Overview

This document will cover procedures for low disk space alert on OS/C: drives as well as general disk space low alert.

Low disk space can have potentially negative consequences with a server. Some examples are:

  • Unable to install critical OS security updates
  • Unable to backup environments
  • Unable to run server role process (i.e. SQL jobs/database loads)
  • Disk Read/Write latency
Low Disk Space on Server Alert Example
Fig1.1 Low Disk Alert example

Low disk space on c: drive:

(Note: Always verify data removal actions prior to performing)

  1. Delete everything in C:\Temp
  2. Delete everything in C:\Windows\Temp
  3. Delete any user profiles no longer in use (Right-click on My Computer, click on properties, click on advanced, click on User Profile Settings. Locate user names no longer at the company and delete)
  4. Go to C:\documents and settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp and delete all files in there. Do this for every username that remains after you’ve deleted the old ones.
  5. Compress some directories that are rarely used: C:\windows\servicepackfiles.
  6. Go to C:\Windows and you’ll see a ton of compressed folders like: $NTUninstallKBxxxxxx$. These are folders used for uninstalling patches on the system. Since it’s unlikely you’ll ever do this, delete all of these folders.
  7. Empty Recycling Bin
  8. You can also download/install windirStat tool that’s free and gives you a breakdown of any mounted drives in the environment. This is a great tool for data drives that are low on disk space and you can give visual to your client of all the data. You can double click download the latest version here.
Low Disk Space on Server WindirStat Results
Fig1.2 WindirStat Results page Sample
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