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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!nic.MR.NET!shamash!raspail!steve
From: steve@raspail.UUCP (Steve Schonberger)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport,comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Of Large Mailboxes, Elm, and uPort
Message-ID: <1282@raspail.UUCP>
Date: 21 Feb 89 19:51:25 GMT
References: <500@fallst.UUCP>
Organization: Control Data Corporation, Arden Hills, MN
Lines: 34

In article <500@fallst.UUCP>, tkevans@fallst.UUCP (Tim Evans) writes:
> I just returned from a brief vacation and found my mailbox fairly full
> (90-odd messages.)  Elm attempted to create its temporary copy of the
> mailbox file, but apparently ran out of space in /tmp.

[...]

> When I subsequently went back into
> Elm to read mail again, there were *N*O* messages!  Everything had dis-
> appeared.  /usr/mail/myname was also empty!

> I know that I can reinstall SysV/AT and make changes in the file system 
> sizes from the default.  Can _Elm_ be configured to put its temporary
> mailbox in the /usr partition, though?  If so, how?

I had that problem on other machines, and my solution was to partition
so that there was just enough room on root for the stuff that has to be
there, and a very small amount of temp space.  Then set things up like
this:

On the root partition:
/tmp		symbolic link to /usr/tmp
/usr		mount point for /usr partition
/usr/tmp	tmp space for when /usr partition isn't mounted

On the /usr partition:
/usr/tmp	main tmp space area

This keeps you from running out of space unless your /usr is full too,
in which case you have other problems to worry about besides not being
able to read mail.

	Steve Schonberger
	steve@raspail.cdc.com	...!uunet!rosevax!shamash!rapail!steve