Install Ubuntu to striped disks

Recently I needed to install Ubuntu to a striped disk set.  A striped disk set is when 2 or more hard drives are effectively merged together into a single hard drive.  So if your computer has two 1 TB hard drives, then striping them together would give you a single 2 TB hard drive.  I found a couple of guides online to do this, but they all involved starting up Ubuntu from a Live CD and performing the partitioning there, then rebooting and installing Ubuntu to the existing partition.  I wanted to just get it done during the installation.  It took several tries, but here is how I got it done from within Ubuntu setup.

I should add, this was done using Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS x64.  The same procedure should work with Desktop, and it should work with other versions as well.  Also, before starting this both hard drives were clean, i.e. they did not have existing partitions.  First, run through setup until you get to the first screen about disk partitioning.

Step 1:  Do it manually
Move down and select "manual."

Step 2:  Create partition tables
If you move down you should see your disks (in my case, I have two 10GB hard drives).  Select each disk in turn.  You will be asked to confirm you want to create a partition table on the disk, say yes.

Step 3:  Configure RAID
Now both hard drives will show up as "free space."  Next move up to and select "configure software RAID."  You will again be prompted to commit changes to the disk, select yes.  On the next screen select "create MD device."

Select RAID0, which is stripping.  On the next screen use the space bar to check each disk that will be a part of the stripe then choose continue.  Then again choose yes to confirm your selection.

Finally select "finish" to complete the RAID setup.

Step 4:  Change partition use
Now, in addition to the multiple physical hard drives, you should see an entry for the RAID.  Select the first object under the RAID.  On the next page you need to change the "use as" to "use physical volume for LVM."  Then select "done setting up the partition."

Step 5:  Install LVM
Select up to "guided partitioning" then select "guided - use entire disk and set up LVM."  The next screen will show the two hard drives as well as the single RAID.  Select the RAID.  The confirm you want to write changes.  On the next screen verify the size of the partition and select continue.

Step 6:  Finalize and install
Select "finish partitioning and write changes to disk."  You will be prompted yet again to write changes to disk.  I promise, this is the last time.

After that the installation should continue as normal and install Ubuntu to your newly created striped disks.  Easy as pie, right?  Okay, maybe not.  But hopefully this guide helps you.

Best Sega Genesis Soundtrack

The Sega Genesis, like all consoles of the time, had a very unique and recognizable sound to it.  Many of the games I played have had a lasting impression on me and I still find myself humming a tune from 20+ years ago.  So I wanted to list my top 10 favorite Sega Genesis soundtracks.

Most Sega Genesis games had at least one good track in them, but to make this list they needed to have a lot of good tracks.  Also, these need to be so good that you would gladly listen to them outside of the game.  A lot of games, like Street Fighter 2, have great music - but it's not something I would listen to outside of the game so it didn't make my list.  I guess I should say, since the '80s I have enjoyed electronic/techno music, so the games that made my list mostly have upbeat techno sound to them (something the Sega Genesis excelled at creating more so than the Super Nintendo).  Lastly, I can only rate games that I've played, for obvious reasons.

First a few honorable mentions.

Ecco the Dolphin 1 and 2 on CD:  My list is exclusively "chiptunes" on the Genesis so I have to disqualify Ecco 1 and 2.  But I had to at least mention them somewhere because their music is awesome!  This is easily the music I listened to the most in the mid '90s.  If you haven't heard the Ecco soundtrack it's best described as ambient and relaxing.

Streets of Rage 3:  The Streets of Rage series is known for incredible music.  But sadly the third installment in the series did not live up to the high standard of previous games.  SoR3 has some really great tracks, but it also has some downright weird and awful tracks too.

Phantasy Star 2:  PS2 was an early title for the Genesis, and I would describe the soundtrack as ahead of its time.  It's probably too "electronic" sounding for mainstream listening, which I think is why many people say the music in PS2 was one of it's weak points.  But I like it.

And now onto the top 10.

10 - Revenge of Shinobi:  The music for RoS came from Yuzo Koshiro who would later go on to work on the Streets of Rage series.  RoS has a number of excellent tracks.

9 - Thunder Force 2:  TF2 was the first in a series of games that proved Technosoft knew how to write a good techno soundtrack to match perfectly with a great game.  Most people prefer the soundtrack to Thunder Force 3 instead, but for me TF2 has more memorable tracks.

8 - Wonder Boy in Monster World:  Monster World has some of the best atmospheric sound music of any game.  When you're in the jungle the music sounds like you're in a jungle.  When you're in a desert it sounds like you're in a desert.  Snow music is perfectly suited, and the Caribbean sounding beach music is one of my all-time favorite tracks.

7 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3:  With a big-budget title like Sonic the Hedgehog, you know Sega is going to give it a great soundtrack.  And Sonic 3 doesn't disappoint.  One little known fact is that Michael Jackson helped on the soundtrack for Sonic 3.

6 - Sonic the Hedgehog:  Sonic the Hedgehog was destined to be a great game even before it was released.  It has everything from great game play, great graphics, and of course a great soundtrack.  Some of my favorites are the Marble and Starlight zones.

5 - Phantasy Star 4:  PS4 has some of the best music in the PS series, it's just a shame more people didn't get to experience it.  PS4 came out late in the Sega Genesis lifetime, the game costs almost twice as much as a typical Genesis game, and it's in the RPG genre which not everyone likes.  All these together mean that few people have had the opportunity to enjoy the PS4 soundtrack.

4 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2:  With the success of Sonic 1 Sega put all it's resources behind its sequel.  Sonic 2 has the best music in the series in my opinion.

3 - Contra Hard Corps:  Contra Hard Corps has probably the best upbeat techno soundtrack on the Sega Genesis.  So many great tracks that get you in the mood for excitement.

2 - Streets of Rage:  Everyone knows SoR has awesome music.  But I think people mostly focus on SoR2 and forget about the original game.  SoR1 has tracks every bit as memorable as SoR2.  Just about every track is a masterpiece that gets you in the mood to beat people up - virtually of course.

1 - Streets of Rage 2:  By this point there can be no doubt, the best soundtrack on the Sega Genesis is SoR2.  I actually had a hard time deciding between SoR1 and SoR2.  Each game has such great music perfectly suited to the game.  But I think I have to give the overall win to Streets of Rage 2.

There you have it.  My top 10 Sega Genesis soundtracks and some honorable mentions.  If there are any great soundtracks I missed, please comment on it.  Again, I can only rate games I've played.

[By the way, if you're in the mood to experience some great Sega Genesis music, you can easily do so on your computer.  Search the Internet for "VGM" and a game title and you can download VGM or VGZ files which are the raw music ripped directly from the Sega Genesis cartridge.  You can use a number of programs to listen to VGM files including Winamp and foobar2000, both of which have plugins to play VGM/VGZ files.]