Ubuntu

memory allocation for ext4 file system

Asked by bhaskar

I am using Ubuntu Natty Narwal 11.04 along with my windows 7 in dual boot mode. I have been used 68 GB for my Ubuntu OS in the hard disc. I want to know the how much memory is consumed by each directory under the root and how this 68 GB is allocated to the whole file system.
         I want to know the which is the safest place to store my actual data(i.e. my personal data that is not related to Ubuntu OS). Why i am asking is that my desktop has been crashing when i try with some other alternative desktop and the content on the previous desktop is losing at that moment.

For the sake of your clarity i am providing my partition table here;

bhaskar@bhaskar-Inspiron-1525:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for bhaskar:

Disk /dev/sda: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x88000000

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 15 120456 6 FAT16
/dev/sda2 * 16 1321 10485760 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 1321 17597 130740224 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 17597 30402 102850561 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 26550 26914 2931831 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 17597 26549 71906304 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 26915 30402 28011520 b W95 FAT32

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

Memory is not drive space, memory is RAM. The storage space on the drive is different to this.

I suggest you use a simple backup to USB storage or even to a DVD is fine. Be sure to backup the hidden folders in $HOME as these contain the settings for your apps.

Is this what you mean? If I have missed the mark then let me know and I'll try and be more accurate.

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bhaskar (hinduvsp) said : 		#2

Sorry actionparsnip,
      I am not talking about RAM and it's purely about internal sata hard disc. And how my total partition i.e. 70GB is distributed for filesystem.
And where i can store my personal movies, music and documents in this file system.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

You should store user data in $HOME This is the folder you see when you first run nautilus. Here are my file store distributions for Lubuntu (Will be less than an Ubuntu install as Lubuntu is lighter):

andy@D420:~$ sudo du -h /etc/ | tail -n 1
10M /etc/

andy@D420:~$ sudo du -h /usr/ | tail -n 1
2.4G /usr/

andy@D420:/$ sudo du -h /bin/ | tail -n 1
8.2M /bin/

andy@D420:/$ sudo du -h /lib/ | tail -n 1
272M /lib/

andy@D420:/$ sudo du -h /sbin/ | tail -n 1
8.5M /sbin/

andy@D420:/$ sudo du -h /boot/ | tail -n 1
46M /boot/

The rest are either tiny, temp storage or block devices for hardware.

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bhaskar (hinduvsp) said : 		#4

Thanks actionparsnip, Now i can see the memory occupied by each file and folder. Can you explain how can i learn using of pipes along with commands. Because i know the du command but i don't know how to pipe it to tail.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#5

read my commands above...

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bhaskar (hinduvsp) said : 		#6

Thanks for your help and i will comeup with another question........