Soon SSD won't have space for Calibre data files (for import or export). What to do? - Page 2

droopy · 08-18-2020, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

I deleted my post because I didn't know you're on a laptop. If you have the ability to add another drive I still think an HDD would be a good choice; they have ones that are designed for laptops and have been in use in laptops for some time now so it's likely to be a reliable technology. But the prices won't be as low as the same capacity desktop HDD. 5400 rpm might be safer than 7200 rpm since the latter may run hotter.

Yes, I unscrewed the disc drive from my toshiba laptop to remove weight. So there's an empty cavity there.

Sirtel · 08-18-2020, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by droopy

hi sirtel. thanks for your reply.
I did consider splitting my library. PDFs and other files I don't plan to access in the next few months, I could put them in a kind of "deep storage", separate from my more active collection of books (which would be most, if not all, the epubs). But how do I merge the two halves later?

Right-click and "copy to library". Once you've copied the books from your "storage" library to your main library, you can delete the storage library.

gbm · 08-18-2020, 01:31 PM

I do not see were you have a problem. Based on the average size of an epub being about 560kb you have room for 176785 epubs. Using my library on a Mint 20 system which has all the original formats plus epub you would still have room for 62278 ebooks. These numbers would real world have to be lower because you need at least 10%--should never let it get below 25% free space--of your drive free to have your P.C. work right

bernie

ownedbycats · 08-18-2020, 01:49 PM

droopy's library is 50 GB in size: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=331724

droopy · 08-18-2020, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

droopy's library is 50 GB in size: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=331724

Today it's 60GB.

hobnail · 08-18-2020, 02:01 PM

For informational purposes as to space usage and as an addendum to gbm's post, my calibre space usage is

calibre-main:
1.36 gb
4,072 files, 2116 folders
211 azw3
1277 epub
21 mobi

calibre-fixed:
914 mb
1,744 files, 812 folders
241 azw3
412 epub
29 mobi

For keeping track of what I've finished/read and what's in the queue I have 2 separate libraries (I tried virtual libraries but didn't like how they worked). I'm like sirtel and clean up the css before I read a book and that's what's in the calibre-fixed library (fixed ones are on my ereader, unfixed ones have a big red X in the CSS Fixed column and aren't on the ereader and are awaiting my fixing them). In my early days of ebook reading I was in a frenzy downloading free books from gutenberg and elsewhere so that's why my calibre-main is so bloated.

theducks · 08-18-2020, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by droopy

Coz it'll be in a laptop, and with all the movement, I'm concerned that an HDD won't be as durable as an SSD.

Unless you are in the habit of dropping laptops with a running HD, they do very well. I have cloned a few for Larger capacity, but most run 5+ years (about my upgrade cycle. The current laptop is almost 10YO and has the original 500G drive).
The previous laptop, from the 90's, still runs (just has USB issues and no Battery) Both are Toshiba Satellite models

hobnail · 08-18-2020, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

droopy's library is 50 GB in size: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=331724

I hadn't seen this thread so I guess my response above doesn't add much information.

If you simply want to avoid running out of space and aren't trying to understand where the space is going I'm back to thinking that the easiest solution is to buy as big of an HDD that you can afford.

haertig · 08-19-2020, 11:29 PM

I don't understand your problem. You said your Calibre library is 60Gb. You also said your specific backup method requires you to have double that space. You currently have 99Gb available on your SSD where your existing 60Gb calibre library is resident. You only need 60Gb for the redundant copy. Why won't that fit into the 99Gb of free space that you have?

I must have mis-read or mis-interpreted what you are saying. I don't see the problem.

haertig · 08-19-2020, 11:51 PM

As an aside, after you have finished this immediate backup problem, ... you should look into "LVM" (Logical Volume Management). With that, you can add disks (or SSDs) to increase available space without having to move stuff from an old disk to a new (larger) disk.

IIRC from a previous post you made trying to find your Calibre library size breakdown, you're somewhat new at Linux - at least regarding the command line and scripting/programming. What you are probably thinking regarding adding disk space is something like this: You have a 1Gb disk, it's almost full, so you buy a new 2Gb disk. Then you copy the original 1Gb from the old disk to the new disk and thus have an additional 1Gb available on the new disk. The old disk - you'll do something else with after having moved to the new bigger disk.

With LVM, you would created a "logical volume" with your original disk. It would have been 1Gb in size - the size of your original disk. When you started to run low on space, you would have bought a new 2G disk. And you use that to "extend" your original 1Gb logical volume into a 3Gb logical volume (the 1Gb disk plus the 2Gb disk). To the operating system, it just looks like a 3Gb disk - the OS doesn't care that it's really two disks added together. And you can just keep adding more and more disks as time goes on, extending your logical volume. By extending the logical volume in this manner you don't have to move/copy existing data from an old disk to a new disk, the space just "magically" gets bigger. And if you later find that you've added more disks than you really need, you can shrink a logical volume too, and free up a disk that was previously assigned to it - now you have a disk that you can use elsewhere. These "disks" that you are managing can be a mixture of hard disks, SSDs, external disks, flash drives ... whatever Normally you wouldn't want to put a flash drive in there, but you could. Nor would you want to mix SSDs and HDDs, since the speed of the SSD would be drug down to HDD speed - kind of a waste of the main SSD benefit (speed).

If you run into a situation where you need "temporary space", you can use an external disk to temporarily increase your logical volume size. When you're done, you can shrink that logical volume back down and free up your external disk again. It takes hardly any time to increase the size of a logical volume. However, shrinking one and reclaiming a disk that's no longer needed takes a while longer.

Anyway, LVM is something to learn and keep in the back of your mind as you Linux experience grows. It's a very handy way to manage storage in your computer. Just Google "LVM Tutorial" to get started.

droopy · 08-20-2020, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

I don't understand your problem. You said your Calibre library is 60Gb. You also said your specific backup method requires you to have double that space. You currently have 99Gb available on your SSD where your existing 60Gb calibre library is resident. You only need 60Gb for the redundant copy. Why won't that fit into the 99Gb of free space that you have?

I must have mis-read or mis-interpreted what you are saying. I don't see the problem.

Title says "Soon". Now, there's no problem.

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08-18-2020, 01:31 PM	#18
gbm Wizard Posts: 2,188 Karma: 8888888 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD,Hisence Sero 7 Pro RIP, Nook STR, jetbook lite	I do not see were you have a problem. Based on the average size of an epub being about 560kb you have room for 176785 epubs. Using my library on a Mint 20 system which has all the original formats plus epub you would still have room for 62278 ebooks. These numbers would real world have to be lower because you need at least 10%--should never let it get below 25% free space--of your drive free to have your P.C. work right bernie

08-18-2020, 01:49 PM	#19
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 10,993 Karma: 75337983 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	droopy's library is 50 GB in size: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=331724

08-18-2020, 02:01 PM	#21
hobnail Running with scissors Posts: 1,589 Karma: 14328510 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: none	For informational purposes as to space usage and as an addendum to gbm's post, my calibre space usage is calibre-main: 1.36 gb 4,072 files, 2116 folders 211 azw3 1277 epub 21 mobi calibre-fixed: 914 mb 1,744 files, 812 folders 241 azw3 412 epub 29 mobi For keeping track of what I've finished/read and what's in the queue I have 2 separate libraries (I tried virtual libraries but didn't like how they worked). I'm like sirtel and clean up the css before I read a book and that's what's in the calibre-fixed library (fixed ones are on my ereader, unfixed ones have a big red X in the CSS Fixed column and aren't on the ereader and are awaiting my fixing them). In my early days of ebook reading I was in a frenzy downloading free books from gutenberg and elsewhere so that's why my calibre-main is so bloated.

08-19-2020, 11:29 PM	#24
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,897 Karma: 31522252 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	I don't understand your problem. You said your Calibre library is 60Gb. You also said your specific backup method requires you to have double that space. You currently have 99Gb available on your SSD where your existing 60Gb calibre library is resident. You only need 60Gb for the redundant copy. Why won't that fit into the 99Gb of free space that you have? I must have mis-read or mis-interpreted what you are saying. I don't see the problem.

08-19-2020, 11:51 PM	#25
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,897 Karma: 31522252 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	As an aside, after you have finished this immediate backup problem, ... you should look into "LVM" (Logical Volume Management). With that, you can add disks (or SSDs) to increase available space without having to move stuff from an old disk to a new (larger) disk. IIRC from a previous post you made trying to find your Calibre library size breakdown, you're somewhat new at Linux - at least regarding the command line and scripting/programming. What you are probably thinking regarding adding disk space is something like this: You have a 1Gb disk, it's almost full, so you buy a new 2Gb disk. Then you copy the original 1Gb from the old disk to the new disk and thus have an additional 1Gb available on the new disk. The old disk - you'll do something else with after having moved to the new bigger disk. With LVM, you would created a "logical volume" with your original disk. It would have been 1Gb in size - the size of your original disk. When you started to run low on space, you would have bought a new 2G disk. And you use that to "extend" your original 1Gb logical volume into a 3Gb logical volume (the 1Gb disk plus the 2Gb disk). To the operating system, it just looks like a 3Gb disk - the OS doesn't care that it's really two disks added together. And you can just keep adding more and more disks as time goes on, extending your logical volume. By extending the logical volume in this manner you don't have to move/copy existing data from an old disk to a new disk, the space just "magically" gets bigger. And if you later find that you've added more disks than you really need, you can shrink a logical volume too, and free up a disk that was previously assigned to it - now you have a disk that you can use elsewhere. These "disks" that you are managing can be a mixture of hard disks, SSDs, external disks, flash drives ... whatever Normally you wouldn't want to put a flash drive in there, but you could. Nor would you want to mix SSDs and HDDs, since the speed of the SSD would be drug down to HDD speed - kind of a waste of the main SSD benefit (speed). If you run into a situation where you need "temporary space", you can use an external disk to temporarily increase your logical volume size. When you're done, you can shrink that logical volume back down and free up your external disk again. It takes hardly any time to increase the size of a logical volume. However, shrinking one and reclaiming a disk that's no longer needed takes a while longer. Anyway, LVM is something to learn and keep in the back of your mind as you Linux experience grows. It's a very handy way to manage storage in your computer. Just Google "LVM Tutorial" to get started.