What can I do with the following messages about "more disk space needed"?

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Ulysse

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Message 73157 - Posted: 9 Oct 2016, 12:01:42 UTC

I am using BOINC version 7.6.22 (x64) under Windows 7 Professional (64 bits)
Two BOINC projects are involved (see the messages) but I also run Einstein@home. (Currently all three are inactive, having "no work to do". (Wordly, in German: "Keine Aufgaben zu bearbeiten" ... this suggests it might be a real problem) These are the messages:

SETI@home: Notice from server
SETI@home v8 needs 32.00MB more disk space. You currently have 0.00 MB available and it needs 32.00 MB.
05.10.2016 08:19:07
========= (here a separator line) =========
PrimeGrid: Notice from server
The Riesel Problem (LLR) needs 114.44MB more disk space. You currently have 0.00 MB available and it needs 114.44 MB.
05.10.2016 08:18:56
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 73165 - Posted: 9 Oct 2016, 15:24:09 UTC - in response to Message 73157.  

I suggest you check and review your "BOINC global computing preferences" web account page: for SETI, that would be http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/prefs.php?subset=global&cols=1.

Look at the fist line under Disk: Use no more than xxx GB

Check all four columns, and if any of them say zero, click the 'edit' link at the bottom of the column and change it to something more reasonable. In these days of cheap, large, hard disks, the default used to be 100 GB.

Are you by any chance also attached to the Einstein project? I'm in the middle of trying to troubleshoot a problem at that project, which seems to have zeroed the disk allowance at two of my venues, too.
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Ulysse

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Message 73213 - Posted: 10 Oct 2016, 15:30:01 UTC - in response to Message 73165.  

Check all four columns, and if any of them say zero, click the 'edit' (...)

I use only the column "standard" because I have only one PC to participate. And the numbers there are not 0 (but 15 BB, 5 GB, 80%) Does this no more work?
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Ulysse

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Message 73214 - Posted: 10 Oct 2016, 15:31:19 UTC - in response to Message 73213.  

instead of BB read GB
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 73215 - Posted: 10 Oct 2016, 16:14:08 UTC - in response to Message 73213.  

Check all four columns, and if any of them say zero, click the 'edit' (...)

I use only the column "standard" because I have only one PC to participate. And the numbers there are not 0 (but 15 GB, 5 GB, 80%) Does this no more work?

That should be fine. The next step would be to check whether one of your projects (the most likely would be Einstein) might actually have filled up the 15 GB space allowed. That can happen.
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Ulysse

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Message 73224 - Posted: 10 Oct 2016, 20:35:44 UTC - in response to Message 73215.  

That should be fine. The next step would be to check whether one of your projects (the most likely would be Einstein) might actually have filled up the 15 GB space allowed. That can happen.

How do I do that? With the new BOINC I installed on my present PC it is so different
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Juha
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Message 73275 - Posted: 11 Oct 2016, 20:47:31 UTC - in response to Message 73224.  

If your Manager looks like this



then select View->Advanced View. From there you'll find Disk tab.

If you have set preferences in Manager in Options->Computing preferences they will override web preferences.
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Ulysse

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Message 73304 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 9:30:55 UTC - in response to Message 73215.  

That should be fine. The next step would be to check whether one of your projects (the most likely would be Einstein) might actually have filled up the 15 GB space allowed. That can happen.

I saw: (I am translating, so it may not be quite wordly)
under "Harddisk Memory use by BOINC"
Einstein@home 88,16 MB
Prime Grid 51,76 MB
SETI@home 11,12 MB
[my comment: all these values are much smaller than 15 GB = 15000 MB]
and BTW 2,06 GB are said there to be free.

So the text "you currently have 0 MB available" is misleading (the 0 being just a constant of the message, if I understand well!), and apparently the 32 MB needed (for SETI@home) and the 114+ MB for PrimeGrid are what is needed more. But as I said before, there are up to 15 GB (= 15000 MB) and 80% of total allowed for BOINC, and it must leave 5 GB free. So why is it that BOINC does not find the 32+114 MB? On the page indicated by one of you where I found this, it is written that these indications (the 15 GB / 5 GB / 80%) are valid except for "computers, for which local settings have been stored via the BOINC manager" (my approx. translation) ... can't remember having done that, but just in case, how can I verify? Unless such is the case, please admit that the problem is a bug (dependent on I know not what) and should therefore be communicated to the makers of BOINC.

I also looked into the Windows file explorer: I have 2 HD partitions C: and D: (what is I think perfectly normal on recent PCs) and the explorer says D: (349 GB) is only filled with data for less than ~ 0.2 GB (200 MB), C: (100 GB) is full of data except ~ 813 MB (0,8 GB) but contains only files for < 61 GB (even if I make "hidden" files and protected system files visible, otherwise only 44 GB) so, what is with the other ~ 38 GB of C: ? (for the waste bin max. 20 GB are allowed - currently only < 3 MB = 0.003 GB used) is that used by BOINC? "dead space"? (how to release?) I have also a third partition for saving RAM and screen storage so that automatic shut down after some idle time (with later restart of all former active things) is possible, like for most laptop PCs (but mine is desktop); I don't think this in included in C: (Windows doesn't show that partition)
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robsmith
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Message 73305 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 11:06:44 UTC

I've had this in the past when, for no apparent reason, the BOINC data directory has become write protected.

The "dead space" issue may be related to Windows having hidden updates - one of my PCs had over 20Gb of these. These files are very hard to find and even harder to get rid of.
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Juha
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Message 73306 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:08:55 UTC - in response to Message 73304.  
Last modified: 13 Oct 2016, 13:14:18 UTC

In the preferences you have told BOINC to leave at least 5 GB of disk space free. Currently you have only 2,06 GB or 0,8 GB free (not sure why BOINC gives a bigger number).

By default BOINC's data directory is in C:\ProgramData\BOINC . Since your D: drive has more free space you could move the data directory there.

edit: See this post for instructions on how to move the data directory.
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Profile Jord
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Message 73307 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:14:13 UTC - in response to Message 73304.  
Last modified: 13 Oct 2016, 13:15:32 UTC

As well, the 80% comprises total disk space, not the partition BOINC has the data directory on. So if you have a 500 GB hard drive, and three partitions, 80% means 400GB used between the three partitions.

Now just for completeness, could you please post the BOINC start up messages? The first 40 lines or thereabout should do. That should show us the numbers BOINC sees.
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Profile Jord
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Message 73308 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:23:25 UTC - in response to Message 73305.  

I've had this in the past when, for no apparent reason, the BOINC data directory has become write protected.

The blue square you see on Windows folders does not mean the folder is read-only, it actually means it's in a 'no-attributes state'. The read-only state only applies to files in the folder, a folder itself can never become read-only.
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Juha
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Message 73309 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:30:04 UTC - in response to Message 73307.  

As well, the 80% comprises total disk space, not the partition BOINC has the data directory on. So if you have a 500 GB hard drive, and three partitions, 80% means 400GB used between the three partitions.


The tooltip on the web preferences says "Limit the percentage of disk space used by BOINC on the volume where it stores data.".

Since BOINC doesn't automatically distribute it's data over multiple volumes I don't think interpreting it as % of total disk space would work.

About the used but not accounted disk space. Restore points maybe. And I have some memories of using Disk Cleanup Wizard to see, and remove... something, may have been service pack files.
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Ulysse

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Message 73310 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:40:48 UTC - in response to Message 73305.  

I've had this in the past when, for no apparent reason, the BOINC data directory has become write protected.

What is this directory? You mean C:\ProgramData\BOINC - normally hidden in Windows - which is shown by the windows file explorer with a padlock symbol? (does this mean that the data in it are encrypted or somehow protected?) The dir. seemed indeed to be marked as write protected (with the indication that it concerns only files in the dir.) but when I tried to change that (on C:\ProgramFiles\BOINC, the only BOINC directory that I found first ... until I remembered that ProgramData-directories are hidden), I got the message that I need admin rights to do that, which I DO have. May-be Windows did the change when I said "continue" (a click) but I did not see the effect. Trying again with the data dir. I saw no such admin rights message again, but it's not clear what really happened. I'll look what happens after restarting my PC.
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Profile Jord
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Message 73311 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:54:44 UTC - in response to Message 73310.  

Only when the folder's read-only attribute has a check mark, does it mean that one or more files in the folder are read-only. When it has a blue square, it means the folder is in a no-attribute state. ALL folders in Windows have a blue square for the read-only attribute, but for those which contain read-only files.
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Ulysse

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Message 73312 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:54:49 UTC

When I wrote my messsage # 73310 I had not yet seen all former replies. So you may ignore much of it. Also my test what happens on restart I'll make after this and tell you the result.
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Message 73313 - Posted: 13 Oct 2016, 13:55:28 UTC - in response to Message 73309.  

As well, the 80% comprises total disk space, not the partition BOINC has the data directory on. So if you have a 500 GB hard drive, and three partitions, 80% means 400GB used between the three partitions.


The tooltip on the web preferences says "Limit the percentage of disk space used by BOINC on the volume where it stores data.".

So it does. Perhaps that was changed as well then. Sigh.
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Ulysse

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Message 73317 - Posted: 14 Oct 2016, 0:42:17 UTC

Hello all here, my three BOINC-projects are working again. This came after a new start of my PC. The reasons I had to expect something like this may have been not really justified, but fact is, this is happening. Among the three, SETI@home is getting relatively little worktime; after what I saw, one reason might be that it is more sensitive to "computer in use" (for example, when I was looking at the task page of the BOINC manager - I translate here "Aufgabe" by "task", it is the 3rd page - the only time that I saw SETI@home active since this problem began, it sufficed that the screen went black due to energy saving options of the PC, so that I moved the mouse to reactivate the screen, to stop SETI@home's activity with reason "computer in use"). I must say that it is the BOINC project (of mine) that has gained least HD space since my answer about the disk space used by the 3 projects (my message # 73304) but may-be it is the one that needs least, and anyway this is true only in absolute terms, because Einstein@home gained less in relative terms (~ 4% vs. 10+% for SETI), while PrimeGrid has more than doubled its disk space, being now the one using most. This seems to show that SETI@home doesn't really need the extra 32 MB, but this might be due to different subprojects, i.e. it might have had work available only for subproject(s) needing more space, but now again work in a subproject with little disk space needed. If the latter is true, the notice from server might come again later. And the same might be the case for PrimeGrid, although it has now got a large part (but not all) of the extra space it claimed in the other notice from server. SETI uses still less than 15 MB ...

Another thing is the potential problem with free disk space on C: discovered in the handling of this (here I'm talking about Windows in general). I can't exclude that it has already produced the problem I had on starting Windows the day before yesterday (whose cause remains unknown to me, although it is now handled). The idea to move the BOINC data to D: looks good, and I would have deinstalled BOINC if it had continued to be idle after restart - the simplest solution given in a page to which I got a link in message # 73306 would include de- and re-install. - but now I see disadvantages in the simple solutions proposed in said page and the others without disadvantage but may-be risky ...
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Ulysse

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Message 73381 - Posted: 18 Oct 2016, 8:44:26 UTC - in response to Message 73309.  

Before this thread is closed, I'd like to understand better this:
About the used but not accounted disk space. Restore points maybe. And I have some memories of using Disk Cleanup Wizard to see, and remove... something, may have been service pack files.

I don't understand the sentence underlined (by me) And: should I find / activate or install what you call "Disk Cleanup Wizard"?
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Richard Haselgrove
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Message 73382 - Posted: 18 Oct 2016, 10:38:25 UTC - in response to Message 73381.  

Restore points maybe

Whenever Windows Update installs updated components, it creates a 'restore point' first so that the system can be rolled back to a working state if things go wrong. Restore points are also created, I think, weekly and when other programs are installed. Since they keep track of the files needed by older versions of system files, they must use significant disk space - probably hidden, and I wouldn't even know where to start looking.
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Message boards : Questions and problems : What can I do with the following messages about "more disk space needed"?

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