UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I have a directory 97% full warning. I have deleted 2 large files and still get the error each time I sign on. Can anyone help me with what I have failed to do? Thanks in advance. Danny Corley

I've seen lots of warnings about filesystems being full. I don't remember ever seeing a directory full warning.

Please show us the EXACT warning message that you're getting when you login, output from the commands:

Code:

uname -a
df $HOME

and output from the command:

Code:

mount

(we only need the line from mount corresponding to the filesystem shown in the df command output).

thanks for looking at this. Danny

Please cut output and post it enclosed in CODE-tags. Not everybody is willing to wade through a huge XML-file just to see the one-line error message.

In fact the error is "/ace is 97 % full" and "/ace" is most probably a filesystem. Check it like this (your output might look somewhat different):

Code:

# mount
  node       mounted        mounted over    vfs       date        options      
-------- ---------------  ---------------  ------ ------------ --------------- 
         /dev/hd4         /                jfs2   Nov 18 17:22 rw,log=/dev/hd8 
         /dev/hd2         /usr             jfs2   Nov 18 17:22 rw,log=/dev/hd8 
         /dev/hd9var      /var             jfs2   Nov 18 17:22 rw,log=/dev/hd8 
         /dev/hd3         /tmp             jfs2   Nov 18 17:22 rw,log=/dev/hd8

and if there is a line with "/ace" it is a filesystem.

Why you could delete two files and still see this warning is because of a common gotcha every novice SysAdmin falls for sooner or later: as long as a process has opened a file it is not unlinked (its space reclaimed) by the system, even if it is deleted. So most probably there is a process (or several processes) writing to the files you deleted. Until this process releases the file (i.e. via ending, closing the file, etc.) it is still there, even if its directory entry is already removed because you deleted it.

What you can do is: identify the process(es) and stop them. This will immediately unlink the file and the space it takes will be available again as free. Another option (which essentially does the same) is to reboot the system. The third option is to enlarge the filesystem. Depending on your system this could be possible without unmounting the FS.

To avoid creating the same problem again you should always check if a process accesses a file before you delete it. For this there are several tools, "fuser" is probably the most wide-known.

If a process uses a file you need to make smaller, instead of deleteing it you should shorten it:

Code:

# cat /dev/null > /file/in/question

will reduce it to length zero without interrupting the process writing to it.

I hope this helps.

bakunin

Thanks for the reply. I will try that. Sorry for not understanding about the code tags, this is new to me. Danny