Chip 2003 July/Chip_2003-07_cd1.bin/tema/bootman/xosl/faqhow/netiquette.txt

Text File | 2002-04-11 | 5.3 KB | 129 lines

welcome to the XOSL mailing list!

here's some basic rules you're advised to respect when posting on
this mailing list (AKA "netiquette").

A) "XOSL" quick info:
*********************
http://www.xosl.org/                - XOSL web site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xosl  - XOSL mailing list (archive and more!)

the "extended operating system loader" is a powerful bootmanager with an
advanced and user friendly GUI. therefore it requires a reasonable amount of
space on your HDD. it can be installed to either it's own dedicated primary
partition or on top of a FAT primary partition, where you have installed some
operating system. the secure and clean way i recommend is: install it to it's
own dedicated partition. "xosl" also comes with "ranish partition manager"
built in to set up your partitions!

B) GENERAL ADVICE:
******************

B.1) BEFORE YOU START:
re-partitioning and updating your computer's BIOS is a non-trivial task with
many risks. make sure you know what you're doing.
back up all your data first!

B.2) BACKUP:
always and regulary make backups of your data. sooner or later they WILL be
gone. that's a fact!

B.3) USING TOOLS:
don't trust partition resizers, imaging tools, fdisks etc. you don't know in
every detail. they might not be compliant with open standards and screw up
your system.

B.4) PARTITION TABLE DUMP:
very important: keep a printed copy of the data you get by using the ranish
partition manager stand alone version at a safe place.
http://www.ranish.com/ (partman partition dump to textfile)
e.g.: "A:\part.exe -d 1 -p -r > a:\hdd1_v01.txt"

B.5) BIOS:
before(!) re-installing your system it's a good opportunity to update your
motherboard's BIOS to the latest version available.
back up your data before (!) you update your BIOS.
modern motherboards allow you to update it's BIOS via "flashing" it with the
latest version. the BIOS is an essential part of your system, so the update
provides an opportunity to get both, important bug fixes and additional
features.
updating your BIOS via flash is a dangerous task. if something goes wrong you
might render the whole system defective.
try to get the latest BIOS version from your motherboard's manufacturer.
for further information see:
1) your motherboard's manufacturer's web site. get your updated bios THERE!
2) http://www.ping.be/bios/
   (loads of info on BIOS)
3) ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/ctbios15.zip
   (tries to display further information on your bios)
4) http://www.bios-info.de/  (german)
   e.g.  http://www.bios-info.de/compend/hdisk.htm
5) http://www.dr-hardware.com/
   (retrieves some info on your hardware and chipsets)


C) NETIQUETTE:
******************************
******************************

C.1) READ ALL AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION!
before you start using XOSL and before you post to the mailing list
read all available information:
get, print out, read and understand all available docs on "xosl" and
"partman" - this includes:
- the mailing list archives
- additional documentation on the official web sites
- further information on the mailing lists web sites (groups.yahoo.com)
  (see files, polls, database, bookmarks, etc.)
- the documentation included in the downloadable files

C.2) CONTACTING THE AUTHORS:
please understand that the authors of the above programs certainly don't
have the time to answer every single user request, personally. currently
there's more than 600 users on the XOSL mailing list, for example.
only contact the authors directly, if it's "confirmed bug" reports or
other serious matters.

C.3) POSTING TO THE MAILING LIST:
also keep in mind there's more than 600 people on the mailing lists. when
posting to the list, make sure you set an appropriate subject in the email
header and be specific. otherwise you're wasting the time of 600 ppl.

C.4) PICK AN APPROPRIATE "SUBJECT" OF YOUR POSTING:
this is the most important part! pick a meaningful "subject"!
if you have several questions, think about whether it might be better
sending two seperate postings with appropriate subjects, respectively.

C.5) BE PRECISE:
dont post something like "i did something on some machine and now something
isn't working any more", please.
ask precise questions, instead. provide sufficient information:
- what's your exact hardware specs?
- what kind of software was originally on that computer?
- how was it configured?
- what exactly did you do until the problem occured?
- what's the exact problems / error messages?

C.6) REPLYING - QUOTING:
when posting a reply by "quoting" the original message, make sure you only
quote the important/essential parts of the original message.
under no circumstances simply quote the entire original message, please.

C.7) REPLYING - ADDRESSEE:
consider sending your reply to the author of the original message himself,
instead of to the whole mailing list.
especially if it's something like "send us more info" or "sorry, can't help".

C.8) CONTRIBUTION:
any contribution is greatly appreciated.
post some HOWTOs, FAQs or your personal experience to the mailing list.
especially if you found some solutions or workarounds.
if you posted a question to the mailing list and found the answer to it
yourself: the others would be happy to know, as well.

thanks for your cooperation ;)

happy installing!

 philipp g.