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LaTeX on Mandriva

Thanks for an excellent Mandriva 2008 DVD with Issue 88.

Unfortunately, after the installation, I found I could not use LaTeX at all. When compiling a .tex file followed by dvips or dvipdf, the system complained of all fonts being missing and produced a small .ps file containing no text at all - just blank pages. Downloading later RPMs of teTeX and updating did not cure this symptom either.

After much hacking, I discovered that the file mf.base was missing in the directory /usr/share/texmf/web2c/, although it can be found in /usr/share/texmf-var/web2c/.

Therefore the cure is simple. Do the following (as root):

cp -p /usr/share/texmf-var/web2c/mf.base
/usr/share/texmf/web2c/

or, alternatively, a symbolic link:

ln -s /usr/share/texmf-var/web2c/mf.base
/usr/share/texmf/web2c/mf.base

would also do the job in a little more memory-economical way. I realize this oversight is Mandriva's and not yours. Perhaps you could point it out to the teTeX package maintainer if no one else has already done so.

I hope this note proves useful to others who have installed Mandriva 2008 (from your DVD or elsewhere) and who use LaTeX.

W.A.B. Evans

LM

Thanks for the tip. We're happy to pass this fix on to other readers who have installed our Mandriva DVD.

Knoppix DVD

I tried the latest DVD from Linux Magazine, which promises Knoppix 5.3.1 with KDE 4. I was a bit disappointed to see KDE 3.5.9 boot up. Even http://knopper.net/knoppix/knoppix53-en.html says this version of Knoppix has KDE 3.5.9, so I was a little surprised that the magazine is saying it has KDE 4.

I even tried "desktop=kde4" (as someone suggested in a forum via google search) in the boot menu with no effect. Is the disk damaged, or have I made a mistake?

Mr Srdjan Todorovic

LM

When the Knoppix splash screen appears, instead of letting the system boot to the default configuration, enter the following command at the boot prompt:

knoppix desktop=kde4

This command should definitely get you into KDE 4.

We produced the screenshots of the KDE 4 environment by booting into it that way.

KDE 4 is on the DVD but it isn't started by default.

Erratum: Issue #90 DVD "Virtual Distro Sampler"

Several of you emailed us with concerns about the Ubuntu system on the Virtual Distro Sampler DVD included with Issue 90. Specifically:

  • The Ubuntu installer does not add a user during installation.
  • The Installer does not perform the required changes to /etc/sudoers.

The following workaround should help you get your user account up and running:

  1. Install Ubuntu and then start the Live DVD again.
  1. Mount the system partition using Nautilus.
  1. Open a console and use the following commands: 
    sudo su
cd /media/disk/etc/
chmod 777 sudoers
  1. Open /media/disk/etc/sudoers with an editor and add the following string: 
    %admin ALL=(ALL) ALL
  1. Save your change and type in the console: 
    chmod 440 sudoers
  1. Shut down the live system and reboot into the installed version.
  1. Log in with: 
    Username: ubuntu
Password: ubuntu

After that, you should be able to create new users and use the system normally.

Please send your comments and suggestions to letters@linux-magazine.com