Topic: Strange file sizes, need help!

[s991051]

I have a problem with my e-smith (5.1) I tried the search, but no solution sofar.

Here's the problem:
Just look at this screenshot: [url]http://www.vanschaijk.com/screenshot.JPG
The size on disk (Grootte op schijf) is much larger then the actual file size (Grootte). I think that when I don't solve this problem, I'm running out of disk space, without actually using the space. Can someone explain this to me, and give me a solution for this problem (defragment or something like that)?

[Bill Talcott]

I'm not familiar with Linux filesystems, but with FAT the disk is divided into clusters of a certain size. FAT32 was a great upgrade because it allowed clusters as small as 4K on big disks. Each cluster is either "used" or "not used". You can't have file1 taking up half of a cluster, and file2 taking up the other half. If you have a 1 byte file, it will make 4K of disk space "used". If you have a 6K file, it'll use up 8K. If you have a whole bunch of tiny files, they could be taking up a lot more space than the files actually take up.

Looking at our SME5.5U5 through Network Neighborhood, it appears that the disk is divided into 512 byte chunks. I have several <512b files that are reported as taking up 512b. I'm not sure if ext2 works the same way as FAT though...

[s991051]

Okay, but the problem is much deeper I guess, when I use mc, and I delete a file, the Free space (in the info tab) still says the old size, so when I delete a file, I don't get free space in reply. Is there a sort of Recycle Bin or something like that to clean up the disc? I'm getting into deeper trouble now, because I've got almost 40 GB full, when there is just for 10 GB data on the drive.