linux tips and tricks

- check the cpus bogomips :
$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep bogomips

- compare directory tree :
$ diff -r --brief /mnt/old /mnt/new

- copy file from directory tree, recreating the tree :
$ find ./ -name [makefile] | cpio -pdmv [/path/to/be/copied/to]

- HDD speed benchmarking :
/sbin/hdparm -tTf /dev/hda

- Scan the disk for bad blocks : unmount the partition (remount as readonly if necesary)
# fsck.ext3 -c -c -v -y /dev/sdb1

Set time from ntp setver :
# ntpdate -u -b -v time.nist.gov