Free Space, Where Has It Gone

[SWL]

According to the disk defgramenter this pc is running at 15% of free space
and I don't understand what it going on with this. The dis degfragmenter
usually shows 84/85% free space. A couple of weeks ago I installed
smileycentral.com; so just in case smiley was the culprit it has been
uninstalled. Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster, HiJack
This, and AVG are updated and run on a routine basis. I have compressed
several files and used the Error Checking Tool .

I have SP2 so using scannow is not an option. Is there anything else I can
do to solve this problem?

Thanks,

SWL

[Gerry Cornell]

To investigate how you are using hard disk space you need to make sure
that you can see all files. Go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options,
View, Advanced Settings and verify that the box before "Show hidden
files and folders" is checked and "Hide protected operating system files
" is unchecked. You may need to scroll down to see the second item. You
should also make certain that the box before "Hide extensions for known
file types" is not checked. Next in Windows Explorer make sure View,
Details is selected and then select View, Choose Details and check
before Name, Type, Total Size, and Free Space.

How large is your hard drive? Is it partitioned? How much free space on
each drive / partition. How is the drive formatted -FAT32 or NTFS. To
get this information whilst in Windows Explorer place the cursor on the
drive, right click and select Properties.

Some ways to find out what is using your hard disk space. On your hard
disk you will see various folders e.g. Windows. Whilst in Windows
Explorer place the cursor on the Windows folder, right click and select
Properties. You will see the size of the folder and all sub-folders and
files, the size on disk and the number of sub-folders and files. If you
list the various main folders and their size you will start to see how
your used disk space is made up. Within the main folders you
can find the larger individual files by using the Search facility within
Windows Explorer to look for files over 1 mb by selecting All files and
folders, What size is it etc. Make certain you also select More Advanced
Options and check Search System Folders, Search Hidden Files and
Folders, and Search Sub-Folders.

Now some ways to increase the available free space. Select Start, All
Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp, More Options, System
Restore and remove all but the latest restore points? Restore points can
be quite large Mine are currently 41 mb, although all except the latest
are compressed to 20 mb on disk. By the way System Restore Points are
hidden files which you will not see even after you have taken the
measures to show hidden files detailed above.

You can limit the disk space used by System Restore. Right click on the
My Computer icon on your Desktop and select, Properties, System Restore,
Settings. This will give you the amount of Disk Space allocated to
System Restore in terms of % of size of Drive and megabytes or
gigabytes. The default maximum is 12%, which is often excessive. You can
move the slider to the left to reduce the size of the allocation. Once
the allocated space is fully taken the oldest restore point is removed
when a new restore point is created ( or it should be ). If yours is set
to 12% it is 13 gb and I would reduce it to 6% i.e. 6.6 gb.

You should also use Disk CleanUp regularly to Empty your Recycle Bin and
Remove Temporary Internet Files. Whenever you remove redundant files you
should always run Disk Defragmenter by selecting Start, All Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.

--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
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"SWL" > wrote in message
...
> According to the disk defgramenter this pc is running at 15% of free
> space
> and I don't understand what it going on with this. The dis
> degfragmenter
> usually shows 84/85% free space. A couple of weeks ago I installed
> smileycentral.com; so just in case smiley was the culprit it has been
> uninstalled. Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster,
> HiJack
> This, and AVG are updated and run on a routine basis. I have
> compressed
> several files and used the Error Checking Tool .
>
> I have SP2 so using scannow is not an option. Is there anything else
> I can
> do to solve this problem?
>
> Thanks,
>
> SWL

[Mike Fields]

"SWL" > wrote in message
...
> According to the disk defgramenter this pc is running at 15% of free
space
> and I don't understand what it going on with this. The dis
degfragmenter
> usually shows 84/85% free space. A couple of weeks ago I installed
> smileycentral.com; so just in case smiley was the culprit it has been
> uninstalled. Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster,
HiJack
> This, and AVG are updated and run on a routine basis. I have
compressed
> several files and used the Error Checking Tool .
>
> I have SP2 so using scannow is not an option. Is there anything else
I can
> do to solve this problem?
>
> Thanks,
>
> SWL

Check out Treesize at
http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml
very handy utility ( I use the free version ) -- it will show
all your folders sorted by size (and printable !!)

mikey

[Doc]

I can recommend View Folder Size Pro. It faster and more customizable
than other solutions
http://www.moveax.com/
View Folder Size Pro shows folder sizes directly in Windows Explorer
(in details view mode) and you can sort folders by size.

BTW, Do not forget to check "Show hidden files and folders" in Explorer
options to see all folders on your disks.

[SWL]

Thanks for all of the suggestions in this thread, and I will try the ones I
didn't already know about, but I still want to know what happened to the
free space in the last couple of weeks, when with the exception of
installing/uninstalling smileycentral, everything has been the same--no new
installs, etc. Until two weeks ago free space was 84%. What has made it
sink to a low %16? Is there a new monster that all the spyware and av
programs haven't caught?

Thanks again,

SWL

"Doc" wrote:

> I can recommend View Folder Size Pro. It faster and more customizable
> than other solutions
> http://www.moveax.com/
> View Folder Size Pro shows folder sizes directly in Windows Explorer
> (in details view mode) and you can sort folders by size.
>
> BTW, Do not forget to check "Show hidden files and folders" in Explorer
> options to see all folders on your disks.
>
>

[Doc]

You can't just loose free space. Something (files) must take it.
Examine biggest folders and possible you will get an answer.