Knowledge Base

Problem

When attempting to start an acquisition experiment in EthoVision XT, the software displays a warning that there is insufficient hard disk space, and the experiment cannot begin.

Details

EthoVision XT requires a minimum amount of free disk space to begin recording video and tracking data. If available space falls below this threshold, the software will prompt the user and refuse to start. This can occur when the data drive has filled up with previous experiments, video files, or other data. The experiment will resume normally once sufficient space is freed.

Solution

1. Note the drive where EthoVision is storing its data (configured in EthoVision preferences or shown in the experiment file location).
2. Open Windows File Explorer and check available free space on that drive.
3. Free up disk space by:
a. Moving completed experiment folders and video files to an external drive or network storage.
b. Deleting the EthoVision 'Intermediate' folder if it has not already been cleared (this folder holds temporary processing files and can be safely deleted after analysis is complete — see the separate KB article on clearing the Intermediate folder).
c. Removing other large files not related to ongoing experiments.
4. Aim to free at least 1 GB of space (more for long recordings or high-resolution video).
5. Restart EthoVision XT and attempt to start the experiment again.
6. Note: Do not store active experiment video files on an external hard drive during acquisition — copy data to the internal drive first for best performance.