How to fix ERROR 1024: Error reading file in MySQL

Verify that your server has sufficient disk space. Use the df command to check:

df -h

If disk usage is above 90%, you need to free up space by deleting unnecessary files or expanding your storage capacity. MySQL cannot properly read or write files when the disk is full.

Examine the MySQL error logs to get the specific filename and errno that caused the error. The logs are typically located at:

tail -f /var/log/mysql/error.log

Or on macOS:

tail -f /usr/local/var/mysql/error.log

Look for the exact file path and system error code, which will help identify the root cause.

Ensure the MySQL server user (usually "mysql") has read permissions for the affected files. First, identify which file is causing the issue from your logs.

Check current permissions:

ls -la /var/lib/mysql/yourdatabase/yourfile

Fix permissions if needed:

chown mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql/yourdatabase/yourfile
chmod 660 /var/lib/mysql/yourdatabase/yourfile

If the entire database directory has permission issues:

chown -R mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql/yourdatabase/
chmod -R 750 /var/lib/mysql/yourdatabase/

For MyISAM tables, use CHECK TABLE to identify corruption:

CHECK TABLE yourtable;

If issues are found, repair the table:

REPAIR TABLE yourtable;

For InnoDB tables, use mysqlcheck with auto-repair:

mysqlcheck -u root -p --auto-repair --check --optimize yourdatabase

This will check all tables in the database and automatically repair any issues found.

If the error occurs with LOAD DATA INFILE or SELECT INTO OUTFILE statements, verify the file paths are correct:

LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE '/absolute/path/to/file.csv'
INTO TABLE yourtable
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';

Ensure:
- The path is absolute (starts with /), not relative
- The file exists and is readable by MySQL
- The file is on a partition MySQL can access
- Use LOCAL keyword if the file is on the client machine

If many queries are failing, the system may have reached the open files limit (often 1024). Check the current limit:

ulimit -n

Increase the limit by editing /etc/security/limits.conf:

echo "mysql soft nofile 65535" >> /etc/security/limits.conf
echo "mysql hard nofile 65535" >> /etc/security/limits.conf

Then edit the MySQL configuration file (/etc/mysql/my.cnf or /etc/my.cnf):

[mysqld]
open_files_limit = 65535

Restart MySQL for changes to take effect.

After making configuration or permission changes, restart MySQL:

sudo systemctl restart mysql

On macOS:

mysql.server restart

Verify it's running:

mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT 1;"

After restart, attempt the operation that was failing to see if the error is resolved.

If the error persists after all above steps, suspect hardware failure. Run disk diagnostics:

sudo smartctl -a /dev/sda

For ext4 filesystems, run:

sudo e2fsck -n /dev/sda1

If the diagnostics show bad sectors or drive errors, back up your data immediately and plan to replace the storage device. Hardware failure is a serious issue that may prevent reliable database operation.