RPM Fusion provides packages that Fedora and RHEL can’t ship by default due to patent, licensing, or trademark restrictions. This includes multimedia codecs, proprietary drivers, and other software. Here’s how to enable it on RHEL 9 and Rocky Linux. Enable RPM Fusion Free and Non-Free # Enable EPEL first (required dependency) sudo dnf install epel-release…
vbetool is a utility for executing real-mode x86 BIOS calls, commonly used for power management and display mode switching on legacy systems. Rocky Linux 9 doesn’t include it in standard repositories, so you’ll need to build it from source. What vbetool Does vbetool communicates with the video BIOS through the Video BIOS Extensions (VBE) interface….
MPlayer has been largely superseded by mpv in most Linux distributions, but if you need the classic MPlayer with DVD navigation support, building from source remains the way to get libdvdnav integrated. Most distribution packages omit this feature due to licensing complexity. Prerequisites You’ll need a C compiler, build tools, and development libraries. On Fedora/RHEL-based…
The TP-Link TL-WN725N v2 uses the Realtek RTL8188EU chipset. While kernel support has improved significantly, you may still need to compile drivers manually on recent Fedora releases. Check current driver status First, verify whether your adapter is recognized: lsusb | grep -i realtek If nothing appears, the driver isn’t loaded. Check if the kernel module…
You’ll sometimes need to exclude specific repositories from package operations—typically when multiple repos provide the same package, mirror connectivity is unreliable, or you want to force installation from a trusted source. The –disablerepo flag lets you skip repos on a per-command basis. Basic syntax dnf –disablerepo=repoid1 –disablerepo=repoid2 install package-name Add –disablerepo once for each repo…
Modern RHEL-based systems (EL9+) ship with dnf as the package manager. Most additional software you’ll need comes from well-maintained third-party repositories rather than compiling from source. This guide covers the essential ones and how to use them safely. EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) EPEL is the go-to third-party repository for RHEL-based systems. It provides…
The proprietary fglrx driver reached end-of-life in 2015 and is incompatible with current Fedora releases. For modern AMD GPUs, use AMDGPU—AMD’s actively maintained open-source driver that supports Wayland, current kernel versions, and both desktop and compute workloads. GPU Compatibility RDNA and newer (RX 5000 series and later): AMDGPU is required and fully supported. GCN-era Radeons…
Modern iOS devices handle a wider range of video formats natively, but if you’re working with legacy formats or need specific encoding for compatibility, conversion is straightforward with ffmpeg. This guide covers converting common video formats (.wmv, .mpg, .mkv, .webm, etc.) to .mp4 format suitable for Apple devices. Installing ffmpeg On most modern Linux distributions,…
RPM Fusion provides software that the Fedora Project doesn’t ship—primarily due to licensing restrictions, patent concerns, or proprietary redistributability requirements. The repository splits into two branches: free: Open Source Software that Fedora cannot distribute due to other legal or policy reasons nonfree: Non-open source software, including proprietary drivers and restricted-use applications Enable both repositories on…
Running 32-bit Firefox on a 64-bit Linux system is less common than it used to be, but there are still valid reasons: testing web compatibility across architectures, supporting legacy plugins, or working with older systems. This guide covers Fedora and RHEL-based systems, though the core approach applies to other distributions. Prerequisites Ensure you have multilib…
Fedora’s default font rendering can look subpar, particularly on laptops with standard LCD screens. TrueType bytecode interpreter (BCI) support significantly improves rendering quality, but licensing restrictions have kept it disabled in Fedora’s default FreeType builds. The TrueType bytecode patents expired years ago, so BCI is now safe to enable. While FreeType 2.13+ ships with BCI…
Installing the NVIDIA driver on Fedora via akmod (automatic kernel module) is the cleanest approach when using RPM Fusion. The driver rebuilds automatically whenever the kernel updates, saving you manual reinstalls. Prerequisites First, verify your GPU is supported. Check the NVIDIA driver support matrix for your hardware. Most consumer and professional cards from the past…
MPlayer and MEncoder are no longer actively maintained, but they’re still available through RPM Fusion if you need them for legacy content or specific workflows. Most users should consider modern alternatives like mpv (MPlayer’s successor) or ffmpeg for transcoding, but this guide covers the traditional setup. Enable RPM Fusion Repository RPM Fusion hosts packages Fedora…
Installing NVIDIA drivers on Fedora is straightforward when using RPM Fusion repositories. This guide covers modern Fedora releases (39+) using DNF package management. Prerequisites Before starting, determine which driver your GPU requires. Check the NVIDIA driver download page or use this command to identify your GPU: lspci | grep -i nvidia For newer GPUs (Maxwell…