Get Better Linux Desktop Performance And More With pf-kernel

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="tux logo" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFP5EOahWyZcgR0sfSREtvsKELvgiyNzWwMPy6g2gWszFhzmYLHFdfx-1zXVQD0rMT3Hymcz_yf6H45aTDswmmCSajc-aQ1uLFDc86pjJV6uBVqRs2YA1ZalIsCXbNpe0mHVygWAfzLqg/s150/Tux.png" title="tux logo" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://pf.natalenko.name/">pf-kernel</a> is a custom Linux Kernel that comes with some popular patches not merged into the mainline Kernel, such as:</b></div><a name="more"></a><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">-ck patchset with <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Fuck_Scheduler">BFS</a></b> CPU scheduler: Con Kolivas' ck1 patchset which includes the BFS scheduler that brings better desktop interactivity and responsiveness;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://algo.ing.unimo.it/people/paolo/disk_sched/">BFQ I/O scheduler</a></b> : using this patch, the disk should be virtually as responsive as if it was idle, no matter what the load is (this is available by default in Sabayon and CyanogenMod);</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://tuxonice.net/features">TuxOnIce</a></b>: an alternative suspend / hibernate framework that uses image compression, supports any number of swap partitions and/or files, has the ability to cancel hibernating or restoring the image by pressing escape key and more;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://kerneldedup.org/en/projects/uksm/">UKSM</a></b>: Memory De-Duplication;</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://github.com/stec-inc/EnhanceIO">EnhanceIO</a></b>: a driver based on EhanceIO SSD caching software derived from Facebook's open source Flashcache project that's useful for using SSDs as cache devices for traditional HDDs.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As an example, below you can watch a video recorded by <a href="http://algo.ing.unimo.it/people/paolo/">Paolo Valente</a>, who is behind BFQ, demoing the performance of the BFQ disk I/O scheduler on a hard disk:</div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J-e7LnJblm8" width="420"></iframe><br />(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=J-e7LnJblm8">direct video link</a>)</center><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Warning:</span> Some things such as graphics drivers may not be compatible with pf-kernel since it may be a lot newer than the Linux Kernel used by default on your Linux distribution so be careful and only install it if you know what you are doing.</b> Also, options (like <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/increased-performance-in-linux-with.html">Zram</a>) available in your Linux distribution Kernel may not be enabled in pf-kernel. I've tested this in Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) with and I didn't encounter any issues (Bumblebee works with proprietary Nvidia drivers, etc.) but this may not be the case for you since it depends on your hardware and Ubuntu version.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install pf-kernel in Ubuntu / Debian</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Download the latest pf-kernel version for Ubuntu / Debian  from <a href="http://repos.natalenko.name/ubuntu/pf/">HERE</a>.</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You'll need to download two files: <i>linux-image</i> and <i>linux-headers</i> which have the same version (e.g.: 3.9.2), for your architecture. For instance, on 64bit, you'll need "linux-image-3.9.2-pf_1_amd64.deb" and "linux-headers-3.9.2-pf_1_amd64.deb" (3.9.2 is the latest version at the time I'm writing this) and put the downloaded files in some folder, let's say a "kernel" folder in your home directory.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, to install it, use the following commands (assuming you've placed the deb files in a folder called "kernel" in your home directory):</div></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>cd ~/kernel<br />sudo dpkg -i *.deb</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Optional:</b> for<b> TuxOnIce</b> to work, firstly <a href="https://help.ubuntu.com/12.04/ubuntu-help/power-hibernate.html">enable hibernate</a> since it's disabled in Ubuntu by default. Then, download the <i>tuxonice-userui</i> deb for your Ubuntu version / architecture from <a href="https://launchpad.net/~tuxonice/+archive/ppa/+packages?field.name_filter=tuxonice-userui&field.status_filter=published&field.series_filter=">HERE</a> and install it, then run the following command to get the TuxOnIce text user interface to work:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo ln -s /usr/lib/tuxonice-userui/tuxoniceui /usr/local/sbin/tuxoniceui_text</code></pre><br />That's all you need to do for TuxOnIce to work (if hibernate is working on your machine, obviously). <br /><br /><b>And finally</b><b>, restart your computer.</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>If later on you want to remove pf-kernel</b> and go back to the Linux Kernel you were using before, remove the installed packages using Synaptic (linux-image-*-pf and linux-headers-*-pf) or, to do this automatically via the command line, use the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>pfkernel=$(dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-.*pf | sed -e 's/-pf.*/-pf/g')<br />sudo apt-get remove $pfkernel</code></pre>And then restart the computer.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions or if you want to compile your own Kernel, see the pf-kernel <a href="http://pf.natalenko.name/">homepage</a> for download links.</b></div></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>seen on <a href="http://www.lffl.org/2013/05/pf-kernel-disponibile-la-versione-392.html">lffl.org</a>, image via wikipedia</i></div>

Get Better Linux Desktop Performance And More With pf-kernel

pf-kernel is a custom Linux Kernel that comes with some popular patches not merged into the mainline Kernel, such as: -ck patchset with BFS...

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How To Install Ubuntu 12.10 On Non-PAE CPU

<div style="text-align: justify;">Ubuntu 12.10 and 12.04 use the PAE Linux Kernel by default for 32bit ISOs and while you could use the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/05/how-to-install-ubuntu-1204-on-non-pae.html">mini ISO to install Ubuntu 12.04 on computers that don't support PAE</a>, that's not possible in Ubuntu 12.10.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Further more, with 12.10, Xubuntu and Lubuntu no longer come with a non-PAE Linux Kernel, so by default, you can't install any Ubuntu 12.10 flavour on computers using CPUs that lack PAE support (such as Intel Pentium M).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LDQTuow3ftlBGN96VX-jPRunO2yYjgv27uSOE24m3eTvcCtcfYHoG1vvj8Jzz9wsfYNslrHI-LeBzQIO6KgRGDP6LocVK5cu9t2wR_XYKhTi3qdenVGV2ELNvFpZIWwmHheo6LNI8KG6/s1600/ubuntu12.10-non-pae-kernel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ubuntu 12.10 non-pae" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LDQTuow3ftlBGN96VX-jPRunO2yYjgv27uSOE24m3eTvcCtcfYHoG1vvj8Jzz9wsfYNslrHI-LeBzQIO6KgRGDP6LocVK5cu9t2wR_XYKhTi3qdenVGV2ELNvFpZIWwmHheo6LNI8KG6/s320/ubuntu12.10-non-pae-kernel.png" title="ubuntu 12.10 non-pae" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>Below you'll find instructions on how to install Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal on computers that don't support PAE</b>.<b> The instructions have been tested on the default Ubuntu 12.10 ISO (with Unity), but they should work with any Ubuntu flavour like Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and so on and probably Linux Mint 14 as well</b>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Using the resulting bootable Ubuntu 12.10 USB stick, it should also be possible to upgrade from Ubuntu 12.04 to 12.10, but I've only tested it on a clean installation.</div></div><br /><a name="more"></a><i>Physical Address Extension (PAE) is a feature to allow (32-bit) x86 processors to access a physical address space (including random access memory and memory mapped devices) larger than 4 gigabytes.</i><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal on computers that don't support PAE</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.</b> Download the required files (includes non-PAE Linux Kernel 3.5.0 deb files).</div><br />You can grab all the required files as once, using BZR:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install bzr<br />cd<br />bzr branch lp:~webtom/+junk/linux-image-i386-non-pae</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Or, you can download each file manually from <a href="http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~webtom/+junk/linux-image-i386-non-pae/files">HERE</a> (click the green download image on the right). </div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> Create a <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2009/04/4-ways-to-create-bootable-live-usb.html" title="4 Ways to Create Bootable Live USB Drives (For Windows, Linux and Mac OS X)">bootable USB stick</a> with the Ubuntu 12.10 32bit ISO and once the stick is ready, open it in your file manager (.e.g. Nautilus) and replace the following files from the USB stick with the files downloaded under step 1:</div><ul><li>rename the downloaded "vmlinuz-3.5.0-17-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-17.28_i386" file to "vmlinuz" and copy it to the USB stick, under the "casper" folder, replacing the already existing "vmlinuz" file.</li><li>rename the downloaded "initrd-3.5.0-17-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-17.28_i386.lz" file to "initrd.lz" and copy it to the USB stick, under the "casper" folder, replacing the already existing "initrd.lz" file</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3. </b>Copy the following downloaded files to the USB stick (don't place them in any sub directory):</div><ul><li>linux-headers-3.5.0-17-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-17.28_i386.deb</li><li>linux-image-3.5.0-17-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-17.28_i386.deb</li></ul><br />Note that these are the <b>3.5.0-17</b> Linux headers and image, not 3.5.0-18!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>4.</b> Now you can use the USB stick to install Ubuntu 12.10 on the non-PAE capable computer. Once the installation completes, DO NOT REBOOT the computer, press CTRL + ALT + F1 and in the tty, type the following commands to install the non-PAE kernel you've copied to the USB stick under step 3:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>cd /cdrom<br />sudo dpkg --root=/target -i *.deb</code></pre><br />Some warnings will be displayed when running the above command:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZ9w2-SmYInUFQHjPtWZU3mUk5W3kxgFp3ahLeT7Uow3rHEdmHsKUlvZ8V1LOiKFfMW4slkLzlBOOp9JAGZ13ndfs30DC67oiVN96ygutrUgqYc2XjRMaSlyJs6TkM3H4De-I3zpFbrQV/s1600/install-nonpae.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ubuntu 12.10 non-pae" border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZ9w2-SmYInUFQHjPtWZU3mUk5W3kxgFp3ahLeT7Uow3rHEdmHsKUlvZ8V1LOiKFfMW4slkLzlBOOp9JAGZ13ndfs30DC67oiVN96ygutrUgqYc2XjRMaSlyJs6TkM3H4De-I3zpFbrQV/s320/install-nonpae.png" title="ubuntu 12.10 non-pae" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">ignore these warnings and once the installation completes, reboot the system (you can press CTRL + ALT + F7 to switch back to the installation and reboot from there or type "sudo reboot").</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>5.</b> Your computer should now boot the newly installed Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal flavour. From the files downloaded under step 1 (or, if you don't have access to them any more, redownload just the ones below), copy the following files to some folder that doesn't have any other deb files, e.g. your home directory:</div><ul><li>linux-image-3.5.0-18-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-18.29_i386.deb</li><li>linux-headers-3.5.0-18-wt-non-pae_3.5.0-18.29_i386.deb</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>This is the latest Linux Kernel version available in the Ubuntu 12.10 repositories (3.5.0-18 and not 3.5.0-17 which we've used under steps 3-4). </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, install these deb files:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>cd #if you've placed the files in your home directory<br />sudo dpkg -i *.deb<br />sudo apt-get install -f</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">That's it! </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, there's no PPA (that I know of) to use for non-PAE Linux Kernel updates, so when a Linux Kernel update is available in Ubuntu, don't install it and instead, check if a newer Kernel has been added to the <a href="http://bazaar.launchpad.net/%7Ewebtom/+junk/linux-image-i386-non-pae/files">BZR repository</a> used in this post and install it using "sudo dpkg -i *.deb". Or, compile your own kernel.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>Instructions adapted from <a href="http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~webtom/+junk/linux-image-i386-non-pae/view/head:/README">HERE</a>. Thanks to Thomas Reith for the instructions and non-PAE Linux Kernel deb files.</i></div>

How To Install Ubuntu 12.10 On Non-PAE CPU

Ubuntu 12.10 and 12.04 use the PAE Linux Kernel by default for 32bit ISOs and while you could use the mini ISO to install Ubuntu 12.04 on co...

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Fix Dell XPS 13 Backlight Brightness Not Adjustable And Trackpad Not Working Properly In Ubuntu 12.04 Or 12.10

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhvlWKmS5yrEibl7yvScXiiTltaGM5jlj2_hQeLMyuZJ8u3dspMgFWG7Prx_jYWNpfn69jtjOXGiNZW1qzd5lqL8cN9dkjtDNzPtmOR4B33_1UoSDdlOeTyRBGQof8_-utkWIgWESsRg5/s1600/Ubuntu_XPS13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="dell XPS Ubuntu" border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhvlWKmS5yrEibl7yvScXiiTltaGM5jlj2_hQeLMyuZJ8u3dspMgFWG7Prx_jYWNpfn69jtjOXGiNZW1qzd5lqL8cN9dkjtDNzPtmOR4B33_1UoSDdlOeTyRBGQof8_-utkWIgWESsRg5/s320/Ubuntu_XPS13.jpg" title="dell XPS Ubuntu" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sputnik Kernel PPA is an official Canonical Hardware Enablement Team PPA that provides an updated Linux Kernel which fixes some Dell XPS 13 laptop issues on Ubuntu:</div><a name="more"></a><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Backlight brightness not adjustable by default on Dell XPS 13 laptops: bug <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/954661">#954661</a> (this fix may also work for other laptops with Intel graphics processor that are having this issue)</li><li>'Cypress Trackpad' incorrectly detected as 'ImPS/2 Generic Wheel Mouse' in 'Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook': bug <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/978807">#978807</a> - the Linux Kernel in the PPA provides experimental Cypress PS/2 Trackpad driver with multi-touch support (for Dell XPS 13 and other laptops with this trackpad).</li></ul><ul></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the issues above, there was another issue which caused Dell XPS 13 and Dell XPS 15 WiFi to be disabled when disabling the Bluetooth (and the other way around) that was fixed both into the kernel available in this PPA and in the Ubuntu 12.04 kernel, but apparently it wasn't fixed for Dell XPS 17 laptops too. To fix it manually, run the following commands in a terminal:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>echo "#fix dell wifi/bluetooth:" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf<br />echo "blacklist dell_laptop" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf</code></pre>Then, restart the laptop and the WiFi / Bluetooth should work normally.<br /><br /><br /><h2>Install the Sputnik Kernel in Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10</h2><br /><b>To add the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~canonical-hwe-team/+archive/sputnik-kernel">Sputnik Kernel PPA</a> in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin or 12.10 Quantal Quetzal and upgrade the Linux Kernel, use the following commands:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-hwe-team/sputnik-kernel<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get upgrade</code></pre>Once the upgrade is complete, restart the laptop.<br /><br /><b>For Arch Linux</b> users, WebUpd8 reader dcelasun has created a custom kernel that uses these patches: <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=60736">https://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=60736</a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If for some reason you want to go back using the Linux Kernel from the official Ubuntu 12.04 / 12.10 repositories, use PPA Purge to purge the Sputnik Kernel PPA:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install ppa-purge<br />sudo ppa-purge ppa:canonical-hwe-team/sputnik-kernel</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>image via pcper.com </i></div>

Fix Dell XPS 13 Backlight Brightness Not Adjustable And Trackpad Not Working Properly In Ubuntu 12.04 Or 12.10

Sputnik Kernel PPA is an official Canonical Hardware Enablement Team PPA that provides an updated Linux Kernel which fixes some Dell XPS 13 ...

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