Jesse Caulfield

I recently replaced the hard drive in my Compaq Presario V2000 laptop with a drive having an existing Ubuntu 8.10 installation on it.

The system booted fine but I received this error:

Starting up …
Loading, please wait…
usplash: Setting mode 1024×768
kinit: name_to_dev_t(/dev/disk/by-uuid/3b111956-61a9-4bfe-9bd4-055580b7b89f) = sda5(8,5)
kinit: trying to resume from /dev/disk/by-uuid/3b111956-61a9-4bfe-9bd4-055580b7b89f
kinit: No resume image, doing normal boot…

Ubuntu 804 udell tty1

udell login:

The Problem:
The primary disk UUID was OK, but the swap disk had an incorrect UUID and was not recognized.

The Solution:
Reformat the SWAP partition and update the initial ram disk with the proper UUID information.

For more information about the initial ram disk, see my earlier posting about unwrapping the Ubuntu live cd and how a computer boots.

Step by step instructions:

1. Determine your SWAP disk partition location (e.g. something like /dev/sda5)
   % sudo fdisk -l |grep swap
   
2. Unmount the partition
   % sudo swapoff
   
3. Reformat this partition (using my example /dev/sda5 from above)
   % sudo mkswap /dev/sda5
   Note: Record the UUID that this command returns.
4. If you forget to, or lose it, no problem. Get the partition’s UUID with the vol_id command as follows:
   % sudo vol_id -u /dev/sda5
   
5. Update the RAM file system config file with the correct UUID by editing the following file: /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume
   % sudo vi /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume
   
6. Update the initial ram disk
   % sudo update-initramfs -u
   
7. Reboot. Problem should be solved.

I just purchased an HP TX2000 laptop. It’s a little heavy but is a truly wonderful piece of hardware. Buy one now at HP.com. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately, it’s sold as a Windows Vista exclusive platform. Windows XP can be loaded but the drivers are not supported or publicly available. I called HP support, who after a long conversation did give me the drivers, but I was not able to get XP working properly (no audio, no video drivers, touch screen, etc.) in a reasonable amount of time so gave up and am stuck with Vista.

Operating systems are like tool boxes in that they don’t actually do anything, they just give you access to your tools so you can get work done.

For me, Windows XP could be called the analog of a carpenter’s leather tool belt – very functional and evolved into its current efficient state based on the feedback and requirements of many professional carpenters. All-in-all a very solid tool belt that lets one focus immediately on work.

Vista, on the other hand, is like the same carpenter’s tool belt, made from the finest suede, and decorated with rhinestones, ribbons and tie-dye frill. It’s like a tool belt designed for teenagers, which, mind you, sometimes need to actually be productive, but recalling my own teenage days are more often distracted by shiney things.

My three biggest gripes with Vista are:

Visio Symbol Indexing:
Somehow Vista’s security model breaks Vista 2003′s symbol indexing system, so Visio cannot search for symbols. This is a major, major problem for active Visio users like me.

No solution known.

File Explorer:
Vista file explorer is much less functional than their near perfect XP File Explorer and one step closer to the Gnu Nautilus Explorer. My principal complaint is that the Vista security model somehow refuses to store network drive passwords. One must re-enter your username and password to view the directory listing, then re-enter username and password to open the first file. Frustratingly, the checkbox to “Remember my password” does not.

No solution known.

The irony here is that Gnu Nautilus is now more functional, predictable and usable that Vista File Explorer.

User Interface:
Lastly, the Vista theme is cute but adds no value and is VERY slow. Sadly, the only alternate theme is a Windows 95 clone, so your options are to completely forgo the composite Aero theme for a retro look (which is screaming fast) or suffer with the pretty but agonizingly slow Aero.

I did find a partial solution: turn off most Aero features but keep the desktop composition enables. Here’s how I did it.

1. Open Control Panel > Performance Information and Tools
2. On the left hand side click “Adjust visual effects”
3. In the pop-up windows click the “Adjust for best performance” radio button, then click the “Custom:” radio button.
4. Click OK and wait for the user interface to reset.

(A screenshot of my selections are noted below.)

For me, this modification made the Vista user interface dramatically more responsive. My perception is that it’s now as fast as XP, but still with rhinestones and ribbons.

Out of the box, Vista doesn’t like Winamp, or Winamp doesn’t like Vista.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to your Winamp directory
   (default is C:\Program Files\Winamp).
2. Right-click winamp.exe, and choose Properties.
3. Click the Compatibility tab.
4. Turn on “Run this program as an administrator”, and click OK.

REPEAT for winampa.exe (the winamp agent), if you use it.

Theoretically, this works for every program that works fine in XP and poorly in Vista. To know more about compatibility issues, search for “program compatibility” in the “Help and Support” of Windows Vista.