Linkstation Live LS-CHL 1TB not freeing up correct disk space

[CheesyMonkey]

   

My 1TB Linkstation Live LS-CHL (1.07 firmware) tells me that I have "low disk space" with 849.19 GB used. However, the combined space used by the shared folders is 598.68 GB (using Mac OS X 10.5.7) - a difference of 250.51 GB.
 
What explains this discrepancy? And more importantly, how do I get this 250-or-so GB back All shares have the trash folder option switched off, and I have deleted hidden files from the shares using Terminal. I have added and deleted large amounts of data to/from the drive in the past and changed the number of shared drives. Fragmentation? Or just dodgy disk management?
 
Any ideas?

[rinthos]

   

Fragmentation won't explain discrepencies unless it's causing slow response to deletions...

 

Have you tried rebooting or re-initializing the Linkstation to see if the sizing stays the same?

Not sure if CHL has the old or new interface, but if the new web interface (even w/ trash disabled) click the button to empty all trash instances.  Then wait ~15 minutes and see if it updates.  I assume you're getting the % used and % free from the Linkstation web GUI?

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[CheesyMonkey]

   Rebooting the drive makes no difference. Initialisation merely removed my custom users and groups! I have the old web interface, so I couldn't see an option to remove all trash folders. Used/free figures came from the web interface as well.

[CheesyMonkey]

   

Hours of further testing prooved somewhat fruitless. I ensured that trash folders were turned off for all shares, including a couple of new ones created. I was momentarily bemused by the hidden folders "Nework Trash Folder" and "Temporary Items" that kept reappearing after deletion, but these are automatically created by the Mac, no doubt due to the AppleTalk option being set. Those folders contained no data at any rate, so this is not the issue.

 

So far, I still have not been able to 'recover' ~250GB of disk space I think I have. I say 'I have', because the LinkStation says I've used nearly 92% of the disk space. The Mac says I have ~85GB free. However, by bringing up Get Info windows after highlighting every file in the Finder tots up to around 600GB. Doing the same with the du command in Terminal produces the same results. Hmmmm...

 

Considering that there is nohing else wrong with the LinkStation as far as I am aware of, and that a quick perusal on these forums doesn't show anyone else with the same problems means that one of the following conclusions is probably true:

 

1) 91% of space is used and Get Info/du is not counting 250GB (!) of hidden files;

2) the LinkStation is reporting the full potential size of sparse images/bundles, whereas GetInfo/du is reporting the actual space used;

3) the XFS filesystem used with the LinkStation is really inefficient when it comes to storing many tiny files (issues with block size); or

4) I have missed something bleedin' obvious.

 

Question now is, are any of the above likely or have I missed something?

[PCPiranha]

Did you have the trash folders enabled and then disable them to free up space, or were they always disabled?

[CheesyMonkey]

   

Trash folders were originally enabled, but I disabled them as any deletions appeared to bypass the trash entirely.

 

Regarding points 1) and 2) of my above list: I've deleted all invisible/hidden files on these drives and there were no sparseimages/bundles on them anyway. So I can rule them out now... 

[rinthos]

   

Previously you used the #'s from the Web interface to calc share sizes...

I'm curious, what does the OS think?

(i.e. when you map a drive to a share, it should show the used amount / total amount).

Does it also show higher usage there?  Or does the usage look lower?

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[CheesyMonkey]

   

• The web interface reports 840.51GB used.

• The Finder in list view reports 840.51GB used for each share mounted.

• Highlighting all files/folders and selecting Get Info gives a combined total of ~600GB.

• Using the command du -chd 1 <path to mounted volumes> returns a combined total of ~600GB.

 

[PCPiranha]

Do the trash folders still show up though?  I know you disabled them.

[CheesyMonkey]

   

Trash folders don't show up even if they're enabled! I think that feature is only relevant for Windows - seems to do nothing in OS X.

 

Oh, and my girlfriend's iTunes folder on one of the shares is now inaccessible. Oh joy.

[PCPiranha]

Did you delete them before you enabled them?  They should show up if they are enabled, the mac would have nothing to do with it.  How are you looking for them?  Through smb://IP?

[CheesyMonkey]

   

I don't remember deleting them - for most if not all shares I created with the trash disabled. All the shares do have a (hidden in the Finder) Network Trash Folder and Temporary Items folder, but that's either AppleTalk or OS X putting them there.

 

I am accessing the shares using AFP: most directly through the Finder (where they map to /Volumes/<share name>), but two are accessible 'under the hood' using the automounter (these map to /Network/Servers/<share name>).

[PCPiranha]

Try accessing the data by going to go > connect to a server and type in smb://IP of the LS.  See if you can find any trash folders in there and if the Itunes is showing up there.

[CheesyMonkey]

   I initialised the disk again - the disk space is reported exactly as I've written before, but now it is connected via SMB. Due to the initialisation, trash folders are now enabled for all drives... but no trash folders show up. And I can now access my girlfriend's iTunes folder - which now has nothing in it. Ho hum.

[PCPiranha]

The folders won't show up unless something is deleted from the share.  As far as you girlfriends iTunes, it sounds like you have had some file corruption.  I would pull off all of the data that you can and reformat the LS.