On Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:41:26 -0700, Craig White wrote: > On Mon, 2008-10-27 at 14:32 +0000, Beartooth wrote: > > >> Is there some way to find out what makes that message file so big >> -- i.e., why the machine was losing its mind? I can't hope to read 54 >> gigs in my lifetime ... > ---- > less /var/log/messages > > press '>' to get to end of messages > use 'w' or 'Page Up' to page up > > press 'Control-C' to stop line number calculations (pointless in 54G > file) > > read from the bottom, it should be obvious what the problem is I may have messed up. When suddenly startx failed even for root, I tried "> /var/log/messages" (I think it was) and now the command to look for the space-grabber returns nothing near so large. But then everything else I tried kept hitting the out of range display. So I finally hit the reset button. After rebooting that way, it now logs me straight in, GUI and all -- but not, I think, with optimal display. All I recall from the bloated stuff was lots of differing and interspersed lines about USB devices, and one of them not doing fax. (I never use fax.) Is there a good way to keep an eye on /var/log/messages today, and catch it in time if it happens again? -- Beartooth Staffwright, PhD, Neo-Redneck Linux Convert Remember I know precious little of what I am talking about. -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines