Has my Hard Drive Been Hijacked?

[Danno]

Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than 5 or
6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I don't even
have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Open Windows Explorer and look around.

How big is C:\System Volume Information?

Are you sure you only have one installation of Windows?

Check All Boot Paths

Start | Run | Type: msconfig | Click OK |
Boot.ini tab | Check All Boot Paths button |
A dialog box will open detailing the location of any invalid operating
system locations | Confirm you want to remove the entry and reboot

[[Check All Boot Paths - This button will check the boot paths for all
operating systems listed in the BOOT.INI to ensure they point to a valid
operating system. ]]

Msconfig image
http://www.winnetmag.com/Files/16/20784/msconfig.gif

If there is only one you will get:
It appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are OK.

I have two installations of XP on the same partition
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html

Scroll down to and expand...
20. I have two installations of XP on the same partition.......

[[You reinstalled Windows XP on your computer thinking it would overwrite
the existing version of Windows XP and now there are two copies when you
boot up. Crap! What to do now? Not to worry, here's the solution.]]
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/two-copies-xp.html

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Danno]

Hi Wes,

Thanks for the response. I have searched via Windows Explorer for files
that might be taking up all this extra space, and can find nothing. I'm
pretty certain I have only one installation of windows because I did the
re:format re-install with the help of a Dell techie (on the phone).

I checked BOOT.INI as per your instructions and got the message: "It
appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are OK."

When I go to Windows Explorer and right click on C: drive, I see that it
contains 11.5 gig of data. The tree shows only 6 folders contained within
drive C. When I right click on them individually, I can see how much data
is contained in each. The total of all 6 folders is only 5,579 megs (5.58
gig). I must have some sort of problem, but don't have a clue how to solve
it.

It might be a coincidence but I only discovered this issue this morning, and
only yesterday afternoon, I added a Gig of ram. I doubt the two issues are
related, but then...I'm not the best computer guy around.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Regards,
Danno

..

Open Windows Explorer and look around.

How big is C:\System Volume Information?

Are you sure you only have one installation of Windows?

Check All Boot Paths

Start | Run | Type: msconfig | Click OK |
Boot.ini tab | Check All Boot Paths button |
A dialog box will open detailing the location of any invalid operating
system locations | Confirm you want to remove the entry and reboot

[[Check All Boot Paths - This button will check the boot paths for all
operating systems listed in the BOOT.INI to ensure they point to a valid
operating system. ]]

Msconfig image
http://www.winnetmag.com/Files/16/20784/msconfig.gif

If there is only one you will get:
It appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are OK.

I have two installations of XP on the same partition
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html

Scroll down to and expand...
20. I have two installations of XP on the same partition.......

[[You reinstalled Windows XP on your computer thinking it would overwrite
the existing version of Windows XP and now there are two copies when you
boot up. Crap! What to do now? Not to worry, here's the solution.]]
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/two-copies-xp.html

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than 5
or 6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I
don't even have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Danno,

I have four folders on C:\ that you would also have..
C:\Documents and Settings [1.29 GB (1,385,806,966 bytes)]
C:\Program Files 893 MB [(936,430,268 bytes)]
C:\RECYCLER 85 bytes [(85 bytes)]
C:\System Volume Information [0 bytes]
C:\WINDOWS [1.60 GB (1,723,215,802 bytes)]

What folders do you see? Norton Protected Recycle Bin?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wes,

Thanks for the response. I have searched via Windows Explorer for files
that might be taking up all this extra space, and can find nothing. I'm
pretty certain I have only one installation of windows because I did the
re:format re-install with the help of a Dell techie (on the phone).

I checked BOOT.INI as per your instructions and got the message: "It
appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are OK."

When I go to Windows Explorer and right click on C: drive, I see that it
contains 11.5 gig of data. The tree shows only 6 folders contained within
drive C. When I right click on them individually, I can see how much data
is contained in each. The total of all 6 folders is only 5,579 megs (5.58
gig). I must have some sort of problem, but don't have a clue how to
solve it.

It might be a coincidence but I only discovered this issue this morning,
and only yesterday afternoon, I added a Gig of ram. I doubt the two
issues are related, but then...I'm not the best computer guy around.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Regards,
Danno

.

Open Windows Explorer and look around.

How big is C:\System Volume Information?

Are you sure you only have one installation of Windows?

Check All Boot Paths

Start | Run | Type: msconfig | Click OK |
Boot.ini tab | Check All Boot Paths button |
A dialog box will open detailing the location of any invalid operating
system locations | Confirm you want to remove the entry and reboot

[[Check All Boot Paths - This button will check the boot paths for all
operating systems listed in the BOOT.INI to ensure they point to a valid
operating system. ]]

Msconfig image
http://www.winnetmag.com/Files/16/20784/msconfig.gif

If there is only one you will get:
It appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are
OK.

I have two installations of XP on the same partition
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html

Scroll down to and expand...
20. I have two installations of XP on the same partition.......

[[You reinstalled Windows XP on your computer thinking it would overwrite
the existing version of Windows XP and now there are two copies when you
boot up. Crap! What to do now? Not to worry, here's the solution.]]
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/two-copies-xp.html

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than 5
or 6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I
don't even have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

 

[Danno]

I just spent 5 minutes looking up stuff, and then answering your question,
including a list...and then lost it. Fk it. I'll try some other time.
This is insanely fuking frustrating, although I truly appreciate your help.

Danno

Danno,

I have four folders on C:\ that you would also have..
C:\Documents and Settings [1.29 GB (1,385,806,966 bytes)]
C:\Program Files 893 MB [(936,430,268 bytes)]
C:\RECYCLER 85 bytes [(85 bytes)]
C:\System Volume Information [0 bytes]
C:\WINDOWS [1.60 GB (1,723,215,802 bytes)]

What folders do you see? Norton Protected Recycle Bin?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wes,

Thanks for the response. I have searched via Windows Explorer for files
that might be taking up all this extra space, and can find nothing. I'm
pretty certain I have only one installation of windows because I did the
re:format re-install with the help of a Dell techie (on the phone).

I checked BOOT.INI as per your instructions and got the message: "It
appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are OK."

When I go to Windows Explorer and right click on C: drive, I see that it
contains 11.5 gig of data. The tree shows only 6 folders contained
within
drive C. When I right click on them individually, I can see how much
data
is contained in each. The total of all 6 folders is only 5,579 megs
(5.58
gig). I must have some sort of problem, but don't have a clue how to
solve it.

It might be a coincidence but I only discovered this issue this morning,
and only yesterday afternoon, I added a Gig of ram. I doubt the two
issues are related, but then...I'm not the best computer guy around.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Regards,
Danno

.

Open Windows Explorer and look around.

How big is C:\System Volume Information?

Are you sure you only have one installation of Windows?

Check All Boot Paths

Start | Run | Type: msconfig | Click OK |
Boot.ini tab | Check All Boot Paths button |
A dialog box will open detailing the location of any invalid operating
system locations | Confirm you want to remove the entry and reboot

[[Check All Boot Paths - This button will check the boot paths for all
operating systems listed in the BOOT.INI to ensure they point to a valid
operating system. ]]

Msconfig image
http://www.winnetmag.com/Files/16/20784/msconfig.gif

If there is only one you will get:
It appears that all BOOT.INI lines for Microsoft operating systems are
OK.

I have two installations of XP on the same partition
http://michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html

Scroll down to and expand...
20. I have two installations of XP on the same partition.......

[[You reinstalled Windows XP on your computer thinking it would
overwrite
the existing version of Windows XP and now there are two copies when you
boot up. Crap! What to do now? Not to worry, here's the solution.]]
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/two-copies-xp.html

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In Danno <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than
5
or 6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I
don't even have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

 

[Sharon F]

Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than 5 or
6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I don't even
have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

Windows (3-4GB) + Data (5-6GB)= 8-10GB of used space. Add the stuff XP puts
into Program Files, some updates, a few system restore points (normal to
accumulate a handful of these with a new install, smaller additions as time
goes on) and a program or two. Take the difference between actual size and
"size on disk" into consideration and 11.5 GB sounds like it's in the right
ballpark....

 

[Danno]

Sharon, as I described in an earlier post on this thread, Windows supposedly
is taking up 2.03 Gig and there is very little other data on the computer.
Total is 5.58 Gig, not 11.5. I'm not satisfied because there are 6 gig of
space being used up by something other than my own data. As I stated before,
if I add up the size of each of the 6 folders contained on my hard drive C
(as shown in Windows Explorer), they total 5.58 gig. Yet if I check for
total data on Drive C itself, I see 11.5 gig. As far as I know, 11.5 and
5.58 are not the same amount.

Best Regards,
Dan

 

[Sharon F]

Sharon, as I described in an earlier post on this thread, Windows supposedly
is taking up 2.03 Gig and there is very little other data on the computer.
Total is 5.58 Gig, not 11.5. I'm not satisfied because there are 6 gig of
space being used up by something other than my own data. As I stated before,
if I add up the size of each of the 6 folders contained on my hard drive C
(as shown in Windows Explorer), they total 5.58 gig. Yet if I check for
total data on Drive C itself, I see 11.5 gig. As far as I know, 11.5 and
5.58 are not the same amount.

Best Regards,
Dan

When getting your size readings, be sure that you have hidden files and
folders and system files and folder shown. The settings to show/hide these
things are in Folder Options> View.

Also, there is a difference between a file's size and the amount of space
it takes up on the hard drive. The default cluster size is 4,096 bytes or
roughly 4 KB. Files between 5KB and 8KB will take up 8KB of space. This is
simple logistics of the file system's storage "compartments." Multiply this
by several thousands of files and there's some of that missing space.

Right click on the Windows folder and look at "Size" and "Size on Disk."
Size is a sum of the individual file sizes. This figure will be different
(and smaller) than the second figure which is the actual amount of physical
space that is being used to store those files.

 

[Danno]

Thanks again Sharon,

I did indeed select to show hidden files and folders, and system files and
folders. In each case, when I quoted the size of disk space taken up by
these folders, I used the 'size' and not 'size on disk' figure. I'm not
insisting there is a problem, but just before I reformated and re-installed
Windows, I had hundreds of songs and some movies, and yet there was less
space taken up than now. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Best Regards,
Danno

 

[Sharon F]

Thanks again Sharon,

I did indeed select to show hidden files and folders, and system files and
folders. In each case, when I quoted the size of disk space taken up by
these folders, I used the 'size' and not 'size on disk' figure. I'm not
insisting there is a problem, but just before I reformated and re-installed
Windows, I had hundreds of songs and some movies, and yet there was less
space taken up than now. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Best Regards,
Danno

I understand. Just trying to help you find that missing space. You've
emptied Temp folders after all of those installations? (Usually only need
to check the one under your account in Local Settings but check
\Windows\Temp\ too.) Many driver installations create system restore
points. May want to clear all but the most recent system restore point out
of System Restore.

Wes already brought this up but it bears repeating... If you have Norton
anything installed, double check that the Protected Bin wasn't installed
without your knowledge (common for their software installs). Although I've
never seen the point of it, it's not a bad tool if you're quick with the
Delete command but it means two bins to empty instead of one. If it was
installed - *empty* the protected bin and then uninstall it.

If you installed SP2 after installing XP, check for the $ServicePackFiles$
folder. I usually leave this in place for Windows File Protection but if
you have this update on CD, you can delete the files from the hard drive
and use the CD if it's ever needed.

 

[q_q_anonymous]

Hello All,

I've just noticed that my hard drive contains 11.5 Gigs of data. I've
recently done a re-format re:install and can't possibly have more than 5 or
6 Gigs of my own stuff, including the operating system itself. I don't even
have any movies or music yet.

But I also can't find what is taking up the remaining used space. Can
anyone advise me how to find out what is going on? I'm using a Dell
Dimension 8200 with WindowsXP and have a 40 gig hard drive.

Thanks for your help,
Danno

**you need a prog to tell you how big your directories are.**


Anyone- is there good freeware to do so , that you have Used?
I know i have used some good software for it before, can't remember the
name, and it timed out after some days.

I don't know where you got the idea that a hard drive can be
'hijacked'.
Unless it was a joke, to see if anybody was dumb enough to answer 'yes'
and repeat the phrase.

 

[q_q_anonymous]

**you need a prog to tell you how big your directories are.**


Anyone- is there good freeware to do so , that you have Used?
I know i have used some good software for it before, can't remember the
name, and it timed out after some days.

I don't know where you got the idea that a hard drive can be
'hijacked'.
Unless it was a joke, to see if anybody was dumb enough to answer 'yes'
and repeat the phrase.

I notice you don't mention how the size of the contents of your C
directory. The root directory. i.e. total size of files - not
directories - there.

Anyhow. you need to look at directory sizes. windows explorer isn't so
efficient for that. - I know, you've only got about 5 directories , but
perhaps windwos explorer is missing something. There are alternative
programs.

for DOS people, there's a prog called treeinfo

For windows. Jam software make Treesize professional (demo free to
download) and a freeware version of Treesize.

google- view folder size
you get 2 things of interest
A prog called "quick view folder size" that adds the column to
explorer. (prob a timeout demo)
and you get this too (which I never tried)
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/foldersize.htm

 

[Danno]

Hello q q,

I tried the software 'Treesize', and indeed it has identified a folder that
doesn't show up when searching via Windows Explorer...and lo and behold...it
contains 2.3 gigs of (?). This folder is simply titled [files] and doesn't
show up via explorer. Therefore, I can't investigate it to see what it
contains. And the software 'Treesize', can't even open it any further to
let me peek inside.

But 2.3 gig of space is a lot for this to be using up, and I'd like to know
what it is. Any further suggestions would be welcome.

Regards,
Danno

 

[q_q_anonymous]

Hello q q,

I tried the software 'Treesize', and indeed it has identified a folder that
doesn't show up when searching via Windows Explorer...and lo and behold...it
contains 2.3 gigs of (?). This folder is simply titled [files] and doesn't
show up via explorer. Therefore, I can't investigate it to see what it
contains. And the software 'Treesize', can't even open it any further to
let me peek inside.

But 2.3 gig of space is a lot for this to be using up, and I'd like to know
what it is. Any further suggestions would be welcome.

Regards,
Danno

it's not a folder/directory.
it's the files in the root directory. i.e. C:\ has files , as well
as directories with files in them.

You're probably not using explorer correctly if you can't see them.
Click "my computer" and "c:\" and look at the files listed. Make sure
you're showing hidden files too. You can do this from within explroer
or from the desktop.

the 3rd party programs showed it.

Maybe best to try using windows better. save files in c:\, then try
to see them in explorer.
Tools..folder otpions..view..show hidden files or folders
you could even do
tools.folder options..view...then uncheck 'hide protected system files'

This may be inappropriate for your skills or mindset, but
I personally have a lot of experience in DOS, so if windows doesn't
play ball, I would use the command prompt.
start..run..cmd <ENTER>

C:\Documents and settings\atilla>cd\ <ENTER>
C:\>dir /a-d /os (displaying files including hidden ones in order of
size)

so look at those last files that appear on the screen, look at the
sizes, they will be the biggest.

you can type

C:\>attrib <enter>
or
C:\>dir /b/a
that will show you the files . but won't tell you the sizes. The dir
command mentioned earlier will tell you the sizes.

You should really be able to delete these files from windows, but it's
possible to delete them from the command prompt.

C:\>del filename.ext
(e.g. C:\>del mypicture.bmp )

or if it's hidden or with some other attributes that don't let you
delete them
C:\>attrib -r -s -h filename.ext
C:\>del filename.ext

 

[Danno]

Hi q q,

When I was searching in Windows Explorer, I had indeed selected to show
hidden files and folders, but I had neglected to show 'hidden system files'.
When I unchecked the 'hide protected system files', more files appeared,
including 'system volume information [access denied]'.

But even with hidden system files being exposed to view in Windows Explorer,
this 2.3 gig file that 'Treesize' shows, does not show up in Windows
Explorer.

As far as trying your DOS suggestions, I have no experience with DOS but
have been able to get DOS to show me the C: directory as per your
instructions. It shows more files, the two largest being pagefile.sys (805
megs), and hiberfil.sys (1.6 gigs). However, DOS did not show me any of the
'program files' that show up in Windows Explorer. Maybe there is no
problem, I just don't know. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Regards,
Danno

Hello q q,

I tried the software 'Treesize', and indeed it has identified a folder
that
doesn't show up when searching via Windows Explorer...and lo and
behold...it
contains 2.3 gigs of (?). This folder is simply titled [files] and
doesn't
show up via explorer. Therefore, I can't investigate it to see what it
contains. And the software 'Treesize', can't even open it any further to
let me peek inside.

But 2.3 gig of space is a lot for this to be using up, and I'd like to
know
what it is. Any further suggestions would be welcome.

Regards,
Danno

it's not a folder/directory.
it's the files in the root directory. i.e. C:\ has files , as well
as directories with files in them.

You're probably not using explorer correctly if you can't see them.
Click "my computer" and "c:\" and look at the files listed. Make sure
you're showing hidden files too. You can do this from within explroer
or from the desktop.

the 3rd party programs showed it.

Maybe best to try using windows better. save files in c:\, then try
to see them in explorer.
Tools..folder otpions..view..show hidden files or folders
you could even do
tools.folder options..view...then uncheck 'hide protected system files'

This may be inappropriate for your skills or mindset, but
I personally have a lot of experience in DOS, so if windows doesn't
play ball, I would use the command prompt.
start..run..cmd <ENTER>

C:\Documents and settings\atilla>cd\ <ENTER>
C:\>dir /a-d /os (displaying files including hidden ones in order of
size)

so look at those last files that appear on the screen, look at the
sizes, they will be the biggest.

you can type

C:\>attrib <enter>
or
C:\>dir /b/a
that will show you the files . but won't tell you the sizes. The dir
command mentioned earlier will tell you the sizes.

You should really be able to delete these files from windows, but it's
possible to delete them from the command prompt.

C:\>del filename.ext
(e.g. C:\>del mypicture.bmp )

or if it's hidden or with some other attributes that don't let you
delete them
C:\>attrib -r -s -h filename.ext
C:\>del filename.ext

 

[vemoex]

You can also try ViewFolderSize Pro from
http://www.moveax.com/viewfoldersizepro/

This utility will add folder size column to Windows Explorer. It will
work faster than other solutions and has more options to customize.

 

[q_q_anonymous]

Hi q q,

When I was searching in Windows Explorer, I had indeed selected to show
hidden files and folders, but I had neglected to show 'hidden system files'.
When I unchecked the 'hide protected system files', more files appeared,
including 'system volume information [access denied]'.

But even with hidden system files being exposed to view in Windows Explorer,
this 2.3 gig file that 'Treesize' shows, does not show up in Windows
Explorer.

As far as trying your DOS suggestions, I have no experience with DOS but
have been able to get DOS to show me the C: directory as per your
instructions. It shows more files, the two largest being pagefile.sys (805
megs), and hiberfil.sys (1.6 gigs). However, DOS did not show me any of the
'program files' that show up in Windows Explorer. Maybe there is no
problem, I just don't know. Thanks for all your suggestions.

Regards,
Danno

The DOS commands I gave you were only to show those [files] (in root
directory) mentioned but not named in TreeSize. They wouldn't show you
directories like 'program files'. You know the size of program files
anyway. It is always visible in explorer, you said you checked the 6 or
so directories you have. No doubt c:\program files was one you checked
and know the size of. Hence you wondered where the space is being
occupied. DOS does show executable files, but doesn't have any pictures
alongside them.

The 2.3GB that treesize shows is the total of the files in the root
directory.
DOS showed the 2 biggest last.
pagefile.sys 0.8GB
hiberfil.sys 1.6GB
--------
2.4GB total.

about right. Those DOS commansds I gave you helped you interpret what
TreeSize reported.

Does the total memory used, listed by Treesize(including [files])
Equal the 11.5GB total listed by Explorer ?

If so, then you know where your memory is.

I think if you disable hibernation then hiberfil.sys will be removed.
Regarding pagefile.sys, it's for virtual memory. You can delete it and
it'll be recreated and grow. Or you can limit its size. I dunno if
0.8GB is a good size.
Those 2 files are well known due to their size.

 

[Guest]

try pcpitstop.com