mugithi/ubuntu_question_answer_llama2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

###question stringlengths 12 464	###answer stringlengths 3 382
if i uninstall compiz, will it mess the system up?	system -> preferenaces -> appearances. there should be a desktop effects tab, just turn 'em off
how can i login to my cups admin tool? localhost:631 my root username and password do not work	you have to unlock the admin function. /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
is there a docx corrupt file recovery tool in the ubuntu repos that anyone knows about	apparently not
i think you can also use synaptic, aptitude to select packages for upgrade	gui = bad :)
hello , how can i know which version of x.org i am use ??	run the command: apt-cache policy xorg
incomplete? it works great for me	o is actually for other owner is u
hi. i just upgraded to hardy heron (8.04) and /dev/hda, /dev/hdb and /dev/hdc just disappeared. anyone got any ideas on what happened?	they pbbly turned into sda sdb and sdc :)
hm. is there a simple command for putting the system in suspend/hibernation mode?	pm-suspend
question about the firefox 4 ppa: should it be displaying the tabs-on-top style?	change from view menu
should i go with kubuntu or ubuntu? just an opinion	that is a bad question for so many reasons... but if in doubt use 'ubuntu'... it is what started it all :)
hello! i'm unable to ssh into laptop connected to the same network. i can ssh from laptop to desktop but not the other way round. i restarted services on both the systems, purged openssh-server, openssh-client, did ssh-keygen/keyscan but still not working. this is output of ssh -vvv http://paste.ubuntu.com/893492/ how can i fix it?	can you successfully « ssh localhost » on the laptop?
can someone tell me about a program to backup my system to a dvd or two?	it's probably not in ubuntu
how do you run the nautilus browser without the desktop icons?	do you want to remoce desktop icons, or are you running nautilus outside of gnome?
which bit of software is supposed to create /dev/scd0 ? udev? hotplug?	udev.
i've just found a directory /.trash-root. du reports it eats up 6gb of space... can i delete it?	sure. its basically the trash bin for the root account.
it is 'turned off'(ie, open out, open in) by default however	still i believe it would still work if you add rules to the table, it'll block, pretty sure its active just with noting configured
what's the command to install a .deb package? (sorry, i'm obviously very new to debian)	dpkg -i blah
hi all! what's the best way to ensure that the folder on my home theatre device has the same files as my download folder? i don't want to overwrite files if they're already there.	rsync -ruv
is there a page that tells you what exactly to do when you are trying to install ubuntu on a laptop and properly partion that hard drive?	--^
nvidia is best supported by linux correct?	nvidia
what's an easy, manual command line way to reset an ethernet connection (say the cable modem goes nuts and i reset it)?	dhclient eth0
when i installed karmic i couldn't connect wep networks. is that fixed in the network manager ppa?	network manager has supported wep networks for years
hey guys, does ubuntu come loaded with cd burning software?	but of course
how do i from the shell get a list of all packages that are installed on my system -- preferably the ones i've installed directly, ie. not dependencies.	dpkg -l \|grep ^ii
hi, can any1 tell me if there is a program similar like the simply accounting or the quickbooks that i can have on my system ....for small business?	gnomecash is good
kk guys. im trying to make a romantic compiz-fusion video for my girl and post it on youtube. i need a way to write her name on something in some sort of text editor i need the letters to be big though so its decipherable. any suggestions?	use gedit or such
how do i setup a static ip address in 8.10? specifically the net mask.	/etc/resolv.conf i think
ok...how would i have gnome start like an eggdrop bot and xchat when it boots?	system>preferences>sessions
hi there, how can i load a module on startup?	/etc/modules
hey everybody, does anybody know anything about the package 'landscape-client'? i looked it up on the ubuntu package search and didn't get anything conclusive	description: placeholder for the landscape client this package is currently empty, but will be updated to contain a client for the landscape system. landscape is a web-based tool for managing ubuntu systems.
i saw firefox 3.0 has already include in sources, but still not update yet. why??	cuz they're still testing it out on the pr0n sites
can i get out of gdm and get to text-mode? my login does not work. it stops on 'window manager'... ctrl-alt-backspace only gets me back to gdm...	ctrl-alt-f1
ummmmmmmmmmmm so yeah. anyone know how to get the mic working for skype beta on ubuntu 9.10 64bit?	it's in there somewhere
how do i suspend to ram from a terminal?	sudo pmi action suspend
hi again, how do i do that * set an environment variable java_home to the pathname of the directory	example export path setting : export path='${path}:/opt/jdk1.7.0/jre/bin/
it will read it if such exists - but it doesn't necessarily do	thanks! i just switched from a nvidia card to an ati card. i used to add a line that inverted my screen.
ok, so i'm trying to learn about commands using 'man' in terminal. so i learned my first command, now how do i get out of the manual?	'q'
in which release?	sorry for the delay... my hda-intel isn't working in 11.04
#ubuntu: how to switch workspaces?	which window manager?
ok. dumb question, how to i check if apache tomcat is even running? i don't think it's auto starting.	'ps aux' should show everything that's running (there must be an easier way to find out though)
does ubuntu (8.10) ship with any music cd ripping apps?	rhythmbox might but it's easy to install ripperx
alsa shoudl work out of the box, what are you trying to do?	my soundcard does not work out of the box
is there a way to kick the fan speed up to max with some utility?	all i am aware of is monitoring what the speeds are with lm-sensors, not sure of any fan-speed controller software on linux
can someone tell me how to get rid of totem in firefox?	if you want to use mozilla-mplayer and it is installed already yyou will need to reinstall after you remove totem
does apt have a central registry of packages i have specifically specified to install, vs. just things that were installed as deps? ala gentoo's world file.	i try to avoid openoffice =p abiword is nice
what was wrong with the ubuntu site? does anyone know what the issues were?	power cut, many other sites down too
hey everyone - what's the best/quickest way to convert *.rmvb files using ubuntu?	mencoder probably
why can't he/her use intrepid packages?	he can use intrepid files if he's on intrepid. you can't mix/match files like that.
how to set my printer on ubuntu to print just black and white?	www.localhost:631 for cups control panel. typically some printers you have to adjust there.
sorry i didn't specify. i meant to secure a single login from being able to access the system by any means except ftp/sftp	ahh - look into nologin for sure. good luck.
dear ubuntu people, this is rather odd: whether i use totem, vlc or mplayer, the video always shows as a pink screen that doesn't change, while my video drivers are installed correctly. what could cause this	then it could be your video card or maybe your videos's cards memory
so if i need to make sure i 'restart my shell' after making some changes to an /etc/profile file what does that entail? closing the terminal, and reopening another one? exiting out of an ssh session and opening another one?	exec bash -l
when's the next version comming out?...august right?	june 1
- that looks like a kernel error - what version of ubuntu are you using?	2.6.35-28-generic
so i have another little question: what is fsck used for?	man on the other hand is used to show you the manual page for the command
hoary has quite a lot of bad packages actually, gaim isn't good for one, evo is unpredictable, gnome-system-tools is only partly usable	i think i don't wanna hoary now then.. ;)
how do i watch you tube videos? what do i need to download and how?	your favourite web browser perhaps and adobe's flash?
hello, can you help me, in which file are beryl-manager settings, please?	/home/<username>/.beryl
hello guys is there any packages for azureus or my sources.list is incomplete ?	http://backports.ubuntuforums.org/
anyone have advise: i was touring appearance themes and now my window buttons are on the right - how can i get them back to the left?	metacity --replace
i can ping my ubuntu box, it connects to the local network on eth0 but the internet on my other network card eth1 - do i need to bridge them so local network can see eth1?	i'm not really sure how cable works but check /etc/resolv.conf for any dns entries your laptop can use
has anyone tried running games under windows under vmware?	doesn't work worth a darn
when will dapper be released? i heard april but has that been put off?	any rumour about delays is nonsense
metacity is nomming my cpus, and it won't die. what should i do???	it worked?
can somebody help me with a network printer installation? the postscript filter in the ppd file taken from installation cd does not exist.	is see linux : http://www.support.xerox.com/go/results.asp?xlang=en_us&xcntry=usa&prodid=wc5225_wc5230&ripid=&xtype=download
i'm getting two devices for my one card: wlan0 and wmaster0. which should i use to connect to the wireless network?	wlan0
mouse cursor is eraseing the screen as it moves. (h/w: via chrome9). verified in 7.10 and 8.04. seemed to work in 8.04beta4. looking to track down where the problem may be. experiened with xorg.conf editing, and xorg driver compilation.	yes, but wait ~10-15 minutes
is it possible to create a shortcut key to my home folder? i tried creating a custom key with the command /home/matthew (shift+ctrl+h) but it doesn't work.	alot of keyboards have buttons to launch browser , mail and such, homefolder or atleast file browser should be there too
help please newbie here.. where can i find the add/remove program in ubuntu. if ever i like to remove program that are installed like in windows	synaptic
does scp follow symbolic links?	man scp
someone knows of a complete mp3 tool for making tagging/nfo/m3u/sfv for mp3 albums? to archive the collection..	and amarok pretty much does everything.
anyone know how to stop displaying quits/parts/joins in xchat?	right click channel name
what are the common packages i should install so that gxine will be able to play the sound in movies?	https://wiki.ubuntu.com/restrictedformats
is there a command i can run to tell me if a volume is mounted or not (usb)	mount
where are vlc settings stored?	check ~/.config/vlc/
that was absolutly damn trash what you've done	please adhere to the code of conduct in here
how can i add apps to the gnome classic menu bars?	try to update your package index, by pressing reload in synaptic
were can i get a gantt chart for any of the ubuntu projects? thanks	don't know of a gantt chart but there is https://wiki.ubuntu.com/feistyreleaseschedule
how can i get the version number of an installed package? in this case libapache2-mod-auth-mysql	err, apt-cache policy that is
quick question... i updated to final beta, do i need to perform another update to get to 12.05 lts?	i came in with that same question :) just run apt-get dist-upgrade
how do you send/start programs at different xs or ttys	display=:0.1 mplayer -fs sample command
how can i automatically start a certain process for a certain user at bot?	use @reboot in the users crontab
anyone knows can help me?	i disabled join/part messages....less annoying
is there a guide in setting up subversion with my existing apache setup?	https://help.ubuntu.com/community/subversioninstall and/or https://help.ubuntu.com/community/subversion
hi all, some one tell me how to install hud in 11.10	http://techhamlet.com/2012/01/how-to-install-the-new-hud-in-ubuntu-12-04-and-11-10/
how can i fix my audio? i installed ubuntu soon and i get no audio	check sound levels, and raise all of them to middle
how can i remount my usb drive as read only?	or try the properties in whatever desktop enviornment you use
i need to sort through a list of /dev/sd* drives and identify which ones are usb devices. how do i determine which ones are which?	and careful examination of dmesg
is it feasible to make a 'dewubifier' program? i.e. a program that creates a new partition, copies the ubuntu installed under wubi there, uninstalls it from windows, and sets grub	^^^
where can i find a list of available packages for breezy?	packages.ubuntu.com iirc
how to identify which video card is installed in my pcd	lspci \| grep vga
are the gutsy packages still available? 'failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/gutsy/universe/source/sources.gz 404 not found [ip: 91.189.88.140 80]'	gutsy is dead. probably time to reinstall or upgrade
hi, can anyone help me with setting up a wireless connection in ubuntu? its not connecting and i cant figure out why	try iwlist eth1 scanning (or eth0 or wlan0, whatever your wlan device is)
hi all - i have a usb2 hard disk which i have inserted and can see in dmesg is sdc but its the first time i have used it and it has an ntfs filesystem - what is the easiest way to wipe it and format as ext3	gparted
i want to use mozilla firefox 1.0.4 on ubuntu 5.04 hoary, exist a way to upgrade the existent firefox 1.0.2 to 1.0.4 ?	sure, debfoster is your friend
is there a .deb package of thudnerbird 1.0.6 available anywhere?	pitti from ubuntu-devel says that he has prepared one for hoary-security. it should be available shortly
okay, i have a bit of a problem. i'm connected to my wireless network, and my wired network keeps coming alive and kills my connection, because i have nothing wired. any help?	youre better of making a 10gb partition with m$ xp for games or try it in wine, cedega, crossover
silly question .. if someone asks about firewalls on linux, is suggesting them to read up on iptables the right idea ? :)	yes, iptables is good for that
hey guys, having a bit of an interesting problem here...my / partition has 1.9 gb of space on it, but my home partition is full. is there any way i can use some of the space in my / to store files?	you can use symlinks to make parts of / appear to be inside /home/<you>/
is there a way, in ubuntu, to query the system and find out what version of a particular package i have installed?	i think this might do it: apt-cache showpkg <pkgname>

if i uninstall compiz, will it mess the system up?

system -> preferenaces -> appearances. there should be a desktop effects tab, just turn 'em off

how can i login to my cups admin tool? localhost:631 my root username and password do not work

you have to unlock the admin function. /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

is there a docx corrupt file recovery tool in the ubuntu repos that anyone knows about

apparently not

i think you can also use synaptic, aptitude to select packages for upgrade

gui = bad :)

hello , how can i know which version of x.org i am use ??

run the command: apt-cache policy xorg

incomplete? it works great for me

o is actually for other owner is u

hi. i just upgraded to hardy heron (8.04) and /dev/hda, /dev/hdb and /dev/hdc just disappeared. anyone got any ideas on what happened?

they pbbly turned into sda sdb and sdc :)

hm. is there a simple command for putting the system in suspend/hibernation mode?

pm-suspend

question about the firefox 4 ppa: should it be displaying the tabs-on-top style?

change from view menu

should i go with kubuntu or ubuntu? just an opinion

that is a bad question for so many reasons... but if in doubt use 'ubuntu'... it is what started it all :)

hello! i'm unable to ssh into laptop connected to the same network. i can ssh from laptop to desktop but not the other way round. i restarted services on both the systems, purged openssh-server, openssh-client, did ssh-keygen/keyscan but still not working. this is output of ssh -vvv http://paste.ubuntu.com/893492/ how can i fix it?

can you successfully « ssh localhost » on the laptop?

can someone tell me about a program to backup my system to a dvd or two?

it's probably not in ubuntu

how do you run the nautilus browser without the desktop icons?

do you want to remoce desktop icons, or are you running nautilus outside of gnome?

which bit of software is supposed to create /dev/scd0 ? udev? hotplug?

udev.

i've just found a directory /.trash-root. du reports it eats up 6gb of space... can i delete it?

sure. its basically the trash bin for the root account.

it is 'turned off'(ie, open out, open in) by default however

still i believe it would still work if you add rules to the table, it'll block, pretty sure its active just with noting configured

what's the command to install a .deb package? (sorry, i'm obviously very new to debian)

dpkg -i blah

hi all! what's the best way to ensure that the folder on my home theatre device has the same files as my download folder? i don't want to overwrite files if they're already there.

rsync -ruv

is there a page that tells you what exactly to do when you are trying to install ubuntu on a laptop and properly partion that hard drive?

--^

nvidia is best supported by linux correct?

nvidia

what's an easy, manual command line way to reset an ethernet connection (say the cable modem goes nuts and i reset it)?

dhclient eth0

when i installed karmic i couldn't connect wep networks. is that fixed in the network manager ppa?

network manager has supported wep networks for years

hey guys, does ubuntu come loaded with cd burning software?

but of course

how do i from the shell get a list of all packages that are installed on my system -- preferably the ones i've installed directly, ie. not dependencies.

dpkg -l |grep ^ii

hi, can any1 tell me if there is a program similar like the simply accounting or the quickbooks that i can have on my system ....for small business?

gnomecash is good

kk guys. im trying to make a romantic compiz-fusion video for my girl and post it on youtube. i need a way to write her name on something in some sort of text editor i need the letters to be big though so its decipherable. any suggestions?

use gedit or such

how do i setup a static ip address in 8.10? specifically the net mask.

/etc/resolv.conf i think

ok...how would i have gnome start like an eggdrop bot and xchat when it boots?

system>preferences>sessions

hi there, how can i load a module on startup?

/etc/modules

hey everybody, does anybody know anything about the package 'landscape-client'? i looked it up on the ubuntu package search and didn't get anything conclusive

description: placeholder for the landscape client this package is currently empty, but will be updated to contain a client for the landscape system. landscape is a web-based tool for managing ubuntu systems.

i saw firefox 3.0 has already include in sources, but still not update yet. why??

cuz they're still testing it out on the pr0n sites

can i get out of gdm and get to text-mode? my login does not work. it stops on 'window manager'... ctrl-alt-backspace only gets me back to gdm...

ctrl-alt-f1

ummmmmmmmmmmm so yeah. anyone know how to get the mic working for skype beta on ubuntu 9.10 64bit?

it's in there somewhere

how do i suspend to ram from a terminal?

sudo pmi action suspend

hi again, how do i do that * set an environment variable java_home to the pathname of the directory

example export path setting : export path='${path}:/opt/jdk1.7.0/jre/bin/

it will read it if such exists - but it doesn't necessarily do

thanks! i just switched from a nvidia card to an ati card. i used to add a line that inverted my screen.

ok, so i'm trying to learn about commands using 'man' in terminal. so i learned my first command, now how do i get out of the manual?

'q'

in which release?

sorry for the delay... my hda-intel isn't working in 11.04

#ubuntu: how to switch workspaces?

which window manager?

ok. dumb question, how to i check if apache tomcat is even running? i don't think it's auto starting.

'ps aux' should show everything that's running (there must be an easier way to find out though)

does ubuntu (8.10) ship with any music cd ripping apps?

rhythmbox might but it's easy to install ripperx

alsa shoudl work out of the box, what are you trying to do?

my soundcard does not work out of the box

is there a way to kick the fan speed up to max with some utility?

all i am aware of is monitoring what the speeds are with lm-sensors, not sure of any fan-speed controller software on linux

can someone tell me how to get rid of totem in firefox?

if you want to use mozilla-mplayer and it is installed already yyou will need to reinstall after you remove totem

does apt have a central registry of packages i have specifically specified to install, vs. just things that were installed as deps? ala gentoo's world file.

i try to avoid openoffice =p abiword is nice

what was wrong with the ubuntu site? does anyone know what the issues were?

power cut, many other sites down too

hey everyone - what's the best/quickest way to convert *.rmvb files using ubuntu?

mencoder probably

why can't he/her use intrepid packages?

he can use intrepid files if he's on intrepid. you can't mix/match files like that.

how to set my printer on ubuntu to print just black and white?

www.localhost:631 for cups control panel. typically some printers you have to adjust there.

sorry i didn't specify. i meant to secure a single login from being able to access the system by any means except ftp/sftp

ahh - look into nologin for sure. good luck.

dear ubuntu people, this is rather odd: whether i use totem, vlc or mplayer, the video always shows as a pink screen that doesn't change, while my video drivers are installed correctly. what could cause this

then it could be your video card or maybe your videos's cards memory

so if i need to make sure i 'restart my shell' after making some changes to an /etc/profile file what does that entail? closing the terminal, and reopening another one? exiting out of an ssh session and opening another one?

exec bash -l

when's the next version comming out?...august right?

june 1

- that looks like a kernel error - what version of ubuntu are you using?

2.6.35-28-generic

so i have another little question: what is fsck used for?

man on the other hand is used to show you the manual page for the command

hoary has quite a lot of bad packages actually, gaim isn't good for one, evo is unpredictable, gnome-system-tools is only partly usable

i think i don't wanna hoary now then.. ;)

how do i watch you tube videos? what do i need to download and how?

your favourite web browser perhaps and adobe's flash?

hello, can you help me, in which file are beryl-manager settings, please?

/home/<username>/.beryl

hello guys is there any packages for azureus or my sources.list is incomplete ?

http://backports.ubuntuforums.org/

anyone have advise: i was touring appearance themes and now my window buttons are on the right - how can i get them back to the left?

metacity --replace

i can ping my ubuntu box, it connects to the local network on eth0 but the internet on my other network card eth1 - do i need to bridge them so local network can see eth1?

i'm not really sure how cable works but check /etc/resolv.conf for any dns entries your laptop can use

has anyone tried running games under windows under vmware?

doesn't work worth a darn

when will dapper be released? i heard april but has that been put off?

any rumour about delays is nonsense

metacity is nomming my cpus, and it won't die. what should i do???

it worked?

can somebody help me with a network printer installation? the postscript filter in the ppd file taken from installation cd does not exist.

is see linux : http://www.support.xerox.com/go/results.asp?xlang=en_us&xcntry=usa&prodid=wc5225_wc5230&ripid=&xtype=download

i'm getting two devices for my one card: wlan0 and wmaster0. which should i use to connect to the wireless network?

wlan0

mouse cursor is eraseing the screen as it moves. (h/w: via chrome9). verified in 7.10 and 8.04. seemed to work in 8.04beta4. looking to track down where the problem may be. experiened with xorg.conf editing, and xorg driver compilation.

yes, but wait ~10-15 minutes

is it possible to create a shortcut key to my home folder? i tried creating a custom key with the command /home/matthew (shift+ctrl+h) but it doesn't work.

alot of keyboards have buttons to launch browser , mail and such, homefolder or atleast file browser should be there too

help please newbie here.. where can i find the add/remove program in ubuntu. if ever i like to remove program that are installed like in windows

synaptic

does scp follow symbolic links?

man scp

someone knows of a complete mp3 tool for making tagging/nfo/m3u/sfv for mp3 albums? to archive the collection..

and amarok pretty much does everything.

anyone know how to stop displaying quits/parts/joins in xchat?

right click channel name

what are the common packages i should install so that gxine will be able to play the sound in movies?

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/restrictedformats

is there a command i can run to tell me if a volume is mounted or not (usb)

mount

where are vlc settings stored?

check ~/.config/vlc/

that was absolutly damn trash what you've done

please adhere to the code of conduct in here

how can i add apps to the gnome classic menu bars?

try to update your package index, by pressing reload in synaptic

were can i get a gantt chart for any of the ubuntu projects? thanks

don't know of a gantt chart but there is https://wiki.ubuntu.com/feistyreleaseschedule

how can i get the version number of an installed package? in this case libapache2-mod-auth-mysql

err, apt-cache policy that is

quick question... i updated to final beta, do i need to perform another update to get to 12.05 lts?

i came in with that same question :) just run apt-get dist-upgrade

how do you send/start programs at different xs or ttys

display=:0.1 mplayer -fs sample command

how can i automatically start a certain process for a certain user at bot?

use @reboot in the users crontab

anyone knows can help me?

i disabled join/part messages....less annoying

is there a guide in setting up subversion with my existing apache setup?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/subversioninstall and/or https://help.ubuntu.com/community/subversion

hi all, some one tell me how to install hud in 11.10

http://techhamlet.com/2012/01/how-to-install-the-new-hud-in-ubuntu-12-04-and-11-10/

how can i fix my audio? i installed ubuntu soon and i get no audio

check sound levels, and raise all of them to middle

how can i remount my usb drive as read only?

or try the properties in whatever desktop enviornment you use

i need to sort through a list of /dev/sd* drives and identify which ones are usb devices. how do i determine which ones are which?

and careful examination of dmesg

is it feasible to make a 'dewubifier' program? i.e. a program that creates a new partition, copies the ubuntu installed under wubi there, uninstalls it from windows, and sets grub

^^^

where can i find a list of available packages for breezy?

packages.ubuntu.com iirc

how to identify which video card is installed in my pcd

lspci | grep vga

are the gutsy packages still available? 'failed to fetch http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/gutsy/universe/source/sources.gz 404 not found [ip: 91.189.88.140 80]'

gutsy is dead. probably time to reinstall or upgrade

hi, can anyone help me with setting up a wireless connection in ubuntu? its not connecting and i cant figure out why

try iwlist eth1 scanning (or eth0 or wlan0, whatever your wlan device is)

hi all - i have a usb2 hard disk which i have inserted and can see in dmesg is sdc but its the first time i have used it and it has an ntfs filesystem - what is the easiest way to wipe it and format as ext3

gparted

i want to use mozilla firefox 1.0.4 on ubuntu 5.04 hoary, exist a way to upgrade the existent firefox 1.0.2 to 1.0.4 ?

sure, debfoster is your friend

is there a .deb package of thudnerbird 1.0.6 available anywhere?

pitti from ubuntu-devel says that he has prepared one for hoary-security. it should be available shortly

okay, i have a bit of a problem. i'm connected to my wireless network, and my wired network keeps coming alive and kills my connection, because i have nothing wired. any help?

youre better of making a 10gb partition with m$ xp for games or try it in wine, cedega, crossover

silly question .. if someone asks about firewalls on linux, is suggesting them to read up on iptables the right idea ? :)

yes, iptables is good for that

hey guys, having a bit of an interesting problem here...my / partition has 1.9 gb of space on it, but my home partition is full. is there any way i can use some of the space in my / to store files?

you can use symlinks to make parts of / appear to be inside /home/<you>/

is there a way, in ubuntu, to query the system and find out what version of a particular package i have installed?

i think this might do it: apt-cache showpkg <pkgname>