Vambo said:
I'm losing Hard Drive space even though I'm not downloading
anything new onto my computer. Backed up data and and removed to
make space, but within a few days my Hard Drive will fill up again.
Don't know if my Hard Drive is failing, it's infected, or what is
causing this. Wondering if there is any way to check the Hard Drive
integrity or to see what is actually eating up all the memory.
For windows partition (If it is on C):
1. Run Disk Cleanup
Start > Run > Type "cleanmgr" (Without quotes) > Click OK
Select your windows partition > Click OK
Tick all the boxes > Click OK
2. Delete temporary internet files :
Go to Control Panel > Internet options
Click Delete files > Tick the Checkbox (Delete all offline
files) > Click OK
2. Empty the following folders (Put the following lines in Start >
Run): "%tmp%"
"%temp%"
"%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary internet files"
3. Delete the Restore points :
Right click My Computer > Properties
System Restore tab > Tick "Turn off System restore on all drives"
Click Apply > Now, Uncheck that box > Click OK
I followed instructions from you and Ayush and was able to recover
about 2.5 GB of space - much appreciated. When I went to defrag my
disk, I believe I accidently found out what is eating up my hard
drive. Got a message that a bunch of files couldn't be defragged.
The files are the following:
\windows\system32\dlg/temp\002.part
and various other parts to 009.part. The smallest file has 77
fragments at a size of 325 MB, the largest with 14,072 fragments at
a size of 15.44 GB. Also got a file
\windows\system32\dlgincoming\PulpFic...
Hopefully someone knows what these files are and if and how they
can be removed and prevented from reappearing on my hard drive.
Verify you have cleaned up everything else first...
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
Do you have hidden and system files visible?
How's your system restore settings?
Used Disk Cleanup?
Is hibernate turned on and do you use that feature?
Uninstalled unnecessary applications lately?
Moved things to external media?
Other ways to free up space..
SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/
DX Hog Hunt
http://www.dvxp.com/en/Downloads.aspx
JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html
Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.
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/
You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but yuor
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 5% or
higher.
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 128MB and 512MB..
- 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 128MB and 512MB. (Betting it is 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.
