Before you put fingers to keyboard, it will help you to get a better response if you go through a few simple steps first. Not only will this focus the problem in your mind, but it will give you better information to give to us and the results will be better in turn.
Choose the correct subforum:
First, you'll have to determine whether you're installing Tiger or Leopard. Leopard (version 10.5.x) is the latest version of the OS X operating system, while Tiger (10.4.x) is currently the most common and widely used of the two. If you're new to OS X, try starting with Tiger first, as there are a number of easily installable DVD's already available around the internet that will - hopefully - make your first experience with OS X a pleasant one.
Simply put, make sure you're posting in the appropriate subforum for your particular question!
Identifying the problem:
Don't assume the first failure is a dead end. Do it again. Sometimes things just don't work the first time.
Write down everything you did, step by step, and write down what you see on the screen. Adding the -v option to the boot: prompt gives you a LOT of useful information on the screen.
Try different hardware, media, or configurations. Pull out add-on cards (yes, I know you forgot that there was a PCMCIA card plugged in, we've all done it, and that might be the problem).
Research the problem BEFORE you post:
RTFM and STFW are keywords here. "Read the (Fine) Manual", or in this case, the FAQs, the Wiki, the various posts - use the forum search function first. Your problem is quite likely to have been solved before. "Search the (Fine) Web" is self-explanatory. Countless times when someone asks a question I Google for the problem to see what I can find out about it and the answer is right there on the first page of hits. I'm usually nice enough to copy the info back to the user, but I'm also way too busy to spoon-feed people who can't be bothered to do a basic search themselves.
Giving the information:
Choose a sensible title for your post. "It doesn't work" or "Help me!" will probably result in no-one reading the post. We give you a title box and a description box to use - use them both.
Tell us as much as you can. What your hardware is. What image you're using. If it's a DVD-R or a +R. How you burned it. What the CPU is capable of (like SSE2, SSE3 etc.). Where it stopped and what the error message was.
Be polite:
A lot of the members are very, very clever people and they are also very, very busy. If you ask stupid questions they will probably ignore you and give their time to someone who is more deserving in their opinion. If you *demand* help or dispute someone's ability you may be ignored, or you may end up being laughed at. There's no need to grovel, but a little respect certainly helps.
Don't ask a question and then never respond:
You asked the question, so when you try a suggestion, come back and let us know what happened. If the reply fixed it, tell us and thank the person who gave their time to help you out. If you fixed the problem, let us know too. That helps everyone. I can't stress this enough. I get very annoyed with people who ask a question and then never appear again, just taking our time and running away.
Say "Thank You":
Your problem was solved? It takes seconds to say "Thank You". So please do it. Believe it or not, there's a real live human being behind every post. I'm one too. It makes me feel all warm and loved when someone appreciates the time I've put in to helping them. I'll probably help them again before I help someone who didn't seem to care whether I devoted my time and effort on them or not.
Don't start a flame war:
Some people are naturally curt. Like I said, they're busy. Some members don't use English as their first language. It's easy to misinterpret what someone has said. He or she might not have meant to hurt your feelings. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even a wrong one. Better to ignore such comments than come flying back with abuse.
That's basically it. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from posting. We want you here and we want to help you. But please think before typing!
One of our members (onixwj - thanks!) suggested this webpage as a useful guide to posting. It's not specifically focussed on forum use but most of it applies equally here (but don't go bothering the writers, they're nothing to do with this forum or OSX). Although it will take you ten minutes to read it all, you'll probably be a lot better off afterwards.
Thanks, good luck and good posting.
Edit: Oh, and if we helped, check out a couple of the advertising links that we carry. I don't really like to ask you to do this, but the fact is that we pay for the site hosting entirely out of those clicks and a handful of donations. It all goes to the upkeep of the servers and because of the way we've grown it gets more expensive all the time. Thanks!
