Warning: there is very little free disc space

[cindyl]

Today when I opened a new file I got two messages:
Warning: there is very little free disc space left in this volume - Please select another temp directory in your preferences
and
AUDACITY ERROR - Failed to get file system statistics (error 2: No such file or directory)

I have been recording LP's from a mono source TT directly into the 1/8 audio input on my iMAC G5, separating them into tracks, then saving as wav files and importing to iTunes for burning to CD.

If I click OKAY for both of the above messages a new blank file opens, but I am afraid to put anything more in if I am going to lose anything I already have in.

[waxcylinder]

This is potentially SERIOUS.

You need to do some garbage removal on your hard drive. IIRC from an earlier posting by Koz to similar posting a while ago - you run the risk of your MAC shutting down entirely if there is not enough disk space left.

WC

[cindyl]

Thanks WC. I checked my HD volume and my CAP is 148 GB and I have 52 GB available. With the help of my local (non Mac) guru I verified disks of both the HD and the boot drive as well as verifying disc permissions. Is there another Audacity drive to check? What does "Please select another temp directory in your preferences" mean? I'm so new, how do I check the posting you referenced?

[waxcylinder]

Cindy,

Thanks WC. I checked my HD volume and my CAP is 148 GB and I have 52 GB available. With the help of my local (non Mac) guru I verified disks of both the HD and the boot drive as well as verifying disc permissions.

Whew, that's a relief

What does "Please select another temp directory in your preferences" mean?

I've never seen this message myself - but you can check where your Audacity temp files are stored or tell Audacity to change location through Edit>Preferences>Directories

I'm so new, how do I check the posting you referenced?

The posting was by Kozikowski so you could try reading his postings over the last couple of months - but he is the board's most prolific poster by far so there will be a lot. Or you try the Search function at the top right of the forum - not sure what to search on though.

UPDATE: I just found the relevant posting by using the advanced search on [email protected]+space in the MAC forums - here is the link: http://audacityteam.org/forum/viewtopic ... ace#p14678

WC

[cindyl]

Thanks again WC. I'm about to sign up for the Amazon Simple Storage Service since some of the files I'm working on are only on my Mac (the orig tapes went to a museum in Canada). That way if it all goes away here, it is at least stored off site. Still curious about the "Failed to get file system statistics (error 2...)" Could I have put something in the trash that Audacity needs?
Pope was right in my case "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"...

[cindyl]

Thanks again for the help and now the update.
Later!

[kozikowski]

I perceive (pressing fingers to forehead) that you are about to fall into the Save Projects trap.

You can't move, backup, or transfer Audacity projects and they are very easily damaged by accident for anybody who tries.

People will argue with me that you can too move them. Perfectly true, however it's also perfectly true that most normal humans can't move them. Audacity projects are clouds of files and they need to be moved perfectly and correctly along with their folder structure and names for the effort to survive.

You can move and clean up everything else, like all those emails with the fuzzy kitten pictures, and the fifteen tests you did before you got that Photoshop picture just right. They can go--or be pushed onto a backup portable hard drive.

That's not to say you can't back up your important sound work. You can. Export your projects as WAV files. Those really are single, stand-alone sound files, not clouds of files, and you can back them up, save them, move them, or email them to somebody else.

A word on backups. A safety backup is considered as the same work on two different recording mediums or platforms. I use two different FireWire portable hard drives--duplicates of each other--or, one portable hard drive and the original computer.

Move your WAV file to a portable hard drive, or USB thumb drive, or another computer. Any one of those plus the work still on your home computer qualifies as a backup. Take the work off your home computer and your work is at risk again, because if the dog knocks your portable drive off the chair, there goes your show.

In my opinion, pushing the work to an on-line storage company is "safe" because those companies have backup systems and thus qualify as having the work in two different places. Assuming they are a reputable company.

Also assuming you have really good internet connections. My DSL screams with downloads, but my "up" speed is only 384. Trying to push several very large production files up that restricted pipeline may take a very long time. Start a transfer just as you go to bed.

To avoid as many nasty surprises as possible, I would try to pull work back down from the storage company and make sure it still works when I got it. This is where you find out that you have been saving Audacity projects that may not survive the trip. Or better yet, do it on a different computer, or make sure somebody else can use the work.

Koz