How to Free Up Disk Space on a Full Linux System

1. Check Disk Usage
   ~ Run the following command to identify which partitions are full:

    df -h
   

   ~ Look for the partition with 100% usage, usually /.

2. Clear Temporary Files
   ~ Free up space by clearing temporary files:

    sudo rm -rf /var/tmp/*
    sudo rm -rf /tmp/*
   

3. Remove Unused Package Files
   ~ Clear cached .deb files stored by apt:

    sudo apt-get clean
   

4. Locate Large Files
   ~ Identify large files in your filesystem:

    sudo du -ah / | sort -rh | head -n 20
   

   ~ Delete unnecessary large files or move them to another storage location.

5. Check Log Files
   ~ Logs can often grow excessively large. Truncate or delete old logs:

    sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=50M
    sudo rm -rf /var/log/*.gz /var/log/*.1
    sudo truncate -s 0 /var/log/syslog
    sudo truncate -s 0 /var/log/auth.log
   

6. Uninstall Unused Applications
   ~ Remove unnecessary applications to reclaim space:

    sudo apt-get remove --purge <package_name>
    sudo apt-get autoremove
   

7. Retry the Update/Installation
   ~ After clearing space, reattempt the operation:

    sudo dpkg --configure -a
    sudo apt-get install -f
   

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Long-Term Prevention

• Monitor Disk Space: Regularly check disk usage with df -h and du.

• Set Log Rotation: Use tools like logrotate to manage log sizes.

• Partition Optimization: Allocate adequate space to /var or use separate partitions for logs and temporary files.

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the error and free up space for system operations.