Peter’s Hospital Diary

And finally everything is back as it should be! Full raid, disk layout fine, all burning and turning!

I was talking to fellow blog master Mark about it, and he commented that this episode was hardly a good advert for Linux, which rather got me thinking about the last couple of weeks.

The initial failure was a hardware fault in the memory which manifested itself as disk corruption. However Linux uses a journaling file system logs disk transactions before they happen (large disk transactions are processor intensive, so most modern OSs delay disk writes until the processor isn’t doing other things – but a system crash can mean lost data that hasn’t been written to disk – which is why a computer should always be shut down properly, never just switched off)) Linux uses a journaling file system which logs potential disk transactions so if the system does crash, the journal can recover the expected transactions and make repairs. (Windows NTFS also uses a less robust form of journaling).

However in this case the potential corruption was so bad that Linux deactivated the disk so that no other damage could occur – a fact that I didn’t immediately recognise. If I had, I could probably have had the system up and running again within a day or so. As it was, I took the safe course and reloaded everything onto a new disk, got it all up, and then transferred it back to an array. What would have happened had I been using Windows? I’m not sure, but I doubt it would have been any easier. However, as Mark pointed out, having up-to-date backups would have helped!! (That is now in hand) Mark – enjoy your Apple Mac when it arrives – and remember that the underlying operating system is Linux based!

I said I would post some more photos of Olivia at a birthday party when I received them. I have and they are in the November Album in the Gallery (under Olivia).

I am off on another module of the computer course I started a month ago – this one is about networks, so I may not write for a few days – but keep watching this space!

O&U

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Hmm – it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had hoped! For some reason (I think I know why – do do with the fact that the disk had been cloned from a previous RAID array and also a power supply connector problem preventing proper operation of that disk) the computer started treating the two drives in the RAID array as two separate arrays with one drive in each! It took a bit of sorting, but after checking (and double checking!) the drives, the solution was to erase one, and then re-configure it into the proper array and rebuild it. This is a seamless and transparent background process (I hope) but takes some time as is happening at the moment. There is one other thing to do after that, but then all should be well!

Enough of computer stuff! Richard asked about the mouse repeller! Well it seems to be working in that I haven’t heard any mice in the attic above the bedroom since it was installed, but that is a long way from the attic above the kitchen, where the latest problems have been. However I haven’t caught any more mice since the weekend!

My best wishes go to Simon (BT fame) who I said I heard from last week. He has since posted a couple of comments here and here describing a medical snagette of his own. Simon – we are all with you – keep smiling!

Finally, Elspeth, of Elspeth’s blog fame and fellow LeukaemiaCARE volunteer is off on some exciting travels in the New Year. I’m thinking of setting up a gallery in her blog so she can post her photos there! Good to see that all is well after her medical issues.

So onwards and upwards!

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Apologies for the absence of the blog for the last couple of evenings – this has been while I restore the computer back to its normal configuration. Last night was spent installing the two discs for the RAID 1 array, and tonight was spent migrating the data off the single hard drive (shown resting on the top of the chassis) to the RAID array (one disk can just be seen at the top of the case) This didn’t go quite as smoothly as I expected – partly my fault – I carelessly deleted a logical volume, but because the changes aren’t recognised by the kernel until a reboot, the data was still accessible – until the computer was turned off, so I could copy it all to the array. The computer underneath will be the backup server.

Tomorrow I will be putting it back in its case and starting to configure the backup server, so it will be down for an hour or so.

O&U!!

Tags: Computing

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And the end of another busy weekend – which started on Friday with a visit to the Opticians for a contact lens check. I normally use 15 day disposable lenses, and I needed new supplies, but when the optician looked at the ones I was wearing (new the day before) she was horrified at how ‘dirty’ they were. I have been having a bit of eye trouble (excessive mucous production – which accumulates on the lens, causes irritation, causes more mucous etc and a viscious circle) so I have changed to daily disposable for a while. Today is the first day – they take a bit of getting used to and took a while to settle down this morning, but they seem better now. At the risk of a bad pun – we shall see!

The dishwasher saga continued, and having ordered the replacement seal – a check showed that there hasn’t been any other leakage so working on the basis of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” I decided not to take it all apart, but just keep it in case the problem returns. Irritating though as it was a relatively expensive part.

The highlight of Saturday was a visit by an old University friend, Tom. Tom was a dental student at Leeds, when I was doing my engineering degree, and we shared a house with two medical students (Jon and Martin) for 3 years. The passage of time and geographical separation means that we don’t see each other very often, but we still keep in contact – I see Tom more than the others as he visits this area from time to time – we keep talking about a get together – we must do it!

And as you might guess from the title, the mouse saga continues too! We discovered evidence in the cereals cupboard (a nibbled into box of cornfalkes – and a ‘little nipper’ mouse trap duly caught the culprit on Saturday night. Further investigation in cupboards showed more evidence, so some holes have been blocked, and the ‘little nippers’ reset, but I hope we have solved the problem.

We went to see Vicki on Sunday – Olivia had been to a Birthday Party with a ‘fairy’ theme – the results are here and more will be in the photogallery (when I get them from Vicki).

So Onwards and upwards!

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Well, no – it was exactly the same Guy’s that I went to yesterday, with pretty much the same routine – arrive – give blood, do the crossword, see the doctor and then leave! However there were some slight variations yesterday – I had longer to do the crossword as the blood order (the order for the tests) hadn’t been ‘put on the system’ and afterwards I had a lung function test.

However the check up went well – nothing untoward was found, although I am slightly amused to be started on an anti fungal drug, fluconozole as “I am at risk from fungal infections”. Well I would have thought I have been at risk for the last 2 years and it is a bit late now, but… whatever! I was threatened with Itraconozole (the foul tasting stuff – certainly by association) that I had during the transplants) but I declined that! The other good news is that it is thought that a bone marrow biopsy would serve little purpose after the PET scan, so that has been cancelled. Best of all, the next check up isn’t for another 2 months, so I took my leave, wishing the team a Happy New Year!

The lung function test showed a slight improvement over the last one six weeks ago, but still a bit down from last year – the next one is in two months to coincide with the check up.

The trip back was eventful A broken rail outside Basingstoke meant that trains stopped there, followed by a bus to Winchester to pick up local trains – enough to say that a 90 minute journey took 3 hours!

However I arrived home to find Olivia visiting us! As you can see, she is all but walking! She has no problem pulling herself up and standing with minimal support – she just needs to sort out the balance thing! (We’ll have to cut back on the gin in her food!)

And then last night we went to Rachael’s certificate presentation at her old school. She obtained her spectacular set of results, in a very good year, so it was good to go back and see her year group get the recognition for all their hard work! Well done Roo!

So on all fronts – Onwards and Upwards!

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And indeed it was – yesterday was a really soggy day – the sort of day when you stoke up the fire and settle down with a book or something – so that is what we did! That sort of wet and windy weather will forever be associated in my mind with my week in Southampton’s hospital last January though. Exactly the same sort of wind and grey skies beating against the window at the end of the block (and a view over the regional blood transfusion centre!) Hard to believe it was only at the start of the year – but equally strange that 10 months has gone by – and how much Olivia has grown.

However we didn’t see Olivia this weekend. Felicity was away on Saturday visiting Katie in Bournemouth while I delved into the innards of the dishwasher, which was tripping the main circuit breaker when it was switched on. The clue came when I tipped it on its back and a few pints of water poured out of the tray underneath the main wash tank – clearly causing leakage across the electrics. Further investigation showed that the bottom door seal has a hole in it, and while the seal isn’t submerged, water does splash against it and there was a small dribble leaking out. It must have been like that for a few months for the amount of water to accumulate. Anyway, a new seal has been ordered – next weekend’s job!

The mouse scarer seems to work – only one instance of a mouse clog dancing in the attic above the bedroom since it was installed, so another job is to get a permanent mains supply up there, and the purchase of a couple more for other attic areas.

And the ‘highlight’ of the week is another trip to Guy’s on Thursday for a check-up and lung function test!

Onwards and upwards!

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A bit of a mixed bag today! Living in the country, we do occasionally get bothered by mice, which are fine in the garden, but I do start objecting when the encroach into the house. I think they climb up plants growing up the wall into the kitchen attic and then into the cavity walls up to the main attic, where they clog dance above the bedrooms. However last week one found its way into a kitchen cupboard, where is expired – fortunately before doing any damage.

I have used mouse traps and poison bait to control them, but I’m not sure traps are particularly humane if you don’t get an instant kill, and if you use poison, finding the bodies (usually by smell) is a pain, and it is a faff getting a step ladder out and climbing into the darker recesses of ther attic.

However I found a device here which claims to deter them. I was a bit sceptical, but friend Mark (of Dorgogne Retreat fame) has had some success with them, so I rigged one up in the attic – and it seems to have worked. I now need to get a permanent power supply up there and maybe get a couple more, and I hope problem solved!

On the health front, my appetite has continued to improve, and my weight is probably higher now than at any time in the last 8 months. My mouth is a lot better (apart from a visit yesterday to the toothwright for a new crown to be fitted) and eating food is becoming a pleasure again, rather than a chore. I am off to Guy’s again next Thursday (I can’t believe it is 6 weeks!) so we will see what they say.

Finally, I had a call from friend Simon (of BT broadband fame) who has commented here in the past). Good to hear from you Simon!

So that is it – as I said, a bit of a mish-mash – but perhaps that is another sign of ‘getting my life back’!

O&U

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I am delighted to report that the stomach bug has cleared up, and the anti-fungal lozenges I mentioned in the last post have had an almost miraculous effect! My mouth is much much better, and my appetite seems to have returned with a vengeance! Not only has the soreness all but gone, but my sense of taste has returned, and it seems lesss sensitive to spicier foods. I think it will be a while before I can eat a strong curry or chilli con carne, but foods like Branston Pickle and tomato ketchup aren’t causing any problems, and I don’t have to cut the crusts off my bread! I still find I am eating ‘defensively’ and so I don’t chew my food as much as I should (not helped by the lack of saliva) but I hope that will start improving too. It is 12 months since I had the radiotherapy that started the soreness.

The stomach bug cleared up just in time for a visit to a childhood friend, David, and his wife Frances, who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversay last Sunday. A good afternoon! Lots of catching up, and a chat with David’s parents who I last saw at the wedding!

The computer rebuild has continueed this week too, gradually getting back the configuration and applications that were there before the crash. The replacement memory arrived yesterday, so it is back to ‘normal’ which may make it a bit more responsive (although I don’t think it will make any difference to the web server).

And finally to cap a good week, Rachael (youngest daughter) and I went to a firework display (at work) last night.

Onwards and upwards!

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The work in getting the computer back as I want it is progressing. The problem with reloading an operating system is not the reloading, it is re-creating the configuration! Fortunately I can get most of the configuration files off the old disk – it just takes time!

Vicki brought Olivia over today – and as it is a few weeks since she featured here, I have taken some photos – as always, larger versions are in the gallery. We brought this little outfit back from France with us, the colour suits her! She has grown quite a lot and is very close to walking, however she has discovered how to crawl, as this picture shows! She has quite a turn of speed too!

On the health front, the stomach bug seems to be getting better and I can look forward to food again. I had a follow up letter from the oral clinic recommending some anti-fungal lozenges, and my mouth is a lot better as a result. I am supposed to suck four a day, and leave an hour before eating or drinking anything. Not too bad you may think, except that each one takes about an hour and a half to suck. That’s six hours a day. Add an hour after each one and that’s ten hours. Knock off 7 hours sleep and that leaves five hours for drink, food etc – so in practice I am manging between two and three a day – but they seem to be doing the trick!

So O&U!

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Pheww! That was a bit of a tense week, but all is (I think) restored and the blog is up and running again with no loss of data!

So what happened?

Well, after I got back and started looking at the computer, I found I was getting some erratic behaviour, nothing serious, but a few error messages, so I ran a file checking program to make sure the disk file system was OK. I use logical volumes on the computer, so checking can be a bit tricky, and I was getting lots of errors reported, so I ran a repair program. Half way through that the computer crashed and would not restart – basically saying that it couldn’t find the operating system! Major panic time as that indicated that the disk was corrupt!

The first thing to do in that situation is STOP DOING ANYTHING as panic measures nearly always make a bad situation worse! After some thought, I did a little careful work on the system – I could see the logical volume, but nothing in it, however I also ran a memory check, and it showed several faults on the memory (which has since been returned under warranty, and is waiting replacement). Meanwhile I found another memory stick, installed that and re-installed the operating system from scratch. I also contacted some data recovery companies to see if they could help. The feeling was ‘yes’ – but at a cost! (Several hundred pounds)

I did have a back up from last May (I had had one from September, but I had recently cleared that to make way for a not-yet-done backup! Grrr!) so all was not lost, but a great deal potentially was at risk (most of Olivia’s recent photographs as well as 5 month’s blog). Before sending the disks off, (there are two, in a mirrored configuration, the idea being that if one disk fails, the other takes over – but no use in this case as both mirrored disks would have the same corrupted files) I took images of them so I could have a play first.

However, the imaged disks didn’t work (for reasons I’m not sure about) but I did discover that I could use one disk in the array – so I could cautiously look at one of the damaged disks. In the meantime I read up about the logical volume system, and noted that one of the error messages said ‘LVM inactive’ meaning that although the ‘container’ that holds the data was there, it wasn’t in use. A glimmer of an idea was that if I could make the logical volume active, I might (just might) get something.

So that is what I did – and there was the data! In principle the only task was to copy it over to the main disk.

In practice it was a bit more involved as I had to re-install and re-configure the webserver and database applications, but that is now complete – and here I am! There is a lot more to do to get the computer back as I like it, but that will take a while and won’t affect the blog. I haven’t looked at everything on the disk yet but the important bits seem OK.

The process hasn’t been helped by the fact that I have had some bug since the weekend. Usual stuff, D&V, and it seems to be doing the rounds. I have felt very tired, and haven’t been eating very well, but I seem to be over the worst now.

So, with a huge sigh of relief, it is onwards and upwards again! (Now – about that backup…)

P.S. Just realised that there was a problem with comments – now fixed!

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