General Questions

Rhyader · March 2, 2011, 5:21pm

Hrm…
These forums seem dismal, since there is no “general questions” topic, so I will try to
start one. I wish I could tell you which SuSe version I have. I think it may be
11-something. But “ver” yields
bash: ver: command not found
And nothing in the GUI seems predisposed to telling me what I an using.
Perhaps a more MacIntosh like ‘about this computer’ clicky would help?
I certainly don’t see any.

Well, I’ll start with what should be a simple question: how to get my suse linux
system to update itself again. I survived a previous attack in which it would no
longer update itself because of problems with a purple library for a programming
language that I don’t know if I have; and know I don’t use or know anything about.
I figured out somehow how to get past that. Now I am getting endless “broken mirror” messages (whatever the hell that means) and apparently the system will no longer update itself. Apparently keeping the update system working is difficult. Any clues on how to start solving this problem would be appreciated. If you can’t update because of a “broken mirror”, what do you do? (Other than looking for tweezers and glue).

Eventually I hope to do things with this computer. It’s all linux. I also have wine
and got a few windows programs to run under it, though wine itself remains another
funky mysterie. But I’d like to make some efforts to make it work with suse linux,
before giving up and trying Ubuntu, with it’s horrible video. Suse, in general, seems more stable.

So there it is… can someone suggest how I could get updates to work again ?
Maybe if that works, new things will happen.

– Rhyader

DaaX · March 2, 2011, 5:40pm

Hi.

Fist thing first : since you have technical problems, why post in “Looking for something other than support” ? These forums are not dismal, it seems to me that “Get Technical problem help here” is straightforward enough…

Anyway, the command to know wich version of OS you have :

cat /etc/SuSE-release

For you’re broken mirror, can you post the result of this command :

zypper lr

If you have an opeSUSE 11.1, it is possible you get these errors. The 11.1 have reach the EOL. If it’s the case, you’ll have to change all your repos if you want to stick with it or upgrade to 11.3.

DenverD · March 2, 2011, 6:06pm

On 03/02/2011 05:36 PM, Rhyader wrote:
>
> > These forums seem dismal, since there is no “general questions” topic,
> so I will try to
> start one.

the name of this forum is “Looking For Something Other Than Support?”,
so why would you think it is the right place to get support??

you help seeking questions should be split into ONE question in each
thread and posted with a descriptive subject line into the correct forum…

> I wish I could tell you which SuSe version I have. I think
> it may be 11-something.

two years ago when you posted here (in Jan 2009) you were using “SUSE
11”…are you still using that? or have you updated to something else?

do this in a terminal and return the output here by copy/paste:
cat /etc/SuSE-release

> But “ver” yields
> bash: ver: command not found
> And nothing in the GUI seems predisposed to telling me what I an
> using.
> Perhaps a more MacIntosh like ‘about this computer’ clicky would help?
> I certainly don’t see any.

my desktop has a “My Computer” which includes

Linux 2.6.34.7-0.7-default i686
System: openSUSE 11.3 (i586)
KDE: 4.5.5 (KDE 4.5.5) “release 1”

not yours??? did you delete it?

> Well, I’ll start with what should be a simple question: how to get my
> suse linux
> system to update itself again.

if you are using openSUSE 11.0 or 11.1 it is not possible to update it
again as both of those have passed their end of life…

when you learn which version of openSUSE you are using, if it is
11.2 or 11.3 post this question into the the Applications forum
http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/applications/
(since you will use one of these applications to update: YaST,
zypper or YaST Online Update)

> Now I am getting endless
> “broken mirror” messages (whatever the hell that means)

it probably means you can’t get to the mirror because it no longer
exists…because the version you are using is no longer supported…

check here: http://en.opensuse.org/Lifetime

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

martin_helm · March 2, 2011, 6:12pm

Hello,

I will try to answer parts of your questions. To check which version you
have you can open a terminal and type


cat /etc/SuSE-release

or navigate with your file browser into the /etc folder and open the text
file SuSE-release.

After you checked that please post the result. It is possible that you
simply cannot longer update if you are using a release which is end of live
(11.0 or 11.1 or even older).
If the version you use is EOL then you should update your system to a newer
version by downloading the installation dvd (I recommend the dvd since it is
more complete than the live cd’s).

It will also help if you post the output of


zypper lr

to see the repositories and what probably makes trouble.

DaaX · March 2, 2011, 7:03pm

Dho!

Guys, did you read the thread or not and the response it receives ? You answered the same thing as I said earlier than you!!! I think the guy will understand very well now… :sarcastic:

DenverD · March 2, 2011, 7:45pm

On 03/02/2011 07:06 PM, DaaX wrote:
>
> Dho!
> Guys, did you read the thread or not and the response it receives ?

think about this sir:

maybe i can’t see what you wrote…in fact i could not see what you
wrote until 18:06 my time, which was the same second i posted…

anyway, is there any harm in having three answers…none of which saw
the others??

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

robin_listas · March 2, 2011, 9:38pm

On 2011-03-02 19:06, DaaX wrote:
>
> Dho!
>
> Guys, did you read the thread or not and the response it receives ? You
> answered the same thing as I said earlier than you!!! I think the guy
> will understand very well now… :sarcastic:

You should first learn how the forum works. Both your answer and DenverD
are dated 18:06, so DenverD could not read it first.

Now, I know why, but I’m not telling. That is homework for you >:-P

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

DaaX · March 2, 2011, 10:10pm

Hi DenverD,

If you say so… But no, there is no harm. 3 times is better 1.

Rhyader · March 3, 2011, 9:31am

Why here? … probably because I didn’t see any topic in “Get Technical Help Here” that seemed to go with system or update. I could try install/boot/login, that might be the closest. So I should copy the technical output there, but I’ll put it here, since I already started it. My next round of questions will be about the C compiler: maybe those should go in “Applications”?

I don’t see any “My Computer” anywhere, pretty sure there never was any such animal. Maybe that’s a KDE thing? I use Gnome. There is a “System Monitor” which gives a wealth of information - not, however, the suse version.

I see from that other command that it is suse 11.1. So I take it that means the system cannot be auto-updated because it is ‘too old’. eg. Not supported, no file repository.

So it seems I have my answer, and it is that the system is no longer supported and that is why the updates no longer work. But, since it was asked, here is the output of those various commands.



cat /etc/SuSE-release

openSUSE 11.1 (i586)
VERSION = 11.1

rhyader@Alcor:~> zypper lr
# | Alias         | Name                  | Enabled | Refresh
--+---------------+-----------------------+---------+--------
1 | Banshee       | Banshee               | Yes     | Yes    
2 | openSUSE:11.3 | openSUSE:11.3         | Yes     | Yes    
3 | repo-debug    | openSUSE-11.1-Debug   | Yes     | Yes    
4 | repo-non-oss  | openSUSE-11.1-Non-Oss | Yes     | No     
5 | repo-oss      | openSUSE-11.1-Oss     | Yes     | No     
6 | repo-source   | openSUSE-11.1-Source  | Yes     | Yes    
7 | repo-update   | openSUSE-11.1-Update  | Yes     | No     
rhyader@Alcor:~>

So perhaps this is evolving into a general question.
I don’t intend to use this computer for anything demanding. Web browsing and a little video, editing files, and eventually hopefully running a mud. It’s an old computer and is more than adequate for what I want to use it for. I need the NEW computer to run Windows, for work. I run Yahoo sitebuilder and photoshop on the new machine, Alas, any linux computer that I set up is bound to be an old one. I question whether it would be wise to upgrade the OS on this computer, because a newer system may not be appropriate: it might be too demanding and wind up running slower. “Alcor” has all of 500 Megs of RAM and runs MUCH faster now than it ever did with Windows XP. And to run a text-only server, compile some C programs, and browse the web a little, it should be more than adequate. So, given the age of the computer, would it be a good idea to upgrade it to a new suse version, or just leave it the way it is and forget about updates?

stamostolias · March 3, 2011, 9:36am

Eventually I hope to do things with this computer. It’s all linux. I also have wine
and got a few windows programs to run under it, though wine itself remains another
funky mysterie. But I’d like to make some efforts to make it work with suse linux,
before giving up and trying Ubuntu, with it’s horrible video. Suse, in general, seems more stable.

Welcome to opensuse forums. As I read you are new user. First wine run windows programms but not all of them. Second Opensuse is more stable and better than Ubuntu with better solutions for you needs.

DenverD · March 3, 2011, 10:14am

On 03/03/2011 09:36 AM, Rhyader wrote:
>
> Why here? … probably because I didn’t see any topic in “Get Technical
> Help Here” that seemed to go with system or update. I could try
> install/boot/login, that might be the closest. So I should copy the
> technical output there, but I’ll put it here, since I already started
> it.

no necessary as you now have your answer…

> My next round of questions will be about the C compiler: maybe those
> should go in “Applications”?

well, i don’t know what kind of questions you might have “about the C
compiler”…i guess if it is questions about how to actually set up
and use the compiler most of those are laid out in the documentation,
but if you need help doing that it might be best in the Applications
forum…BUT if you are gonna ask questions about coding, then i
would suggest your compiler questions are probably best answered by
the folks who hang out in the “Programming/Scripting” forum, here:
http://forums.opensuse.org/english/other-forums/development/programming-scripting/

> I see from that other command that it is suse 11.1. So I take it that
> means the system cannot be auto-updated because it is ‘too old’. eg. Not
> supported, no file repository.

correct…but i have one more idea for you, keep reading . . .

> So, given the age of the computer, would it be a good idea to
> upgrade it to a new suse version, or just leave it the way it is and
> forget about updates?

there is a NEW thing being tried…and perhaps it is exactly what you
need…read about Evergreen, which is an effort being made by some
volunteers to keep 11.1 updated with security patches…maybe it will
keep you going:

http://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Evergreen
and
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aopensuse.org+evergreen

as for using and unpatched 11.1 on the net for browsing, i’d say even
unpatched it is probably safer than using your fully shielded Windows
machine…but, with either machine it is best to keep the browser well
behind a really good firewall…i use a firewall running router
between my machine and the ISP supplied DLS modem…and until about
three weeks ago felt very safe running openSUSE 10.3, but i DID take
several security precautions that you might not…

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

DenverD · March 3, 2011, 10:18am

On 03/02/2011 10:36 PM, DaaX wrote:
>
> If you say so…

does that mean you not believe what i say is correct and/or true?

maybe you think i’m “making up” an excuse for why i posted after you
had answered?

ever heard of NNTP?

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

DaaX · March 3, 2011, 2:06pm

DenverD,

Don’t pretend on what I believe or think, there is no need to argue about this since it is useless. And I don’t want to make a fuss about something that surprised me, nothing more (And it did surprised me. Don’t search for offense here, I was just surprised that 2 guys responded the same exact thing at 20 minutes and 40 minutes later… but you’re right, there could be plenty of reason that can explain why you didn’t see the post before yours and the other guy too.). Let’s not polute the thread any more than this.

Thanks.

stamostolias · March 3, 2011, 2:14pm

I agree with DaaX. We are here to help. We are not here to make post racing.
+1;)

robin_listas · March 3, 2011, 3:03pm

On 2011-03-03 14:36, DaaX wrote:

> Don’t search for offense here, I was just surprised that 2 guys
> responded the same exact thing at 20 minutes and 40 minutes later… but

There is what you are getting it wrong: they were posted on the same
minute. I could post a photo.

How come?

Because not everybody is using a browser to read/write the forum. This
forum has other means of access, and you should be aware of that, before
makeing the wrong assumption.

And that other means of access has a different timestamp that the one you get.

Hint: check the FAQ about means of accessing this forum.
Hint 2: nntp.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

DenverD · March 3, 2011, 3:24pm

On 03/03/2011 02:36 PM, DaaX wrote:
>
> DenverD;2297596 Wrote:
>> On 03/02/2011 10:36 PM, DaaX wrote:
>>>
>>> If you say so…
>>
>> does that mean you not believe what i say is correct and/or true?
>>
>> maybe you think i’m “making up” an excuse for why i posted after you
>> had answered?
>>
>> ever heard of NNTP?
>>
> DenverD,
>
> Don’t pretend on what I believe or think, there is no need to argue
> about this since it is useless. And I don’t want to make a fuss about
> something that surprised me, nothing more (And it did surprised me.
> Don’t search for offense here, I was just surprised that 2 guys
> responded the same exact thing at 20 minutes and 40 minutes later… but
> you’re right, there could be plenty of reason that can explain why you
> didn’t see the post before yours and the other guy too.). Let’s not
> polute the thread any more than this.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
no, i’m not arguing about anything…nor am i offended…but, i can
see you think i am, and i know that springs from your lack of
understanding of how things work here…so, this will not “polute”
the thread but instead add to your education–so, next time you might
not be surprised when you see that someone answers after you
(apparently) and says the same (or nearly the same) thing… OK, here
is exactly how it is here, and what it went on:

the forums have TWO means of reading and answering, one the web forum
uses HTTP (and is what you use)…all http users have access to and
can see all HTTP posts almost without delay…however, they can not
see post made via NNTP until after the NNTP>HTTP ‘gateway’ sweeps post
from one system to the other…those sweeps occur twice per hour, at
:06 and :36 minutes after the hour

that means that an NNTP user will not see a posting made at :07 (or
:37) will not be seen until after :36 (or the next 06:), but then only
if s/he downloads all new messages after :36 (or :06)

and, any posts made by an NNTP user after :06 will not be seen by any
HTTP user until after :36 (and that post will be date/timed as :36)

so, here is what happened:

10:21 Rhyader asks question in the http forum
10:36 the question is FIRST available to NNTP users
10:40 DaaX answers to the http forum
11:06 DenverD answers via NNTP
11:06 the 10:40 DaaX answer is FIRST available to NNTP users
11:06 DenverD’s answer is posted to the HTTP forum
12:03 DaaX says “Dho!”
12:06 DaaX’s “Dho!” is first available to NNTP users

understand now?

@stamostolias: butt out.

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

DaaX · March 3, 2011, 3:55pm

Come on guys! I don’t want to find the guilty here or who is right or who is wrong. I said I was just surprised, that’s all. So, you bring to my knowledge and my attention the nntp access (that I didn’t know of and I read just now) and I understand that someone who uses nntp to access this forum misses a lot of post… but it is not his fault if he can’t access it with a web browser. No need to start a war for that and that was not my intention. It is noted and I know now. Wow ! It is heated in here today…

As a side note : a little PM to me to bring to my knowledge, my attention and my education the nntp access would have been sufficient and we could avoid to polute the thread.

Thanks denverD, I thought you were offended. And has you see with my message, the magic of nntp happened again!

robin_listas · March 3, 2011, 4:20pm

On 2011-03-03 16:06, DaaX wrote:
> As a side note : a little PM to me to bring to my knowledge, my
> attention and my education the nntp access would have been sufficient
> and we could avoid to polute the thread.

We NNTP users don’t have PMs.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.2 x86_64 “Emerald” at Telcontar)

DenverD · March 3, 2011, 4:34pm

On 03/03/2011 04:06 PM, DaaX wrote:

> Come on guys!

you started it!

> I don’t want to find the guilty here or who is right or
> who is wrong. I said I was just surprised, that’s all.

NO, that is not all you said, you said:

"Dho!

Guys, did you read the thread or not and the response it receives ?
You answered the same thing as I said earlier than you!!! I think
the guy will understand very well now… :sarcastic:"

and: “If you say so…”

which tries to make me (and another) both “guilty” 1) of not reading
the entire thread, and 2) posting when you had already said what
needed to be said, and 3) “wrong” for having done so and 4) trying to
make up something to “say so” to make me in the right, and you in the
wrong…

> So, you bring to
> my knowledge and my attention the nntp access (that I didn’t know of and
> I read just now) and I understand that someone who uses nntp to access
> this forum misses a lot of post… but it is not his fault if he can’t
> access it with a web browser. No need to start a war for that

i remind you again: it was YOU who decided to indicate i had done wrong!

> and that was not my intention.

so, what was your intention? to me it looked like you wanted to thump
me on the head for coming in behind you and posting what you had
already said…

> It is noted and I know now.

and, now you know…

> Wow ! It is heated in here today…

maybe when you accept responsibility for calling me down for doing
something i didn’t do and say you are sorry for thumping me from a
position of ignorance…maybe then you will feel the heat roll back…

>
> As a side note : a little PM to me to bring to my knowledge, my
> attention and my education the nntp access would have been sufficient
> and we could avoid to polute the thread.

HA! you could have sent a little PM to me asking why i posted after
you and said what you already had and the whole thing would have never
had a chance to “polute the thread”–neither from your side or my
side…but, nope you wanted to thump me in public.

> Thanks denverD, I thought you were offended. And has you see with my
> message, the magic of nntp happened again!

i wasn’t offended, but now that you know you had no clue you still
think everything you did was right (and, you want to forget what you
DID say) and i should have quietly said nothing here and send you
a PM !!

–
DenverD
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD
[NNTP posted w/openSUSE 11.3, KDE4.5.5, Thunderbird3.0.11, nVidia
173.14.28 3D, Athlon 64 3000+]
“It is far easier to read, understand and follow the instructions than
to undo the problems caused by not.” DD 23 Jan 11

DaaX · March 3, 2011, 5:18pm

I remind you DenverD that since I didn’t know of the existence of the nntp access, it explains very well why I told that (why I tsrated it) in the first place and it explains very well why I replied again because I didn’t know. And I recall you that I was surprised because there were 2 exact same responses. You seem to think that I am looking for a guilty because I didn’t know of something in the fisrt place. Be it man, for your pleasure : I am proclaiming myself the culprit of not knowing something. Is that ok for you ? I will not be offended of that. No one have to know everything in this world and I live ok with that.

i wasn’t offended, but now that you know you had no clue you still
think everything you did was right (and, you want to forget what you
DID say) and i should have quietly said nothing here and send you
a PM !!

Your right, I should have PM you, but since you use nntp access, you’ll never get it. But you’re still right, I should have done it anyway. And if you still want to think that I am right before you in this matter and that I want to indicate that your are wrong and that you are feeling attacked by what I said, it’s up to you. That was not my intention and I still say that I didn’t mean to search for a guilty, but just wanted to understand.

You explained it to me how is the working of the nntp thing and I said this to you on my last post :

Thanks denverD, I thought you were offended. And as you see with my message, the magic of nntp happened again!

I didn’t see you explanation again because of your nntp thing. My message went just after yours and I ddin’t see it again. Sorry again if you felt attacked once more.

[QUOTE]maybe when you accept responsibility for calling me down for doing
something i didn’t do and say you are sorry for thumping me from a
position of ignorance…maybe then you will feel the heat roll back…
[/QUOTE]

You see, you are taking it personnaly and you are offended. Sorry to read that.

For me it’s case close because we could argue for a week on that and I am pretty sure you don’t want to mess with an ignorant like me anymore.

Thanks.