No space left on device

[davidmint01]

I have Mint running successfully on a tiny old Windows XP computer (Asus Eee 1000HE netbook computer) in LIVE mode on a flash drive. I only use this computer to run RealVNC so I can operate other local (LAN) computers from my living room.

However, tonight it suddenly malfunctioned then gave an error message:

Busybox > initramfs > mount:

"Mounting aufs on /root failed: no space left on device."

Does anyone know why the flash drive would fill up AND what I can delete from Windows to fix it?

Please reply if you actually know about this stuff and have an answer that you feel sure will work for someone (me) with no knowledge of Mint internals. Thanks!

[Mute Ant]

Is your Live Session also persistent? That is, do changes you make survive a reboot? A casper-rw persistence file can run out of space. From Windows you can rename the persistence store file casper-rw to casper-rw-old. That should at least let the stick boot the Mint OS.

If it still fights back, I would look at the amount of working RAM... has it unexpectedly collapsed to 128MiB for example? Windows can tell you that.

[davidmint01]

I renamed casper.rw to casper.rw.old. Now when I boot to Mint I get a "file descriptor error" on device USB 1-3 and get the Busybox prompt again.

I see that besides the file casper.rw there is also a directory casper. In that directory there is a roughly 1 MB file called squashfs. Could this have something to do with things?

Yes, the Live Mint was persisting many customized settings. I wish I understood all these various layers of file systems so I could fix this myself, but all I can do on my own is to restore the original version, losing all of my power settings and other customizations that took so long to find.

I see now that I should have saved an image of the flash drive after I completed each customization or app installation. But I didn't get that advice when I needed it, when I was first setting up Mint on the flash drive.

Also, I have observed that the Live Mint is very inefficient in its use of the flash drive: whenever it needs to store some information, the flash drive is active for many seconds, and sometimes for minutes. It seems that it must write the entire real file system file for each write of a virtual file within it, if you know what I mean. I would install Mint on my hard drive (I have lots of space), but when I started going through the installation there were several scary yet vague questions! I was afraid of ruining the Windows XP system that already exists on the C drive. There was no option to install on the D drive, which I guess is a partition on the hard drive.

Now that I know that Mint works perfectly on this old computer, I would love to install it on the hard drive, if only I could have a multi-boot system that queried me on each boot, so I could go back to Windows XP if I need to.

Can anyone help me further?

[sdibaja]

Have you tried Installing on your USB?
boot with a normal USB installer USB
install to a second USB just like you would with an internal drive.

[davidmint01]

No, I have only installed Live Linux systems using .iso files and unetbootin for Windows.

I did this about for about six versions of Linux and found that Mint worked best on my old Windows XP computer.

What you suggest, installing on the flash drive device, sounds interesting, but also very, very difficult and error-prone for me given my lack of knowledge. Also, it would run slower than the hard drive, and the flash drive would eventually fail (it's a cheap drive as compared with the hard drive).

[davidmint01]

Can anyone else help me? I've returned to using Windows XP, but obviously this is not a good permanent solution to continuing to use this old computer. The hardware is perfect, but the software was made by Microsoft for medium-term profit only.

[AZgl1800]

I didn't see above if the pc in question is 32bit or 64bit,
but assuming that it probably is 32bit, try out MX-17

https://mxlinux.org/download-links

[davidmint01]

Thank you. The computer is 32-bit. MX-17 ISO is over 1 GB in size, so it seems much larger than other distros. Also, its handling of Live mode with persistent storage is unknown. Installing Mint should solve my problems, so I really don't need MX-17, but I thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Can anyone help me install Mint on it, co-booting with the existing Windows XP? This would be perfect for me.

[JerryF]

I would try renaming the old casper file back to the original name. Then try booting the USB flash drive in Compatibility Mode. See if that works.

[davidmint01]

The casper file has always been called "casper". I did try renaming it, but then booting failed. "casper" is a fixed-size file created by the unetbootin program, NOT by Mint.

This posting is an untested guess that failed, not a solution, so I'm NOT marking this Solved!

Still waiting for someone to help me INSTALL Mint on the hard drive as a full-scale OS, alongside Windows XP. It can be done! I just need an expert.

[JerryF]

The casper file has always been called "casper". I did try renaming it, but then booting failed. "casper" is a fixed-size file created by the unetbootin program, NOT by Mint.

Yes, when you renamed it the first time following Mute Ant's suggestion, that's when booting said "file descriptor error". Rename it back to what it was, then try booting in Compatibility Mode. Just thought that you might like to try to salvage the USB flash drive booting so that you could copy your customized settings.

This posting is an untested guess that failed, not a solution, so I'm NOT marking this Solved!

No one is asking you to mark it as solved just yet.

Still waiting for someone to help me INSTALL Mint on the hard drive as a full-scale OS, alongside Windows XP. It can be done! I just need an expert.

When using the installation from a Live DVD/USB of Mint, there is an option to install alongside Windows. You won't need an expert to do this. Mint will do the work for you.

One suggestion: backup anything in Windows XP that is important to you.

[davidmint01]

try booting in Compatibility Mode. Just thought that you might like to try to salvage the USB flash drive booting so that you could copy your customized settings.

I have tried most of the boot options. Compatibility Mode seems to be no different in its behavior on my computer. At this point I'm not interested in restoring the Live Mode, because the persistent storage will only fill up again and again. I want to Install Mint but don't know enough to answer the installation questions!

No one is asking you to mark it as solved just yet.

You are. Your signature says:

"Please edit your original post and add [SOLVED] to the beginning of the Subject Line if your problem has been solved. It helps other members."

This asks me to mark it solved if it is solved. I'm just emphasizing that it has not been solved. At this point, I have been asking for Installation help at every posting. I no longer care about the casper file.

When starting a Live DVD/USB of Mint, there is an option to install alongside Windows. You won't need an expert to do this. Mint will do the work for you.

One might think that. Have you tried it? I did, and I got obscure questions about partitions and stuff that I simply could not answer.

One suggestion: backup up anything in Windows XP that is important to you.

Already done, but as you already know, that only backs up DATA not Windows itself or its customizations. If I lose Windows I can't install it again, because even bare Windows restoration is an iffy process.

Again, I'm looking for someone to sit with me as I try to install Mint alongside Windows XP. I'm willing to go through all the customization again.

No, wait a minute. I'm spending too much time on this. I think I've changed my mind. I'm through with Mint. I'll just keep using the very slow Windows XP. At least it works. I really need to move on with my life.

Thanks everyone for your help, but I GIVE UP.

[JerryF]

You are. Your signature says:

"Please edit your original post and add [SOLVED] to the beginning of the Subject Line if your problem has been solved. It helps other members."

This asks me to mark it solved if it is solved. I'm just emphasizing that it has not been solved. At this point, I have been asking for Installation help at every posting. I no longer care about the casper file.

Many other members put this into their signatures as a reminder that IF your problem is solved, then mark it as solved. My signature will say that each and every time I post.

Your first post asked "Does anyone know why the flash drive would fill up AND what I can delete from Windows to fix it?". Just thought I was trying to help do this.

When starting a Live DVD/USB of Mint, there is an option to install alongside Windows. You won't need an expert to do this. Mint will do the work for you.

One might think that. Have you tried it? I did, and I got obscure questions about partitions and stuff that I simply could not answer.

Actually, no, I haven't tried that option. I only know that others have had an easy time installing Mint using that option.

One suggestion: backup up anything in Windows XP that is important to you.

Already done, but as you already know, that only backs up DATA not Windows itself or its customizations. If I lose Windows I can't install it again, because even bare Windows restoration is an iffy process.

There's a free Windows program that will copy your entire Windows partition. It's called EaseUS. I have used it many times and have not been disappointed.

Again, I'm looking for someone to sit with me as I try to install Mint alongside Windows XP. I'm willing to go through all the customization again.

No, wait a minute. I'm spending too much time on this. I think I've changed my mind. I'm through with Mint. I'll just keep using the very slow Windows XP. At least it works. I really need to move on with my life.

Thanks everyone for your help, but I GIVE UP.

A really good place to start is the documentation from Linux Mint website:
https://linuxmint-installation-guide.re ... stall.html

If you decide to change your mind, we're here.

[karlchen]

Hello, davidmint01.

No, wait a minute. I'm spending too much time on this. I think I've changed my mind. I'm through with Mint. I'll just keep using the very slow Windows XP. At least it works. I really need to move on with my life.

In the end this is your decision. The bad guys (read makers of all kinds of malware) will appreciate your decision to go on using a Windows version, which holds an unknown number of security holes, which no-one will ever fix, because Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP years ago.

About installing Mint alongside Windows:
There is the official Linux Mint installation guide, Linux Mint Installation Guide, which explains in details what to do.
Have you ever tried following this guide step by step?

I have my own theory what the likely answer will be, because you wrote

Again, I'm looking for someone to sit with me as I try to install Mint alongside Windows XP.

How should anyone in this forum sit down with you and perform the installation with you?
In this forum, like in any other forum, we cannot share screens with each other and do online support. How should this work?

What can be done is this:
You start following the the official Linux Mint installation guide, Linux Mint Installation Guide, very carefully.
If you come to a step where you need help, you explain here how far you have got in the installation guide.
You also explain which step causes problems and why as precisely as you can.
We will try to advise how to proceed to the best of our knowledge.
In case this level of support is not sufficient, you should really consider asking someone, whom you know and who is computer savvy enough to follow a written step by step instruction correctly, to support you on premise.

Best regards,
Karl

[AZgl1800]

This is a situation where TeamViewer or other remote helper app can not possibly help you.

once you log off, and start a reboot to install a new OS, TeamViewer is gone.

I have tried to provide remote assistance to people over a telephone and have them talk back to me with what they see,

but, they invariably click on things without telling me, and the whole thing goes in the toilet.

I now refuse to offer any Remote Technical assistance, unless I can use TeamViewer or other login app like AeroAdmin

https://www.lifewire.com/aeroadmin-review-2625152

[davidmint01]

Karl,

Thank you for trying to help, really. I really changed my mind twice here! First, I wanted to simply continue using Live Mint after its persistent storage filled up and its poor design (no expansion) caused it to stop working. Second, I wanted to install Mint, but no one would help me in the way I needed, which is interactively, since I am a beginner in this stuff. Third, I gave up.

The responses in this forum were well-meaning, but not right on topic to give me the help I needed. You should accept that.

"your decision to go on using a Windows version, which holds an unknown number of security holes, which no-one will ever fix, because Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP years ago."

This is a popular misconception. The only new loopholes in XP are for very sophisticated malware. I think I'm reasonably safe because I browse Web only rarely, and never click suspicious links. I have never welcomed a virus onto my computer, except once or twice when I was deliberately unsafe. I have removed all viruses from several computers owned by friends and others who hired me to do so. These people did not know how to avoid infection; I do. (I also receive spam email extremely rarely, maybe one piece per month, because of my safe practices. I do use antivirus programs on my computer but never use antispam solutions for my email.) XP is not yet unsafe for use.

Yes, Microsoft doesn't support XP. But Firefox is still making releases for it, and I'll bet that there would be a fix release for XP if it truly came down with an open door for viruses, which, I emphasize, it does NOT currently have.

"Have you ever tried following this guide step by step?"

Yes. And while the first few steps are easy and obvious, it gets the user bogged down soon after with questions about partitions and other stuff that I just couldn't answer. I do not have the ability to shuffle partitions while keeping Windows safe. That's why I wanted help, but didn't find it here the way I needed it for over a month. I give up now, at least let me give up in peace, okay?

"How should anyone in this forum sit down with you and perform the installation with you?"

An expert would be willing to do a lot more that giving me tangential help, such as untested suggestions. They would commit to working with me, and would know how to guide me to put the entire Mint file system into a file on the XP computer. I don't mean that they would come to my house in Maine.

"In this forum, like in any other forum, we cannot share screens with each other"

I can help someone do complex Windows maintenance by telephone, so I believe that an expert could help me by phone. Or, more slowly, by text description in email or forum.

I wasn't willing to start the installation and depend on a forum that had not proven itself as helpful in such details for other people. I still feel that way, after all these postings over the past month. If there are experts here on Mint AND Windows, they seem to keep themselves hidden.

AGAIN, thank you for all your help, let's give this a rest now. I have no confidence that I can install Mint on this old computer without true expert help in that particular area.

Thank you.

[JerryF]

...
First, I wanted to simply continue using Live Mint after its persistent storage filled up and its poor design (no expansion) caused it to stop working.

The fault of "its poor design" doesn't lie with Mint. It is the way a Live USB flash drive is formatted as FAT32 and is limited with its maximum file size, 4GB.

Second, I wanted to install Mint, but no one would help me in the way I needed,...

It was more like "the way I demanded". From the start, you already had a demanding tone.

Please reply if you actually know about this stuff...

I wasn't willing to start the installation and depend on a forum that had not proven itself as helpful in such details for other people. I still feel that way, after all these postings over the past month. If there are experts here on Mint AND Windows, they seem to keep themselves hidden.

Your statement says a lot. "I wasn't willing..." and "...depend on a forum that had not proven itself..." The members of this forum have been giving detailed information for newbies time after time.

These hidden experts that you speak of are very willing to help, but are not your personal paid support. The members of this forum are volunteer and help because they want/like to. But most people don't respond to demands. You seem to want help your way and no other way. When you ask for help, you need to meet them half way.

The way a forum usually works is that when the person in need is stuck at a certain point, that person asks for guidance and if that person doesn't know what the helper is talking about, ask.

[davidmint01]

You are entitled to your opinions, especially if you have been at this forum for longer than I have, which is what I assume.

I'm sorry if my tone has sounded demanding. It reflected my frustration only. I do realize that this is a volunteer activity for the participants. I have volunteered for years giving advice on programming and other topics on the Web.

David

[JerryF]

I do thank you for that. I appreciate it.

Going forward, is your main objective still to install Mint alongside Windows XP? I checked out the option "Install alongside Windows" and I got to the point where it said that it was going to partition my drive. Windows was going to be around 200GB, Linux around 150GB. Is that the spot you got a little confused about?

I unfortunately was testing on my work computer, so I didn't want to go further and mess it up.

[JerryF]

Here are some screenshots of what I got when I started my Live USB flash drive to start the installation process: (click on each pic to enlarge)

Please disregard that it say "This computer currently has Linux Mint..." Yours should say Windows.

Screenshot from 2018-05-16 22-15-01.png

Then I got this:

Screenshot from 2018-05-16 22-15-34.png

I suggest connecting to your network so that you can download drivers, etc. during the install:

Screenshot from 2018-05-16 22-17-23.png

More to come on next post...