Knowledgebase

Disk Space & Mailbox Usage (Firstserv Guide)

Managing your disk space is essential to keep your website, email, and hosting account running smoothly. Every file in your account contributes to your total usage.

👉 For detailed cleanup tips, refer to our separate guide on monitoring and managing disk usage.

Understanding Disk Usage

Your total disk usage includes:

• ✅ Website files
• ✅ Databases
• ✅ Emails and mailboxes

cPanel Disk Usage Warnings

As your hosting account approaches its storage limit, Firstserv will automatically send warning emails at:

• 80% usage
• 90% usage
• 98% usage

📌 These alerts are sent only once per level, so it’s important to take action when you receive them.

Important Tip

Ensure your contact email is:

• ✅ Hosted externally (e.g. Gmail, Outlook)
• ❌ Not on the same hosting account

👉 This ensures you still receive warnings even if your account encounters issues.

What Happens When You Run Out of Space

If your account reaches 100% capacity:

• ❌ You may not be able to access cPanel or webmail
• ✅ Your website may still work (unless it needs to write new data)

How to Restore Access

1. Contact Firstserv Support
2. Request a temporary grace allowance (e.g. 50MB)
3. Log in and remove unnecessary files or emails

After Cleanup

• Inform support once space has been cleared
• The temporary allowance will be removed

⚠️ If you exceed your limit again, you may need to:

• Upgrade your hosting plan
• Or request files to be removed

Mailbox Storage Limits

Each email account has its own quota.

Warning Notifications

As a mailbox fills up, warnings are sent to the mailbox at:

• 80% usage
• 90% usage
• 98% usage

What Counts Toward Mailbox Size

All folders are included:

• Inbox
• Sent
• Trash
• Custom folders

Common Issue: POP3 Accounts Filling Up

If you use POP3:

• Your email client may be set to leave copies on the server
• Over time, your mailbox will fill up

How to Fix

• Log in to Webmail and delete old messages
• Adjust your email client to:
  • ✅ Remove messages from the server after download

What Happens When a Mailbox is Full

• ❌ New emails cannot be delivered
• 📥 Incoming messages may be temporarily held

👉 Once space is freed, messages are usually delivered automatically.

How to Free Up Mailbox Space

You can:

• ✅ Delete emails via Webmail
• ✅ Use cPanel → Email Disk Usage tool
• ✅ Increase the mailbox quota

Mailbox Quotas

You can set mailbox limits to:

• ✅ A fixed size (recommended)
• ✅ Unlimited (not recommended in most cases)

⚠️ Important

Even if a mailbox is set to unlimited:

• It still counts toward your overall hosting storage limit

👉 Setting sensible quotas helps prevent issues.

Best Practices

• ✅ Monitor disk usage regularly
• ✅ Clean up old backups and unused files
• ✅ Keep inboxes tidy
• ✅ Use external backups instead of storing them on your hosting
• ✅ Set realistic mailbox limits

Summary

• All files, databases, and emails count toward your disk usage
• cPanel sends alerts as you approach capacity
• Running out of space restricts access and email delivery
• Mailboxes can fill up quickly if not maintained
• Regular clean-up prevents issues

Need Help?

If you're unsure what’s using space or need help freeing up storage, the Firstserv support team is always happy to assist.