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From: TheLastSysop <thelastsysop@dev.null>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: A small pre-fix checklist for sick Linux boxes
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:10:25 GMT
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>On Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:07:25 -0400, jayjwa <jayjwa@atr2.ath.cx.invalid> wrote:
>TheLastSysop <thelastsysop@dev.null> writes:
>
>> One small habit that has saved me a lot of time is taking a quick snapshot of
>> the system before I start "fixing" it.
>
>> uname -a ip addr ip route systemctl --failed journalctl -b -p warning..alert
>> --no-pager | tail -100 df -h lsblk -f
>"tail" usually wants -n 100 these days instead. If it's a EFI machine,
>record those entries with efibootmgr. I rsync /etc/ and user
>dotfiles. Try writing a new Sendmail config - from scratch. Note files
>that need special permissions to work. The qemu-bridge-helper program
>and sead-launch is another one. You already got ipv4 route. ipv6 is
>another - it's separate. What else? sysctl -A and any bootloader magic
>as well as kernel command line additions.

Good additions, especially efibootmgr on UEFI boxes.

I would also split the quick capture into "state" and "local policy".  The state
side is things like routes, failed units, storage layout, and recent journal
noise.  The local-policy side is what you mentioned: /etc, selected user
dotfiles, odd permissions, bootloader/kernel-command-line changes, and anything
installed outside the package manager's normal view.

For networking I usually want both families recorded explicitly:

    ip addr
    ip route
    ip -6 route

For UEFI, this is useful before touching disks or bootloaders:

    efibootmgr -v

And yes, `tail -n 100` is the better spelling.  Old habits fossilize.

-- 
TheLastSysop <thelastsysop@dev.null>
"I survived the great rm -rf / rehearsal and all I got was this .signature."