Brett Klamer

The Complete Installation Guide for Xubuntu 16.04

This is a guide for installing Xubuntu 16.04 - the hard way. The partitioning scheme is laid out as

+-----------++-------------------------------------------------------+
|           || Logical vol1 20GB         | Logical vol2 20GB+        |
|           || /dev/mapper/system-root   | /dev/mapper/system-home   |
| Boot      ||_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|
| partition || dm-crypt LUKS LVM partition                           | 
| /dev/sda1 || /dev/mapper/sdb2_crypt                                |
|           ||_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|
|           || dm-crypt LUKS encrypted partition                     |
|           || /dev/sda2                                             |
+-----------++-------------------------------------------------------+

Warnings

  1. You may need to change some options for your install
  2. Test in a virtual machine before use. Real hardware will still be different.
  3. Grub gets installed on the first ordered disk by the ubuntu installation iso. It’s possible the USB installation device is listed as first in disk order and will be installed with grub. In this case, simply reboot with the installation USB, login, and run sudo dpkg-reconfigure grub-pc. This will show a text interface where you can choose the installation disk(s).

Sections

Install Xubuntu 16.04 with dm-crypt LUKS encryption for root and home partitions

  1. Download minimal Ubuntu 16.04 at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/MinimalCD
  2. Use unetbootin to transfer to USB
  3. Reboot computer from USB
  4. Installer boot menu
    1. Advanced options
    2. Expert install
  5. Installer main menu
    1. Choose language
      1. Language: English
      2. Country: United States
      3. Country for default settings: United States
      4. Additional Locales: none (continue)
    2. Configure the keyboard
      1. No, don’t detect keyboard layout
      2. Country of origin: English (US)
      3. Keyboard layout: English (US)
    3. Detect network hardware
    4. Configure the network
      1. Primary network interface: wlan0 (wireless) or eth0 (wired)
      2. Wireless network: choose ssid
      3. Wireless network type: wpa/wpa2 psk
      4. wpa/wpa2 passphrase: password
      5. Yes, autoconfigure networking
      6. Continue with 3 seconds wait time
      7. Hostname: ubuntu
      8. Domain name: none (continue)
    5. Choose a mirror of the Ubuntu archive
      1. Protocol for file downloads: http
      2. Ubuntu archive for mirror country: United States
      3. Ubuntu archive mirror: us.archive.ubuntu.com
      4. HTTP proxy: none (continue)
    6. Download installer components
      1. Installer components to load: none (continue)
    7. Detect virtual driver disks
    8. Set up users and passwords
      1. Yes, enable shadow passwords
      2. No, do not allow login as root
      3. Name for new user: name
      4. Username for account: name
      5. Password for new user: pass
      6. No, do not encrypt home directory (this is eCryptfs-based)
    9. Configure the clock
      1. Yes, set the clock using NTP
      2. NTP server: ntp.ubuntu.com
      3. Yes, time zone is correct
    10. Detect disks
    11. Partition disks
      1. Manual
      2. Select the disk for partitioning (Only if safe to wipe current partition table! Otherwise select free space or already created partitions.)
        1. Yes, create new empty partition table
        2. Choose gpt partition table type
      3. Select free space – to create /boot partition
        1. Create a new partition
        2. Create partition size of 500 MB in size
          1. Beginning of partition
          2. Name: boot
          3. Use as: EXT4 file system
          4. Mount point: /boot
          5. Mount options: relatime
          6. Done setting up the partitioning
      4. Select free space – to create encrypted partition
        1. Create a new partition
        2. Partition size needs to be enough for both / (root) ~20GB and /home ~20GB-4TB (sizes dependent upon individual use cases)
          1. Beginning of partition
          2. Name: crypt
          3. Use as: Physical volume for encryption
          4. Done setting up the partitioning
      5. Configure the encrypted volumes
        1. Yes, write changes to disk
        2. Finish
        3. Enter passphrase for the encrypted partition
      6. Select ‘Encrypted volume (sdX2_crypt)’
        1. Use as: physical volume for LVM
        2. Done setting up the partitioning
      7. Configure the Logical Volume Manager
        1. Yes, write changes to disk
        2. Create volume group
          1. Name: system
          2. Select encrypted volume partition: /dev/mapper/sdX2_crypt
        3. Create logical volume (for root)
          1. Select system
          2. Name: root
          3. Volume size around 20GB
        4. Create logical volume (for /home)
          1. Select system
          2. Name: home
          3. Volume size: the rest of the volume or whatever you desire
        5. Finish
      8. Create partitions for / (root) and /home
        1. Select LVM partition for / (root)
          1. Use as: btrfs file system (backup on a different filesystem. Use ext4 or xfs for stability)
          2. Mount point: / (root)
          3. Mount options: relatime
          4. Done setting up the partitioning
        2. Select LVM partition for /home
          1. Use as: btrfs file system (backup on a different filesystem. Use ext4 or xfs for stability)
          2. Mount point: /home
          3. Mount options: relatime
          4. Done setting up the partitioning
      9. Finish partitioning and write to disk
        1. No, ignore swap warning (assuming ram is good enough)
        2. Yes, write changes to disk
    12. Install Base System
      1. Kernel to install: Linux-generic
      2. Drivers to include in the initrd: targeted
    13. Configure package manager
      1. Yes, use restricted software
      2. Yes, use universe software
      3. Yes, use multiverse software
      4. Yes, use backported software
      5. Yes, use software from the partner repository
      6. No, do not enable source repositories in APT
      7. Select all services to use
    14. Select and install software
      1. Install security updates automatically
      2. Select Xubuntu desktop
    15. Install GRUB boot loader
      1. Yes, Install GRUB boot loader to the MBR
    16. Finish the installation
      1. Yes, system clock is set to UTC
      2. Remove install media and continue for reboot

Post install suggestions

  1. Update the Linux kernel.

    1. If you want a specific kernel
      1. Download the following from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/
        1. linux-headers-3.XX-generic_3.XX_amd64.deb
        2. linux-headers-3.XX_all.deb
        3. linux-image-3.XX-generic_3.XX_amd64.deb
      2. Open terminal in download location and run
        1. sudo dpkg -i linux-headers*.deb
        2. sudo dpkg -i linux-image*.deb
        3. sudo update-grub
      3. Restart computer
      4. Check kernel being used with
        1. uname -a
      5. Remove old kernels if /boot gets full
    2. If you want the LTS updated Kernel. Reference https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/LTSEnablementStack.
  2. Update btrfs.

    1. Check version with
      1. btrfs --version
    2. Download from https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/btrfs-tools
    3. Install using software center
    4. Check disk io/r/w transactions
      1. sudo iotop -oPa
  3. If there is a separate partition or disk that needs to be mounted and unencrypted at boot. Reference http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=837416.

    1. Check UUID of partitioning
      1. sudo blkid
    2. Check block size of / (root) partition for nice key size (likely 4096)
      1. sudo blockdev --getbsz /dev/mapper/system-root
    3. Create random keyfile in /root
      1. sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/root/keyfile bs=4096 count=1
        • the bs= value should be the block size we just found
    4. Make keyfile read only to root
      1. sudo chmod 0400 /root/keyfile
    5. Add keyfile to LUKS partition of /dev/sdX#_crypt
      1. sudo cryptsetup luksAddKey /dev/sdX#_crypt /root/keyfile
        • Enter existing password for /dev/sdX#_crypt
    6. Create mapper
      1. sudo mousepad /etc/crypttab
      2. add ‘/root/keyfile’ to replace ’none’ for /dev/sdX#_crypt
        • example: sdX#_crypt UUID=XXX /root/keyfile luks
    7. Mount the drive (if needed)
      1. sudo mousepad /etc/fstab
        • example: /dev/mapper/sdX#_crypt /<mount point> btrfs relatime 0 2
    8. Update settings in initramfs images
      1. sudo update-initramfs -u -k all
  4. TRIM for SSDs.

    1. Reference http://blog.neutrino.es/2013/howto-properly-activate-trim-for-your-ssd-on-linux-fstrim-lvm-and-dmcrypt/.
    2. Enable Trim on dm-crypt
      1. Open /etc/crypttab
        1. sudo mousepad /etc/crypttab
        2. If needed, add ‘discard’ to the options for sdX#_crypt.
    3. Make sure LVM has ‘issue_discards=1’ in
      1. sudo mousepad /etc/lvm/lvm.conf
    4. Check encrypted drive with
      1. sudo dmsetup table /dev/mapper/sdX#_crypt
      2. make sure it has ‘1 allow_discards’
    5. Remove or check “discard” is not used in the fstab
      1. sudo mousepad /etc/fstab
    6. Run TRIM manually or check for errors
      1. sudo fstrim -v /home
    7. If any changes were made, run
      1. sudo update-initramfs -c -k all
  5. If installing in Virtualbox, install additions by

    1. sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-dkms dkms
    2. To share a folder, make a permanent machine folder then run
      1. sudo usermod -a -G vboxsf username
    3. To share a USB port
      1. sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers username
  6. Set window tile keybinds similar to Microsoft Windows.

    1. Open terminal and run
      1. xfce4-settings-manager
    2. Go to window manager
      1. Open the Keyboard tab
        1. Set the “Tile window to the left” (and right)
  7. Backbutton in firefox to backsapce.

    1. Type about:config in the address bar
    2. Look for browser.backspace_action in the list
    3. Change the Value to 0.
  8. If needed, install Intel wireless driver.

    1. Download driver from http://intellinuxwireless.org/?n=Downloads
    2. Navigate to download folder
      1. tar xvzf iwlwifi-XXX.tgz
      2. cd iwlwifi-XXX/
      3. sudo cp iwlwifi-XXX.ucode /lib/firmware
  9. Check partition sizes.

    1. df -h
    2. btrfs filesystem df
    3. btrfs filesystem show
  10. Install packages from a newer release.

    1. http://askubuntu.com/questions/103320/install-packages-from-newer-release-without-building-apt-pinning
    2. apt install <package> -t yakkety
  11. Modify or redirect home folder names.

    1. change in /home/username/.config/user-dir.dirs
  12. Change ownership of extra storage drives or partitions.

    1. sudo chown -R username /partition
  13. Change desktop lock keybind.

    1. Go to settings editor
    2. xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts
    3. new commands custom property
      1. property: /commands/custom/<super>l
      2. type: string
      3. value: xflock4
  14. Format a USB drive.

    1. df
    2. umount /dev/sdc1
    3. mkfs.vfat /dev/sdc1
  15. Create a dm-crypt LUKS encrypted external drive. Reference https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.

    1. Find the external drive (assume the filesystem is /dev/sdb1 and it’s mount location /media/USERNAME/*)

      df
      
    2. Unmount it

      umount /media/USERNAME/*
      
    3. Quickly wipe old filesystems. wipefs clears the first superblock.

      sudo wipefs -a /dev/sdb1
      
    4. Create the LUKS container (follow on-screen intructions)

      sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdb1
      
    5. Check the passphrase iteration count. The key slot default is 1 second of PBKDF2 hashing. The volume key default (MK iterations) is 0.125 seconds. You can set the key slot with cryptsetup luksFormat -i 15000 <target device>

      sudo cryptsetup luksDump /dev/sdb1
      
    6. Map the container to /dev/mapper/backup1

      sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdb1 backup1
      
    7. Create a filesystem in the mapped container

      sudo mkfs.btrfs --label backup1 /dev/mapper/backup1
      
    8. Mount the filesystem (right after creation; using lzo compression)

      mount -o compress=lzo /dev/mapper/backup1 /mnt
      
    9. Mount the filesystem (day to day use as a portable external drive; using lzo compression). You can either create an fstab entry or mount using the command line.

      • Using an fstab entry

        # Get the UUID of the mounted and unlocked /dev/mapper/ filesystem
        sudo blkid
        

      Add the following entry to /etc/fstab

       ~~~bash
       UUID=YOUR-UUID /media/backup1 btrfs noauto,defaults,noatime,compress=lzo 0 0
       ~~~
      

      Now it will automatically mount at /media/backup1. The noauto option is used in the fstab entry to prevent automatically mounting the drive at boot time. If you leave this option off, then your computer will fail to boot and you will need to edit the fstab in recovery mode. The nofail option can be used for drives that are usually going to be mounted at boot time.

       Change ownership of the new mount point so you can perform cut/copy/paste, etc.
      
       ~~~bash
       sudo chown -R USERNAME /media/backup1
       ~~~
      
      • Using the terminal

        # The OS will automatically mount the drive and ask for passphrase to unlock. Then...
        df
        sudo umount /media/USERNAME/*
        sudo mount -o compress=lzo /dev/dm-4 /media/backup1
        sudo chown -R USERNAME /media/backup1
        
  16. Fix backlight adjustment issues.

    1. sudo apt install xbacklight
    2. xbacklight -set XX
  17. Turn on USB keyboard password input for dmcrypt login.

    1. Check current modules being used with lsmod
    2. In a terminal, open
      • sudo /etc/initramfs-tools/mousepad modules Then add the following

        usbhid
        hid
        hid_logitech_dj
        hid_logitech_hidpp
        
      • sudo update-initramfs -u

  18. Add icons to desktop panel.

    1. Go to /usr/share/applications/ and drag the application to the panel.
  19. If unable to boot because fstab is bad (This is also helpful for situations that do not involve fstab).

    1. Reboot computer

    2. At grub menu, choose advanced options and boot into recovery mode.

    3. Enter the Root Session.

    4. Because you’re in read only mode, remount with write privileges.

      mount -o remount,rw /
      
    5. Edit the fstab

      nano /etc/fstab
      
  20. Re-label a btrfs filesystem.

    # First unmount, then rename
    sudo umount /dev/dm-4
    sudo btrfs filesystem label /dev/dm-4 NEWNAME
    

Software install suggestions

  1. Install script.

    #======================================================================
     ## Update
     #======================================================================
     sudo apt update
     sudo apt upgrade
     sudo apt dist-upgrade #dist-upgrade may install new packages or remove installed packages if that is necessary to satisfy dependencies
     #======================================================================
     ## Remove unwanted software from xubuntu-desktop recommends
     #======================================================================
     sudo apt purge '^abiword.*' '^brltty.*' '^espeak.*' '^gmusicbrowser.*' '^gnumeric.*' '^hplip.*' '^libhpmud0.*' '^libsane-hpaio.*' '^parole.*' '^printer-driver.*' '^speech-dispatcher.*' '^whoopsie.*' '^popularity-contest.*'
     sudo apt autoremove
     sudo apt autoclean
     sudo apt clean
     #======================================================================
     ## Install software
     #======================================================================
     sudo apt install iotop software-properties-common jags p7zip-full vlc curl pandoc libdbd-sqlite3 gcc gfortran audacious unetbootin chromium-browser texinfo pdftk libimobiledevice-dev libudunits2-dev libgsl2 libgsl-dev
     #======================================================================
     ## Install repository software
     #======================================================================
     ######
     # PPAs
     ######
     # R PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://cran.rstudio.com/bin/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs)/"
     sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E084DAB9
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:marutter/c2d4u
     # KeepassX PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:keepassx/daily
     # Lyx PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lyx-devel/release
     # Libreoffice PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa
     # Gnucash PPA
     wget -q -O - http://archive.getdeb.net/getdeb-archive.key | sudo apt-key add -
     sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://archive.getdeb.net/ubuntu trusty-getdeb apps" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/getdeb.list'
     # mpv PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mc3man/mpv-tests
     # git PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:git-core/ppa
     # Virtualbox PPA
     sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian '$(lsb_release -cs)' contrib non-free' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list" && wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
     # Ubuntu-Tweak PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tualatrix/ppa
     # Gimp PPA
     sudo apt-add-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp
     # Inkscape PPA
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inkscape.dev/stable
     ########
     # Update
     ########
     sudo apt update
     #########
     # Install
     #########
     # R
     sudo apt install r-base r-base-dev libopenblas-base liblapack3 libcairo2-dev libxt-dev
     # keepassX
     sudo apt install keepassx
     # Lyx
     sudo apt --no-install-recommends install lyx
     # libreoffice
     sudo apt --no-install-recommends install libreoffice-writer
     sudo apt install libreoffice-calc
     # Gnucash
     sudo apt --no-install-recommends install gnucash
     # mpv
     sudo apt install mpv
     # git
     sudo apt install git
     # Virtualbox - update version number based on current release
     sudo apt install virtualbox-5.1
     # Ubuntu-Tweak
     sudo apt --no-install-recommends install ubuntu-tweak
     # Gimp
     sudo apt install gimp
     # Inkscape
     sudo apt install inkscape
     #======================================================================
     ## ruby (install git before ruby)
     # instructions from https://gorails.com/setup/ubuntu/16.04
     #======================================================================
     sudo apt install git-core curl zlib1g-dev build-essential libssl-dev libreadline-dev libyaml-dev libsqlite3-dev sqlite3 libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev python-software-properties libffi-dev
     cd
     git clone https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv.git ~/.rbenv
     echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
     echo 'eval "$(rbenv init -)"' >> ~/.bashrc
     exec $SHELL
     git clone https://github.com/rbenv/ruby-build.git ~/.rbenv/plugins/ruby-build
     echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/plugins/ruby-build/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
     exec $SHELL
     git clone https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-gem-rehash.git ~/.rbenv/plugins/rbenv-gem-rehash
     rbenv install 2.3.0
     rbenv global 2.3.0
     ruby -v
     gem install bundler
     rbenv rehash
     #======================================================================
     ## Node.js V5.x
     # https://github.com/nodesource/distributions#debinstall
     #======================================================================
     curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_5.x | sudo -E bash -
     sudo apt install -y nodejs
     #======================================================================
     ## Cleanup
     #======================================================================
     sudo apt update
     sudo apt upgrade
     sudo apt dist-upgrade #dist-upgrade may install new packages or remove installed packages if that is necessary to satisfy dependencies
     sudo apt autoclean
     sudo apt clean
     sudo apt autoremove
  2. Install texlive 2016. Reference http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/95373.

    1. Download Texlive and run

      wget http://mirror.ctan.org/systems/texlive/tlnet/install-tl-unx.tar.gz
      tar -zxvf install-tl-unx.tar.gz
      sudo apt install perl-tk
      cd install-tl*
      sudo ./install-tl --gui
      
      • Choose the small scheme (just download fonts and packages as you need them)
      • Choose Recommended fonts, Mathematics packages, and LuaTeX packages
      • Make sure to “create symlinks in system directories”
    2. Edit /etc/environment by adding

      :/usr/local/texlive/2016/bin/x86_64-linux:/usr/local/texlive/2016/texmf-dist/doc/man:/usr/local/texlive/2016/texmf-dist/doc/info:
      
    3. Make apt see the local install by:

      sudo apt install equivs --no-install-recommends
      mkdir /tmp/tl-equivs
      cd /tmp/tl-equivs
      equivs-control texlive-local
      # copy this http://www.tug.org/texlive/files/debian-equivs-2016-ex.txt to
      mousepad texlive-local
      equivs-build texlive-local
      sudo dpkg -i texlive-local_2016-1_all.deb
      
    4. Access tlmgr using either of

      • sudo env PATH="$PATH" tlmgr --gui
      • sudo /usr/local/texlive/2016/bin/x86_64-linux/tlmgr --gui
    5. Update texlive. Remove the old texlive with the commands below, then Re-run the install commands.

      # Remove old apt local install
      sudo apt remove texlive-local
      
      # Remove the old texlive directories
      sudo rm -rf /usr/local/texlive/2015/
      sudo rm -rf /usr/local/texlive/texmf-local/
      sudo rm -rf /home/USERNAME/.texlive2015/
      sudo rm -rf /var/lib/texmf/
      
      # Remove the old texlive symlinks (Make sure there's nothing else in there)
      sudo rm /usr/local/bin/*
      sudo -rf rm /usr/local/share/man/*
      sudo rm /usr/local/share/info/*
      
      # Update the font cash
      sudo fc-cache -fsv
      
  3. Install f.lux.

    1. Download xflux64.tgz from https://justgetflux.com/linux.html

    2. Extract the xflux binary

    3. Place the binary in /usr/bin/

      • sudo cp /home/username/Downloads/xflux /usr/bin/xflux
    4. You will probably want it to start at every boot. Add the following to the end of /home/username/.profile

      # Start x.flux
      xflux -z <zip code> -k <temperature>
      
  4. Install Grub Customizer (used to modify the grub menu for dual boot).

    1. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer
    2. sudo apt update
    3. sudo apt install grub-customizer
  5. Install Texmaker.

  6. Install Rstudio.

  7. Install Teamviewer.

  8. Install Sublime Text 3.

  9. Install Jitsi.

  10. Install Skype.

  11. Install Bleachbit.

  12. Install FreeFileSync.

  13. Install Truecrypt.

    1. Download truecrypt 7.1a from https://github.com/DrWhax/truecrypt-archive
    2. tar xfvz truecrypt-7.1a-linux-x64.tar.gz
    3. ./truecrypt-7.1a-setup-x64
  14. Install Brother printer drivers.

    1. Download from http://support.brother.com/g/b/productsearch.aspx?c=us&lang=en&content=dl
      1. gunzip linux-brprinter-installer-2.0.0-1.gz
      2. sudo bash linux-brprinter-installer-*.*.*-*
      3. Enter machine name
      4. When you see the message “Will you specify the DeviceURI ?” USB Users: Choose N(No). Network Users: Choose Y(Yes).
    2. If scanner isn’t working
      1. brsaneconfig4 -a name=Scanner model='modelname' ip='ip-address'
    3. Check network mapping with
      1. nmap 'IP range'/24
  15. Alternative to f.lux: Install Redshift.

    1. PPA Install
      1. Download the .deb from https://launchpad.net/~landronimirc/+archive/ubuntu/staging/+packages
  16. Additional steps for virtualbox 5 (as of 2016-07-05).

    1. Install dependencies that are not available in apt

      wget http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/libv/libvpx/libvpx1_1.1.0-1_amd64.deb && sudo dpkg -i libvpx1_1.1.0-1_amd64.deb
      
    2. To share a USB port

    • sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers username
    • You may need to specify that USB 3.0 drivers be used
Published: 2016-04-24
Last Updated: 2016-07-31