MX Linux Forum

My new frugal install is coming along nicely. The only big problem so far is that the boot-dev seems not to be unmounted cleanly -- and I'm shutting down properly from the start menu.

A fsck.vfat from a parallel Ubuntu, after a normal MX shutdown, shows a dirty bit and differences between original and backup FAT.

Where (in which script) is the /boot-dev supposed to be unmounted, and in which log file should I look?

frmald wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:58 pm My new frugal install is coming along nicely. The only big problem so far is that the boot-dev seems not to be unmounted cleanly -- and I'm shutting down properly from the start menu.

A fsck.vfat from a parallel Ubuntu, after a normal MX shutdown, shows a dirty bit and differences between original and backup FAT.

Where (in which script) is the /boot-dev supposed to be unmounted, and in which log file should I look?

Not much info given. But log files might be available under /var/log.
FAT is probably not an optimal choice for a reliable persistence system.

NTFS has a journal-over-journal problem, and also a horrible sparse-file rootfs / homefs problem, possibly related to enabling TLP (homefs and rootfs are both created as sparse files; whenever new blocks need to be allocated, there can be a several-minutes delay). I'll publish these separately

frmald wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 1:24 amNTFS has a journal-over-journal problem, and also a horrible sparse-file rootfs / homefs problem, possibly related to enabling TLP (homefs and rootfs are both created as sparse files; whenever new blocks need to be allocated, there can be a several-minutes delay). I'll publish these separately

Hm... I am not sure what you're talking about WRT NTFS trouble but I am using frugal installs (first MX18.3, now 19.3) on three PCs, with all frugal files stored on standard NTFS partitions, and have never run into any problems (not to mention minutes-long delays ). I also had TLP enabled on one of those PCs for a while and again, no negative side effects at all.

Basically, everything just works and works well. So I'd think that something in your install is off.

thomasl wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 11:36 am Hm... I am not sure what you're talking about WRT NTFS trouble but I am using frugal installs (first MX18.3, now 19.3) on three PCs, with all frugal files stored on standard NTFS partitions, and have never run into any problems (not to mention minutes-long delays ). I also had TLP enabled on one of those PCs for a while and again, no negative side effects at all.

Basically, everything just works and works well. So I'd think that something in your install is off.

Good to know, I will need to check in a "clean" MX install, as I have upgraded the kernel. The journal-over-journal problem, though, is real, as you can't tell NTFS to *not* journal (the ext4 rootfs / homefs already have journaling) and this will cost performance inevitably.

frmald wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 11:01 pmThe journal-over-journal problem, though, is real

Is it indeed? And if so, to what extent? Do you have evidence (eg benchmarks or other measurements) for such a claim? Or is that just a gut feeling...? Remember Knuth: "Premature optimization is the root of all evil."

frmald wrote: Fri Dec 25, 2020 11:01 pmas you can't tell NTFS to *not* journal (the ext4 rootfs / homefs already have journaling)

Hm... I don't think that in this setup ext4 journaling is a full replacement for NTFS journaling and vice versa. File system corruption can happen at many levels and journaling is an effective way to enhance reliability and stability and it also enhances the chances of recovery. If, for instance, your PC suddenly loses power, all the ext4 journaling in the world won't help you if your NTFS file system gets corrupted in the process. IMO and YMMV.