[ubuntu-uk] killed box through /var :P

[Tony Arnold]

Farran,

Farran wrote:
> On Mon, 2008-12-22 at 14:31 +0000, Tony Arnold wrote:
>> Farran,
>>
>> Matthew Wild wrote:
>>
>> >> 4 would it be best to generate an install list from synaptic so I know what
>> >> I've got, and do a clean install with a larger partition? (and how would I
>> >> do this through aptitude command line - I have no gui at all now).
>> > 
>> > dpkg -l > packages.txt
>> > 
>> > However if dpkg is in a bad state, this may not work.
>> > 
>> >> I'm thinking number 4 would be easiest and better for my ubuntu - but I want
>> >> my pc working cos I'm just about to get internet in my room
>> >>
>> > 
>> > If you have backups, and are really in a mess, a clean install isn't
>> > too far-fetched. It can take less time to do that than you'll spend
>> > fixing it. The catch is the going through the configuration and
>> > installation all over again. However I personally reinstall (at least)
>> > every 6 months anyway, and it doesn't really bother me (I enjoy it,
>> > even :) )
>>
>> I agree with Matt. Also during a fresh install you can choose to have
>> /var in a separate partition to /. You may need to use the manual
>> partitioning option.
>>
>> You might also want to consider using Logical Volume Manager (LVM). You
>> will need to read up on it, if you get to grips with it, it will allow
>> you to resize logical volumes (file systems reside in a logical volume
>> as opposed to a physical partition) much more easily.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Tony.
>> -- 
>> Tony Arnold,                        Tel: +44 (0) 161 275 6093
>> Head of IT Security,                Fax: +44 (0) 870 136 1004
>> University of Manchester,           Mob: +44 (0) 773 330 0039
>> Manchester M13 9PL.                 Email: tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk <mailto:tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk>
>>
> 
> cool thanks :D I'm going in in about 20 minutes. I never knew /var was
> so big relatively - so I'll give it a partition. Any other
> /<directories> that should have their own (apart from /home)?

I don;t understand why your /var is so big. Mine is only 677MB on my
desktop. You could run the disk usage analyser and analyse the whole
file system and see where the space is being used.

Regards,
Tony.
-- 
Tony Arnold,                        Tel: +44 (0) 161 275 6093
Head of IT Security,                Fax: +44 (0) 870 136 1004
University of Manchester,           Mob: +44 (0) 773 330 0039
Manchester M13 9PL.                 Email: tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk