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Server 2003 Re-Booted with full C Drive - Help!

johnj1710

By johnj1710
in Windows Server 2000/2003

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johnj1710

johnj1710

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I just started at a new school as the only technician and whilst in the middle of sorting out the lack of space on the Admin server c: drive, CC3 Server 2 has re-booted over night and hung at "unable to load directory services" due to insufficient drive space. No doubt the c drive is full... I have only been here for two days and havn't had time to get to this server yet! Any ideas on how I can get to the C: drive to clear enough space to get this (Old) thing back up and running?
dhicks

dhicks

Posted
Posted
Any ideas on how I can get to the C: drive to clear enough space to get this (Old) thing back up and running?

 

Any idea what the harddrive is full of? We had a similar issue with our Exchange server - it turns out the transaction logs weren't being backed up and deleted properly, so the daily Exchange transaction logs were clogging up the hardddrive. Deleting a few log files in general might give you enough space to get the machine to at least boot, although I'd Google the location of each file first before delting just in case you're deleting something important, or maybe back up the files to an external harddrive or something before deleting.

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superfletch

superfletch

Posted
Posted (edited)
Any idea what the harddrive is full of?

 

Not very much if it is an RM CC3 Server, in my experience RM seem to think 10 or 12 GB is more than enough for an OS partition.

 

I'd agree with somabc if you mount the drive with a boot CD you could probably clear off a fair few files from the windows update cache.

 

Then once it boots check the location and size of the page file as that could be moved if you're really low on space.

 

Also look at uninstalling any unneccessary applications that reside on C: - office for instance?

Edited by superfletch
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johnj1710

johnj1710

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Indeed... Is an RM CC3 server and yes, you guessed it... Has a 12gb c drive. I had this sorted at my old school when I replaced the servers (although it took some pushing as they don't like non-standard setups). I'll have a look at what's eating it up as soon as I can get back in and let you know. Will try the CD/PXE boot if I can. Don't have any software to hand at the moment as don't know where the previous guy has it stored. Am looking now. May have to get the cd's replaced to do it but will take time. More to come.....
glennda

glennda

Posted
Posted
Indeed... Is an RM CC3 server and yes, you guessed it... Has a 12gb c drive. I had this sorted at my old school when I replaced the servers (although it took some pushing as they don't like non-standard setups). I'll have a look at what's eating it up as soon as I can get back in and let you know. Will try the CD/PXE boot if I can. Don't have any software to hand at the moment as don't know where the previous guy has it stored. Am looking now. May have to get the cd's replaced to do it but will take time. More to come.....

 

look at bart pe for a disk which you can boot

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johnj1710

johnj1710

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Ta so far everyone. Still trying. Problem is, I can't find the schools server software to be able to boot from it. Looking at Bart PE now to see what I can find. Made a server boot disk to try and get to a command prompt but so far can only use the boot disk to boot to the error point so not much good yet. More to come.....
sparkeh

sparkeh

Posted
Posted

Classic things to look at on small CC3 server c: drive

 

1) If you are using RMVP take a look at log folder, the logs can build up to be huge

2) Move i386 folder off c:

3) Clear the spool folder, I regularly see large files not being cleared and eating up the space

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johnj1710

johnj1710

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Hi

 

Try F8 DSRM to get in and delete files.

 

Sukh

 

I tried F8 to DSRM but all it did was scan all the drives / partitions and tell me they were clean. I didn't see any way to get to a command prompt or be able to get nto the c: drive. Any ideas?

johnj1710

johnj1710

Posted
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Classic things to look at on small CC3 server c: drive

 

1) If you are using RMVP take a look at log folder, the logs can build up to be huge

2) Move i386 folder off c:

3) Clear the spool folder, I regularly see large files not being cleared and eating up the space

 

As soon as I gat in I will look here.... Ta....

Arthur

Arthur

Posted
Posted

Here's another option... It is similar to the Ubuntu tutorial on the previous page but almost everything is automated. :)

 

  1. Download Trinity Rescue Kit v3.4 build 367 from here and burn it to a CD or DVD.
     
     
  2. Boot the server from the TRK disc and select option 12 (fileshare all drives as guest...).
     
    http://i.min.us/ikwZhU.png
     
     
  3. Keep an eye on the screen as the text scrolls past and look for the IP address which gets assigned to the server via DHCP.
     
    http://i.min.us/imHCMI.png
     
     
  4. When the easy menu appears, go to another computer on your network, click Run on the Start Menu and enter the IP address from the previous step but prefix it with a double-backslash i.e. \\192.168.0.12
     
    http://i.min.us/imHCQS.png
     
     
  5. After you click the OK button, Windows Explorer will open showing you every drive on your server. The C:\ drive should be named hda1 or sda1, D:\ will be hdb1 or sdb1, and so on.
     
    http://i.min.us/ik14sY.png
     
     
  6. Double-click hda1 or sda1 and look for things you can safely delete or move to another drive. A good place to start would be the contents of the various Temp folders: \Temp, \Windows\Temp, \Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp. The $NtUninstallKB folders in the Windows folder could also be moved elsewhere since they can easily take up several GBs of disk space. N.B. Do not touch the $hf_mig$ and $NtServicePackUninstall folders though. :)
     
    http://i.min.us/ik5uBy.png
     
     
  7. When you have finished, go back to the server, select the option to "Reboot without ejecting CD" and then remove the disc when you see the POST screen re-appear.

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Arthur

Arthur

Posted
Posted

The whole process doesn't take long (10-20 minutes at most). John just needs to delete enough files to enable the server to boot again. This could be done before everyone gets in for example. Alternatively, he could assign it a static IP on a different subnet or use a laptop + crossover cable.

 

On our CC3 network no one has access to My Network Places, the address bar in Windows Explorer or the Run box so in theory they shouldn't be able to find the share. I imagine John's network is fairly similar? :confused:

johnj1710

johnj1710

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Thanks for the warning and concern SOMABC, but it's ok as no one is in my school at the moment..... All away on hols except for me and the cleaner. I control the cameras as well and can see everything from my desk so even if someone does come in, I would know.... Thanks also to Arthur (as well as every one else who has helped here) as this worked a treat. Actioned above and did the housekeeping which gave me 640mb on the c: drive. Rebooted the server and it came up stable. Further checking on the c drives of both servers revealed that Server one had a page file on the D drive but somebody had left Server 2's page file on the c drive. I moved it after extending another drive and rebooted the server again. Now have 2.6gb free on the c drive of Server 2 and 2.4gb free on the c drive of server 1. Emergency over now and thanks again to all of you.... Also now have a Ubuntu Live cd to try out when the time comes.... Thank goodness for the internet, this site and all of you......
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TechSupp

TechSupp

Posted
Posted
. I moved it after extending another drive and rebooted the server again. Now have 2.6gb free on the c drive of Server 2 and 2.4gb free on the c drive of server 1. ...

 

Well done, crisis over, just out of interest what software did you use to extend the drive. Got a server with similar size drive (already cleaned it up and moved the spool file and swap file and still only around 1Gb free). Got a new server in place so not critical, it just manages the printers and intend moving them eventually.

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