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TROUBLESHOOT LINUX

SYSTEM
CHAPTER 8

8.1 Troubleshoot
methodology

The maintenance cycle

Monitoring: Observing system areas for


problems or irregularities
Proactive maintenance: Minimizing chance
of future problems
e.g., perform regular system backups
Reactive maintenance: Correcting
problems when they arise
Documenting solutions
Developing better proactive
maintenance methods

Documentation: System information


stored in a log book for future
references
Troubleshooting procedures: Tasks
performed when solving system
problems

Common troubleshooting procedures

Two troubleshooting golden rules:


Prioritize problems according to severity
Spend reasonable amount of time on each
problem given its priority

Try to solve root of problem


Avoid missing underlying cause
Justify why a certain solution is successful

Two categories of problems:


Hardware-related
Software-related

8.2 Hardware-Related
Problems
Hardware-Related Problems
Often involve improper hardware or
software configuration
SCSI termination
Video card and monitor configuration
POST test alerts
Loose hardware connections

IRQ or I/O address conflicts


View output of dmesg (control or print the
kernel ring buffer) command

Absence of device drivers prevent OS


from using associated devices
Kudzu program: Detect and install
support for new hardware
If hardware device not detected, device
driver must be configured manually

HDDs most common device to fail


Good idea to use RAID

The kudzu welcome screen

Configuring new hardware using kudzu

If HDD containing partitions mounted on


noncritical directories fails:
Power down computer and replace failed
HDD
Boot Linux system
Use fdisk to create partitions on replaced
HDD
Use mkfs to create filesystems
Restore original data
Ensure /etc/fstab has appropriate entries to
mount filesystems

If HDD containing / filesystem fails:


Power down computer and replace failed
HDD
Reinstall Linux on new HDD
Restore original configuration and data files

You should update your package every


time you made changes to your system
(hardware/software).
You can run PUP, yum, apt-get, or GUI
based synaptic package manager to do
the update.

8.3 Software-Related
Problems:
Application-Related
Problems

Missing program libraries/files,


process restrictions, or conflicting
applications
Dependencies: Prerequisite shared
libraries or packages required for
program execution
Programs usually check at installation
Package files may be removed
accidentally

rpm V command: Identify missing files in


a package or package dependency
ldd command: Display shared libraries
used by a program
ldconfig command: Updates
/etc/ld.so.conf and /etc/ld.so.cache files

/etc/ld.so.conf file: List of directories


containing shared libraries
/etc/ld.so.cache file: Contains location of
shared library files
compressor/decompressor (codec) file:
Contains rules to compress or
decompress multimedia information

ulimit command: Modify process limit


parameters in current shell
Can also modify max number of
filehandles

/var/log directory: Contains most


system log files
If applications stop functioning due to
difficulty gaining resources, restart
using SIGHUP / SIGHKILL

8.4 Software-Related Problems:


Operating System-Related
Problems

Most software-related problems related to OS


Boot loader, filesystem, serial device
problems
LILO problems: Place linear in, remove
compact from /etc/lilo.conf file
GRUB problems: Typically result of missing
files in /boot directory
mkbootdisk command: Create a boot floppy
diskette

If filesystem on partition mounted to


noncritical directory becomes
corrupted:
Unmount filesystem
Run fsck command with f (full) option
If fsck command cannot repair
filesystem, use mkfs command to recreate the filesystem
Restore filesystems original data

If / filesystem is corrupted:
Boot from first Red Hat Fedora installation
CD
Type linux rescue at welcome screen
Enter shell for Linux system on CD
Create new / filesystem via mkfs command
Restore original data to re-created /
filesystem
Reboot system

Lost root password


First, you have to reboot into
recovery mode.

If you have a single-boot (Ubuntu is the


only operating system on your computer),
you may have to press the Escape key
during bootup in order to see the boot
menu.
If you have a dual-boot (Ubuntu is installed
next to Windows, another Linux operating
system, or Mac OS X; and you choose at
boot time which operating system to boot
into), the boot menu should appear without
the need to press the Escape key.

From the boot menu, select recovery mode, which is


usually the second boot option.

After you select recovery mode and wait for all the boot-up
processes to finish, you'll be presented with a few options. In
this case, you want the Drop to root shell prompt option so
press the Down arrow to get to that option, and then press
Enter to select it.

The root account is the ultimate


administrator and can do anything to
the Ubuntu installation (including
erase it), so please be careful with
what commands you enter in the root
ls /home
terminal.
Once you're at the root shell prompt,
if you have forgotten your username
as well, type

You should then see a list of the


users on your Ubuntu installation.
passwd username
To reset the password, type
username is the username you want
to reset.

You'll then be prompted for a new


password. When you type the
password you will get no visual
response acknowledging your typing.
Your password is still being accepted.
Just type the password and hit Enter
when you're done. You'll be prompted
to retype the password. Do so and hit
Enter again.

Now the password should be reset. Type


to return
to the recovery menu.
exit

After you get back to the recovery menu,


select resume normal boot, and use Ubuntu
as you normally wouldonly this time, you
actually know the password!

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