How do I reduce Vista's "bloat"?

[Mike in Nebraska]

I've got a 3-yr old Dell laptop that I recently upgraded to Vista Business
from WinXP Pro with SP3. It's a spare for the staff and it has been checked
out. The staff member came back to say the HDD was almost full, I checked
and saw that only 7 GB of the 80 GB total was free. So I uninstalled a
bunch of programs and windows components she didn't need or want, ran Disk
Cleanup, Defrag .... I was only able to reclaim 3 GB. Downloaded a trusty
defrag program I use - JK Defrag - and ran it. Only gained another GB.
Rebooted a couple times and re-ran JK Defrag. No gain. Checked the folder
sizes and saw that the WINSXS folder was huge. Checked it via Google and
saw that I can't really get rid of it.

Short of re-formatting the HDD and starting over, what else can I do to
reclaim disk space? I'm guessing that Defrag and JK Defrag aren't doing so
well becuase they have less than 10 GB of "wiggle room" to work with.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

When you perform a Disk Cleanup, click on the "More Options" tab
and then click on "Clean up" under "System Restore and Shadow Copies".


I've got a 3-yr old Dell laptop that I recently upgraded to Vista Business
from WinXP Pro with SP3. It's a spare for the staff and it has been checked
out. The staff member came back to say the HDD was almost full, I checked
and saw that only 7 GB of the 80 GB total was free. So I uninstalled a
bunch of programs and windows components she didn't need or want, ran Disk
Cleanup, Defrag .... I was only able to reclaim 3 GB. Downloaded a trusty
defrag program I use - JK Defrag - and ran it. Only gained another GB.
Rebooted a couple times and re-ran JK Defrag. No gain. Checked the folder
sizes and saw that the WINSXS folder was huge. Checked it via Google and
saw that I can't really get rid of it.

Short of re-formatting the HDD and starting over, what else can I do to
reclaim disk space? I'm guessing that Defrag and JK Defrag aren't doing so
well becuase they have less than 10 GB of "wiggle room" to work with.

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

Actually, I did do that.

I compared the laptop to my admin PC. I've got lots of apps on it, but
still have 23 GB free out of 80 GB total. It's a Dell desktop, but has the
same OS and also has MS Office 2007 Pro, just like the laptop.

Mike

 

[Kerry Brown]

It sounds like the drive was getting full before the upgrade. Upgrades from
older versions of Windows often don't work out. I recommend a format and a
clean install.

When you ran Disk Cleanup did you do this?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933212

 

[olfart]

Actually, I did do that.

I compared the laptop to my admin PC. I've got lots of apps on it, but
still have 23 GB free out of 80 GB total. It's a Dell desktop, but has
the same OS and also has MS Office 2007 Pro, just like the laptop.

Mike

go to http://www.download.com/SpaceMonger/3000-2248_4-10050288.html
and d/l Spacemonger. It's free and will show a graphic of all files and free
space on your HD.
You might also have a bunch of $uninstall$ files from all your hotfixes and
updates....which can be deleted if you don't plan any uninstalls.

 

[Alias]

I've got a 3-yr old Dell laptop that I recently upgraded to Vista
Business from WinXP Pro with SP3. It's a spare for the staff and it has
been checked out. The staff member came back to say the HDD was almost
full, I checked and saw that only 7 GB of the 80 GB total was free. So
I uninstalled a bunch of programs and windows components she didn't need
or want, ran Disk Cleanup, Defrag .... I was only able to reclaim 3 GB.
Downloaded a trusty defrag program I use - JK Defrag - and ran it. Only
gained another GB. Rebooted a couple times and re-ran JK Defrag. No
gain. Checked the folder sizes and saw that the WINSXS folder was
huge. Checked it via Google and saw that I can't really get rid of it.

Short of re-formatting the HDD and starting over, what else can I do to
reclaim disk space? I'm guessing that Defrag and JK Defrag aren't doing
so well becuase they have less than 10 GB of "wiggle room" to work with.

Your solution can be found here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Alias

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

Good idea. It's a bit hard to see in one place where the large files/folders
are.

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

I may just have to. I didn't follow the KB, but I will.

Thanks.

 

[measekite's Psychiatrist]

Your solution can be found here:

Alias

Ubuntu is no solution. He has Vista and wants to configure Vista. Since
you offer no help, you shouldn't have replied with an inferior OS that you
think would better serve him. Got news for you - It won't. His MS programs
will no longer work, and he doesn't want to learn some archaic line syntax
crap to try and configure that crappy OS.

Better for to try and get people in poor countries to try that OS because
they can't afford Vista. You are just wasting your time here. Imagine,
Ubuntu is FREE and NOBODY wants it. Ubuntu is on less than ONE PERCENT of
the desktops and their product has been free for years. That should tell
you that people hate the product.

Live with it loser.

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

An odd thing ... I didn't have "Files from all users on this computer" as an
item to check-mark under Disk Cleanup Options.

 

[Alias]

Ubuntu is no solution.

A lie.

He has Vista and wants to configure Vista.

Hopeless task that could be solved by formatting the hard drive and
installing Ubuntu which is much more configurable than Vista, the Window
Me of NT.

Since
you offer no help, you shouldn't have replied with an inferior OS that you
think would better serve him.

You never help anyone. My suggestion would work. You lying and calling
people names doesn't help anyone.

Got news for you - It won't. His MS programs
will no longer work, and he doesn't want to learn some archaic line syntax
crap to try and configure that crappy OS.

I haven't used a command line once since Feisty. Oops. Vista has a
command line, you know, or do you?

Better for to try and get people in poor countries to try that OS because
they can't afford Vista.

No one wants Vista whether they can afford it or not.

You are just wasting your time here.

Look who's talking!

Imagine,
Ubuntu is FREE and NOBODY wants it.

A lie.

Ubuntu is on less than ONE PERCENT of
the desktops and their product has been free for years. That should tell
you that people hate the product.

A lie.

Live with it loser.

You're the one who has to live with the lies you tell, not me chum.

Alias

 

[Tyro]

80 GB is a very small drive. Why not just simply get a much bigger one? They
don't cost very much.

Tyro

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

Nice tool, thanks!

I find that the C:\Windows\Installer folder is pretty big, as is my
pagefile.sys. My C:|System Volume Information is a bit over 8 GB, with
many, many "blocks" named "RPxxx", where xxx is a 3-digit number. Odd, I
had used Disk Cleanup to delete all but the most recent Restore Point. (I
assume RP stands for Restore Point). As expected, the WINSXS folder is a
bit under 6 GB in size. I'll start whittling, but I'm curious about the RP
"blocks; can I delete them? And if so, how do I identify them?

Mike

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

True, but we're a non-profit and my budget was really slashed for 2009. If
at all possible, I need to make-do with what I have.

 

[Gordon]

Nice tool, thanks!

I find that the C:\Windows\Installer folder is pretty big, as is my
pagefile.sys. My C:|System Volume Information is a bit over 8 GB, with
many, many "blocks" named "RPxxx", where xxx is a 3-digit number. Odd, I
had used Disk Cleanup to delete all but the most recent Restore Point. (I
assume RP stands for Restore Point). As expected, the WINSXS folder is a
bit under 6 GB in size. I'll start whittling, but I'm curious about the
RP "blocks; can I delete them? And if so, how do I identify them?

Just disable Restore points on the drive - that will delete all the restore
points and shadow copies.

 

[Gordon]

80 GB is a very small drive. Why not just simply get a much bigger one?
They don't cost very much.

My Vista Home Premium SP1 with Office 2007, several other apps and my
Documents only takes up 30 GB.....

 

[Gordon]

True, but we're a non-profit and my budget was really slashed for 2009.
If at all possible, I need to make-do with what I have.

I think you need to do a format and re-install. My Home Premium with Office
2007, quite a few other apps and my Documents only takes up 30GB....

 

[Tyro]

Well, I have a 250 GB drive on my laptop. I run 64 bit Vista Ultimate. I
have Office 2007 Ultimate and a few software programs and almost none of my
files. My files are on my desktop. I'm using 80 GB on the laptop. So I would
guess that 80 GB is typical usage for Vista plus Office.

Tyro

 

[Mike in Nebraska]

Hmmmm ..... I disabled Restore Points, rebooted, but they are still there
(all from Sep - Nov 2008). Can't delete them manually, and a reboot didn't
touch 'em. I'm now running Windows Defender just in case. I ran Symantec
AV last night with no virus's found.

Tried Googling how to delete the _Restore folder, but all seemed to discuss
when virus's or malware was involved. Any ideas?

 

[Randall Flagg]

My Vista Home Premium SP1 with Office 2007, several other apps and my
Documents only takes up 30 GB.....

34GB here with Home Basic and LOTS of apps. But I keep audio files
(60GB) on another drive.