A.3. General Guidelines for Solving a Problem under Mandrake Linux

Here are the different means available in your problem-solving quest. Try the first option and only then, if that did not work, try the second, and so on. As a last resort only, and only if nothing else has worked for you, start thinking about the possibility of... throwing your machine through the window :-)

A.3.1. RTFM

"Read The F***ing Manual!" (We could not resist, sorry!)

"The manual" means that very manual and all the manuals and literature available on that subject. Our previous sections offer you good starting points. Only when all these resources have been exhausted, you may start thinking you have indeed stumbled over a real problem.

A.3.2. Search the Internet

The various Internet sites previously mentioned are other excellent starting points. They deal with general and very specific aspects of your potential problems. Finally, try a general search engine such as Google or, as mentioned above, the Linux-specific Google search engine. And do not hesitate to use the Advanced search option.

A.3.3. Mailing Lists and Newsgroups Archives

The previous searches may lead you to general answers which hide the results of your specific inquiry among many others. To refine your search, this is what you should do:

First, try to find a list which seems specifically linked to your problem, then perform a search in its archive pages.

Example

You noticed a strange behavior while trying to use grub with a minix partition.

A search using "grub mailing list" keywords in Google gives as a fourth result the link to an archive's message of the GRUB mailing-list July 1999. Once there, you get the URL for the archive's root: GRUB mailing list archive. It even suggests a search engine. Thus, searching for "Minix" will lead you directly to a patch.

Note however that all archives do not propose an embedded search engine. However, you can easily use the field return results from the site to limit your search to the specific site hosting the archive.

For a newsgroups search, this reference, Dejanews - which has been acquired by Google, holds the archives for an amazing number of newsgroup channels.

A.3.4. Questions to Mailing Lists and Newsgroups

See the related section above: Mailing Lists and Newsgroups. Reading How To Ask Questions The Smart Way may be of great help.

A.3.5. Directly Contacting the Person in Charge

Use this option as a very last resort and in really extreme situations - unless you want to offer your collaboration! Software developers generally receive mountains of e-mails. Therefore, your anguished question on the use of the cd command will most likely... be ignored!

The addresses will be found either on the home page of a project's site or in the software documentation.

That's all for now! A last word however: do not underestimate your neighbors' skills or those of your local LUG (Linux Users Group). And, please, do not throw your computer through the window as of yet. If your problem is not fixed today, it will be tomorrow...


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