Manpage, schmanpage.  I use them when possible but then there are those bogus 
pages that give the wrong command syntax (outdated or based on a non-linux 
system) or list the commands without providing for an example.  To me, it 
doesn't count as an example if the manpage begins with a command followed by 
a series of bracketed or braced switches - in some cases, due to past 
experience only, I can deal with this but when it is something newish, 
perhaps half the time I can't make heads or tails of the actual proper 
command syntax.  

Anyhoo.  I have my laptop up to snuff and fine but my desktop is killing me.  
First, a harddrive failure caused by a mobo failure plus cpu death - 
expensive replacement for all.  Fortunately, I had just installed 8.2 on it 
and hadn't yet installed or done anything of importance on it so nothing was 
lost but time and money.  New mobo, new cpu, new hdd and a fresh install of 
8.2 croaked last night after working for all of 10 minutes.  Different 
problem this time, though the root of it is still a mystery to me.  I THINK 
it may be irq related though kcontrol shows nothing suspicious (nor does 
lspci).  

A couple things...I bought a SB 16 for the new mobo but Mandrake identifies it 
as an ESS 1371 - it works but an ESS 1371 and no mention is the harddrake 
list of any SB 16?  Next, first bootup and start.  OK.  Open up a konsole and 
begin typing in commands to change hostname ala the laptop and boop!  
Soundcard beeps and beeps and beeps in an endless loop, the mouse freezes and 
the keyboard is locked.  Nothing to do but hard reboot.  After that, OK until 
about 30 minutes of typing and clicking then same thing.  Reboot.  KDE now 
unstartable because of DCOP communication problems.  I delete everything 
related to KDE in my home directory (.kde and .kderc) and do a 
Ctrl-Alt-Bkspc.  Login and KDE still refuses to start now - dying at the 
splash screen.  Login again and try Gnome.  Nothing.  Try Windowmaker - OK, 
starts and works.  Try Enlightenment - OK, starts and works.  Look at my 
.xsession-errors.  One entry only about inability to connect to X server 
:0.0.  Try running XFDrake and resetting X.  REALLY screwed up X so that no 
window manager will start, just KDM a few times until it craps out and now 
dumped to CLI.

BAH!  Reinstalling MDK 8.2 again, this time trying a different fs - third 
reinstall.  First tried ext3 for first time.  SLOW!  Then tried XFS.  Good, 
quick, but then the problems related above and it being seemingly impossible 
to fix X or KDE.  Reinstall and go back to my trusty ReiserFS which I have 
been using for a couple years now.  I no longer try to fix KDE problems such 
as I related above as I have found it impossible to correct in the past, even 
with total uninstalls and reinstalls.  

Anyone ever run into something like this before?  The difference in this 
desktop vs before when there were no linux/software problems is the addition 
of a PCI to PCMCIA adaptor, the connection of a linksys WUSB11 wlan box, a 
soundcard (was using mobo sound before but new mobo has no builtin sound), 
and a Robotics PCI modem (not a winmodem).  Since the wusb11 isn't recognized 
or usable yet under linux (I'm trying), the pcmcia hasn't yet received a card 
(intending to insert another wlan card), the only interrupts to be used are 
for the i82365 pcmcia controller, the modem, and the soundcard.  It looks 
like the soundcard and modem share an irq but that is all.  Why would the 
soundcard lock into an endless loop (two installs so far) and freeze all 
peripherals if it isn't sharing an irq with any of these other items?

The fun continues in a different form now.

On Tuesday 25 June 2002 06:36 am, daRcmaTTeR wrote:
> Praedor Tempus wrote:
> > On Monday 24 June 2002 01:36 pm, civileme wrote:
> >>Praedor Tempus wrote:
[...]
> >>Praedor
> >>
> >>use the hostname command in a terminal su'ed to root
> >>
> >>hostname  lapdog.ravenhome.net
> >>reboot
> >>
> >>If you look at rc.sysinit you will see that /bin/hostname is how the
> >>hostname is retrieved and how it is set.
> >>
> >>Now quit reading BSD specific/Slackware specific man pages, take your
> >>head out of the sand, and do it.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > I have corrected the difficulty, but did so by editing
> > /etc/sysconfig/network and adding entries to /etc/hosts.
> >
> > /etc/sysconfig/network:
> > NETWORKING=yes
> > FORWARD_IPV4=no
> > HOSTNAME="lapdog"
> > DOMAINNAME=ravenhome.net
> >
> > /etc/hosts:
> > 127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost
> > 127.0.0.1       lapdog.ravenhome.net    lapdog
> > 10.0.0.1        lapdog.ravenhome.net    lapdog
> > 10.0.0.5        overlord.ravenhome.net  overlord
> >
> > I now have the domain and hostname that I wanted and it remains such
> > after reboot, reboot, reboot.  I have, in the past, tried the "hostname"
> > method only for the change to go away and remit back to "localhost" upon
> > the next reboot.  A binary file cannot hold the hostname inside itself,
[...]
> > <Begin venting>
> > In any case, as to the "...quit reading BSD specific/Slackware specific
> > man pages, take your head out of the sand, and do it" statement.  What is
> > the point of including the manpages with the distro?  To add to the
> > injury, many than answer a question with a directive for the person to
> > "read the manpage" For instance, this hostname thing is totally wrong in
[...]
>
> But Praedor! I like the man pages. after 6 years I'm finally starting to
> understand them. they're actually making sense now and helping me get
> things done. any more it's the first place I look when a program buried
> deep in the bowls of my penguin is doing something that seems odd to me.
> Or I'm trying to figure something out, or! I've got a new program that
> comes *only* with a man page and no other docs.
>
> Ah heck! he was just trying to give you a manly nudge in the right
> direction, which you took and now look...you're done! :)
[...]

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