[SOLVED] Something full - login looping

syg00 · 12-15-2021, 12:03 AM

From that inxi certainly looks like your system is full. Try this from the live terminal - it will take a while, so don't interrupt it. For the first usage of sudo you'll get some message about causing the end of the world - just hit <Enter> or whatever.

Code:

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
du -hT
sudo du /mnt -xh | sort -hr | head -n 20

Pick an obvious troublemaker, say /mnt/home/jkneex and run the last command again like this

Code:

sudo du /mnt/home/jkneex/ -xh | sort -hr | head -n 20
sudo rm /mnt/home/jkneex/badboy1
sudo rm /mnt/home/jkneex/badboy2

"rm" will delete any file you pass to it - it's on your neck

mrmazda · 12-15-2021, 12:36 AM

Instead of all that repeated typing to find the heavy usage, just make sure ncdu is installed, then after mounting, login as root (if root has its own password) or su -, cd / or cd /home and open ncdu, from which you can navigate according to where directory sizes lead you to find where the space has gone.

syg00 · 12-15-2021, 02:43 AM

Good point if the OP can come to terms with the curses interface. Nice tool.

jkneex · 12-15-2021, 07:49 PM

Thanks Mr Mazda. I don't know what ncdu is and couldn't verify if it is installed.

jkneex · 12-15-2021, 07:51 PM

I tried the coding for emptying some memory. The problem I seemed to run into was naming the user. There are 2 options from the regular login screen which I have circled in red, but neither seems to work. Screen shots...

allend · 12-15-2021, 08:21 PM

You missed a space character when typing this command.

Code:

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

You did not preserve case when typing this command.

Code:

du -hT

computersavvy · 12-15-2021, 08:24 PM

Seem to me you are often missing the ' ' (spaces) in the command lines you type.
To mount that device on /mnt it would be 'sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt' as shown by syg00 above.
I would modify his suggestions to the following

Code:

sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
du -h
sudo du -xh /mnt | sort -hr | head -n 20

NOTE, the spaces MUST be where they are shown to avoid the errors you have gotten earlier.

To know your user name, simply remember either what you logged in as, or alternatively you can do

Code:

echo $USER

to find your username

Remember that often when suggestions are made for which we have no way of knowing the setup on your system we will put in some example words that you are expected to replace with the real values that apply to your system. Typing things exactly as posted may work if it is a valid construct, but also may not. The ones I posted here are valid for almost all systems.

Another thing to remember and learn from.
Almost every command has a help page that can be accessed by (using du as the example) 'man du' which would have told you the T option was not a valid option for your system and thus lead to replacing 'du -hT' with 'du -h'

mrmazda · 12-15-2021, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkneex

I don't know what ncdu is and couldn't verify if it is installed.

Code:

# sudo dpkg -l | grep ncdu
ii  ncdu	1.14.1-1	amd64	ncurses disk usage viewer
# sudo apt show ncdu | grep -A5 cript
Description: ncurses disk usage viewer
 Ncdu is a ncurses-based du viewer. It provides a fast and easy-to-use interface
 through famous du utility. It allows one to browse through the directories and
 show percentages of disk usage with ncurses library.

# sudo apt install ncdu
...

mrmazda · 12-15-2021, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by computersavvy

you can do

Code:

echo $USER

to find your username

whoami is 4 fewer keystrokes, + <RETURN>, to return username.

EDIT
5 fewer. I forgot to count the shift key.

jkneex · 12-15-2021, 11:45 PM

ran into this...

mrmazda · 12-15-2021, 11:54 PM

That's a common result of absent network connectivity. Does /etc/resolv.conf exist? If yes, what does it contain?

jkneex · 12-16-2021, 12:21 AM

From attached, the file called /mnt/home/jimmy/Videos is very big and, given the problem appears to stem from video capture, seems a prime suspect. However, it could not be removed because it is a directory. Any suggestions?

I did two days work on a Libre document without backing up prior to this problem. The Libre document is the main thing I'm hoping to regain access to.

mrmazda · 12-16-2021, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkneex

From attached, the file called /mnt/home/jimmy/Videos is very big and, given the problem appears to stem from video capture, seems a prime suspect. However, it could not be removed because it is a directory. Any suggestions?

Examine the directory's content with ncdu or nc. Likely it has a huge stream capture file besides your other video files.

jkneex · 12-16-2021, 01:05 AM

/etc/resolv.conf : Permission denied

mrmazda · 12-16-2021, 01:53 AM

Login as root, or do su - first, then use viewer. Or prefix your viewer command with sudo.