Computer is slowing down

Sat Dec 7 22:20:25 UTC 2013

On Saturday 07 December 2013 16:46:30 John R. Sowden did opine:

> On 12/07/2013 03:50 AM, Gene Heskett wrote:
> > On Saturday 07 December 2013 06:49:51 John R. Sowden did opine:
> >> On 12/04/2013 01:54 AM, John R. Sowden wrote:
> >>> I have been using the same computer (Pentium 4 3.0GHz 1GB RAM
> >>> (shared 875 MB for non-video use) 1.5GB swap, 13.10 xubuntu/xfce
> >>> desktop) for several years, and its been working fine.  Click on an
> >>> icon, the program executes right away, etc.
> >>> 
> >>> In the last year, the system seems to have been slowing down.  It
> >>> takes 2-3 seconds from a click on an icon until the program starts
> >>> to execute (not up and running).  I am wondering if xubuntu is
> >>> getting bigger and bigger, taking more ram (I assume that is the
> >>> issue) without letting us know that requirements are changing.  I
> >>> also am wondering if more non-essential programs are being added to
> >>> the install that are running in ram, that are not necessarily
> >>> needed.
> >>> 
> >>> Any thoughts?
> >>> 
> >>> John
> >> 
> >> Ok, lots of ideas, so after some checking, here goes:
> >> question re: root dir: 19 directories, no files, 5 links to init.rd,
> >> vmlinuz, vmlinuz.old, libnss.  these seem current
> >> (latest version).
> >> have I run top? no (thought that was sys monitor in console mode):
> >> 179 tasks running, most sleeping, 896MB ram, 179MB free.
> >> which cpu: 32 bit pent 4
> >> run "df -h": sda7 (mounted at root) 94% used 1.2GB free
> > 
> > This is bad, what partition is it, as in mount point?
> > 
> >> could not find how to read SMART data (looked in gparted-no)
> >> System Monitor: (with firefox running and thunderbird running)
> >> cpu1 5%, cpu2 11% memory 55% flat line (no change), swap: 6% flat
> >> line-no change
> >> processed: running evolution (isn't that a mail program?-I don't use
> >> it). why is 'pulse audio "h=very high priority?  all processes show
> >> 0% cpu (doesn't seem right)
> >> ---------------------
> >> what I am questioning is: what's changed.  My use hasn't, so all I
> >> can think of of code bloat, uh, I mean program upgrades.  Does
> >> ubuntu let us know about additional ram requirements with new
> >> versions or other upgrades?
> >> 
> >> I think that is about it.  Thanks for all the input.
> >> 
> >> John
> > 
> > Cheers, Gene
> 
> I ran sudo apt-get autoclean and sudo apt-get autoclean from the ubuntu
> support page referenced in one of the answers.   it mainly got rid of a
> lot of perl lib files (hope that is not a problem).
> then I ran df -h  results:
> 
> Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
> /dev/sda7        20G   17G  2.0G  90% /
> none            4.0K     0  4.0K   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
> udev            426M   12K  426M   1% /dev
> tmpfs            88M  1.1M   87M   2% /run
> none            5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
> none            438M  164K  438M   1% /run/shm
> none            100M   28K  100M   1% /run/user
> /dev/sda8        15G  8.0K   15G   1% /media/secure
> /dev/sda9       4.2G  128M  4.1G   4% /mnt/e
> 
> which partition is /sda7? I assume that is a partition name (device=sda,
> partition 7)
> 
> John

/dev/sda7 (which I am assuming winderz is taking the lower numbers) is your 
anchor partition on the drive. 2G's to spare is a little tight, but I note 
2 other items.

1. No swap at all, so if you run out of memory, and ISTR you said 1 
gigabyte of ram, which is also pretty tight for a do-all machine, means its 
got no place to stash what it has to kick out of ram just to allow you to 
load an image into gimp from your new 10 megapixel camera, which by the 
time gimp has decoded that cameras .jpg formated file into data it can 
actually work with, could conceivably eat 200 megs of local dram as a 
buffer.  I can't help but drag its feet, and maybe throw away some 
background tasks the system runs.

2. Your home directory is on  / as opposed to being formatted as a 
partition and mounted at /home.  My / partition is about 30Gigs IIRC, but 
my /home partition is probably half a terrabyte (I have the commodity 1Tb 
drives in this box, 4 of them but only one is used per install, they are in 
a quick change insert so I can change distro's just by powering down and 
swapping the top 2 drives, but thats not at all germain to your problem.)

It seems to me that when you installed, you did not give linux enough 
working room.  The last time I did a dual boot, on a laptop I use as a road 
machine, it came with a 100Gb drive.  I ran the windows cleanup utility 
after getting rid of a lot of useless spam they always install, then shrank 
the windows partition down to 20Gb (5 would have been a great plenty since 
I am not and never have been a windows user) and installed what was then 
ManDrake linux on the other 80Gb, 40 for /home & the rest for the rest of 
the system.  Currently the whole drive has Mint 14 on it, and running well, 
but its heaviest usage is as a terminal out in the shop, so I can sit down 
and carve GCode for my mill or lathe and do it right on those 2 boxes over 
the network.

You of course have to live within the limits of the install unless you want 
to reconfigure the drive and re-install, and of course I have no clue how 
fond you are of windows.  When I bought that laptop, it had XP on it, and I 
kept the windows install because I figured windows could at least drive the 
radio in it so I didn't have to drag cat5 cables around, but that turned 
out not to be true, windows drivers as supplied couldn't run their own 
radio, so the next install, the 20G for windows got used for linux too.  
The internal radio is either bypassed with a cat5 to the cat5 router/switch 
in the shop with a cable in the way/works, or by a usb radio dongle.

FWIW, Mint 14, derived from ubuntu but with a much simple xwindows driver, 
xfce IIRC, seems to run a lot better on that machine that a normal x type 
install dragging in 10Gb of kde related stuff just to run an email agent  
but in 1Gb or dram, its probably going to drag noticeably.  I looked around 
to see if I could put more dram in it, but they haven't made that style of 
dram in 5+ years apparently.  Old lappy.

Anyway, take what you want out of my bloviating and be my guest. ;-)

Cheers, Gene
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>

If Robert Di Niro assassinates Walter Slezak, will Jodie Foster marry 
Bonzo??
A pen in the hand of this president is far more
dangerous than 200 million guns in the hands of
         law-abiding citizens.