[Techtalk] Chasing Understanding

[Maria Blackmore]

On Thu, 12 Dec 2002, Andrew wrote:

> The second, on start-up, is a repeated report, from the bios of a PCI
> error, I choose to "F1, continue" and the OS loads and seems to
> oporate the PCI card with out complaint.

I just love the way that "PCI error" is so specific

I would love to try to help here, but without an actual error message
that's not actually possible.  When booting the machine, BEFORE you press
F1 to continue, why not write down the error message?  Moreover, once
you've written down the error message, why not type it into google and see
if anyone else has had the same problem?

If they've had the same problem, maybe they know what it is and why and
there is somethin about it on a web page

> I have tried several settings in the bios, including auto, and the
> message keeps comming back.

Settings for what? what is set to auto?

> I don't know if it is a problem or what to do to stop it. 

Google Google Google

I say it thrice for it is possibly the most useful tool ever to appear for
someone having problems.

>  Would clearing the cmos help? Maybe a new battery?

Possibly.  I would start looking for "Reset PCI PNP configuration
option" or "reset ACPI info" or similar.

However it's really quite hard to say without knowing what exactly this
error message is.

> 	On shutdown I get the message below,
> /etc/rc0.d/s0lhalt  line 1 segmentfault   halt-i-d-p
> 	What does it mean?

It means it broke.
:)

> 	X seems to be out to lunch too, I would like to attempt to configure X
> monitor settings, resoloution ect, is there a text based config tool, a
> pick and choose tool like linux config, that can be called from the
> CmdLine? I may have chosen the wrong vid settings. Directly editing the
> config file has yet to work for me.

X comes with a very very basic command line utility to do this, it's
called "xf86config".

Run through this, answering the questions sensibly and *truthfully*.  If
you're uncertain of a particular setting, do not proceed until you are
sure of what to set it to, in particular you will need to know the
characteristics of your monitor.  Also helpful would be specific details
of your keyboard and mouse.

If X still refuses to start, an actual error message is always a good
place to start.

> 	This began when going from 8.0 to 8.2(Mndk). I need 8.2 for several 
> reasons, support for my wifi card and security updates among them. I am
> on the third complete install of 8.2, it does take time. So if it can be
> fixed instead of installing again I'll be nice.

Might I suggest that for many problems, a brief application of google is
usually all that is required.

You also may find that you will get many more responses to your emails if
you show that you've actually put in some effort towards a solution to
your problem, laying out what you've tried so far, where you've tried to
find information, what broke, what manner it broke in, and the error
message.  This will help us to help you if you need it, because it means
that we won't have to guess at what's wrong, and a solution will be found
more quickly because everyone will know what has been tried already.

	"Look, buddy, "doesn't work" is a strong statement. Does
	it sit on the couch all day? Is it making faces at you?
	Does it want more money? Please be specific!"

					-- unknown - #apache, Freenode


> How is the rain in England.

The rain in England is wet, as I believe is conventional for rain.

> It can't decide to rain or snow outside my door in Maine(NE, US).

Over here we usually call that "sleet"

have fun, and good luck

Maria