Renters download models, datasets and environments, and write their results — on your drive. A full system drive is a broken computer: updates fail, programs crash, files will not save. So RentGPUPower always keeps part of your drive free, whatever a renter does.

How much is kept free

Five per cent of the drive, at least 5 GB and at most 20 GB. A 128 GB drive keeps about 6 GB free, a 256 GB drive about 12 GB, and a drive of 512 GB or more keeps 20 GB.

It is the drive renters' work actually lands on: on Windows and macOS, your main drive (C: on most Windows PCs), where Docker Desktop keeps its disk; on Linux, the drive where Docker keeps its data.

What happens below it

  • The machine is not offered. A renter would pay for time that could run nothing, so while the drive is under the floor, nobody can book your machine. It comes back on the market by itself once there is room again — a gigabyte above the floor, so it does not flicker in and out.
  • A rental already running is stopped, not left to fill the drive. The app looks at the free space every 30 seconds. Under the floor, whatever the renter runs is stopped — they are told why — and their container is restarted: their files stay, and they can delete some to make room.
  • A download that would cross the floor — a large environment for a new rental — is refused before it starts.

You see it in the app, under the machine, with how much is free and how much is kept; on My GPUs on the website; and renters see that the machine is not available right now.

Making room

  • Empty the Recycle Bin on Windows, or the Trash on a Mac.
  • Uninstall games and programs you no longer use, and clear out your Downloads folder.
  • On Windows, Settings → System → Storage → Temporary files removes update leftovers and caches safely.
  • Environments RentGPUPower downloaded for renters can be removed: docker image prune -a deletes the ones no rental is using. The next renter who picks one waits while it downloads again — and is not charged for that wait.

Within a minute of having room again, your machine is back on the market.

When a rental ends

Everything a renter stored — their workspace and their container — is deleted when the rental ends, so their files never stay on your drive.

FAQ

My drive still has gigabytes free. Why is my machine not offered?

Because the floor comes first. On a 1 TB drive, 20 GB stays free: with 18 GB left, a renter's first download could fill it. Make room above the floor and your machine is offered again.

Can a renter fill my drive anyway?

No. Downloads that would cross the floor are refused, and running work is stopped as soon as the floor is crossed — the gigabytes kept free are what leave the app time to act.

Does this apply while my machine is rented?

Yes. If the drive drops under the floor during a rental, the renter's work is stopped and nobody new can book the machine until there is room.