Windows XP: What’s eating up my hard drive space?
- 1/9/09 3:15 PM
Unexplained Disappearing Space
by hevghirl - 5/24/09 9:32 AM In reply to: 'Default' Settings... (And, possible hidden secret-data?) by Good-PC.Guy!Yeah I was kind of figuring that they were just sent to All Users automatically, kind of an umbrella.
As for the user.dmp file, I already found it this morning and it stated that it had used 0kb, so it's not causing me any problems. As long as I have some understanding of where my space is disappearing to, and know whether I can/cannot do something about it, then I'm perfectly happy.
Thank you for your help 
That Space-Hog FILE's changing space...
by Good-PC.Guy! - 5/24/09 10:40 AM In reply to: Unexplained Disappearing Space by hevghirlSINCE IT'S EMPTY (now), I'D GUESS THAT IT'S CONTENTS WERE JUST RECENTLY TAKEN!?
KEEP IN MIND THAT THAT user.dmp FILE WILL GROW & SHRINK, SO KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOSE DRIVE-SPACE! _ (I'VE HEARD TALE THAT IT HAS USED OVER 12gb OF SPACE ON A MUCH USED PC.)
__ I SUGGEST THAT YOU TAKE NOTE OF IT'S DATE OF CREATION AND THEN DELETE IT.
THEN WHEN IT COMES BACK AGAIN, YOU'LL THEN BE ABLE TO SEE THE DATE OF WHEN IT WAS LAST PUT BACK ON YOUR PC.
__ WHEN IT DOES COME BACK, OPEN IT WITH Notepad AND LOOK THROUGH ALL THE JUNK, (it's main bulk), FOR ANY SIGNS OF ANY OF YOUR PERSONAL-DATA (somewhat hidden within all the junk), WHICH THAT FILE MAY HAVE ROUNDED-UP IN IT, (for retrieval, by whoever?).
HOPE YOU'LL LET US KNOW IF YOU EVER FIND ANY OF SUCH, (as i did!). _ (CUZ IT SEEMS THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS TOO SCARED (or lazy) TO REPORT BACK ABOUT IT.)
User.dmp
by hevghirl - 5/24/09 1:59 PM In reply to: That Space-Hog FILE's changing space... by Good-PC.Guy!It's quite possible that it was recently taken since I disabled Dr Watson (though I'm not sure whether this has any effect) but I will definitely be keeping an eye on it. Hopefully it won't come back but if it does I'll report back on it. For the moment though, I'm pretty happy with how things stand. Thanks for all your help
What's eating up my hard drive space?
by RClayton - 12/21/08 5:18 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First off I would suggest get rid of your duplicated programs for spyware. I had the same problem as you though and the best soloution I found in my case was simple. I have a 40G HD which today is 50% free space @ 20 gig. I added an external HD @ 320gb. I then formatted the new HD to NFTS and moved everything I wanted saved to it.
Next I took my OS disk and reinstalled everything as new including an upgrade from Windows Office 2002 to 2007.
Now the only thing I keep or download goes directly to the external HD and keep my main HD clean. Also note that after all the OS and office programs were installed I also did all the updates from Microsoft and those things alone filled 50% of my 40gig HD.
Anyway thats how I did it and it was pretty much an all day job but it was worth it and it only cost me $89.00 Canadian for the new 320 Gig Lacie HD. This unit runs silent and is Western Digital. Not the best you can buy, not by a long shot; but it was a lot cheaper than buying a complete new computer.
I hope this helps!!
Cheers to ya, and have fun!!
Rick
HARD DRIVE SPACE EATEN BY WHOM?
by jaiyesh0302 - 12/21/08 5:47 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
PL. SEND ME SOLUTION FOR THIS PROBLEM AS I HAVE ONLY 40 GB IBM MQ8 2887 LEAPTOP & C,D TWO PARTITION IS THERE. NO EXTRA SOFTWARES INCLUDED BY ME JUST FOR email & WORKING FOR OFFICE XLS FILES I USE IT BUT PROBLEM IS HIGHLY EFFCTIVE MY WORK.
Re: solution
by Kees Bakker - 12/21/08 10:49 AM
In reply to: HARD DRIVE SPACE EATEN BY WHOM? by jaiyesh0302
I'm sure this thread has all kinds of good solutions for you. Which one did you try already? Did they help?
Kees
Windirstat for Identifying Largest Files and Directories
by ld_johnson - 12/21/08 8:26 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello. The best utility that I've ever found for identifying the files that are hogging up disk space is Windirstat (downloadable from http://windirstat.info/). I've used it for the last few years and have always been extremely pleased with it.
This utility readily identifies the space utilized by each directory on your hard drive. You can surf down to the individual file level to get info about space used for each file. This should help you find abusers of disk space based upon when and where the files are created. As a general rule, I never delete, move, or rename files that I find under the Windows directory (apply this rule liberally to all subdirectories under \Windows, especially system and system32).
If you find very large files outside of the Windows directory that you're afraid of deleting, then I would suggest renaming them. Then the next time you reboot your computer, the offending program will probably complain about it's inability to find files that it "needs." You can uninstall the program at this point (re-install only if required).
If it isn't readily apparent which programs are creating the files, then I would try the following.
Start the computer like normal. Check your free space (using Windirstat or whatever). Let the computer run for a few hours. Come back and verify that the filespace is again being consumed like before. Start-up Task Manager (either by hitting Alt-Ctl-Del and selecting Task Manager or by doing start/run and entering "taskmgr" in the box). In Task Manager, go to view and choose "Select Columns..." There are several columns that would be interesting to you, given your problem. I suggest choosing "I/O Write Bytes" and "I/O Read Bytes." This will give you a rough approximation of the number of bytes read and written by each process (for more info go here http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/core/fneb_mon_oyjs.mspx?mfr=true). Sort by the I/O Write Bytes column and your offending program will probably be close to the top. If the top program is something other than explorer.exe, your email program, or your browser then you have probably found your culprit). You should analyze the program name to determine if you need to have this program running for your system to operate properly. If it is an optional program, then I'd kill it and re-run this test again.
I hope this helps.
Good Luck!
Linwood
RE: Windirstat for Identifying Largest Files and Directories
by khan136 - 1/10/09 7:23 AM In reply to: Windirstat for Identifying Largest Files and Directories by ld_johnsonI believe this is the best solution for problems with XP space issues. I have been using it for a while and recentnly I have found using Windirstat that IE was storing all streaming video temporary files instead of getting rid of them after the video was over.
The software is very easy use. Windows search will not find many system files with unfamiliar extensions. And not sure why reducing space for System Restore is being suggested when that is one of the best XP utilities and a savior when system has problems.
System Restore
by hotshot1a - 1/16/09 4:35 PM In reply to: RE: Windirstat for Identifying Largest Files and Directories by khan136While I recommend using System Restore, just in case, I find it very unreliable. Every time Windows installs an update, there is a chance that it will trash previous restore points. I find the Recovery Commander found in Avanquest's System Suite to be much more reliable. Several times Windows Updates have trashed my profile and Outlook e-mail settings, so I couldn't get to my e-mail stored on my hard drive, and System Restore did not have any recovery points (even though it is set to save automatically). Recovery Commander has worked to recover it each time.
DRIVE C SPACE SHRINKING
by marc_90292 - 12/21/08 9:19 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Question 1: Did you actually remove the files in a trash bin?
I had the same problem because I use much space when video blogging. Emptying the rash bin helped me.
Quesion 2: Do you have Google Desktop installed?
Google desktop, as nice as it is, occupies my system resources at the times I need to use it for myself, by delaying me access.
The low disk space warning
by LandyReg - 12/21/08 10:13 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This is not a direct answer to your problem, but a caution about this, to me, misleading warning.
I find this crude warning useless and so far have not been able to remove it or replace it with a superior replacement.
Programs running on my Psion computers with the EPOC OS, are able to give quantitative warning messages about reduced disk space.
I download from my digital cameras to a Windows laptop, backup to 3 or 4 other disks and then clear the CF cards in the cameras.
Last Friday, I did this with one camera, leaving the room do do another task while the files were downloaded. This process completed WITHOUT any warning or error message.
I then did the same with another camera that has smaller file sizes.
Fortunately, I had a quick look through the photos and discovered one particular picture missing. I was lucky as I had not at that stage deleted the camera's CF cards. If I had, I would have lost these pictures.
After investigation, I discovered that the last files from both cameras were missing. This was because the free space on the hard disk volume (I have four partitions) for my photos was too small.
No error message had been displayed, although the annoying warning about low disk space had been happening for ages.
Does anyone know of a program that would display meaningful warnings.
I'm thinking of one warning at possibly one tenth the free space remaining that Windows reports. This warning to be repeated once every time the computer was booted giving the actual free space available.
While using the computer, no more warnings until free space was reduced to a certain lower point. Then this lower amount would be displayed and no more repeats until the next lower value was reached. This to continue with further warnings of a reducing value.
Find the culprit.
by Azrael srl - 12/21/08 10:45 AM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The only way to solve this problem is to identify the folder/s with the fat problem.
The best program for that is TreeSize Free. Download the .exe (no install needed), select your C partition and identify the big folders. If you can't determine if they are legit post here again with more details.
Defrag
by Voiping - 12/21/08 12:25 PM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Do not mix defrag programs. If you have always used Windows Defragmenter, stick with it. If you have a new hard drive, then you can use some of the suggested software. I guarantee problems if you use more than one program on the same drive.
Before the experts get started
by sgg - 12/21/08 5:07 PM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
open windows Task Manager (cntr,alt,del)
click on processes; see if VM size is one of your columns; if not, open view, click select columns and be sure VM size is checked.l
On my laptop, I must then open to full screen to see this column on the far right side.
Look at the names of the uses that are shown to consume larger amounts of capacity in both the Mem Usage and the VM Size column. As a very ordinary user, I have found that there is an iexplore.exe, and, depending on what security you have a usage problem with many anti-virus programs. these are separate problems; whatever advice you get, be sure to be prepared to ask if either of these is obviously way to big a number. What I did was then Google each to find out solution and probability of problem in the two areas I checked and was able to deal with them. The nice thing with CNET is you get advice that sometimes takes a long time to find, if you can find it, from people who know what they are doing. I just thought you should be prepared with these two or three pieces of info before the answers start flowing in.
Check which folders are using up the space
by money11465 - 12/21/08 6:34 PM In reply to: What’s eating up my hard drive space? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You can look in your C: drive and determine which folders are using up the most space. Then go further in to check which files it is. Often, Program Files is by far the worst culprit because people install and forget programs. It's possible, though, that Documents and Settings is using up a lot of space if you save things on your desktop or in your My Documents folder. Rarely, the Windows folder uses a bunch of space, but I wouldn't go deleting things in there if I were you. You also mentioned you have split partitions. If you do save all important information on D: and let Windows handle the C:, you might consider reformatting. Simply erase the C: and leave the D: as it is. This is important to make your computer faster and clean up old remnants of things that didn't clean themselves up, which happens over time. I also have split partitions to save things I need, such as backups of my flash drive or pictures, so they will be accessible easily from my other operating systems, and so I can easily do a reformat.
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