On Saturday 03 November 2012 20:14:55 Bret Busby wrote: > On Sat, 3 Nov 2012, Bret Busby wrote: > > Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 13:41:53 > > From: Bret Busby <b...@busby.net> > > To: debian-user@lists.debian.org > > Subject: Re: Problem with system update or something > > Resent-Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 05:44:11 +0000 (UTC) > > Resent-From: debian-user@lists.debian.org > > > > On Sat, 3 Nov 2012, Bret Busby wrote: > >> Hello. > >> > >> I am running (or, now, kind of running) Debian 6.0.x AMD64 version. > >> > >> I have done a system update in the last day or so, and, possibly because > >> of that, the system has become mostly unusable. > >> > >> Upon shutting down konqueror, all of the saved bookmarks were deleted. > >> > >> With rebooting, rebooting has been consuming about 200MB of disk space > >> on each reboot, leaving me now with somewhere around 2-6MB of free disk > >> space (it changes on each reboot), and, for some strange reason, trying > >> to run a web browser (not saving anything to disk, just trying to run a > >> web browser) writes stuff to the disk, or, otherwise uses up free disk > >> space, so that it runs out of free disk space and crashes the system. > >> > >> Now, with an AMD64 system, with 8GB of RAM, and tens of GB of disk > >> capacity (in the home partition), all that it is usable for, is running > >> alpine. > >> > >> What is happening, that Debian, after the update, is wrecking the > >> system? > >> > >> It is as if Debian 6 has assumed the nature of the "experimental" > >> version of Debian - tending to break the system. > >> > >> -- > >> Bret Busby > >> Armadale > >> West Australia > >> .............. > >> > >> "So once you do know what the question actually is, > >> you'll know what the answer means." > >> - Deep Thought, > >> Chapter 28 of Book 1 of > >> "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > >> A Trilogy In Four Parts", > >> written by Douglas Adams, > >> published by Pan Books, 1992 > >> .................................................... > > > > It has occurred to me, that this ivolves multiple problems or symptoms. > > > > 1. The operating system and/or the web browsers ignore the swap > > partition, and simply progressivley consume the RAM, until none is left > > free to be used, causing system crashes. No known reason is shown for > > this, and checks have been done, and all of the settings appear to be > > correct for causing swapping to occur; it simply does not occur, and the > > system progresively runs out of memory, until it crashes. > > > > 2. The web browsers (konqueror and opera) progressively consume available > > free disk space in the home partition, until that runs out, regardless of > > whether I am saving any files. The malware javascript is enabled in > > opera, because I need it for an online application, and it is disabled in > > konqueror and the other web browsers that I have used (but, that I have > > not used for some months now, such as iceape and iceweasel and epihphany, > > due to the overall system instability). > > > > 3. When I used the kill button "Click on the application window to cause > > the application to quit", after rebooting, if that is done to opera > > and/or konqueror, hundreds of megabytes of disk space in the home > > directory, are freed. > > > > 4. When I last used that to kill opera, on reloading opera, it did not > > eith restart as the crashed session, or, offer an option to do that > > (software appears to be erratic in this and other things). > > > > 5. When I closed down konqueror, with an orderly closure, it deleted all > > of my bookmarks within it. > > > > 6. After having killed opera as described in 3 above, about 200MB of disk > > space in the /home partition, was freed, that showed as being free after > > rebooting the system. > > > > 7. However, after rebooting after 6 above, opera was behaving as if it > > was running in about 640kB of RAM - it was unresponsive, so, the system > > was rebooted, and the 200MB of free space in the home partrition, was > > consumed by the reboot. > > > > 8. I do not know how to cause space consumed by downloaded files, in a > > system update, to be automatically freed, by purging either the files > > downloaded in the system update, and or any files or other disk space > > consumed by the update process, or, the predecessors of the files > > downloaded in the sytem update. I assume (but am not sure) that they > > occupy space within the Downloads directory within the home partition. > > > > 9. Thus, the system (Debian 6.0.x AMD64 version) appears to have > > degenerated to the status of the Debian version that is named "Sid", or, > > experimental - said to be unreliable, erratic, unstable, and, likely > > harmful. > > > > 9. This AMD64 system with 8GB of RAM and tens of GB in the home > > partition, is now giving me about the same performance as my XT clone (it > > has an NEC V22 processor) running DOS (I think it was last DR-DOS 5 or 6, > > but I am not sure)used to give; all that I can now run on this system, is > > alpine, and the download speed is about the same, even though, before > > this trouble, I could get download speeds of about 1MB per second, on > > this system .I would probably be using my XT clone, but it is kind of > > buried under other junk, and, the HDD (10MB with a stepper motor) ended > > up needing to be kickstarted every time that the system was booted. > > > > -- > > Bret Busby > > Armadale > > West Australia > > .............. > > > > "So once you do know what the question actually is, > > you'll know what the answer means." > > - Deep Thought, > > Chapter 28 of Book 1 of > > "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > > A Trilogy In Four Parts", > > written by Douglas Adams, > > published by Pan Books, 1992 > > .................................................... > > Please "CC" any replies to my gamil account address; > bret.bu...@gmail.com, as this system can no longer run alpine; it shows > as now having less than 100kB of free disk space.
Have you tested the HDD and RAM? Or, come to that, any of the hardware? Lisi -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/201211032042.28866.lisi.re...@gmail.com