"Fatal IO error 104 (connection reset by peer)" stops Mandriva starting

Hello all

I've been having a few problems recently with using USB devices.

Today, I detatched one and then shut down the computer. When I turned it back on later I found that Linux would no longer boot and instead I was presented with this message and the prompt:

"Fatal IO error 104 (connection reset by peer_ on X Server "0.0"

after 0 requests (0 known processed) with 0 events remaining"

It also tells me to consult the "var/xorg.0.log" for more information, but as my linux knowledge is still very reliant on the graphical front end I don't know how to do this.

When I try to run the command "StartX" it tries to start linux, mentions something about the fonts being messed up and then goes back to the command prompt.

What is the quickest and most painless way for me to get Mandriva up and running again?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Dave

Originally Posted by NoobDave It also tells me to consult the "var/xorg.0.log" for more information, but as my linux knowledge is still very reliant on the graphical front end I don't know how to do this.

Are you sure it didn't say /var/log/xorg.0.log?
If this is what it said, as root type

less /var/log/xorg.0.log

and you can use "page up" and "page down" to navigate the file. To find out a lot of other things you can do in less, consult its man pages.

If I was wrong about where this file is and you can't find it, use the following two commands as root:

locate xorg.0.log
find / -name "xorg.0.log"

If it works, the first command is a lot faster and you don't need to use the second command. If the first fails, try the second, but realize it might take it a while. (note the spaces before & after the slash in the second command.)

Quickest way I have found to fix such problems is to reinstall but choose not to format hda6 or where-ever you keep the user records. 1/2 hour and Bobs ur uncle

Hi guys

Thanks so much for your advice.

I will try both pieces of advice offered this evening.

Dave

PS

This is probably the most helpful forum i've encountered in my 11 years of using the internet. I guarantee as soon as I know what I'm doing in Linux I will offer help when I can. Thanks again for your help - my transition to Linux would have been much more difficult without this forum.

I am a bit dubious about reinstallation as I've just got it all running and looking as I like. I tried running an upgrade installation from my CD and this didn't solve any problems.

On reading the Xorg.0.log, the end error part says:

"Could not init font patn element unix/:-1, removing from list

Fatal Server Error:
Could not open font 'fixed'"

and then a little message telling me to consult the X.org foundation

Does this shed any light on to what is causing my computer so much trouble?

Thanks again for all of your help

Dave

Not formatting the user partition will mean all your settings for each user will remain.

Only any changes to root user will be reset to default and choose a complete new install its a lot quicker and the stuff will get changed .

An upgrade will not fix corrupt files. You'll waste weeks otherwise Trust me .

Originally Posted by NoobDave I am a bit dubious about reinstallation as I've just got it all running and looking as I like. I tried running an upgrade installation from my CD and this didn't solve any problems.

I am of the school that thinks you generally don't reinstall unless you're upgrading, your computer has been compromised or suffered massive disk corruption, or you seriously don't like the installation choices you made. If your /home directory is on its own partition, you can probably safely do what tytower suggests. Just make sure your installation doesn't overwrite that partition. (I am not familiar with the Madriva installer.) To be ulra cautious, backup that partition to another computer first. If you have another Linux computer networked that is running sshd, I can tell you how to do that. (I have no idea with an MS computer!) Depending upon the size requirement, you could also back up to a usb flash drive or CD.

Also realize that while the indivual user settings will survive the above procedure, any changes you've made to configuration files in /etc or elsewhere on the main partition will not survive.

On reading the Xorg.0.log, the end error part says: "Could not init font patn element unix/:-1, removing from list Fatal Server Error: Could not open font 'fixed'" and then a little message telling me to consult the X.org foundation Does this shed any light on to what is causing my computer so much trouble?

See if this thread helps. I've glanced at it but not tried to digest it.

You also might look into trying to reinstall the fonts. I believe Madriva uses rpm for package management. If so, you can use

rpm -qa | grep -i font

to try to figure out the relevant package(s). Your distro might already have a log file listing all of the installed packages (done as a daily cron job). If so, searching this would be faster.

EDIT: Instead of reinstalling a package, it would be easier to simply verify it first or verify all packages:

rpm --verify package-name
rpm --verify --all

Hi everyone

Thanks so much for your help. I've fixed the problem now. After verifying the packages and even attempting to reinstall the fonts with RPM the problem still persisted so I eventually bit the bullet and reinstalled Linux.

Everything is fine now and the reason I was dubious was because I was still thinking in a Windows way. That is I keep forgetting about how differently the disks are partitioned. As was suggested in previous posts, no important information was lost or damaged and everything is now working great.

Thanks for everyone's help and input and I'm very glad I've swithced to Linux.

Dave

[Sorry. This was an extra post. I meant to edit it and double-posted.]

I solved a similar problem without re-installing. Here's the post:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...3/#post3007002