Disk almost full but folder sizes add to only half disk size

[Anonymous]

When I right-click on the disk icon in Explorer it shows that my 33 GB disk
has 30 GB used and only 2.97 GB free. Right-clicking on each of the root
level folders and adding them up shows only 18 GB used. There is an
additional 1.3 GB in 2 hidden files in the root directory (pagefile.sys and
hiberfile.sys), making a total of only 19.3 GB.

I am reluctant to replace the disk if it isn't really full? How can I
determine whether the missing 10 GB is spurious or not? If it is how do I
remove it?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I assume that you mean hiberfil.sys not hiberfile.sys?

You can get rid of hiberfil.sys, if you turn Hibernate off.

[[When your computer hibernates, it stores whatever it has in memory on your
hard disk and then shuts down.]]

The hibernation file (hiberfil.sys) is where this is stored. By default,
Hiberfil.sys is typically located in the root directory (C:\).
C:\hiberfil.sys

If hiberfil.sys is deleted, it will be created again on the next
hibernation. If Hibernation is turned off, hiberfil.sys will not be
recreated. If hibernation is enabled, you cannot delete hiberfil.sys.

hiberfil.sys is a Hidden System file.

If Hibernation is turned off, machine rebooted, hiberfil.sys will be
deleted.

The way to remove the file is to turn off the hibernation feature (by
default, hibernate is activated automatically when XP is installed).

[[The space that the hibernation file requires is directly related to the
amount of RAM that is in the computer. If you add more RAM, the Hiberfil.sys
file must grow to match the total RAM. Adding more RAM also automatically
increases the size of the Pagefile.sys file, which by default
is 1.5 times the amount of RAM. ]]
From...
Hibernation Does Not Work on a Portable Computer After Windows XP Upgrade
and RAM Increase
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305905

Leave pagefile.sys alone.

pagefile.sys is the Swap file.

[[Swap file
A file stored on the computer hard disk drive that is used as a temporary
location to store information that is not currently being used by the
computer RAM. By using a swap file a computer has the ability to use more
memory then what is physically installed in the computer. However, users who
are low on hard disk space may notice that the computer runs slower because
of the inability of the swap file to grow in size.

It is perfectly normal for the swap file or page file to grow in size,
sometimes growing several hundred megs in size.]]
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/swapfile.htm

See this for everything that you want to know about pagefile.sys...

Virtual Memory in Windows XP
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[VManes]

Hate to belabor the obvious, but have you emptied the recylcle bin? And, if
you have a second level file recovery tool, like Norton's file protection,
be sure to empty that as well. Then run the disk cleanup tool (in
Accessories/System tools menu).

Run disk error check.

Val
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We've secretly switched the dilithium crystals with new Folger's
Crystals...
let's watch what happens."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I right-click on the disk icon in Explorer it shows that my 33 GB disk
has 30 GB used and only 2.97 GB free. Right-clicking on each of the root
level folders and adding them up shows only 18 GB used. There is an
additional 1.3 GB in 2 hidden files in the root directory (pagefile.sys and
hiberfile.sys), making a total of only 19.3 GB.

I am reluctant to replace the disk if it isn't really full? How can I
determine whether the missing 10 GB is spurious or not? If it is how do I
remove it?

 

[chad]

If you have a lot of physical memory (lots of people have a couple gigs
nowdays) then you might want to turn of your swap disk (virtual memory,
the pagesys file) then reboot, defrag, and then turn it back on -- but
this time set the minimum size to be the same as the maximum size.

This will result in a pagesys file that is in one nice contiguous
block rather than fragmented all over the disk.

- Chad
http://free-backup.info/