Chapter 9. Getting Help

Table of Contents

Reconfirm the installation
Isolate the cause
Try a different client
Check permissions
The Mailing List
The Archive
Ask the list
What to include when asking for help
Waddya got?
Attach a logfile
Show your work


Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round.
Help me get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?

Beatles

In the battle against frustration and wasted motion, this manual is our first defense. Our documentation is intended to make it possible for a knowledgeable user to, well, use FreeTDS™ without further assistance. We strive to include all known features and behaviors here, so you can work quickly and anonymously, and go home before 5:00. Would that it were always thus.

Reconfirm the installation

For initial setup and login problems, review Confirm the installation. Distinguish between network and server issues, between finding the server and logging into it. The TDSDUMPCONFIG log will show how the servername is being looked up, what address & port is being used, what TDS version is being used. The TDSDUMP log will show quite clearly whether or not the server accepted the connection, and whether or not the login succeeded.

Remember compiled-in defaults can be displayed with tsql:

$ tsql -C

Compile-time settings (established with the "configure" script)
                            Version: freetds v1.4
             freetds.conf directory: /usr/local/etc
     MS db-lib source compatibility: no
        Sybase binary compatibility: no
                      Thread safety: yes
                      iconv library: yes
                        TDS version: auto
                              iODBC: no
                           unixodbc: no
              SSPI "trusted" logins: no
                            Keberos: no
                            OpenSSL: yes
                             GnuTLS: no
                               MARS: yes 

For ODBC setup issues, the osql script is intended to confirm the configuration files are all sane. If it fails to report a problem, please post a message describing the problem to the mailing list. Thanks.