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GNU/Linux Debian


The goal of this page is to be able to set up a nice usable system on "every" computer following information on this site, 10 year old computers shouldn't be a problem at all.

If you need information which isn't here on this page you could read the official debian documentation, look at the man page of the program you have a question about with the command "man packagename" in a terminal (or use xman, look at program website) or ask your question at LinuxQuestions.org. And there's a huge list of howto's and documentation at the Linux Documentation Project.

At the bottom of this page I've listed links to other documentation and guides for debian.

Table of contents

1 - Installing DEBIAN

Note: I use debian testing, it can be that the information given here doesn't match for debian stable or unstable. But mostly it should be correct for those debian versions too. At this moment there is no big difference between debian stable and testing.

Download the net install CD , write and boot it.
Read an installation guide :
Debian.org, the debian testing installation manual, this manual contains a lot of information.
HOWTO install Sarge with the net-installer-rc2, this one should be more to the point, but that also means it's not guaranteed to work for everything.
See the links at the bottom of this page for more documentation.

In the netinstall don't choose to install extra packages, just the base system.
After you finished the netinstall you can follow here.

2 - Basic tools and commands

From now on commands requiring you to become root (using 'su', give root password) have # in front of them.

2.1 - Some useful "command line interface" (cli) tools

It's fastest to do everything from the terminal. Command line tools usually don't require as much computer power as their graphical counterparts. But it has a steeper learning curve. After some time you will fly and do your work much more efficient. Here are some tools for starters:
su = Login as another user, for example su root to do things only root can
dmesg = Kernel device events
lspci = Hardware information ( or use the package lshw for more info )
locate filename = Find a file
updatedb = Update the locate database
top = Displays processes, cpu and mem info
ps aux = View processes
cat /proc/meminfo = Memory info (try to "cat" the other stuff in /proc/ as well!)

See this list for file utilities.
Here's a good list of system utilities.

Linuxcommand.org (easy to follow guide for the newbie)
Linux.com CLI magic column

2.2 - How to (un)install applications

My list of my preferred lightweight applications. Install what you need after installing the basic system ( X and window manager -).
2.2.1 - Apt
Apt is a frontend to dpkg. It makes it very easy to download and install packages (programs) from the debian repositories with just 1 command.
It keeps a list on your computer of all the packages available on the repositories. You have to update that list from time to time to keep it up to date.
You can edit the repositories (sources) for the packages which apt uses, in /etc/apt/sources.list.

#apt-get update = Update the package lists
#apt-get upgrade = Upgrade all installed packages
#apt-get install [...] = Install a package
#apt-get remove [...] = Remove an installed package ( --purge to remove config files as well )
apt-cache search [...] = Search if a package is available

apt-listbugs: if you install this apt-get will list the known bugs of the applications you install.
apt-spy: tests a series of Debian archive mirrors for bandwith. It writes an /etc/apt/sources.list with the fastest server.

2.2.2 - Dpkg
Dpkg is the package manager of Debian. I use it to install local packages which I downloaded manually. But mostly to delete packages, it's also very easy to remember the command as DeletePacKaGe (dpkg).

#dpkg --purge [...] = Delete a package with all configuration files (that's what I use, it's the cleanest))
#dpkg -r [...] = Remove a package, leaving the configuration files untouched
#dpkg -i /path/to/package.deb = Install a .deb package
dpkg -l = List all installed packages


Read more about the debian package system.

2.2.3 - Aptitude
This is a very good frontend to apt.
If you use aptitude for all your installations then if you remove an application it will also remove it's dependencies which aren't needed on your computer anymore. This way you don't need debfoster or deborphan anymore (in theory).

You can substitute every apt-get install with aptitude install on this page.

3 - Configuring GNU/Linux Debian

3.1 - Adding users (+groups)

#adduser username = Add the user username
#adduser username group = Add the user username to the group group

A few interesting groups:
For a complete list, see the "FAQ" section in the Securing Debian Manual. Also the new base-passwd (>3.4.6) contains an authoritative list: /usr/share/doc/base-passwd/users-and-groups.html.

3.2 - Upgrade the system

It's a good idea to upgrade the system just after installation.
#apt-get update = Update package lists
#apt-get dist-upgrade = Upgrade all packages
apt-cache search kernel-image = Search for available kernel images
#apt-get install kernel-image = Install the kernel-image optimized for your cpu

Now reboot and choose the new kernel in grub.

3.3 - Keep the system clean

Now install some tools which are needed to keep the system clean and save hard drive space.
#apt-get install localepurge deborphan debfoster

#localepurge = Remove unnecessary locale data. Select your language and best also english.

#deborphan = Find orphaned (unused) libraries. Remove them with this line:
#deborphan | xargs apt-get -y remove --purge

#debfoster = Remove unwanted packages. It's a good idea to install debfoster directly after installing debian, and saying yes to all packages so you won't remove required packages later.
Run debfoster everytime after installing/removing packages.


Some other things to keep an eye on are:
/var/log : the disk usage of the log files can grow very big after some time. It's safe to do #rm * when in /var/log/ to delete them.

/var/tmp : is normally deleted on shutdown but if you don't shutdown often it can grow to a great amount of disk space lost. #rm * in /tmp/ to reclaim your disk space.

/var/cache/apt/ : apt will save every package downloaded on your hard drive. To delete old packages do: #apt-get autoclean . To delete all downloaded packages do: #apt-get clean. Note: this does not remove programs from your system, it only removes the locally stored installation package (which you don't need anyway if you don't know better), which was used to install the program.

3.4 - Install X

These steps were for xfree86, but now debian uses xorg. You probably just have to substitute xserver-xfree86 with xserver-xorg to use xorg.
In my experience xorg is quite much slower then xfree86 on my p1, so I installed xfree86 again after trying xorg.

#apt-get install xlibs xutils xbase-clients xserver-xfree86 xfonts-base
And install more fonts:
#apt-get install xfonts-75dpi
If you use a resolution higher then 800x600, or you have ugly fonts in X you'll probably want this too:
#apt-get install xfonts-100dpi
There are many other fonts you can install later, but the basic fonts are enough now.

#dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86 = Configure X.
Read all the information given during configuration, it should all be clear. If not, then you could try reading the very verbose debian 3.0 installation walktrough.

If you have a very slow computer, you might consider Kdrive Tiny X. Damn Small Linux uses it. It is quite hard to set up.

You can also install x with 1 command:
#apt-get install x-window-system = Big, and you probably don't need everything that comes with it
or
#apt-get install x-window-system-core = Smaller, is probably what you need, doesn't include many things you don't need, but still...

3.5 - Install a windowmanager

#apt-get install wm = Replace wm with your favorite window manager, or just try them all. I prefer a wm which let me do all the work using the keyboard only. As using the mouse can cause RSI, a disease which quite many computer users have. And not only because of that, it's just much faster to work with the keyboard only!

Keyboard friendly:
wmii, dynamic window manager. No tips, because it comes good with default settings!
ion, keyboard friendly. Tips down the page.
ratpoison, the mouse is a rat, get rid of it!

Click point trough it:
fluxbox, based on blackbox, tabs. Tips for setting it up down the page.
icewm, windows look, good quality, recommended for windows users.
wmaker, nextstep look.
fvwm, have a look at the page and see.
openbox, very clean. Tips down the page.
xfce, this is a light Desktop Environment. It's slower and a more bloated then the window managers listed here but it's still good quality.

3.6 - starting X automatically after logging in, without [gkx]dm

To do this, just add the following line to the end of your ~/.bash_profile:
nano .bash_profile (open .bash_profile in the nano editor)

ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || startx
OR you can add this line instead:

ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || xinit >/dev/null 2>&1
The second one is faster, because it starts xinit right away. Startx calls on xinit anyway, so the second one saves a process. There are differences though. Startx uses .xsession and .Xresources; xinit uses .xinitrc and .Xdefaults. The files have exactly the same function.
You can even save some more by adding exec before xinit:

ps ax|grep -q "[ ]`which X`" || exec xinit >/dev/null 2>&1
The use of exec prevents the shell from running after X starts.

3.7 - .xinitrc and .xsession

3.7.1 - Fluxbox
To start fluxbox and the slit apps automaticly when starting X, you need to have these lines in ~/.xsession (startx) or ~/.xinitrc (xinit).
The first lines are my slit apps , change them with your own or delete the first lines.
You see I have some lines commented out by putting # in front of them. Those lines are skipped.
I let numlockx start to enable numlock by default.
The only thing you need to start fluxbox is "exec fluxbox".
You can choose the order of the slit apps in ~/.fluxbox/slitlist

3.7.2 - Openbox
Similar as for fluxbox, in ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xsession.
This is my .xinitrc. For Openbox there is no slitlist, so you choose the order by letting them start in a certain order, having sleep pauses between them to make sure the order will be correct.
I first let Openbox start because obpager won't start when Openbox isn't running.

3.7.3 - Ion3
In ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xsession:
exec ion3

I have also the line "aterm -e vim welkom.txt &" to open up a welcome text I wrote which explains the basic usage and keyboard commands in Ion3 and linux. It's currently only in Dutch.

3.8 - Set background

You can set the background in openbox and other window managers with feh, or many other programs...
In .xinitrc put this line to set the background chosen in feh every time the computer starts up:
eval `cat $HOME/.fehbg` &
3.8.1 - Fluxbox specific
fbsetbg /home/user/file.jpg
If there's no app for fbsetbg to set the background install 'xloadimage' or "feh".

3.9 - Window manager configuration

You'll probably want to add a submenu in the window manager menu to shutdown or reboot the computer.
First you'll have to install the 'sudo' package. Then do:
#visudo
Add these lines (change the usernames):
------------------------------------------------------
User_Alias USERS = yourusername, yoursecond username
Cmnd_Alias SHUTDOWN = /sbin/shutdown
USERS ALL = NOPASSWD: SHUTDOWN
------------------------------------------------------
3.9.1 - Fluxbox
Menu
To change the fluxbox menu for all users you have to become root and edit /etc/X11/fluxbox/system.fluxbox-menu.
Or if you want to change it only for yourself, edit ~/.fluxbox/fluxbox-menu.
Add these lines (BEFORE the final [end]) :
----------------------------------------------
[submenu] (Power Down) {}
[exec] (Reboot) {sudo shutdown now -r}
[exec] (Shutdown) {sudo shutdown now -h}
[end]
----------------------------------------------
Here's an example of my system.fluxbox-menu for fluxbox.

After changing the menu files be sure to change this line in ~/.fluxbox/init:
session.menuFile: /etc/X11/fluxbox/fluxbox-menu (system wide menu)
session.menuFile: ~/.fluxbox/fluxbox-menu (your own user menu)

After that run the command:
#update-menus = Update the debian menu system
Note: you can also use the program 'fluxconf' to configure the menu (and more) of fluxbox.

Dockapps
Have a look at my applications page in the dockapps section. You can use wmbutton (or wmdrawer) to launch applications. Mount.app to mount devices easily.
There are many more different dockapps. Look at dockapps.org.

Desktop
You can have desktop icons using idesk. Be sure to install idesktool as well, which makes idesk much easier.
I also like torsmo, a light program to show system information on the desktop. It's nice and useful.

3.9.2 - Openbox
Openbox doc
The system wide menu file is found at /etc/X11/openbox/menu.xml .
Here's my menu file. I added a shutdown menu.

Panel
You can install pypanel, fbpanel or perlpanel to have a panel which shows you the running applications (windows style). I prefer pypanel as a panel, it has nice features as transparency and is very small.

Look for Dockapps and Desktop in the fluxbox section above.

3.9.3 - Ion3
I didn't use the menu in Ion3. But I made the keys CTRL+ALT+DELETE shutdown the computer (sudo shutdown now -h). I edited the keyboard bindings in /etc/X11/ion3/cfg_ion.lua and cfg_bindings.lua. I made two versions:
setup for keyboard without windows key: cfg_ion.lua and cfg_bindings.lua

setup for one with windows key: cfg_ion.lua and cfg_bindings.lua

I configured Ion3 in the same spirit as the man who wrote the article Fun with the Ion window manager

I made a welcome text which shows up at boot up to explain how to use the computer: welkom.txt (dutch). It explains ion3 and how to use linux in short (cli tools and programs). That's a must with ion3 because it is not similar at all to windows interface. Yet in my experience people get along very fast when they have a short welcome text to explain them the basics.

It's also not that hard to teach the users how to do certain things in the command line (like mount, eject, ...) as long as you make good short documentation (with logical simple explanation).

EDIT: I just let people who don't know linux use icewm with the silverxp theme now. Because I stopped using ion3, and use ratpoison instead. It would be stupid trying to explain ratpoison to someone who just wants to start firefox :p. I think a welcome text is a good idea though, and now that I don't have to add the specific window manager stuff (they know how windows works) it can be much shorter.

3.9.4 - Ratpoison
This is what I'm using now. I changed the Ctrl+t to the right windows key.
.ratpoisonrc
.xinitrc (set windows keys to F19 and F20)
.screenrc (not ratpoison, but everyone who uses ratpoison uses screen)
3.9.5 - Icewm
This is what I use for guests or install on other's computers when I set up linux there.
The only important things I change is:
1)Change the theme to the SilverXP theme
2) in /etc/X11/icewm/preferences: MenuMouseTracking=1

My cfgs: preferences, toolbar, menu, keys.

3.10 - Debian menu

The menu entries of Debian are in /usr/lib/menu/. If you want to change a menu file, copy the file to /etc/menu/. And edit it there. You can also add menu files in /etc/menu/ .
After editing the menu use the command '#update-menus'.

3.11 - .Xdefaults (xinit) or .Xresources (startx)

~/.Xdefaults (or .Xresources)
Here you can change the behaviour of programs (like aterm):
Example of .Xdefaults.
After changing .Xdefaults do 'xrdb -merge .Xdefaults' (or substitute with .Xresources) to change it instantly.

3.12 - Internet connection

3.12.1 - ADSL dialup
good howto
#apt-get install pppoeconf ppp = Install ppp utilities
#pppoeconf = Configure the dialup connection
After configuring use:
#pon dsl-provider = Connect to the internet
#poff = Disconnect
#plog = View the log

Let the normal users control the connection:
I use sudo to give users control over the internet connection.

You can increase the speed of your dialup connection by adding:
mtu 576
mru 576
to your /etc/ppp/options file. There should be a MTU and a MRU section to add these lines to.

3.12.2 - telephone line Dialup
Use pppconf to configure it. (rest is similar to adsl dialup above)

3.13 - Network

Use samba to share printers and files with windows computers. Linuxneighborhood is a simple gui application for samba
I recommend to use static ip's in your network instead of dhcp. It's faster and easier to work with. To use static ip's in Debian edit /etc/network/interfaces so it looks a bit like this:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.0.2
netmask 255.255.255.0
broadcast 192.168.0.255
gateway 192.168.0.1

To restart the network do:
#/etc/init.d/networking restart

3.14 - Firewall

#apt-get install iptables firehol = Install iptables and firehol
#nano /etc/default/firehol = Change START_FIREHOL=NO to START_FIREHOL=YES
#firehol-wizard = Press Enter once or twice to confirm that the wizard has detected everything right

Sometimes firewall spits its log messages to the console, which can be very annoying if you want to do something outside X. If you use FireHOL, you can fix this by installing the "ulogd" package (apt-get install ulogd) and adding the line:
FIREHOL_LOG_MODE="ULOG"
to /etc/default/firehol.
Then you can reboot and now all firewall log messages go to /var/log/ulog/syslogemu.log (instead of cluttering the console and system log messages).

If you have a very slow computer you could consider not installing firehol and using an iptables script.
You can search the web for premade scripts, but there's no guarantee that it'll work without editing it.
So you'll need to learn it. On the other hand, good self made firewall scripts are the best to stop intruders.

LG article about Arno's iptables firewall. Looks interesting!

3.15 - Sound

3.15.1 - Alsa sound driver
lspci | grep audio = See what soundcard you have
#apt-get install alsa-base = Install alsa
#alsaconf = Configure alsa

alsamixer = Change volumes
#alsactl store = Save volumes

#adduser *** audio = Add user to the audio group so he is allowed to use the audio device

Maybe you'll need to reboot (or just run startup scripts again) to make sound work.

3.15.2 - Beeping ON
#modprobe pcspkr
#xset b on
or off to turn beeping off
ctrl+g in console to beep
add pcspkr in /etc/modules to autoload

3.16 - mime type support

Mime type support means that programs which support mime types open files with the program which can open it, automaticly. So you as user don't have to manually say which program to use.
#apt-get install mime-support metamail = Install mime type support

3.17 - Printing

First look for information on your printer at Linuxprinting.org, which gives a lot of information for printing in GNU/Linux.

There are various printing subsystems for linux. The best system for new users is probably CUPS.

3.17.1 - LPD and apsfilter
This is the more traditional printing subsystem. It's a bit lighter on resources then CUPS.

#apt-get install lprng = Install lprng (lpr next generation), lprngtool and printop are light gui's for it
#apt-get install apsfilter gs = Install apsfilter and ghostscript
#apt-get install ijsgimpprint = Inktjet server, required for Canon S540
#apsfilterconfig = Configure printer settings

In apsfilterconfig you have to specify the address of the printer.
Use the command dmesg to see what the address is if it's a local printer.
When you chose the name for the printer chose lp, that's the default printer name and many programs use it.

lpr -Pprinter filename = Print file with printer, -Pprinter is optional. Example: -Paps1
lpq -Pprinter = List qeued printerjobs
lprm -Pprinter 0 = Cancel printjob 0
man lpr = More info on lpr
#lpc status = View status of the printers
#adduser username lp = Give username the ability to print


PDQ looks like a simpler alternative to lp, lpq, lprm, ... for workstations. But I haven't tried it yet.
3.17.2 - CUPS
CUPS is gaining popularity every day, it should be easy to use.

#apt-get install cupsys cupsys-client cupsys-bsd = Install CUPS

After CUPS is installed open this address in your browser:
http://localhost:631/admin = CUPS configuration system.

It should ask you for your username and password. Enter root as the username and put in the root password. Click "Add Printer" and put in the required fields. You can put any name you want. In the next screen, most people should select "USB Printer #1" if they have a USB printer. If you have a parallel one you need to change this selection of course. Most new printers are USB printers.

In the next few screens, the utility will ask for the make and model of your printer and you should have this information available. You can use the CUPS configuration utility to print a test page. It's usually a good idea to go ahead and print a test page just to see if your set up works and if the colors look OK.

3.17.3 - Printing booklets with the psutils package
psbook file.ps file_book.ps = Rearrange the pages into a signature
psnup -2 file_book.ps > file_2up.ps = Put two pages on 1 page in landscape orientation
pstops "2:0(1in,0in)" file_2up.ps > odd.ps = Output the odd pages
pstops "2:-1(1in,0in)" file_2up.ps > even.ps = Output the even pages
Then print the odd pages, when finished turn the pages around and put them again in the printer and print the even pages.
References:The Linux Cookbook, Printing and binding your own manuals, LG Micropublishing.

3.18 - Monitor power saving

To save power and your screen it's important to let it turn off after some minutes of inactivity. Never use screensavers, most of them use even more power.
in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 or xorg.conf (change the numbers if you want):
------------------------------------------------------
Section "Monitor"
Option "DPMS"

Section "ServerLayout"
Option "StandbyTime" "3" # Turn off screen in 3 minutes (DPMS)
Option "SuspendTime" "8" # Full hibernation in 8 minutes (DPMS)
Option "OffTime" "15" # Turn off DPMS monitor (DPMS)
----------------------------------------------------

3.19 - Change GTK theme

#apt-get install gtk-theme-switch (this program doesn't work for me anymore, my .gtkrc for gtk-engines-industrial)
industrial theme: #apt-get install gtk-engines-industrial
font: -dec-terminal-medium-r-normal-*-*-140-*-*-c-*-iso8859-1

3.20 - Fonts

3.20.1 - Debian font tools
#dpkg-reconfigure libpango1.0-common
#dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig

3.20.2 - Ugly fonts in gtk
run locale
does it say you are using utf-8
If executing
LANG=en_GB.iso88591 program_name
makes fonts good, then do
#dpkg-reconfigure locales
and change to an iso88591 font

3.21 - Tvout

Tvout in X is quite a drag to get on an Ati card, because of Ati's terrible linux support. Here's a guide + deb packages to install the ati drivers, maybe that gives you tvout.
An Nvidia card should be easier to get working.
Actually I didn't get tvout on my Ati working in X, I didn't have time to find out how it works and I decided to wait until it gets easier.
I did find a workaround to play video's without X, using mplayer you can play a video in console (which is showed on your tv when you turn the tv on before starting up).
Mplayer packages for debian: Debian and mplayer FAQ
mplayer -vo vesa /path/to/video = The command to play in console with the vesa driver

An other way is to download the Geexbox livecd distro (6 MB), burn and boot it. Sit back and relax :).

Note that it's probably easy to get tvout working on an Nvidia. Here's a linuxquestions topic about installing nvidia drivers on debian sarge, maybe that gets you tvout too.

3.22 - Fstab

/etc/fstab is the file where the type and address of all partitions are written. When you plug in a usb stick or a new harddrive you have to add a line in fstab to be able to mount it. This is done manually (only once). It's possible to let it be done automaticly, but I won't discuss that here. Type "man fstab" in a terminal for more information about fstab.

3.22.1 - Adding a Fat partition
In etc/fstab:
/dev/hda10 /fat/10 vfat auto,rw,umask=000 1 0

3.22.2 - Usb storage devices
I use my IHP 120 mp3 player as example, the way of getting it done should be the same or similar for other devices.
Right after plugging in the unit, open a terminal and type dmesg. The output should say something like this:

hub.c: new USB device 00:0b.2-5, assigned address 2
usb.c: USB device 2 (vend/prod 0x1006/0x3002) is not claimed by any active driver.
Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
usb.c: registered new driver usb-storage
scsi2 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Vendor: TOSHIBA Model: MK2004GAL Rev: JA02
Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Attached scsi disk sdb at scsi2, channel 0, id 0, lun 0
SCSI device sdb: 39063024 512-byte hdwr sectors (20000 MB)
sdb: sdb1

This tells you that the device lives at /dev/sdb1. Next step is to give it a mount point.
Create a directory where you want the ihp to live while it's mounted. On my system, it's at /iriver.
Step three is to make an entry in /etc/fstab. You'll need to put in a line similar to this:

/dev/sdb1 /iriver vfat noauto,user,rw 0 0

The first column is the device name, the second is where it'll be mounted, and the third is the filesystem type. Make sure to specify vfat (same as FAT32) and not msdos, as the latter will hose your filenames and possibly render the disc on the ihp unresponsive. The fourth column specifies that the device is not automatically mounted on boot (noauto), that individual users can mount it (user), and that it can be read and written (rw). Provided the ihp shows up on your system as it does on mine, you could just copy this whole line into your own fstab.
With the preliminaries out of the way, just plug in the ihp and type mount /iriver, and you're good to go. The /iriver directory will act like any other on your system as far as copying, moving or deleting files.. Make sure to unmount (umount /iriver) the device before disconnecting it.

Note: an easy way to mount and unmount devices is by using the slit app "mount.app" (in *box and wmaker).
Note2: you can also let the system automaticly mount. By installing pmount and hal and adding the users to the group plugdev. But this might still be a bit buggy.

3.23 - Compiling your own kernel

This can increase performance and stability if you do it right.
Read guide to 2.6 kernel upgrade/recompile , linux kernel howto or Recompiling a kernel the Debian way.

While compiling, keep the following points in mind:
  1. The default policy is not to have anything unless required.
  2. Whatever is required is made a module unless needed at all times.

3.24 - Speeding it up

The first 3 points can reduce boot time a lot. The other points can be tried but don't change that much in my experience.
Also read Tuning a debian system.

3.24.1 - Minimise modules loaded at startup
In /etc/modules. I have only five: the reiserfs module, Ethernet card driver module, sound card module, videocard module and mouse module.

3.24.2 - Minimise services loaded at startup
A handy tool is rcconf or sysvconfig. I run only the necessary services.
3.24.3 - Minimise startup script actions
sysv-rc-conf is a very good program to do this.
/etc/rcS.d/ contains the startup scripts. I have taken away the script that runs portmapper, as also the script that restores nvi editor sessions. They are useless to me.

I also removed hotplug and discover scripts. Instead of letting those detect the modules needed I put all modules I need in /etc/modules. To know which modules you need become root and type "lsmod". Then copy all those modules running to /etc/modules. But it has to be in the reversed order, so the one at the bottom of the lsmod list should be at the top of /etc/modules.

3.24.4 - noatime
Whenever a file is accessed in Linux, the current time and date are recorded. This is not usually needed, and you can gain a small amount of speed (which won't show up using hdparm -Tt) by disabling this option. This is done by editing your /etc/fstab file, and where on your hard drive line it says defaults, change it to defaults,noatime.

3.24.5 - dash
Install dash (it was named ash before). Make /bin/sh a simlink to /bin/dash. Normally it's linked to bash, which is slower. /bin/sh is used by various programs. Using dash will make them faster.
You can also make dash your user shell with 'chsh'. That will save some more ram, but I advice you then to use bash in [xae]term/rxvt. For example: 'aterm -e bash'. Dash is no good interactive shell.

3.24.6 - /etc/inittab
Change the number of virtual consoles from 6 to 2 by adding a # in front of the lines.
Here you can also change CTRL+ALT+DELETE behaviour to shut the pc down instead of rebooting (if you'd ever want to).

3.24.7 - Hdparm
Hdparm is important because it lets you control DMA and other features of your drives. But at the same time it's dangerous, only use it when you know what you are doing!
#hdparm -tT /dev/hda = Test write/cache speed
#hdparm -i /dev/hda = Get info on the drive

Here's an explanation of some of the various options you can change for your drive:
multicount: This is the multiple sector count, which controls how many sectors are retrieved from the disk in a single I/O interrupt. All most all modern hard drives support this. This setting, when optimized, can increase hard drive throughput anywhere from 5% to 50%.
I/O support: This is the setting that will make a significant change to your system. Nearly all modern chipsets support 32-bit mode, and changing I/O support to this will almost certainly produce a twofold increase in speed.
using_dma: DMA can be tricky to use on older hardware. If you can get your hard drive to use DMA, then do it. But systems can hang if the hard drive doesn't support this setting.

Now we know what the main options do, shut down X and go into the console as root to ensure minimal chances of data loss. Here is a generally safe command you can use on your hard drive:

#hdparm -m16 -c3 /dev/hda

When you check the hard drive throughput, it should practically have doubled.
There are some more dangerous options you can add:

#hdparm -m16 -c3 -d1 -u1 -X34 /dev/hda

You can also try using the -X69 option.
With some of the riskier options, you should notice a large increase in your hard drive performance.
Now edit your startup scripts so that hdparm runs at boot,
because the settings have to be changed every time your system starts up.
You can also set the -k1 option to keep your settings if you're satisfied that they are perfectly safe.

The following provides 32-bit IO support with sync (-c3), DMA support (-d1), Advanced Power Management (-B128), write-caching (-W1), disk spin down after five minutes (-S60), setting multcount to 16, setting unmaskirq to 1.
#hdparm -d1 -u1 -m16 -c3 -B128 -W1 -S60 /dev/hda
Gains me some performance with added power savings on a new harddrive. Disable write caching (-W0) in an environment with random power failures.

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