LinuxQuestions.org
Download your favorite Linux distribution at LQ ISO.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie
User Name
Password
Linux - Newbie This Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question? If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 08-30-2016, 06:53 PM   #1
dbc254
Member
 
Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Philadelphia
Distribution: Linux Mint 17.3
Posts: 43

Rep: Reputation: 0
Question Saving space?


Have a mere 120gb SSD with 77.8gb free after all my stuff is loaded. Was closer to 80gb, but then something happened. What can I get rid of to get back to 80gb unused? Linux Mint 18 [beta] here. KDE desktop, simple end-user.
 
Old 08-30-2016, 08:10 PM   #2
frankbell
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Virginia, USA
Distribution: Slackware, Ubuntu MATE, Mageia, and whatever VMs I happen to be playing with
Posts: 19,257
Blog Entries: 28

Rep: Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119Reputation: 6119
Without precisely analyzing the contents of the drive, that question cannot be answered.

(Also, what is the source of those 77GB and 80GB figures?)

Several tools can help you do this:

Code:
ls -a <-----list all files
du  <-----disk usage
df  <-----disk free
Note that output of those commands may not perfectly align in the amount of space that they show as used or free. This is perfectly normal.

Also, du and df have numerous arguments that can be used to make them easier to read. Here's a pretty good summary: http://www.codecoffee.com/tipsforlinux/articles/22.html You can see their respective man pages for more.

Here's another article that might be helpful: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/linux-d...ze-your-usage/
 
Old 08-30-2016, 08:20 PM   #3
syg00
LQ Veteran
 
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Australia
Distribution: Lots ...
Posts: 21,099

Rep: Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117Reputation: 4117
It's all a matter of perspective - I just went crazy cleaning up a couple of days back when my F23 got to 15 Gig ...

Now /home is another matter - the tools suggested above will help apportion blame. I'm sure KDE has some GUI-fied equivalent.
 
Old 08-31-2016, 10:06 AM   #4
urbanwks
Member
 
Registered: Sep 2003
Distribution: Slackware64-Current, FreeBSD 12.1, Alpine 5.4, Manjaro 19, Alpine on WSL [Win10]
Posts: 194

Rep: Reputation: 213Reputation: 213Reputation: 213
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbc254 View Post
something happened.
You don't say.

You're probably going to have to be a little more specific about that.
 
Old 08-31-2016, 10:25 AM   #5
schneidz
LQ Guru
 
Registered: May 2005
Location: boston, usa
Distribution: fedora-35
Posts: 5,313

Rep: Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918Reputation: 918
this is what i use when i'm feeling neurotic about space:
Code:
[schneidz@hyper ~]$ cat bin/space.ksh 
#!/bin/bash

dir=$1

df -h

echo; echo files:
sudo find $dir -path /sys -prune -o -path /proc -prune -o -path /dev -prune -o -path /run -prune -o -type f -printf "%s \t\t%p\n" | sort -nr > ~/file-sizes.txt
echo; echo dirs:
sudo find $dir -path /sys -prune -o -path /proc -prune -o -path /dev -prune -o -path /run -prune -o -type d -exec du -b -d 0 -S '{}' \; | sort -nr > ~/dir-sizes.txt

echo; echo md5\'s:
sudo find $dir -path /sys -prune -o -path /proc -prune -o -path /dev -prune -o -path /run -prune -o -type f -exec md5sum '{}' \; | sort | uniq -D -w 32 > ~/md5.dupes

Last edited by schneidz; 08-31-2016 at 10:26 AM.
 
Old 08-31-2016, 12:18 PM   #6
hydrurga
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Nov 2008
Location: Pictland
Distribution: Linux Mint 21 MATE
Posts: 8,048
Blog Entries: 5

Rep: Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925
I would recommend using a graphical filesystem usage program such as Filelight (should be in your repo) to determine what exactly is taking up the space on your system.

I would also suggest using the file cleaner application Bleachbit (https://www.bleachbit.org/), but you have to be careful using that as a simple end-user, and you should back up your system before you use it the first time. If you do give it a go, I can let you know which settings I use (I used it for Linux Mint 17.2/3 KDE and am using it for Linux Mint 18 MATE with no problems).

A simple sudo apt-get clean might free up some space by clearing out the local cache of retrieved package files.
 
Old 08-31-2016, 03:10 PM   #7
rhubarbdog
Member
 
Registered: Apr 2015
Location: Yorkshire, England
Distribution: Linux Mint
Posts: 145

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
Quote:
Originally Posted by syg00 View Post
I just went crazy cleaning up a couple of days back
only go crazy cleaning /home and don't delete .directories and .files that you didn't create.
Deleting other stuff that you belive you don't need is just going to break your operating system or applications. Music and Video can take a lot of space so it may help to look there first.

Last edited by rhubarbdog; 08-31-2016 at 03:18 PM.
 
Old 08-31-2016, 04:39 PM   #8
Habitual
LQ Veteran
 
Registered: Jan 2011
Location: Abingdon, VA
Distribution: Catalina
Posts: 9,374
Blog Entries: 37

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbc254 View Post
Linux Mint 18 [beta] here. KDE desktop, simple end-user.
Alt+F2 and enter
Code:
gksudo baobab /
for visual representation.

However, not understanding the Linux hierarchy can lead to crying penguins all over the world.
http://rlworkman.net/howtos/rute/ - Thanks Robby for hosting that!

Last edited by Habitual; 08-31-2016 at 04:47 PM.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 09-03-2016, 04:09 AM   #9
chrism01
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Aug 2004
Location: Sydney
Distribution: Rocky 9.2
Posts: 18,344

Rep: Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746Reputation: 2746
Re : rute : I hadn't realised the original has gone.
I have bookmarked the new location .
Thx as above - that always should be kept as a great intro.
 
Old 09-03-2016, 09:30 AM   #10
snowday
Senior Member
 
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 4,667

Rep: Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411Reputation: 1411
You have over 77gb free, and your drive is less than 1/4 full. There is no problem, nothing is wrong, and there is no need to take any action. It is totally normal for a Linux filesystem to expand slightly over time as you install software, download updates, write to log files, configure settings, etc. A system with 80gb free will not be any faster, stable, or user friendly than a system with 77.8gb free. Storage is incredibly inexpensive in the year 2016, so my advice is to just keep using your system without worry until it starts to get full, then invest in more storage.
 
2 members found this post helpful.
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Space saving filesystem suggestions, please? Weapon S Linux - General 6 03-18-2014 03:48 AM
LXer: Rsync Snapshots: Space Saving & Fast Recovery LXer Syndicated Linux News 0 11-28-2011 10:02 PM
Is ReiserFS F.S. better for saving hard drive space and stress? Holering Linux - Software 1 09-03-2010 04:36 AM
Division of Logical Memory Space in to User Space and Kernel Space shreshtha Linux - Newbie 2 01-14-2010 09:59 AM
space saving techniques? c_olin3404 Linux - General 2 03-22-2005 04:31 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Newbie

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:06 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration