Phil said:
Hi,
have installed my windows XP Pro about 5 years ago. Now updated, incl
SP2 ( not SP3), and all updates since SP2.
Since you have SP2, you should really look into SP3. Highly
recommended.
The system partition ( only "Windows" installed on it, with all well
programmed software installed on another partition than C: ( that is
all programs that allow it during install, which is alas not allways
the case ...)) grows now fast. + 1GB last 2 months.
That makes images bigger and difficult to archive an DVD ( in the
beginning I could brun 2 of them onone 4.7 DVD !). I now archive them
on an external har disk.
Right. The option of using DVDs doesn't take long before it's wanting
more and more space. IMO the best backup strategy is to have an
external drive of say 500 Gig to 1,000 Gig (1 terabyte). Then you can
keep a fair number of backups on the external drive. Periodically, say
once a month or whenever you do a Full backup instead of incrementals or
whatever, also transfer the Full backup to CDs. Then all your important
data can be backed up to it also, not just the OS.
Just never EVER keep anything on the backup drive that doesn't exist
somewhere else. Backup drives are subject to failure like any other
drive so if it goes out ... toast.
But how can I find out why it grows that much ?
Can I remedy to this ?
Can't tell with the little bit of info you've given. Some malware CAN
actually make disk space disappear. You should run your latest
anti-virus and arsenal of anti-spyware (malware) tools, all set to scan
as deeply as their settings allow, on your system. At lest 3 malware
tools should be used because no single one covers everything and AV
covers very little other than viruses, regardless of their hype.
Once you're as sure as you get to that you have no virus or malware
then you can pretty much assume it's all normal operations. Pagefile,
Hibernate file, Restore Points, etc. and some programs grab large pieces
of the disk for their own use so that could be some of it. There's no
way to tell from here.
There ARE some freebies around the 'net that will look at a disk and
tell you where the largest pieces of used space are and what uses the
space. I don't use them so I have none to recommend, but a search
engine would find them. Just be careful and be sure to get them from a
reliable source, that's all. Some are malware in themselves if you're
not careful.
I do not want to reinstall Windows and all updates and all software:
would cost several days work ! Another option ?
Hmm, I thought you said you were already making images of your drives.
If not, I'd highly recommend:
-- Norton Ghost; priciest but has the most features and capabilities
and IMO the best user interface. I can reinstate my entire C drive in
23 minutes I measured last time, from putting the boot CD in the drive
to having a re-imaged, usable OS in front of me.
-- Acronis True Image; excellent for creating disk images and restoring
them. Fewer bells & whistles than Ghost but also $10 or so cheaper. Not
sure but I heard recently it will not "clone" a drive, which may or may
not matter to you.
I haven't used it in a very long time but many speak very well of it.
-- BootItNG; good program but a little on the techie side. The user
needs to know a little more about the computer than with the first two.
Less user friendly but still effective at creating images and restoring
them.
The more technical types speak well of it.
Can I delete all updates uninstall folders ?
Probably. Better IMO to zip them all up and store then on a CD or DVD
if they don't fit on a CD. Unlikely, but then if later on you decide
you need to take out an update you can still do it. Worth the couple
minutes it takes to do.
If you're asking if it's "normal" for it to "grow that much", the answer
is an almost qualified YES<g>. 8 Gig isn't really huge for a machine
that hasn't had much maintenance for 5 years and Jose's response is a
good one for retrieving some space back.
However, and I haven't seen it mentioned yet, regaining what small
amount of disk space you can reclaim that way is only a band-aid and not
a long term solution. The same problem will crop up again and you could
go thru the same options all over again to reclaim some space, and after
awhile you'll have even more space used.
That's why I say it's just a band-aid; it doesn't help in the long
term unless you're about to purchase a more up to date machine.
What you really need to achieve a more permanent situation is more disk
space. 20 Gig is often a good size for a boot disk that leaves enough
room for the pagefile and maybe the Hibernate file if you use it. But
even 20 Gig can get small if you use many different types of programs.
I have a 50 Gig partition that seems to be plenty and more than I'll
need for the foreseeable future and allows all the defaults files,
pagefile (or used to; I've since moved it), Hibernate file and a few
other quite large files. Based on my own experience I'd say a 20 Gig to
40 Gig partition just for XP is a good setting that won't get in your
way sizewise.
The cost of hard drives has really gotten low these days and 160 Gig to
500 Gig drives are all very competitively priced. That size range is
often available for less than $50 to less than $100 and even 1 terabyte
drives are only a little over $100 now.
My advice would be to scrape together some cash and purchase as much
hard drive as you can afford even if it's only 80 Gig, but the supply of
those is beginning to dry up.
HTH,
Twayne`
