Disclaimer:
The information in this site is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. This information below is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.
After installing x11-base/xorg-drivers and x11-base/xorg-server, X11 may exit with errors complaining, missing twm, xterm, xclock. When that happens, installing these components will fix the issue and hopefully X11 will start.# emerge --ask twm xterm xclock
That's all!
-gibb
Configuring a printer was never successful for me in the past. At one point, I was able to set it up on Slackware but when I did a test print, it came out either skewed or enlarged for some reasons. I couldn't figure out why it behaved that way, so I gave up.
Now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my kids are home-schooling and it had become unavoidable that I need to set up a printer on my Gentoo system. After struggling for close to a week, I finally found a way to configure it correctly and was able to print documents. For my future note, I've describe how to set it up on Gentoo.
Disclaimer:
The information in this site is the result of my researches in the Internet and of my experiences. This information below is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.
User need to be part of lp group to be able to print. If User needs to edit via cups web interface, he needs to be part of lpadmin.
# gpasswd -a [USER] lp
# gpasswd -a [USER] lpadmin
cups need to be re-configed with zeroconf USE flag. # echo "net-print/cups zeroconf" > /etc/portage/package.use/cups
# emerge --ask net-print/cups
There is a Gentoo Wiki in HPLIP. To sum up, net-print/hplip needs to be installed with the snmp, static-ppds, hpijs and scanner USE flags.# echo "net-print/hplip snmp static-ppds hpijs scanner" > /etc/portage/package.use/hplip
# emerge --ask net-print/hplip
PPD (PostScript Printer Description)is a file that describes the features and capabilities of the target printer. All PPD files are located in /usr/share/HP/ by default. They are gunzip'ed, so it needs to be decompressed and copied to /etc/cups/ppd/.
My printer is HP LaserJet Pro 200 color MFP M276nw. The closest PPD file I can file is hp-laserjet_200_colormfp_m276-ps.ppd.gz and that's the one I'm going to use. # cd /usr/share/ppd/HP/
# gunzip -d /usr/share/ppd/HP/hp-laserjet_200_colormfp_m276-ps.ppd.gz
# cp -d hp-laserjet_200_colormfp_m276-ps.ppd /etc/cups/ppd/
My printer needs a binary plugin for it to work according to HP's site. To install it, hp-plugin needs to be executed as a regular user with the -i option for the interactive mode.
However, it fails with error: Unable to recieve key from keyserver. This issue stumped me for a few days and I was almost about to give up installing the printer. Then I found a solution in a forum where it suggests to update one of python files with hard-coded keyserver name. Once the keyserver name was changed to something working, the installation of binary plugin went successfully.# nvim /usr/share/hplip/base/validation.py
==========
...
class GPG_Verification(DigiSign_Verification):
def __init__(self, pgp_site = 'pgp.mit.edu', key = 0x...)
Change above where it says "pgp.mit.edu" to something working. For me, changing it to "ha.pool.sks-keyservers.net" worked.
def __init__(self, pgp_site = 'ha.pool.sks-keyservers.net', key = 0x...)
...
$ hp-plugin -i
...
Done.
I tried many ways to install my printer from hp-setup with GUI and command line options but they all failed at the end, saying something like "No device found that support this feature." or "No installed printers found (or) Invalid printer device selected".
I stumbled again...
Then, I remembered that CUPS has HTTP Interface where you can add and manage printers. I was a bit skeptical about this but tried anyway.
# rc-service cupsd start
# rc-update add cupsd defaultIf everything goes well, it starts printing a test page. If it fails for some reasons, I'd delete the printer at the step 4 and choose something else and repeat until it works.
That's all!
-gibb
I don't think this is limited to only Gentoo setup, but the sound isn't working after the installation. These are the steps I took to get my sound cards recognized by ALSA and got it working.
I use ALSA instead of PulseAudio with no particular reasonings. Some say ALSA is better or vice-versa, but I'm using it since I'm just used to.
I had a suspicion that the sound might not work after the installation. I ran alsamixer to test if my suspicion was right. Well, there was no alsamixer, so I installed media-sound/alsa-utils.# emerge --ask media-sound/alsa-utils
When alsamixer was executed, it returned the following error message as I suspected.$ alsamixer
cannot open mixer: No such file or directory
The system recognizes its hardware and the driver seems to be installed but ALSA didn't see them.# lspci -k | grep -iA2 audio
00:14.2 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
--
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GF106 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
Subsystem: eVga.com. Corp. GeForce GTS 450
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
But, ALSA didn't seem to recognize those sound cards.# cat /proc/asound/cards
--- no soundcards ---
I google'd around and found that the HD-audio component consists of two parts, the driver (which I seem to have installed) and codec from the Linux Kernel site as well as some Gentoo forum posts.# dmsg | grep -i codec
[ 1.626139] snd_hda_intel 0000:01:00.1: no codecs found!
Yup, I don't have codecs installed. I google'd again and found that conexant for my audio device. So, I searched that codec name in the kernel config file.# grep -i conexant /usr/src/linux/.config
CONFIG_SND_HDA_CODEC_CONEXANT=n
I enabled the kernel options following by ALSA in Gentto Wiki, including SND_HDA_CODEC_CONEXANT, and rebuilt the kernel.# cd /usr/src/linux
# make menuconfig
# make && make modules_install
# make install
# shudown -r now
After the reboot, kernel version should be incremented/updated.# uname -v
#3 SMP Thu Feb 13 14:46:50 EST
Codecs are now installed.# dmesg | grep -i codec
[ 1.254990] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: ALC888: SKU not ready 0x411111f0
[ 1.255697] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: autoconfig for ALC888: line_outs=4 (0x14/0x15/0x16/0x17/0x0) type:line
[ 1.255879] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.256057] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: hp_outs=1 (0x1b/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.256231] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 1.256361] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: dig-out=0x11/0x1e
[ 1.256491] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: inputs:
[ 1.256623] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: Front Mic=0x19
[ 1.256768] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: Rear Mic=0x18
[ 1.256863] snd_hda_codec_realtek hdaudioC0D0: Line=0x1c
[ 1.514180] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: autoconfig for Generic: line_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:line
[ 1.514376] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.514544] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: hp_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.514727] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 1.514829] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: dig-out=0x5/0x0
[ 1.514967] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D0: inputs:
[ 1.561175] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: autoconfig for Generic: line_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:line
[ 1.561370] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.561554] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: hp_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.561738] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 1.561833] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: dig-out=0x5/0x0
[ 1.561962] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D1: inputs:
[ 1.600184] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: autoconfig for Generic: line_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:line
[ 1.600378] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.600563] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: hp_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.600745] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 1.600882] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: dig-out=0x5/0x0
[ 1.601018] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D2: inputs:
[ 1.638124] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: autoconfig for Generic: line_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:line
[ 1.638271] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.638411] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: hp_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[ 1.638551] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: mono: mono_out=0x0
[ 1.638690] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: dig-out=0x5/0x0
[ 1.638822] snd_hda_codec_generic hdaudioC1D3: inputs:
/proc/asound/cards which showed "--- no soundcards ---" now shows found sound cards.# cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [SB ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI SB
HDA ATI SB at 0xfbff4000 irq 16
1 [NVidia ]: HDA-Intel - HDA NVidia
HDA NVidia at 0xfe97c000 irq 19
Yes, ALSA now sees the sound cards. I checked with alsamixer and it seems to be working fine.
When I tested with aplay, I heard a noise from my speaker! I now confirmed that the sound is working on my Gentoo.# aplay < /dev/urandom
Follow the above link to get the sound working from VirtualBox clients.
That's all!
-gibb
Part 5 - Let's type in Japanese
To be able to type and read in Japanese, input methods and input method editor (IME) need to be installed. For IME, I choose IBM since I'm used to using it. As for input methods, I tried both ibus-anthy and ibus-mozc and I couldn't get the property dialogue for ibus-mozc up and running, so I decide to continue using ibus-anthy.
Disclaimer:
The information in this site is the result of my researches on the Internet and of my experiences. This information below is solely used for my purpose and may not be suitable for others.
Installation of ibus as well as its dependencies and Japanese engine, ibus-anthy, is no difficult tasks. # emerge --ask app-i18n/ibus app-i18n/ibus-anthy
Update ~/.xinitrc and include environment variables to set for ibus.
Then, start the setup program to do some configurations.$ ibus-setup
All I changed was the keyboard shortcuts and input methods. For keyboard shortcuts, I was hoping Alt+Shift would just work, but it didn't, so I changed it to Alt+Shift+space.
For input methods, I added Japanese - Anthy to enable Japanese input. You might have noticed that its icon is different from the default one. This is because I replaced its default icon with my own.
The configuration of ibus should be done now. You'll see a small EN icon in its systray. That confirms ibus is running now. Left click on the icon will show you the list available input methods, in this case, English and Japanese - Anthy.
I thought the default Anthy icon was not pretty and didn't like it. So, I decided to change it to my own. After searching for the icon in the system, I found it in /usr/share/ibus-anthy/icons/. It's called ibus-anthy.png. I used GIMP to create another icon and replaced it.
That's all!
-gibb
Part 2 - Configuring Other Applications
Git is distributed revision control and source code management software. I need to install git first because I have dotfiles and config files for the applications I need. # emerge --ask dev-vcs/git
After the installation, following config settings need to be done at least.$ git config --global user.name "my_username"
$ git config --global user.email "my_email"
Then, download the dotfiles from Github.$ cd ~/
$ git clone https://github.com/ubyt3m3/dotfiles.git
...
$ ls
dotfiles
st is a simpke terminal for X. I use this terminal until I finish setting up urxvt. savedconfig USE flag lets you save a customized configuration file to /etc/portage/savedconfig/x11-terms/st.# echo "x11-terms/st savedconfig" > /etc/portage/package.use/st
# emerge --ask x11-terms/st
Rxvt-unicode (urxvt) is THE terminal emulator that I must have in my work environment since OpenBox days. It's fast, lean, highly customizable and can display different fonts. I have another post regarding how I customize it.
Gentoo Linux allows you to choose what options to enable or disable using the USE flags. The options I wanted to enable were the followings:
There are a few ways to do this in Gentoo. Since I wanted to do per package base, I set it in the /etc/portage/package.use/ directory:# echo "x11-terms/rxvt-unicode 256-color unicode3 xft gdk-pixbuf" > /etc/portage/package.use/rxvt-unicode
# emerge --ask x11-terms/rxvt-unicode or set it during the installation:# USE="256-color unicode3 xft gdk-pixbuf" emerge --ask x11-terms/rxvt-unicode
Its config file is ~/.Xresources.
Neovim is a fork of Vim that promised to fix issues with Vim and provide a better out-of-the-box experience for Vim users. It also includs a built in terminal emulator.
Installation is simple.# emerge --ask app-editors/neovim
Its configuration file is in ~/.config/nvim/init.vim and I use vim-plug plug-in to handle installation of other plug-ins. Once my init.vim is copied to its config directory, run nvim. It should install defined plug-ins automatically. If it doesn't, go into the Normal/Command mode by hitting Esc. Then type :PlugInstall. This should trigger installation of plug-ins.
PCManFM is a GUI file manager. It's light weight and has features like displaying mounted drives and dual panes. I don't usually use it but it's good to have as a backup.# emerge --ask x11-misc/pcmanfm
Faenza is an icon theme for Gnome. I've looked around and liked it the most. It can be installed from Portage. # emerge --ask x11-themes/faenza-icon-theme
Icons and GTK2 theme can be applied from lxappearance, but it needs to be installed first. # emerge --ask lxde-base/lxappearance
My customized Morning Glory needs to be extracted to ~/.themes/.$ tar -xzvf MorningGlory.tar.gz -C ~/.themes/
Once the icons and theme have been prep'ed, run lxappearance to apply them.
For the theme, click on the Widget tab. Morning Glory should be listed in the left pane.
For the icon theme, click on the Icon Theme tab, and choose Faenza from the list in the left pane.
Ranger is a text-based file manager. The best feature for me is the vi-style keybinding. # emerge --ask app-misc/ranger
The default directory is ~/.config/ranger/ and you can copy the default configuration files to this directory.$ ranger --copy-config=all
Copied files are the followings:
For image preview, w3m needs to be installed.# emerge --ask www-client/w3m
Then, enable image preview in ranger's config file, ~/.config/ranger/rc.conf.$ nvim ~/.config/ranger/rc.conf
==================================
...
set preview_image true
...
set preview_images_method urxvt
Cmus is a small, fast and powerful console music player. # emerge --ask media-sound/cmus
TO DOs: set ups
Scrot is a command line screen capture utility.# emerge --ask media-gfx/scrot
Neofetch is a bash script that displays the system information such as installed OS, kernel version, CPU, memory, etc... next to an ASCII operating system logo.# emerge --ask app-misc/neofetch
Chromium is a free and open-source web browser from Google. It features a minimal user interface, powerful web development tools, and a built in task manager. There is a proprietary version of browser called Google Chrome
with more features than Chromium.# emerge --ask www-client/chromium
Be warned: Compiling Chromium can take a significant amount of CPU time and system memory, and it took nearly 7 hours to complete compiling.
I use following fonts for urxvt and i3.
# emerge --ask media-fonts/inconsolata
# emerge --ask media-fonts/kochi-substitute
# emerge --ask media-fonts/fontawesome
# emerge --ask media-fonts/dejavu
That's all!
-gibb