SysTutorials Posts

Linux & Systems Administration

Monitor Laptop Temperatures on Linux with lm-sensors and smartctl
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Monitoring hardware temperatures is essential for laptop health and performance. On Linux, lm-sensors provides CPU and system temperatures, while smartctl (from smartmontools) gives you drive health data including temperature readings. Installation Debian/Ubuntu/Linux Mint: sudo apt install lm-sensors smartmontools Fedora/RHEL/CentOS: sudo dnf install lm_sensors smartmontools Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S lm_sensors smartmontools Detecting Sensors Before reading…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Controlling Linux Console Blanking and Power Settings
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Managing display power and screen blanking on Linux systems is essential for reducing power consumption on servers, headless machines, and workstations. Two primary tools handle this: setterm for software-based blanking and vbetool for hardware power management via VESA DPMS. Screen Blanking with setterm The setterm command controls when and how the console screen blanks during…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Install Broadcom WiFi Drivers on Linux Mint
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Linux Mint’s Driver Manager makes installing proprietary wireless drivers straightforward, but the process varies depending on your hardware and kernel version. For older HP Mini 110 netbooks with Broadcom BCM43xx chipsets, the bcmwl-kernel-source driver remains the most reliable option. Check Your Wireless Hardware First, identify your wireless adapter before installing drivers: lspci | grep -i…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Boot Linux Mint into Console Mode by Default
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Linux Mint defaults to graphical mode, but you can boot directly to the console if you prefer a text-only environment or need to troubleshoot display issues. There are two main approaches: using GRUB parameters or disabling the display manager entirely. Method 1: Add the text kernel parameter (GRUB) This is the quickest approach and keeps…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Handling Long Lines in Git Diff Output
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

When working with files containing long lines, git diff output becomes hard to read — the diff spans beyond your terminal width, forcing you to scroll horizontally or losing context entirely. While you can’t force all files to use short lines, several strategies make diff output much more manageable. Using Word Diff for Line-Level Changes…

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Linux & Systems Administration

QEMU VNC Connection Refused: Troubleshooting Guide
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

When you start a QEMU guest without explicitly configuring VNC, the display server may not bind to an address your VNC client can reach. You’ll see an error like: vncviewer: ConnectToTcpAddr: connect: Connection refused Unable to connect to VNC server This happens because QEMU defaults to SDL display output and doesn’t automatically expose VNC to…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Remove a Trusted Computer from Your iOS Device
ByQ A Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

When you connect an iPhone or iPad to a computer and tap “Trust,” iOS stores a pairing record that allows that computer to communicate with the device without asking for permission again. If you want to revoke that trust relationship, you need to delete the pairing data on both the device and the computer. On…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Installing and Configuring a PDF Reader on Linux Mint
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Adobe Reader (acroread) is rarely the best choice for Linux users anymore. It’s unmaintained, doesn’t receive security updates, and performs poorly compared to modern alternatives. This guide covers better options and how to set up a functional PDF viewer on Linux Mint. Why Not Adobe Reader? Adobe stopped supporting Reader for Linux in 2013. The…

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Linux & Systems Administration

How to Rotate iPhone MOV Videos with FFmpeg on Linux
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

iPhone videos often have rotation metadata embedded in the file rather than actual video frame rotation. This causes playback issues on Linux systems that don’t properly read the metadata. You’ll need to either apply the rotation during playback or permanently rotate the video frames. Understanding iPhone Video Rotation iPhones store rotation information in the video…

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Linux & Systems Administration

How to Check if a Package is Installed on Linux Mint
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Linux Mint uses the APT package management system (derived from Debian). There are several straightforward methods to verify whether a specific package is installed. Using dpkg The dpkg command directly queries the package database on your system. dpkg -l | grep ghostscript This lists all installed packages and filters for ghostscript. If the package is…

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Linux & Systems Administration

How to Find Which Package Provides a File in Ubuntu and Debian
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

The most straightforward way to identify which installed package provides a specific file is with dpkg: dpkg -S /path/to/the/file The -S flag searches for a filename pattern across all installed packages. This works for any file path in your system, whether it’s a binary, library, configuration file, or anything else. Searching for command binaries To…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Converting Linux from BIOS to UEFI Boot Mode
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 11, 2026

If you installed Linux in BIOS (Legacy) mode but need to boot alongside Windows in UEFI mode, converting an existing installation is possible but complex. This guide covers the process for modern systems while preserving your existing Linux installation and Windows setup. Before starting: Back up your data. This procedure involves disk partitioning and bootloader…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Convert FLV Videos to MP4 Using FFmpeg
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Converting FLV files to MP4 is straightforward with FFmpeg. The basic command takes just seconds: ffmpeg -i input.flv output.mp4 FFmpeg will automatically select suitable video and audio codecs for MP4 format. This works for most FLV files without additional configuration. Preserving original quality If you want to skip re-encoding and copy the streams as-is, use…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Installing FFmpeg on Linux Mint
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

FFmpeg is essential for video and audio processing on Linux. Installation methods vary depending on your Linux Mint version and whether you want the stable release or cutting-edge builds. Installing FFmpeg from Official Repositories The simplest approach is to use your distribution’s package manager. FFmpeg is now included in the official repositories for all modern…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Installing and Configuring BuddyPress Themes in WordPress
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

BuddyPress themes extend WordPress’s community features with member profiles, activity streams, and group functionality. While any modern WordPress theme technically works with BuddyPress, dedicated BuddyPress themes provide optimized templates and styling out of the box. Finding BuddyPress Themes Several repositories host BuddyPress-compatible themes: WordPress.org Theme Directory — Filter by the “buddypress” tag at wordpress.org/themes/ Third-party…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS Using Apache mod_rewrite
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

If you want to force HTTPS on your site, add this to your .htaccess file: RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301] The key parts: RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off — matches only HTTP requests ^(.*)$ — matches any request https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} — rebuilds the URL with HTTPS [L,R=301] — uses a permanent redirect (301) and…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Running Legacy Applications in Different Windows Locales
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

Legacy non-Unicode applications often display garbled text when run on Windows systems with mismatched language settings. A program compiled for Chinese text encoding will show corruption on an English Windows installation. This guide covers practical solutions for 2026. Modern Approach: Using Windows Locale Emulation The most reliable method is to run the application with a…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Installing No-IP DUC on Linux
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 12, 2026

The No-IP Dynamic Update Client (DUC) keeps your dynamic DNS hostname pointing to your current IP address. Here’s how to install and configure the noip2 client on modern Linux distributions. Prerequisites Before you start, install the required build tools and development libraries: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc libc6-dev If you’re on a…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Clone a Git Branch with Shallow History
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 13, 2026

When you need just the files from a specific branch without downloading the entire repository history, use shallow cloning. This is useful for large repositories where full history takes time to transfer, or when you only care about the current state of a particular branch. The core command is: git clone -b branch-name <repository-url> –depth…

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Linux & Systems Administration

Installing HP Printer Drivers on Linux Mint and Ubuntu
ByEric Ma Mar 24, 2018Apr 12, 2026

HP printers work reasonably well on Linux, though the setup process varies depending on whether you have a network printer or a USB-connected device. Here’s what you need to know. Install HPLIP HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) is the main driver package for HP printers. Install it along with the GUI configuration tool: sudo…

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