# where's my disk space?



## Bummer1002 (Aug 16, 2002)

OK...so I've used Google and haven't had much luck, so I thought I'd ask you guys. 

Basically my computer is saying I've only got 456 mb of space left on my C drive. This is nuts...because I don't have really anything on here. I've got 13 gigs of pictures but it's saying that I've used up 51 gigs on something. Problem is, I have no idea what. Here's what I've done. 

Defragged my disk. 
Deleted all programs (that I can see) that I don't need 
Deleted all Temporary Internet Files 
Emptied Recycled Bin 
Deleted Cookies 
Run a virus scan 
Run a spyware scan 

What else can I do to see what is chewing up my 40 gigs of space?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Go to Windows Explorer and see how large your c:\windows directory is. Sometimes previous restore point data files can get large.

It may save you a pile of work to simply get a larger hard drive and transfer your current drive contents to the new drive. A hard drive 4 to 5 times the size of your drive can be sourced in the $50 to $75 range.

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=WD2500AAJS&cat=HDD


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## Bummer1002 (Aug 16, 2002)

That folder is only 3.2 gigs. I'm ok with getting another bigger HD but don't want the one I have filled with spyware, spam, unused programs, etc etc. 

Bummer


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

New hard drives, are just that NEW. There is nothing on them they are blank~!


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Bummer1002 said:


> That folder is only 3.2 gigs. I'm ok with getting another bigger HD but don't want the one I have filled with spyware, spam, unused programs, etc etc.
> 
> Bummer


Do as you like. You can either do a fresh operating system install or transfer your drive contents. Most people transfer because they can hit the ground running right away. Reinstalling applications, transferring user files, and configuring Windows the way you want can take a while.

If you've got spyware, clean it out. If you've got spam, delete it. If you've got unused applications, uninstall them. Those are all things you should have been doing all along.

By the way, why have you been saving spam?


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

double click "my computer" - what is the Total Size listed for drive c? What is the free space listed for drive c? Are there any other hard drives listed in the "Hard Disk Drives" category?


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## Bummer1002 (Aug 16, 2002)

OntarioMan, 

Total Size listed for drive C is 51.4 GB. Free space is 411 MB. No other Hard Drives.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

If you only have 13gb of photos, XP, and even a large amount of software installed, you'd probably not use 50gb - so something is up.

Do a google search for "folder size" or go to download.com and do a similar search. I think there is XP software available which allows you to quickly view folder sizes in Win XP - which makes it very easy to visually track down exactly what is using up the space, and where it is.

I suppose you could also go into Windows Explorer, click on every folder in the C drive one by one, select properties, and check the sizes.



Bummer1002 said:


> OntarioMan,
> 
> Total Size listed for drive C is 51.4 GB. Free space is 411 MB. No other Hard Drives.


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## Labrat407 (Aug 24, 2007)

Do not forget to change the default view of the folders to show hidden folders.
Tools>Folder Options> View> Show hidden folders. 
Try a search for *.* on the C: and then sort by file size. You may have some install files there you no longer need.

You may also have files like outlook mail files that are taking up alot of space.


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## Mechanic Intern (Jun 10, 2007)

I suggest you use Ubuntu 7.10 (simply because 7.04 isn't available any more), mount the HD, and use the disk usage analyzer tool to "scan file system". Yes that will include the files on the CD, but you should also be able to see where they're located. /dev/hda/ is the default location for your master HD, and /dev/hdb/ is your slave, etc, etc. When you do the "scan file system" button at the top of the screen, make sure that under "preferences" (I can't remember which menu it's under, right off the top of my head) /dev/hda/ is checked. When you've run the scan, (that's basically what it is; it's a scan to see what's taking up the most room on a HD) there'll be a list of the main folders under drive C. Clicking on the little black side-ways arrow will show you all the folders contained in that folder (for example C:\WINDOWS will show "system32" etc, etc) along with a bar graph telling you how much of the main folder's size comes from that sub-folder. Bash around in there, but don't delete anything without checking with any of us to see if it's critical. See what you can find there. Lots of luck!


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## pixelphotograph (Apr 8, 2007)

Download this and run it it will give you a visual of what is eating up all your hard drive space that you may not know about.
http://www.z-a-recovery.com/tools-visualizer.htm


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