You are happy that your system running Linux has not crashed so far since you had installed it and hopefully, it may not crash ever. But do you know that Linux does crashes just like any other OS. Though, the frequency of crashes may be
You are happy that your system running Linux has not crashed so far since you had installed it and hopefully, it may not crash ever. But do you know that Linux does crashes just like any other OS. Though, the frequency of crashes may be far less in Linux in comparison to other OS. And, do you also know that when other often crash able OS like Windows crashes, they become up and running by either resetting or rebooting the machine and if something is little bit more serious, then reinstalling the OS often definitely removes the problems. This is not so when we talk about Linux. When something becomes real serious in Linux, then ctrl-alt-del magic keys, resetting or rebooting the machine or even reinstalling the Linux may not help you. In such situations, the best way to recover from disaster is to avoid such disaster inviting situations and if it is not possible, then be prepared fully in advance with arms and ammunitions to get rescued.
How and why Linux crashes?
There are various reasons that your robust Linux system may eventually crash one fine day. It is possible that a corrupted file system may cause a crash. And you probably know that how files gets corrupted due to slightest of silly reasons like power failure or bad blocks on disks etc. One bad thing about Linux is that, it did not support all available hardware as of now. And when you try to install a new hardware that is particularly new to Linux world, then you are definitely inviting system crashes. Linux also lacks in full support on multimedia, and when you try to run resource intensive multimedia programs, you are inviting system crashes. In Linux system, everything is identified as files, and when you work on GUI mode as root user, then again, you are definitely inviting havoc, since an unintentionally wrong click of a mouse somewhere may also lead your system to crash. When you update your Linux kernel, and forget to run LILO (Intel-compatible PCs) to remember your new kernel, your system will crash in next reboot. If you install another OS that rewrites MBR and does not support other operating system such as Windows9x, your Linux system’s LILO will be over written by new MBR and you won’t be able to boot in to Linux. Some other time, your Linux system boots perfectly, but due to some bizarre reasons, it disallows you to login. And finally, a new program that you installed had some undetected bug finds your system configuration most favourable and triggers, thus making your Linux system to crash.
What to do to avoid system crashes?
There is no guarantee that taking every precaution that had been documented so far will make your system immune enough to crashes. But the occurrences, the frequency and the severity of crashes may be tamed enough to do minimum damage on the system and produce less inconveniency to the user. Here are some tips that may help you run your system for an indefinite period without a crash and if a crash happens even after that then may do minimum damage.
ª Avoid using Linux as root and especially during X Windows session. Except for system administration work and during extremely essential system setting changing that require root authentication, do not use Linux as root. Using Linux as root during X Windows session are discouraged, and it is recommended that you use command line session. The logic behind this is that when you type in commands, then you probably know what you are doing and implication of commands you are entering. But when you are in X Windows mode as root user, a wrong click to an executable file can put you in a dilemma. The splash screen of Gnome desktop environment cautions you when you start Gnome as root user that you may damage your system while using Gnome as root. It is recommended that you create a user for yourself, login with this user ID and use su command if you need to do things as root operator.
ª Wise men’s idea to avoid system crash is to deal with it before it happens. So, always be prepared fully with good backup plan by performing frequent periodic backup and especially before adding any hardware, software or changing system settings.
ª Get handy emergency boot disks with latest, currently installed kernel. Boot disks with old kernel will not help you. So when you upgrade your system with latest kernel, always create fresh boot disks without fail. (See box for how to create boot disks)
ª Remove unnecessary programme from start up that may create problem. For example, running kudzu, the automatic new hardware detection tool at start up may freeze your system during start up when it find a new offending hardware not compatible with Linux.
ª In Linux, e2fsck (for second extended file system) is equivalent to that of Windows scandisk. And you know the value of scandisk if you use Windows. So, make e2fsck run a