[SodScrap]

One of our desktops (dell using vista) has always had a memory issue. (I have the identical computer in my office loaded with programs and documents and never have had an issue with it) If you look at my computer the OS (C:) drive has almost always been "red" with very little space. This was the computer I used to run PSE on. About this time last year, I installed it on my laptop and removed it and all the files. I even did a windows install to correct the problem. The thing is, there isn't much on this computer at all. Very few programs. I even removed all my DD music, still no change. I have uninstalled every unnecessary program and there are less than 20 docs on the computer. I just can't figure out what is taking up all that space. Any ideas?

I have run cleaners and scanners and everything I can think of.

Any thoughts?

So, should I reformat it? (everything is backed up) And if so, how?

I'm hoping it's something simple and my amazing SG friends will have a prompt solution!! (no pressure)

Thanks so much!

[Burnsie]

I think you are probably referring to hard drive space-the "long term" storage for everything on your computer. Do you know the capacity of the hard drive? Also, some laptops with Vista have a partitioned hard drive, with something like 10GBs devoted as a "backup recovery" drive (something like that). This may be full, especially if you are attempting to back up to this part of the hard drive. Are there any other drives or devices listed when you click on "computer" ? Once you have a view of your hard drive, you can right click on it and go to Properties to see what the capacity is and how much of the capacity you have used.

Are you getting any messages when you attempt to save things that indicates your hard drive is full or memory is low, or are your programs crashing in mid-use?

The other possibility is that you have a corrupted space on your hard drive that defrag cannot defrag, which can limit the amount of hard drive space available to you. Are you able to defrag successfully?

[SodScrap]

Thanks Julie!!!

first, it is a desk top. (sorry, I was confusing!)

It is currently running a disk check, so when it is finished I will get those numbers for you. It's a 48% after an hour so it will be a while, lol) At that time, I will run a defrag to double check, but I don't remember any errors. (I've tried so many things, I don't remember)

[Burnsie]

Your desktop may have a partitioned HD too, I have only worked with laptops with Vista. I've got to head to bed soon, but I'll check back tomorrow. Hopefully we can get things straightened out for you!

[SodScrap]

The two drives shown are:

OS (C:) 0% free 7.7 gb free of 222GB

Recovery (D:) 60% free 6.08 free of 9.99

If I click on properties © it shows 7.61 GB free of 215 GB

defrag is running now...

[SodScrap]

Burnsie, on 06 January 2011 - 10:03 PM, said:

Your desktop may have a partitioned HD too, I have only worked with laptops with Vista. I've got to head to bed soon, but I'll check back tomorrow. Hopefully we can get things straightened out for you!

Thanks Julie!

[BarbaraC1977]

Since Windows uses empty space as "swap file space" and you have VERY little, you will definitely have problems running this, and it will be terribly slow and inefficient until fixed.

WinDirStat is a terrific free/shareware utility that I recommend you find and download. It searches your entire drive, and organizes a listing from "most space used" to least. It also produces a visual map of that space. You can click on a chunk in the image to see what it is, too. I find it VERY helpful in identify what to clean up. One thing to be aware of is that you can't delete everything "extra" at once. Once you've deleted 2-3 GB, stop and empty the Recycle bin, and then continue, gradually increasing the amount you delete. You can leave WinDirStat up, and it can re-assess regularly.

Here's a screen shot of how the results look:
 WinDirStat.png (429.93K)
Number of downloads: 11

DuplicateFileFinder is also helpful, but more of a chore to work with at the outset. I'd start with WinDirStat. Hope this helps!

p.s. Your Recovery disk is fine; I recommend you DON'T touch it at the moment.

[lorac]

I remember a couple of times I had problems with my FACTORY_IMAGE (D:) being all red and my hard drive C: having no room left. I didn't know what to do so I called HP and they fixed the problem. It seemed that either Carbonite or Mozy was making another copy of my backup to my hard drive and that was taking all the space. HP fixed it and I've not had another problem since.

You might want to call Dell and have them take a look at the problem. I would certainly hold off on reformatting your hard drive.

[Burnsie]

Great idea, Carol. I think that would be a wise step before reformatting.

[SodScrap]

Thank you ladies!! I started the defrag before bed. It was complete this morning. After that, I ran disk clean up again and then went into more options there and I could delete restore point files. So, I did. After those items, it now shows 80% free!!! Think I will still look into Barbara's recommendations to see if there is anything else...

Thank you thank you thank you!!

[Burnsie]

Fantastic, Conda! I'm so happy you have newfound freedom on your hard drive!