[gentoo-user] When ls command fails but only on $HOME

2010-11-01 Thread Harry Putnam
Something I have not run into before.

Following a major update still in progress I find the ls command will
not run on $HOME.

I can view the directory with emacs in dired mode but `ls' simply will
not complete... never shows anything and stays hung indefinitely.

Top shows 94% idle so its not from heavy system usage.

The ls command seems to work anywhere else, and I see nothing peculiar
when viewing $HOME with emacs.

Running `ls' from a root shell against my user $HOME, is the same story,
indefinite hang, nothing listed.

I've let it run from both user and root shell for upwards of 1/2 hr.
Still just sets there.

I've killed the terminal and restarted both user and root shells.  But
still the same result... a `ls' against my user $HOME will just hang.

In both root shell and user shell, once `ls' is run against my user
$HOME, the command hangs but also cannot by interrupted.  Ctrl-c will
not stop it.

It only seem to happen on $HOME how very odd.
Anyone else seen that or have an idea what might be the cause?




Re: [gentoo-user] When ls command fails but only on $HOME

2010-11-01 Thread Alan McKinnon
Apparently, though unproven, at 12:28 on Monday 01 November 2010, Harry Putnam 
did opine thusly:

> Something I have not run into before.
> 
> Following a major update still in progress I find the ls command will
> not run on $HOME.
> 
> I can view the directory with emacs in dired mode but `ls' simply will
> not complete... never shows anything and stays hung indefinitely.
> 
> Top shows 94% idle so its not from heavy system usage.
> 
> The ls command seems to work anywhere else, and I see nothing peculiar
> when viewing $HOME with emacs.
> 
> Running `ls' from a root shell against my user $HOME, is the same story,
> indefinite hang, nothing listed.
> 
> I've let it run from both user and root shell for upwards of 1/2 hr.
> Still just sets there.
> 
> I've killed the terminal and restarted both user and root shells.  But
> still the same result... a `ls' against my user $HOME will just hang.
> 
> In both root shell and user shell, once `ls' is run against my user
> $HOME, the command hangs but also cannot by interrupted.  Ctrl-c will
> not stop it.
> 
> It only seem to happen on $HOME how very odd.
> Anyone else seen that or have an idea what might be the cause?

By the time the command hits ls itself, the shell has already expanded the 
HOME variable. So it's unlikely to be the command and more something dodgy 
with your shell.

What shell are you using?
What is the output of "echo $HOME"?


-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com



Re: [gentoo-user] When ls command fails but only on $HOME

2010-11-01 Thread Alex Schuster
Am 01.11.2010 11:28, schrieb Harry Putnam:

> I can view the directory with emacs in dired mode but `ls' simply will
> not complete... never shows anything and stays hung indefinitely.
[...]
> It only seem to happen on $HOME how very odd.
> Anyone else seen that or have an idea what might be the cause?

No. But maybe 'strace ls' will show something?

Is /home on a separate partition? I'd do a fsck on it. touch /forcefsck
or use a live cd for this. Good luck,

Wonko