Cleaning up fixes

If you are running out of storage space on your system, it might be time to delete your save files and cover letters for IBM® i fixes.

Over time, save files and cover letters for fixes tend to accumulate. After you have permanently installed a fix and performed a SAVSYS operation, you might want to delete the fix save file and cover letter if you do not need to distribute it to another system and if you are satisfied that the fix is not defective. Once a fix has been permanently installed and the save file is deleted, all information about the fix except the status information is also deleted. By deleting the save file, you can make more room on your system for other files.

Deleting save files with System i Navigator

System i® Navigator provides you with a way to delete save files and cover letters for fixes that are no longer needed. To clean up your save files and cover letters, follow these steps:

In System i Navigator, expand Management Central.
Select Endpoint Systems or System Groups from the tree hierarchy. This action allows you to select one or more systems from the right pane.
Right-click the system or systems on which you want to perform the action, select Fixes, and then select Clean Up.
Make your selection with regard to cleaning up all save files and cover letters. You can choose to perform the task against all fixes (for all products), all fixes for a particular product, or for selected fixes.
Click OK or Schedule to submit the task.

System i Navigator provides more than one path to clean up fixes. See the detailed help that is available from the System i Navigator window for a complete list of all those paths. Just click Help from the menu bar and select Help Topics. Select What can I do with . . .? to find out what you can do and where you need to be in the System i Navigator window to make it happen.

Deleting save files with the DLTPTF command

From the character-based interface, use the Delete Program Temporary Fix (DLTPTF) command to delete PTF save files and cover letters. Do not use the Delete File (DLTF) command to delete PTF save files. If you use the DLTF command, the PTF function will not detect that you deleted the save file.

Note: Fix save files and cover letters for a previous release are removed during automatic cleanup if system logs are specified.

Cleaning up PTF groups

If you follow a PTF (fix) maintenance strategy, you normally might have several PTF groups stored on your system. A PTF group is automatically deleted if the PTF group does not contain a target release or if the target release is less than the current release and the PTF group does not contain PTFs for any installed or supported licensed programs. PTF groups are automatically deleted when you upgrade to a new release of IBM i and during Operational Assist (OA) cleanup.

If you want to manually delete a PTF group, follow these steps:

Use the Work with PTF Groups (WRKPTFGRP) command.
Select option 4 next to each PTF group that you want to delete.

Note: Deleting a PTF group deletes only the PTF group information from the system. It does not delete or remove any PTFs from the system or any related PTF groups that are defined in the PTF group.