Category: linux

First write operation to large ext4 file system is slow

I'm running a large (>20TB) ext4 file system and noticed that the first substantial write operation after mounting is very slow and involves plenty of drive activity. The reason seems to be some memory structure initialisation as described here: https://linux-ext4.vger.kernel.narkive.com/SUFNE520/ext4-slow-performance-on-first-write-after-mount The workaround is thankfully as simple as running this command in a script after mounting … Continue reading First write operation to large ext4 file system is slow →

Resetting a PCI device

The Wi-Fi adapter on my VivoBook 17 has been acting up under Ubuntu 18.04 LTS insofar that at a random point in time, possibly accelerated by power saving features, the Wi-Fi will stop working with suspicious syslog entries: ath10k_pci 0000:03:00.0: failed to wake target for read32 at 0x0003a028: -110 The usual tricks (suspend/resume, reload driver, … Continue reading Resetting a PCI device →

Fixing random sound drops with Ubuntu; only sound device is “Dummy Output”

The title says it all; at some point Ubuntu 18.04 stops playing sound and the only available sound device is "Dummy Output". Apart from rebooting (which fixes the issue) this command executed from the terminal fixes the issue: pulseaudio -k && sudo alsa force-reload Contributed by user Kim, source: https://superuser.com/questions/17312/restart-ubuntu-sound-processes-via-command-line

parchive: protecting backups against data corruption

As time goes by, my [place appropriate interval] backups may not grow much, but the size of my entire data archive exceeds the largest available hard disks (don't ask). Taking into account correctness guarantees by hard disk manufacturers, transmission errors over the network and who knows what else, I don't feel confident that I'll flip … Continue reading parchive: protecting backups against data corruption →

Unlocking a password-protected hard disk

TL;DR: Recovering data from a password-protected SATA hard disk that was locked by a Thinkpad I wish this post would be as generally valid as the title suggests; at this hour I'm just unspeakably glad to have unlocked a hard disk I didn't even know I had locked and can finally go to bed. What … Continue reading Unlocking a password-protected hard disk →