User:Erbingha/High Disk Usage
Reasons for high disk usageProblem: I recently have been unable to save files in my Eos/Unity file space. Do you know what could be using up all of my file space? Solution: It sounds like your disk quota is over what it should be. Type: fs lq ~ and see what it says. If it gives you warning messages, and you are over quota, here is our stock answer as to why this might be. If you are not over quota, let us know. There are several reasons why you may have high disk quota:
1) Too many files. The main reason for high quota is having files that exceed your limit. Many times, excessive e-mail or large data files can lead to an account going over quota. If these large files aren't necessary, remove them using the UNIX remove command, 'rm': rm file rm: remove file (y/n)? y You can use the 'du' (for disk usage) command to find out how much space is being used in each of your subdirectories. This is a good way to find out where your larger files are being stored. If they are email messages, use the email delete option in your email program. If the large files in your account are necessary, you can compress them by saving them in a smallerformat. For example, if you have a SAS data set that is too large, you can compress it using the co mpress command: compress dataset.sas The file is renamed dataset.sas.Z, and can no longer be read by SAS. If you later needed to use the file, you can uncompress it back to its original format: uncompress dataset.sas.Z
2) Core file. When some programs crash, they may write a file to your home directory called 'core'. This file is useless and big, sometimes around 2 to 3 megabytes in size. If this file exists, remove it: rm core rm: remove core (y/n)? y
3) Netscape cache. If you use the Web browser Netscape, it will store large amounts of data in a directory called /.netscape-cache. To rid yourself of this excess data, run Netscape. In the Preferences option under the Options menu, choose "Cache and Network" from the top menu. A pop-up window will appear. Clear both caches using the buttons, and then change the Disk Cache Directory to another directory,such as /tmp/$USER.cache or /dev/null.
4) Softwin/Wabi. If you use the Softwindows or WABI software packages, they create subdirectories in your home directory (called ~/softwin and ~/wabi) that keep track of Windows preferences and other items. These directories can get rather large. If you are having quota problems, and you have one or both of these directories in your home directory, you will want to remove them. First, be sure to save any documents you may have in those directories into your home directory. Then, remove the directory with the following command: rm -rf ~/softwin rm -rf ~/wabi --
If these are not the sources of your high disk quota, please contact a consultant at 919-515-HELP or help@ncsu.edu for further assistance.