Manual Updates

This page is primarily for customizers and those managing large deployments who wish to solve minor ubermix problems without having to rebuild their image files. It outlines the steps you can take to manually update an existing ubermix install, in order to gain some of the updates of a more current release. Please bear in mind that this page only includes updates that are reasonable to perform. Major updates (like newer kernels) will likely require a full upgrade. DO NOT apply older updates to newer versions or you will likely break something. Also, do not jump major releases - 1.x updates probably won't work on 0.9x versions.

These updates should generally be applied in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on http://ubermix.org/customization.html for details), so that they will stick in the event of a reset.

v1.065 Updates

Add new ubermix repo

The new ubermix repo will make it much easier to apply ubermix specific updates in the future. To add it to your system, open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jklein/ubermix
sudo apt-get update

Updated GIMP

To update the GIMP, add the ubermix repo above and

sudo apt-get install gimp 

v1.064 Updates

Removing dead getdeb repos

For some reason, the getdeb software repositories are no longer online, which causes Ubuntu Software Center and Synaptic Package Manager to stall when reloading their software list. These repositories are non-essential, so we'll remove them by doing the following:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t)
2. Type "sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list"
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and delete the two lines with "getdeb" in them
4. Save and exit

Automatically create and enable swapfile

When memory gets low a system has the capacity to offload some of its memory to disk. This feature can make your system more reliable, however it is bad for flash-based systems, so it was disabled by default on prior versions of ubermix. The decline of flash-based systems in favor of hard drives makes a swapfile more desirable, so this update detects if you have a large amount of storage and creates one. to apply:

1. Download check_swap.sh on an ubermix device
2. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "sudo nautilus"
3. Navigate to File System/home/user/Downloads, click once on "check_swap.sh", and press ctrl+x to cut
4. Navigate to File System/usr/local/bin and press ctrl+v to paste

v1.063 Updates

GIMP Update

GIMP updates can be had by opening a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and doing the following:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jklein/ubermix
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install GIMP

New simple updates files

If you want to update your older ubermix install key with the latest default simple updates files, download mods.tar.gz and user.tar.gz and copy them to your older key.

v1.062 Updates

Broadcom wireless performance/reliability update

Further exploration revealed that some adapters struggle with power management on the updated driver from 1.061. Also, changing the name of the package introduced confusion for some users looking to remove the STA driver and use the older b43 driver. In either case, or if you are using a version older than 1.061, you can update with the following:

1. Reboot your device in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on http://ubermix.org/customization.html for details)
2. Download bcmwl-kernel-source_5.100.82.112+bdcom-0ubermix6.3_i386.deb
3. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and:
   1. If you are running 1.061 or if you applied the 1.061 update, type "sudo dpkg --purge broadcom-sta" (no quotes)
4. Type "sudo dpkg -i Downloads/bcmwl-kernel-source*" to build and install the new driver.
5. Reboot

Move Audacity tmp dir in config to improve reliability on large projects

By default, Audacity wants to store temporary files in /var/tmp, which has limited space on an ubermix install and is wiped on a reset. What we want to do is store temp files in the home folder instead, to give Audacity plenty of breathing room. To make this change:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t)
2. Type "gedit .audacity-data/audacity.cfg" (no quotes)
3. Locate the line "TempDir=/var/tmp/audacity-user" and change it to "TempDir=/home/user/.audacity-data/tmp"
4. Save and exit

v1.061 Updates

Broadcom wireless performance/reliability update

A newer build of the driver compiled against the CFG80211 instead of WEXT is part of ubermix 1.061. This version connects quicker and is more reliable than the older build. To add it to a prior version of ubermix:

1. Reboot your device in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on http://ubermix.org/customization.html for details)
2. Download broadcom-sta-dkms_5.100.82.112_all.deb
3. Open a terminal and type "sudo dpkg --purge bcmwl-kernel-source" (no quotes)
4. Type "sudo dpkg -i Downloads/broadcom-sta*" to build and install the new driver.
5. Reboot

v1.06 Updates

Remove GIMP from Maximus exclude list

Since GIMP 2.8x now uses a single window, auto-zooming to full screen is no longer a problem for this app. To update maximus so that it auto zooms, download and install maximus_0.4.15-2_i386.deb either by double-clicking or using the auto update script.

Application Switcher Updates

The updated application switcher resolves an issue with bringing up open windows in alternate workspaces (ctrl-alt-left/right arrow) and flips the indicator icon horizontally, to present a more standard perspective. To apply, download and install indicator-windowlist_0.2ubermix1.deb either by double-clicking or using the auto update script.

Change owner of /usr back to root

The owner of the /usr folder on v1.05 was inadvertently set to user instead of root. Ordinarily not a problem, however VirtualBox won't run if /usr isn't owned by root. To fix:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t)
2. Type "sudo chown root. /usr" (no quotes)

Eliminate bogus upstart logging errors (unable to get pty) at startup

The logger for upstart does not like ubermix's unionfs scheme, so it throws a bunch of cosmetic "unable to get pty" errors at startup. To make these go away:

1. Reboot your device in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on http://ubermix.org/customization.html for details)
2. Open a terminal and type "sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg" (no quotes)
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the file and look for the three lines that start with "linux" under each menuentry heading.
4. In each of these lines, insert "--no-log" (no quotes) before the word "quiet"
5. Save, exit, and reboot

v1.05 Updates

Add a "Chrome" option that boots into Chrome only, a la ChromeOS

Chrome only mode is easy to add to a prior version of ubermix. On an ubermixed device:

1. Download chrome.tgz
2. Open a terminal and type "sudo tar -xvf Downloads/chrome.tgz -C /" (no quotes)
3. Reboot and repeat the steps above to select Chrome as your environment

Eliminate startup delay loading the network indicator

The delay is actually caused by a timeout issue in two other startup applications that are trying to register window listeners before the windows service had completely started up. To resolve the issue:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "sudo gedit /etc/xdg/autostart/netbook-launcher-efl.desktop", followed by the enter key
2. Locate the line that reads, "X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Desktop" and change it to "X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Applications"
3. Save and close
4. Type "sudo gedit /etc/xdg/autostart/indicator-windowlist.desktop", followed by the enter key
5. Locate the line that reads, "X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Desktop" and change it to "X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Applications"
6. Save and close

v1.04 Updates

Switching to/adding to the Broadcom STA Driver

v1.04 re-introduced the Broadcom STA driver, which works with a broader range of Broadcom cards and solves some minor bugs. To install it on a

1. Download bcmwl.tar.gz on the device you wish to update
2. Double-click the bcmwl.tar.gz file in your Downloads folder and extract the contents
3. Reboot your device in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on http://ubermix.org/customization.html for details)
4. Locate the bcmwl folder you extracted to and double-click setup.sh
5. When prompted, choose "Run in terminal"

The rest will be automatic. On reboot, the STA driver should be active.

Prevent the "Unlock your Keychain" prompt from appearing

Some apps, particularly a "signed in" copy of Google Chrome, like to hit the keychain at startup, which can cause the system to prompt for a password to unlock the keychain. To make it stop:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "seahorse", followed by the enter key
2. Right-click on "Passwords:login" and choose "Change Password
3. Enter your old password (defaulr is "password") and leave the "New" and "Confirm" fields blank.
4. Keep clicking "OK" until the boxes close, and you should no longer be prompted for keychain unlocks.

Saving alsamixer settings for quirky audio cards

A few devices have quirky audio cards which require minor changes to the mixer settings to make microphones work properly. On ubermix versions prior to v1.04, these settings reset to defaults on every boot. To make alsamixer settings "stick":

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "sudo gedit /etc/pulse/default.pa", followed by the enter key
2. Locate the "load-module module-device-restore" line and change it to "#load-module module-device-restore"
3. Save and close

Installing Clickpad fixes/updates

Synaptics Clickpads (button-less touchpads) are notoriously glitchy devices that need a lot of help to work properly. This update improves their peroformance.

1. Download clickpad.tar.gz on a device with a Clickpad
2. Double-click the clickpad.tar.gz file in your Downloads folder and extract the contents
3. Locate the "clickpad" folder you just extracted and open it
4. Double-click on "fix.sh" and when prompted, click "Run in Terminal"
5. Reboot

v1.031 Updates

Firefox UI

A bug in the most recent release of Firefox was causing some minor issues with the UI, like not showing the context menu on a right-click in the UI. To fix:

1. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop", followed by the enter key
2. Locate the line "StartupNotify=true" and delete it.
3. Save and close

v1.03 Updates

Improved Ubuntu Software Center performance

On prior releases, software center failed to show installed applications and occasionally failed to show developer web pages when you clicked on a web link. To fix:

1. On an ubermix device, download software-center-policy.tgz
2. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and "sudo tar -xvf Downloads/software-center-policy.tgz -C /", followed by "sudo rm /usr/local/share/applications/ubuntu-software-center.desktop"
3. Close the terminal

Make wireless settings portable across imaged devices

Custom images created with ubermix versions prior to v1.03 did not store wireless settings in a way that was portable, meaning that subsequent devices imaged with the custom key did not automatically connect to defined wireless networks. To solve this problem:

1. Boot your master device in "generic mode" (see "Rebuilding the base image" on [1] for details)
2. Open a terminal (ctrl-alt-t) and type "sudo gedit /usr/local/bin/home_prep.sh"
3. Scroll down to the bottom and insert the following before the "done" line: sed -i 's/mac-address.*$//g' /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*
4. Save and close, recreate your base image.