[PLUG] Mint 18.0 Cinnamon 64-bit: Message 'Boot is Full'

[Keith Lofstrom]

On Sun, Nov 13, 2016 at 04:39:22PM -0800, Vedanta Teacher wrote:
> Everyone,
> 
>    I'm running a relatively new HP Pavilion desktop with:
> Mint 18.0 Cinnamon 64-bit
> Version 3.0.7
> Linux Kernel 4.4.0-47-generic
> RAM 14.6
> HD 945.9GB
> 
> Yesterday it threw a message at my of: Boot is Full
> 
> I've used the default installation settings for Boot & Grub.

Presumably, you have both a boot and a main partition.
Most distros are set up this way.

Mint is probably set up to run automated updates, which
means it adds new kernels with security fixes from time
to time, and does not delete the old ones.  If you 
installed Mint with a "just big enough" boot partition,
a few updates will add enough kernels to fill it.

Your boot partition is too small.

The easiest way to fix this is with a "live flash drive"
(like a live CD), using gparted with a GUI.  A live CD
will work just as well (but slower).  I'm pretty sure
Mint has a live flash drive version.  

If not, you can do this with an Ubuntu live (CD/flash).

With gparted, you can make the main partition smaller,
and then the boot partition bigger.  With a one terabyte
hard drive, I would make the boot partition at least
10 GB, or more than 5 times as much space as it uses
now.  That is way more than you will probably ever need,
but you won't ever have to deal with this error again.

You can also use text editors and command line tools from
the install (CD/flash) in repair mode, and remove the older
kernels.  This is not a difficult fix, but it is easy to
screw up, so I do not recommend it for the not-yet-adept
who have monster hard drives like yours.

There's a small chance that your boot partition is fine,
but you are intentionally storing stuff in boot that
doesn't belong there.  Don't do that, move those unholy
files to your main partition, and sin no more.  You can
do that with a live CD, or in repair mode, too.  But if
the distro put those files in boot, let not man split
asunder. :-)

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com