Oh can i start by saying that, i am amazed by you people!!! in a good way that is, is their anything you dont know? i mean to an extent i can understand why you so interested....linux seems to be a calling more then a hobbie! well it's that way for me anyway!

Feelda thank you so much for the links to the irish linux communities, though somewhat breif they appear to be a great place to begin, thank you so so very much.

Xavier, gwsandvik, Old_Fogie, H_TeXMeX_H, terrio and once again Feelda thank you all i love knowing that people like you exist it makes things a whole lot more enjoyable!


Thanks!

The Yikes

Thanks for the link. There actually is a LUG in this area ...

It seems that I didn't know about it because it is ... all but dead and/or stale. I wonder if it's possible to revive it. Maybe I'll look into it when I have some time.

@the-yikes
You are very welcome. I too am glad that such a place as this exists (and has enough members to answer most questions in due time ... a number of other Linux help forums have problems cuz they have few members, so answers come too late or never (I've seen so many such posts when googling)) Really, I'm mostly here to learn how to troubleshoot, and maybe I can help with it too, when I know what I'm talking about

Hi,

As I said before 'Welcome to LQ', We have great resource here.

Your welcome!

Hi,

Your welcome!
The LUG is only as strong as the members.

I agree a lot of the other forums seem to have problems with personalities and a good knowledge base. A good way to learn trouble shooting is just what you are doing. Get your techniques down and use them. I wish that Google, LQ and the web in general was available when I started.

Don't be afraid to experiment and even admit when you make a mistake or just stumble. We all make them, sometimes the mistake will lead you into a hornets nest. Just use that nest to find out more. Dig, dig and polish. Don't give up. Too many people give up on a problem and want to use the easy way out(ie; re-install an OS). Sure you might have too re-install but find out why.

Use the tools available to you. Sometimes you will have to reach out and find alternate ways to fix the problem. I'm a firm believer in fixing the problem not patching it. Sometimes I have to walk away to get the answer, meaning that by persisting with the problem the solution just becomes elusive. By giving myself some away time the solution or direction to the answer will come to me.

BTW, I keep system logs and machine logs, that way I can always trace back to get the answer.

I definitely agree. In fact, I wouldn't be here if hadn't stuck with it. I had to reinstall my first distro at least 20 times before I got it to work (cuz I didn't know what I was doing and the documentation was only slightly useful). Not to mention that I tried many many many distros before that, but for some reason they all failed (mostly because my CD/DVD burner is really messed up ... it burns correctly only when it feels like it ... perhaps it is possessed ?)

Anyway, it certainly wasn't easy. Nothing ever is. But I didn't give up, I knew there had to be an answer. And so far with Linux, there has always been an answer to every problem, you just need to try hard enough to fix it / find a solution. I think that might be the key aspect ... if you have enough interest and motivation, you can fix anything, you can do anything ... you can succeed.