[Novalug] Mappery : inconsistent results

[Beartooth]

     I'm presently running four PCs, two thinkpad laptops (a T30 
and a T42), and an EeePC (which doesn't come into this). 
Everything but my #1 PC is running Fedora 11, and all of them 
have some version of Garmin MapSource MetroGuide and TopoUSA2008. 
Most of them also have DeLorme TopoUSA6, Maptech's Appalachian 
Trail suite, or both.

      On one laptop, the software not only doesn't launch, but 
crashes the whole machine -- after which I have to wait a 
surprisingly long time before I can reboot. (I have a hunch that 
may really be a hardware problem, though -- such as that any big 
load crashes it.)

      On all the others, the Garmin software (but not the DeLorme) 
does launch and run. Iirc, on the other laptop it does also talk 
to my GPSs; it does not talk to them (nor even see them, alas!) 
on any of the three F11 PCs -- so PC #1 is still running F10 
instead of F11.

 	#1 (only) also has a second hard drive, on which XPProSP2 
is installed -- native OS for all the mapware suites. (I have a 
fourth suite, from Topo.com, sold by National Geographic, which I 
haven't tried lately.)

     My installs/upgrades of F11 have been partly with media and 
partly with the new preupgrade command; both have sometimes 
bollixed things so badly that I eventually had to do a clean 
install; the preupgrade has also gone smoothly a couple of times.

     The Fedora repositories now contain six or eight apps for 
Garmin, and more (with a lot of overlap) for GPSs in general; I 
have tried to install all of both on all machines. I don't know 
why the other three PCs can't see the GPSs.

      If I find the reason and get them to do it soon, I'll 
upgrade all of PC #1 to F11, and have a house free of MegaSleazo 
again. If not, I'll try to preserve XP on its drive for another 
round...

 	Anybody have a guess -- or a way to find out -- why the 
same software connects to the same GPSs on two machines, but not 
on four others??

-- 
Beartooth Staffwright, Neo-Redneck Not Quite Clueless Power User
I have precious (very precious!) little idea where up is.