From: Linux_help@ Subject: No Free Linux Help, Buy Support for BSD, Unix, Linux, Internet etc. Sender: PayMe@ToSupportLinux I append http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/std/no_free_linux_support.txt See Also http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/std/no_free_bsd_support.txt See Also http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/std/no_free_time.txt Ref. your request for Linux help: Yes, Linux is another Unix-like OS (=Operating System), & yes, I've been working with various Unix(es) for 30+ years, but I'm afraid I'm very busy, & use BSD by choice (yet another Unix, http://www.FreeBSD.org ), & I only work on Linux for companies paying commercial consultancy rates. However, there are many ways you can help yourself: If you don't know much about Linux & other Unixes, you may be best of staying with the Linux you already have installed, but if you really fancy looking at BSD, look at http://www.pcbsd.org , based on FreeBSD, & aimed to be easier for beginners. Free of course, as are all the other OS's also listed on http://www.berklix.com/free/ All BSDs & Linuxes etc that I know of have international (& some also have local language) support mail lists & web sites & user forums. Often each has an official web site (with source code, binaries & CD & DVD images to download, manuals, mail lists to subscribe & web forum interfaces etc) many free OS software projects also have a wiki web site, & also several unofficial web sites where one can also post help requests etc often without needing to (free) subscribe to lists. eg for Ubuntu Linux there is http://www.ubuntu.com http://www.ubuntu.com/community For any other OS, just do a search (& remember there's also lots of search engines you can use from your browser, not just your usual, list here: http://www.berklix.org/search/ Big cities like Munich Germany often have several LUGs = Local User Groups for various Linux & BSD & Solaris & other Unix etc versions, eg Munich Linux: http://www.muc-lug.de/ Munich Ubuntu Linux: http://www.glatzor.de/photos/ubuntu/lug-munich/ Munich BSD: http://www.berklix.org/bim/ Munich Gentoo Linux http://www.mglug.de Others in Munich: http://www.berklix.org/bim/other_clubs.html Mid size towns have LUGs too, under various names & organisations, eg There's LUGs for MS & Mac & Linux users in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK http://extranet3.kent.gov.uk/clubs/clubdetail.cfm?clubref=3755 http://u3atunbridgewells.pbworks.com/w/page/5424336/Computing http://kentlug.org/ http://linux-user-group.meetup.com/cities/gb/g5/tunbridge_wells/ (caution: meetup.com charges group organisers 3 to 5 Euro /month at Aug. 2016) http://web.archiveorange.com/archive/v/d97TgmM3uJB8e32z9YR2 Do join a LUG for a monthly coffee / beer / whatever, a great way to chat about problems, & help others & build an informal contact circle for mutual self help support. Post your problem to an appropriate mail list or forum, & describe all of: - your printer manufacturer & model number - OS name & version number - any updates or local customisations or relevant settings - name & version numbers of any drivers in use - name & version numbers of programs you are using eg to generate printer images or whatever. - manufacturer name & model number of hardware eg printer or scanner if appropriate. - Precise _exact_ error messages (often you can get a copy by eg: cd /var/log ls -ltr vi file_name_that_seem_appropriate Do be absolutely precise. Cries for help get answered quickest & with best answers then. Vague descriptions get ignored or if you'r lucky you might wait for readers to demand you better define your issue. If eg a printer is intermittent, think laterally: It may not even be your PC OS at fault ! If its USB connected, you might have a hub with a failing power supply. Printer, scanner, or disk power &/ or signal cable may have bad contacts. Many printers have a test cycle, some you can initiate by holding several buttons down on printer while you power the printer up. Have a look in printer handbook. If you have no handbook, many manufacturers offer PDF manuals on the web. With that printer self test, you might prove the printer problem has nothing to do with whatever software printer is running. You could connect your printer to another PC (eg a visiting guests laptop) & test it, or boot your PC with another OS, booted either from a Live CD or another Fdisk partition or external USB disk. (Be careful if you install a 2nd OS using eg Fdisk, always make Full backups first, many is the tale of woe, even from us skilled professionals, who have on occasion been bitten by Fdisk & its ilk). Join either or both a LUG & national or international groups, they're usually free, & work on the basis they help you with what you don't know, & you should help others with what they don't know. No one on the planet knows it all, or knows nothing, we all know more about some things & less about other things so mutual help through web sites & user groups is the way to go. Good luck, I hope some of the pointers above help. http://www.berklix.com Computer Consultancy http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/cv/ My Resume - English & German http://www.berklix.com/~jhs/contact/ Contact - German for business also OK. http://www.berklix.com/free/ Free Software http://www.berklix.org Free Organisations & Clubs