Re: [tlug] Reinstallation and partitions (Mint)

[Claus Aranha <caranha@example.com>]

Hey Thomas, Stephen,

On Tue, Jun 30, 2015 at 10:47 PM, Stephen J. Turnbull
<stephen@example.com> wrote:
> Thomas writes:
>
>  > The screen - black with something like the above in the left upper
>  > corner
>
> You shouldn't stop with a "something like" description of an error
> message when a system is completely not working.  A letter for letter
> copy, even a photograph, is warranted.  *Usually* that doesn't make a
> difference, I admit, but sometimes it's the key.  So exact quotation
> is a good habit to get into.

Just to give a concrete example (probably out of date, but I remember
struggling with this some years ago):

LILO is a program that can be used to load multiple OS (windows,
linux) from a single computer.

When something went very wrong with LILO's configuration, the computer
wouldn't boot, and freeze at
booting screen with only part of the word "LILO" written on it. How
many letters were written was a hint for
where was the problem (LILO would print each letter after certain
loading steps), so a freeze with LI at the
screen would be different from a freeze with LIL at the screen. (don't
ask me for details!)

I believe systems nowadays are not THIS obscure anymore, but still it
is important to be precise when it
comes to error messages.

Cheers and good luck!