Lost diskspace with XP ? help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sjoerd
  • Start date Start date
S

Sjoerd

when i installed Win XP pro a while back, i created a partition (c:\) of 15
GB solely for windows,
but now this partition is filling up.

I get a HUGE difference between selecting the C disk and hitting properties
and selecting all the folders in C and then hitting properties. please
refer to this screenie:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~koets23/944/scrnshot.jpg

can anyone explain this difference and/or tell me how to fix this?

I've tried defragging the disk, and i am pretty sure there aren't to many
hidden folders.

Help!
 
Sjoerd said:
when i installed Win XP pro a while back, i created a partition (c:\) of 15
GB solely for windows,
but now this partition is filling up.

I get a HUGE difference between selecting the C disk and hitting properties
and selecting all the folders in C and then hitting properties. please
refer to this screenie:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~koets23/944/scrnshot.jpg

can anyone explain this difference and/or tell me how to fix this?

I've tried defragging the disk, and i am pretty sure there aren't to many
hidden folders.

Help!
Click to expand...

Defragging will merely re-arrange the various fragments
belonging to individual files. It will never gain you any
disk space.

Your type of problem is invariably due to not knowing
what's stored on your hard disk. Use one of these tools
to find out.
DriveUse:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware/index.html
Bullet Proof Folder sizes: http://www.foldersizes.com/
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
Defragging will merely re-arrange the various fragments
belonging to individual files. It will never gain you any
disk space.

Your type of problem is invariably due to not knowing
what's stored on your hard disk. Use one of these tools
to find out.
DriveUse:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware/index.html
Bullet Proof Folder sizes: http://www.foldersizes.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the tip! folder sizes is a great app!

I found out about 5 GB is taken up by:
- Temporary Internet Files
- a file named pagefile.sys (cant touch that right? )
- 'System volume information'.
 
Sjoerd said:
Thanks a lot for the tip! folder sizes is a great app!

I found out about 5 GB is taken up by:
- Temporary Internet Files
Click to expand...

Clean them out on a regular basis - this will improve your browser
performance
- a file named pagefile.sys (cant touch that right? )
Click to expand...

You can: have a look here:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php
- 'System volume information'.
Click to expand...

Consider adjusting the disk space that is allocated to Restore points.
 
Sjoerd said:
when i installed Win XP pro a while back, i created a partition
(c:\) of 15 GB solely for windows,
but now this partition is filling up.

I get a HUGE difference between selecting the C disk and hitting
properties and selecting all the folders in C and then hitting
properties. please refer to this screenie:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~koets23/944/scrnshot.jpg

can anyone explain this difference and/or tell me how to fix this?

I've tried defragging the disk, and i am pretty sure there aren't
to many hidden folders.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Shenan Stanley said:
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.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your suggestions, i'm gonna start working on it !
 
Sjoerd said:
when i installed Win XP pro a while back, i created a partition (c:\) of 15
GB solely for windows,
but now this partition is filling up.
Click to expand...

Next time make a 50 gig partition for XP.
 
Gordon said:
Clean them out on a regular basis - this will improve your browser
performance


You can: have a look here:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php


Consider adjusting the disk space that is allocated to Restore points.
Click to expand...


You can also turn on NTFS compression (make a backup first) and lower
the amount of disk space allotted for temp internet files.
 
Plato said:
Next time make a 50 gig partition for XP.
Click to expand...

I will. but i cant change it now right? since its the drive my OS is running
on PartitionMagic wont touch it...
 
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