segmentation error

[cacophinix]

hey fellas,
i am just a starter with linux and have a red hat linux 7.0, and most of my programmes i try to run gives me a segmentaion error,
a few suggestion would be appreciated.
Ps :- i was trying out some networking progs

[slarty]

"Segmentation error" or "Segmentation fault" is just a generic kind of crash.

Usually caused by a program that accesses memory that isn't there. Also caused if a kernel error happens in the program (An "oops" error)

There are several possibilities here:

- The programs have not been compiled properly for your OS (unlikely for the ones that ship with the OS)
- The programs are badly misconfigured (likely for one or two, but not "most")
- There is some sort of library ****-up - for example you've installed a broken libc

But I feel most likely:

- Hardware or driver problem

Look at /var/log/messages (if you can get that far), or run "dmesg"

If you see "oops" messages on your system log, it is probably a hardware fault or a broken driver. Broken memory is quite common (This will crash Windows very easily too)

If you are running X, try to reproduce the problem in console applications without X running - that will prove that the video driver isn't breaking stuff (be sure to run something which uses lots of memory, like compiling something big)

Try running a memory tester like memtest-86

[Sprink]

hmm. Looks like slarty said it all.

[cacophinix]

yes i checked the log messages as soon as i reached home i have an error with my usb port.