Linux Dummies 9th

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Part V: The Part of Tens
✓ Remove new hardware. Remove any hardware that you have changed or
added recently (before the problem started), and check to see whether
the problem disappears. If it does go poof, you can probably conclude
that the new or changed hardware (or its driver) is the culprit — and
start researching solutions.
✓ Reduce the number of active programs. Stop running unnecessary services
and applications that aren’t related to the problem at hand. You
may more easily figure out what’s happening if other services and applications
aren’t getting in the way.
✓ Check to see whether the problem is reproducible. Does the same
sequence of events produce the same problem? Suppose that when you
try to print to a color printer, nothing happens. If nothing happens every
time you attempt to print, then the problem is reproducible. If (instead)
sometimes your information prints and sometimes it doesn’t, then
the problem pattern isn’t the same, so it isn’t reproducible — or it’s
caused by something more complicated than just clicking one button.
Unfortunately, problems that are non-reproducible are more difficult to
resolve; if no set pattern of events re-creates those problems, you don’t
know what to change.
After you’ve come up with a solution, take a few moments to document the
situation. Note the symptoms of the problem, its cause, and the solution you
implement. The next time you encounter the same problem, you can call on
your notes for a solution rather than having to reinvent the wheel.
If you don’t have any problems to troubleshoot (yet), document your environment
before you do. Making a backup of your /etc directory and your /boot
directory is a great place to start.
Tip #1: “The Linux Installer Froze”
When you’re installing Linux, the installation process may just freeze. If it
does, wait a bit (maybe even a few minutes) and make sure that the installation
program really froze. (Sometimes the software just takes a while to process
information.) If the software looks like it has frozen, there’s no harm in
rebooting your computer and starting over — just as you would do with any
operating-system installation. Sometimes you can reboot and never have that
problem again. At other times, the problem may happen twice in a row and
then be fine the third time. Be sure to try several times before giving up.
If the installation still freezes at the same spot (or close to the same spot)
in its process, go to the distribution’s support pages (see Chapter 1). These
pages may talk about some known problems and solutions that can help