Identify Lost Directory Space

  • Thread starter kermit tensmeyer
  • Start date
K

kermit tensmeyer

My Laptop is filling up. That could be a "good" thing or not. I've added
up the size of the directories that I can find (My Docs, Windows, Program
Files, Swap, the hidden Freeze files) and so on.

by all accounts I think I have not yet accounted for 25 Gigs, it may be
otherwise hidden (backup and recovery files etc, except those had been
turned off and migrated to an external drive)


What tools are available to help me identify where these space hogs are
still hiding?


Kermit Tensmeyer
 
S

Shenan Stanley

kermit said:
My Laptop is filling up. That could be a "good" thing or not. I've
added up the size of the directories that I can find (My Docs,
Windows, Program Files, Swap, the hidden Freeze files) and so on.

by all accounts I think I have not yet accounted for 25 Gigs, it
may be otherwise hidden (backup and recovery files etc, except
those had been turned off and migrated to an external drive)


What tools are available to help me identify where these space hogs
are still hiding?

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?

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.

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

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.
 
K

kermit tensmeyer

Do you have hidden and system files visible?
How's your system restore settings?
Used Disk Cleanup?

with hidden and system files visable

JdiskReport indicates that 19.6 GB is measured on C:\
the hibernate and swap files are 1.5G each

Properties for C:\ indicate capacity as 66.6GB
Free Space as 20.2GB
Used Space as 46.3GB

so roughly 26.7GB is "missing" or unaccounted for
and this exceeds my "free space"
and also the amount of space that is measured to have
been used on C:


Is hibernate turned on and do you use that feature?
Uninstalled unnecessary applications lately?
thank you for the list of tools, I've saved this list
(I know that this will come up again)

any ideas where this 26.7GB could have gone?
 

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