tux99 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 You can certainly delete syslog.1 syslog.1.gz and messages.1, (anything ending with a number or number and .gz in /var/log really ). Logged in as root you can just type: rm /var/log/syslog.1.gz rm /var/log/messages.1 and so on These two should free up enough space already to make kde start up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSurfer60 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Good morning, well it was morning when I wrote this :D From what I've read so far you seem to be making a bad job worse and more complicated than it is. No offense meant there. Just to clear things up a little for you when you boot up into failsafe you do NOT need to log in as root. The reason being 'failsafe' is also known as single user mode as it should tell you on the screen with message such as :- No more processes to run Going to single user mode ---------------------------------- You do not need to log in at the next prompt. It has been my experience that in this mode you can do just about anything with the operating system, even screw it up completely, so let's be very careful. Now to get to '/var/tmp' you need to type cd /var/tmp Please note the forward slash(es). To list all the files in a folder you need to type ls -a and to list them in a list you need to type ls -la Depending on your keyboard layout the '~' also known as a 'tilde' is usually situated above the '#' key meaning you need the shift+# to get the tilde. I really do feel for you at this moment as you are going through a very steep learning curve. But this community will help you get through it. There are many very knowledgeable people here and they are only too willing to help. I include myself as well in the willing department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux99 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Good morning, well it was morning when I wrote this :D From what I've read so far you seem to be making a bad job worse and more complicated than it is. No offense meant there. Just to clear things up a little for you when you boot up into failsafe you do NOT need to log in as root. The reason being 'failsafe' is also known as single user mode as it should tell you on the screen with message such as :- No more processes to run Going to single user mode ---------------------------------- You do not need to log in at the next prompt. Well of course you don't need to login in failsave mode as there is no login prompt, you are already logged in as root. paulrstu asked earlier as which user he has to login at the console login and there he has to login as root as otherwise he won't be able to delete much. I don't think anyone here has been making a bad job worse or more complicated, actually I would say we are almost done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulrstu Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Can I delete syslog1 which would seem to free up 8520 meg? Also what about deleting messages1 or is that my message file? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux99 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Can I delete syslog1 which would seem to free up 8520 meg? Also what about deleting messages1 or is that my message file? Thanks. Certainly, see also my post above, anything ending with a number or number and .gz in /var/log really, those are all old archived system logs which are not needed for anything other than your own viewing pleasure. Edited December 8, 2008 by tux99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSurfer60 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 OK. Postings seem to be crossing here from me so I'll butt out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulrstu Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Certainly, see also my post above, anything ending with a number or number and .gz in /var/log really, those are all old archived system logs which are not needed for anything other than your own viewing pleasure. Thanks again. In RM I take the option F8 and it asks me if I want to delete. I confirm that I do. A dialogue box then fills most of the screen and at the top it says Delete. In the box it says var/log/messages.1 and at the bottom there is a choice Skip or Abort. I assumed this was just taking time to delete but it simply seems to disappear after a while and the file remains. I am beginning to wonder whether it is just me or is there something else I should be telling it to do? I assume not to take the options to Abort or to Skip.....but it does not seem Ignore the start of this thread. Thank you so much all of you for the more than fantastic and prompt help you have given. I eventually succeded in getting into the correct directories and deleting huge files which were residing there. The machine now boots up and is working normally. A cause of concern is how on earth the files came to be there in the first place and is there any software that I can run to ensure no repetition. As I say I really do appreciate the input and help. Words cannot express. As a newbie some things I really struggled with but am just pleased to have the beast up and running although my faith is diminished. What would I have done had I not had a spare windows machine to post to this group? Let's not go there but again thank you, thank you and thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux99 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'm glad you got things sorted eventually! While there is absolutely no shame in using Linux without knowing anything about the command line tools and commands, it would be useful to learn the basics so that in a similar situation you feel less helpless. There is plenty of documentation around both on the Internet (see for example the link I posted earlier above) and also from Mandriva and even in form of Books from your local bookstore or library or Amazon. On the KDE menu there is a documentation section with a 'Mandriva Linux Started Guide'. You might want to read Chapter 19 in particular. With regards to those huge files that filled up your filesystem, those are system log files. They are normally rotated and zipped once a week (by the logrotate package), but this depends on how your system is configured and the use you make of it. Also the fact that these files were so big could indicate that some system tool or program is generating unusual amounts of logging, possibly because something is not working as it should, therefore it could be useful if you look at these log files (the current ones are the ones not ending in a number in /var/log: main ones are /varlog/messages and /var/log/syslog) and look for any warning or errors in there. These are normal text files so you can use any text editor to look at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniewicz Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Have a look in /var/log/messages to see the nature of the messages being logged. This will help diagnose the original cause of your problem. (tux99 has got there before me!) Edited December 8, 2008 by daniewicz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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