Disk Quota: Free Your Space

When you use all of your CSE Labs Account disk quota - or allotted storage space - you will no longer be able to sign in with a graphical user interface (including the Virtual Online Linux Environment) and you will not be able to save files. To continue using your CSE Labs Account you will need to delete files so you are not using all your allotted storage space.

View video tutorial on Storage Quota

In this article:

Freeing Space on Linux Computers

These instructions are for freeing space on Linux/Unix computers in person. If you are not able to use a computer in person you can secure shell (SSH) into a CSE classroom or lab computer and follow steps 3-7 to free your storage space.

  1. Press the Control (Ctrl) + Alt + F4 keyboard keys together at the same time. This will activate the terminal interface.
  2. Log in using your Internet ID and password.
  3. Use the following command to generate a report showing your available storage space.
    • Quota report format:
      • Where USERNAME is your Internet ID, USED_SPACE is the amount of space used, QUOTA is your storage limit, and PERCENT_USED is the percentage of your storage limit in use.
  4. If you're usage is over the quota limit of 5 GB, you will need to remove files to continue using your CSE Labs account.
    • If your quota limit is not 5G, please contact CSE-IT to get your quota limit increased to 5G.
  5. Use the following command to sort your home directory files by size.
    • Note: the largest files appear at the bottom of the list.
  6. Move files to xtra space or remove them
    • To remove files from your home directory, use the following command.
      • Where FILE_NAME is the name of the file.
      • Important: this command deletes files permanently. Make sure you only remove files you no longer need.
    • To move files to your xtra space, use the following command.
      • Where FILE_NAME is the name of the file and USERNAME is your Internet ID
      • Alternatively, use the Files application to move files
  7. Continue to remove files until your used home directory storage is under quota size limit (5 GB).
    • Use the du -a | sort command as needed to sort your files.
    • The csequota command uses cached data and may not reflect changes made in the last 30 minutes
  8. Press the Alt + F1 keyboard keys together to return to the graphical user interface.
  9. Log in to the CSE Labs computer.
  10. You should be able successfully to log in to the CSE Labs computer again.

If you are still not able to log in or need additional assistance, contact CSE-IT.

Freeing Space on Windows Computers

While signed into a Windows CSE Labs computer:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Enter your account profile path in the Location bar.
    Screenshot of the Location bar with the account profile path entered
    • Where USERNAME is you Internet ID.
  3. Click on the Home tab in the File Explorer.
  4. Click the Properties button. A pop-out window showing your account profile properties will open.
  5. Check your account profile Size, the amount of space used.
  6. If you are over the quota size limit (500 MB), you will need to remove files to continue using your CSE Labs account.
  7. Move desired files to alternative storage solutions such as a flash drive, portable hard drive, or in Google Drive.
    • Alternatively, delete files you do not need or want to keep.
  8. Continue to remove files until your used home directory storage is under quota size limit (500 MB).
    • Check the Properties as needed to confirm your used space.