[QCLUG] just a heads up about ext3...

[Leif Theden]

hey gang,

so those of you present at last weeks meeting might have caught wind
of problems i have with my laptop.  its a rebranded msi s270 which has
a few minor documented (and undocumented) issues with linux, one of
which is the hard disk controller.

i was having complete lockups where the computer would simply freeze
for 30-45 seconds at a time...all while the hd grinds away.  i thought
it was just a hardware issue, but it dawned on me
tonight............ext3 (or ext2 for that matter) can become very
sluggish when you hit about 98% of the capacity of the drive, of which
i was at 98%.

so, i cleaned up a ton of stuff, and down to about 80% and all my
lockups are gone!  and, it runs smoothly again.

i guess the moral of the story is...there could be really obscure
solutions for really annoying things, and don't be a packrat (or if
you are one, then buy more space!)

leif