Linux Issues - common questions for beginners
Your TA will walk you through exercises using Unix to get started. Here's a few tutorials to get you started.
Several Unix help pages have been bookmarked for you in the computer labs.
Google for Linux or Unix tutorials
There's lots of free resources out there.
If you need more help buy a beginners Unix book.
My favorite is "Learn Unix in 24 hours"
http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Teach-Yourself-UNIX-Hours/dp/0672321270.
Here are some tips on finding help within Linux.
Man Pages
These are Help pages with Linux
Type "man" then the command you need help with.
This example will display all options associated with the "ls" command for listing contents of a directory:
Example: %man ls
Here are some tips for finding out common problems:
Check your disk usage to find out if you have reached your quota.
Use the "du" command which tells you how much space a file or directory occupies.
The "-sk" switches will tell you the size of the directory in kilobytes.
Example: %du -sk
Use the "ls" list directory command with the "-alt" switches to list all files and permissions.
Example: %ls -alt
Check to see what other processes you have running using the "ps" command:
Example: %ps -u (your_username)
Example: %ps -u username
Stop unused processes using the "kill" command. Look for the PID using the "ps" command.
Example: %kill (pid)
Example: %kill 29554
Look for a runaway process using the "top" command.
This happens when a process enters a never-ending loop or if it takes up too much CPU.
Example: %top
Then look under the CPU and USERNAME columns.
If you have a process running close to 99%, then you better kill it using the "kill" command.
CNTRL-C
If you hit CNTRL-D, it just moves what you are working on into the background. It does not stop it.
Type "exit" at the command prompt.
Example %exit
If you are a total beginner, watch this: