False "Disk Full" Error Message

[Bill Weylock]

I¹ve searched and can¹t find anything else on this. Hope someone has a good
idea for me.

I¹m running Office 2007 Pro on XP Pro SP3. The volume is formatted FAT 32,
which someone says may be the problem.

My main .pst is over 4GB, but the limit is supposed to be 20G.

I get an error that says the disk I am trying to write to is full. Says I
should empty Delete folder, throw away some files, or check to see it is not
write-protected.

I can¹t delete the three files in the Deleted Items folder. Get the same
message. Get it when I try to do anything ­ even dismiss a group of old
reminder alerts.

The drive has 40GB available out of 79GB capacity.

Thanks for anything you can throw at this. You can bet this is a business
problem.


Best,

Bill

Office 2007 Pro - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Pat Willener]

Windows XP can handle FAT32 partitions up to 128GB; so this does not
seem to be the cause of your problem. However, I would recommend
thinking to convert that partition to NTFS sometime in the future.
FAT32 partitions are much easier to lose file fragments than NTFS; it
also has weaker security than NTFS.

What I would do in your case is to (after closing Outlook)
- 1st do a full backup of your partition
- run CHKDSK /F on the partition
- run SCANPST against your PST file

Report back if the problem persists.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Correct, FAT32 is the problem here. The maximum size of a file on a FAT32
volume is 4GB. Convert your disk to the NTFS format and you should be fine;

Open a command prompt and type;
convert c: /fs:ntfs

You'll then get prompted that it will take a reboot before the conversion
can be executed.



-----
I've searched and can't find anything else on this. Hope someone has a good
idea for me.

I'm running Office 2007 Pro on XP Pro SP3. The volume is formatted FAT 32,
which someone says may be the problem.

My main .pst is over 4GB, but the limit is supposed to be 20G.

I get an error that says the disk I am trying to write to is full. Says I
should empty Delete folder, throw away some files, or check to see it is not
write-protected.

I can't delete the three files in the Deleted Items folder. Get the same
message. Get it when I try to do anything - even dismiss a group of old
reminder alerts.

The drive has 40GB available out of 79GB capacity.

Thanks for anything you can throw at this. You can bet this is a business
problem.


Best,

Bill

Office 2007 Pro - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Gordon]

I'm running Office 2007 Pro on XP Pro SP3. The volume is formatted FAT 32,
which someone says may be the problem.
My main .pst is over 4GB, but the limit is supposed to be 20G.

FAT32 file systems can't have files over 4GB in size AFAIR....Why are you
running XP Pro in FAT32 in the first place?
There are many advantages of using NTFS over FAT, mainly in the security
area.
Back up all your data then look here:

How to convert FAT32 to NTFS:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.php
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881

 

[Pat Willener]

Ok, I seem to have missed the 4GB file size limit that subsequent
posters correctly stated.

Also, the 128GB limit I mentioned is only for Win9x; later Windows
versions have a much higher limit.

 

[Gordon]

Windows XP can handle FAT32 partitions up to 128GB;

Partition yes - but not FILE size........AFAIR.

 

[Gordon]

Ok, I seem to have missed the 4GB file size limit that subsequent posters
correctly stated.

Never mind - you made me go and do some research to check!

 

[Bill Weylock]

Thanks. I¹ve done that several times already.

Scan shows errors, offers to fix, then fails with ³not enough room on disk
to repair.² That¹s ridiculous of course.

I figured it would ultimately require a reinstall, but I¹ve already
uninstalled and reinstalled from the original disk. No help.

I¹ve defragmented the drive. Then reinstalled.

Any other thoughts? Sure hope so!

Thanks again!


Best,


- Bill

Windows XP can handle FAT32 partitions up to 128GB; so this does not
seem to be the cause of your problem. However, I would recommend
thinking to convert that partition to NTFS sometime in the future.
FAT32 partitions are much easier to lose file fragments than NTFS; it
also has weaker security than NTFS.

What I would do in your case is to (after closing Outlook)
- 1st do a full backup of your partition
- run CHKDSK /F on the partition
- run SCANPST against your PST file

Report back if the problem persists.

Best,

Bill

Office 2007 Pro - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Gordon]

Thanks. I've done that several times already.
Scan shows errors, offers to fix, then fails with "not enough room on disk
to repair." That's ridiculous of course.

read the other replies - FAT32 won't handle files over 4GB in size. You need
to convert to NTFS file format.

And PLEASE do NOT post in HTML...
Thank you.

 

[Bill Weylock]

I can do this safely without losing data?? Would assume that would
completely reformat drive? Or is it something like journaling, that can be
turned off and on?

Thanks very much. I did search for information on how to convert the drive,
but didn¹t have any luck till now.


Best,


- Bill

Correct, FAT32 is the problem here. The maximum size of a file on a FAT32
volume is 4GB. Convert your disk to the NTFS format and you should be fine;

Open a command prompt and type;
convert c: /fs:ntfs

You'll then get prompted that it will take a reboot before the conversion
can be executed.

Best,

Bill
iMac 2.8Ghz -10.5.4
Office 2008 12.1.1/2007 - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Roady [MVP]]

You can do this safely without losing any data but having a current backup
is always recommended.
No, it's not something you just turn on and off. The conversion is one way
only. Only when you want to revert back to FAT32 you'll have to format your
partition.



-----
I can do this safely without losing data?? Would assume that would
completely reformat drive? Or is it something like journaling, that can be
turned off and on?

Thanks very much. I did search for information on how to convert the drive,
but didn't have any luck till now.


Best,


- Bill


On 10/5/09 2:32 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "Roady [MVP]"


Correct, FAT32 is the problem here. The maximum size of a file on a FAT32
volume is 4GB. Convert your disk to the NTFS format and you should be fine;

Open a command prompt and type;
convert c: /fs:ntfs

You'll then get prompted that it will take a reboot before the conversion
can be executed.


Best,

Bill
iMac 2.8Ghz -10.5.4
Office 2008 12.1.1/2007 - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Bill Weylock]

Thanks to everybody! Wish I had thought to ask here way back.

I think the FAT32 must have resulted from my having to install 98 before
upgrading again to XP. It's a virtual drive, and the only additional
operating system I had was an old upgrade version. Betting 98 prefers FAT
32? Or it's possible I simply allowed/selected it out of ignorance. I'm
better at Macintosh, although I've become pretty comfy in Windows - largely
because MS decided to ruin Office for Mac so the only sane recourse is to
use Office 2007.

Thanks again! If you hear nothing further, please know that all is sunny and
chirpy in Weylockville!

See? No HTML. I have no issue with it whatever and don't think to disable
it. Never been able to see what problems it creates for some or would be
more careful.


Best,


- Bill

You can do this safely without losing any data but having a current backup
is always recommended.
No, it's not something you just turn on and off. The conversion is one way
only. Only when you want to revert back to FAT32 you'll have to format your
partition.

Best,

Bill
iMac 2.8Ghz -10.5.4
Office 2008 12.1.1/2007 - Windows XP Pro SP3

 

[Roady [MVP]]

If you upgraded from Windows 98, then this is how it happened as Windows 98
did not support NTFS.



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