Comment 2 for bug 50066

The problem is that the config files were being written when it crashed
and the machine was unbootable in Ubuntu, though WinXP was still
available. I deleted the partition (I use Knoppix for this sort of
thing, mainly because I am familiar with its tools, though Dapper CD has
similar tools), and another partition to create space in a new merged
primary partition, then the install went OK from CD. Thus the files were
toasted. Perhaps I should have used Knoppix to try to find the log
files, but since they were likely unflushed, and unflushable, probably
would not have helped. Running out of space really is nuisance because
you lose not only the functionality but also the record of its loss.
I've a number of war stories that are much worse than this from that
perspective. (I built my first machine in 1962).

Pretty certain the problem is that the space estimation was a bit low.
It was "writing config files" and showed 99% completion on the status
graph when "disk full" errors started appearing. I had a bit over 3G on
the partition at the time, but had installed some extra s/w in Breezy.
Maybe that extra s/w was not being counted. Or the many updates to
packages had added enough space to put things over the top. I should
mention that my initial try of the "Upgrade" button on upgrade manager
did say I needed to free space, which I did. On the subsequent try no
complaints. Clearly not quite enough space though.

If it is the space calculation, and no obvious bugs, it may be simplest
to put in a bigger allowance for fudge, and close the bug report. The
bug is important mainly because it can trash a system. Telling someone
to get more space is temporarily annoying, but does no damage. Disk
settings (block sizes) can really make significant system-system
differences in space requirements for the same set of files. Truthfully
I've not even checked what my system is using, as space is not usually a
problem, and allowing for super-tight packing is not a great idea.

Cheers,

JN
Pres. Ottawa Canada Linux User Group

PS System seems to be running fine. I now have 4 machines running
Dapper. One other was also a raw install. One upgrade on another machine
gave no problems. The 3rd machine was upgraded from the CD following
instructions found on the website, as for some reason the "Upgrade
dist." button did not get presented, just a msg that a distribution
upgrade was available. Things went OK, though there was more manual
intervention with that machine to set sources etc.

Michael Vogt wrote:
> Thanks for your bugreport.
>
> Could you please attach the files from /var/log/dist-upgrade*.log to
> this bugreport? That will give me a better idea what went wrong.
>
> ** Changed in: update-manager (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Untriaged => High
> Assignee: (unassigned) => Michael Vogt
> Status: Unconfirmed => Needs Info
>

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John C. Nash, School of Management, University of Ottawa,
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