Hacking Team Malware Hides in UEFI BIOS to Survive PC Reinstalls – Softpedia
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Repair GRUB on IBM Thinkpad – The best Linux solution
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When you decide to add another OS to the usual OS on your PC you can potentially damage your grub package. The Grub (GNU GRand Unified Bootloader) is the “soul” of you hardware, the program which allows your PC to find the OS during the boot-up.
Today we will not discuss about the old and new malware that are able to influence the GRUB but we will focus our attention on how repairing your computer when you see grub rescue> on your black screen…
The first solution you can find on internet is a detailed command solution but it was unfortunately usefulness in my case because my PC was not able to correctly accept the insmod command. Consequently I decided to use a portable rescue CD-USB to fix the matter.
Normally, if you use an Ubuntu derived OS, you can use Boot-Repair and it will semi-automatically fix your Grub problem in just few minutes. In any case, it is moderately easy but you have to be 100% sure about what HD partition you want to repair. As usual, this wasn’t my case. I had to find something more generic -in term of serviced OS- but effective.
At the end I bumped into the Boot Repair Disk. I had just to burn the free iso on a RW DVD and I could start to test it on my “out of service” laptop. The Boot Repair live CD is a wonderful tool! As soon as you boot up the live CD, Boot Repair guides you to the best possible solution. You have just to follow the suggestion on the screen and, in few minutes, the Boot Repair Disk is able to fix the Grub and to perfectly restore your computer.
Easy, Fast, Effective!! 
How to fix monitor problems (bugs?) on Ubuntu 12.04 and later versions – Linux
Starting from Ubuntu 12.04 we observed different graphics problems with “old” computers. When I say “old” I don’t mean obsolete hardware but PC with not more than three years of usage.
Many problems were especially noticed in systems with dual monitors or involving laptops. In few words, Ubuntu was not able to keep and memorize the correct video settings and it was necessary to set-up monitors configuration almost each time you logged on your OS. If you have the same problem and you are surfing the net to fix this “bug” don’t forget to search for solutions strictly connected to the laptop or graphic card you are really using. In fact in our experience there are more than few solutions possible and what it’s resolving for some hardware could become a real mess for different (but similar) machines.
The risk of damaging Ubuntu graphical interface while you try to fix the laptop – dual monitors problem is high. Or it has been in our experience because after some tests we were just able to use Ubuntu through the old line way in its safe mode boot. In any way, in our experience (IBM Thinkpad T43 and a HP L1950g monitor using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with MATE as graphical interface) we solved all the matter just using Terminal and typing:
sudo apt-get update
and
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
We are not able to explain why it works but it really fixed the bug. Probably, in one of the previous update one or more libraries conflicted with Ubuntu 12.04 configuration generating all the mess we fought against during the past months.
So, if you want to test our solution on your PC, do it at your risk, and type:
sudo apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop
or
sudo apt-get install --reinstall xubuntu-desktop
or
sudo apt-get install --reinstall kubuntu-desktop
or
sudo apt-get install --reinstall lubuntu-desktop
If you want to reinstall all (k)ubuntu-desktop dependencies:
sudo apt-cache depends ubuntu-desktop | awk -F ":" '{print $2}' | sed '/^$/d' | xargs sudo apt-get install --reinstall --install-recommends --yes
Don’t forget to choose your favourite k-x-l-u-buntu-desktop when you type all the above code in just one line and !
Good luck!…. and touch wood while you fix this really annoying bug…..
Video – Change GRUB menu list by curemind
How to Change the Boot Order in Ubuntu
If you installed Ubuntu and Windows at the same time, you probably noticed that when you start your computer you can choose what operating system to launch. The responsible software for this is usually the GRUB loader and its menu. Obviously, after you install Ubuntu, it is placed as the first option and if you do not explicitly choose Windows in a few seconds, Ubuntu will be started. But what if you want Windows as your default option? Here is how you change the order:
1. Launch a new Ubuntu Terminal (Applications, Accessories). Type in the following command:
sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst_backup
This will create a backup of the GRUB configuration file.
2. Now open the file. We’ll do it with a new command:
sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
You will be prompted for a password, after which a text editor will be launched. In most of the situations, the menu.lst file contains many comments. You have to search for a line that says
default 0
This should not be very far from the end of file. Here you will have to intervene. After a few lines you will the variable called ‘timeout’ and its value (10 by default). If you want to have more or less time available for choosing your operating system, change the 10 with what number you want.
So back to the boot sequence. Scroll through the file again until you find:
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
There will be more titles. Count the order number of Windows, but start from 0. The value you choose should overwrite the default one. For example, if Windows is the 4th title in the list, you will need to type
default 4
instead of ‘default 0’, which was described above. All you need to do at this point is to save the file and restart your computer.
How to fix the number of kernels during the Ubuntu boot up!
We are sorry for the delay in uploading this new post but we had some technical problems. It happens! This week, in our Linux Page (in Spanish) we have posted a couple of simple but effective tips to choose how many Kernels you want you see when starting up your Ubuntu 8.04. Using Add/Remove Programs it is possible to install the “StartUp Manager” program which allows you to easily choose the number of kernels you prefer. Moreover we have suggested an alternative command line “delete” and “save” solution for the people who prefer to solve this inconvenience without installing new software. Good work! 
Computer Borders 