HOWTO Ask Questions on the VectorLinux Forums
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Welcome to the VL Forums! You will probably get a more useful response to your questions if you follow the guidelines set out below. If you don't follow these guidelines any response may require more information from you, may not be accurate or may not be forthcoming.
Standard etiquette, please:
1) do not post questions to the FAQ nor the HOWTO sections.
2) do not double post to more than one forum.
3) do not ask more than one question per post, unless they are related.
4) do not "hijack a thread" with a different topic. Do not post to threads marked "[Solved]".
5) use the Forum Search facility with good keywords before you post.
6) read the VL documentation before you post. There is an icon on your desktop.
7) attempt to use VASM first to solve your problem before posting.
8) do not post angry, denigrating comments.
Standard information you should provide with your question:
1) your VectorLinux version # ("cat /etc/vector-version")
2) your kernel version ("uname -r"), especially if you have recompiled it.
3) if a hardware problem the exact make and model of the hardware.
4) if a software problem the exact version number of the software.
5) the last thing you did before experiencing problems (problems rarely occur randomly).
6) did you do any recent software/hardware upgrades immediately before experiencing problems?
7) if lilo boot loader or hard disk/partition troubles post the results of "cat /etc/lilo.conf", "fdisk -l" and "cat /etc/fstab".
8) if PCI card problems (network, video, wireless, sound) post the results of "lspci" and "lsmod"
9) if USB problems post the results of "lsusb" and "lsmod"
10) if sound problems post the results of "lsmod"
10) if mouse problems post the "Section "Input Device"" part of your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file
11) if video - monitor problems post from the "Section "Module"" to the bottom of your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file
The top 6 reasons users have INSTALL problems with VL:
1) install CD was not burned correctly (must burn ISO image), was burned at too high a speed, or was not tested with md5sum.
2) user chose an incorrect kernel at the beginning of the install for their computer hardware
3) partitioning of hard disk not done correctly before or at start of install process
4) user did not write lilo to the MBR or ensure a different boot method is available.
5) user presses "Enter" key before completion of each Install page, thus choosing items not wanted.
6) attempt to boot CD with a pre-1997 CDROM drive: these might have problems reading CDR's or CDRW's.
The top 5 reasons users have AFTER-SUCCESSFUL-INSTALL problems with VL:
1) they do a full "upgrade" with gslapt or slapt-get. This can be a dangerous thing to do. Upgrade only those programs you really need to upgrade.
2) they attempt to re-compile the kernel and miss something during the configure step.
3) they attempt to load a desktop environment such as KDE or Gnome onto VL Standard. If you want KDE please install VL SOHO instead of VL Standard. If you want Gnome please use FreeRock Gnome.
4) they don't read the documentation which comes with the software, or don't bother to search
http://www.google.com/linux about their hardware.
5) they don't read the procedures at the nVidia/ATI websites for loading nVidia/ATI Linux video drivers.
You can save yourself a lot of time and effort if you avoid the 11 "problem generators" above.
The forum members look forward to helping you with your questions. If you observe the above suggestions you will make your VectorLinux experience easier for all, including yourself.
