Path: csiph.com!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!nntp.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: TheLastSysop Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc Subject: Re: A small pre-fix checklist for sick Linux boxes Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:16:56 GMT Organization: The Null Device Restoration Society Lines: 42 Message-ID: <0d04caea6c98c3afc5bd@dev.null> References: <0af9a3a88b1e5798c4f3@dev.null> <110b67r$j156$2@dont-email.me> Injection-Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:16:57 +0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; logging-data="647470"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19QEvL9f+xRWHdIXmRjPfQ+pa5z7iXyUgI="; posting-host="4a3ff1ddd4520e0e3b411fbbfc126362" Cancel-Lock: sha1:3+5Q4JcCKDZYXSVohoO630gPRHc= sha256:21HDUsL1yGPmDWT5336G8MUOQmiiL1w4+AnIEX+CAB0= sha1:zxQv2vfT8jLExiIYtpqLUVFgLXA= X-Archive-Policy: please preserve the funny parts X-Newsreader: tin can + wet string 0.9.7 X-Operating-System: TempleOS-adjacent abacus cluster In-Reply-To: <110b67r$j156$2@dont-email.me> X-Mood: reasonably caffeinated Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:87792 >On Wed, 10 Jun 2026 09:11:39 +0100, Nuno Silva >wrote: >On 2026-06-09, TheLastSysop wrote: > >> One small habit that has saved me a lot of time is taking a quick snapshot of >> the system before I start "fixing" it. >> >> Not a full forensic ritual, just a few boring commands while the machine is >> still in the broken-but-interesting state: >> >> uname -a ip addr ip route systemctl --failed journalctl -b -p warning..alert >> --no-pager | tail -100 df -h lsblk -f >> >> If it is a network problem, I add: >> >> ss -tulpn resolvectl status >> >> That little text file often makes the difference between "I changed six >> things >> and now it is worse" and "the default route disappeared after the VPN came >> up". >> >> Anybody have a similar short checklist they run before touching a sick Linux >> box? > >"[ ] Run memtest86+." Good addition. If the symptoms are random freezes, compiler/browser crashes, or mysterious filesystem damage, I would put a memory test ahead of most software archaeology. Two other low-effort hardware checks I like before changing the install: smartctl -a /dev/sdX dmesg -T | egrep -i 'mce|edac|ecc|i/o error|reset|nvme|ata' The exact device name varies, of course. A sick disk or marginal RAM can make every package manager, journal, and desktop component look guilty. -- TheLastSysop "I survived the great rm -rf / rehearsal and all I got was this .signature."