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My question is very simple, how can I do a general check up of my system? I don't really know if something has gone wrong, but there are some errors which I cannot fix following online steps or I'm not even sure are to worry about. Where can I check how's my system doing? Or Is there any program which will diagnose my system? I know GNU/Linux is supposed to be extremely customizable but I really want to know if there is anything wrong at all with my machine.

Slaythrax
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  • One of the first places to look would be the logs in /var/log, and syslog would be a good one to start with if you're looking for general errors. If you are seeing specific errors, sharing those here verbatim will also make it more likely that someone can give you more specific pointers – matigo Aug 30 '22 at 04:00
  • You can always look at your logs with gnome-logs and that might help you determine what errors you are having. – Terrance Aug 30 '22 at 04:16
  • You can use dmesg -HT and check /var/crash/ for any files too. – petep Aug 30 '22 at 05:11

1 Answers1

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General checkups: You DON'T need software to "diagnose" your system.

  1. When you see an error message, read it. Copy it exactly. Google the error text. Learn what it means. Learn what software emits those errors and why. Developers want you to read and understand the error messages! It's completely do-able, it's all Open Source software, and all the documentation is freely available.

  2. Review your logs: Start with /var/log/syslog. Look for Errors and Warnings among the many routine logged events. (They are labelled "Error" and "Warning"). If you find an error or warning, read it. Google it. You know the rest. This is why you don't need special software: Almost everything that developers could think of is logged.

  3. Use your own senses. Does everything look correct? Are the correct blinky lights blinking? Does everything sound correct? Do you hear the fans running? Is something rattling? Does everything feel correct? Does the hardware case feel unusually hot or cold? Does your system smell like smoke or burning plastic? As a mature human, you have acute senses and a brain that has evolved over millions of years to notice the abnormal. Trust yourself.

  4. Learn: Learn about how the Ubuntu release cycles work. Learn about how Ubuntu gets most of its software from Debian, then learn why and how of the software repositories. Learn how deb packages and snap packages work. Learn how bugs get filed, triaged, and fixed. Learn how translations get into Ubuntu. Learn how the Ubuntu community works. We want more community members to know these! There's always more to learn.

user535733
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