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#1
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. |
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#2
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
"Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup and delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a short time. |
#3
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Laurel wrote:
Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. What was wrong with your original post and subsequent answers in this same newsgroup? http://groups.google.com/group/micro...44c9c7e663446/ I see you *thought* you should repost - but why? The original will be there indefinitely. You can remove the uninstall folders in a method of your choosing if you feel that small amount of space will help and/or that you will not be uninstalling them soon/at all. See what is taking up the space and how the drive is partitioned. Start button -- RUN (no RUN, press the "Windows Key" + R) -- type in: compmgmt.msc -- Click OK. Answer things in the affirmative until the window opens. In the computer management window, left side, locate and expand "Storage" and select (click on) "Disk Management". That should bring up a list on the right of your disks. Find your drive(s) in that list and scroll left/right to see the other columns and give the "Total" and "Free" space here. Looking at the picture on the right side, bottom part of the Disks - how is each one partitioned (divided up into sections)? Now that you know how things are partitioned and how much space you should have (in total) - let's cleanup. Download/install this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301 After installing, do the following: Start button -- RUN -- type in: "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g! -- Click OK. (The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.) If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed... http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm ( Particularly of interest here - #4 ) ( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm ) You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files".. How to use Disk Cleanup http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312 You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it.. When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps: - Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click Power Options). - Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the "System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the hiberfil.sys file. - Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file. You can control how much space your System Restore can use... 1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. 2. Click the System Restore tab. 3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on the "Settings" button. 4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...) 5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again. You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize... Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a size between 64MB and 128MB.. - Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer. - Select TOOLS - Internet Options. - Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the following: - Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK) - Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right now.) - Click OK. - Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents" (the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10 minutes or more.) - Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet Explorer. You can use an application that scans your system for log files and temporary files and use that to get rid of those: Ccleaner (Free!) http://www.ccleaner.com/ Other ways to free up space.. SequoiaView http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/ JDiskReport http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used. In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more space than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be used - likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to manage it. -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html |
#4
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
"Laurel" wrote in message ... Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. Low Disk Space How to free up hard drive space on your Laptop or PC http://www.pagestart.com/lowdiskspace01.html -- JS http://www.pagestart.com |
#5
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Wow! What a goldmine. Thanks so much.
"Shenan Stanley" wrote in message ... Laurel wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. What was wrong with your original post and subsequent answers in this same newsgroup? http://groups.google.com/group/micro...44c9c7e663446/ I see you *thought* you should repost - but why? The original will be there indefinitely. You can remove the uninstall folders in a method of your choosing if you feel that small amount of space will help and/or that you will not be uninstalling them soon/at all. See what is taking up the space and how the drive is partitioned. Start button -- RUN (no RUN, press the "Windows Key" + R) -- type in: compmgmt.msc -- Click OK. Answer things in the affirmative until the window opens. In the computer management window, left side, locate and expand "Storage" and select (click on) "Disk Management". That should bring up a list on the right of your disks. Find your drive(s) in that list and scroll left/right to see the other columns and give the "Total" and "Free" space here. Looking at the picture on the right side, bottom part of the Disks - how is each one partitioned (divided up into sections)? Now that you know how things are partitioned and how much space you should have (in total) - let's cleanup. Download/install this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301 After installing, do the following: Start button -- RUN -- type in: "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g! -- Click OK. (The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.) If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed... http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm ( Particularly of interest here - #4 ) ( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm ) You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files".. How to use Disk Cleanup http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312 You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it.. When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps: - Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click Power Options). - Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the "System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the hiberfil.sys file. - Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file. You can control how much space your System Restore can use... 1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. 2. Click the System Restore tab. 3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on the "Settings" button. 4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...) 5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again. You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize... Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a size between 64MB and 128MB.. - Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer. - Select TOOLS - Internet Options. - Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the following: - Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK) - Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right now.) - Click OK. - Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents" (the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10 minutes or more.) - Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet Explorer. You can use an application that scans your system for log files and temporary files and use that to get rid of those: Ccleaner (Free!) http://www.ccleaner.com/ Other ways to free up space.. SequoiaView http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/ JDiskReport http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used. In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more space than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be used - likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to manage it. -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html |
#6
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
On Sep 10, 8:23*am, Mark Adams
wrote: "Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? *Or at least the really big ones. *And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. *Some if it is really big. Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup and delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a short time. That would be wasteful and contribute more toxins to our environment. |
#7
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
On Sep 10, 7:58*am, "Laurel" wrote:
Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? *Or at least the really big ones. *And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. *Some if it is really big. I would also highly recommend JKDefrag instead of Windows Defrag. It can be run as a GUI or as a command line. Erunt is also an excellent partner for Windows Restore. It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files. You are minimizing waste going into landfills. Andy “affluenza” - “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” |
#8
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:58:21 -0400, "Laurel"
wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. If you are short of disk space, deleting these files will save you only a tiny amount, and will be nothing but a stopgap measure. Buy a bigger hard drive. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup |
#9
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Mint écrivait
: snip It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files. You are minimizing waste going into landfills. Andy What???? How deleting files minimize waste into landfill? It's a good one! |
#10
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Mint écrivait
: On Sep 10, 8:23*am, Mark Adams wrote: "Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space afte r Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? *Or at least the really big ones. *And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. *Some if it is really big. Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup a nd delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a sho rt time. That would be wasteful and contribute more toxins to our environment. I don't see why adding a larger hard drive would do that. |
#11
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
Mint
How does a defragmenter increase free disk space? -- Gerry ~~~~ FCA Stourport, England Enquire, plan and execute ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mint wrote: On Sep 10, 7:58 am, "Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. I would also highly recommend JKDefrag instead of Windows Defrag. It can be run as a GUI or as a command line. Erunt is also an excellent partner for Windows Restore. It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files. You are minimizing waste going into landfills. Andy “affluenza” - “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” |
#12
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
If you've not yet installed SP2, see
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm If you have install SP3, see http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33827 -- ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002 www.banthecheck.com Laurel wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. |
#13
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
"Mint" wrote: On Sep 10, 7:58 am, "Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. I would also highly recommend JKDefrag instead of Windows Defrag. It can be run as a GUI or as a command line. Erunt is also an excellent partner for Windows Restore. It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files. You are minimizing waste going into landfills. You don't have to throw away the old hard drive, you "green", Liberal, moron. Use it in the same machine for extra space, or in another machine, or for backups, etc. Besides, much of the materials can be recycled. BFD Mint Patty Andy “affluenza” - “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” |
#14
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Re-claim disk space after updates?
You know your comment is a lousy excuse for an answer. You need to except the
fact that maybe some people don't want wasted space on their hard drive. I have a laptop with only a 6gb hard drive so I need to keep it clean. I don't want to buy a hard drive for my laptop because I access all my files on my desktop that has 2.5TB of HD space. I use the laptop for writing code only so it would be pointless to install a new hard drive on this machine simply because there are unnecessary files taking up space. Accept the fact that everyone's situation is unique and when someone asks a software question, replacing hardware with out giving any thought is not the answer. "Laurel" wrote: Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after Windows updates? I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big. Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup and delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a short time. |
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