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FAQ - Disk Quota

What is the new disk quota system and what does it do?

Student accounts are limited to a total of 100 MB of files on their network folder. The disk quota software monitors your disk usage. When you reach 80% (80 MB) and 90% (90 MB) of quota, the system will send you a message, alerting you to the fact that you are approaching your limit. Once you save a file that pushes your total over the limit, the system will complete writing that file, then notify you that you have exceeded your quota. At this point, you will not be able to save any additional files until you reduce your network usage below 100 MB.

I tried to save a file and the system says I'm over quota or out of disk space. What do I do?

The first thing to do is look at the files you have saved in your network folders and remove anything that isn't academic-related. Storage is provided for academic purposes only, not for storing music files, games, etc. Once you've removed any of the se files, you may want to consider archiving files from previous semesters to a CD or a home computer. If you do this and you are still over quota, you can send a request to Help Desk for an increase in your disk quota. Modifications to quotas will be made only for legitimate academic purposes. Students will be asked to remove non-academic files before any additional storage will be provided.

The system sent me multiple email messages saying I'm both over quota and almost over quota at the same time. What's going on?

The quota system has three alarm levels, all percentages of the total quota: 80% (80 MB), 90% (90 MB), and 100% (100 MB). If you add a file and cross multiple thresholds, the system will send you an alarm for each threshold. So if you have 60 MB in your folder and you add a 50 MB file, you will receive all three alarm messages.

What do I do if I need to work with large files?

You can send a request to Help Desk and ask for an increase in your disk quota. Modifications to quotas will be made only for legitimate academic purposes. Students will be asked to remove non-academic files before any additional storage will be provided.

Why doesn't Olin just buy more disk space?

We will continue to add disk space over time to accommodate student needs. However, we find that much of our storage growth during the course of a semester is due to students saving personal files to the network that belong on laptops or home computers. Music files, movies, pictures, programs downloaded from the Internet, even backups of laptops often consume a great deal of space on the server. These files not only use up space that could otherwise be used, they also impact our nightly backups and system performance. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping them on your home system or laptop.

How do I check how much space I am using?

Using the diruse command gives you the most information. To run a report, go to Start/Programs and run Check Home Directory Usage. The batch file will run and open the report in notepad. The program output looks like this:

    Size (mb)  Files  Directory
         5.21      5  M:\
        20.00      8  M:\Excel
         4.94     16  M:\Marathon
         9.65      4  M:\Misc
         0.00      0  M:\outlook
         0.00      0  M:\outlook\mail
         3.20      1  M:\Pictures
         0.00      1  M:\www
        43.00     35  SUB-TOTAL: M:\

        43.00     35  TOTAL: M:\

You can run the command manually as well by going to a Command Prompt (Start/Tools/Accessories) and entering the following command:

diruse /m /s m:\

This command tells the diruse program to report space used in MB (/m), list sub-directories (/s), and report on your M: drive.

Is the limit on my user profile related to my disk quota?

Not really. For more information, see the User Profiles page.