While I was working on my Linux partition, I saw a software update was pending and gave it the go-ahead. It was then that I realized that I only had a couple hundred megabytes of space left, out of the total 13GB.
I use my Lubuntu to do the bulk of my programming, anything graphic-intensive is left to my Windows 10, as well as my music and videos. So when I saw how little space I had left on Linux, it concerned me.
So I did a quick search to see what I can do to clear out unnecessary files.
$ sudo apt-get autoremove
$ sudo apt-get clean
$ sudo apt-get autoclean
$ sudo apt-get clean
autoremove removes any unused packages.
autoclean removes any old files.
clean clears apt's cache folder after each operation.
Not a lot was reclaimed though. So what else can I do? Check for any old kernel files that are left and are unused.
It's important to check what my current kernel version is, so I did this:
$ uname -r
3.19.0-49-generic
Remember this version for the next while, and do not touch it.
Now to view all kernels on Linux:
$ dpkg --list | grep linux-image
Which outputs something like this:
rc linux-image-3.19.0-25-generic 3.19.0-25.26~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-3.19.0-26-generic 3.19.0-26.28~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic 3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-32-generic 3.19.0-32.37~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-33-generic 3.19.0-33.38~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-37-generic 3.19.0-37.42~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-39-generic 3.19.0-39.44~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-42-generic 3.19.0-42.48~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-43-generic 3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-47-generic 3.19.0-47.53~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-3.19.0-49-generic 3.19.0-49.55~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel image for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-3.19.0-25-generic 3.19.0-25.26~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
rc linux-image-extra-3.19.0-26-generic 3.19.0-26.28~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-31-generic 3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-32-generic 3.19.0-32.37~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-33-generic 3.19.0-33.38~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-37-generic 3.19.0-37.42~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-39-generic 3.19.0-39.44~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-42-generic 3.19.0-42.48~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-43-generic 3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-47-generic 3.19.0-47.53~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-extra-3.19.0-49-generic 3.19.0-49.55~14.04.1 amd64 Linux kernel extra modules for version 3.19.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP
ii linux-image-generic-lts-vivid 3.19.0.49.34 amd64 Generic Linux kernel image
How to go about selecting which ones to remove? The Lubuntu documentation has a great reference, so I snatched it and put it here:
## https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/Documentation/RemoveOldKernels
rc linux-image-extra-4.2.0-14-generic ## The oldest kernel in the database
## Status 'rc' means it's already been removed
ii linux-image-extra-4.2.0-15-generic ## The oldest installed kernel. Eligible for removal.
## Status 'ii' means Installed.
ii linux-image-extra-4.2.0-16-generic ## Another old installed kernel. Eligible for removal
ii linux-image-extra-4.2.0-18-generic ## Another old installed kernel. Eligible for removal
ii linux-image-extra-4.2.0-19-generic ## The previous good kernel. Keep
ii linux-image-extra-4.2.0-21-generic ## DO NOT REMOVE. The currently-running kernel
iU linux-image-extra-4.2.0-22-generic ## DO NOT REMOVE. Status 'iU' means it's not installed,
## but queued for install in apt.
## This is the package we want apt to install.
ii linux-image-generic ## DO NOT REMOVE. This is the metapackage that
## regularly updates your kernel
For this example I will choose linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic and purge it. This will also remove the -extra and -header files.
$ sudo apt-get purge linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
linux-headers-3.13.0-77 linux-headers-3.13.0-77-generic
linux-headers-generic
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic* linux-image-extra-3.19.0-31-generic*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 42 not upgraded.
After this operation, 207 MB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]
Y please!
(Reading database ... 475586 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing linux-image-extra-3.19.0-31-generic (3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1) ...
Purging configuration files for linux-image-extra-3.19.0-31-generic (3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1) ...
Removing linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic (3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1) ...
Purging configuration files for linux-image-3.19.0-31-generic (3.19.0-31.36~14.04.1) ...
After that,
$ sudo apt-get autoremove
$ sudo apt-get clean
and then marvel at how much disk space you've reclaimed.
$ df -h
Hopefully it's a lot. If not, rinse and repeat with the rest of the kernels. I also cleared the ones with ri so that they are out of the way. Remember not to delete your uname -r kernel. In my case, I don't touch linux-image-3.19.0-49-generic.
Since these kernels are available on the grub2 screen on startup, it's a good idea to update grub2.
$ sudo update-grub2
Lastly, do a reboot and all is well. This way, I managed to get back almost 3GB of space back - a lot more easier on the eyes.