What does Calibre do if the disk is full?

pox567 · 03-16-2025, 07:52 AM

I am wondering about Calibre's behavior regarding a full disk (0 MB free).
I have Windows 10, NTFS, 2.82 TB. The disk was filled with E-Books. To be concise: I was importing books when it reached full space and Calibre shot an error during the adding process and allowed me to view the debug code. I worry that Calibre may have written OPFs (metadata files) for more than 200+ E-books that were being added and overwritten some of the space that was being used by other programs on the disk. I didn't make any backups, if it did....it may have erased some files permanently.

TLDR

; I messed up with disk space management. It got full and now I am wondering if Calibre stops the creation of metadata files or if it continues regardless of the disk being full, in turn overwriting existing files by brute force on the disk.

I apologize if this was the wrong forum thread to post on, new user here.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the added books didn't mention anything existing under the "format" "tab". It was purely empty inside the Calibre interface. The title was there and the author was unknown (usual for me when I add books). But there was no mention of size.

kovidgoyal · 03-16-2025, 07:55 AM

No program including calibre can continue writing files to disk after it is full. If a disk is full no more data of any kind can be written to it.

pox567 · 03-16-2025, 08:12 AM

Thank you for your prompt response, Kovid. I understand that no program can continue writing files to a disk after it is full. However, I'm still concerned about the possibility that Calibre might have written some metadata files (OPFs) for the books that were being added before the disk became full. Is it possible that Calibre would attempt to write these files to the disk, even if it means overwriting existing files, or would it stop the creation of metadata files as soon as the disk becomes full?

Sorry for being annoying, but whilst searching for an answer before posting, I did see mentions of Calibre overwriting files with the same name whilst exporting through the "Save to Disk" function. This made me wonder if Calibre could potentially overwrite existing files on the disk. To clarify, you're saying that Calibre does not write over any existing data already present on the disk? In other words, Calibre didn't create metadata or save it over another file, taking up its space, even if the disk was full? I just want to make sure I understand the situation correctly and ensure that no data was lost or corrupted.

kovidgoyal · 03-16-2025, 10:33 AM

No it doesnt overwirte files when the disk is full it simply fails to write further files.

theducks · 03-16-2025, 03:32 PM

Have you run Disk Cleanup? Windows has a lot of temp files.
Some are even from Calibre if you should manage to crash the app (plugins).

03-16-2025, 07:52 AM	#1
pox567 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Device: Kindle 11th gen.	What does Calibre do if the disk is full? I am wondering about Calibre's behavior regarding a full disk (0 MB free). I have Windows 10, NTFS, 2.82 TB. The disk was filled with E-Books. To be concise: I was importing books when it reached full space and Calibre shot an error during the adding process and allowed me to view the debug code. I worry that Calibre may have written OPFs (metadata files) for more than 200+ E-books that were being added and overwritten some of the space that was being used by other programs on the disk. I didn't make any backups, if it did....it may have erased some files permanently. TLDR ; I messed up with disk space management. It got full and now I am wondering if Calibre stops the creation of metadata files or if it continues regardless of the disk being full, in turn overwriting existing files by brute force on the disk. I apologize if this was the wrong forum thread to post on, new user here. Edit: Forgot to mention that the added books didn't mention anything existing under the "format" "tab". It was purely empty inside the Calibre interface. The title was there and the author was unknown (usual for me when I add books). But there was no mention of size. Last edited by pox567; 03-16-2025 at 07:56 AM. Reason: Forgotten to mention possibly essential information.

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03-16-2025, 07:55 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,171 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No program including calibre can continue writing files to disk after it is full. If a disk is full no more data of any kind can be written to it.

03-16-2025, 08:12 AM	#3
pox567 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2025 Device: Kindle 11th gen.	Thank you for your prompt response, Kovid. I understand that no program can continue writing files to a disk after it is full. However, I'm still concerned about the possibility that Calibre might have written some metadata files (OPFs) for the books that were being added before the disk became full. Is it possible that Calibre would attempt to write these files to the disk, even if it means overwriting existing files, or would it stop the creation of metadata files as soon as the disk becomes full? Sorry for being annoying, but whilst searching for an answer before posting, I did see mentions of Calibre overwriting files with the same name whilst exporting through the "Save to Disk" function. This made me wonder if Calibre could potentially overwrite existing files on the disk. To clarify, you're saying that Calibre does not write over any existing data already present on the disk? In other words, Calibre didn't create metadata or save it over another file, taking up its space, even if the disk was full? I just want to make sure I understand the situation correctly and ensure that no data was lost or corrupted.

03-16-2025, 10:33 AM	#4
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,171 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	No it doesnt overwirte files when the disk is full it simply fails to write further files.

03-16-2025, 03:32 PM	#5
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,891 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Have you run Disk Cleanup? Windows has a lot of temp files. Some are even from Calibre if you should manage to crash the app (plugins).