Hello @terry777
Thank you for reaching out, and I am happy to help!
Yes, deleting those folders is the best way forward since the plugin has been uninstalled. You can delete all four folders (object, page_enhanced, stats, and tmp) entirely to clear out those 250,000 inodes. Because deleting hundreds of thousands of files via FTP can take hours due to the way FTP processes individual file commands, asking your host to delete the wp-content/cache/ directory via the server terminal is usually much faster and easier.
If you decide to reinstall W3 Total Cache in the future, keep these tips in mind to prevent the inode limit issue from happening again:
- Avoid Disk Caching for Object and Database Cache: When you have strict inode limits, you should never use the “Disk” caching method for Object Cache or Database Cache. These features generate massive amounts of small files, which quickly exhaust your inode count. If your host supports it, use memory-based caching like Redis or Memcached instead, or leave those two features disabled entirely. Make sure to use memory-based caching like Redis or Memcached!
- Page Cache is Safe with “Disk: Enhanced”: For Page Cache, using the Disk: Enhanced method is perfectly fine. W3 Total Cache automatically and reliably removes expired cache files for this specific method, keeping the file count under control.
However, depending on the size of the website and if the cache preload is enabled, the entire website can be cached
I hope this helps!
Thanks!
Thanks for your response. I’ll save this info!
the inode count went from 278899 to 34646!
Hello @terry777
You are most welcome!
We would really appreciate it if you could take a minute and post a review here. This will help us to continue offering a top-notch product to users.
Thanks!
