Shipping NetWinder FAQ

Help! My clock is set to some weird value!

Yup. It doesn't have a battery, just a big capacitor, enough for about two days. So don't turn your NW off, eh? Here's how to fix your clock:

• date -s mm/dd/yy
• date -s hh:mm
• clock -w -u

or if you've got the network configured:

• rdate time.nist.gov
• clock -w -u

or if you're using ntpdate:

• # ntpdate uses adjtime(), which cannot set time backwards.
• date -s 980101
• ntpdate www.netwinder.org
• clock -w -u

Help! I have some files which are dated in the future!

Yup. Obviously some people worked on the image without performing the previous step. Fix it like this:

• touch /tmp/now
• find / -newer /tmp/now -exec touch {} \;

Help! X doesn't work on my monitor!

Yup. The default X framebuffer is 1024x780.

• rm /dev/fb0current
• ln -s /dev/fb0color640x480x16

Help! The fan is always running on high speed!

Yup. The thermostat is set way low. Set it to 50 degrees C like this:

• set_therm 50

Help! What happened to my 3.2GB of disk?

It's there. pfdisk /dev/hda will show it all to you when you use its L command. 16MB of boot partition, 700MB of root partition, 125MB of swap, and 2079MB of /disc/hda4.

Help! How do I set up Ethernet networking?

No problem. Configure eth0 if you're using the 10Mbps port. Configure eth1 if you're using the 10/100 port.

• /etc/rc.d/init.d/network stop
• vi /etc/sysconfig/network
• vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
• vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1
• /etc/rc.d/init.d/network start
  This will complain that the tulip module is already loaded. This is a harmless bug. Ignore it.

Help! How do I set my console to get more characters on the screen?

Pat Beirne puts setfont -9 into his rc.sysinit. Most apps handle 80x44 well.

Help! My machine runs hotter than I think it should.

Try powering down your hard drive after a bit. Use hdparm -S 15 /dev/hda to power down the disk after 75 seconds.

Help! When I move a window in X, it leaves some pixels behind and doesn't redraw properly.

It's a function of the X server code and kernel. The X server performs unaligned writes, which generate a fault. The kernel doesn't handle these properly, so the screen gets corrupted. It's a known problem, and the CCC folks are testing a kernel which fixes it.

Help! How do I connect an external modem and run PPP?

Apart from the usual PPP travails, you need to do the following (the first three steps need only be done once, of course).

• cd /lib/modules
• mv ppp.o misc
• mv slhc.o misc
• insmod slhc
• insmod ppp

Help! My netwinder doesn't boot anymore!

Uh-oh. You broke it didn't you? Sounds like you need Stany's boot rescue HOWTO.