Hacker News with Generative AI: Troubleshooting

Backblaze stopped for many Mac users on March 13 (reddit.com)
My backblaze silently stopped backing up my computers 8 days ago. There's a red alert box in the upper left corner of the preferences screen but clicking on it just takes me to the website where all appears ok. Pushing backup now just goes into "please wait" mode without doing anything (nothing else changes even when left for over a day).

Software, Backups, macOS, Troubleshooting

7 points by brigham 13 days ago | 0 comments

The chroot Technique – a Swiss army multitool for Linux systems (livesys.se)
Ever ran into a Linux box that just won’t boot, even after making sure that BIOS settings are OK and that no major hardware errors are at hand?

Linux, Security, Operating Systems, Troubleshooting

301 points by mariuz 17 days ago | 117 comments

Diagnosing bugs preventing sleep on Windows (wordpress.com)
TL;DR: Diagnosing programs causing insomnia is quite straightforward on Windows.

Windows, Debugging, Sleep, Troubleshooting

63 points by donpedro1337 24 days ago | 48 comments

Identifying a defective RAM IC on laptops with soldered memory (piernov.org)
Warning: some information in this article is uncertain and based onto third-party reverse engineering efforts. Official documentation from the memory controller manufacturer is required, however Intel does not make it public. This only shows the idea to narrow down the fault. Additionally, other factors such as a PCB or CPU fault could be the cause and not the RAM ICs themselves (e.g. common failure on MacBook Air 13" 2011 with board number 820-3023).

Hardware, Laptop Repair, Troubleshooting, Memory, Reverse Engineering

53 points by userbinator 24 days ago | 9 comments

My TV started playing a video in full screen by itself. What happened? (vizio.com)

Troubleshooting, Television, Technology, Smart Home

374 points by decimalenough 27 days ago | 252 comments

Understanding DNS Resolution on Linux and Kubernetes (jpetazzo.github.io)
I recently investigated a warning message on Kubernetes that said: DNSConfigForming ... Nameserver limits were exceeded, some nameservers have been omitted. This was technically a Kubernetes event with type: Warning, and these usually indicate that there’s something wrong, so I wanted to investigate it.

Linux, Kubernetes, DNS, Troubleshooting, Network

74 points by fanf2 34 days ago | 33 comments

Motherboard dies after marathon 100-hour BIOS update process (tomshardware.com)

Hardware, Motherboard, Software, Troubleshooting

19 points by LorenDB 39 days ago | 6 comments

3,200% CPU Utilization (josephmate.github.io)
A while back my machine was so messed up that I could barely ssh onto it. 3,200% CPU utilization - all 32 cores on the host were fully utilized! Compare that to my last bug where it only used 1 core, 100%

CPU Utilization, System Performance, Troubleshooting

493 points by atomlib 57 days ago | 222 comments

Troubleshooting: A skill that never goes obsolete (autodidacts.io)
Much of what I do, in multiple fields, could be reduced to one skill: troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting, Skills, Career Advice

406 points by surprisetalk 60 days ago | 137 comments

Defragging my old Dell's UEFI NVRAM (artemis.sh)
I’m setting up an old Dell box (2011-era tech). I was migrating to some new boot drives and setting up grub on them again. Got to the point of deleting the old boot entries and adding new ones, and got an error like Could not prepare boot variable: No space left on device.

Hardware, Operating Systems, Troubleshooting

162 points by todsacerdoti 61 days ago | 30 comments

Watt The Fox? (h.43z.one)
I recently got a new notebook and noticed that the speakers would occasionally emit a faint but annoying white noise. This issue was only noticeable in a quiet room when no music or other audio was playing through the speakers.

Hardware, Troubleshooting, Notebooks

346 points by h43z 69 days ago | 75 comments

Linux kernel cgroups writeback high CPU troubleshooting (dasl.cc)
We’ve been upgrading the operating system from CentOS to Ubuntu on hosts across our fleet. Our CentOS hosts run an outdated Linux kernel version (3.10), whereas our Ubuntu hosts run a more modern kernel version (6.8). In August 2024, we began rolling out the Ubuntu upgrade across our Apache web servers. When we migrated larger portions of our fleet to Ubuntu, we began seeing elevated listen overflow errors.

Linux Kernel, Troubleshooting, Performance, Operating Systems, Server Management

178 points by mesto1 71 days ago | 27 comments

MTR: 'traceroute' and 'ping' in a single tool (bitwizard.nl)
mtr combines the functionality of the 'traceroute' and 'ping' programs in a single network diagnostic tool.

Network Tools, Linux, Troubleshooting

106 points by program 81 days ago | 47 comments

How to turn off Apple Intelligence (asurion.com)
🚨 Setting up a new phone? Trouble connecting? No matter the issue, we can help.

Apple, Troubleshooting, Smartphones, Technology

240 points by walterbell 84 days ago | 179 comments

What's the Root Cause? – a quiz (spike.sh)
You will see 6 real-world incidents with multiple root causes as options. Select the correct one. Good luck!

Software, Quizzes, Outages, Troubleshooting

6 points by kaushikt 88 days ago | 3 comments

Older Samsung TV with microphone remote suddenly only understands Russian (reddit.com)

Samsung, Remote Controls, Language, Technology, Troubleshooting

7 points by tzs 88 days ago | 1 comments

Showkey: Examine Keyboard Codes (cubiclenate.com)
I was having a peculiar issue with my computer where the “]” key kept getting pressed over and over again. It was very aggravating and I wasn’t sure where the problem was coming from. Neither my external keyboard nor the laptop keyboard would respond when I would press the “]” key and I was confused.

Troubleshooting, Hardware, Software, Computers

6 points by LorenDB 89 days ago | 0 comments

Fixing my monitor's power button (lkhrs.com)
Turning one of my monitors vertical appeared to exacerbate an issue with the power button to the point where it stopped working. I did my first soldering job in years and was able to get it working again, so I’m documenting it.

Hardware, DIY, Troubleshooting

96 points by todsacerdoti 90 days ago | 34 comments

Why is my CPU usage always 100%? (downtowndougbrown.com)
If you’re new to this series, I’ve been documenting the process I went through upgrading my old PXA166-based Chumby 8’s 2.6.28 Linux kernel to a modern 6.x version.

Troubleshooting, Linux, Kernel, Hardware

537 points by pncnmnp 106 days ago | 142 comments

Diagnosing an Unusual WiFi Issue (2020) (ryuuta.net)
Late last year, I started experiencing some unusual intermittent connection issues on my Desktop.

Networking, Troubleshooting, Wi-Fi

271 points by llimllib 114 days ago | 97 comments

PCIe trouble with 4TB Crucial T500 NVMe SSD for >1 power cycle on MSI PRO X670-P (level1techs.com)

Storage, Hardware, Troubleshooting, SSDs, Motherboards

167 points by transpute 119 days ago | 105 comments

I fixed a server with a precisely placed piece of tape (2023) (treehouse.systems)

Hardware, Troubleshooting, Server Administration, DIY

90 points by Wowfunhappy 166 days ago | 52 comments

The number given as % CPU in Activity Monitor (eclecticlight.co)
One of the most frequently quoted measurements in Activity Monitor is % CPU. When the fans blow, or a Mac becomes sluggish, it’s often the first figure to look at and wonder why that process is pulling over 100%.

macOS, Performance, Activity Monitor, Troubleshooting

147 points by Brajeshwar 168 days ago | 32 comments

Ask HN: Proofpoint is blocking our emails. Any recourse? (ycombinator.com)
We have a valid email domain that is battletested and used for sending out notifications, invoices, upgrade notices to customers.

Email, Troubleshooting, Security, Business

23 points by internet1776 176 days ago | 25 comments

Apps does not open after upgrade to fedora 41 (fedoraproject.org)
Loading Fedora Discussion

Linux, Fedora, Operating Systems, Software, Troubleshooting

3 points by belter 176 days ago | 1 comments

Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen Desktop Instability Root Cause Update (intel.com)
Following extensive investigation of the Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop processor Vmin Shift Instability issue, Intel can now confirm the root cause diagnosis for the issue. This post will cover Intel’s understanding of the root cause, as well as additional mitigations and next steps for Intel® Core™ 13th and 14th Gen desktop users.

Hardware, CPUs, Intel, Technical Issues, Troubleshooting

48 points by transpute 206 days ago | 17 comments

How to avoid a BSOD on your 2B dollar spacecraft (clarkwakeland.com)
Short answer: turn it off and turn it back on

Spacecraft, Software, Troubleshooting, Hardware

190 points by linebeck 213 days ago | 152 comments

Stop macOS 15 Sequoia monthly screen recording prompts (lapcatsoftware.com)
The good news is that there's a way to stop the prompts forever.

macOS, Software, Troubleshooting, Operating Systems

20 points by frizlab 217 days ago | 4 comments

macOS firewall blocking web browsing after upgrading to Sequoia (waclaw.blog)
It seems the OS firewall can sometimes start blocking access to web browsing after upgrading to macOS Sequoia. At least this was the case for me and some folks on Reddit.

macOS, Security, Troubleshooting, Operating Systems, Web Browsing

3 points by luu 218 days ago | 0 comments

Linux Horror Stories and Protection Spells (Volume I) (2021) (blopig.com)
Don’t get me wrong. I love Linux. After many years of using it, I ended up appreciating how flexible, potent, and even beautiful it is. However, using Linux has never been a bed of roses and every single Linux user that I know has had to deal with many problems since the very beginning.

Linux, Operating Systems, User Experience, Troubleshooting

37 points by marcodiego 218 days ago | 18 comments