[SOLVED] how to clean disk space

[gbone]

On LM 19.3 I get a warning that I'm running out of disk space ( only 1.1 Gb free) and do I want to empty the trash? I do that, as well I delete a bunch of iso files I have collected, but I still get the warning that I'm running out of disk space ( only 1.1 Gb free). Is there a way to recover that space that the iso files took up?

[billyswong]

If you are sure the Trash is already empty. Try running sync in terminal. Then if the warning still persist, try rebooting the computer.

You may also take a look at "Disk Usage Analyzer" afterwards.

[gbone]

Even though the iso files freed up 32 Gb, the disk usage analyser indicates only 13 Gb freed up.

[Moem]

Make sure that you are cleaning up in the partition that actually needs cleaning. If there is space in one partition, another can still get overly full.

[Pjotr]

Mint 19.x is unsupported, which makes it insecure when connected to the internet. Upgrade ASAP to a supported Mint version: 20.x or, preferably, 21.x. By means of a fresh clean installation, so no in-place upgrade.

In you new Mint you can then use these cleaning tips in order to keep disk usage as low as possible:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... -mint.html

[gbone]

The utility that popped up the warning with the button to "Empty the trash" did NOT empty the trash when pressed.
I went to Trash folder and manually deleted the trash.
Is there such a thing as a defragmentation command in LM?

[mikeflan]

I went to Trash folder and manually deleted the trash.

Good job.

Is there such a thing as a defragmentation command in LM?

No, not really. If you have an SSD you can trim it. I have never trimmed mine and I consider it unnecessary.

Do you still need to delete stuff? If so, how much space is /var/log taking up? Type this in a terminal:

Code: Select all

sudo du -sh /var/log

Mine is only 1.5 G, so not much.

[billyswong]

Defragmentation only helps magnetic spinny drives. For modern SSD, they are harmful even if available.

Linux Mint, same as the Ubuntu it is based on, is scheduled to "trim" SSDs every week. Thus one don't need to do it manually.

[nekrub2]

How about the download folder? Sometime I also forget to delete the downloaded documents.
How may kernels to have on your machine. I usually leave 3 kernels (including the running one)
Where do you store timeshift and how many generations do you keep? I have set it up to manually and keep only 2 to 3 generations.

[gbone]

How do you find multiple kernels?

Code: Select all

 inxi -Fxx
System:
  Host: douglas-ThinkPad-W530 Kernel: 4.15.0-213-generic x86_64 bits: 64 
  compiler: gcc v: 7.5.0 Desktop: Cinnamon 4.4.8 wm: muffin dm: LightDM 
  Distro: Linux Mint 19.3 Tricia base: Ubuntu 18.04 bionic 
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 2436CTO v: ThinkPad W530 
  serial: <root required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <root required> 
  Mobo: LENOVO model: 2436CTO serial: <root required> UEFI [Legacy]: LENOVO 
  v: G5ETA5WW (2.65 ) date: 03/04/2016 
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 16.3 Wh condition: 16.3/47.5 Wh (34%) volts: 12.1/10.8 
  model: SANYO 45N1001 serial: 16513 status: Full 
CPU:
  Topology: Quad Core model: Intel Core i7-3720QM bits: 64 type: MT MCP 
  arch: Ivy Bridge rev: 9 L2 cache: 6144 KiB 
  flags: lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 41507 
  Speed: 1256 MHz min/max: 1200/3600 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1299 2: 1211 
  3: 1295 4: 1289 5: 1298 6: 1300 7: 1208 8: 1299 
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics vendor: Lenovo 
  driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:0166 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GK107GLM [Quadro K1000M] vendor: Lenovo driver: nvidia 
  v: 390.157 bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10de:0ffc 
  Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.19.6 driver: modesetting,nvidia 
  unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa tty: N/A 
  OpenGL: renderer: Quadro K1000M/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 390.157 
  direct render: Yes 
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio vendor: Lenovo 
  driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus ID: 00:1b.0 chip ID: 8086:1e20 
  Device-2: NVIDIA GK107 HDMI Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel 
  v: kernel bus ID: 01:00.1 chip ID: 10de:0e1b 
  Sound Server: ALSA v: k4.15.0-213-generic 
Network:
  Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network vendor: Lenovo driver: e1000e 
  v: 3.2.6-k port: 7080 bus ID: 00:19.0 chip ID: 8086:1502 
  IF: enp0s25 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: 3c:97:0e:16:e2:ca 
  Device-2: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel 
  port: 6000 bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 8086:4238 
  IF: wlp3s0 state: down mac: 24:77:03:a3:86:d0 
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 711.52 GiB used: 186.59 GiB (26.2%) 
  ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 model: SD000 size: 14.73 GiB serial: 0x00000023 
  ID-2: /dev/sda vendor: OCZ model: VERTEX3 size: 111.79 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s 
  serial: OCZ-SW7188M13H53UQZI temp: 30 C 
  ID-3: /dev/sdb vendor: Hitachi model: HTS545050A7E380 size: 465.76 GiB 
  speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: TE85113RJ41GKR temp: 38 C 
  ID-4: /dev/sdc vendor: Plextor model: PX-128M5M size: 119.24 GiB 
  speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: P02335105860 
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 226.43 GiB used: 181.69 GiB (80.2%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb1 
  ID-2: swap-1 size: 8.88 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sdb5 
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 49.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nvidia temp: 46 C 
  Fan Speeds (RPM): cpu: 1988 
Info:
  Processes: 260 Uptime: 2h 47m Memory: 30.98 GiB used: 5.18 GiB (16.7%) 
  Init: systemd v: 237 runlevel: 5 Compilers: gcc: 7.5.0 alt: 7 Shell: bash 
  v: 4.4.20 running in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.0.32 

[Moem]

How do you find multiple kernels?

An easy way is to open the Update Manager, then the View Menu, then Linux Kernels. This lists all the kernels that are available to you and shows which ones of those are installed. You can also remove / install kernels from there.

[gbone]

On LM 19.3 I get a warning that I'm running out of disk space ( only 1.1 Gb free) and do I want to empty the trash? I do that, as well I delete a bunch of iso files I have collected, but I still get the warning that I'm running out of disk space ( only 1.1 Gb free). Is there a way to recover that space that the iso files took up?