[tinkerman]

I recently bit the bullet and created a VM(virtual machine) installation of ISTA+(4.39.20 + BLP 4.43.21 update, But no SDP 'flash programming' data installed), and the total VM size(including the Windows 10 installation base) all came out to about 116GB.

My ISTA-D 3.5X VMs(from around 2016) were initially around the same size, but I was able to delete all "data" of models/series other than what I own and reduce the size of the VM to about 50~60GB, (albeit these were based on Windows 7).

But with the newer ISTA+ platform, the largest data packets are the SQLiteDBs (the required "Other" and "EN" files) which take up close to 80GB, but the "data" in these DBs are not easily accessible as they are not neatly divided into folders by various series codes. I am not proficient in SQL, but managed to open & browse these large DBs in SQLite DB Browser, and again the data is not obviously grouped or divided into folders that can just be chucked if not needed, nor does it seem possible to access such "folders"(if they exist at all) from a high level in a directory tree for selecting for deletion.

Has anyone tried reducing the size of their ISTA+ installation to include only data pertaining to their series/models of interest and deleting all other series'/models' data? If so, I'd be so grateful if you'd share how ya done it. Thanks in advance.

[Node]

Possible is NOT the same as practicable. It could be done, but for some SERIOUS amount of cash. How much do you need that?

[tinkerman]

Possible is NOT the same as practicable. It could be done, but for some SERIOUS amount of cash. How much do you need that?

O NOHHHH!  
I don't like "NEED" need it, but it would be slick ya know?

Hopefully some geek genius will whip out his easy-peezy solution and share with us mere mortals.

[zero9]

But why? Hdd/ssd prices are affordable to not upgrade your drive.

[tinkerman]

But why? Hdd/ssd prices are affordable to not upgrade your drive.

You are absolutely right. That said, my laptop is by today's standards severely lacking with only 200GB or so SSD on board(hardwired to mainboard / cannot upgrade), and I prefer to run the VM natively as opposed to having it connected via USB to an external drive. I will of course have to upgrade my laptop, but still it would be nice to know how such tweaks can be done if there is an easy trick perhaps.

[Node]

So you want someone to make a tool to delete data from ISTA's sqlites. Which will require at least 20h of development (for someone who is already familiar with data structures ISTA uses). So lets say 1000€ worth of work (and that pricing is EXTREMELY cheap).

And then that tool will be used by 1-2 people.

P.S. When I made and shared for free my ISTA voltage controller at least I felt it was in high demand so I was giving back something to the community I learned so much from. This tool... so much hassle and no payback whatsoever. Neither monetary nor moral... Just for someone to use SERIOUSLY crappy laptop (possibly MAC) with newest software...

[yomismo 01]

and simply because it doesn't try to put the largest files somewhere else. Memory card, pendrive
and creates a symbolic link to said files.

[tinkerman]

and simply because it doesn't try to put the largest files somewhere else. Memory card, pendrive
and creates a symbolic link to said files.

I would appreciate very much if you would be a bit more specific (i.e. your reply above starts with an incomplete sentence, and your second comment is grammatically unclear). I fully understand if English is not your main language, I just want to understand what you are implying. Cheers~

[BusyBox]

You can further spare some gigabytes by using windows own folder compression. Prepare to wait a lot for this to finish and ista will run a bit slower after that. Absolutely not recommended for programming (just to mention, you will strip that part anyway), will require a bit more RAM and CPU.

[tinkerman]

You can further spare some gigabytes by using windows own folder compression. Prepare to wait a lot for this to finish and ista will run a bit slower after that. Absolutely not recommended for programming (just to mention, you will strip that part anyway), will require a bit more RAM and CPU.

I appreciate your consideration, but as you probably understand I am not seeking a compression solution for storage, as I can just use WinRAR. What I am interested in is like "filtering out" data in the SQLiteDBs if there is an easy method to do so with regard to specific series/models in a grouped way, then delete those that I do not need. In the older ISTA-D software this could be done simply by deleting SP-Daten that were not needed by selecting the series folders that were not needed and deleting/excluding them from the installation, and optimizing the installation/ (VM) disk size as needed.

Why bother? Because for an installation for personal use, I don't need ALL the data, which just takes up a lot of space and time to handle, and "unnecessary data space" is "wasted money".

I'm sure there are many users that would prefer a smaller size of the system (without deletion of data) since it would make installation/operation/maintenance all more efficient and quicker. In my case I can do without some series for the sake of a smaller lighter installation, as long as there is a reasonably doable method.

I am not seeking nor asking anyone 'to make a software tool" and share it, as another member imagined above, just wondering if there is a simple manual method (such as if it is possible to query/search specific terms for specific series in the SQLiteDBs for exclusion) as long as such deletion would not affect the otherwise "normal" operation of ISTA's diagnostic system. Thanks...