Re: I need help with my var partition.
Maureen L Thomas wrote: > Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and > the app but neither of them will work. I have no idea what to do next. > I used su and sudo first. It just keeps saying it cannot connect with > the base from which I get updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero > and it just said that it was up to date. I am so confused. at this point i think it is more time efficient to install to a new partition and then work on restoring the data for each main program you use. if you do not have good backups this is not fun, but it does teach a lesson to keep good backups. i have done a full recovery on a running system where i accidentally deleted my entire /var but it wasn't quick and i did have a current list of all packages installed so i could reinstall each of them. it's not an experience i ever hope to have to do again. since the version of apt was also wrong and wouldn't work i had to go back to using dpkg repeatedly in a loop of all packages until the dependencies would all be installed and then it got them all up to date at last. it would have been much quicker in the end had i just set up a new partition and installed from scratch. songbird
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 5/1/23 18:51, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and the app but neither of them will work. I have no idea what to do next. I used su and sudo first. It just keeps saying it cannot connect with the base from which I get updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero and it just said that it was up to date. I am so confused. Repairing a damaged OS instance is tough; even when the damage mechanism is known (deleting /var/log/, /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/). Recovery requires a lot of expertise. Other readers have posted long listings and ACL dumps of their corresponding directories. Is this approach too advanced for you? Do you have an image of your system disk taken before the disaster? As Brasero is not working, I suggest that you get a large USB HDD and back up onto that. Hopefully, your computer has a desktop environment that displays an icon when the USB HDD is plugged in, you can use the icon to mount the USB HDD file system, and you can back up with a file manager via drag and drop. If this is not the case, try a root terminal and suitable commands. Back up your home directory and any data directories you have created. Be sure to unmount the USB HDD before you unplug it. If there are more user accounts on the system, you will want to log in to each of those accounts and backup their home directory and data. If you know how to take an image of the system drive and save it on the USB HDD, do so. If not, now would be a good time to learn. Clonezilla is the obvious choice: https://clonezilla.org/ If you have access to another computer with a CD/DVD/BD burner, burning archival optical discs would be a good idea. The most direct path to a working Debian system is a fresh install onto a zeroed drive. Next, install the applications you want. Then connect the USB HDD, mount the file system, and restore your data. Restoring application-specific data, such as a Thunderbird profile, may require additional steps. Please post if you need help with any of the above. David
Re: I need help with my var partition.
Hi, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > I used the reinstall on brasero and it just said that it was up to date. What error message does Brasero issue before refusing to work ? What optical medium type do you give Brasero for burning ? I can probably help with composing a xorriso run which performs a similar backup as you normally do with Brasero. (I am not aware that xorriso would try to access /var. So a try might succeed or tell us how deep the problem is located in the software stack from kernel to desktop applications.) Roadmap: 1: Check whether xorriso is installed. - Install if not yet there. - If apt does not install it, try the GNU xorriso source tarball. 2: Describe which hard disk directory trees or single files get normally backed up and to what paths on the backup medium they get copied. 3: Create a shell script with the necessary xorriso commands. If the steps under "1:" don't work or if you want to stay with Brasero, consider to get a Debian Live system like https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/debian-live-11.7.0-amd64-lxde.iso and to put it on a USB stick as described in https://www.debian.org/CD/faq/#write-usb After booting from the USB stick the system should be able to install xorriso or Brasero, so that you can backup your data. Maybe you can even use the /var directory of the running Debian Live as template to recreate the damaged /var tree on hard disk. Have a nice day :) Thomas
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 5/1/23 19:51, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and the app but neither of them will work. I have no idea what to do next. I used su and sudo first. It just keeps saying it cannot connect with the base from which I get updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero and it just said that it was up to date. I am so confused. The earlier reply by The Wanderer to this post may well be the correct in suggesting use of dpkg rather than apt. Apt is usually preferable if it will work, but dpkg sometimes will work when apt will not. There could be several files in /var/cache/apt/archives that are base-files packages for different Debian releases or updates. You should take some care to use the right one. The correspondence between the file to use and the contents of /etc/debian_version is straightforward. I have: # ls -l /var/cache/apt/archives/base-files* -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70140 Dec 11 14:13 /var/cache/apt/archives/base-files_11.1+deb11u6_amd64.deb -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70132 Apr 23 14:57 /var/cache/apt/archives/base-files_11.1+deb11u7_amd64.deb # cat /etc/debian_version 11.7 So: this system is Release 11 update 7, and the corresponding base-files package is /var/cache/apt/archives/base-files_11.1+deb11u7_amd64.deb Using the wrong one by mistake might not be very noticeable, as base files probably change little from release to release; In any follow up messages, please copy and paste the actual commands used and their output in addition to any description of the results. Descriptions may omit useful details. And prefer the command line to graphical applications because it usually contains more detailed and useful information and is easier to copy and paste into an email. Regards, Tom Dial On 5/1/23 9:15 PM, Tom Dial wrote: This Debian-user thread seems to have gone silent, but it is not clear whether your problem is solved. If it is, just ignore this and move on. If not: The Wanderer, in an earlier post (04/28/2023 at 19;02), suggested reinstalling the base-files package. I believe this is the correct procedure, at least to start with. It should be relatively free from any risk of doing further damage to your system. The same post also suggested you might need to reinstall other packages if they had created subdirectories under /var that are not included in the base-files package, That also should not significantly risk any further damage. Reinstalling installed packages sometimes helps and in my experience (almost 30 years now) is unlikely to be harmful. Reinstalling base-files (and other packages as needed) also should correct any permission problems that may have crept in. How to reinstall a package depends on how you maintain or upgrade your system. If you use synaptic or aptitude, both have reinstall options that you can choose from the menu or submenu you would use for a new package installation. If you log in as root on a terminal or terminal emulator to install and upgrade software, the command would be apt install --reinstall - for example, apt install --reinstall base-files If you use sudo in a terminal or terminal emulator to maintain software, use the above commands prefixed by "sudo" as you normally would for actions that need administrator privileges. This should reinstall the version of the base-files (or other named package) that matches the most recently installed version. I think the reinstall process might sometimes pause to ask you to choose between installing the default configuration file from the package or keeping an existing one that you might have changed. It should be safe to keep the one already installed. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to ask, either privately or on the list. Regards, Tom Dial On 4/28/23 20:36, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Here is what I got. root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 27 root root 760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ root@debian:/var# Reinstalling the base-files package should create or correct the following directories under /var: /var /var/backups /var/cache /var/lib /var/lib/dpkg /var/lib/misc /var/local /var/lock /var/log /var/run /var/spool /var/tmp On 4/28/23 10:17 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: On Fri, Apr 2
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 2023-05-01 at 21:51, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and > the app but neither of them will work. I suspect that if you don't have the various directories under /var/, you may not be able to use apt or aptitude or synaptic or the like, but dpkg (in the form of 'dpkg -i /path/to/filename.deb') may still work. If it doesn't, the only fallbacks that I can think of that would be *more* likely to work - short of reinstalling Debian, anyway - involve carefully extracting the .deb's contents into the correct root path, and running any necessary follow-on scripts, *by hand*. And that would be daunting even to me, though I understand that it's certainly possible. > I have no idea what to do next. I used su and sudo first. It just > keeps saying it cannot connect with the base from which I get > updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero and it just said that > it was up to date. I am so confused. This description seems to suggest that you're using a tool which is trying to download the .deb file from a remote location. Those tools are fairly likely to have problems if the directories under /var/ don't exist. Instead, I suggest that you try: $ su - # dpkg -i /var/cache/apt/archives/base-files_12_amd64.deb (Or whatever the version number and architecture of your base-files package may be; that's the oldest one I have on hand myself, from August of 2021. You should probably be able to tab-complete the filename from before the first underscore, but that depends on how your system is set up.) dpkg should, I think, have fewer dependencies on directory structure (et cetera) than anything APT-based will have. It still might not be few *enough*, but it's worth a shot. -- The Wanderer The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: I need help with my var partition.
Unfortunately I cannot install anything. I used the command line and the app but neither of them will work. I have no idea what to do next. I used su and sudo first. It just keeps saying it cannot connect with the base from which I get updates, etc. I used the reinstall on brasero and it just said that it was up to date. I am so confused. On 5/1/23 9:15 PM, Tom Dial wrote: This Debian-user thread seems to have gone silent, but it is not clear whether your problem is solved. If it is, just ignore this and move on. If not: The Wanderer, in an earlier post (04/28/2023 at 19;02), suggested reinstalling the base-files package. I believe this is the correct procedure, at least to start with. It should be relatively free from any risk of doing further damage to your system. The same post also suggested you might need to reinstall other packages if they had created subdirectories under /var that are not included in the base-files package, That also should not significantly risk any further damage. Reinstalling installed packages sometimes helps and in my experience (almost 30 years now) is unlikely to be harmful. Reinstalling base-files (and other packages as needed) also should correct any permission problems that may have crept in. How to reinstall a package depends on how you maintain or upgrade your system. If you use synaptic or aptitude, both have reinstall options that you can choose from the menu or submenu you would use for a new package installation. If you log in as root on a terminal or terminal emulator to install and upgrade software, the command would be apt install --reinstall - for example, apt install --reinstall base-files If you use sudo in a terminal or terminal emulator to maintain software, use the above commands prefixed by "sudo" as you normally would for actions that need administrator privileges. This should reinstall the version of the base-files (or other named package) that matches the most recently installed version. I think the reinstall process might sometimes pause to ask you to choose between installing the default configuration file from the package or keeping an existing one that you might have changed. It should be safe to keep the one already installed. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to ask, either privately or on the list. Regards, Tom Dial On 4/28/23 20:36, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Here is what I got. root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 27 root root 760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ root@debian:/var# Reinstalling the base-files package should create or correct the following directories under /var: /var /var/backups /var/cache /var/lib /var/lib/dpkg /var/lib/misc /var/local /var/lock /var/log /var/run /var/spool /var/tmp On 4/28/23 10:17 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still cannot burn a back up disk. Do not look at the NUMBERS. OWNER. GROUP. PERMISSIONS. The numbers mean nothing. On 4/28/23 9:04 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ See that? Group write. Set-group-id. Group staff. Probably not a big deal, because who the hell uses /var/local for anything, but there is no excuse for not checking the OWNER, GROUP and PERMISSIONS. drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ Group write, setgid. drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. THIS is what matters.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
This Debian-user thread seems to have gone silent, but it is not clear whether your problem is solved. If it is, just ignore this and move on. If not: The Wanderer, in an earlier post (04/28/2023 at 19;02), suggested reinstalling the base-files package. I believe this is the correct procedure, at least to start with. It should be relatively free from any risk of doing further damage to your system. The same post also suggested you might need to reinstall other packages if they had created subdirectories under /var that are not included in the base-files package, That also should not significantly risk any further damage. Reinstalling installed packages sometimes helps and in my experience (almost 30 years now) is unlikely to be harmful. Reinstalling base-files (and other packages as needed) also should correct any permission problems that may have crept in. How to reinstall a package depends on how you maintain or upgrade your system. If you use synaptic or aptitude, both have reinstall options that you can choose from the menu or submenu you would use for a new package installation. If you log in as root on a terminal or terminal emulator to install and upgrade software, the command would be apt install --reinstall - for example, apt install --reinstall base-files If you use sudo in a terminal or terminal emulator to maintain software, use the above commands prefixed by "sudo" as you normally would for actions that need administrator privileges. This should reinstall the version of the base-files (or other named package) that matches the most recently installed version. I think the reinstall process might sometimes pause to ask you to choose between installing the default configuration file from the package or keeping an existing one that you might have changed. It should be safe to keep the one already installed. If you have questions about any of this, feel free to ask, either privately or on the list. Regards, Tom Dial On 4/28/23 20:36, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Here is what I got. root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 27 root root 760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ root@debian:/var# Reinstalling the base-files package should create or correct the following directories under /var: /var /var/backups /var/cache /var/lib /var/lib/dpkg /var/lib/misc /var/local /var/lock /var/log /var/run /var/spool /var/tmp On 4/28/23 10:17 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still cannot burn a back up disk. Do not look at the NUMBERS. OWNER. GROUP. PERMISSIONS. The numbers mean nothing. On 4/28/23 9:04 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ See that? Group write. Set-group-id. Group staff. Probably not a big deal, because who the hell uses /var/local for anything, but there is no excuse for not checking the OWNER, GROUP and PERMISSIONS. drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ Group write, setgid. drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. THIS is what matters.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 4/28/23 17:25, Maureen L Thomas wrote: I am 72 and have forgotten a few things. I looked up debian/var and was told I could delete /var/log/ and /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/. I left cores alone and deleted the other two. Now I cannot burn a backup, download files and even go to web sites from my nord vpn which was working great until I deleted the above files. I really want to upgrade to debian 11. I am using debian 10, on a Lonovo all in one and have had no problems. I followed the directions for var that I found and now have a screwed up machine. Is there any help available. I was thinking of upgrading online but don't want to loose my data. Please help this old lady. On 4/28/23 17:57, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > OK so I went looking on the net /debian/var to find out why it is > running out of room. All I could find is the directions to delete said > files. I will put them back, now. On 4/28/23 19:05, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > ... I still cannot burn a back up disk. On 4/28/23 19:36, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > Here is what I got. > > root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ > drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ > drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ > drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ > drwxrwxrwt 3 root root100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ > drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ > drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ > drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ > drwxr-xr-x 27 root root760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ > drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ > drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ > drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ > root@debian:/var# I assume you have a Lenovo computer. What is the model name and number? What processor? How much memory? How many drives, what type, and what size? What backup software are you using? Do you have recent backups? Do you know how to restore? What other resources do you have available -- computers, network, USB flash drives, external HDD's, spare SSD/HDD's? When I break an OS instance, or when I want to re-install or do a major version upgrade, I back up the system configuration files and data files, remove the system disk, install a (zeroed) replacement system disk, do a fresh install, manually merge the old configuration settings into the new configuration files, and restore the data. So long as I do each step correctly, I end up with a correct result. Disaster preparedness and disaster recovery are easier if your OS is on one disk and your data is on another disk. What is your layout? David
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On Fri 28 Apr 2023 at 22:36:39 (-0400), Maureen L Thomas wrote: > Here is what I got. > > root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ > drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ > drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ > drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ > drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ > drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ > drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ > drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ > drwxr-xr-x 27 root root 760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ > drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ > drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ > drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ > root@debian:/var# You've effectively got no /tmp available for most users. drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ On Sat 29 Apr 2023 at 07:12:13 (+0200), to...@tuxteam.de wrote: > On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > > Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still > > cannot burn a back up disk. > > One problem may be that /var/log has subdirectories which don't > belong to root. Applications trying to write their logs might > fail, either because they can't create "their" log subdirectory > or because they even don't try (because they rely on the install > process having done that). > > Here's an example, but note that your package set will differ > from mine, so take this as illustrative: Can I also add to your listing (as a systemd-user): drwxr-sr-x+ 3 root systemd-journal 4096 Jan 1 2022 /var/log/journal $ getfacl -p /var/log/journal/ # file: /var/log/journal/ # owner: root # group: systemd-journal # flags: -s- user::rwx group::r-x group:adm:r-x mask::r-x other::r-x default:user::rwx default:group::r-x default:group:adm:r-x default:mask::r-x default:other::r-x $ Cheers, David.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
Hi, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > even after a reboot I still cannot burn a back up disk. In case the crisis lasts longer or you need to make a backup before its solution: What program do you use to burn your backups and what does it report when failing ? What kind of media shall be burnt ? Have a nice day :) Thomas
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
> Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still
> cannot burn a back up disk.
One problem may be that /var/log has subdirectories which don't
belong to root. Applications trying to write their logs might
fail, either because they can't create "their" log subdirectory
or because they even don't try (because they rely on the install
process having done that).
Here's an example, but note that your package set will differ
from mine, so take this as illustrative:
tomas@trotzki:~$ find /var/log -maxdepth 1 -type d -exec ls -ld {} +
drwxr-xr-x 20 root root 12288 Apr 29 06:00 /var/log
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 26 20:49 /var/log/apt
drwxr-sr-x 2 apt-cacher-ng apt-cacher-ng 40960 Apr 29 06:05
/var/log/apt-cacher-ng
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 29 06:54 /var/log/atop
drwxr-s--- 2 Debian-exim adm4096 Apr 29 06:54 /var/log/exim4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 30 2017 /var/log/fsck
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Nov 10 2021 /var/log/guix
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 30 2017
/var/log/installer
drwxrwx--- 2 jvb jitsi 4096 Jan 22 2020 /var/log/jitsi
drwxr-x--- 2 www-data www-data 4096 Apr 26 06:31 /var/log/lighttpd
drwxr-s--- 2 mysql adm4096 Nov 9 2021 /var/log/mysql
drwxr-xr-x 2 root adm4096 Jan 22 2020 /var/log/nginx
drwxr-xr-x 2 ntp ntp4096 Feb 15 2018 /var/log/ntpstats
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 20 2019 /var/log/openvpn
drwxrwxr-t 2 root postgres 4096 Apr 23 07:06
/var/log/postgresql
drwxr-x--- 2 prosody adm4096 Apr 23 07:06 /var/log/prosody
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Nov 9 2021 /var/log/runit
drwxr-x--- 2 root adm4096 May 8 2019 /var/log/samba
drwxr-xr-x 2 stunnel4 stunnel4 4096 Apr 16 2020 /var/log/stunnel4
One thing you might try to rescue the situation would be
to chmod go+w /var/log. Note that this makes your system
somewhat... insecure (that's an euphemism :-)
Perhaps the failing apps do create their log subdirs.
Don't forget to do chmod go-w after the dust has settled.
Cheers
--
t
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Re: I need help with my var partition.
Here is what I got. root@debian:/var# /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 15:46 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 28 20:59 cores/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 13 2020 games/ drwxr-xr-x 62 root root 4096 Apr 12 20:20 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Sep 19 2020 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 100 Apr 28 21:13 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:36 log/ drwx-- 2 root root 16384 Nov 12 2020 lost+found/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Nov 12 2020 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 27 root root 760 Apr 28 22:31 run/ drwxr-xr-x 14 root root 4096 Apr 27 22:58 snap/ drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Nov 12 2020 spool/ drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Apr 28 22:32 tmp/ root@debian:/var# On 4/28/23 10:17 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still cannot burn a back up disk. Do not look at the NUMBERS. OWNER. GROUP. PERMISSIONS. The numbers mean nothing. On 4/28/23 9:04 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ See that? Group write. Set-group-id. Group staff. Probably not a big deal, because who the hell uses /var/local for anything, but there is no excuse for not checking the OWNER, GROUP and PERMISSIONS. drwxrwxrwt 3 root root80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ Group write, setgid. drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. THIS is what matters.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 10:05:01PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still > cannot burn a back up disk. Do not look at the NUMBERS. OWNER. GROUP. PERMISSIONS. The numbers mean nothing. > On 4/28/23 9:04 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: > > Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. > > > > unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ > > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ > > drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ > > drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ > > drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ > > drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ See that? Group write. Set-group-id. Group staff. Probably not a big deal, because who the hell uses /var/local for anything, but there is no excuse for not checking the OWNER, GROUP and PERMISSIONS. > > drwxrwxrwt 3 root root80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. > > drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ > > drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ Group write, setgid. > > drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ > > drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ > > drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ > > drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ > > drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Group and world write. Sticky bit. THIS is what matters.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
Yes my figures are very similar to yours. But even after a reboot I still cannot burn a back up disk. On 4/28/23 9:04 PM, Greg Wooledge wrote: On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 08:57:47PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: OK so I went looking on the net /debian/var to find out why it is running out of room. All I could find is the directions to delete said files. I will put them back, now. Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Ignore "qmail" unless you happen to be using qmail, which is unlikely. The rest should look like this. In particular, note the permissions on /var/tmp. That's "chmod 1777" to get the sticky bit.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 08:57:47PM -0400, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > OK so I went looking on the net /debian/var to find out why it is running > out of room. All I could find is the directions to delete said files. I > will put them back, now. Make sure you get the ownership and permissions correct. unicorn:/var$ /bin/ls -ld */ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 22 06:25 backups/ drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 cache/ drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 3 2018 games/ drwxr-xr-x 50 root root 4096 Jul 31 2022 lib/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root staff 4096 Nov 19 2017 local/ drwxrwxrwt 3 root root80 Mar 25 16:03 lock/ drwxr-xr-x 15 root root 4096 Apr 24 08:12 log/ drwxrwsr-x 2 root mail 4096 Oct 28 2021 mail/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 11 2018 opt/ drwxr-xr-x 10 root qmail 4096 Jan 12 2018 qmail/ drwxr-xr-x 26 root root 760 Mar 27 15:39 run/ drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jan 29 2021 spool/ drwxrwxrwt 6 root root 4096 Apr 28 21:02 tmp/ Ignore "qmail" unless you happen to be using qmail, which is unlikely. The rest should look like this. In particular, note the permissions on /var/tmp. That's "chmod 1777" to get the sticky bit.
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 2023-04-28 at 20:46, Jeremy Ardley wrote: > On 29/4/23 08:25, Maureen L Thomas wrote: > >> I am 72 and have forgotten a few things. I looked up debian/var and >> was told I could delete /var/log/ >> >> and /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/. I'd guess that this was *probably* meant as a direction to delete *files from inside* those directories. Deleting the directories themselves, or even deleting their contents wholesale, can - as you've discovered - create a problematic circumstance. >> I left cores alone and deleted the other two. Now I cannot burn a >> backup, download files and even go to web sites from my nord vpn >> which was working great until I deleted the above files. I really >> want to upgrade to debian 11. I am using debian 10, on a Lonovo all >> in one and have had no problems. I followed the directions for var >> that I found and now have a screwed up machine. Is there any help >> available. I was thinking of upgrading online but don't want to >> loose my data. Please help this old lady. >> >> > Deleting /var/log etc is at best unhelpful. > > I can't think of any procedure that would require deleting those > directories. Perhaps someone was fooling with you? > > Without knowing what else you have done or why, it's probably a good > idea to recreate the directories > > cd /var > > mkdir log > > mkdir tmp That won't necessarily bring back the correct directory permissions, or any needed subdirectory structure under these two locations. I'm not *positive* that this won't break anything, but I think the safest thing to do would probably be to reinstall the 'base-files' package, which can *probably* still be done - even on a system with those directories missing - with 'dpkg -i' from the copy in /var/cache/apt/archives/. That should, I think, bring back both directories with any needed permissions. It will not, however, re-create any subdirectories (e.g. under /var/log/) which were created by other packages; for that, you'd have to reinstall those packages as well. Given that one of the directories on my own system is /var/log/apt/, it's not impossible that much of the package-management system may not work (fully) correctly until you've identified and reinstalled the correct packages. -- The Wanderer The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: I need help with my var partition.
OK so I went looking on the net /debian/var to find out why it is running out of room. All I could find is the directions to delete said files. I will put them back, now. On 4/28/23 8:46 PM, Jeremy Ardley wrote: On 29/4/23 08:25, Maureen L Thomas wrote: I am 72 and have forgotten a few things. I looked up debian/var and was told I could delete /var/log/ and /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/. I left cores alone and deleted the other two. Now I cannot burn a backup, download files and even go to web sites from my nord vpn which was working great until I deleted the above files. I really want to upgrade to debian 11. I am using debian 10, on a Lonovo all in one and have had no problems. I followed the directions for var that I found and now have a screwed up machine. Is there any help available. I was thinking of upgrading online but don't want to loose my data. Please help this old lady. Deleting /var/log etc is at best unhelpful. I can't think of any procedure that would require deleting those directories. Perhaps someone was fooling with you? Without knowing what else you have done or why, it's probably a good idea to recreate the directories cd /var mkdir log mkdir tmp Before you do a reboot, perhaps explain what else you have done and why?
Re: I need help with my var partition.
Dear Mrs. Thomas, Maureen L Thomas writes: > (...) > I was thinking of upgrading > online but don't want to loose my data. First of all, please do back-up your *important* data. Such as pictures, video clips, diary, some text docs, etc. (Also i'm Debian user with Debian Bullseye under ThinkPad notebook) Sincerely, Byung-Hee from South Korea -- ^고맙습니다 _布德天下_ 감사합니다_^))//
Re: I need help with my var partition.
On 29/4/23 08:25, Maureen L Thomas wrote: I am 72 and have forgotten a few things. I looked up debian/var and was told I could delete /var/log/ and /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/. I left cores alone and deleted the other two. Now I cannot burn a backup, download files and even go to web sites from my nord vpn which was working great until I deleted the above files. I really want to upgrade to debian 11. I am using debian 10, on a Lonovo all in one and have had no problems. I followed the directions for var that I found and now have a screwed up machine. Is there any help available. I was thinking of upgrading online but don't want to loose my data. Please help this old lady. Deleting /var/log etc is at best unhelpful. I can't think of any procedure that would require deleting those directories. Perhaps someone was fooling with you? Without knowing what else you have done or why, it's probably a good idea to recreate the directories cd /var mkdir log mkdir tmp Before you do a reboot, perhaps explain what else you have done and why? -- Jeremy (Lists)
I need help with my var partition.
I am 72 and have forgotten a few things. I looked up debian/var and was told I could delete /var/log/ and /var/tmp/ and /var/cores/. I left cores alone and deleted the other two. Now I cannot burn a backup, download files and even go to web sites from my nord vpn which was working great until I deleted the above files. I really want to upgrade to debian 11. I am using debian 10, on a Lonovo all in one and have had no problems. I followed the directions for var that I found and now have a screwed up machine. Is there any help available. I was thinking of upgrading online but don't want to loose my data. Please help this old lady.
