A No-install Solution to Enabling/Disabling the Titlebar in Xfce

Tested OS: Xubuntu 14.04–15.04; Xfce version: 4.12; xfwm4 version: 4.12.1-1ubuntu1; theme: Zukitwo; icon theme: Evolvere Blue Folders Dark fallback. Download as pdf here or here.

Update, 2015-05-20: As of Xfce 4.12, this solution works without the need for plugins. It also works out of the box in Xubuntu 15.04, but may not in older versions unless you’ve updated to Xfce 4.12.

I found a little quirk when I upgraded to Xubuntu 14.04: the titlebar no longer appeared when I maximised a window. Because I habitually exploit the titlebar, this was a cumbersome change (or bug). Fortunately, I found out how to reverse it quickly enough.

Initially, I thought the solution was obvious enough to go without a mention. A recent article by Andrew on WebUpd8¹, though, introduced the intriguing xfce4-windowck-plugin² by Alessio Piccoli and Cédric Leporcq. It's a set of two plugins enabling you to place a maximised window's title in the panel, along with the window's buttons. If you install xfce4-windowck-plugin, you likely want to disable the titlebar to avoid redundancy. Andrew and xfce4-windowck-plugin's developers suggest installing the external program Maximus or a patch for xfwm4³.

My solution is simpler and doesn't require you to download or install anything.

How to... Fix HP printer “filter failed” error in (Ubuntu) Linux

Printer: HP LaserJet M1132 MFP; operating systems tested: Xubuntu 13.10, 14.04, 14.10; theme: Numix. Download as pdf here or here.

Update, 2015-02-06: As of a recent upgrade to Xubuntu 14.10, jumping straight to the third solution still fixes the issue.

My printer suffered a paper jam. After releasing the paper, I found that the printer was unwilling to print anything. The specific error was “filter failed”.

Diagnosing

The first step is to open CUPS. In your browser's urlbar, type “localhost:631”. If at any point, CUPS asks for your password, enter it as you would in the terminal. To confirm this error, click on the Jobs tab.

As you can see under State, I'm getting the “filter failed” error.

How to... Fuddify Google

Ever dig below the surface of your search settings?  Google has a nifty hidden feature that you may have already found while looking to change your language settings in Search, or perhaps missed altogether.

There are two ways to access this feature, depending on where you live and which version of Google you use.  You can find both after the jump.

How to... Run Firefox and Aurora on the Same Computer

Aurora is great, but not enough extensions are up to date with it to make it an everyday browser.  Neither is it as stable as the Firefox we're all accustomed to using.  That doesn't mean you can't have both Firefox and Aurora together, however, so you get a mix of the present and future.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to run and experiment with Aurora without compromising any of your valuable data.

How to Fix... "STOP: C0000218 {REGISTRY FILE FAILURE}"

I took a picture, once, of a woman's, er, upper thighs, with a hand - mine - holding a red-violet-slash-Tyrian-purple flower towards those, eh, upper thighs.  You may have seen it, or not.  I took another one, with her holding the flower over her face, leaving only her eyes, and I'll tell you, they're the most beautiful and haunting eyes you'll ever see, not that you will.
Anyway, she said I shouldn't bother with this post because no one comes on here for computer advice, but I figure if there's the off chance that someone encounters this problem, too, I can help them out.

So, you may get a blue screen of death one day in Windows XP, and it'll look like this:

STOP: C0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\System Root\System32\Config\Software or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.
Beginning dump of physical memory.

There are several variations, but that's the gist. Now, if you don't have the XP installation disc and can't access the Recovery Console, you're pretty much screwed. Well, if you can get to a second computer and can burn an .iso file onto a disc, there's a way to fix it.

1. Go here and download the .iso file in the link titled "How To Create a bootable CD to access the Recovery Console".

2. Once it's unzipped, burn the file to a disc. If you don't have a program that does that already, you can try the Active@ ISO Burner 2.0, available here.

3. Switch on the computer and make sure you've selected it to boot from a disc. When you're prompted, start the Recovery Console.

5. You'll have to type in the administrator password. If you don't know it, it may just be a blank password, so just press Enter.

4. Now, type "chkdsk /r" and press Enter.

5. The computer will now scan the hard drive. This may take a while, so you can just go do something else and leave the computer on its own.

6. Once it's done scanning, check the results and follow the necessary instructions.

7. Hopefully, by now you'll be able to boot the computer normally and log into your Windows account. If so, give yourself a pat on the back, and be glad that you don't have to sell your favourite pair of shoes to pay for an Eastern European (or Middle Eastern, I can't tell accents that well) computer guy to spend five minutes reading this post and fifty-five dealing with his kids.

Also, seeing as I've just saved you those swanky shoes of yours, consider donating some money for my services and probably downloading all my stuff without being charged for it, you dirty poop deck-swabbing pirate, you.


Extra reference:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830084