it finally uses the name ide-cs.o now.
• Try yenta_socket.o in case kernel-pcmcia is being used.
• In initrc, do ``chattr -R +S /etc /boot'' (synchronous writes by XFS) to minimize chances of corrupting critical boot and configuration files.
• Have lilo22 automatically execv() lilo21 if it detects an old boot sector.
• Upgraded dhclient from 2.0 to 2.0pl5 for security upgrade (and it also sets the source IP to 0.0.0.0 now, or whatever it is that's necessary to work with the firewall (and hopefully, some cable modems.)
• Moved the old krusty libz.a and zlib.h from XFree86 out of the way. Rebuilt 1.1.3 with static also, so libz.a matches zlib.h!
• New option in reconfig for firewall to enter a list of ``trusted'' IP addresses, and then choose which services to allow for hosts in the list.
• Added separate tftpd startup option to reconfig (for hosts that are not NFS root servers, but want to serve /tftpboot/.) Matching firewall options added too.
• In /etc/initrc, put /tmp/ cleanup in background or else it can seriously delay booting on machines configured with a real tmp dir (i.e., those not using tmpfs.) The problem is compounded on IDE disks by the fact that the tmp cleanup starts before IDE DMA is turned on.
• Added subversion-1.0.1, python-2.3.3, trac-0.6, and httpd-2.0.49 (Apache version 2.)
• Upgraded BerkeleyDB to version 4.2.52 + 2 patches.
• Fixed minor but annoying bug in reconfig that left some module related options on unless you ran reconfig a second time (happened when switching from a ``-si'' to a ``-smp'' kernel.)
• /etc/initrc wasn't setting up /var/lib - broke samba unless NFS or X11 had started (which also sets up /var/lib.)
• Fixed the network audio server, nasd, so it only opens the sound device as write-only. That way, a TV recording can proceed at the same time as playback from the nasd.
• Minor upgrades to mplayer, mencoder, tvr versions.
• Added rarpd, and an encapsulated /etc/ethers to go along with it.
• Fixed sluggish/frozen mouse pointer on net-boot clients when network is slow/down. GPM no longer opens/closes /dev/console on each and every mouse event. It does it only when a switch to a new VT has been detected.
• Temporarily (re)run the firewall before doing a DHCP request. A better (faster) solution might be to keep the previous IP whenever a previous firewall is in place. Without one of these fixes, the firewall blocked outgoing DHCP requests since the current IP on eth0 no longer matched the firewall rules.
• Made vaiojogd close /dev/mixer when it isn't adjusting the volume so that sound driver can be unloaded without stopping vaiojogd.
• Added lance.o PCNet driver for VMWare. Also added BusLogic.o SCSI driver for VMWare 4 SCSI virtual disk images.
• Added a setuid executable replacement for ``mailq'' that allows users in group mailq to look at the sendmail queues.
• Do not kill rpm-httpd unless a new one is being started.
• Recompiled sshd 1.2.31 on a host with a mail spool so that MAIL_SPOOL_DIRECTORY got configured correctly.
• Fixed sendmail smrsh so it works with the IFS= .forward example given in the procmail manual. Also fixed sendmail feature startup so it looks in /usr/sbin/ for smrsh, where it got installed.
• Upgraded awk from 3.0.2 to 3.1.3 and enabled experiment switch-statement support.
• Fixed bug in meteor TV card driver that triggered a reset if it was opened twice.
• Switched back to alsa driver as the preferred driver for i810 audio chipsets. The OSS driver driver resets to 48 KHz on a recording that is in progress if you start playback at the same time. It also has major problems with suspend. ALSA seems much better.
• Suspend: 2.4 Kernel does not support ability to REJECT a system suspend request. Updated apmd to handle this correctly, and also a patch from Debian, which resumes right away if a suspend request returns EBUSY.
• Suspend: Provided reconfig option to halt machine in cases where suspend is not possible (because a driver is tied up, for example.)
• Cron+suspend: When determining if the machine is idle for suspending, assume not-idle whenever there is a cron job scheduled to happen within 10 minutes (``croncheck'' program.)
• Cron+suspend: Added reconfig option to reboot machine into -noacpi kernel if RTC alarm is pending at time of suspend.
• Cron: Rather than disabling the ``crontab'' command for root completely, always allow ``crontab -l'' to work, and even allow editing to work if the crontab is no an encapsulated file.
• Added XF86 VideoRam option to reconfig for specifying the amount of AGP graphics memory.
• Upgraded samba to 2.2.8a (security fixes) and installed it in /usr instead of /usr/local.
• Moved SDL libraries from /usr/local/lib/ to /usr/X11R6/lib/.
• Switched /sbin/fsck back to the one which came with EXT2.
• Fixed broken ray_cs driver (at least, it wasn't talking to 802.11 cards running with the older driver anymore.)
• Deleted bogus */asm/* entries from linux-2.4.19-si6-swsusp16a.patch.gz.
• Answering machine/fax: Added toll-saver feature and beep signal when message is waiting.
• Upgraded RPM to 3.17 (vmrpm voicemail support, statserv support).
• Removed the "keep" line from modules.conf that was causing modprobe to waste time searching a bunch of irrelevant paths.
• Added '-p' option to rpc.statd to allow fixing port for firewall.
• Initial search for root filesystem tweaked in /etc/initrc.
• Documentation updates.
• Installed ``aalib'' (ascii art library.)
• Remove all old encapsulated files before extracting new ones in rc.reconfig. (Otherwise, it was impossible to remove an encapsulated file without manually removing it from /var.)
• Fixed md.o RAID module for 2.4.19-si6 (CDROM) kernel.
• Fixed a typo in the new netscape/mozilla wrapper script.
• Removed some dead symlinks.
• Unload usb-storage.o before checking partition list in /sbin/hotplug script. Then re-load it, and try to determine which ``scsi'' partitions are associated with the device which was just plugged in.
• The old plusb.o module is apparently called usbnet.o now. Changed reconfig.in to reflect this, so it works with 2.4.19 kernels.
• Added /sbin/dma on command to speed up CDROM installations on machines we know have working DMA support (most of them do!)
• rsync-sidious script improvement: Looks for rsync-wrapper in the directory where rsync-sidious was found (does not allow rsync-sidious to be run from PATH.)

Changes in Sidious 9.36

• Try iLink CDROM boot before loading PCMCIA so that the real cardmgr can access wireless (orinoco_cs module) on Vaio SR99K.
• Moved root crond, ioledd, and vaiojogd startup later, so it happens in rc.reconfig and can be changed without rebooting.
• Leave agpgart loaded rather than trying to unload it in case the X-Server didn't want to use it (there was a race condition with attempting to unload it.) If you don't need this module, don't select it in reconfig, or just ignore it.
• Upgraded busybox from 0.51 to 0.60.5 and included ash and modutils.
• Minor fix-ups to /etc scripts to make them ash-compatible.
• Upgraded network audio server and library to nas-1.6.
• Made -upgrade option to /rsync-sidious handle ``set -'' in the /etc/rsync-upgrade file properly.
• Added option to choose FVWM toolbar buttons with reconfig.
• Upgraded tar for large files and bzip2 support.
• Added xset dpms force on in fvwm.xsession to make sure monitor is active.
• Fixed mis-match with LessTif libraries (libXm.so.2 was 2.1 while default include files and libXm.so were 2.0.)
• Fixed problem with C++ programs that referenced libstdc++.so directly (made it a link to the latest version instead of 272.)
• Added audio server to firewall options.
• Took away unneeded setgid permission from /usr/bin/make.
• Made /etc/apm_proxy change between runlevels 2 and 3 for suspend and resume (the only result being a stamp is placed in ``last -x'' for now, but more actions to do on a suspend/resume could now be added to /etc/inittab.)
• Installed LVM utilities (1.0.7).
• Made xosview not reflect loopback or dummy traffic.
• Installed CVS version of libpcap, which finally compiles now.
• Installed ALSA 0.9.4 and replaced 0.5.0 headers in /usr/include with the new API. MPlayer rebuilt with ``alsa9'' support, including hwac3 passthrough support for digital receivers.
• Make XTest extension in the XServer switch consoles if necessary when an XTest event comes in.
• Made XTest extension in the XServer touch the virtual console device when events come in, so apmd knows not to blank the monitor.
• Made apmd and xosview read ACPI status less often (reduces CPU use).
• Set up /etc/apmd_proxy /etc/initrc and /etc/lilo.conf so that things automatically recover from corrupted swap partitions (software-suspend single processor laptop kernel ONLY.)
• Group 100 (users) removed from the stock /etc/group.
• New DVD utilities dvd+rw-tools, libdvdread, dvdauthor, cdrdao.
• Upgraded cdrecord and mkisofs (cdrtools-2.0).
• Acroread upgraded to version 5.
• Recompiled libpgplot.so so it automatically includes png support. (Otherwise users must add -lpng -lz.)
• Modified crond so that if it is started by a regular user, it looks for crontabs by hostname in ~/crontabs/. (Instead of crontabs by username in /etc/cron/crontabs/.)
• Added e1000 and syskonnect to the auto-detected NICs in initrc.
• Installed share_pi and mirror-shadow scripts in /usr/local/bin/.
• Added setting for NR_OPEN (hardcoded to 16384 for CFHT.)
• Installed libfitstcl.so.
• Answering machine/FAX updates from Sidious8.
• DHCP script: insert DHCP nameservers before static ones.
• PPP script: insert PPP nameservers before static ones so they get tried first.
• PPP script: allow PCMCIA to pass in location of /dev/modem if it knows where the modem is.
• Added delay to autoterm before attempting terminal detection. Characters typed are still eaten. The only way to avoid this is to set COLORTERM=rxvt in your .ssh/environment.
• Added sdf (scripted-df utility).
• Daemons: made gpm, apmd, vaiojogd daemonize properly (fixes problem of not being able to close an ssh session properly after running a reconfig over the connection.)
• Sendmail: start second queue runner for clientmqueue. Set SMART_HOST (in addition to MAIL_HUB) if central mail hub is turned on. (One affects local address, the other affects non-local.)
• Use ``nscd -K'' to shut down nscd and avoid core files.
• Increased number of rsh connections per minute allowed by inetd (see inetd.conf.) Also upgraded inetd to one from netkit-0.17, though no problems were discovered with the older version.
• New 2.4.19 kernel tree.
  • XFS Release 1.2
  • Integrated e100 and e1000 drivers from 2.4.20 tree.
  • ACPI for newer laptop BIOSes that have no APM support.
  • Supermount patch for auto-mounting CDs, floppies, and flash.
  • Several SCSI and IDE messages raised to KERN_ERR so that they can be sorted easily in syslog.conf.
• Fixed rsync so -bwlimit works and IO errors are detected properly.
• ``reconfig'' now checks for an existing /var/sidious.config first, and makes sure it also gets removed when changes are successfully saved to /etc/sidious.config.
• Don't tell dhclient to check firewall unless it is up.
• Calculate core file limit correctly in rc.reconfig for systems with more than 2GB of RAM.
• Fully installed samba stuff (so now smbmount works, codepage junk is in /usr/local/lib, and lots of docs are there now.)
• Switched from xntpd3 to xntpd4.
• Made PPP script actually use MODEM_DEV, so that Lucent software modems work.
• Changed some noisy automount messages to LOG_DEBUG.
• Rebuilt ``sox'' with ossdsp support and set mailcap up so that netscape uses it to play audio/wav.
• Added missing .fvwm-include example to the manual.
• Made apmd notice USB keyboard/mouse as console activity.
• Fix broken gpm mode with dual mice where both were type ``imps2''. In repeater mode, gpm would overwrite members in a shared structure and unless both your mice behaved identically, bad things would happen when switching between the two.
• Do not suspend on dead battery if on AC! (/etc/apmd_proxy fixed.)
• Added option to ppp script to specify the term serv command to start ppp.
• Added ximtool, xgterm, and whatever else is in the x11iraf package.
• Added gftp graphical FTP client.
• Upgraded gphoto2 to version 2.1.0 (breaks gpcom.)
• Added restart on HUP to gpm, and added automatic 3-button emulation (chord) which doesn't suck. (Delay motion events when waiting to see if a click is going to be a chord or not, so that highlight and dragging operations react properly.) Turned off X's 3-button emulation.
• Added the XEmacs ``vc'' version control package.
• Fixed ``eject'' (and many other programs which rely on the links /dev/cdrom or /dev/dvd existing.)
• Added reconfig options to supermount the floppy and CD.
• Upgraded sysklogd package to 1.4.1 (old klogd was crashing sometimes if no kernel symbols were loaded from a System.map file.)
• Sendmail seems to insist on using a queue no matter what you tell it. Even sendmails started in synchronous mode must have a -q option or they could possibly end up storing stuff in the queue directory and never looking at it again.
• Added support for multiple DNS zone files in the sidious.config.
• Allow non-root user to have access to /dev/rtc up to 1024Hz (for mplayer).
• Installed alsa-0.5 client libraries.
• Added unclutter, a useful little X utility that hides the mouse cursor when it is not in use.
• Enabled xkb X Keyboard extension (/var/lib/xkb was missing on X-Server startup) so that ALT keys will work.
• Upgraded mount to the one in util-linux-2.11u and added patch to make ``intr'' and ``nolock'' the defaults for NFS (autofs overrides these as necessary, but it is non-standard.)
• If NVdriver is missing or fails to load for some reason, then automatically fall back on the standard nv.o driver for XFree86.
• Fixed gcc's specs file -static works without needing to add -lnss junk.
• Installed NAS, the network audio server that NCDs use.
• Fixed xman size and installed groff properly (some symlinks were needed.)
• Added CFHT-site specific stuff to /usr/wm.
• Improved autoterm so it detects xterm, rxvt, and linux console correctly. Made it set both icon name and titlebar. Added a call to autoterm in /etc/profile for interactive shells.
• Instead of being 1GB each, /var is now 75 is 75
• Rebuilt 2.4.19-si iptables_nat.o module to allow local NAT.
• 2.4.16 and 2.4.18 kernels are no longer touched at all by rsync-sidious. New installations only get 2.4.19. Things mostly work, but there seems to be a strange mount/XFS interaction with this kernel that was preventing piko's RAID-5 from being mounted (new mount hangs, old mount program crashes the 2.4.19 kernel.) If these problems persist for new installations, the 2.4.16-smp kernel and its modules should be copied manually.
• Removed ``ppp off'' command in rc.reboot which was causing Ethernet interface to get reconfigured each time just before machine rebooted!

Changes in 9.35 for Laptops:

• VAIO: Unload sonypi driver before suspending.
• VAIO: Added idle/active calls to apmd and apmd_proxy.
• Moved audio mixer function into rc.functions so apmd_proxy can use it to restore mixers after suspend.
• VAIO: Separate brightness settings for vaiojogd for battery and AC. (Use this to automatically dim when switching to battery power.)
• Made a ``getvt'' utility and made apmd_proxy get and restore the current VT.
• Upgraded xosview so it can get battery status from both APM and ACPI.
• Separated ``use APM to blank screen'' and ``use APM for apmd'' options.
• Upgraded conexant HSF software modem drivers for Vaio (and others).

Changes in Sidious 9.32

• Upgraded mount to the one from util-linux-2.11u (mostly just adds some reiserfs and ext3 awareness.
• Fixed reconfig choice menus so that a new option with no previous value gets saved properly (as the default) in sidious.config.
• Upgraded to pcmcia-cs-3.2.0 for laptops.
• Upgraded to xfsprogs-2.1.2 and e2fsprogs-1.25 as recommended for kernel 2.4.19.
• Fixed ``reconfig'' so it tries /etc/sidious.config.HOSTNAME first.
• Added service (on linuxconf's port actually) that allows a net-boot client to request its sidious.config to be updated (this makes it possible to run reconfig on the client.)
• Changed nsswitch.conf to look for services, protocols, rpc in ``files'' first.
• Installed a new binary release of 3dmd for 3Ware RAID cards.
• Patched nfs-utils (exportfs and mountd) so that they correctly handle an rmtab that is a real file. Previous version wrote through the link when adding entries to rmtab, but messed it up when deleting entries so it would become a normal file again.
• Moved sections in /etc/initrc for DAEMONS, SIDIOUS_UPS, and SIDIOUS_CUSTOM_ROOT_TGZ after /etc/rc.d/rc.inet is run so sidious.config settings from the network will take effect for those.
• Fix problem in ide.opts where PCMCIA CDROM wouldn't eject in all cases.
• Option to Auto-detect swap partitions if no swap entries exist in fstab.
• Re-wrote /etc/X11/xdm/GiveConsole so that start-fvwm can call it when xdm is not used, and made it change ownership of CD and DVD drives.
• Added xmcd and made it and ``cda'' (the cli player) setuid root.
• Added Conexant HSF and Lucent ``linmodem'' support to ppp script.

Changes in Sidious 9.30

• Made rsync-sidious run in three parts if low memory/initial-install.
• Added extended PS/2 mouse scroll wheel support to gpm, and correctly handle reinitialization if mouse is unplugged.
• Security: upgraded to iptables-1.2.6a, mainly for FTP fix.
• Security: Made /var/log/ only writable by root and changed start-fvwm to open Xvt*-USER.log log files before su-ing.
• Added /var/log/wtmp so that ``last'' command will work.
• Added 192.168.0 and 192.168.10 addresses to the DNS server option so that reverse/forward name lookups do not delay logins on wireless and private subnets.
• Added scaled versions of misc,100dpi,75dpi, to be tried after the :unscaled versions.
• Recompiled single processor kernel with apm, serial, iso8859, and ramfs as a modules.
• Fixed rc.inet so it can be called while it is running (usually by hotplug) and sets a flag telling the running one to just execute one more time before finishing.
• UNTESTED: Added 2.4.18-si kernel, now with wireless extensions compiled in.
• UNTESTED: Upgraded to pcmcia-3.1.34 (if you run the 2.4.18-si kernel), with orinoco driver instead of wvlan.
• Most of the ``rc'' scripts now accept a ``stop'' parameter, and will also start their service if ``start'' is given, even if the service is off in sidious.config. rc.sendmail and rc.named are now also separate scripts in /etc/rc.d/, still called from rc.inet.
• Change nobody's home directory to /var/nobody (more secure than having it in a world-writable location, /tmp).
• Use DPMS to blank the X-Server if /proc/apm does not exist.
• Added xkeycaps.
• Rebuilt devfsd with loadable module support enabled.
• Fixed mailcap so it launches realplay and xmms properly now.
• New ``profile'' selection at top of reconfig hides all of the settings we don't want to mess with at CFHT and forces them to the correct values for our site.
• New encapsulated file ``profile.local'' sourced from /etc/profile.
• Added lsof and newgrp.
• Made the default mode for vim not fully vi-compatible, so arrow keys work.
• The syslog messages from boot were still being lost for netboot clients (due to missing ``loghost'' entry in /etc/hosts at the time syslogd was started.) Syslog messages at shutdown are currently still lost since syslogd is not the last thing to die.
• Fixed APM sleep timer so it is not fooled by large time jumps due to resetting the clock from ntpdate or xntpd. (First attempt was broken, now it should work.)
• Added some login security options for sshd to reconfig.
• Added update of utmp in GiveConsole/TakeConsole scripts so who shows users that logged in from xdm.
• Fixed encapsulated /etc/hosts.equiv. Rebuilt netkit-rsh with PAM. /etc/hosts.equiv can be a symlink with PAM, but not with the ruserok() call in libc, so now an encapsulated hosts.equiv works with rlogin or anything else that you compile with PAM.
• Tuned nameserver timeouts. Especially on modem connections, too many DNS lookups were failing when they shouldn't have. Maybe now it is safe to use the nscd too.
• Added a ``nobody'' group (99) with no password.
• Added genpowerd for UPS support.
• Stop raid or make read-only before letting UPS kill the power.
• Added missing -p option to e2fsck when /tmp and /var are EXT2 filesystems (for 2.2 kernels.)
• Just in case any 2.2 kernels will be running RAIDs: added a patch to /etc/initrc that waits to enable swap space until after the resync is done. Supposedly this is not needed for 2.4.
• Fix ``init'' so it no longer kills everything on any runlevel change (I broke it by adding a ``kill -1'' a long time ago!) so now rc.shutdown.local has a chance to do stuff before all programs see the TERM signal.
• Added tight Xvnc server, x0rfbserver, x2vnc.
• Reverted rc.autofs to the RedHat 6 automount behavior: try /etc/auto.master or NIS, but not both.
• Removed system check from rc.autofs.

Changes in Sidious 9.28

• Added config option to allow ``rmtab'' to be stored on disk and survive a reboot (otherwise NFS clients are lost, even after the server comes back.)
• Patched ``xv'' up to the latest version, including PNG support.
• Sidious 8 behavior: reject root logins with empty password if not in /etc/securetty. Sidious 9: reject root logins if not in /etc/securetty. (I.e., Sidious 9 no longer accepts root logins over telnet and rlogin.)
• Added finger, fingerd, ftpd (daemons run only if you turn on inetd.)
• Added link from /etc/rmt to /usr/libexec/rmt as expected by some tar programs. There are two versions of rmt, and I think we're using the one that came with cpio instead of the one that came with tar, since cpio was installed more recently.
• Fixed generation of /etc/hosts so the canonical names are right. (This involves a DNS lookup of ``loghost'' after network setup.)
• Installed Linux-PAM (but Sidious does not use PAM for xdm and such.)
• Added xplanet-0.94, aterm-0.4.2, pgplot-5.2.2, and rdist-6.1.5.
• For 2.2 kernel only: When tmpfs is not available, ramdisk size for /tmp and /var is now 4MB instead of 2. This is still not satisfactory, so options to have /tmp or /var on root, or on a separate partition have been added. These only make sense for 2.2 kernels, since 2.4 kernels have tmpfs.
• rc.local and rc.shutdown.local are now sourced instead of run by sh.
• Added option to encapsulate local shutdown script rc.shutdown.local.
• Added option to encapsulate hosts.equiv and syslog.conf in sidious.config.
• Fixed ``lpc'' so it doesn't lock up if called without a printcap.
• Upgraded ``hwclock'' and installed some ntp4 components as ``xntpd4'' and ``ntpdate4''. But ntp3 is still run by default.
• In rc.inet, accept $1 as an alternate interface name (like ''eth0'') and check for /var/$1.settings which overrides sidious.config. This is used by /sbin/hotplug to initialize wireless cards.
• In rc.inet, skipped ``route add -net ...'' if the kernel already did it.
• In rc.inet, removed initialization of the ``lo'' interface and moved to /etc/initrc to avoid a bunch of ``neighbor table overflow'' messages from the 2.2.x kernels.
• Installed a new version of devfsd to support DEVFS in 2.2.20+ kernels.
• Rebuilt e2fsprogs (same version) so it works with 2.2.20 kernel.
• Improved xmmix's behavior (keys like 'q' work, and it updates if something else changes a mixer level.)
• Added /etc/inetd.conf.talk, talkd, clients, and a ``dotalk'' script for launching a chat window remotely on the local display.
• Upgraded usb-storage to recognize newer Sony digital cameras.
• Installed binary copy of jphoto, a PTP digital camera program.
• Added xwd2ps, but it only works properly on 8-bits.
• Added scrot+imlib2+giflib which takes screen shots at all depths.
• Added custom ``printscreen'' script and Tk dialog. Bound it to the Print key.
• Added Print Window option to print any window from the left widget-menu.
• Added beep-warning when battery goes below 3 percent suspend when dead.
• Added Sidik's xscreencount utility in /usr/local/bin.
• Backed out pcmcia-cs's ray_cs driver to the one with 3.1.31 (3.1.32 was broken).
• Moved latex's temporary font directory to /var/tmp/ so that diskless clients can generate fonts.
• Made runlevel 1==6 in /etc/inittab so that attempts to go to single user mode (e.g., by running ``shutdown'' without -r or -h) will cause the machine to reboot instead of hanging.
• Let cardctl take care of ``ifconfig down'' instead of /etc/apmd_proxy by setting NO_CHECK=y in /etc/pcmcia/network.opts.
• Added ypserv.
• Added dosfsutils (mkdosfs).
• Upgraded xfsprogs utilities (no more blocksize I/O error from mkfs.xfs)
• Added xdmbuttons to display reboot/power off buttons at login screen.
• ntpdate is now run before xntpd is started (so date is close at start).
• Added option to save syslog messages to /var/log/messages.
• Upgraded LILO boot loader to a version with an easier menu.
• New version of vaiojogd saves brightness state in /etc/vaiojogd.dat
• Many more options for wireless network setup.
• unset DISPLAY for vim to work around accounts with broken DISPLAY settings.
• Allowed setting of nameserver even if only DHCP is selected (some networks do not provide the nameserver IP through DHCP.)
• Special support to auto-mount a USB hard drive in /sbin/hotplug
• Added an extra (backup) copy of director and clicmd in /usr/bin/
• Rebuild jpeg2divx for DivX-4 (old version was missing a library too.)
• Make /dev/sound world-writable if chooser or host-direct login is used.
• Added ability to set harddrive spindown time in seconds in reconfig.
• Added wlan0 to /sbin/hotplug to support USB wireless Pegasus II
• Built single "2.4.16-smp" kernel which can be used multiple ways
  1. Normal booting for multi-processor machines (replaces 2.4.16-cfht)
  2. Network booting using etherboot (replaces 2.4.16-cfht)
  3. Virtual framebuffer for 3-headed ike/maka (replaces 2.4.*-vfb) (for this one, "2.4.16-smp" must be booted with "video=vfb:"
  4. Pivot-root booting works now too. The problem was "root=/dev/rd/0" doesn't work but "root=0100" does. See kernel source for why :-( /etc/lilo.conf.default has been updated to use the later.
• Rebuilt SMP kernel and XFree86 with -O2 instead of -O.
• Did full install of XFree86 4.2.0 (clients and libraries; fixes chooser)
• Cosmetic changes to kernel messages (no more "error: only one processor" or "assuming transparent" or excessive raid5+xfs blocksize messages.)

• Upgraded bash-2.05 to 2.05a (not sure if last one had large file support)
• Added lynx text-based Web browser.
• Installed some missing things from util-linux (write, namei, getopt, ...)
• Installed the "which" command
• Start gpm in USB-only mode (with warning) if no PS/2 mouse is found.
• Cleaned up messages when no PCMCIA bus present.
• Installed 3Ware hardware RAID 3dmd web server utility.
• Remove group writability from "/" to make sendmail happy.
• Start rpc.statd in rc.autofs so NFS file locking works.
• Added lotuspci (SDSU PCI fiber card) drivers.

Changes in Sidious 9.26

• Upgraded to XFree86 4.2.0 X-Server (more drivers for recent graphics cards)
• Added RCS package (co/ci..)
• Added xscreensaver (and a script called xlock to replace xlock.)
• Removed debugging messages from x48 calculator
• Style * NoPPosition in system.fvwm2rc was overriding the Java hack in system.fvwm2rc.styles. Removed it and also hacked 2rc.bindings.
• Added dcron and a reconfig option (a small, simple cron daemon.)
• Added GNU wget package.
• Put a delay in gpm ps2 mouse init to work around (buggy?) emachines. The keyboard was locking up as soon as gpm starting initializing.
• Added more logging for NFS-root clients. ksmsg now goes to centserv.
• Fixed PCMCIA-CDROM installation booting by using "cardmgr -f"
• Stripping Emacs19 broke it. Restored non-stripped version.
• Installed tcpwrappers and a new(er) portmap program.
• Hacked start-fvwm script to try XF86_ALL_CVS (unstable) as a fallback.
• Hacked start-fvwm to assume a 3DLabs Permedia 3 is used with a 1600SW.
• Only load the NVidia kernel driver when /proc/bus/pci/devices shows NV.

Changes in Sidious 9.24

• Added 800x600, 640x480 and other sizes to /usr/wm/bin/start-fvwm.
• Fixed netscape wrapper so it works properly when called with -remote.
• Added strace and traceroute.
• Upgraded to pcmcia-cs-3.1.32 (pre) to fix broken ethernet drivers.
• Switched to "cardmgr -o" during initrd booting to simplify things.
• Cleaned up /rsync-sidious script option and help screen a bit.

Changes in Sidious 9.22

• Changed CD to use XF86_MODULAR and minor adjustements to config settings.
• Updated CHIPS driver in XF86_MODULAR to one which doesn't crash on startup.
• Added auto-detection for a limited number of PCI Ethernet cards.
• Upgraded XF86_SAVAGE server. XVideo overlay seems to work on 32bpp now.
• Added XF86_MODULAR server. Use this one for accelerated NVIDIA support!
• Fixed Backspace-sends-Backspace so it doesn't remove X11's Delete key.
• Updraded aviplay to a newer reasonably stable CVS version (adds DivX4)
• Fixed aviplay so it works on speedstep (mobile) processors.
• Upgraded to pcmcia-cs-3.1.31 (SMP was broken in 3.1.29/30)
• Alsa 0.5.12a doesn't work. Back to 0.5.11. Sound autodetection works.

Changes in Sidious 9.20

• Upgraded alsa sound driver and added soundcard detection option.
• Installed PostScript tools: psutils, a2ps, enscript, and cc2ps.
• Installed vim ("vi improved")
• Rebuilt saoimage-1.29.3 for libc6. Previous version was crashing.

Changes in Sidious 9.19

• Added makehost script
• Added a setuid-root ping
• Added "Emulate mwm" to default FVWM2 options to match CFHT settings.
• Installed procmail, sendmail, mailx, and mutt.
• Removed group writability from / and /etc to make sendmail happy.
• Corrected problem with "chmod 1777 /tmp" being inherited by /var

Changes in Sidious 9.18

• Fixed "noatime" problem in /etc/initrc causing disk spin-up in 2.4.16.

Changes in Sidious 9.16

• Fixed start-fvwm so it works for non-root users without an XF86Config.
• Added "adduser" script for making a new home directory and account.
• Added "xdm" as an option for logging in to X-Windows.

Changes in Sidious 9.15

• Changed /etc/initrc so it uses modprobe if available.
• Made 2.4.16-si out-of-memory killer less aggressive (for IOpener)
• Re-enabled /proc/sys/vm/pagetable_cache for SMP systems.
• Installed ImageMagick and removed jcc's copy from rsync-sidious.
• Installed libbz2.so, libfreetype.so, libtiff, hp2xx, lcms, gnuplot.
• Upgraded zlib to 1.1.3 and added support for zisofs to mkisofs.
• Added Microsoft "Web" TrueType fonts and fonts.alias hacks for netscape4
• Added Netscape version 6.2.1 and removed 4.77 (keeping 4.78)
• Added Kernel 2.4.16-si and pcmcia-cs 3.1.30
• Added XEmacs "gamma" release (21.4.5). Still has xemacs-21.1.14 too.

Changes in Sidious 9.14

• Fixed permissions on /etc/passwd.
• Excluded some addresses for PCMCIA which caused problems on Inspirons.
• Fixed install-sidious script so it works for more than just /dev/hda1.

Changes in Sidious 9.13

• Lesstif built with Motif2.1 instead of Motif2.0 compat (hope its ok.)
• Installed man-pages-1.43.tar.gz (contains man pages for C calls, etc.)
• Applied HJL glibc-2.2.3 patch to improve message when library not found.
• Installed glib-1.2 and gtk-1.2 in /usr/local/, built with gcc-2.95.3.
• Installed latest HP48 calculator ROM (now legal, released by HP!) and fixed XEvent bugs. Tapping on a laptop glidepoint works now.
• Fixed "reconfig" so relative paths to the sidious.config work too.
• Check for window resize after every command in bash.
• Installed xpaint
• Re-compiled GLIBC-2.2.3 w/ gcc-2.95.3 instead of 3.0
• Reverted to older gcc-2.95.3 compiled /usr/X11R6/lib/lib*
• Cleaned up network config a bit and added a Wireless IP section.
• Increased default monitor hsync limit to 62 KHz.
• Netscape-wrapper tune-ups (auto-kill+tmpfs cache to work around ns bugs)

Changes in Sidious 9.12

• Added a security fix for sshd.
• Added PPP options for muted dialing and pulse dialing.
• Installed a more complete set of X11 fonts.
• Installed links for realplayer plugin for Netscape.

Changes in Sidious 9.11

• Moved netscape 0-size "disk" cache directory /tmp/$USER/netscape/ to help prevent disk spin-up, even when disk cache is set to 0. Change your cache directory manually, or remove your $HOME/.netscape directory and restart netscape to get this change.
• Fixed xntpd (time synchronization daemon) so it starts up again.
• x2x: Use another X-Terminal as a second screen for your mouse/keyboard.
• Added ispell <file> (american) and ispell -d francais <file>
• Hacks for compatibility w/ CFHT environment (remsh, links, etc.)
• Fixed xosview crash when /proc/apm is not available.
• Fixed screen blank timeout bug (-s option to Xserver needs MINUTES)
• csh link, libpng, a shared version of libz, and info-zip (unzip).

Changes in Sidious 9.10

• Added more checks for <configfile>.$HOSTNAME.
• Installed yp-tools ypbind for NIS (not NIS+) and autofs for automounts.
• Installed larger fonts for 100dpi screens. Use Reconfig->X-Windows to force the smaller fonts to be used if you preferred those.
• Made netscape's highlight color more visible (bright yellow).
• Attempted to fix lockup bug in xosview netmeter during USB plug/unplug.
• Patched Power Management bug (disabled PM) in the 2.4.6 EEPRO100 driver.
• Added sox (audio player utility)
• Faster USB mpg123 startup by skipping cap. check (use -K for old behavior)
• Added optional "2.4.6-xfs-si" kernel with the following differences:
  • XFS support is built-in so it can mount root without using initrd.
  • Minimum processor required is a Pentium II
  • Added tmpfs support so "df" works on /tmp and /var
  • Added Unix98 PTY support
  Select this by adding a section to /etc/lilo.conf (See lilo.conf.default)
• Boot scripts will now use "tmpfs" instead of "ramfs", if available.
• Minor cosmetic changes to FVWM startup and window placement.
• Added "info". Emacs info should still be read within XEmacs iself.

Changes in Sidious-9.9

• Added Netscape Communicator 4.78 (previous version was standalone 4.77)
• Added rpm2tgz hack for converting RPM installations to tar files.
• Upgraded to FVWM version 2, added log-in popup to help with transition.

Changes in Sidious-9.8

• Fixed "lpr" "lpq" and "lprm" so they get PRINTER setting right.
• Added reconfig option to have APM sleep depend on what is running.
• Added PC Card Ops menu to the window manager "root menu"
• CDROM is ejected to when using PC Card Ops->Eject because otherwise the device is powered down and there's no way to get the disk out.
• Added some PCMCIA tips to /Documentation/0README

Changes in Sidious 9.7

• Added Tcl/Tk (8.3) and TkDesk (graphical File Manager)
• Added `xanim' and `plaympeg' movie players.
• Added `xmmix' to window manager root menu to control volume.
• Added `fuser' `killall' `pidof' and `pstree' (psmisc-20.1 package)
• Better handling of when to suspend vs. eject PCMCIA cards in apmd_proxy.
• Added window manager opts for click-to-focus, autoraise, etc. to reconfig.
• Disabled use of ide-scsi for PCMCIA CDROM because suspend wasn't working.

Changes in Sidious 9.6

• Running reconfig remotely over an ssh/telnet connection is now possible. (The rc.reconfig script no longer kills existing sshd/inetd connections.)
• Timezone changes take effect on the clock in FVWM right away now.
• Changed pcmcia to use eject/insert on sleep instead of suspend/resume.
• Fixed IconBox regions in FVWM to place icons at top-right first.
• Changed FVWM mouse bindings so only clicking on corners does a Resize. (Clicking on the straight parts of the frame will now Move/Raise it.)
• Installed `bc' `cal' and `lpr' (plus remote PRINTER setting in reconfig).
• Fixed bug in vaiojogd where memory stick was detected same as lid switch.

Changes in Sidious 9.5

• Patched xosview to reflect ramfs and free-able memory w/ colors.
• Improved handling of timezone and X configuration changes.
• Rsync was set to lose hard links. Disk use is less now w/ hard links.
• Don't generate "synthetic" suspends right after a resume in apmd.
• Fixed path to hdparm so disk spin-down is set again after a suspend.
• Changed umask in /etc/profile to allow group writability by default.

Changes in Sidious 9.4

• Upgraded to Kernel 2.4.6 + XFS patch.
• Tuned netscape to let disk spin down more (remove your old .netscape)
• Added laptop-sleep when idle and on battery power (see reconfig.)
• s3switch external monitor utility (vaio) tied to Key Alt F7. (Not able to read Fn F7 through spic or as a key code for some reason.)

Changes in Sidious 9.3

• Added netscape-4.77 java, spell-check, nethelp (/usr/local/lib/netscape)
• Improved the response of the Vaio jogdial
• Added laptop-sleep when lid is closed to vaiojogd (it can read the events from the lid switch too.)
• Multiple depth X-Servers are now listed on the FVWM root menu.

Changes in Sidious 9.2

• Eliminated some obsolete configuration options in "reconfig".
• Installed tcsh.
• Added PCMCIA option for I-Opener style installations.

Changes in Sidious 9.1

• GCC-3.0. The old version, gcc-2.95.3 is still available as "gcc2953", or "kgcc", which is used to compile the kernel. *** You must use "kgcc" to build kernel modules, unless the whole kernel is recompiled with GCC-3.0! *** Rebuilt 3.0 for "i386" so code won't contain P-II/III specific things.
• Re-compiled C-library with "--with-kernel=2.2.15" so it will run with kernels as old as 2.2.15, and with "ABI" compatibility down to "2.0".
• Upgraded to ncurses-5.2 plus some current patches
• Installed sharutils (mainly for uudecode/uuencode)
• Installed gdb-5.0
• Keyboard LEDs are now only disabled if keyboard errors occur (Iopener)
• The Num-Lock now works in X-Windows.

Changes in Sidious 9.0 (libc6, a few programs are still libc5)

• Large file (more than 2GB) support provided by glibc-2.2.3 (a.k.a libc6) upgrade.
• SGI's XFS journaled filesystem eliminates need to fsck disk after crash.
• Upgraded to 2.4.6-pre3-xfs kernel and built XFS as modules.
• Re-installed SDL and aviplay. YUV acceleration works in 16 bit mode.
• Added XEmacs and some commonly used packages (40 MB total installed)
• Upgraded to grep-2.4.2, which skips binary files.
• Upgraded to fileutils-2.0, for one thing, to get large file support.
• Moved old libs into /usr/libc5/ and configured ld.so correctly so old binaries, even X-binaries, find the correct libraries.
• Also includes all changes in Sidious 8.3:

A..6 Detailed Changes for Sidious 8.x

Changes in Sidious 8.38e

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.38e

Changes in Sidious 8.38

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.38
• Upgraded dhclient to 2.0pl5.
• Added kernel 2.4.26-si2 support (works on I-Openers too.)

Changes in Sidious 8.36d

• Modutils and ash shell added to busybox to eliminate need for bash and modprobe on floppy images.
• Synchronized with 9.36 release.

Changes in Sidious 8.36c

• Sendmail security upgrade.

Changes in Sidious 8.36a

• Dillo browser upgraded to version supporting FRAMES and TABs.

Changes in Sidious 8.36

• Synchronized with 9.35, except xosview-acpi and -si6 kernel. (Sidious 8 still uses the 2.4.19-si kernel, with USB built-in. USB as a module is required by the acpi kernels with software suspend, but still has some problems.)

Changes in Sidious 8.35

• Synchronized with 9.34, except xosview-acpi upgrade.

Changes in Sidious 8.34

• Fixed xtouch bug where window manager grabbed control away from xtouch when trying to resize a window (affected GCT touch screen.)
• Went back to older LILO 21 for Sidious 8.
• Synchronized with 9.33. Includes upgraded v540 I-Opener BIOS which fixes some USB lockups.

Changes in Sidious 8.29

• Synchronized with 9.29, including the init fix, apmd fix, and lynx. (But NOT including UPS support, XV upgrade, or VNC upgrade.)

Changes in Sidious 8.26

• Synchronized with 9.26 (including the gpm patch.)

Changes in Sidious 8.18

• Wait for cardmgr during floppy-assisted booting.
• Added /sbin/getrootdev to rsync list between sidious8 and 9.

Changes in Sidious 8.17

• Added install-fd0 target to make boot-assist floppy for a flash image.
• Added option for custom /usr/local/root.tgz initial home directory.
• Added gpsd, hugo, and maps option.
• Fixed problem with getrootdev that should let usb-boot work again.
• Removed copy of usrlocal.ext2fs.gz that slipped into root cramfs
• Fixed path problem in generated modules.dep files.
• Added XF86_SVGA_CIRRUS for compaq laptop (and others)

Changes in Sidious 8.15

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.15
• Fixed junk at end of Sidious8 modules.dep files.
• Upgraded from sed 2.05 to 3.02 (fixed sidious.config extract problem.)

Changes in Sidious 8.13

• Fixed problem with Makefile not detecting failure of LILO (and generating un-bootable images.)

Changes in Sidious 8.12

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.12

Changes in Sidious 8.11

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.11

Changes in Sidious 8.7

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.9+

Changes in Sidious 8.6

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.6

Changes in Sidious 8.5

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.3
• Added X-Server Chips video with "stylistic" pen device (webpad)
• Added sidious.config and XF86Config for the webpad

Changes in Sidious 8.4

• Synchronized with Sidious 9.2
• Added PCMCIA support to installer images.

Changes in Sidious 8.3 (libc5, except for aviplay)

• Switched to ALSA sound drivers (no more "click" and works better w/ APM)
• Custom mouse acceleration patch to "gpm"
• Added options to "reconfig" for mouse accel, backspace, CAPS, and CTRL.
• Added X virtual keyboard to background menu (for touch screen tablets.)
• Added nasm-0.98 assembler.
• Upgraded to rsync-2.4.6.
• Downgraded from ghostscript 7.00 to 6.51 (the latest GPL version) This fixes xdvi crashes that were occurring w/ PostScript fonts in LaTeX.
• Changed /etc/X11/XF86Config Emulate3Timeout to "100" instead of "500" Makes text selection with 2-button mice a little less sloppy.
• Fixed xinit so it ignores HUP signal (fixes some X startup problems.)
• Added /sbin/hotplug script to automatically set up USB ethernets.

Changes in Sidious 8.2

• Added Sidious rescue floppy image for Vaios with eepro100 ethernet or USB ethernet (connected to the second USB port, because otherwise you can't boot from the USB floppy.)

  (Run "/SidiousImages/sidious-vaio /dev/fd0" to create your floppy, or "/SidiousImages/sidious-vaio /dev/sdb" (or sda) for USB floppies.)

  No matter how messed up your hard drive gets, this floppy will boot you into a minimal recovery system including disk partioner, formatter, Ethernet, DHCP, and NFS support. An ssh daemon is also included!

• Added FITS image viewers SAOImage and SAO ds9.
• Added: GhostScript, Netpbm, and LaTeX2HTML.
• Patched xv to use gs properly. XFig and gv are finding gs now too.
• Added "man" command, the manual page reader.

Changes in Sidious 8.1

• Added display of MAC address in reconfig if one is available.
• Added more stuff to general "0README" for laptop installations.
• Added "ro" and "rw" scripts for easy read-only/read-write switching (This applies to the full development installation on laptops only.)
• Made "rw" fsck the disk also, if needed.
• Fixed "reconfig" so it uses "rw" if needed before saving changes.
• Added Acrobat reader (acroread) for laptop installations.
• Added Xaw3d and GhostScript viewer (gv) for laptops.
• Added teTeX (A full-featured LaTeX2e package) for laptops.
• Added ATI X-Server for some vaio laptops.
• Installed new gphoto that includes cleanups for the CVS submit.
• Added buttons for Reconfig, xmms, aviplay, and acrobat to toolbar.

Changes in Sidious 8.0

• Made IDE-DMA be off by default, added "reconfig" option to turn it on.
• I-Opener led 1 shows /dev/hda IDE disk state (spinning vs. standby)
• Upgraded to 2.4.4 kernel.
• Added cardmgr pcmcia support (not available in the I-Opener image.)
• Sony Vaio jog dial daemon (controls LCD contrast and volume).
• Added XFree4.0.3 server for Savage (Sony Vaio).
• Fixed bug with the way the "ppp" script was updating /etc/resolv.conf
• Fixed bug that prevented sidious installer from working on disks over 2GB. It still has a limit of 2GB, but can install itself on larger disks.
• Added fallback to try /dev/hda2 as root if given root fails (this means the installer works on both /dev/hdb and /dev/hda disks.
• Added RedHat's /bin/ipcalc to figure out BROADCAST and NETWORK values. Removed these entries from "reconfig" and added test to ensure that GATEWAY is on the same subnet as the IP address.
• Added "Sidious Development System" option which installs this entire (600MB) tree with gcc and Makefile system for building your own Sidious images.
• Cleaned up console feedback during boot.

Changes in Sidious 7.2

• When target disk is set to /dev/fd0, you get a standalone boot floppy.
• Added reconfig menu option to select between some pre-built kernels.
• Added option for "zile", an emacs clone.
• Added a static "bochs" binary to the development tree and "make testboot" to the toplevel Makefile which automatically boots the new image in the PC emulator. (This works for both floppy and hard drive images.)

Changes in Sidious 7.1

• /etc/rc.d/rc.inet can be run (as-is) in an emergency to restore network interfaces and routing (if the ethernet driver screws up.)
• Added xntp daemon, to synchronize clock precisely from a network server.
• Added napster client (nap).
• Added readline support to ncftp. Binary is 2x size, but arrow keys and line editing functions work now.

Changes in Sidious 7.0

• Fixed Shift-KeypadPlus / Shift-KeypadMinus so it changes rxvt fonts again.
• Added DHCP client and preliminary script to set up the interface.
• Added "Sidious reconfig" to the root menu.
• mpg123 default secondary buffer of 768K. Turn off with "-b 0".
• Added support to ppp and /sbin/init scripts for 2.2.x kernels.
• Added ipchains (2.2.x only) and mke2fs for ramdisks and external disks.
• Added pipebuf utility to install
• Fixed acm driver so it detects my ModemblAster again.
• Replaced hid driver with smaller usbmouse driver.
• Made large X cursor a reconfig option (ok to change after install too).
• Upgraded drivers/usb directory to 2.4.0-test12-pre4

Changes in Sidious 6.0

• Added text2wave text-to-speech utility.
• Larger mouse cursors in X-Windows.
• Control-Alt-Delete now always gets you [back] to the X-Session.
• Control-Alt-Delete from X kills everything and resets FVWM.
• Upgraded to linux-2.4.0-test11 plus patches.
• Support for many more USB devices (mice, serial, modem, more ethernet etc.)
• Access to USB audio through /dev/dsp1 and mixer1 Example commands: "mpg123 -a /dev/dsp1 test.mp3" "mixer1 vol 50" /dev/dsp and /dev/mixer are still the internal OPL3sa2 or VIA686a, unless you turn those off.
• Disabling PPP compression now also disables VJ Header compression. IP forwarding does not seem to work reliably under 2.4 with compression.
• IOflash and BIOS included in /usr/local and it now checks that apm=off.