the notebook
9.1. Finding and Gathering Information¶
Linux reports things in a very detailed way. There are several places to look when you encounter problems with your system, most of which are standard to Linux systems in general, and some of which are relevant to openSUSE systems. The two most important system logs are /var/log/boot.msg and/var/log/messages.
A list of the most frequently checked log files follows with the description of their typical purpose. Paths containing~ refer to the current user's home directory.
Table 9.1. Log Files¶
Log File
Description
~/.xsession-errors
Messages from the desktop applications currently running.
/var/log/apparmor/
Log files from AppArmor, see Part “Confining Privileges with Novell AppArmor” (↑Security Guide) for detailed information.
/var/log/boot.msg
Messages from the kernel reported during the boot process.
/var/log/mail.*
Messages from the mail system.
/var/log/messages
Ongoing messages from the kernel and system log daemon (when running).
/var/log/NetworkManager
Log file from NetworkManager to collect problems with network connectivity
/var/log/samba/
Directory containing Samba server and client log messages.
/var/log/SaX.log
Hardware messages from the SaX display and KVM system.
/var/log/warn
All messages from the kernel and system log daemon with the “warning” level or higher.
/var/log/wtmp
Binary file containing user login records for the current machine session. View it with last.
/var/log/Xorg.*.log
Various start-up and runtime logs from the X Window system. It is useful for debugging failed X start-ups.
/var/log/YaST2/
Directory containing YaST's actions and their results.
/var/log/zypper.log
Log file of zypper.
Apart from log files, your machine also supplies you with information about the running system. See Table 9.2: System Information With the /proc File System
Table 9.2. System Information With the /proc File System¶
File
Description
/proc/cpuinfo
Contains processor
Linux reports things in a very detailed way. There are several places to look when you encounter problems with your system, most of which are standard to Linux systems in general, and some of which are relevant to openSUSE systems. The two most important system logs are /var/log/boot.msg and/var/log/messages.
A list of the most frequently checked log files follows with the description of their typical purpose. Paths containing~ refer to the current user's home directory.
Table 9.1. Log Files¶
Log File
Description
~/.xsession-errors
Messages from the desktop applications currently running.
/var/log/apparmor/
Log files from AppArmor, see Part “Confining Privileges with Novell AppArmor” (↑Security Guide) for detailed information.
/var/log/boot.msg
Messages from the kernel reported during the boot process.
/var/log/mail.*
Messages from the mail system.
/var/log/messages
Ongoing messages from the kernel and system log daemon (when running).
/var/log/NetworkManager
Log file from NetworkManager to collect problems with network connectivity
/var/log/samba/
Directory containing Samba server and client log messages.
/var/log/SaX.log
Hardware messages from the SaX display and KVM system.
/var/log/warn
All messages from the kernel and system log daemon with the “warning” level or higher.
/var/log/wtmp
Binary file containing user login records for the current machine session. View it with last.
/var/log/Xorg.*.log
Various start-up and runtime logs from the X Window system. It is useful for debugging failed X start-ups.
/var/log/YaST2/
Directory containing YaST's actions and their results.
/var/log/zypper.log
Log file of zypper.
Apart from log files, your machine also supplies you with information about the running system. See Table 9.2: System Information With the /proc File System
Table 9.2. System Information With the /proc File System¶
File
Description
/proc/cpuinfo
Contains processor