How can I find out what an error message means?

Unfortunately many programs give unhelpful error messages. Here are some strategies to help find out what they mean, with the best one last.

• browse the index of the manual
• search in the program’s online help
• browse in the program’s online help index
• search in Google for the error message in quotes, or using key words from the error
• do the same search in Google Groups (this is a collection of Usenet newsgroups and it’s more like searching email than websites. Often you’ll find other people who are asking about the same problem. Take note of the relevant newsgroups as they may be a source of additional information.)