hello
since i installed 2.6.10 kernel on my system
when i do man [subject] i get error.

i.e "man ifconfig"
. ?

could it be my xorg.conf settings ?

"since i installed 2.6.10 kernel on my system
when i do man [subject] i get error."

slackware kernels have started using udev. A mismatch in kernel version and udev version could cause the problem that you are having. Try upgrading udev to the version that corresponds with slackware kernel 2.6.10.

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Steve Stites

ok.

mine is a generic kernel.

The sources were downloaded from kernel.org then comipled on my machine.

I take it your comments are still relevant ?

thnks in advance.

"mine is a generic kernel.

The sources were downloaded from kernel.org then comipled on my machine.

I take it your comments are still relevant ?"

I don't know if you could have the problem by upgrading from a slackware kernel to a later generic kernel. You could try using the latest Slackware version of udev and see if that works.

Another thought: You could compare your two kernel config files to see if you have configured the way that the kernel handles udev differently in your genetic kernel.

----------------------------
Steve Stites

4give me but could you explain roughly what udev does pls ?

I read a README in the udev sources and there seems to be a few gotchas so i'd just like to be clear on why I'm doing this b4 I go down that road.

I appreciate your help.
thnks

"4give me but could you explain roughly what udev does pls ?"

As I understand it udev is a new method of accessing devices which is intended to supercede the older /dev system. udev is in a state of flux as it is rapidly maturing. So your kernel can either use udev or not use it. It your kernel uses udev then the kernel version and udev version must be in sync. One of the things that udev does is manage pipes. So one of the errors that sometimes occurs with udev is that a pipe doesn't work correctly.

The example code that failed includes a pipe into less:

/bin/bzip2 -c -d /usr/man/cat8/ifconfig.8.bz2 | /usr/bin/less -is exited with status 256.

There is nothing wrong with this code which the man command built from command templates that it keeps in one of the man control files (which name escapes me right now). status 256 is not a valid return code. So some command not only failed but gave an invalid error message. So to debug this problem I suggest that you check and make sure that your kernel and udev are in synch. Check to see if your new kernel config and old kernel config agree on how udev is being used. Are your new kernel version and udev version in sync? You could also try booting the old kernel and see if the problem occurs.

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Steve Stites

....yeah your right...

come to think of it whenever i have piped a command into "less" over the last few days it hasn't worked.

Ok

I will follow this line of investigation.

thnks

sorted

pipe commands work

and i can view man pages.

I had udev-26 on my system.
I have put udev-50 on which was the version that was in the slackware-10.0 sources.

thanks 4 your help.