okay, i've been using mepis for a few months now - and like it a lot. the whole gnu/linux thang is really cool.

however, i want to increase my skills. i hear how it is important to check your logs... but i have no clue how.

so, if someone would explain the basics of checking logs and give me (and all the lurkers!) an idea what i need to be looking for - i'd very much appreciate it.

tia...

which kind of logs do you want to read first?

/var/log/dmesg is good for diagnosing problems
/var/log/Xorg.0.log is good for finding out why xorg isnt starting
/var/log/messages can give you a LOT of info on most anything.

basicly, you need to know what your looking for before you go reading the logs, for the most part they are a debug tool.

On my system, you need root access to view the logs, so you may have been getting permissions errors if you tried to access the files under /var/log as an ordinary user instead of root. You can view the logs with any text editor, but it may help to use a log parsing tool like logwatch from http://www.linuxpackages.net/pkg_details.php?id=4153.

I have mine configured to medium detail level and this as well as manual parsing of my logs is very useful.

As to what to look for - it's best to look in the logs first and then search the man pages for what to expect, then ask questions here about specific entries.

mos, thanks. i will look at all the log files you mentioned. the fact is, i don't know what i need to be looking for... but i'll learn a little by reading through the logs.

gilead, thanks for the note regarding logging in as root.

best...