(Ubuntu 22.04) The root folder is mysteriously full

Alok

3/21/24, 10:53 AM

I attempted to install Nuclear from the terminal using sudo snap install nuclear. The attempt failed and the following was the output error:

Reading package lists... Error!
E: Write error - write (28: No space left on device)
E: IO Error saving source cache
E: The package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.

Running df -h reveals:

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
tmpfs           385M   26M  359M   7% /run
/dev/sda2       9.5G  9.5G     0 100% /
tmpfs           1.9G     0  1.9G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs           5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
/dev/sda1       943M  112M  767M  13% /boot
/dev/sda4       222G  991M  210G   1% /home
tmpfs           385M  4.7M  380M   2% /run/user/1000

Ubuntu 22.04 has been installed for less than a week. Little to nothing has been downloaded, no new apps have been installed yet the root folder is already full.

Any plausible explanation or solution to this problem is welcome.

196

1 + 2

root

disk-usage

22.04

guiverc

3/21/24, 10:58 AM

You didn't mention what Ubuntu 22.04 LTS you're asking about (Server? Desktop?) but the recommended minimum disk space for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (*or any GNOME 3 desktop, meaning Ubuntu 17.10 & later*) is 25GB which is far more than you've allocated. Is your system a desktop?

guiverc

3/21/24, 11:04 AM

If you look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements you'll note you've allocated close to the minimum which is for systems with no additional apps; 25GB being for the *average* user who will add additional software, maybe irregular with their security upgrades (ie. they may accrue & thus more space can be required), and wants to *release-upgrade* their system rather than clean install (*which requires free space to download before applying the upgraded packages for the new system*)... You've allocated too little space for a Desktop system

Score:4

Ubuntu

user535733

3/21/24, 12:23 PM

Looks like you made a classic new-user mistake. You over-partitioned.

Your root (/) partition is too small (9GB vs the recommended 25GB). All your logs and your application packages and the entire system are squeezed in there, and it's 100% full.

Meanwhile, you have an enormous separate /home partition (1GB used, 210GB available).

The truth is that a separate /home partition is optional. It is not required. For most users, a /home directory nestled on a large root (/) partition works fine and provides many years of service without getting full.

The usual cause of over-partitioning is dodgy click-bait websites that provide 20-year-stale advice or too-advanced advice to new users. Unfortunately, some of those adverts see a lot of traffic, and a lot of new users get misled by them.

You have two options:

You can resize your partitions. This is a non-trivial operation that risks data loss. Backup your data to some other media first. Be prepared to reinstall your system if you encounter problems with the re-sizing.

Alternately, since this is a new system, you can simply reinstall and let the Ubuntu installer re-partition the storage device. The default setting of the Ubuntu installer does not create a separate /home partition. This will destroy all data and settings, so back up your data to some other media first.

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