fallocate: fallocate failed: Text file busy in Ubuntu 17.04?
I installed Ubuntu a few weeks ago and I usually run more than 6 programs(sts,web browsers, and so on).
The system is getting stuck.
My RAM size is 6 GB and swap 2 GB. I decided to increase swap size to 15 GB. When I was trying to accomplish this work, I got the following error. I have linked to the tutorial that I was following.
sudo swapon --show
[sudo] password for decoders:
NAME TYPE SIZE USED PRIO
/swapfile file 2G 0B -1
decoders@10decoders:~$ free -h
total used free shared buff/cache available
Mem: 5.7G 1.1G 3.4G 217M 1.1G 4.1G
Swap: 2.0G 0B 2.0G
decoders@10decoders:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev 2.9G 0 2.9G 0% /dev
tmpfs 583M 9.0M 574M 2% /run
/dev/sda1 293G 14G 265G 5% /
tmpfs 2.9G 4.7M 2.9G 1% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5.0M 4.0K 5.0M 1% /run/lock
tmpfs 2.9G 0 2.9G 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
tmpfs 583M 144K 583M 1% /run/user/1000
decoders@10decoders:~$ sudo fallocate -l 15G /swapfile
fallocate: fallocate failed: Text file busy
decoders@10decoders:~$ ls -lh /swapfile
-rw------- 1 root root 2.0G May 19 11:43 /swapfile
decoders@10decoders:~$
I followed this tutorial link: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/articles/how-to-increase-swap-space-on-linux-ubuntu
Creating a SWAP partition in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and derivatives
METHOD 1: Command-line Way from Terminal (Fastest way!)
STEP 1: First step is to check if by chance is there any SWAP partition already created in your PC:
sudo swapon --show
Enter your root password. If you see no output, it means that the SWAP doesn’t exist.
STEP 2: Next, let’s see the current partition structure of your computer’s hard disk:
df -h
STEP 3: As heynnema commented, before you start the changes disable the use of swap:
sudo swapoff -a
STEP 4: Now it's time to create the SWAP file. Make sure you have enough space on the hard disk. It is a matter of preference in how much SWAP size you need.
My suggestion is: If you have a maximum of 4GB of RAM I would suggest putting twice the RAM for the SWAP (8GB for SWAP). For PCs with more than 4GB I recommend the same number of RAM for SWAP plus 2GB. Example: In my case it's 8GB, I put 8GB + 2GB, totaling 10GB for SWAP. But you may feel free to make your choice.
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1G count=10 status=progress
STEP 5: SWAP file is now created. Let’s give root-only permissions to it.
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
STEP 6: Mark the file as SWAP space:
sudo mkswap /swapfile
STEP 7: Finally enable the SWAP.
sudo swapon /swapfile
STEP 8: You can now check using the same swapon command to check if SWAP is created.
sudo swapon --show
STEP 9: Also check the final partition structure again.
free -h
STEP 10: Once everything is set, you must set the SWAP file as permanent, else you will lose the SWAP after reboot. Run this command:
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
Finished, now exit the terminal!
You can check SWAP status on System Monitor utility.
METHOD 2: GUI Way using GParted
If you want to go directly through the graphical interface, enter the reference link below that is well explained.
Reference:
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How do I increase the size of swapfile without removing it in the terminal?
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https://www.fosslinux.com/1064/how-to-create-or-add-a-swap-partition-in-ubuntu-and-linux-mint.htm