Var has 0% disk space and other odd partition issues

[geekomatic]

Hi all,

Really need a Mint wizard!

I'm asking for a friend who is new to Mint. I originally set the desktop up for him a few weeks ago and now he's got trouble I have no idea how to begin to repair.

1) message at boot states "0% space left on /var"

2) disk usage analyzer shows /var nearly full (it was 26% when I gave it to him)

3) system monitor shows /var nearly full as well as no sda1 ?

Other oddities:

When you attempt to right-click a folder (for an example) >open as admin>insert password>hit enter, a flash of Libreoffice's main splash screen pops up and then disappears. No error message and of course the folder doesn't open.

I just tried using Shutter to get grabs of these screens but it errors with, "there was an error determining filename". Details: “”file not found”.

Update doesn’t work because /var is full

Screenshots here:

https://postimg.org/gallery/2o5wcl1vy/

Info on system:

Code: Select all

 System:    Host: dennis-Aspire-TC-780 Kernel: 4.13.0-36-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0)
           Desktop: MATE 1.18.0 (Gtk 3.18.9-1ubuntu3.3)
           Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
Machine:   System: Acer product: Aspire TC-780
           Mobo: Acer model: Aspire TC-780(KBL)
           Bios: American Megatrends v: R02-A3 date: 05/26/2017
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i5-7400 (-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB
           flags: (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) bmips: 24000
           clock speeds: max: 3500 MHz 1: 3000 MHz 2: 3000 MHz 3: 3000 MHz
           4: 3000 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GK208 [GeForce GT 720] bus-ID: 01:00.0
           Display Server: X.Org 1.18.4 drivers: nvidia (unloaded: fbdev,vesa,nouveau)
           Resolution: 1440x900@59.89hz
           GLX Renderer: GeForce GT 720/PCIe/SSE2
           GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 384.111 Direct Rendering: Yes
Audio:     Card-1 NVIDIA GK208 HDMI/DP Audio Controller
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 01:00.1
           Card-2 Intel Sunrise Point-H HD Audio
           driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
           Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.13.0-36-generic
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
           driver: r8169 v: 2.3LK-NAPI port: d000 bus-ID: 02:00.0
           IF: enp2s0 state: down mac: <filter>
           Card-2: Intel Device 24fb driver: iwlwifi bus-ID: 03:00.0
           IF: wlp3s0 state: up speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 2128.4GB (8.5% used)
           ID-1: /dev/sda model: KINGSTON_RBUSNS8 size: 128.0GB
           ID-2: /dev/sdb model: ST2000DM006 size: 2000.4GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 44G used: 8.6G (21%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
           ID-2: /var size: 4.7G used: 4.5G (100%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1
           ID-3: /home size: 1.8T used: 149G (9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb3
           ID-4: swap-1 size: 8.39GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb2
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 45.0C mobo: 29.8C gpu: 0.0:33C
           Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 203 Uptime: 6:58 Memory: 2894.3/7934.6MB
           Init: systemd runlevel: 5 Gcc sys: 5.4.0
           Client: Shell (bash 4.3.481) inxi: 2.2.35 

Where do I begin to sort this one?? Let me know what other info you need to sleuth this.

Thank you in advance for having a look.

Cheers

[Sir Charles]

Let me say at the outset that I am following my own learning curve in Linux and I am still much of a novice but the set up with a fixed size of 4.7G partition for /var seems problematic and if there are any Flatpak applications installed, that space is used up quite rapidly :

ID-1: / size: 44G used: 8.6G (21%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
ID-2: /var size: 4.7G used: 4.5G (100%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1
ID-3: /home size: 1.8T used: 149G (9%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb3
ID-4: swap-1 size: 8.39GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb2

One thing that comes to mind is to clear the already installed .deb files in /var/cache/apt/archives/ but I am not sure how much of a gain in space that would be in this particular case. Or even if it is a right thing to do. Probably the worse consequence of it, is that one wouldn't be able to reinstall a piece of software if there is a need for that without downloading the whole package anew.

Maybe there are other ways to increase the space allocated to /var. Definitely interesting to watch when the wizards will take to action.

Cheers

[WharfRat]

geekomatic,

Do you have an adjacent partition that you can shrink by a few gig in order to extend /var

The other option is to move /var back to a folder in / where you have 30+ gig free.

Also the question that begs to be asked is why a /var/ partition in the first place

You can try Marziano's suggestion but it might be short lived.

[Sir Charles]

You can try Marziano's suggestion but it might be short lived.

Surely the problem will recur with this. Only a short term fix.
Your other suggestions would be definitely the long term solution.

[Pjotr]

No earthly use in having a separate /var, as Marziano and WharfRat already indicated. Wrong partitioning therefore....

/var filling up can have several causes. Flatpaks, but also logs gone amok.

What does baobab show about the contents of /var (which folder is overflowing)? Just type in the terminal: baobab and press Enter.

[thx-1138]

system monitor shows /var nearly full as well as no sda1?

https://askubuntu.com/questions/500359/ ... -partition
& here as well:
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=255507
(To clarify: sda1 -> bios_grub in your set up...)

To make some room, as Marziano said...
sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo apt-get autoclean && sudo apt-get clean
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.old
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.gz
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.1
If there are other logs there with alphanumeric 'extensions', *.2, *.3 etc etc, remove them as well...
After cleaning & rebooting, check if kern.log & syslog grow to be huge in a relatively short time...
this would mean that something is writing lots of stuff in them & would need to be further examined.

You could probably 'steal' some extra space for /var from your swap partition as WharfRat said...
(but it still raises the question of 'why' have it in the first place & complicate your life...)

[geekomatic]

Going on midnight here- will post back tomorrow.

I followed a guide on the partitioning-- hence var as it is-- will dig that up.

back tomorrow

Thanks!

[geekomatic]

dennis@dennis-Aspire-TC-780 ~ $ baobab
The program 'baobab' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt install baobab
dennis@dennis-Aspire-TC-780 ~ $ sudo apt install baobab
[sudo] password for dennis:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
baobab
0 to upgrade, 1 to newly install, 0 to remove and 10 not to upgrade.
Need to get 136 kB of archives.
After this operation, 856 kB of additional disk space will be used.
E: You don't have enough free space in /var/cache/apt/archives/.

Here's disk analyser showing var usage:

https://s10.postimg.org/g9rxc61c9/var-usage.png

The reason for a separate /var is all over the internet. A whole lot of pages about doing so-- I didn't think of it myself. On my own system, I allotted 5GB for var and it's used 1GB-- and I've been running it for a very long time (it's 17.3).

There's something more going on here than just var, such as the "other items" I listed.

I've just run the commands

Code: Select all

To make some room, as Marziano said...
sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo apt-get autoclean && sudo apt-get clean
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.old
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.gz
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.1
If there are other logs there with alphanumeric 'extensions', *.2, *.3 etc etc, remove them as well...
After cleaning & rebooting, check if kern.log & syslog grow to be huge in a relatively short time...
this would mean that something is writing lots of stuff in them & would need to be further examined.

And now have gained back 2gb-- thanks for that.
Of course, if I run baobab now, the files causing issues are likely gone? But here it is anyway:

https://s10.postimg.org/ldnse4h9l/baoba ... leanup.png

Gparted shows swap (8GB & empty) adjacent to var-- so could extend var but as I say, my own is still tiny after years....there's something wrong here beyond var.

[geekomatic]

Right-click>open (anything) as admin>insert password>enter> still showing a flash of the Libreoffice header before disappearing.

Shutter still errors as above.

In Windows, I'd say there's a "file association" error. How to fix? I looked around online and don't see anything obvious (if that's what's wrong).

There's nothing I can find which approximates sfc to repair file issues in Mint?

[thx-1138]

...for the record, sfc fixes corrupted system files, not file associations...but that's another story (or better said, another operating system...)

.config/mimeapps.list is what holds the associations: make sure it has inode/directory=caja-folder-handler.desktop,
and also, that it doesn't contain other possibly erroneous libreoffice associations...
You might also wanna have a look at 'Preferred Applications' in Control Center.
If this behavior still continues, you could also try removing / temporarily backing up elsewhere the .config/libreoffice folder...or purge libreoffice completely and re-install it afterwards.

No idea about Shutter, i don't use it myself, but i stumbled upon this here on the forum:
viewtopic.php?p=859496#p859496

If problems still exist, then i'd recommend making a new account to test if such behavior still occurs...

[Sir Charles]

I've just run the commands

Code: Select all

To make some room, as Marziano said...
sudo apt-get autoremove && sudo apt-get autoclean && sudo apt-get clean
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.old
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.gz
sudo rm -v /var/log/*.1
If there are other logs there with alphanumeric 'extensions', *.2, *.3 etc etc, remove them as well...
After cleaning & rebooting, check if kern.log & syslog grow to be huge in a relatively short time...
this would mean that something is writing lots of stuff in them & would need to be further examined.

And now have gained back 2gb-- thanks for that.
Of course, if I run baobab now, the files causing issues are likely gone? But here it is anyway:

https://s10.postimg.org/ldnse4h9l/baoba ... leanup.png

Gparted shows swap (8GB & empty) adjacent to var-- so could extend var but as I say, my own is still tiny after years....there's something wrong here beyond var.

Hi geekomatic,
The screenshot from baobab that you have linked to shows the content of the (hidden) folder .var in /home/dennis and not that of var in / which is the problematic one. It might be good to look into that folder to see what it is that takes up the space. As mentioned by WharfRat, the cleaning up, as you have done, may just be a short term solution. You would probably still need to do something about that partition. You could run baobab once again and scroll down to var , open it and click on the folders inside to see what is taking up the space.

[geekomatic]

I/we are amateurs.

Is this a reinstall?

Ta

And what of the "other" issues? Admin opens Libreoffice which doesn't open obviously.

[Sir Charles]

Is this a reinstall?

Not necessarily, I would say. I don't know what the others think. Would be good to know.

And what of the "other" issues? Admin opens Libreoffice which doesn't open obviously.

This one, beats me

[WharfRat]

The easy way to determine /var/ usage is with sudo du -hd1 /var|sort -h

If you find a folder using a large amount of space then check that one with, as an example, sudo du -hd1 /var/cache|sort -h

[thx-1138]

...i'd still recommend to first try out with a new user account before going the re-install route. If you decide to re-install:
1) Don't use a separate /var partition again, as everyone above has already said / asked about.
A separate /home is more than enough...this is unneeded for simple desktop systems / non-server environments.
2) bios_grub doesn't need to be 476mb, check the links i referenced above...
3) Since your friend is new to Mint, instruct him to use TimeShift frequently, at least until he/she gets a handle of it...

[Arch_Enemy]

I/we are amateurs.

Is this a reinstall?

Ta

And what of the "other" issues? Admin opens Libreoffice which doesn't open obviously.

It must have associated itself with the admin function somehow, either sudo or something else.

[Sir Charles]

And what of the "other" issues? Admin opens Libreoffice which doesn't open obviously.

.config/mimeapps.list is what holds the associations: make sure it has inode/directory=caja-folder-handler.desktop,
and also, that it doesn't contain other possibly erroneous libreoffice associations...
You might also wanna have a look at 'Preferred Applications' in Control Center.
If this behavior still continues, you could also try removing / temporarily backing up elsewhere the .config/libreoffice folder...or purge libreoffice completely and re-install it afterwards.

Mate.png

[geekomatic]

Okay.

I've figured out a few things since last night.

For unknown reasons, my friend moved folders out of home and onto the desktop. It was causing missing files issues. I've moved them back.

I changed the file associations as directed via control center.

Open as admin now functions correctly. Shutter seems to be good, as well.

Can someone please have a look at the .config / mime apps .list as/since I've done the other steps to point me to any other issues there?

Code: Select all

[Default Applications]
x-scheme-handler/http=firefox.desktop
x-scheme-handler/https=firefox.desktop
x-scheme-handler/ftp=firefox.desktop
x-scheme-handler/chrome=firefox.desktop
text/html=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-htm=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-html=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-shtml=firefox.desktop
application/xhtml+xml=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-xhtml=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-xht=firefox.desktop
application/x-cd-image=gnome-disk-image-mounter.desktop
application/x-msi=firefox.desktop
application/x-extension-IDX=gmusicbrowser.desktop
application/x-extension-itl=mint-user-guide.desktop
audio/mp4=soundconverter.desktop
application/x-extension-drive=caja-folder-handler.desktop
text/plain=xed.desktop
application/x-mswinurl=virtualbox.desktop
application/x-desktop=wine-extension-htm.desktop
x-scheme-handler/about=firefox.desktop
x-scheme-handler/mailto=thunderbird.desktop
application/x-extension-eml=thunderbird.desktop
message/rfc822=thunderbird.desktop
audio/mpeg=vlc.desktop
audio/x-mpegurl=vlc.desktop
audio/x-scpls=vlc.desktop
audio/x-vorbis+ogg=vlc.desktop
audio/x-wav=vlc.desktop
video/mp4=vlc.desktop
video/mpeg=vlc.desktop
video/mp2t=vlc.desktop
video/msvideo=vlc.desktop
video/quicktime=vlc.desktop
video/webm=vlc.desktop
video/x-avi=vlc.desktop
video/x-flv=vlc.desktop
video/x-matroska=vlc.desktop
video/x-mpeg=vlc.desktop
video/x-ogm+ogg=vlc.desktop
image/bmp=xviewer.desktop
image/gif=xviewer.desktop
image/jpeg=xviewer.desktop
image/png=xviewer.desktop
image/tiff=xviewer.desktop
application/pdf=xreader.desktop
application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text=libreoffice-writer.desktop
application/msword=libreoffice-writer.desktop
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document=libreoffice-writer.desktop
application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet=libreoffice-calc.desktop
application/vnd.ms-excel=libreoffice-calc.desktop
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet=libreoffice-calc.desktop
application/x-extension-pif=wine-extension-msp.desktop
inode/directory=caja-folder-handler.desktop
application/x-ms-dos-executable=libreoffice-draw.desktop
application/vnd.symbian.install=wine-extension-msp.desktop
application/x-wine-extension-ini=caja-browser.desktop

[Added Associations]
x-scheme-handler/ftp=firefox.desktop;
x-scheme-handler/chrome=firefox.desktop;
text/html=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-htm=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-html=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-shtml=firefox.desktop;
application/xhtml+xml=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-xhtml=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-xht=firefox.desktop;
application/x-cd-image=gnome-disk-image-mounter.desktop;
application/x-msi=firefox.desktop;
application/x-extension-IDX=xplayer.desktop;vlc.desktop;gmusicbrowser.desktop;
application/x-extension-itl=mint-user-guide.desktop;
audio/mp4=xplayer.desktop;soundconverter.desktop;
application/x-extension-drive=firefox.desktop;caja-browser.desktop;mint-user-guide.desktop;caja-folder-handler.desktop;gdebi.desktop;virtualbox.desktop;wine.desktop;wine-extension-rtf.desktop;wine-extension-hlp.desktop;libreoffice-draw.desktop;caja-autorun-software.desktop;libreoffice-writer.desktop;wine-extension-msp.desktop;
text/plain=gimp.desktop;display-im6.q16.desktop;xviewer.desktop;gnome-disk-image-mounter.desktop;gnome-disk-image-writer.desktop;caja-folder-handler.desktop;caja-browser.desktop;xplayer.desktop;pix.desktop;pix-import.desktop;
application/x-mswinurl=wine.desktop;caja-folder-handler.desktop;firefox.desktop;virtualbox.desktop;
application/x-desktop=firefox.desktop;wine-extension-msp.desktop;gimp.desktop;com.valvesoftware.Steam.desktop;wine-extension-htm.desktop;
audio/mpeg=xplayer.desktop;
audio/x-mpegurl=xplayer.desktop;
audio/x-scpls=xplayer.desktop;
audio/x-vorbis+ogg=xplayer.desktop;
audio/x-wav=xplayer.desktop;
video/mp4=xplayer.desktop;
video/mpeg=xplayer.desktop;
video/mp2t=xplayer.desktop;
video/msvideo=xplayer.desktop;
video/quicktime=xplayer.desktop;
video/webm=xplayer.desktop;
video/x-avi=xplayer.desktop;
video/x-flv=xplayer.desktop;
video/x-matroska=xplayer.desktop;
video/x-mpeg=xplayer.desktop;
video/x-ogm+ogg=xplayer.desktop;
application/x-extension-pif=caja-browser.desktop;wine-extension-msp.desktop;
inode/directory=libreoffice-draw.desktop;
application/x-ms-dos-executable=libreoffice-draw.desktop;
application/vnd.symbian.install=pix.desktop;xplayer.desktop;wine.desktop;wine-extension-msp.desktop;
image/x-deb=caja-autorun-software.desktop;firefox.desktop;wine-extension-vbs.desktop;
application/zip=engrampa.desktop;
application/x-wine-extension-ini=caja-browser.desktop;

Thanks to all of you-- you're just amazingly helpful & it's very much appreciated!

[thx-1138]

For unknown reasons, my friend moved folders out of home and onto the desktop. It was causing missing files issues. I've moved them back.

Heh! Would have never guessed such...

inode/directory=libreoffice-draw.desktop;
application/x-ms-dos-executable=libreoffice-draw.desktop;

From a quick'n'dirty look, remove those ones...
Basically, you can safely remove everything under [Added Associations], and re-associate accordingly afterwards...

[geekomatic]

Basically, you can safely remove everything under [Added Associations], and re-associate accordingly afterwards...

I am guessing that "added" = this is user-added after installation, thus they can be deleted safely?

Also, how are they, "re-associated accordingly afterwards"?

On the moved folders-- yeah, I just suddenly saw that...A lot of things seemed to get fixed with that move back!