• [gentoo-user] for the speakup users on the list

    From Jude DaShiell@21:1/5 to All on Sun Apr 17 17:20:01 2022
    Has the links browser crashed other computers when used with speakup? If
    it turns out I'm not unique maybe a safer browser choice ought to go on
    the next minimal iso.

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  • From Mark Knecht@21:1/5 to jdashiel@panix.com on Sun Apr 17 18:30:01 2022
    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 8:14 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote:

    Has the links browser crashed other computers when used with speakup? If
    it turns out I'm not unique maybe a safer browser choice ought to go on
    the next minimal iso.



    To start, as you mention speakup, if you are yourself blind I acknowledge
    at the outset my suggestions below may not be the most practical.

    I'd start by doing everything I could to ensure the underlying motherboard
    and memory are stable:

    1) Disconnect all external devices other than your keyboard
    2) Disconnect all internal drives other than the one you need to install to
    3) Remove all memory except for 1 stick
    4) If the machine has a motherboard VGA AND you have a card-based
    GPU then remove that card
    5) Leave wired ethernet connected if the machine and your network
    support it.

    At that point run memtest86 from USB or a DVD. If it's stable then
    start adding back memory. Double check that all memory is the
    same spec. I bought a used MB recently with 6 sticks but 2 of them
    weren't the same as the other 4.

    If all of that works I'd install some very light distro - probably
    Ubuntu Server but you're free to choose - with the goal to
    get a Linux kernel running. At that point I'm probably going to
    install something like btop and watch temperatures.

    If all that worked then you've made forward progress. If it
    doesn't you've also made forward progress.

    Good luck,
    Mark

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Jude DaShiell@21:1/5 to Mark Knecht on Sun Apr 17 19:00:01 2022
    Yes, I am blind and can disassemble computers okay but never could learn
    to assemble them since the equipment to test memory external to computers
    has been and will remain inaccessible. This if it's done will have to be
    done by a repair shop and likely will cost more to repair this machine
    than replace it if that much work is involved.


    On Sun, 17 Apr 2022, Mark Knecht wrote:

    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 8:14 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote:

    Has the links browser crashed other computers when used with speakup? If it turns out I'm not unique maybe a safer browser choice ought to go on
    the next minimal iso.



    To start, as you mention speakup, if you are yourself blind I acknowledge
    at the outset my suggestions below may not be the most practical.

    I'd start by doing everything I could to ensure the underlying motherboard and memory are stable:

    1) Disconnect all external devices other than your keyboard
    2) Disconnect all internal drives other than the one you need to install to 3) Remove all memory except for 1 stick
    4) If the machine has a motherboard VGA AND you have a card-based
    GPU then remove that card
    5) Leave wired ethernet connected if the machine and your network
    support it.

    At that point run memtest86 from USB or a DVD. If it's stable then
    start adding back memory. Double check that all memory is the
    same spec. I bought a used MB recently with 6 sticks but 2 of them
    weren't the same as the other 4.

    If all of that works I'd install some very light distro - probably
    Ubuntu Server but you're free to choose - with the goal to
    get a Linux kernel running. At that point I'm probably going to
    install something like btop and watch temperatures.

    If all that worked then you've made forward progress. If it
    doesn't you've also made forward progress.

    Good luck,
    Mark



    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Jack@21:1/5 to Jude DaShiell on Sun Apr 17 19:10:01 2022
    I think many on this list would be willing to help with this, if the
    location were close enough.  You might hunt for a local linux users
    group, or other group of folks likely to be interested and willing to
    tinker with hardware.  You might also see if there is a local high
    school or technical school with relevant classes, to ask if there is a
    student willing to help you.

    The actual work in removing and replacing heat sink and fan is not that
    great - but if it is not near definite that is the cause of your
    problem, then it might be a wasted effort.

    On 4/17/22 12:53, Jude DaShiell wrote:
    Yes, I am blind and can disassemble computers okay but never could learn
    to assemble them since the equipment to test memory external to computers
    has been and will remain inaccessible. This if it's done will have to be done by a repair shop and likely will cost more to repair this machine
    than replace it if that much work is involved.


    On Sun, 17 Apr 2022, Mark Knecht wrote:

    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 8:14 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote: >>> Has the links browser crashed other computers when used with speakup? If >>> it turns out I'm not unique maybe a safer browser choice ought to go on
    the next minimal iso.


    To start, as you mention speakup, if you are yourself blind I acknowledge
    at the outset my suggestions below may not be the most practical.

    I'd start by doing everything I could to ensure the underlying motherboard >> and memory are stable:

    1) Disconnect all external devices other than your keyboard
    2) Disconnect all internal drives other than the one you need to install to >> 3) Remove all memory except for 1 stick
    4) If the machine has a motherboard VGA AND you have a card-based
    GPU then remove that card
    5) Leave wired ethernet connected if the machine and your network
    support it.

    At that point run memtest86 from USB or a DVD. If it's stable then
    start adding back memory. Double check that all memory is the
    same spec. I bought a used MB recently with 6 sticks but 2 of them
    weren't the same as the other 4.

    If all of that works I'd install some very light distro - probably
    Ubuntu Server but you're free to choose - with the goal to
    get a Linux kernel running. At that point I'm probably going to
    install something like btop and watch temperatures.

    If all that worked then you've made forward progress. If it
    doesn't you've also made forward progress.

    Good luck,
    Mark



    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Knecht@21:1/5 to jdashiel@panix.com on Sun Apr 17 19:30:01 2022
    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 9:53 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote:

    Yes, I am blind and can disassemble computers okay but never could learn
    to assemble them since the equipment to test memory external to computers
    has been and will remain inaccessible. This if it's done will have to be done by a repair shop and likely will cost more to repair this machine
    than replace it if that much work is involved.


    I was curious about speakup as I had not heard about it so I attempted
    an install on my Ubuntu desktop but it's not in the default repositories.

    Reading the Ubuntu docs they say speakup is applied as a kernel
    patch to 2.4 & 2.6 level kernels and that to use it with a modern
    version the patches would have to be ported. It appears that all
    the docs on speakup I found quickly stalled out in 2008-2010.

    https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/doc/Speakup

    Do you know of newer work?

    I'm curious about the program from a persona point of
    view. When I started at National Semiconductor in 1978
    we had a cantankerous old guy working on text-to-speach
    synthesizers so I had a little bit of exposure.

    There are old Ubuntu releases here:

    https://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/

    If I can figure out what kernels they were running I could
    possibly try creating a VM and see where it leads me.

    Echoing Jack's comment, I'm not sure this is a heat
    sink problem. Misoperation at the time of letting
    go of the reset button prior to POST. If the machine is
    starting cold a processor wouldn't overheat that fast but
    I haven't yet read all of your thread.

    I think there's also an opportunity here to do some sort
    of remote debug with you if we can find anything that does
    boot.

    Mark

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Jude DaShiell@21:1/5 to Jack on Sun Apr 17 19:50:01 2022
    I'm checking on a lower bucks user group to see if it's still active.
    They do all manner of operating systems including linux in that group.


    On Sun, 17 Apr 2022, Jack wrote:

    I think many on this list would be willing to help with this, if the location were close enough.  You might hunt for a local linux users group, or other group of folks likely to be interested and willing to tinker with hardware.  You might also see if there is a local high school or technical school with relevant classes, to ask if there is a student willing to help you.

    The actual work in removing and replacing heat sink and fan is not that great - but if it is not near definite that is the cause of your problem, then it might be a wasted effort.

    On 4/17/22 12:53, Jude DaShiell wrote:
    Yes, I am blind and can disassemble computers okay but never could learn
    to assemble them since the equipment to test memory external to computers has been and will remain inaccessible. This if it's done will have to be done by a repair shop and likely will cost more to repair this machine
    than replace it if that much work is involved.


    On Sun, 17 Apr 2022, Mark Knecht wrote:

    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 8:14 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote: >>> Has the links browser crashed other computers when used with speakup? If >>> it turns out I'm not unique maybe a safer browser choice ought to go on >>> the next minimal iso.


    To start, as you mention speakup, if you are yourself blind I acknowledge >> at the outset my suggestions below may not be the most practical.

    I'd start by doing everything I could to ensure the underlying motherboard >> and memory are stable:

    1) Disconnect all external devices other than your keyboard
    2) Disconnect all internal drives other than the one you need to install to
    3) Remove all memory except for 1 stick
    4) If the machine has a motherboard VGA AND you have a card-based
    GPU then remove that card
    5) Leave wired ethernet connected if the machine and your network
    support it.

    At that point run memtest86 from USB or a DVD. If it's stable then
    start adding back memory. Double check that all memory is the
    same spec. I bought a used MB recently with 6 sticks but 2 of them
    weren't the same as the other 4.

    If all of that works I'd install some very light distro - probably
    Ubuntu Server but you're free to choose - with the goal to
    get a Linux kernel running. At that point I'm probably going to
    install something like btop and watch temperatures.

    If all that worked then you've made forward progress. If it
    doesn't you've also made forward progress.

    Good luck,
    Mark





    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Knecht@21:1/5 to jdashiel@panix.com on Sun Apr 17 20:00:01 2022
    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 10:42 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote:

    I'm checking on a lower bucks user group to see if it's still active.
    They do all manner of operating systems including linux in that group.


    <SNIP>

    I was able to set up an Ubuntu 10.04.4 Lucid VM here in under 15
    minutes. It came up running the 2.6.32 kernel which I think
    should be patchable with speakup.

    Will continue to investigate.

    Mark

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Covici@21:1/5 to Mark Knecht on Sun Apr 17 21:00:01 2022
    On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 13:28:50 -0400,
    Mark Knecht wrote:

    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 9:53 AM Jude DaShiell <jdashiel@panix.com> wrote:

    Yes, I am blind and can disassemble computers okay but never could learn
    to assemble them since the equipment to test memory external to computers has been and will remain inaccessible. This if it's done will have to be done by a repair shop and likely will cost more to repair this machine
    than replace it if that much work is involved.


    I was curious about speakup as I had not heard about it so I attempted
    an install on my Ubuntu desktop but it's not in the default repositories.

    Reading the Ubuntu docs they say speakup is applied as a kernel
    patch to 2.4 & 2.6 level kernels and that to use it with a modern
    version the patches would have to be ported. It appears that all
    the docs on speakup I found quickly stalled out in 2008-2010.

    https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/doc/Speakup

    Do you know of newer work?

    I'm curious about the program from a persona point of
    view. When I started at National Semiconductor in 1978
    we had a cantankerous old guy working on text-to-speach
    synthesizers so I had a little bit of exposure.

    There are old Ubuntu releases here:

    https://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/

    If I can figure out what kernels they were running I could
    possibly try creating a VM and see where it leads me.

    Echoing Jack's comment, I'm not sure this is a heat
    sink problem. Misoperation at the time of letting
    go of the reset button prior to POST. If the machine is
    starting cold a processor wouldn't overheat that fast but
    I haven't yet read all of your thread.

    I think there's also an opportunity here to do some sort
    of remote debug with you if we can find anything that does
    boot.

    Speakup works in most recent kernels, 5.10.x and it is now in the
    mainstream kernel, but I forget what release it got in there. There
    are two types of synthesizers, hardware and software. Most people use
    software synthesizers these days, I still use a hardware synthesizer.
    You might need the espeakup package to make it work, or speechdup
    and speech-dispatcher.
    I am pretty sure speakup is even in the net install of gentoo.

    --
    Your life is like a penny. You're going to lose it. The question is:
    How do
    you spend it?

    John Covici wb2una
    covici@ccs.covici.com

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  • From Mark Knecht@21:1/5 to covici@ccs.covici.com on Sun Apr 17 23:10:01 2022
    On Sun, Apr 17, 2022 at 11:57 AM John Covici <covici@ccs.covici.com> wrote: <SNIP>

    Speakup works in most recent kernels, 5.10.x and it is now in the
    mainstream kernel, but I forget what release it got in there. There
    are two types of synthesizers, hardware and software. Most people use software synthesizers these days, I still use a hardware synthesizer.
    You might need the espeakup package to make it work, or speechdup
    and speech-dispatcher.
    I am pretty sure speakup is even in the net install of gentoo.


    John,
    Great info. Thanks. On my Kubuntu system a simple terminal command

    espeak "hello"

    worked without much trouble. Initially it went to a USB device but I reconfigured in pulseaudio and now hear audio. I was also able to type a
    few sentences and it properly put some extra delay in at the periods.

    This suggests (to me) that if Jude gets stuck on the Gentoo part
    of this he could fall back to something like Kubuntu as a test of his
    hard issues at least.

    Cheers,
    Mark

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  • From Wols Lists@21:1/5 to Mark Knecht on Tue Apr 19 20:40:01 2022
    On 17/04/2022 18:28, Mark Knecht wrote:
    Echoing Jack's comment, I'm not sure this is a heat
    sink problem. Misoperation at the time of letting
    go of the reset button prior to POST. If the machine is
    starting cold a processor wouldn't overheat that fast but
    I haven't yet read all of your thread.

    I think there's also an opportunity here to do some sort
    of remote debug with you if we can find anything that does
    boot.

    On quite a few occasions I've had machines that won't boot. Memory is
    notorious for causing a black screen on boot, no beeps, no nothing.

    My first PC (Cyrix 686) eventually cured itself after I'd reseated the
    memory 3 or 4 times. This machine, I nicked its 2x8GB for another
    machine and replaced it with 2x16GB - that took several reseats before
    it eventually worked. I'm sure I've had others ...

    Okay, if Jude is blind he wouldn't see if the problem is "nothing
    happening", but on any machine that won't do anything that is the first suspect...

    The other thing is, if the mobo and processor aren't bought as a
    "matched pair" you could get hit like I did with the first incarnation
    of this machine - the mobo and cpu were allegedly compatible, but the
    bios wasn't - I had to RMA the mobo, they upgraded the bios, and then everything allegedly was hunky dory. I still haven't rebuilt that mobo
    though ...

    Cheers,
    Wol

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