Re: Where to go for install problems/questions ?

[Gleef <dzol virtual-yellow com>]

On Mon, 11 Jan 1999, Brian Macy wrote:
> I've been using KDE for a while now and wanted to try out gnome.

Welcome!  You also might want to check out the gnome-kde-list, for
interoperability issues between the two systems.


> Problem is I'm having a terrible time getting GNOME installed/setup. KDE
> is simple, straightforward, and almost without problems to get started
> (though it has other problems). Anyways I've been reading through the
> FAQ/Docs and am looking for a gnome-install type list so I don't have to
> bother you all with newbie questions/problems.

There has been periodic discussion about splitting this list to have a
separate gnome-install list.  The consensus seems to be that the
developers want make sure they are on the same list as the newbies to keep
communication flowing.  So, at least for now, this is the gnome-install-list.

A newbie requiring help should do the following, in order:
  1) Read all relevant documentation, including information on the webpage
  2) Try it again, maybe it works now, or maybe the problem will become
     obvious
  3) Look through the archives
       http://www.gnome.org/mailing-lists/archives/gnome-list/
     to see if the problem is discussed there
  4) Reread the error message (if present), to see if they are enlightened
  5) Try it one more time, just to be sure there's a problem
  6) Ask here on the list

When asking on the list, be explicit.  You should include:
  * Valid email address

  * Operating Environment vitals:
      - What operating system you are using (Solaris, Linux, MVS, etc.)
      - If your operating system is a commercial Unix(TM), do you have GNU
        tools installed?
      - What processor family you are on (i386, Sparc, Alpha, ARM, etc.)
      - If your operating system has distributions, which one are you
        using (RedHat, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Slackware, etc.) and what version
    So, for example, I use a RedHat/i386 rawhide distribution; someone
    else may have a Solaris/Sparc 7.0 system without GNU tools.

  * Core library versions.  It is important to know what versions you have
    of relevant libraries, as appropriate (if you're not sure, list it):
      - libc (or glibc, if appropriate)
      - glib
      - gtk+
      - imlib
      - gnome-libs
    The following may also be useful, but not as often:
      - libz (also refered to as zlib)
      - libstdc++
      - libg++
      - gtk--
      - libpng
      - libjpg
      - libgif (or libungif)
      - ORBit / libIIOP
      - libdb
      - gnome-objc
      - guile
      - gnome-guile

   * Explicit details of the problem:
      - If it is an error in autogen.sh or configure, all the lines of
        output dealing with the error.  Also, you might want to send the
        part of config.log which says what failed
      - If it's an error in compiling, everything from the last place you
        see "gcc" or "make[", whichever comes last.
      - If it's a program crash, hang or segmentation fault, all the text
        that the program put out between the command and the crash.  Even
        better is a gdb stack trace, for example if the program "foo"
        crashed, send all the output of:
          $ which foo
          $ gdb `which foo`
          (gdb) run
          [Do whatever you did to cause the crash here]
          (gdb) bt

Try to keep one bug report per message, and try to put as much of the
above info into the bug report message as you can.

Best of Luck,
-Gleef