Linux-Misc Digest #947, Volume #19 Sun, 25 Apr 99 18:13:11 EDT
Contents:
Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers (Part 6 of 6) ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crossposted-To: news.answers,comp.answers
Subject: Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers (Part 6 of 6)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 21:03:41 GMT
The contents of the XF86Config file depend on the your exact
combination of video card and monitor. It can either be configured by
hand, or using the XF86Setup utility. Read the instructions that came
with XFree86, in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/etc. The file you probably need to
look at most is README.Config.
You should not use the sample XF86Config.eg file which is included
with newer versions of XFree86 verbatim, because the wrong video clock
settings can damage your monitor.
Please don't post to comp.os.linux.x asking for an XF86Config, and
please don't answer such requests.
10.3 What desktop environments run on Linux?
Linux with XFree86 supports the KDE, GNOME, and commercial CDE desktop
environments, among other desktop managers. Each uses a different set
of libraries and provides varying degrees of MS Windows-like look and
feel.
Information on KDE is available from http://www.kde.org/. The KDE
environment uses the Qt graphics libraries, available from
http://www.qt.org. The desktop uses its own window manager, kwm,
and provides a MS Windows-like look and feel.
The GNOME home page is http://www.gnome.org/. The environment
uses the free GTK libraries, available from http://www.gtk.org/,
and the Enlightenment window manager, available from
http://www.enlightenment.org/.
The commercial CDE environment uses the Motif libraries and window
manage, mwm. It is available from various commercial vendors. A free
version of Motif, called LessTiF, is available from
http://www.lesstif.org/.
10.4 xterm logins show up strangely in who, finger.
The xterm that comes with XFree86 2.1 and earlier doesn't correctly
understand the format that Linux uses for the /var/adm/utmp file,
where the system records who is logged in. It therefore doesn't set
all the information correctly.
The Xterms in XFree86 3.1 and later versions fix this problem.
10.5 I can't get X to work right.
Read the XFree86 HOWTO--note the question and answer section.
Try reading comp.windows.x.i386unix--specifically read the the FAQ for
that group.
Please don't post X or XFree86 related questions to comp.os.linux.x
unless they are Linux-specific.
11. How to get further assistance.
11.1 You still haven't answered my question!
Please read all of this answer before posting. I know it's a bit long,
but you may be about to make a fool of yourself in front of 50,000
people and waste hundreds of hours of their time. Don't you think it's
worth spending some of your time to read and follow these
instructions?
If you think an answer is incomplete or inaccurate, please e-mail
Robert Kiesling at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Read the appropriate Linux Documentation Project books--see "
Where can I get the HOWTO's and other documentation?"
If you're a Unix or Linux newbie, read the FAQ for
comp.unix.questions, and those for any of the other comp.unix.* groups
that may be relevant.
Linux has so much in common with commercial unices, that almost
everything you read there will apply to Linux. The FAQs, like all
FAQs, be found on rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers (the
[EMAIL PROTECTED] can send you these files, if you don't
have FTP access). There are mirrors of rtfm's FAQ archives on various
sites--check the Introduction to *.answers posting, posted, or look in
news-answers/introduction in the directory above.
Check the relevant HOWTO for the subject in question, if there is one,
or an appropriate old style sub-FAQ document. Check the FTP sites.
Try experimenting--that's the best way to get to know Unix and Linux.
Read the documentation. Check the manual pages (type "man man" if
you don't know about manual pages. Try "man -k subject"--it often
lists useful and relevant manual pages.
Check the Info documentation (type C-h i, i.e. Control H followed by I
in Emacs). This isn't just for Emacs. For example, the GCC
documentation lives here as well.
There will also often be a README file with a package that gives
installation and/or usage instructions.
Make sure you don't have a corrupted or out-of-date copy of the
program in question. If possible, download it again and re-install
it--you probably made a mistake the first time.
Read comp.os.linux.announce--this often contains very important
information for all Linux users.
General X Window System questions belong in comp.windows.x.i386unix,
not in comp.os.linux.x. But read the group first (including the FAQ),
before you post.
Only if you have done all of these things and are still stuck, should
you post to the appropriate comp.os.linux.* newsgroup. Make sure you
read the next question first. "( What to put in a request for
help.)"
11.2 What to put in a request for help.
Please read the following advice carefully about how to write your
posting or email. Making a complete posting will greatly increase the
chances that an expert or fellow user reading it will have enough
information and motivation to reply.
This advice applies both to postings asking for advice and to personal
email sent to experts and fellow users.
Make sure you give full details of the problem, including:
* What program, exactly, you are having problems with. Include the
version number if known and say where you got it. Many standard
commands tell you their version number if you give them a
--version option.
* Which Linux release you're using (Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, or
whatever) and what version of that release.
* The exact and complete text of any error messages printed.
* Exactly what behavior you expected, and exactly what behavior you
observed. A transcript of an example session is a good way to show
this.
* The contents of any configuration files used by the program in
question and any related programs.
* What version of the kernel and shared libraries you have
installed. The kernel version can be found by typing uname -a, and
the shared library version by typing ls -l /lib/libc.so.4.
* Details of what hardware you're running on, if it seems
appropriate.
You are in little danger of making your posting too long unless you
include large chunks of source code or uuencoded files, so err on the
side of giving too much information.
Use a clear, detailed Subject line. Don't put things like `doesn't
work', `Linux', `help', or `question' in it--we already know that.
Save the space for the name of the program, a fragment of an error
message, or summary of the unusual behavior.
If you report an `unable to handle kernel paging request' message,
follow the instructions in the Linux kernel sources README file for
turning the numbers into something more meaningful. If you don't do
this, no one who reads your post will be able to do it for you. The
mapping from numbers to function names varies from one kernel to
another.
Put a summary paragraph at the top of your posting.
At the bottom of your posting, ask for responses by email and say
you'll post a summary. Back this up by using Followup-To: poster.
Then, actually post the summary in a few days or a week or so. Don't
just concatenate the replies you got--summarize. Putting the word
SUMMARY in your summary's Subject line is also a good idea. Consider
submitting the summary to comp.os.linux.announce.
Make sure your posting doesn't have an inappropriate References:
header line. This marks your article as part of the thread of the
article referred to, which will often cause it to be junked by
readers, along with the rest of a boring thread.
You might like to say in your posting that you've read this FAQ and
the appropriate HOWTO's--this may make people less likely to skip your
posting.
Remember that you should not post email sent to you personally without
the sender's permission.
11.3 I want to mail someone about my problem.
Try to find the author or developer of whatever program or component
is causing you difficulty. If you have a contact point for your Linux
distribution, you should use it.
Please put everything in your e-mail message that you would put in a
posting asking for help.
Finally, remember that, despite the fact that most of the Linux
community are very helpful and responsive to e-mailed questions,
you're asking for help from unpaid volunteers, so you have no right to
expect an answer.
12. Acknowledgments and administrivia.
12.1 Feedback is invited.
Please send me your comments on this FAQ.
I accept contributions to the FAQ in any format. All contributions,
comments, and corrections are gratefully received. Please send e-mail
to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you wish to refer to a question in the FAQ, it's better for me if
you do so by the question heading, rather than number. The question
numbers are generated automatically, and I don't see them in the
source file I edit.
I prefer comments in English to patch files--context diff is not my
first language.
12.2 Formats in which this FAQ is available.
This document is available as an ASCII text file, an HTML World Wide
Web page, Postscript, and as a USENET news posting.
All of these formats are generated from SGML source using SGML Tools
and the LinuxDoc DTD.
The Usenet version is posted regularly to news.answers, comp.answers,
comp.os.linux.misc, and comp.os.linux.announce. It is archived at
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/comp/os/linux/misc/.
If you would like to receive the archived version of the FAQ by
e-mail, send the following in the body of an e-mail message to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:
send faqs/linux/faq
The text, HTML, SGML, and Postscript versions are available from the
Linux archives at metalab.unc.edu, and from
http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/, but they may be out of date, owing
to lack of time on the LDP maintainers' parts.
The up-to-date text and HTML versions are available at
http://www.mainmatter.com and directly from the FAQ maintainer,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
12.3 Authorship and acknowledgments.
This FAQ is compiled and maintained by Robert Kiesling
[EMAIL PROTECTED], with assistance and comments from Linux
activists all over the world.
Special thanks are due to Matt Welsh, who moderated
comp.os.linux.announce and comp.os.linux.answers, coordinated the
HOWTO's and wrote substantial portions of many of them, Greg Hankins
and Timothy Bynum, the former and current Linux Documentation Project
HOWTO maintainers, Lars Wirzenius and Mikko Rauhala, the former and
current moderators of comp.os.linux.announce, Marc-Michel Corsini, who
wrote the original Linux FAQ, and Ian Jackson, the previous FAQ
maintainer. Thanks also to Roman Maurer for his many updates and
additions, especially with European Web sites, translations, and
general miscellany.
Last but not least, thanks to Linus Torvalds and the other
contributors to Linux for giving us something to talk about!
12.4 Disclaimer and Copyright.
Note that this document is provided `as is'. The information in it is
not warranted to be correct. Use it at your own risk.
Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers is Copyright (c) 1997,
1998 by Robert Kiesling [EMAIL PROTECTED], under the
copyright of the Linux Documentation Project. The full text of the LDP
copyright is available via anonymous FTP from metalab.unc.edu, in the
directory /pub/Linux/docs/LDP, and is included below.
Portions are Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Ian Jackson, the
previous Linux FAQ maintainer.
Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers may be reproduced and
distributed in its entirety (including this authorship, copyright, and
permission notice), provided that no charge is made for the document
itself, without the author's consent. This includes "fair use"
excerpts like reviews and advertising, and derivative works like
translations.
Note that this restriction is not intended to prohibit charging for
the service of printing or copying the document.
Exceptions to these rules may be granted. I would be happy to answer
any questions regarding this copyright. E-mail me at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] As the license below says, these
restrictions are here to protect the contributors, not to restrict you
as educators and learners.
LINUX DOCUMENTATION PROJECT COPYING LICENSE
Last modified 6 January 1997
The following copyright license applies to all works by the Linux
Documentation Project.
Please read the license carefully---it is somewhat like the GNU
General Public License, but there are several conditions in it that
differ from what you may be used to. If you have any questions, please
email the LDP coordinator, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Linux Documentation Project manuals may be reproduced and
distributed in whole or in part, subject to the following conditions:
All Linux Documentation Project manuals are copyrighted by their
respective authors. THEY ARE NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
* The copyright notice above and this permission notice must be
preserved complete on all complete or partial copies.
* Any translation or derivative work of Linux Installation and
Getting Started must be approved by the author in writing before
distribution.
* If you distribute Linux Installation and Getting Started in part,
instructions for obtaining the complete version of this manual
must be included, and a means for obtaining a complete version
provided.
* Small portions may be reproduced as illustrations for reviews or
quotes in other works without this permission notice if proper
citation is given.
* The GNU General Public License referenced below may be reproduced
under the conditions given within it.
Exceptions to these rules may be granted for academic purposes: Write
to the author and ask. These restrictions are here to protect us as
authors, not to restrict you as educators and learners. All source
code in Linux Installation and Getting Started is placed under the GNU
General Public License, available via anonymous FTP from the GNU
archive site.
PUBLISHING LDP MANUALS
If you're a publishing company interested in distributing any of the
LDP manuals, read on.
By the license given in the previous section, anyone is allowed to
publish and distribute verbatim copies of the Linux Documentation
Project manuals. You don't need our explicit permission for this.
However, if you would like to distribute a translation or derivative
work based on any of the LDP manuals, you must obtain permission from
the author, in writing, before doing so.
All translations and derivative works of LDP manuals must be placed
under the Linux Documentation License given in the previous section.
That is, if you plan to release a translation of one of the manuals,
it must be freely distributable by the above terms.
You may, of course, sell the LDP manuals for profit. We encourage you
to do so. Keep in mind, however, that because the LDP manuals are
freely distributable, anyone may photocopy or distribute printed
copies free of charge, if they wish to do so.
We do not require to be paid royalties for any profit earned from
selling LDP manuals. However, we would like to suggest that if you do
sell LDP manuals for profit, that you either offer the author
royalties, or donate a portion of your earnings to the author, the LDP
as a whole, or to the Linux development community. You may also wish
to send one or more free copies of the LDP manual that you are
distributing to the author. Your show of support for the LDP and the
Linux community will be very appreciated.
We would like to be informed of any plans to publish or distribute LDP
manuals, just so we know how they're becoming available. If you are
publishing or planning to publish any LDP manuals, please send email
to Matt Welsh (email [EMAIL PROTECTED]).
We encourage Linux software distributors to distribute the LDP manuals
(such as the Installation and Getting Started Guide) with their
software. The LDP manuals are intended to be used as the "official"
Linux documentation, and we'd like to see mail-order distributors
bundling the LDP manuals with the software. As the LDP manuals mature,
hopefully they will fulfill this goal more adequately.
Matt Welsh, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
13. Acknowledgments and administrivia.
13.1 Feedback is invited.
Please send me your comments on this FAQ.
I accept contributions to the FAQ in any format. All contributions,
comments, and corrections are gratefully received. Please send e-mail
to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you wish to refer to a question in the FAQ, it's better for me if
you do so by the question heading, rather than number. The question
numbers are generated automatically, and I don't see them in the
source file I edit.
I prefer comments in English to patch files--context diff is not my
first language.
13.2 Formats in which this FAQ is available.
This document is available as an ASCII text file, an HTML World Wide
Web page, Postscript, and as a USENET news posting.
All of these formats are generated from SGML source using SGML Tools
and the LinuxDoc DTD.
The Usenet version is posted regularly to news.answers, comp.answers,
comp.os.linux.misc, and comp.os.linux.announce. It is archived at
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/comp/os/linux/misc/.
If you would like to receive the archived version of the FAQ by
e-mail, send the following in the body of an e-mail message to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:
send faqs/linux/faq
The text, HTML, SGML, and Postscript versions are available from the
Linux archives at metalab.unc.edu, and from
http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/, but they may be out of date, owing
to lack of time on the LDP maintainers' parts.
The up-to-date text and HTML versions are available at
http://www.mainmatter.com and directly from the FAQ maintainer,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
13.3 Authorship and acknowledgments.
This FAQ is compiled and maintained by Robert Kiesling
[EMAIL PROTECTED], with assistance and comments from Linux
activists all over the world.
Special thanks are due to Matt Welsh, who moderated
comp.os.linux.announce and comp.os.linux.answers, coordinated the
HOWTO's and wrote substantial portions of many of them, Greg Hankins
and Timothy Bynum, the former and current Linux Documentation Project
HOWTO maintainers, Lars Wirzenius and Mikko Rauhala, the former and
current moderators of comp.os.linux.announce, Marc-Michel Corsini, who
wrote the original Linux FAQ, and Ian Jackson, the previous FAQ
maintainer. Thanks also to Roman Maurer for his many updates and
additions, especially with European Web sites, translations, and
general miscellany.
Last but not least, thanks to Linus Torvalds and the other
contributors to Linux for giving us something to talk about!
13.4 Disclaimer and Copyright.
Note that this document is provided `as is'. The information in it is
not warranted to be correct. Use it at your own risk.
Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers is Copyright (c) 1997,
1998 by Robert Kiesling [EMAIL PROTECTED], under the
copyright of the Linux Documentation Project. The full text of the LDP
copyright is available via anonymous FTP from metalab.unc.edu, in the
directory /pub/Linux/docs/LDP, and is included below.
Portions are Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Ian Jackson, the
previous Linux FAQ maintainer.
Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers may be reproduced and
distributed in its entirety (including this authorship, copyright, and
permission notice), provided that no charge is made for the document
itself, without the author's consent. This includes "fair use"
excerpts like reviews and advertising, and derivative works like
translations.
Note that this restriction is not intended to prohibit charging for
the service of printing or copying the document.
Exceptions to these rules may be granted. I would be happy to answer
any questions regarding this copyright. E-mail me at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] As the license below says, these
restrictions are here to protect the contributors, not to restrict you
as educators and learners.
LINUX DOCUMENTATION PROJECT COPYING LICENSE
Last modified 6 January 1997
The following copyright license applies to all works by the Linux
Documentation Project.
Please read the license carefully---it is somewhat like the GNU
General Public License, but there are several conditions in it that
differ from what you may be used to. If you have any questions, please
email the LDP coordinator, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Linux Documentation Project manuals may be reproduced and
distributed in whole or in part, subject to the following conditions:
All Linux Documentation Project manuals are copyrighted by their
respective authors. THEY ARE NOT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
* The copyright notice above and this permission notice must be
preserved complete on all complete or partial copies.
* Any translation or derivative work of Linux Installation and
Getting Started must be approved by the author in writing before
distribution.
* If you distribute Linux Installation and Getting Started in part,
instructions for obtaining the complete version of this manual
must be included, and a means for obtaining a complete version
provided.
* Small portions may be reproduced as illustrations for reviews or
quotes in other works without this permission notice if proper
citation is given.
* The GNU General Public License referenced below may be reproduced
under the conditions given within it.
Exceptions to these rules may be granted for academic purposes: Write
to the author and ask. These restrictions are here to protect us as
authors, not to restrict you as educators and learners. All source
code in Linux Installation and Getting Started is placed under the GNU
General Public License, available via anonymous FTP from the GNU
archive site.
PUBLISHING LDP MANUALS
If you're a publishing company interested in distributing any of the
LDP manuals, read on.
By the license given in the previous section, anyone is allowed to
publish and distribute verbatim copies of the Linux Documentation
Project manuals. You don't need our explicit permission for this.
However, if you would like to distribute a translation or derivative
work based on any of the LDP manuals, you must obtain permission from
the author, in writing, before doing so.
All translations and derivative works of LDP manuals must be placed
under the Linux Documentation License given in the previous section.
That is, if you plan to release a translation of one of the manuals,
it must be freely distributable by the above terms.
You may, of course, sell the LDP manuals for profit. We encourage you
to do so. Keep in mind, however, that because the LDP manuals are
freely distributable, anyone may photocopy or distribute printed
copies free of charge, if they wish to do so.
We do not require to be paid royalties for any profit earned from
selling LDP manuals. However, we would like to suggest that if you do
sell LDP manuals for profit, that you either offer the author
royalties, or donate a portion of your earnings to the author, the LDP
as a whole, or to the Linux development community. You may also wish
to send one or more free copies of the LDP manual that you are
distributing to the author. Your show of support for the LDP and the
Linux community will be very appreciated.
We would like to be informed of any plans to publish or distribute LDP
manuals, just so we know how they're becoming available. If you are
publishing or planning to publish any LDP manuals, please send email
to Matt Welsh (email [EMAIL PROTECTED]).
We encourage Linux software distributors to distribute the LDP manuals
(such as the Installation and Getting Started Guide) with their
software. The LDP manuals are intended to be used as the "official"
Linux documentation, and we'd like to see mail-order distributors
bundling the LDP manuals with the software. As the LDP manuals mature,
hopefully they will fulfill this goal more adequately.
Matt Welsh, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<http://www.mainmatter.com/kiesling>
------------------------------
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End of Linux-Misc Digest
******************************
