[H-GEN] Cannot control Linux configuration

[Greg Black]

On 2003-04-06, Alex Delaforce wrote:

> [ Much of the documentation around sucks ]

Sadly, this is true.

> at the Humbug meeting I can pick up a DHCP address 100% of the
> time but at home using a Windows 2K gateway machine The DHCP
> worked only about 1 in 10 attempts. I have followed all advice
> given [...]
> 
> Today I have spent about 8 hours trying to configure SAMBA to
> connect Linux to a MSHOME workgroup and vice versa. [...]
> 
> Finally my question...
> 

> [...] My major frustration is that at no stage of the process
> do I feel in control of the system - I expected this for a
> while while learning a 'new thing' but seem to be making no
> headway.
>
> Any advice except 'give up and go back to M$' would be appreciated.

It really sounds as though, far from learning `a new thing',
you're trying to learn several new things all at once and this
is very difficult to do on your own when all these things
interact in quite mysterious ways.

If you can bring some of the troublesome bits to a meeting and
show some of the people who are more experienced with the
specific issues that you're having what the problems are, those
people could probably help you to get on top of things.

If you decide to do this, try to determine in advance what is
the most important thing to get working and make that your goal;
then, at subsequent meetings, you should be able to gradually
get on top of other things in your list.

Yes, this will take a while -- but it's a non-trivial exercise
and you can't realistically expect to master all this in a short
time.  Nothing this complex is mastered overnight.

With perseverance and assistance, I'm sure you'll eventually get
there.

Greg

-- 
Greg Black <mailto:gjb at gbch.net> <http://www.gbch.net/gjb.html>
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