Troubleshooting

From Linux 101, The beginner's guide to all things Linux.

[edit] General

When trying to figure out why something isn't working and you can't figure it out, first Google for the problem. Also check the projects mailing lists and search on their forums. After an honest effort, mailing lists or IRC are places to get help, often times from the developers themselves.

[edit] Software

If an application isn't acting correctly, there are several things you can do. If you're not sure why it is failing, try to turn on verbosity. This is usually done by passing -v as an argument to the program. Some programs become more verbose as more v's are added. Consult the documentation for details. You may also try removing a application's configuration file. Many times these are "dot" files in your home directory. To see all these files execute ls -a.

[edit] Hardware

Hardware problems can be caused by several things. If a piece of hardware isn't working, here are some steps to follow.

1. Does the system see the device?

Make sure the system at least recognizes a device is present. Use lspci (think list PCI devices) or if it is a USB device lsusb. If the device isn't listed or it says "Unknown device" then there may be problems detecting it. If it's listed, continue to #2, else it's probably a hardware problem.

2. Is the module for the device loaded?

A Google search will usually reveal what module a component uses. Check to see if the module was automatically loaded. For example, lets say our nVidia card was not working:

lsmod | grep nvidia

If it is not loaded, load the module and add it to /etc/modules to be loaded on startup.

3. Check the Revision

If the driver cannot be loaded for a device you know it's for, it may be a different revision of the card. Google about your specific piece of hardware to see what others have done.