[conspire] Re: Distro help

[Rick Moen]

Hi, Ryman.  I'm responding on the "conspire at linuxmafia.com" mailing 
list[1].  Why?  Because, in order to help you out, I'll have to first
help you refine your question, and I get _really_ tired of people
complaining, over on that other list, that I'd "criticised the poster" 
after doing that, in situations where refining the question is the
_only_ way to assist.[2]  

(I notice that nobody on that other list is helping you, and wish to
be an exception.  You may remember my assisting you on IRC, several
times previously.)


Quoting Ryman (rymanle at gmail.com):

> Hi guys, I'm new to linux. I'm currently running Ubuntu but somehow It
> keep freezing and stuffs. I think there is something wrong with my HD.
> Is there any program to check it ?

There is.  However, first, I think it's worth spending a few minutes
considering whether there actually _is_ evidence pointing towards the
hard drive as a plausible suspect.  If there isn't, you see, then you'll
have spent time fruitlessly on solving the wrong problem.

For people to be _sure_ they're helping you solve the right problem,
they need to have confidence in what you say.  Techies learn the hard
way to be wary of problem descriptions that seem to be the querent's 
_interpretation_ of the problem, rather than the raw symptoms.  The
latter are what they'll want to see (or as close as e-mail permits). 
I jokingly say that this is because techies are all from Missouri:
Their motto is "Show me."

You say:  "It keeps freezing and stuff."  OK, we believe you.  But it's
in your interest to tell techies any relevant surrounding detail:  Is
there something you're characteristically doing when "it freezes"?  Some
program that you just started?  Some condition always present?  Is it
possible that the machine is attempting suspend (sleep) mode and just
not able to emerge from it?  Or does the problem emerge only after the
machine has been running for an hour or more (which might correlate with
heat build-up)?  Is this machine a dual-boot box, and does the problem
manifest with the other OS (if any)?  Does it happen with Linux
distributions on removable drives, such as Knoppix, the LNX-BBC mini-CD,
or the Tom's Root-Boot floppy?

How frozen is frozen?  Are you still able to move the mouse pointer
around?  Are you able to type in any still-selected field?  Does
Ctrl-Alt-F1 still take you to a text console?  If you know (or can find
out) the machine's IP address and have it on a LAN, does it still
respond to ping queries?   Yes or no on these matters makes a _huge_
difference in narrowing down what underlying type of problem you have.

You say you think something is wrong with your hard drive.  OK, but why
the hard drive?  Is there something you see that seems to point
specifically to it?  Or could your problem symptom be equally a problem
with RAM, the CPU, your motherboard, or heat build-up inside the case?
(If you have reason to think it's the hard drive, please do say, and
I'll dredge up the information about HD diagnostics.)


What motherboard and other hardware are you using?  It may be that there
are some known problems in Linux support for your particular components,
but nobody can help you determine that until you post information on
what you have.


> I also wonder what is other distro that you guys recommend for newbie.
> I'm only about a month linux old.  I'm trying to learn C program on
> linux. Thanks.

Here are some:

Ubuntu/Kubuntu you know about.
Xandros Desktop OS.
SimplyMEPIS.
SUSE Linux.
Mandriva (formerly Mandrakelinux).
Kanotix.
Libranet.
Linspire.
Lycoris Desktop/LX.

Here's a good place to start:
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major


[1] Info:  http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire .  Please do 
_group reply_ (aka "reply to all"), if you answer this mail, so that you
reply back that that mailing list, and not just to me privately.
Thanks!

[2] I happen to have co-written an oft-cited article on assisting
people with this problem.  I hope you find it interesting.
http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/smart-questions.html