Hi,

Recently, I tried to install an old game on my computer running XP SP2. It
didn't install, so I just deleted the files that were copied onto my hard
drive and cleared the Recycle Bin.

When I went to check my free space on my drive, I found that deleting the
files didn't free up any space even though I can't find the files anywhere on
my computer. Now, my hard drive is essentially 1 GB smaller because these
files are lost.

I've run chkdsk, which didn't find anything wrong.
I ran Restoration and WinDirStat and couldn't find anything and they didn't
fix anything.

Any ideas on how I can track these rogue files down and get them to be
deleted?

Thanks for your help!

You have Norton Protected Recycle Bin running?

SandyD wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Recently, I tried to install an old game on my computer running XP SP2. It
> didn't install, so I just deleted the files that were copied onto my hard
> drive and cleared the Recycle Bin.
>
> When I went to check my free space on my drive, I found that deleting the
> files didn't free up any space even though I can't find the files anywhere on
> my computer. Now, my hard drive is essentially 1 GB smaller because these
> files are lost.
>
> I've run chkdsk, which didn't find anything wrong.
> I ran Restoration and WinDirStat and couldn't find anything and they didn't
> fix anything.
>
> Any ideas on how I can track these rogue files down and get them to be
> deleted?
>
> Thanks for your help!

Bob,

No, I don't have Norton on my machine.

I forgot to add that I also ran Disk Cleanup and CCleaner. Neither one was
able to free this space for me.

I suspect that I am screwed...

"Bob I" wrote:

> You have Norton Protected Recycle Bin running?
>

"SandyD" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:2E0D2A95-F097-4E7B-BF78-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Bob,
>
> No, I don't have Norton on my machine.
>
> I forgot to add that I also ran Disk Cleanup and CCleaner. Neither one
was
> able to free this space for me.
>
> I suspect that I am screwed...
>
> "Bob I" wrote:
>
> > You have Norton Protected Recycle Bin running?
> >
>


Maybe a logical error of some type

run chkdsk /f

Sandy

Any other other back up software e,g Rollback?

How large is the hard disk and how much free space?

Is the hard drive formatted as FAT32 or NTFS?

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.

It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700
mb. Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this
time find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and
exit. When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and
exit.

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.

Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
Folder and post a copy.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



SandyD wrote:
> Bob,
>
> No, I don't have Norton on my machine.
>
> I forgot to add that I also ran Disk Cleanup and CCleaner. Neither
> one was able to free this space for me.
>
> I suspect that I am screwed...
>
> "Bob I" wrote:
>
>> You have Norton Protected Recycle Bin running?

Gerry, see below...

Thanks for your help.

I can totally see the problem too. When I did the Disk Defrag analysis, it
lists used space as 36.37 GB, but when I ran WinDirStat, it showed total
usage of around 33.5 GB.

I really want those 2+GB back.

Grrr.....

"Gerry" wrote:

> Sandy
>
> Any other other back up software e,g Rollback?

No

>
> How large is the hard disk and how much free space?

See below

>
> Is the hard drive formatted as FAT32 or NTFS?

NTFS

>
> 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.
>

It's not a hidden file. I know I deleted the file and cleared the Recycle
bin.

> It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
> on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700
> mb. Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
> Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this
> time find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and
> exit. When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and
> exit.

I'm not sure how this will help. I guess it frees some space for the
future, but my problem is different.

>
> Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
> Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
> select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
> More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
> Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.
>
> Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
> click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
> Folder and post a copy.
>

Volume (C
Volume size = 37.25 GB
Cluster size = 4 KB
Used space = 36.37 GB
Free space = 903 MB
Percent free space = 2 %

Volume fragmentation
Total fragmentation = 16 %
File fragmentation = 27 %
Free space fragmentation = 5 %

File fragmentation
Total files = 76,190
Average file size = 578 KB
Total fragmented files = 6,944
Total excess fragments = 52,897
Average fragments per file = 1.69

Pagefile fragmentation
Pagefile size = 773 MB
Total fragments = 22

Folder fragmentation
Total folders = 7,966
Fragmented folders = 399
Excess folder fragments = 1,444

Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
Total MFT size = 100 MB
MFT record count = 84,529
Percent MFT in use = 82 %
Total MFT fragments = 30

"philo" wrote:

> Maybe a logical error of some type
>
> run chkdsk /f
>

Did that. It didn't find or fix anything.

Thanks for trying though

Your page file may be using some of that, maybe a large portion..

--
Mike Hall - MVP
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
Posting Productively.. http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm



"SandyD" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7DD59DC3-9E8B-4A9E-A608-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Gerry, see below...
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> I can totally see the problem too. When I did the Disk Defrag analysis,
> it
> lists used space as 36.37 GB, but when I ran WinDirStat, it showed total
> usage of around 33.5 GB.
>
> I really want those 2+GB back.
>
> Grrr.....
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
>> Sandy
>>
>> Any other other back up software e,g Rollback?
>
> No
>
>>
>> How large is the hard disk and how much free space?
>
> See below
>
>>
>> Is the hard drive formatted as FAT32 or NTFS?
>
> NTFS
>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
> It's not a hidden file. I know I deleted the file and cleared the Recycle
> bin.
>
>> It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System Restore
>> on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce it to 700
>> mb. Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and select System
>> Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select Settings but this
>> time find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb and
>> exit. When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK and
>> exit.
>
> I'm not sure how this will help. I guess it frees some space for the
> future, but my problem is different.
>
>>
>> Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp to
>> Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
>> select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
>> More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
>> Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.
>>
>> Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
>> click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
>> Folder and post a copy.
>>
>
> Volume (C
> Volume size = 37.25 GB
> Cluster size = 4 KB
> Used space = 36.37 GB
> Free space = 903 MB
> Percent free space = 2 %
>
> Volume fragmentation
> Total fragmentation = 16 %
> File fragmentation = 27 %
> Free space fragmentation = 5 %
>
> File fragmentation
> Total files = 76,190
> Average file size = 578 KB
> Total fragmented files = 6,944
> Total excess fragments = 52,897
> Average fragments per file = 1.69
>
> Pagefile fragmentation
> Pagefile size = 773 MB
> Total fragments = 22
>
> Folder fragmentation
> Total folders = 7,966
> Fragmented folders = 399
> Excess folder fragments = 1,444
>
> Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
> Total MFT size = 100 MB
> MFT record count = 84,529
> Percent MFT in use = 82 %
> Total MFT fragments = 30
>

SandyD wrote:
> Gerry, see below...
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> I can totally see the problem too. When I did the Disk Defrag
> analysis, it lists used space as 36.37 GB, but when I ran WinDirStat,
> it showed total usage of around 33.5 GB.
>
> I really want those 2+GB back.
>

Got $20? Here's a WHOLE 40G.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...+40&category0=

Here's some new ones for $40

http://www.directron.com/40gb.html

Sandy

Reconciling space occupied by files plus free disk space to disk size
can be problematic. I am not familiar with WinDirStat but I think ypu
will find that all these type of utilities merely collect figures from
the operating system and present them in a format that makes them
easier to understand and interpret. The figures are not totally
accurate. Some of the reasons and problems that reconciliation brings
out are explained below. Please remember, however, that I am not an
expert on these issues.

The statistics usually do not take account of file compression. These
files are often seen in blue type in Windows Explorer. If you examine
the file properties you will see that there is a file size and a size on
disk. Windows Explorer ( and probably WinDirStat ) counts the file size
ignoring the size on disk. Given that usually all the Uninstall Windows
Update folders are compressed this causes a sizable discrepancy. This
means in your case the overall discrepancy could be larger than you
think.

In my earlier post I gave details of how to Show hidden files. However,
this is only part of the story. Some folders and files still remain
hidden. You need to take further measures to see the content of the
System Volume Information folder (primarily concerned with System
Restore). Given that the default allocation is 12% this could amount to
4.46 gb depending on whether the extent to which the space allocation
has been taken up. How are the System Volume Information folder
reflected in the figures provided by WinDirStat?

Open Disk Defragmenter, note the amount of free disk space and leave
Disk Defragmenter open. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, Disk CleanUp, More Options, System Restore and remove all but the
latest System Restore point. Now look in Disk Defragmenter and see how
the amount of free disk space has changed.

Mike Hall has mentioned your pagefile. Your's is 773 mb. This file is
sits in the root of C i.e. not in a folder. See how the file is dealt
with by WinDirStat.

Another large file on some systems is hiberfil.sys. This can also sit in
the root of C. Check to see if you have this file and how it is counted
by WinDirStat. I don't use the Hibernation feature and as a result do
not have a hiberfil.sys.

There are other files created by third party software which are kept
hidden. Norton hide their Recycle Bin. Backup software can get users not
realising there are hidden files. They discover something odd is going
on when they delete a large file to create more free disk space only to
find it has made no difference or in some cases they have lost free disk
space.

Your pagefile is a mess. It needs to be contiguous as it is fragenting
free disk space. What settings do you have? Unless you intend removing
files and extensive housekeeping you could do with adding a second
drive. I may be able to suggest some temporary measures to relieve
pressure on disk space if you need them. A copy of the Most fragmented
file in Disk Defragmenter could be helpful.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


SandyD wrote:
> Gerry, see below...
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> I can totally see the problem too. When I did the Disk Defrag
> analysis, it lists used space as 36.37 GB, but when I ran WinDirStat,
> it showed total usage of around 33.5 GB.
>
> I really want those 2+GB back.
>
> Grrr.....
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
>> Sandy
>>
>> Any other other back up software e,g Rollback?
>
> No
>
>>
>> How large is the hard disk and how much free space?
>
> See below
>
>>
>> Is the hard drive formatted as FAT32 or NTFS?
>
> NTFS
>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
> It's not a hidden file. I know I deleted the file and cleared the
> Recycle bin.
>
>> It is likely that an allocation of 12% has been made to System
>> Restore on your C partition which is over generous. I would reduce
>> it to 700 mb. Right click your My Computer icon on the Desktop and
>> select System Restore. Place the cursor on your C drive select
>> Settings but this
>> time find the slider and drag it to the left until it reads 700 mb
>> and exit. When you get to the Settings screen click on Apply and OK
>> and exit.
>
> I'm not sure how this will help. I guess it frees some space for the
> future, but my problem is different.
>
>>
>> Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp
>> to Empty your Recycle Bin and Remove Temporary Internet Files. Also
>> select Start, All Programs, accessories, System Tools, Disk CleanUp,
>> More Options, System Restore and remove all but the latest System
>> Restore point. Run Disk Defragmenter.
>>
>> Open Disk Defragmenter and click on Analyse. Select View Report and
>> click on Save As and Save. Now find VolumeC.txt in your My Documents
>> Folder and post a copy.
>>
>
> Volume (C
> Volume size = 37.25 GB
> Cluster size = 4 KB
> Used space = 36.37 GB
> Free space = 903 MB
> Percent free space = 2 %
>
> Volume fragmentation
> Total fragmentation = 16 %
> File fragmentation = 27 %
> Free space fragmentation = 5 %
>
> File fragmentation
> Total files = 76,190
> Average file size = 578 KB
> Total fragmented files = 6,944
> Total excess fragments = 52,897
> Average fragments per file = 1.69
>
> Pagefile fragmentation
> Pagefile size = 773 MB
> Total fragments = 22
>
> Folder fragmentation
> Total folders = 7,966
> Fragmented folders = 399
> Excess folder fragments = 1,444
>
> Master File Table (MFT) fragmentation
> Total MFT size = 100 MB
> MFT record count = 84,529
> Percent MFT in use = 82 %
> Total MFT fragments = 30