HI,
I have an 8Gb partition for C which is exclusively for the OS and
application files. But the free space is always around the low space
threshold ... 300-500MB. Every time i get the warning, I delete the
Internet temp files and i get a couple of 100MB.
how do i find out where all the space have gone? am sure a lot of it
is being used by stuff that i have no use for. and i d like to avoid
resizing my partition for this cos am sure the problem would recur
after some point in time.
my virtual drive also in drive C size ranging from 100 to 700MB. i
preferred to keep it here cos i thought that might reduce the drive
head movement between partitiions. The My documents with my data is
located in another partition.
any help please.
Thanks in advance
Ramesh
Your hard drive is probably filling up with:
1. Programs you are installing.
2. Data you are collecting and or creating.
1. Programs typically (automatically) install to 'c:\Program Files\'.
Caution: The 'Prgogram Files' folder has special significance to Windows.
You must treat it properly to retain its special functionality and keep
windows and your programs configured properly.
For example I have a program called 'Steam'. Steam automatically
installs itself to 'C:\Program Files\Steam\'. As you can see, your C:
drive will fill up as you install more programs. A simple way around this
is to install your programs to the D: drive. Create a 'D:\Program Files
\" directory on your D: drive and install new programs there. (Actually,
you can call it anything you like.) Keep in mind that when you run a
program installer, you must select the install location manually while
the installer is running. Most installers allow the user to select the
install location. Also, you may have to select the 'custom' install
option to be able to select the install location.
Most programs cannot be copied from one location to another, so don't
expect to be able to simply copy programs from 'C:\Program Files' to 'D:
\Program Files'. When most programs install, they set/create many new
system settings in the registry and those registry settings will not be
adjusted when files are copied. To safely move prorams, you will need to
uninstall them and then re-install them to the d: drive. Don't forget to
backup any data you want to keep.
2. User data may be saved under the install directory of a program or
under a users 'My Documents' diretory. These two locations are the
typical places.
Caution: You may have data stored elsewhere.
For example, data associated with the aforementioned 'Steam' program
might be stored under 'C:\Program Files\Steam\' or it might be stored
under 'My Documents'. So as you accumulate new data, C: will fill. There
is a way to move your 'My Documents' folder to d:.
Caution: The 'My Documents' folders have special significance to Windows.
You must treat them properly to retain their functionality and keep
windows and your programs configured properly.
To move your 'My Documents' folder see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310147
I don't know of a way to move the 'Program Files' directory this way.
Finally, for the more adventurous, you can create a custom installer for
Windows which will place the 'Program files' and 'Documents and
Settings' folders wherever you like. {'My Documents' is a subdirectory of
'Documents and Settings'.) So, whenever you do a clean install, these
issues will be taken care of automatically.
For additional information,take a look at:
http://www.nliteos.com/
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/
This is what I have done. My 'Documents and Settings' and 'Program
Files' directories are automatically installed to my D: drive when I
install Windows. This way I can use a c: partition of 10GB and it never
fills up because nothing is ever added to the C: drive. It does grow a
liitle bu tit is a very tiny tiny amount.
