Disk Space Warnings: Which Drive Needs Space?
Distinguish the system, database and export drives, free the right space, and preserve originals and database files.
Distinguish the system, database and export drives, free the right space, and preserve originals and database files.
When adding, repairing or exporting reports insufficient space, read the drive and path in the message. Free space on the library drive does not establish free space on the system or export drive.
Identify the drive
The system drive may hold temporary files, logs and settings. The database drive stores search data, thumbnails and maintenance files. The export drive must hold the actual output; RAW originals can be much larger than previews.
Check database storage information and the named drive in Explorer or Finder.
Free space safely
Pause further work and keep the error details. Use system storage tools or remove downloads and temporary files you know are no longer needed. Review the Recycle Bin or Trash before emptying it. Choose a different export drive if needed.
Use the documented migration flow to move a database. Do not delete database.db, unfamiliar index folders or required originals. Moving a database is not the same as moving source files, and repair cannot recreate missing originals. Retry the affected task after space is restored and inspect the results.
Device-not-ready and missing-network-path errors need connection or share checks; access-denied and file-in-use errors need permission or lock checks. They are not necessarily space problems. If adequate space does not resolve the failure, provide the operation, time, drive details and a log package to support.