BeatificaBytes

The Joys of Computing

  • Play “Steam” games like “Lego Star Wars” on NVidia Shield TV [streamed from PC]

    Today, my daughter asked me to buy “Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for our NVIDIA Shield TV. Unfortunately, I found that it was not only ~30€ but also that it required a ~8€/month subscription to NVidia GeForceNow. As we really don’t play that often, this was not acceptable for me. Fortunately, as I have a PC with a Nvidia Geforce GTX 760 I found a solution without the need for a subscription: use “Steam (in BigPicture Mode)” and stream it to the NVIDIA. And “Cerise sur le Gateau”, it did only cost 6€ as there was a special promo this weekend on Instant Gaming.

    Click to Read More

    So, instead of buying Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens for NVIDIA on GeforceNow, I bought if for PC on Steam with the idea to use it via “NVIDIA GameStream”.

    Once installed on my PC via Steam, I did try it. Unfortunately, instead of running correctly, it did start minimized. This is a well know issue with games from Steam and the solution is to define manually the resolution of your screen. For Lego Star Wars:

    1. Open the folder C:\Users\<Your Account>\AppData\Roaming\Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment\LEGO STAR WARS The Force Awakens
    2. Edit the file PCConfig.TXT and set the resolution and the refresh rate of your main screen into it
      1. ScreenWidth 1920
      2. ScreenHeight 1080
      3. WindowWidth 1920
      4. WindowHeight 1080
      5. ScreenRefreshRate 60
    3. Save.

    Once successfully tested, I did close the game and, still on my PC, I did:

    1. Open NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience (Press :win: and type ‘GeForce’) and logged in with my account
    2. Open the Parameters (icon on the left of your account)
    3. Select the menu “SHIELD” on the right
    4. Enable the option GAMESTREAM
    5. And add the Steam game as those are not automatically detected (Ex.: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\LEGO STAR WARS The Force Awakens\LEGOSWTFA_DX11.exe)

    Finally, on my NVIDIA Shield TV, I did:

    1. Open “NVIDIA Games” (It is under “Games” and not under “Applications”)
    2. Go to “My Library”
    3. Select “GameStream”
    4. The first time “GameStream” is accessed, it asks for your login. Use the same login as the one for “GeForce Experience”!
    5. Once connected, your PC is detected and
      1. All games available via GeForce Experience appear, including those you have added in GeForce Experience > Parameters > SHIELD. You can run any of those. They will play on your PC and be mirrored onto your NVIDIA
      2. one Icon STEAM also appears. This one can be used to start “Steam in BigPicture Mode” on your PC and stream it automatically to your NVIDIA.

    Screenshots here.

    Now, instead of using “NVIDIA Games”, I can also directly run “STEAM” (also available under Games).

    And obviously, not only the video but also the sound is redirected from your PC to your NVIDIA. And in the opposite direction, commands from your SHIELD Controllers are send to the PC. So yes, you can play with them.

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  • Android Remotes tested with NVIDIA Shield TV

    I have several Android remotes. Here is a short list of what keys are working well or not with my Nvidia Shield TV.

    Click to Read More

    FeBite Backlit 2.4G MX3

    Backlit Fly Mouse MX3 2.4G
    Backlit Fly Mouse MX3 2.4G

    This is an Air Mouse (with 3-Gyro + 3-G sensor,) Mini QWERTY Wireless Keyboard for Android, Windows, … , with IR learning (up to 5 keys) and Backlit (this is why it’s my preferred one)

    This remote does not look as cheap as the Rii i25 but, as far as I am concerned, with a weight of 100g and a size of 172x52x19mm, if does not fit in hands as well as the Minix.

    It’s an exact clone of the Rii MX3(Multifunction 2.4G Fly Mouse Mini Wireless Keyboard & Infrared Remote Control & 3-Gyro + 3-Gsensor for Google Android TV/Box, IPTV, HTPC, Windows, MAC OS, PS3)

    It works with 2 batteries AAA (Working Power: Less than 10mA in the work condition). When removed, one can store the receiver (a mini usb dongle) into the batteries slot, although not designed specifically for. This slot is also quite uneasy to open. The two batteries are “at the bottom” when using the remote as a pointer to control the mouse. So one does not feel their weight.

    NB.: I didn’t test yet the IR Learning feature.

    On the Home screen:

    using the Keypad side:

    • Power button is tuning on/off the NVIDIA (which is not the case with all remotes).
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward, Previous and Next buttons do nothing except if a music is playing, for example with Spotify in the background.
    • Search button opens the Voice Search feature. NVIDIA is next waiting on you to press the microphone button. Unfortunately, this remote has no microphone.
    • Play/Pause button does nothing except if a music is playing, for example with Spotify in the background.
    • Zoom-in and Zoom-out buttons do nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing
    • Home button clicked once comes back on top of the home screen.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • Return button does nothing on the home screen. But is works well when one opens the search feature, the browser or most Apps (Ex.: works with Plex. Do not work with Netflix. In such a case use the Home button).
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the Apps and the Ok button runs the one currently selected.
    • A Long press on the Ok button on an App will lock it. You can next move it left or right and press again Ok to release it at its new position.
    • Volume Up/Down and Prev/Next Program button do nothing.
    • Mute button does nothing
    • Mouse button (a.k.a. Cursor button) enables/disables the mouse pointer. Once enabled, use the remote to move the mouse and the Ok button to click (and e.g. select an App). Once disabled, the mouse pointer will freeze and soon disappear. Tip: You can temporarily disabled the mouse to move and realign the remote and the pointer if necessary.
    • All other buttons do nothing, except the Internet button which opens a browser and for sure, the Backlit button which turn on/off the keys. Extremely useful when using this remote in the dark (which is often the case when connected to an HTPC system, …). The light switch off after a few seconds if the remote does not move anymore.

    using the Keyboard side:

    • Left/Right/Up/Down can be used to navigate between Apps and Enter/Space can be used to run the currently selected App. But Left/Right/Down sometimes stop to work.
    • If one clicks the Search button, as it opens the Voice Search feature, the keyboard can’t be used.
    • To search, use the D-pad to select the Text Search feature. Once this feature opened, the keyboard can be used.
    • Backspace delete the last entered character.
    • Esc will cancel and exit the search feature. To reopen it easily, you can press Right and Enter
    • Press once Caps to switch into the capital mode. Press once again to switch back to the normal mode.
    • Press once ALT to switch into the special character or figures mode. Press once again to switch back to the normal mode.
    • Left/Right/up/Down can be used to select characters from the virtual keyboard. But pressing Enter won’t select the character currently focused. Instead the Virtual Keyboard will close.
    • Press once Enter to close the virtual Keyboard and once more to execute the search. It’s searching among the Apps, Youtube, Plex and Spotify if installed, …
    • If the Virtual Keyboard is closed, Left/Right can be used to edit the text entered.

    With Plex:

    • Power button is tuning on/off the NVIDIA (not just plex!).
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the users or the Menus and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • While playing a movie, Ok does a pause/play and Down opens the menu (Return will close it).
    • The figures (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0) can be used to type users’ pins.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward can be used to rewind/skip x sec.
    • Previous and Next buttons do nothing.
    • Search button opens the Voice Search feature (useless without a microphone). Press Return to close the feature. It does not open the search feature of Plex. You must select it with the D-pad . It’s the native search feature of the NVIDIA.
    • Play/Pause button work as expected while playing a movie.
    • Zoom-in and Zoom-out buttons do nothing.
    • Menu button does something “not visible”. Once pressed, the D-pad does not work anymore. Press a second time to unlock the D-pad .
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen although the movie is continuing to play and keeps visible in the background. Press Return to hide the home screen.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec does nothing.
    • Return button open the previous screen. It can be used to exit a movie currently playing or to exit Plex.
    • Volume Up/Down and Prev/Next Program button do nothing.
    • Mute button does nothing.
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.
    • All other buttons do nothing, except the Internet and Backlit button.

    With Netflix:

    • Power button is tuning on/off the NVIDIA (not just Netflix!).
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the users or the Menus and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • Up/Down can be used to open the menu while playing a movie. Return will close the menu.
    • Left/Right can be used to rewind/skip scene while playing a movie. Ok will continue to play from the selected scene.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward, Previous and Next work as expected while playing a movie.
    • Search button opens the Voice Search feature (useless without a microphone). Press Return to close the feature. It does not open the search feature of Netflix. You must select it with the D-pad. Next, use the keyboard. You can type of use the Arrows and Enter to select the letters on the Virtual Keyboard.
    • Play/Pause button work as expected while playing a movie.
    • Zoom-in and Zoom-out buttons do nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing.
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • Return button go back the previous screen. It can be used to exit a movie currently playing but won’t exit Netflix!.
    • Volume Up/Down and Prev/Next Program button do nothing.
    • Mute button does nothing.
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.
    • All other buttons do nothing, except the Internet and Backlit button.

    Spotify:

    • Power button is tuning on/off the NVIDIA (not just Spotify!).
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) can be used to navigate and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward, Previous and Next work as expected while playing a music.
    • Search button opens the Voice Search feature (useless without a microphone). Press Return to close the feature. It does not open the search feature of Spotify. You must select it with the D-pad. Unfortunately, the keyboard does not work with Spotify’s search feature and no Virtual Keyboard opens… I think that the problem is with the search feature…
    • Play/Pause button work as expected while playing music.
    • Zoom-in and Zoom-out buttons do nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing.
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen. Any music currently playing will continue.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any music currently playing will continue.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • Return button go back the previous screen, including to the home screen. But the music, if any, will continue to play.
    • Volume Up/Down and Prev/Next Program button do nothing.
    • Mute button does nothing.
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.
    • All other buttons do nothing, except the Internet and Backlit button. Notice that the music, if any, will continue to play when a browser is opened.

    Remote learning feature (copy/paste from here):

    If you would like your MX3 remote to learn some commands from another remote, then you can teach it to ‘copy’ the IR signal of the other remote. For instance, whilst the power button will turn your player off, it wont turn it back on because its not using the same ‘Turn on’ signal as your standard android remote.  So here is what to do:

    1. Get your standard android remote (or any remote that you want to replicate a button from) and place it end-to-end with the MX3 so that the IR receivers are facing each other.
    2. Then, on the MX3 press and hold the red TV button. You will see the LED flashing rapidly then slow to a steady flash (the steady flash means the X3 is now in ‘learning’ mode)
    3. Release the ‘TV’ button.
    4. Now press the power button on the standard remote (or whichever button you want to map) You will see the LED light stop flashing and glow continuously, at this point press the power button on your MX3 remote. The LED will then flash again and eventually extinguish. This means the MX3 has finished ‘learning’ the IR code from the other remote and has successfully mapped it to the power button

    MINIX  NEO A3 

    The Neo A3 of Minix has more or less the same features as the FeBite MX3, although a bit heavier and larger (making it more comfortable than the FeBite MX3). It has however no backlit but a microphone for Voice input.

    It works with two batteries AAA, one in each extremity, making it well balanced when using the keyboard. On the opposite, you can feel it, compared to the FeBite MX3, when using the remote as a pointer to control the mouse. NB.: one of the battery slot, when empty, can be used to store the receiver (a usb dongle). And both battery slots are easy to open.

    Minix Neo A3
    Minix Neo A3

    On the Home screen:

    using the Keypad side:

    • Power button is not tuning on/off the NVIDIA.
    • Settings button does nothing.
    • Recent Apps button does nothing. Double click the Home button instead.
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen although the movie is continuing to play and keeps visible in the background. Press Return to hide the home screen.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec does nothing.
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the Apps and the Android button (Ok) runs the one currently selected.
    • Return button does nothing on the home screen. But is works well when one opens the search feature, the browser or most Apps (Ex.: works with Plex. Do not work with Netflix. In such a case use the Home button).
    • The Microphone does nothing if one does not open first the Voice Search feature with the D-pad. It works fine otherwise
    • Mouse button (A.k.a. Fly Mode) enable/disable the mouse pointer. Once enabled, use the remote to move the mouse and the Ok button to click (and e.g. select an App). Once disabled, the mouse pointer will freeze and soon disappear. Tip: You can temporarily disabled the mouse to move and realign the remote and the pointer if necessary.
    • Volume Up/Down buttons do nothing.
    • “Installed Apps lists” button does nothing.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward do nothing except if a music is playing, for example with Spotify in the background.
    • Play/Pause button does nothing except if a music is playing, for example with Spotify in the background.
    • Opposite to the FeBite MX3, there is no Zoom-in/Zoom-out buttons, no Previous/Skip buttons, no Browser button, no Search button, no Mute button.
    • A Long press on the Ok button on an App will lock it. You can next move it left or right and press again Ok to release it at its new position.
    • And no Backlit feature.

    using the Keyboard side:

    • Left/Right/Up/Down can be used to navigate between Apps and Enter/Space can be used to run the currently selected App.
    • To search, use the D-pad to select the Text Search feature. Once this feature opened, the keyboard can be used.
    • Backspace (Del) deletes the last entered character.
    • Esc will cancel and exit the search feature. To reopen it easily, you can press Right and Enter
    • Press once Caps to switch into the capital mode. Press once again to switch back to the normal mode.
    • Press Shit simultaneously with a letter to type its capital.
    • Press once Fn to switch between letters and special characters or figures.
    • Left/Right/up/Down can be used to select characters from the virtual keyboard. But pressing Enter won’t select the character currently focused. Instead the Virtual Keyboard will close.
    • Press once Enter to close the virtual Keyboard and once more to execute the search. It’s searching among the Apps, Youtube, Plex and Spotify if installed, …
    • If the Virtual Keyboard is closed, Left/Right can be used to edit the text entered.
    • Tab can be used on the Home screen to move to the next App. It does nothing in the Text Search feature.

    With Plex:

    • Power button is not tuning on/off anything.
    • Settings button does nothing.
    • Recent Apps button does nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing.
    • Home button clicked once comes back on top of the home screen.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the users or the Menus and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • While playing a movie,
      • Ok does a pause/play.
      • Down opens the menu (Return will close it).
      • Right/Left rewind/skip x sec.
    • Return button opens the previous screen. It can be used to exit a movie currently playing or to exit Plex.
    • Volume Up/Down buttons do nothing.
    • “Installed Apps lists” button does nothing.
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.

    With Netflix:

    • Power button is not tuning on/off anything.
    • Settings button does nothing.
    • Recent Apps button does nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing.
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any movie currently playing is stopped.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) navigates between the users or the Menus and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • Up/Down can be used to open the menu while playing a movie. Return will close the menu.
    • Left/Right can be used to rewind/skip scene while playing a movie. Ok will continue to play from the selected scene.
    • Return button go back the previous screen. It can be used to exit a movie currently playing but won’t exit Netflix!.
    • Open the search feature of Netflix and use the keyboard to search (Voice search does not work with the microphone). You can type of use the Arrows and Enter to select the letters on the Virtual Keyboard.
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.
    • Volume Up/Down buttons do nothing.
    • “Installed Apps lists” button does nothing.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward work as expected while playing a movie.
    • Play/Pause button work as expected while playing a movie.

    Spotify:

    • Power button is not tuning on/off anything.
    • Settings button does nothing.
    • Recent Apps button does nothing.
    • Menu button does nothing.
    • Home button clicked once shows the home screen. Any music currently playing will continue.
    • Home button clicked twice shows the list of opened apps. Any music currently playing will continue.
    • Home button clicked for 3 sec shows NVIDIA’s Shadowplay menu.
    • The D-pad (Left/Right/Up/Down) can be used to navigate and the Ok button can be used to select.
    • Return button go back the previous screen, including to the home screen. But the music, if any, will continue to play.
    • The microphone does not work as Spotify’s search feature and its Virtual Keyboard does not work ?!
    • Mouse button enable/disable the mouse pointer.
    • Volume Up/Down buttons do nothing.
    • “Installed Apps lists” button does nothing.
    • Fast-backward, Fast-forward work as expected while playing a music.
    • Play/Pause button work as expected while playing music.

    Rii Mini i25

    The Rii mini i25 is a Mini wireless AZERTY keyboard with IR remote and Air Mouse similar to the FeBite MX3, although smaller (170x48x11mm) and 10g heavier (110g)… and without backlit or microphone.

    It has a built-in 450mAh lithium-ion battery that must be reloaded via usb micro-B. There is a switch on/off on the side. No slot to store the receiver (a usb dongle).

    Rii Mini i25
    Rii Mini i25

    The red buttons does nothing (Power off, Set, …, Source and return).

    There is a off button and the bottom-left, which turn off the NVIDIA, but does not turn it back on…

    All other keys works as described for the Minix Neo A3 (Read more details here).

    Rii Mini i8 

    The Rii Mini i8 is also wireless keyboard, with a touch pad and an air Mouse but without 3-Gyro + 3-Gsensor, backlit or microphone. And because it seems extremely light (a feeling due to a large surface of plastic 148x97x18.5mm for only 109g), it looks cheaper than the others.

    It comes with a removable lithium-ion battery of 280mAh which can be reloaded via usb mini-B. The slot with the internal battery has enough space to store the receiver (a usb dongle).

    Rii Mini i8
    Rii Mini i8

    This is much more comfortable as a wireless keyboard to browse on a TV than a remote control for an HTPC.

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  • Synology: how to get MAC address from IP address and vice versa

    Here is how to retrieve the IP address of devices in the same LAN as your Synology, based on their a MAC addresses, and vice-versa.

    Click to Read More

    I am using a php script to executes various bash scripts. it requires the package inetutils that can be installed using ipkg. Type in a ssh console run as root: /opt/bin/ipkg install inetutils

    [php] <?php
    //Clean all MAC addresses from ARP table
    function FlushArpTable()
    {
        //only work if run as root
        $flush = exec("ip -s -s neigh flush all");
    }

    //Return 1 if the given $ip is a local one
    function IsLocalIp($ip)
    {
        //Get all local IP address from ifconfig
        //$localIp = `ifconfig | grep -Eo ‘inet (addr:)?([0-9]*\.){3}[0-9]*’ | grep -Eo ‘([0-9]*\.){3}[0-9]*’ | grep -v ‘127.0.0.1’`;
        $localIp = exec("ifconfig | grep -o $ip");
        return ($localIp == $ip);
    }

    //Ping $ip using inetutils (only this one works when not run as root)
    //return -1 if package inetutils is not installed (can be done using ipkg)
    function Ping($ip)
    {
        $ping = exec("if [ -f /opt/bin/ping ] ; then /opt/bin/ping -c1 $ip; echo 1; else echo -1; fi");
        return $ping;
    }

    //Return MAC address related to the given $ip address in ARP table or ifconfig
    //Ping the $ip if MAC is not found and $force=1
    //NB.: Synology local ip are not added in the ARP table, hence the use of ifconfig
    function GetMacFromArp($ip, $force = 1)
    {
        if (filter_var($ip, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP)) {
            // Look into the arp table for the MAC address linked to the given ip address
            $mac = exec("arp -a $ip | grep -o -E ‘([[:xdigit:]]{1,2}:){5}[[:xdigit:]]{1,2}’");
            $mac = trim($mac);
            
            if ($mac == "") {
                //if the ip is not in the ARP table, look for it via ifconfig
                $mac = `ifconfig | grep -E "HWaddr |inet |^$" | awk ‘$1=$1’ ORS="\n\n" RS="\n\n" | grep $ip | grep -o -E ‘([[:xdigit:]]{1,2}:){5}[[:xdigit:]]{1,2}’`;
                $mac = trim($mac);
            }
            
            if ($mac == "" && $force == 1) {
                echo "? ";
                Ping($ip);
                $mac = GetMacFromArp($ip, $force = 0);
            } else if ($force == 1) {
                echo "! ";
            }
        }
        
        return $mac;
    }

    //Return ip address related to the given $mac address in ARP table or ifconfig
    //NB.: Synology local ip are not added in the ARP table, hence the use of ifconfig
    function GetIpFromArp($mac)
    {
        if (filter_var($mac, FILTER_VALIDATE_MAC)) {
            // Look into the arp table for the ip linked to the given mac address
            $ip = exec("arp -a | grep $mac | grep -o -E ‘\b([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b’");
            
            if ($ip == "") {
                // if no ip found in the arp table, look for it into the ifconfig
                $ip = exec("ifconfig | grep -E ‘HWaddr |inet |^$’ | awk ‘$1=$1′ ORS=’\n\n’ RS=’\n\n’ | grep $mac | grep -o -E ‘addr:\b([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b’ | grep -o -E ‘\b([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b’");
            }
        }
        
        return $ip;
    }

    function DisplayMac($ip)
    {
        if (filter_var($ip, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP)) {
            $mac = GetMacFromArp($ip);
            if (filter_var($mac, FILTER_VALIDATE_MAC)) {
                echo "MAC of $ip is " . $mac;
                if ($ip != GetIpFromArp($mac)) {
                    echo " (? " . GetIpFromArp($mac) . " ?)";
                }
            } else {
                echo "MAC of $ip is unknown";
            }
            if (IsLocalIp($ip)) {
                echo " (a local IP)";
            }
            echo "<br/>";
        }
    }

    // Check if  ping works
    if (Ping("127.0.0.1") == -1) {
        echo "You have to install inetutils. Ex.: using ipkg";
    } else {
        //clean the arp table (only work when run as root)
        FlushArpTable();
        
        //Display the mac address of an ip in the LAN
        DisplayMac(‘192.168.0.19’);
        
        //get ip of all local interfaces
        $localIps = split("\n", `ifconfig | awk ‘/inet addr/{print substr($2,6)}’`);
        foreach ($localIps as $ip) {
            DisplayMac($ip);
        }
        
        DisplayMac(‘192.168.0.47’);
        
    }
    ?>
    [/php]

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  • Synology: System internal service [apparmor] failed to start

    Since I have upgraded my DSM 6.1.4 to the latest update, I have this error : “System internal service [apparmor] failed to start.”

    I did contact Synology ans the only solution is to reintall the DSM

    Click to Read More

    To confirm the problem, open a SSH console and enter the root mode as explained here.

    In that console, type: synoservice –is-all-up

    You should see that the apparmor service didn’t start properly after the reboot:

    root@YourNas:~# synoservice –is-all-up
    service [ “apparmor” ] failed on bootup.

     

    Here is the answer from Synology

    Good evening,

     

    thanks for contacting the Synology technical support and sorry for the late reply, we’re having an high volume of ticket.

    We’re aware of this issue, did you recently update your DSM?

    Anyway, I’m sorry but you will have to reinstall DSM to fix this issue, please take a full backup of your Data using “Hyper backup” or “Cloud Sync“.

    After that navigate to Control Panel -> Update and Restore -> Configuration Backup -> Backup Configuration-> Reset -> Erase all Data

    Reinstall DSM and restore Configuration and Data.
    Take in mind that the response time might be delayed a bit because of the high amount of Ticket that we received.

    Thanks for your understanding and for your patience.
    If you have any other question or doubt, don’t hesitate to contact me back.

    Best regards,
    xxxxxxxx

    Technical support FR

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  • Unattended GPG key generation to sign Synology Packages

    I am going to add a feature in my own version of SSPKS to sign Synology packages. But to do this, I need a way to create GPG key from a non-interactive script.

    Click to Read More

    I found the required documentation here and a sample here. I did adapt that sample to:

    • not require a passphrase as mentioned in the Synology documentation. This would break the build process.
    • to generate some entropy without the rng-tools (not available out-of-the-box for Synology)

    Obviously, you need gpg. I am using gpg2 made available by installing the package gpgme via ipkg as explained here.

    Create keys in your personal key rings

    First, put the parameters to be used by gpg into a file named ‘gpgKey‘ (don’t forget that it must be linux compliant => not CRLF (/r/n) but only LF (/n)*). Here under, I am using RSA 2048. Use your own name, comment and email address.

    Key-Type: RSA
    Key-Length: 2048
    Subkey-Type: RSA
    Subkey-Length: 2048
    Name-Real: Type Here your name
    Name-Comment: Type Here some comment
    Name-Email: Type Here your email
    Expire-Date: 0
    %no-protection
    %commit

    Next, save the following script in a file named ‘createGpgKey.sh’ (don’t forget about CRLF 😉 )

    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    if [ ! -f ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf ]; then
    mkdir -p -m 0700 ~/.gnupg
    touch ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf
    chmod 600 ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf
    tail -n +4 /opt/share/gnupg/gpg-conf.skel > ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf

    touch ~/.gnupg/{pub,sec}ring.gpg
    fi

    #generate some entropy
    (dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/null) & pid=$!

    #generate the key (and a folder to be used later 😉
    mkdir -p -m 0700 gpg
    gpg2 –verbose –batch –gen-key ./gpgkey

    #kill the entropy generator
    kill $pid

    Then, move those two files into a public shared folder of your Synology. Ex.: ‘\\<Your Nas>\temp‘

    And open a ssh console as explained here (no need to enter the root mode) to go into the shared folder: cd /var/services/temp

    Finally, here is the output you should see when running your script: sh createGpgKey.sh

    gpg: skipping control `%no-protection’ ()
    gpg: writing self signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “1418FFE0 [?]”
    gpg: writing key binding signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “1418FFE0 [?]”
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “71C22B00 [?]”
    gpg: writing key binding signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “1418FFE0 [?]”
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “71C22B00 [?]”
    gpg: writing public key to `/var/services/homes/<current user>/.gnupg/pubring.gpg’
    gpg: writing secret key to `/var/services/homes/<current user>/.gnupg/secring.gpg’
    gpg: /var/services/homes/<current user>/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
    gpg: using PGP trust model
    gpg: key 1418FFE0 marked as ultimately trusted

    The keys are now stored into your home’s gpg folder: ls ~/.gnupg/

    You can check that the key id displayed above are stored using:

    • gpg2 —list-keys

    gpg: checking the trustdb
    gpg: 3 marginal(s) needed, 1 complete(s) needed, PGP trust model
    gpg: depth: 0 valid: 1 signed: 0 trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 1u
    /var/services/homes/<current user>/.gnupg/pubring.gpg
    ——————————————–
    pub 2048R/1418FFE0 2017-12-26
    uid Your Name (Your Comment) Your Email Address
    sub 2048R/71C22B00 2017-12-26

    • gpg2 —list-secret-keys

    gpg: checking the trustdb
    gpg: 3 marginal(s) needed, 1 complete(s) needed, PGP trust model
    gpg: depth: 0 valid: 2 signed: 0 trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 2u
    /var/services/homes/<current user>/.gnupg/secring.gpg
    ——————————————–
    sec 2048R/1418FFE0 2017-12-26
    uid Your Name (Your Comment) Your Email Address
    ssb 2048R/71C22B00 2017-12-26

    *: the trick to replace all CRLF by LF is to edit the file with notepad++, use the menu Encoding > Convert to UTF-8, and next do CTRL-H to search and replace /r/n with /n using the search mode = Extended. You can finally check that there is no more CRLF by using the menu View > Show Symbol > Show End of Line.

    NB.: the script could be a bit slow if there is not enough entropy (up to 45sec on my NAS)… (to download a big file within the download station can help 😉

    You can now export your public key using either your name, your email or the key id (from illustration here above, the key id is 1418FFE0): gpg2 –armor –export 1418FFE0 > gpgkey.asc

    This file ‘gpgkey.asc’ must be copied in the root folder of your SSPKS server, so it will automatically be added as a trusted publisher for anyone who is adding your SSPKS url in his list of “Package Sources”.

    Now, assume that you have the package to be signed (a spk file) and the ‘CodeSign.php’ script from Synology’s toolkit (it can be downloaded from github) in the same shared folder ‘temp’ used previously… Then, you can sign this package using: php CodeSign.php –sign=YourPackage.spk –keydir=~/.gnupg –keyfpr=1418FFE0

    Create keys in specific key rings

    Instead of using your personal key rings, you could prefer to store your keys in a dedicated folder… To do so, you can use the following parameters in your gpgKey file:

    Key-Type: RSA
    Key-Length: 2048
    Subkey-Type: RSA
    Subkey-Length: 2048
    Name-Real: Type Here your name
    Name-Comment: Type Here some comment
    Name-Email: Type Here your email
    Expire-Date: 0
    %no-protection
    # Write public key into a file pub.gpg
    %pubring gpg/pubring.gpg
    # Write secret key into a file sec.gpg
    %secring gpg/secring.gpg
    %commit

    Once the script createGpgKey.sh executed, you will find two files pubring.gpg and secring.gpg in the folder gpg (created by the script that run in /var/services/temp/).

    gpg: Generating a basic OpenPGP key
    gpg: skipping control `%no-protection’ ()
    gpg: writing public key to `gpg/pubring.gpg’
    gpg: writing secret key to `gpg/secring.gpg’
    gpg: writing self signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “F93A0789 [?]”
    gpg: writing key binding signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “F93A0789 [?]”
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “8AAC41CF [?]”
    gpg: writing key binding signature
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “F93A0789 [?]”
    gpg: RSA/SHA1 signature from: “8AAC41CF [?]”

    You can now sign your package using: php CodeSign.php –sign=YourPackage.spk –keydir=/var/services/temp/gpg –keyfpr=F93A0789

    You can also check your keys using:

    • gpg2 –no-default-keyring –secret-keyring ./gpg/secring.gpg –keyring ./gpg/pubring.gpg –list-secret-keys
    • gpg2 –no-default-keyring –secret-keyring ./gpg/secring.gpg –keyring ./gpg/pubring.gpg –list-keys

    And you can export your public key to be used in your SSPKS using:

    • gpg2 –no-default-keyring –keyring ./gpg/pubring.gpg –armor –export F93A0789 > gpgkey.asc

    Create keys with a passphrase

    In order to provide a passphrase, replace ‘%no-protection‘ in the parameters file with:

    Passphrase: Type Here your passphrase

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  • Install the Synology Toolkit and Sign SPK packages

    Since a long time, I was waiting to have enough free time to investigate how to sign my own packages with Synology’s toolkit. It’s now finally done!

    Click to Read More

    Initial installations

    1. First, install IPKG as explained here.
    2. Next, install the official Synology package “python3”
      1. Alternative: install python3 using the command: ipkg install python3
    3. Then, create a symlink into /usr: ln -s /usr/local/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python3
      1. if using python installed with ipkg, create a symlink into /usr: ln -s /opt/bin/python3 /usr/bin/python3
    4. install gpg using the command: ipkg install gpgme
      1. This was needed as gpg was installed on my NAS without gpg-agent (? to be investigated later)…
    5. Now, install GIT as explained here.
    6. Finally run:
      1. cd /volume1/
        1. There was not enough free space in the system partition to install the toolkit!!
      2. mkdir -p toolkit
      3. cd toolkit/
      4. git clone https://github.com/SynologyOpenSource/pkgscripts-ng pkgscripts
      5. cd pkgscripts/

    If you want to use the toolkit for other purpose than signing

    You can check the available platform for your DSM version in the toolkit (e.g. here for 6.1). Run : ./EnvDeploy -v 6.1 --list

    It should display a list like this one:

    Available platforms: 6281 alpine alpine4k armada370 armada375 armada38x armadaxp avoton braswell broadwell bromolow cedarview comcerto2k dockerx64 evansport grantley hi3535 kvmx64 monaco qoriq x64 rtd1296 denverton apollolake

    • N.B.: The major and minor version (E.g. 6.1 for major=6 and minor =1) of your DSM can be found using: cat /etc.defaults/VERSION
    • N.B.: the platform of your Synology can be found in this list based on your model (See the column “Package Arch”). The model of your Synology can be found running the command:  cat /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf | grep -m 1 ‘upnpmodelname’ | cut -d “=” -f 2
    • N.B.: You can also check the CPU of your Synology using: cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -m 1 ‘model name’ | cut -d “:” -f 2 | cut -d “@” -f 1

    And you can configure the toolkit by running the following command with your DSM version (E.g.: 6.1) and platform (E.g.: avoton) as parameter: ./EnvDeploy -v 6.1 -p avoton

    • NB: the platform must be in lower case !!!

    In order to sign packages

    You have to create a GPG key. Type: /opt/bin/gpg2 --gen-key

    Once prompted, choose:

    • RSA and RSA (default)
    • key size 1024, 2048 or 4096
    • key does not expire
    • And do not type any passphrase. Just press ‘Enter’ without typing any character until it accepts to not make your key secure.

    gpg (GnuPG) 2.0.18; Copyright (C) 2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
    This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
    There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

    Please select what kind of key you want:
    (1) RSA and RSA (default)
    (2) DSA and Elgamal
    (3) DSA (sign only)
    (4) RSA (sign only)
    Your selection? 1
    RSA keys may be between 1024 and 4096 bits long.
    What keysize do you want? (2048) 2048
    Requested keysize is 2048 bits
    Please specify how long the key should be valid.
    0 = key does not expire
    <n> = key expires in n days
    <n>w = key expires in n weeks
    <n>m = key expires in n months
    <n>y = key expires in n years
    Key is valid for? (0) 0
    Key does not expire at all
    Is this correct? (y/N) y

    GnuPG needs to construct a user ID to identify your key.

    Real name: vletroye
    Email address: <obfuscated>
    Comment: BeatificaBytes’ Packages
    You selected this USER-ID:
    “vletroye <obfuscated>”

    Change (N)ame, (C)omment, (E)mail or (O)kay/(Q)uit? O
    You need a Passphrase to protect your secret key.

    You don’t want a passphrase – this is probably a *bad* idea!
    I will do it anyway. You can change your passphrase at any time,
    using this program with the option “--edit-key”.

    We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform
    some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the
    disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number
    generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
    We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform
    some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the
    disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number
    generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
    gpg: key 9ABC9981 marked as ultimately trusted
    public and secret key created and signed.

    gpg: checking the trustdb
    gpg: 3 marginal(s) needed, 1 complete(s) needed, PGP trust model
    gpg: depth: 0 valid: 1 signed: 0 trust: 0-, 0q, 0n, 0m, 0f, 1u
    pub 2048R/9C293482 2017-12-23
    Key fingerprint = 4AB4 051C EF8D 009D 4BF3 D78F EEBC 5B44 9C29 3481
    uid vletroye (BeatificaBytes’ Packages) <obfuscated>
    sub 2048R/4C18D693 2017-12-23

    You can now:

    • view public keys using: gpg2 --list-keys
    • view private keys using: gpg2 --list-secret-keys
    • delete a private key: gpg2 --delete-secret-key <user name> (you can also use the <email> or <key id>, displayed after pub xxxxR/ where xxxx is the keysize, e.g.: 1024)
      • Ex.: gpg2 --delete-secret-key vletroye
      • Ex.: gpg2 --delete-secret-key 9C293482
    • delete a public key: gpg2 --delete-key <user name>
    • You can also use specific rings (Ex.: if you did copy them somewhere else than the default user’s home folder : ~/.gnupg)
      • gpg2 --no-default-keyring --secret-keyring /root/.gnupg/secring.gpg --list-keys
      • gpg2 --no-default-keyring --secret-keyring /root/.gnupg/secring.gpg --list-secret-keys
      • gpg2 --no-default-keyring --keyring /root/.gnupg/secring.gpg --list-keys
      • gpg2 --no-default-keyring --keyring /root/.gnupg/secring.gpg --list-secret-keys

    And last but not least… you can finally sign a package located e.g. under /web/packages, using: php CodeSign.php --sign=/volume1/web/packages/YourPackage.spk --keydir=/root/.gnupg --keyfpr=9C293482

    Now that this package is signed, add your certificate into the list of trusted publishers within your Synology’s Package Center.

    1. First, run: gpg2 --armor --export <user name> > YourCertificate.asc
    2. Next copy this one into a public shared folder. E.g.: cp YourCertificate.asc /volume1/web/packages/
    3. Finally:
      1. import it: Package Center > Settings > Certificate > Import > Browse >
      2. and only trust Synology Inc. and trusted publishers: Package Center > Settings > General
    Import Certificate
    Import Certificate
    Trusted Publishers
    Trusted Publishers

     

    Instead of manually importing your certificate as illustrated above, if you are using SSPKS to distribute your packages, you can copy it there: cp YourCertificate.asc /var/services/web/sspks/gpgkey.asc

    Doing so, it will automatically be added as a trusted publisher for anyone who is adding your SSPKS url in his list of “Package Sources”.

     

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  • Find Synology information using Shell commands

    The model of your Synology can be found running the command:  cat /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf | grep -m 1 ‘upnpmodelname’ | cut -d “=” -f 2

    The CPU of your Synology can be found using: cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -m 1 ‘model name’ | cut -d “:” -f 2 | cut -d “@” -f 1

    The version of your DSM can be found using: cat /etc.defaults/VERSION

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  • Download all Images from Imgur’s account for backup reasons

    I have been looking for a quite long hour how to download all images from my Imgur account.

    The solution is damn stupid simple: use the button “Download account images” in the “Settings” page.

    Click to Read More

    Download Imgur Images
    Download Imgur Images

    This button will download a zip file with all your images…

    To download a public album, of any user, you can also simply use MyJdownloader 😉

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  • Plex Server not found after Synology update to DSM 1.10.1.4602

    After updating DSM on my Synology, Plex Media Player was not able to find the Plex Server running there.

    Plex Server Not Found

    Click to Read More

    Plex Server was clearly running as I was able to connect via http://<My Synology>:32400/web/index.html

    But it was not responding to any request to display Libraries or to play any Movies… To solve this, I had to :

    1. Stop the package Plex via the DSM Package Center
    2. Log in my NAS as an administrator, in a SSH console, via Putty and enter root mode.
    3. Find Plex process still running via the command: ps -gaceux | grep plex
      1. This command displayed: plex 13150 0.2 0.2 677640 17832 ? Sl Dec17 7:41 Plex Media Server
    4. Kill plex’s remaining process: kill -9 13150
    5. Possibly do also delete the Plex’s Plugin Service as done here.
    6. Start the package Plex via the DSM Package Center

    Et voilà.

    IMO, the problem was that I didn’t stop properly Plex Package before updating my DSM. The Plex instance running at that time apparently didn’t completely shutdown. But it was not really running fine anymore either. Unfortunately, that instance was preventing a new one to start (as it was still using the port 32400).

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  • Batch Convert SVG to PNG

    Conversion SVG

    The easiest way to convert a bunch of svg images into png: ConversionSVG + InkScape

    Click to Read More

    It’s very straightforward and the quality is much better than various online tools

    • Install first InkScape and next ConversionSVG.
    • Run ConversionSVG,
    • Select the output “Format”  = .PNG,
    • Select the “Exportation Zone” = Dessin
    • Set the desired “Size” for the output images.
    • Select the “Folder” containing the svg images to be converted
    • Select bellow the target folder to store the converted images.
    • Click “Convert“

    Et voilà 😉

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