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From: tjc@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Tim Chown)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re^2: Elm 2.2 PL10
Keywords: All mail is lost if /usr/spool is full !
Message-ID: <1761@ecs.soton.ac.uk>
Date: 22 Nov 89 12:02:10 GMT
References: <91266@pyramid.pyramid.com> <1989Nov16.145450.14312@DSI.COM>
Organization: University of Southampton, UK
Lines: 24

syd@DSI.COM (Syd Weinstein) writes:

>EB09 Elm(1) does not check for failed writes and closes of files.
>     This can have a disastrous affect if /tmp runs out of space.
>     In this case, elm(1) might copy a mailbox to a /tmp file and
>     then back.  Since elm(1) wouldn't detect that the copy to
>     the temp file failed, the temp file would wind up empty,
>     thereby causing the copy back to the mailbox to lose all
>     messages.
>
>Elm can run into trouble and loose all your messages if either
>/tmp runs out of space or /usr/spool/mail (or /usr/mail) runs
>out of space.  If /tmp runs out of space, an emergency exit ('x' command)
>will at least not loose the messages, as it won't do a copy back.
>The best workaround is to try and manage things so that those file systems
>don't run out of space, and I know that can be difficult.  

You don't have to use /tmp, of course as the configuration lets
you pick any directory for temporary workspace.  Using a file
system other than the root one is more sensible, all you need
is the cash for the disk ...

	Tim
	T.Chown@ecs.soton.ac.uk