Partition advice, how can I stop running out of space on "/" partition?
Here are some ways to reduce the space taken up by packages:
Remove your auto removable packages: go to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. Click the 'Status' button in the bottom left. Click the Installed (auto removable) filter. Click on one of the packages and press Ctrl-a to select them all. Next right click on one of the packages and click 'Mark for Removal'. Then click the Apply button in the toolbar.
Delete your cached packages: in Synaptic, click Settings->Preferences and click the 'Files' tab. Click the button that says 'Delete Cached Package Files'.
Set it so that packages are deleted once installed: in Synaptic, click Settings->Preferences and click the 'Files' tab. Click the radio button that says 'Delete downloaded packages after installation'.
You could create a bash script to automate these tasks:
#!/bin/sh
#~/clean.sh
apt-get autoremove
rm /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb
This could be run with this command:
sudo ~/clean.sh
Diagnosing where the space has gone:
Go to Applications -> Accessories -> Disk Usage Analyser.
Click the 'scan filesystem' button:
This should give you a breakdown of what space is being used and where:
Separating parts of the filesystem to different drives/partitions:
It is possible to put parts of the filesystem (such as /var or /usr) onto a separate partition on a different drive. The process would be the same as separating yout /home partition, which you have already done.
These tutorials: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/separatehome and http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/mountlinux should give you the necessary information for this.
First, follow dv3500ea's advice on removing cruft and analysing disk usage.
If you still don't have enough space on your system partition, move part of the system to the home partition. Don't create a new partition on the 16GB drive though, use the existing partition so you don't have to worry about choosing a size.
Pick one or more large part of the system for which you don't care about the speed difference.
This must be a part of /usr or /var, as the rest might be needed during boot time before the /home partition becomes available. Move that part to the /home partition, and create a symbolic link on the system partition. For example, /usr/share/doc looks like a good candidate, so run the following commands:
sudo mv /usr/share/doc /home/usr-share-doc
sudo ln -s /home/usr-share-doc /usr/share/doc