Firmware update downloads for some Samsung HDDs

Seagate acquired Samsung's HDD business back in 2011, nevertheless the existing firmware updates for some legacy Samsung HDDs are not available for download from the official Seagate site (look here).
So here are some firmware update download links collected from public sources :)

Model	Family	Firmware version (latest known)	Download
HD501LJ	SpinPoint T166	CR100-13	Dell / Drivers / R180581

Outdated important software packages in Debian unstable

• 2014-06:
  1. util-linux
     • upstream: 2.25-rc1
     • Debian: 2.20.1-5.8
       • bug #678446
  2. coreutils
     • upstream: 8.22
     • Debian: 8.21-1.2
  3. parted
     • upstream: 3.1
     • Debian: 2.3-20
       • bug #678446
  4. libjpeg
     • upstream: 9a
     • Debian: 8d-2
       • bug #646130

Debian bug numbers get added if known. The packages are organized in collections by date. Updated ones should get striked out.

Hints: how to upgrade customized Micron C400 SSDs to the latest generic firmware version

Important notes:

1. DISCLAIMER: this guide is provided here only "just for fun" for experimental, research and educational purposes without any guarantees (or warranties, responsibilities, obligations, liabilities etc.; even no repeatability guaranteed, as this guide has been based solely on just one particular specimen device, sorry), so use it at your own risk (even more, the so-called "reverse engineering" can possibly be illegal in some areas);
2. ATTENTION (DANGER): it can result in an irreversible destruction of ALL or ANY data stored on the target device (including the loss of important metadata like device usage statistics, but it's not wise to hope it will heal / recover / restore any worn-out memory blocks / chips or make the device good as new in performance) and, in theory, on some other storage devices -- please back up ALL the valuable data FIRST;
3. CAUTION: it may even brick your device;
4. WARNING: moreover, it may void the warranty, if any.
5. Feel safe & free to enjoy! ;-)

HOWTO: reload mouse driver in Linux

Sometimes your mouse device (it can be even a touchpad or a trackball) can unexpectedly get stuck [maybe it's a new bug that should be reported?!] in the middle of your work (or maybe it just didn't get recognized after plugging/unplugging/replugging it in).
In such cases, reloading the mouse driver may help (e. g., for PS/2 mouse driver, Linux kernel module is called "psmouse"):

# modprobe -r -v psmouse
# modprobe -v psmouse

You can also get info on any kernel driver modules installed in your system to support different mouse types (e. g., for serial mice, the kernel module is called "sermouse"), and also check if it's currently loaded:

$ ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/input/mouse
...  sermouse.ko  ...
$ /sbin/modinfo sermouse
...
$ lsmod | grep sermouse
...

Notes:

1. you can check the dmesg log for any strange symptoms:

   $ dmesg | grep psmouse
   ...
   [    9.0123456] psmouse ... lost synchronization, throwing 2 bytes away.

2. the trick will fail if the needed kernel module is built-in (probably only reboot can help);
3. sometimes it's some X11 driver which causes problems (please check /var/log/Xorg.0.log);
4. if you use your mouse in console mode, perhaps it's good to check the post about gpm.

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Last updated: 2016-05-20

HOWTO: work around SATA HDD hotplug problem (in Linux)

Sometimes some SATA controllers do not recognize an attached HDD if it was hot-plugged after the Linux system has been booted. Fortunately, there're some simple workarounds (note: it should work for some PATA controllers too).

1. A standard "soft" solution (should work by default):
   0. Connect the HDD to the SATA controller (and make sure it doesn't get auto-recognized by the system).
   1. Force a rescan of SCSI buses:

      # for h in /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/scan; do echo "- - -" > $h; done

   2. Ensure the drive has been recognized (check the dmesg logs, run lsblk etc.) and enjoy it!
2. A more "aggressive" method
   (note: some old SATA controller made by VIA Technologies and managed by sata_via kernel driver is used here for sample purposes; should work with any recent 2.6+ Linux kernel versions):
   0. To prevent any data loss, flush caches & unmount all the mounted partitions for all the drives connected to any VIA SATA controller(s) installed on the affected system!
   1. Remove the kernel driver module (verbosity is helpful sometimes):

      # modprobe -v -r sata_via

   2. Physically attach (or detach) any drives to the VIA SATA controller.
   3. Re-insert the kernel module:

      # modprobe -v sata_via

   4. Enjoy!

References:

1. Scanning Storage Interconnects - RHEL7 Storage Administration Guide

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Last updated: 2014-06-20

Nonsensical minor long-running bug in Ubuntu

The file containing a default Ubuntu wallpaper is still named 'warty-final-ubuntu.png' (in honor of the first Ubuntu release, 4.10 "Warty Warthog"), but this PNG image actually became a JPEG one sometime in 2008!
The following "bug" still affects the "ubuntu-wallpapers" package versions found in the current Ubuntu stable (13.10 "Saucy Salamander") and development release (14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr") repositories:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/296538
Nobody cares. Enjoy! :)