Problems

Problems (troubleshooting)

1. How can I test my network Bindings?

Open a command line (Console). These commands can be helpful in debugging networking.

ping skolelinux.org    //sends test packets to the online server
mii-diag eth0          // Gives status information for each network card.

2. Why can I never install new packages?

If you see this error:

Err http://security.debian.org stable/updates/main Packages
 Something wicked happened resolving webcache:3128 (-5)

then the ftp_proxy and http_proxy environment variables are set incorrectly. Just unset them by typing:

export ftp_proxy=''
export http_proxy=''

This is only a temporary fix and will be lost next time you login or open a command line. To make the change permanent you must start any text editor program (as root) and open /etc/environment. Comment out (by adding a # character in front of the line) the two lines which set the proxies, as follows:

#http_proxy=http://webcache:3128/
#ftp_proxy=http://webcache:3128/

3. I've noticed an enormous file called music.raw in my Home Directory. What is it?

If the sound device is not available, some audio players (e.g. xmms) will divert their output to a file instead. It's probably best to just delete the file. If you are curious and want to hear it, you can type this at a command line:

 bplay -Ss44100 -b16 music.raw 

4. The ping succeeds but I still cannot access any webpages. What's wrong?

There's likely something wrong either with your nameserver or proxy settings.