(SOLVED)Startup/Shutdown Sounds Cut Off

[Bald Brick]

But why do you need the question marks? Plain rm -rf .* and rm -rf * has always worked for me.

[CheeseQueen452]

Can't I just log in as root, open the tmp folder, & delete the files that way?

Just to be on the safe side, log off first.

Then switch to a virtual console with <alt><f2>, log in as root, and navigate to /tmp.

Delete all files/folders under /tmp - I use rm -rf .* (for the dot files) and rm -rf * (for the rest).
Note: in case you see a smiley, it's meant to be 3 question marks for both rm commands

Finish off with restarting you X environment: service dm restart and check if your system sounds are now completely played.

Torsten

[Bald Brick]

Can't I just log in as root, open the tmp folder, & delete the files that way?

If you reboot immediately afterwards, it might not be very dangerous. But your file manager would probably refuse to continue when it reaches the directories whose names begin with "ksocket-". Why not do it the safe way as tschommer recommended? The command line doesn't bite.

Edit:

(Although commands like rm -rf * and rm -rf ??* can be a bit dangerous. If you are in the wrong directory when you enter them you can delete your entire system. If you are in the right directory they are harmless.)

[CheeseQueen452]

Ok, just to be sure.... Tell me step by step how to do this. Tschommer mentioned opening a "virtual" konsole. Is that necessary? If so, how do I do that?

If you reboot immediately afterwards, it might not be very dangerous. But your file manager would probably refuse to continue when it reaches the directories whose names begin with "ksocket-". Why not do it the safe way as tschommer recommended? The command line doesn't bite.

Edit:

(Although commands like rm -rf * and rm -rf ??* can be a bit dangerous. If you are in the wrong directory when you enter them you can delete your entire system. If you are in the right directory they are harmless.)

[tschommer]

Sorry for the late response - I'm in Germany and just got home from work  ;)

The thing is that I'm sure that as soon as you use the graphical desktop some items in /tmp are being used and you could have problems logging in.

Therefore I always do it the way I described:

1. In the login screen, change to a console, either by pressing <alt><f2> or by pressing <alt>n (you can see it under Session Type => Console Login)
2. Log in as root
3. cd /tmp. To be sure you're at the right place type pwd (print working directory) - it should say /tmp
4. use rm -rf .???* so that you only delete files/folders with a dot and at least 3 characters long. This ways you won't accidentally try to remove "..", meaning the directory above tmp!
Then use rm -rf ???* (without the dot) to delete all visible files/folders
=> as mentioned before, no smilies, but rather 3 question marks and an asterisk
5. Take a look with ls -a - you should nothing but "." and ".."
6. Restart the X server by entering the command service dm restart

Now you should be back in the graphical login screen and be able to continue your work. Hopefully the system sounds will now be played entirely.

Torsten

[CheeseQueen452]

Thanx for the response.... I'm wondering if there might be an easier solution? I don't know if clearing the tmp folder would help, but I'm afraid of borking my system If only I knew what caused it, that would help in resolving the issue.... Perhaps the fact that the default sounds play completely, but my own sounds don't is the key?

Sorry for the late response - I'm in Germany and just got home from work 

The thing is that I'm sure that as soon as you use the graphical desktop some items in /tmp are being used and you could have problems logging in.

Therefore I always do it the way I described:

1. In the login screen, change to a console, either by pressing <alt><f2> or by pressing <alt>n (you can see it under Session Type => Console Login)
2. Log in as root
3. cd /tmp. To be sure you're at the right place type pwd (print working directory) - it should say /tmp
4. use rm -rf .* so that you only delete files/folders with a dot and at least 3 characters long. This ways you won't accidentally try to remove "..", meaning the directory above tmp!
Then use rm -rf * (without the dot) to delete all visible files/folders
=> as mentioned before, no smilies, but rather 3 question marks and an asterisk
5. Take a look with ls -a - you should nothing but "." and ".."
6. Restart the X server by entering the command service dm restart

Now you should be back in the graphical login screen and be able to continue your work. Hopefully the system sounds will now be played entirely.

Torsten

[tschommer]

You know what, you're probably right. Just log in as Root, open a file manager (Dolphin, Konqueror) and go to /tmp. Activate "Show hidden files" and then delete the whole bunch.

Since X is configured to restart when logging out, you shouldn't experience any problems there.

Keeping fingers crossed... 

[CheeseQueen452]

Are there any circumstances when it's NOT safe to delete those files? Is it possible to break something by doing so?

You know what, you're probably right. Just log in as Root, open a file manager (Dolphin, Konqueror) and go to /tmp. Activate "Show hidden files" and then delete the whole bunch.

Since X is configured to restart when logging out, you shouldn't experience any problems there.

Keeping fingers crossed... 

[tschommer]

Well, I've been doing this for years, because it's only a temporary folder. The only thing I found broken was that I couldn't use my running X session (KDE, LXDE, or whatever) reliably and had to back out with <ctrl><alt><backspace> so that the X server restarts.

This happens because the current status of some running programs is stored there. When, for instance, you browse shoutcast.com and tune in to a certain station, the playlist file is stored in /tmp. Anything that has to be stored on your pc temporarily will be found there.

And as I found out after doing this so many times, I'm sure that no files or applications will break.

[CheeseQueen452]

Ok, thanx. I'll give it a try....

[CheeseQueen452]

Well, I emptied the tmp folder.... no dice.... Any other ideas?

[tschommer]

Sorry, no more ideas 

[CheeseQueen452]

If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it!

[tschommer]

CheeseQueen452, I know you said you'd prefer not to make another user account, but if you did it wouldn't mess up anything for your standard account, or any other for that manner.

My suggestion would be to fire up PCC and create a test user, then switch to that account and assign one of the sounds that is being cut off. If it's cut off with the new account, then it's something system-wide we'll have to check. If it's played completely, we've got something else to build on.

You can delete the test account in the same PCC screen entirely, including home folder, etc., so you have everything cleaned up nicely.

By the way, I keep a test account just for the screenshots and other stuff, because my standard account is in German. Switching users in KDE4 is easy and works great. I can get back to my own user account with <ctrl><alt><f7>, and to the test user with <ctrl><alt><f8>. When I log out the test user, I'm automatically returned to my standard account and everything's back to normal. A great way to check different scenarios.

Just a proposal from my side...  

EDIT: I just remembered Tex suggesting turning off PulseAudio in PCC. This solved several sound problems for me in the past.
Go to Hardware => Sound configuration, uncheck Activate PulseAudio and click OK. Log out and back in...

[CheeseQueen452]

Well, now I feel sheepish.... I looked in the sounds folder where the default sounds are stored, & noticed they're .ogg files. So, I opened my own sounds(.wav) in audacity, saved them as .ogg files, & guess what.... they play completely!!! Why didn't I think of this before? All this time it was merely the file format. Why .wav wouldn't work, I don't know, but I'm happy to report the case is solved