Running out of space

[jamesofyorkshire]

Hi.

I keep getting a message on start-up saying I'm running low on disc space. When I 'examine' it, there is a 'var' folder taking up a LOT of space.....like 50gb. Within that is a 'tmp' folder that I presume is a temp folder? And therefore I should be able to empty it.....but I can't find a way to do that. That 'tmp' folder seems to be the main culprit for taking up space.

I cleared my 'downloads' folder etc. to remove as much as I can so I don't know what's taking up the disc space on my PC apart from that 'var' folder.....and I don't know what that is!

Any help/advice much appreciated.

[gm10]

I keep getting a message on start-up saying I'm running low on disc space. When I 'examine' it, there is a 'var' folder taking up a LOT of space.....like 50gb. Within that is a 'tmp' folder that I presume is a temp folder? And therefore I should be able to empty it.....but I can't find a way to do that. That 'tmp' folder seems to be the main culprit for taking up space.

Run these in a terminal window and post the output please:

Code: Select all

ll /var/tmp
sudo du /var/* -sht 100M

[ricardogroetaers]

If you are not sure what to remove, I suggest using a program for this.
I use bleachbit:
For the newer version, go to:
https://www.bleachbit.org/
or install an older version present in the Mint repositories by Synaptic.

In the blachbit, I suggest not selecting:
- APT (do this by Synaptic)
- System:
. memory -> this is experimental
. free disk space -> very time consuming
. languages -> do not forget to check the languages you want to preserve in the initial settings

Good luck.

[jamesofyorkshire]

james2@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ ll /var/tmp
total 424
drwxrwxrwt 106 root root 4096 Nov 25 09:44 ./
drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Nov 24 2017 ../
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 10:13 flatpak-cache-0B0MRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Sep 22 14:28 flatpak-cache-0HENPZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 10:37 flatpak-cache-0THWRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 18 07:53 flatpak-cache-0V1USZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 30 13:28 flatpak-cache-0WLQRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Oct 12 15:16 flatpak-cache-1G34QZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 12 12:04 flatpak-cache-1HPESZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Sep 12 06:15 flatpak-cache-1UJFPZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 12:56 flatpak-cache-246ORZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 1 07:26 flatpak-cache-2KIMRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 30 07:16 flatpak-cache-2M1IRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 14:20 flatpak-cache-2MJERZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Oct 26 07:32 flatpak-cache-3BFORZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 12 10:54 flatpak-cache-3UQ2RZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 19:48 flatpak-cache-41BSRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Feb 19 2018 flatpak-cache-42JDEZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 19:14 flatpak-cache-49AERZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 09:07 flatpak-cache-6F4SRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 24 08:19 flatpak-cache-6GYXSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 13 14:37 flatpak-cache-6NFJSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 11:41 flatpak-cache-71KERZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 james james 4096 Apr 24 2018 flatpak-cache-7JTOHZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 25 09:18 flatpak-cache-85RNSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 30 15:34 flatpak-cache-8CMLRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 09:41 flatpak-cache-8J0ORZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jun 21 14:38 flatpak-cache-8T01KZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 15 07:12 flatpak-cache-8X6FSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 20 2018 flatpak-cache-9MPCJZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Apr 28 2018 flatpak-cache-ACEJIZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 15:58 flatpak-cache-ARCVRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Apr 26 2018 flatpak-cache-B0X6HZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 1 17:50 flatpak-cache-B67IRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jun 8 19:49 flatpak-cache-B770JZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james2 james2 4096 Nov 24 06:29 flatpak-cache-BEY0SZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Aug 10 14:10 flatpak-cache-CASANZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Sep 5 07:30 flatpak-cache-CZ5TOZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 15:38 flatpak-cache-D95QRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 17 07:49 flatpak-cache-DMVKSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Feb 19 2018 flatpak-cache-E3VREZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Aug 18 06:48 flatpak-cache-EAD7NZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 26 16:51 flatpak-cache-EAWXRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Aug 30 14:28 flatpak-cache-EBMJOZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 14 2018 flatpak-cache-EXI1IZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Apr 24 2018 flatpak-cache-EY3OHZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 12:27 flatpak-cache-F6TGRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 9 2018 flatpak-cache-FELYIZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 17:27 flatpak-cache-GL0TRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 13:21 flatpak-cache-GXWTRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 27 20:31 flatpak-cache-HY5XRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 24 06:25 flatpak-cache-I78VSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 09:56 flatpak-cache-IKQQRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Sep 16 12:55 flatpak-cache-IQH6OZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 james james 4096 Nov 12 11:08 flatpak-cache-ITCCSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 16:17 flatpak-cache-IWZTRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jul 4 07:15 flatpak-cache-J2MQLZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 27 07:43 flatpak-cache-JH8KRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 12 11:16 flatpak-cache-JHQ4RZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james2 james2 4096 Nov 23 06:49 flatpak-cache-KD02SZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Sep 15 14:31 flatpak-cache-LGY2OZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 19:15 flatpak-cache-LXJIRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 1 19:58 flatpak-cache-MNNIRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Feb 19 2018 flatpak-cache-MVR9DZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 07:11 flatpak-cache-N5NURZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jun 4 20:14 flatpak-cache-NFXHKZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 2 07:05 flatpak-cache-NSMMRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 20 17:16 flatpak-cache-NY27SZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 14:45 flatpak-cache-OEASRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 28 07:05 flatpak-cache-OH6KRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Aug 8 06:30 flatpak-cache-OZVBNZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james2 james2 4096 Nov 17 07:49 flatpak-cache-PTZKSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 2 20:37 flatpak-cache-QD9VRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james2 james2 4096 Nov 24 08:20 flatpak-cache-QLC2SZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 09:47 flatpak-cache-QRMSRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 23 2018 flatpak-cache-R4NIJZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james2 james2 4096 Nov 15 07:15 flatpak-cache-R7G2RZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 1 08:29 flatpak-cache-R8UTRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 31 16:22 flatpak-cache-RE4FRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jun 15 06:12 flatpak-cache-RGDIKZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Sep 12 06:12 flatpak-cache-S2VDPZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Nov 12 11:32 flatpak-cache-ST26RZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 19 12:53 flatpak-cache-SZPVSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 1 15:33 flatpak-cache-TH8LRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 21 19:12 flatpak-cache-TO6XSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 06:56 flatpak-cache-UBUDRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Nov 16 07:38 flatpak-cache-UEEDSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 25 2018 flatpak-cache-UUFPJZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 27 11:16 flatpak-cache-VUSSRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 29 14:48 flatpak-cache-W8KYRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 May 1 2018 flatpak-cache-WMCDIZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 26 15:03 flatpak-cache-X0TIRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Nov 23 06:47 flatpak-cache-XUL6SZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 ma ma 4096 Oct 30 16:44 flatpak-cache-YC4VRZ/
drwxr-xr-x 3 james2 james2 4096 Nov 25 09:44 flatpak-cache-YJKZSZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Jun 29 15:12 flatpak-cache-YKFQLZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 james james 4096 Apr 24 2018 flatpak-cache-Z5FFHZ/
drwxr-xr-x 2 ma ma 4096 Oct 2 07:28 flatpak-cache-ZAVDQZ/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Nov 25 09:17 systemd-private-35bf97ee52454b1f996d1c6451158180-colord.service-f6bKVP/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Nov 25 09:17 systemd-private-35bf97ee52454b1f996d1c6451158180-rtkit-daemon.service-1fqKfi/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Aug 20 20:08 systemd-private-6546fe96108c446e9bcd41da31a7446d-colord.service-Y93jgR/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Aug 20 20:08 systemd-private-6546fe96108c446e9bcd41da31a7446d-rtkit-daemon.service-66h2jq/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Oct 12 20:33 systemd-private-e143b8f589d243f5a01b69e2345b0541-colord.service-nQ5oJH/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Oct 12 20:33 systemd-private-e143b8f589d243f5a01b69e2345b0541-rtkit-daemon.service-dc1red/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Aug 23 16:18 systemd-private-fba77bdfb4614084bcdfc5b6c2554218-colord.service-2yszwK/
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Aug 23 16:18 systemd-private-fba77bdfb4614084bcdfc5b6c2554218-rtkit-daemon.service-IbpiKf/
james2@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sht 100M

[gm10]

There's nothing big in /var/tmp. What made you think it had 50GB? However, are you sure there was no output to the following command?

james2@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sht 100M

There should be something in /var/lib if nothing else. What Mint version are you using (post output of inxi -S if you're not sure)?

Run it again like this please:

Code: Select all

sudo du /var -sh
sudo du /var/* -sh

If /var has 50 GB I would expect it to be in /var/log by the way.

[jimallyn]

Regarding Bleachbit, there are many here who recommend against using Bleachbit. Some call it a "software wrecking ball." YMMV

[jamesofyorkshire]

GM10


james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sht 100M
[sudo] password for james:
3.4G /var/cache
4.6G /var/lib
24G /var/tmp

[jamesofyorkshire]

I shall refrain from using Beachbit. I generally don't use anything I'm not familiar with.

[jamesofyorkshire]

GM10

james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ inxi -S
System: Host: james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC Kernel: 4.10.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.6 Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia

[jamesofyorkshire]

GM10

james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sht 100M
[sudo] password for james:
3.4G /var/cache
4.6G /var/lib
24G /var/tmp
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ inxi -S
System: Host: james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC Kernel: 4.10.0-38-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
Desktop: Cinnamon 3.6.6 Distro: Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var -sh
32G /var
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sh

[gm10]

james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/* -sht 100M
[sudo] password for james:
3.4G /var/cache
4.6G /var/lib
24G /var/tmp

Ah, so you hadn't given me the output last time, I had been wondering why it hadn't output anything. Ok first run these two (they won't produce output):

Code: Select all

apt clean
sudo rm -r /var/tmp/flatpak-cache* /var/tmp/systemd-private*

Then post the output of this, I want to see what hidden files you got in there taking up so much space (if we just blind delete them they might come back to haunt you again later):

Code: Select all

ls -la /var/tmp

PS: Also do another

Code: Select all

sudo du /var/cache -sh

to see how much we cleaned out of that with the first command.

[jamesofyorkshire]

james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ apt clean
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo rm -r /var/tmp/flatpak-cache* /var/tmp/systemd-private*
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ ls -la /var/tmp
total 8
drwxrwxrwt 2 root root 4096 Nov 26 09:45 .
drwxr-xr-x 12 root root 4096 Nov 24 2017 ..
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $ sudo du /var/cache -sh
74M /var/cache
james@james-HP-Pro-3420-AiO-PC ~ $

[jamesofyorkshire]

Thanks GM10. Looks like you've freed up about 30gb for me!

What is the var folder and how does it get so full?

[gm10]

What is the var folder and how does it get so full?

Apparently it was the flatpak cache that took up all the space. I hadn't expected that. A quick search however shows that it's a known issue that flatpak doesn't clean up after itself, in particular on failed or interrupted downloads: https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/1119

As to the first part of your question, see here for an overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesyste ... y_Standard

[jamesofyorkshire]

Thanks again GM10.

James

[jamesofyorkshire]

What is this flatpak? Do I need it? Can I remove it?

[gm10]

It's a software source and container format integrated into Software Manager. Check if you're using it for any apps at the moment:

Code: Select all

flatpak list

[jamesofyorkshire]

I'm away from that PC for a few days. I'll post the output when I'm next there.

[ajgringo619]

What is the var folder and how does it get so full?

Apparently it was the flatpak cache that took up all the space. I hadn't expected that. A quick search however shows that it's a known issue that flatpak doesn't clean up after itself, in particular on failed or interrupted downloads: https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/1119

As to the first part of your question, see here for an overview https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesyste ... y_Standard

That was a seriously nasty bug. Thankfully it's been fixed (in the PPA version; on 1.0.6 now)

[jamesofyorkshire]

flatpak is a bug?