Fix 'thread.error: can’t start new thread' error while yum update

Fix 'thread.error: can’t start new thread' error while yum update

Sometimes when we run 'yum update' or try to install or update softwares using yum, you will get 'thread.error: can’t start new thread ' error.

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File "/usr/lib/yum-plugins/fastestmirror.py", line 333, in get_mirrorlist
    self._poll_mirrors()
  File "/usr/lib/yum-plugins/fastestmirror.py", line 376, in _poll_mirrors
    pollThread.start()
  File "/usr/lib/python2.4/threading.py", line 416, in start
    _start_new_thread(self.__bootstrap, ())
thread.error: can't start new thread

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This error is due to the inadequate memory for yum operation. This occurs due to Yum’s fastest-mirror plugin. So, if you have a low end VPS then you may see this error often. To solve this just disable that plugin.

You can disable this plugin in 2 ways :

Login using root issue and issue this command.

[root@elite ~]# vi /etc/yum/pluginconf.d/fastestmirror.conf

And change this line
enable=1
to
enable=0

OR

Login using root issue and issue this command.

[root@elite ~]# yum --disableplugin=fastestmirror update

This plugin is used to find the fastest mirrors/sources available for the software so that the update/install process is quicker. To re-enable the plugin, just run the command.

[root@elite ~]# yum --enableplugin=fastestmirror update

OR

change enable=1 in fastestmirror.conf file