Restart/reset USB in Ubuntu 12.04 without rebooting

Either my Dell Optiplex 990 computer or my Linux install has an issue: occasionally, when I re-plug a USB device into the system, it’ll cause a fault in the USB module in the kernel and USB goes dark. I’m unsure as to whether this is a hardware or software issue, but I’d simply like to restart my USB subsystem and continue working. When searching the web for ‘restart USB in Linux’ and ‘reload USB kernel module’, you get a plethora of results and none of which will work (seemingly due to how the Ubuntu standard kernel is …

in IT · Mon 25 June 2012

How to: Updating OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Firmware (on a Dell M1530 laptop)

I’ve just shelled out a good chunk of money in buying an OCZ Vertex 3 240GB solid state drive (SSD) and it’s amazingly quick. So amazingly quick that I thought I may just have fallen into a coma when I had to temporarily switch back to my old mechanical hard drive and boot from it again. And …

in Hardware · Sat 21 May 2011

Ubuntu: PulseAudio Joy

Well, it’s a sad state of affairs when simply unplugging your set of USB headphones causes your Intrepid Ibex install of Ubuntu to crap itself. Even with the same set of headphones plugged back into the same port not 10 seconds later. Painful.

But, the good news is that after a few hours of pain, PulseAudio works and it’s magical in comparison to the older audio systems (3 apps playing audio at once..wow).

Check out http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=789578 for a great walk-through on how to set it up on Hardy or Intrepid. Unfortunately …

in Linux · Tue 06 January 2009