apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Archived topics about LMDE 1 and LMDE 2
Locked
bertran

apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by bertran »

After running sudo apt-get dist-upgrade I am told

Code: Select all

After this operation, 180 MB of additional disk space will be used.
E: You don't have enough free space in /var/cache/apt/archives/
. The contents of /var/cache/apt/archives is only lock and partial.

Code: Select all

david@navarra:/var/cache/apt/archives$ ls
lock  partial
So I assume there is a problem with lack of space elsewhere, maybe in /var/cache.

My root partition has 9.77 GB space and is using 9.60 GB. Should I resize it? (Have lots of space in /home.) Or is there some command I should be using to clean up /var/cache &/or any other folders?

(I've been using LMDE for more than a year, comfortable with command line, but unsure here how to proceed.)
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
killer de bug

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by killer de bug »

You should clean /var/cache to have more free space.

You can do it by using the following command :

Code: Select all

apt autoclean

The installation packages still present in the repos will not be deleted.

If this is not enough you can use

Code: Select all

apt clean
All the installation package will be deleted.

These commands have no impact on the software you installed. It only deletes the installation package (.exe for Windows).
bertran

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by bertran »

Thanks killer. After running the commands you suggest the problem persists, getting the same error message.

GParted says I have only 171.69 MB space on / partition. apt-get says I need 180 MB. Maybe there is some other directory in / partition that can be cleaned up?

Also, is it surprising that the / partition filled up? Should I be doing some sort of maintenance to prevent that? I made it ~10 GBs following the recommendation of a how-to when I installed LMDE.
cecar
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 370
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Stenungsund, Sweden

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by cecar »

Sometimes the file .xsession-errors grows huge.

What's the output of:

Code: Select all

ls -lh ~/.xsession-errors
cecar
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 370
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Stenungsund, Sweden

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by cecar »

On the other hand that file is not on your root partition.
eanfrid

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by eanfrid »

Are you sure that our /home is really mounted on its own partition ?

Code: Select all

df -h
killer de bug

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by killer de bug »

I think 10GB is quite small. I use 20GB because I have a 500GB drive so there is a lot of free space.

Nevertheless it seems that running apt clean didn't free any space. Can you see how heavy is /var/cache ?
cecar
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 370
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Stenungsund, Sweden

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by cecar »

Run this command to check and sort your directories by size.

Code: Select all

sudo du -h  --max-depth=1 / | sort -h -r
bertran

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by bertran »

Thanks all! Here are the results of the commands you suggest:

Code: Select all

david@navarra:/usr$ ls -lh ~/.xsession-errors
-rw------- 1 david david 25K Feb 17 15:37 /home/david/.xsession-errors

Code: Select all

david@navarra:~/Desktop$ df -h
Filesystem                                              Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
rootfs                                                  9.8G  9.6G     0 100% /
udev                                                     10M     0   10M   0% /dev
/dev/disk/by-uuid/7014177b-dc6e-45e4-acbc-171c01b9d735  9.8G  9.6G     0 100% /
tmpfs                                                   387M  956K  387M   1% /var/run
tmpfs                                                   5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /var/run/lock
tmpfs                                                   774M   12K  774M   1% /tmp
tmpfs                                                   774M  596K  774M   1% /var/run/shm
/dev/sda5                                               485M   59M  401M  13% /boot
/dev/sda8                                               278G   77G  187G  30% /home

Code: Select all

david@navarra:~/Desktop$ sudo du -h  --max-depth=1 / | sort -h -r
[sudo] password for david: 
du: cannot access `/proc/3253/task/3253/fd/4': No such file or directory
du: cannot access `/proc/3253/task/3253/fdinfo/4': No such file or directory
du: cannot access `/proc/3253/fd/4': No such file or directory
du: cannot access `/proc/3253/fdinfo/4': No such file or directory
82G	/
73G	/home
8.1G	/usr
588M	/var
457M	/lib
188M	/opt
57M	/boot
31M	/etc
12M	/sbin
9.0M	/bin
4.2M	/lib32
536K	/root
20K	/tmp
16K	/lost+found
8.0K	/media
4.0K	/srv
4.0K	/selinux
4.0K	/.pulse
4.0K	/mnt
4.0K	/lib64
0	/sys
0	/proc
0	/dev
It looks like /usr is the culprit... What should I be looking for now? Using du in /usr I get:

Code: Select all

david@navarra:/usr$ sudo du --max-depth=1 -h
3.0G	./lib
420M	./bin
29M	./sbin
88M	./lib32
44M	./include
588K	./local
4.5G	./share
15M	./games
127M	./src
8.1G	.
bertran

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by bertran »

I've looked in /usr/lib and /usr/share. It all looks like normal stuff. Should I be uninstalling packages I don't need? Or am I wrong and some of this is bloated?

Is there any harm in enlarging the root partition with GParted? (I had been thinking there would be a better fix: getting rid of unnecessary buildup somewhere.)

Code: Select all

david@navarra:/usr/lib$ sudo du --max-depth=1 -h | sort -h -r
3.0G	.
665M	./x86_64-linux-gnu
288M	./libreoffice
277M	./ghc
154M	./gcc
142M	./python2.7
102M	./python2.6
95M	./jvm
93M	./kde4
89M	./valgrind
86M	./chromium
74M	./haskell-packages
37M	./mono
27M	./smlnj
27M	./gcj
22M	./python3.2
20M	./ruby
19M	./perl
19M	./flashplugin-nonfree
18M	./xscreensaver
17M	./debug
15M	./pymodules
13M	./vlc
12M	./perl5
9.9M	./lapack
8.5M	./git-core
8.3M	./cli
7.6M	./ure
7.4M	./ghc-doc
7.3M	./xorg
7.3M	./pyshared
7.0M	./gstreamer-0.10
6.8M	./openbabel
6.7M	./gnash
6.7M	./evolution
4.4M	./p7zip
4.3M	./girepository-1.0
4.0M	./goffice
3.7M	./apache2
3.5M	./purple-2
3.4M	./libffado2
3.4M	./ImageMagick-6.6.9
3.3M	./xine
3.3M	./ImageMagick-6.6.0
3.3M	./avogadro
3.1M	./locale
2.9M	./htdig
2.6M	./mate-keyring
2.6M	./gnome-keyring
2.5M	./cups
2.4M	./pulse-2.0
2.4M	./gthumb
2.2M	./telepathy
2.2M	./grub
2.2M	./gedit
1.9M	./python3
1.9M	./odbc
1.9M	./aspell
1.7M	./ladspa
1.5M	./evolution-data-server
1.4M	./totem
1.4M	./gvfs
1.4M	./control-center-1
1.3M	./csound
1.2M	./htdig_db
1.2M	./gdm3
1.2M	./firefox-addons
1.1M	./qjackctl
1.1M	./mozilla
1.1M	./gnome-settings-daemon-3.0
1.1M	./gegl-0.0
864K	./evince
860K	./gobject-introspection
852K	./hal
824K	./gnome-shell
824K	./cinnamon
792K	./rpm
776K	./tracker-0.14
776K	./tracker-0.12
772K	./strigi
760K	./linux-kbuild-3.2
756K	./tracker-0.10
756K	./qt4
756K	./linux-kbuild-2.6.39
744K	./linux-kbuild-3.0.0
712K	./rsyslog
704K	./compiz
692K	./tomboy
680K	./ldscripts
648K	./graphviz
644K	./pidgin
644K	./libblas
620K	./samba
600K	./gnome-applets
588K	./lp_solve
548K	./nautilus
536K	./cinnamon-settings
532K	./gnome-vfs-2.0
520K	./WindowMaker
508K	./gnupg2
500K	./speech-dispatcher-modules
488K	./mate-vfs-2.0
480K	./nautilus-actions
480K	./gnome-panel
464K	./udisks
448K	./seed
448K	./ModemManager
448K	./klibc
444K	./codecs
444K	./apt
440K	./seed-gtk3
436K	./file-roller
420K	./ggi
408K	./soprano
404K	./X11
396K	./libquicktime1
368K	./brasero3-1
356K	./openssh
336K	./matecomponent
324K	./NetworkManager
312K	./vino
300K	./packagekit
292K	./dbus-1.0
280K	./sudo
268K	./pm-utils
268K	./gnupg
264K	./MateConf
256K	./gtk-sharp-beans
244K	./orbit-2.0
240K	./imlib2
240K	./bonobo
236K	./ssl
232K	./dpkg
224K	./tracker-0.8
224K	./gjs-1.0
220K	./notify-osd
216K	./pppd
216K	./GNUstep
204K	./gnome-settings-daemon
196K	./matecorba-2.0
196K	./man-db
196K	./hardinfo
192K	./kconf_update_bin
188K	./xmms2
188K	./xchat
184K	./webkit-1.0-2
184K	./w3m
180K	./gtk-2.0
180K	./cgi-bin
168K	./cmus
160K	./obexd
156K	./moc
156K	./blt2.4
152K	./sane
148K	./upower
148K	./mime
148K	./enchant
144K	./nautilus-sendto
140K	./silc
140K	./folks
140K	./emacs
136K	./libglade
132K	./at-spi2-core
128K	./accountsservice
124K	./tc
124K	./eog
124K	./cinnamon-menu-editor
116K	./mailutils
116K	./gnome-bluetooth
112K	./gdm
108K	./cups-pk-helper
108K	./bonobo-activation
104K	./giver
100K	./ghostscript
96K	./babl-0.0
92K	./sushi
88K	./m17n
84K	./apg
80K	./notification-daemon
80K	./mate-vfs
80K	./ConsoleKit
80K	./ao
76K	./pkcs11
76K	./compizconfig
72K	./psutils
72K	./gnome-screensaver
68K	./os-probes
68K	./binfmt-support
68K	./apr-util-1
64K	./mutter
64K	./muffin
64K	./groff
64K	./emacsen-common
64K	./caja
60K	./GraphicsMagick-1.3.16
56K	./speech-dispatcher
56K	./pkgconfig
56K	./libpeas-1.0
56K	./gnome-disk-utility
52K	./timidity
52K	./gettext
52K	./dirmngr
48K	./policykit-1-gnome
44K	./lsb
44K	./gnome-user-share
44K	./akonadi
40K	./gnome-online-accounts
40K	./dconf
36K	./seahorse
36K	./policykit-1
36K	./openvpn
36K	./matecomponent-2.0
36K	./gtk-3.0
36K	./grub-legacy
32K	./webkitgtk-3.0-0
32K	./webkitgtk-1.0-0
32K	./update-notifier
28K	./user-setup
28K	./racket
28K	./linux-boot-probes
28K	./lilypond
28K	./gnome-session
24K	./ntrack
20K	./rpm-plugins
20K	./pulseaudio
20K	./mcs
20K	./libvte9
20K	./libvte-2.90-9
20K	./libgnome-window-settings1
20K	./gnome-sushi
20K	./glib-networking
20K	./dkms
16K	./rcc
16K	./openbox
16K	./libgksu
16K	./guile-1.8
16K	./gcr
16K	./eject
12K	./utempter
12K	./ppr
12K	./os-prober
12K	./midbrowser
12K	./liblucene2-java
12K	./iceweasel
12K	./glade3
12K	./gjs
12K	./firefox
12K	./cruft
12K	./coreutils
12K	./avahi
8.0K	./xulrunner-addons
8.0K	./xulrunner
8.0K	./tmpfiles.d
8.0K	./songbird-addons
8.0K	./software-properties
8.0K	./sasl2
8.0K	./nmap
8.0K	./ispell
8.0K	./iceape
8.0K	./ghc-7.0.3
8.0K	./ghc-7.0.2
8.0K	./flock-addons
4.0K	./security
4.0K	./i386-linux-gnu
4.0K	./gold-ld
4.0K	./compat-ld
4.0K	./cecilia

Code: Select all

david@navarra:/usr/share$ sudo du --max-depth=1 -h | sort -h -r
4.5G	.
1.4G	./doc
558M	./locale
543M	./icons
262M	./racket
225M	./kde4
191M	./wallpapers
152M	./sounds
100M	./fonts
98M	./gnome
70M	./tesseract-ocr
65M	./emacs
56M	./help
43M	./hydrogen
42M	./texmf
42M	./pyshared
41M	./texlive
41M	./man
35M	./java
33M	./midi
33M	./linuxmint
31M	./app-install
30M	./backgrounds
26M	./vim
20M	./perl
19M	./xml
19M	./themes
19M	./foomatic
17M	./perl5
15M	./libgweather
15M	./edict
14M	./gimp
14M	./gconf
13M	./libreoffice
13M	./i18n
13M	./cups
12M	./poppler
12M	./nmap
12M	./hplip
11M	./abiword-2.9
7.3M	./m17n
7.2M	./GeoIP
7.1M	./lilypond
6.8M	./terminfo
6.2M	./tcltk
6.1M	./pixmaps
6.1M	./mime
5.7M	./gutenprint
5.6M	./X11
5.5M	./dvdstyler
5.3M	./modconf
5.0M	./groff
4.6M	./ghostscript
4.5M	./liblouis
4.3M	./qt4
4.3M	./cecilia
4.1M	./webkitgtk-3.0
4.1M	./mime-info
4.0M	./zoneinfo
4.0M	./webkitgtk-1.0
4.0M	./aptitude
3.7M	./info
3.3M	./omf
3.3M	./gtk-doc
3.3M	./cinnamon
3.1M	./applications
2.8M	./gnome-control-center
2.7M	./grub
2.5M	./webkit-1.0
2.5M	./javascript
2.2M	./file
2.1M	./gthumb
2.1M	./gettext
2.0M	./yelp-xsl
2.0M	./compiz
1.9M	./vlc
1.9M	./openbabel
1.9M	./gnome-shell
1.8M	./lintian
1.8M	./link-grammar
1.8M	./guile
1.8M	./gnome-power-manager
1.8M	./foo2zjs
1.7M	./bash-completion
1.6M	./WindowMaker
1.6M	./gpac
1.5M	./synaptic
1.5M	./hwdata
1.5M	./csound
1.5M	./consolefonts
1.5M	./bug
1.4M	./m2300w
1.4M	./hal
1.4M	./brasero
1.3M	./avogadro
1.2M	./sgml
1.2M	./gtksourceview-3.0
1.2M	./dbus-1
1.1M	./xine
1.1M	./media-player-info
1004K	./cli-common
992K	./gtksourceview-2.0
984K	./glib-2.0
976K	./gnuplot
952K	./libtextcat
928K	./lirc
928K	./dict
872K	./transmission
848K	./emoticons
844K	./xscreensaver
820K	./misc
800K	./audacious
756K	./polkit-1
752K	./subtitleeditor
748K	./stk
740K	./ontology
736K	./libgphoto2
696K	./hunspell
660K	./ca-certificates
656K	./vmpk
648K	./seahorse
640K	./google-gadgets
620K	./desktop-directories
588K	./maven-repo
580K	./system-tools-backends-2.0
580K	./qalculate
576K	./audacity
552K	./notify-osd
548K	./libthai
540K	./libexttextcat
532K	./menu
516K	./nautilus-actions
516K	./aiksaurus
512K	./snmp
512K	./bison
504K	./ncat
504K	./gnome-system-tools
484K	./gnome-panel
464K	./mx
452K	./strigi
444K	./ufw
444K	./alsa
436K	./ogmrip
416K	./lib
412K	./gnome-applets
412K	./calendar
408K	./lensfun
400K	./gnome-media
384K	./xmms2
384K	./djvu
376K	./gcalctool
360K	./gedit
340K	./samba
340K	./mplayer
336K	./gnupg2
332K	./nm-applet
332K	./gnome-doc-utils
328K	./gtkhtml-4.0
328K	./gtkhtml-3.14
324K	./screen
324K	./gtk-engines
324K	./gobject-introspection-1.0
320K	./libquvi-scripts
320K	./hardinfo
316K	./gitweb
316K	./eog
308K	./yelp
308K	./goffice
308K	./aclocal
296K	./gcj
292K	./python
292K	./evince
284K	./mimelnk
284K	./aspell
276K	./obconf
272K	./idl
272K	./debhelper
264K	./mobile-broadband-provider-info
264K	./doc-base
248K	./gnome-terminal
240K	./openscad
232K	./gdebi
228K	./initramfs-tools
224K	./quvi
224K	./gtkmathview
224K	./gdb
224K	./cowsay
216K	./gnome-nettool
212K	./tomboy
208K	./common-licenses
204K	./sushi
204K	./ots
204K	./ladspa
200K	./emacs23
200K	./apt-xapian-index
196K	./python3
196K	./get_iplayer
192K	./templates
192K	./pulseaudio
192K	./libwacom
188K	./totem
188K	./gjs-1.0
184K	./cheese
180K	./ppd
176K	./GConf
176K	./gaupol
176K	./cogl
172K	./wwwconfig-common
172K	./ImageMagick-6.6.0
168K	./rdesktop
168K	./file-roller
168K	./cvs
164K	./games
160K	./mibs
156K	./zenity
156K	./gdm
156K	./alacarte
152K	./gnome-ppp
144K	./wajig
140K	./simple-scan
140K	./graphviz
136K	./python-support
136K	./happy
132K	./defoma
132K	./akonadi
128K	./software-properties
128K	./python-apt
128K	./libsocialweb
124K	./nano
124K	./gnash
120K	./libavogadro
120K	./git-core
116K	./libvisual-plugins-0.4
116K	./gnome-mag
112K	./WINGs
112K	./ImageMagick-6.6.9
112K	./consoletrans
108K	./ImageMagick-6.7.7
108K	./gnome-js
108K	./autostart
104K	./mateconf
104K	./gvfs
100K	./speech-dispatcher
100K	./rubygems-integration
100K	./pkgconfig
100K	./intltool-debian
100K	./avifile-0.7
100K	./alex-3.0.1
88K	./haddock-2.10.0
84K	./awk
80K	./giver
72K	./seed-gtk3
72K	./seed
68K	./librarian
68K	./gstreamer-properties
64K	./tools
60K	./keyrings
56K	./nautilus
56K	./gnome-settings-daemon
56K	./caribou
56K	./apport
56K	./application-registry
52K	./mono-2.0
52K	./gnome-session
52K	./gnome-bluetooth
52K	./gconf-editor
52K	./command-not-found
48K	./moc
48K	./gst-plugins-base
48K	./gnome-system-monitor
48K	./console-setup
48K	./baobab
44K	./xsessions
44K	./w3m
44K	./soprano
44K	./pycentral-data
44K	./pam
44K	./gnome-vpn-properties
44K	./ffmpeg
44K	./dpkg
44K	./cryptui
40K	./vino
40K	./purple
40K	./po-debconf
40K	./PackageKit
40K	./insserv
36K	./texinfo
36K	./nautilus-sendto
36K	./mousetweaks
36K	./gnome-dictionary
36K	./dictionaries-common
32K	./libparse-debianchangelog-perl
32K	./gnome-user-share
32K	./cmus
32K	./base-files
28K	./telepathy
28K	./mate-keyring
28K	./libgnome-media-profiles
28K	./libgnomekbd
28K	./libgksu
28K	./gnome-background-properties
28K	./gdict-1.0
28K	./gcr-3
28K	./farstream
28K	./debconf
24K	./pnm2ppa
24K	./mategcr
24K	./MateConf
24K	./gstreamer-0.10
24K	./gnome-system-log
24K	./gcr
24K	./color
24K	./apps
20K	./vte
20K	./unattended-upgrades
20K	./thumbnailers
20K	./texlive-bin
20K	./tabset
20K	./ppp
20K	./pam-configs
20K	./netpbm
20K	./nautilus-share
20K	./mate-background-properties
20K	./mate-2.0
20K	./libffado2
20K	./ksh
20K	./GraphicsMagick-1.3.16
20K	./gnome-screenshot
20K	./gnome-2.0
20K	./ecasound
20K	./discover
20K	./cdrdao
20K	./binfmts
20K	./aptdaemon
20K	./alsa-base
16K	./usb_modeswitch
16K	./unrar-free
16K	./sgml-base
16K	./libnm-gtk
16K	./indi
16K	./htdig
16K	./gnupg
16K	./foo2qpdl
16K	./firefox
16K	./dvdauthor
16K	./dconf-editor
16K	./cmake
16K	./avahi
16K	./apt-file
16K	./applnk
12K	./xml-core
12K	./sysvinit
12K	./sgml-data
12K	./os-prober
12K	./mutter
12K	./muffin
12K	./metacity
12K	./man-db
12K	./linux-sound-base
12K	./iptables
12K	./initscripts
12K	./gnome-sound-recorder
12K	./glade3
12K	./evolution-data-server-3.4
12K	./directfb-1.2.10
12K	./build-essential
12K	./browserscripts
12K	./base-passwd
12K	./acpi-support
8.0K	./update-notifier
8.0K	./tex-common
8.0K	./sysv-rc
8.0K	./ssl-cert
8.0K	./readline
8.0K	./pyshared-data
8.0K	./printer-driver-escpr
8.0K	./openvpn
8.0K	./numpy
8.0K	./mono
8.0K	./libvirtodbc0
8.0K	./libc-bin
8.0K	./libaudio2
8.0K	./jackd
8.0K	./installation-report
8.0K	./gksu
8.0K	./enchant
8.0K	./debianutils
8.0K	./alien
8.0K	./adduser
4.0K	./services
4.0K	./libsensors4
4.0K	./dotnet
killer de bug

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by killer de bug »

I am still interested in /var/cache to see how heavy are the archives.
Nevertheless you can maybe look for the kernels. In synaptics, you should see several kernels and some are very old. You can delete some of them. Keep only the last 2.
You could free enough space to install everything.

You should maybe resize your / but be careful :wink:
cecar
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 370
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:47 am
Location: Stenungsund, Sweden

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by cecar »

To me it just looks like you have installed quite a few programs and maybe need to make your root partition bigger.
eanfrid

Re: apt-get dist-upgrade problem with /var/cache (?)

Post by eanfrid »

Yep, you did install many packages (maybe some of them are obsolete or useless). So /usr/lib and /usr/share use both up to 75% of your system partition. You should grow your "/" partition up to 15GB or even 20GB if you have yet to install more packages.
Locked

Return to “LMDE Archive”