Re-claim disk space after updates?

[Laurel]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them
on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the
really big ones. And then there's the stuff in
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big.

 

[Mark Adams]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them
on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the
really big ones. And then there's the stuff in
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big.

Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The
best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free
space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup and
delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a short
time.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space
after Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about
putting them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is
needed? Or at least the really big ones. And then there's the
stuff in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is
really big.

What was wrong with your original post and subsequent answers in this same
newsgroup?
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...p.general/browse_frm/thread/f8a44c9c7e663446/

I see you *thought* you should repost - but why? The original will be there
indefinitely.

You can remove the uninstall folders in a method of your choosing if you
feel that small amount of space will help and/or that you will not be
uninstalling them soon/at all.

See what is taking up the space and how the drive is partitioned.

Start button --> RUN (no RUN, press the "Windows Key" + R) --> type in:
compmgmt.msc
--> Click OK.

Answer things in the affirmative until the window opens. In the computer
management window, left side, locate and expand "Storage" and select (click
on) "Disk Management". That should bring up a list on the right of your
disks. Find your drive(s) in that list and scroll left/right to see the
other columns and give the "Total" and "Free" space here. Looking at the
picture on the right side, bottom part of the Disks - how is each one
partitioned (divided up into sections)?

Now that you know how things are partitioned and how much space you should
have (in total) - let's cleanup.

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.

(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

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
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
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 moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

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/

Other ways to free up space..

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras
will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more space
than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be used -
likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to manage
it.

 

[JS]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting
them on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least
the really big ones. And then there's the stuff in
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big.

Low Disk Space
How to free up hard drive space on your Laptop or PC
http://www.pagestart.com/lowdiskspace01.html

 

[Laurel]

Wow! What a goldmine. Thanks so much.

What was wrong with your original post and subsequent answers in this same
newsgroup?
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...p.general/browse_frm/thread/f8a44c9c7e663446/

I see you *thought* you should repost - but why? The original will be
there indefinitely.

You can remove the uninstall folders in a method of your choosing if you
feel that small amount of space will help and/or that you will not be
uninstalling them soon/at all.

See what is taking up the space and how the drive is partitioned.

Start button --> RUN (no RUN, press the "Windows Key" + R) --> type in:
compmgmt.msc
--> Click OK.

Answer things in the affirmative until the window opens. In the computer
management window, left side, locate and expand "Storage" and select
(click
on) "Disk Management". That should bring up a list on the right of your
disks. Find your drive(s) in that list and scroll left/right to see the
other columns and give the "Total" and "Free" space here. Looking at the
picture on the right side, bottom part of the Disks - how is each one
partitioned (divided up into sections)?

Now that you know how things are partitioned and how much space you should
have (in total) - let's cleanup.

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.

(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

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
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
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
moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can
utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

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/

Other ways to free up space..

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

In the end - a standard Windows XP installation with all sorts of extras
will not likely be above about 4.5GB to 9GB in size. If you have more
space
than that (likely do on a modern machine) and most of it seems to be
used -
likely you need to move *your stuff* off and/or find a better way to
manage
it.

 

[Mint]

Deleting the uninstall folders won't really free up that much space. The
best way to free up space is to buy a larger hard drive with lots of free
space. Hard drives are pretty cheap these days; if you run disk cleanup and
delete the uninstall folders you will only delay the inevitable for a short
time.

That would be wasteful and contribute more toxins to our environment.

 

[Mint]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them
on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed?  Or at least the
really big ones.  And then there's the stuff in
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download.  Some if it is really big.

I would also highly recommend JKDefrag instead of Windows Defrag.
It can be run as a GUI or as a command line.

Erunt is also an excellent partner for Windows Restore.

It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files.
You are minimizing waste going into landfills.

Andy

“affluenza” - “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition
of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit
of more.”

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Is there an article somewhere that tells how to reclaim disk space after
Windows updates?

I know the problems about the Uninstall folders, but what about putting them
on CD so they can be restored if an uninstall is needed? Or at least the
really big ones. And then there's the stuff in
c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download. Some if it is really big.

If you are short of disk space, deleting these files will save you
only a tiny amount, and will be nothing but a stopgap measure. Buy a
bigger hard drive.

 

[DG]

Mint <[email protected]> écrivait

It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files.
You are minimizing waste going into landfills.

Andy

What????

How deleting files minimize waste into landfill?

It's a good one!

 

[DG]

That would be wasteful and contribute more toxins to our environment.

I don't see why adding a larger hard drive would do that.

 

[Gerry]

Mint

How does a defragmenter increase free disk space?

--


Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

If you've not yet installed SP2, see
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

If you have install SP3, see http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33827

 

[Mark Adams]

I would also highly recommend JKDefrag instead of Windows Defrag.
It can be run as a GUI or as a command line.

Erunt is also an excellent partner for Windows Restore.

It's very commendable doing what you can to get rid of unneeded files.
You are minimizing waste going into landfills.

You don't have to throw away the old hard drive, you "green", Liberal,
moron. Use it in the same machine for extra space, or in another machine, or
for backups, etc. Besides, much of the materials can be recycled. BFD

Mint Patty

 

[Brandon]

You know your comment is a lousy excuse for an answer. You need to except the
fact that maybe some people don't want wasted space on their hard drive. I
have a laptop with only a 6gb hard drive so I need to keep it clean. I don't
want to buy a hard drive for my laptop because I access all my files on my
desktop that has 2.5TB of HD space. I use the laptop for writing code only so
it would be pointless to install a new hard drive on this machine simply
because there are unnecessary files taking up space. Accept the fact that
everyone's situation is unique and when someone asks a software question,
replacing hardware with out giving any thought is not the answer.