Successful use of LAPACK relies heavily on proper installation and testing of LAPACK and the BLAS. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) lists are maintained in the blas and lapack directories on netlib to answer some of the most common user questions. For the user's convenience, prebuilt LAPACK libraries are provided for a variety of computer architectures in the following URL:
http://www.netlib.org/lapack/archives/Test suites are provided for the BLAS and LAPACK. It is highly recommended that each of these respective test suites be run prior to the use of the library. A comprehensive installation guide is provided for LAPACK. Refer to the lapack directory on netlib for further information.
We begin this chapter by discussing a set of first-step debugging hints to pinpoint where the problem is occurring. Following these debugging hints, we discuss the types of error messages that can be encountered during the execution of an LAPACK routine. If these suggestions do not help evaluate specific difficulties, we suggest that the user review the following ``bug report checklist'' and then feel free to contact the authors at lapack@cs.utk.edu. The user should tell us the type of machine on which the tests were run, the compiler and compiler options that were used, and details of the BLAS library; also, the user should send a copy of the input file, if appropriate.