Error 24: too many files open when trying to backup

[Konstantin2]

So uh, I tried to backup today and I keep getting error 24: too many open files.

I've tried everything I've found...increased open_files_limit in my.cnf for mysql, repaired, optimized, etc.

I still can't make a backup. The database itself has over 16000 tables, so thats giving me trouble.

I've searched around here and only seem to find error 23 related problems. I only host 1 domain on my server.

I am running fedora core6 and htis is driving me nuts.