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02/25/2007 04:11:38 PM · #1 |
This may be a bit off topic but I know there are lots of clever computer people out there and I don't use any other forums.
basically --
My laptop has 70 gig hard drive. I have 6 gig left free, 20 gig is documents. But looking at the properties of the other folders they don't seem to add up to 40 odd gig - far less in fact.
Any suggestions as to how I can try and trak this lost memory - or any way of bringing up an accurate map of where the space is being used ?
I'm using windows
Thanks in advance. |
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02/25/2007 04:21:01 PM · #2 |
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02/25/2007 04:22:50 PM · #3 |
One of my favorite free utilities:
Folder Size
Also, how big is your page file? That uses some drive space, but not much. Have you emptied your recycle bin? It can hide there. Are there other user profiles? If so, check their recycle bin. I once had the same problem on a multi-user PC. I had to log in as each user. One of the had a ton of stuff in the trash.
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02/25/2007 04:24:32 PM · #4 |
| Run a virus and spyware checker, may have something nasty lurking within! |
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02/25/2007 04:27:44 PM · #5 |
| A quick place to go to is start/programs/accessories/system tools/disk cleanup. This will run a program where you can choose to remove any temporary files that are hogging up your hard drive. Also remember that a 70 gig hard drive will loose probably 5 gigs or so due to the formatting of the drive. You can also go to control panel/add remove programs and take out any programs not used anymore. Lots of more options, but this is where I would start. |
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02/25/2007 04:31:03 PM · #6 |
| Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll try them all. |
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02/25/2007 04:33:13 PM · #7 |
For the record, you're discussing "storage space", not "memory"; memory is RAM, the space on your hard drive is storage. As others have said, the biggest culprits on using up space are likely to be the temp files and the recycle bin; the latter, especially, can get HUGE if you are dumping unwanted RAW files into it...
R.
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02/25/2007 04:36:58 PM · #8 |
Ummmm....how about starting by getting an external hard drive so you can move your stuff over there and still be able to keep working on your photos and not run out of room. Then look at what is taking up the extra room.
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02/25/2007 04:37:46 PM · #9 |
| Other things you can delete would include extra roll back states, uninstall folders for Windows updates, and programs and Windows features you don't use. |
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02/25/2007 04:46:38 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Judi:
Ummmm....how about starting by getting an external hard drive so you can move your stuff over there and still be able to keep working on your photos and not run out of room. Then look at what is taking up the extra room. |
That's what I did a while ago when my computer was getting too full. Important things are kept on the computer with the external hard drive as backup, less important things are moved off the computer altogether. This will also make my life much simpler when the time comes to upgrade my computer.
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02/25/2007 06:22:35 PM · #11 |
Thanks for all the suggestions - i did everything suggested (the foldser size program didn't run) - shed a load of files, disk clean up, defragged.
I now have 13 Gig free. i have gone through the properties on all the folders on the c drive and they add up to 23 gig. Which leaves 30 gig unacounted for. The anti virus has always been kept up to date.
Into the shop tomorrow unless anyone has any devastatingly brilliant ideas. |
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02/25/2007 06:27:23 PM · #12 |
| System hidden files are set to be not hidden right? |
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02/25/2007 06:44:46 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by thelobster:
(the foldser size program didn't run) |
After you install it, you have to set your view to Details and right click the row headings and select 'Folder Size'.
Oh yeah, are you show all hidden files and folders? (Tools | Options | View | Show all hidden files and folders). Maybe a big folder or three got hidden somehow.
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02/27/2007 04:54:42 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by thelobster:
Thanks for all the suggestions - i did everything suggested (the foldser size program didn't run) - shed a load of files, disk clean up, defragged.
I now have 13 Gig free. i have gone through the properties on all the folders on the c drive and they add up to 23 gig. Which leaves 30 gig unacounted for. The anti virus has always been kept up to date.
Into the shop tomorrow unless anyone has any devastatingly brilliant ideas. |
No, not the shop yet! This probably isn't something "wrong", and you'll just be tossing out money for no reason. Seriously.
Make sure that there's not an additional disk partition that serves as a system recovery. VERY common. This would be where, in the event of a catastrophic software failure, virus, etc., the "recover" program would run from. More and more computer manufacturers are putting this on the hard drive instead of giving you CDs, DVDs, or whatever.
As well, don't forget that the reported size of a drive is often quite a bit lower than the "sold" size. My 250 Gig, for instance, only shows 232 Gigabytes available; this is partially because a Gigabyte isn't necessarily 1,000,000,000 bytes in everybody's world, but the hard drive manufacturers use that number because it's more beneficial to them. As mentioned above, the drive loses some to formatting, too.
So don't freak out yet. You may have something buried on there, but I'm not sure yet.
EDIT - missing 30 gig on a 70 gig drive indeed doesn't sound right, though.
Message edited by author 2007-02-27 16:55:27. |
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05/20/2007 09:09:32 PM · #15 |
I NEED AN EXTERNAL HARDRIVE FOR MY LAPTOP!!!! I keep running out of space and tend to remedy it by deleting old raw files i think i will never want again...and then end up wanting again....AAHHH....
anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good size/price ratio for a 100 gb hardrive?? I am not sure where to buy it i was told not to get a reused one.... |
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05/20/2007 09:17:38 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by jclairemcphotos:
I NEED AN EXTERNAL HARDRIVE FOR MY LAPTOP!!!! I keep running out of space and tend to remedy it by deleting old raw files i think i will never want again...and then end up wanting again....AAHHH....
anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good size/price ratio for a 100 gb hardrive?? I am not sure where to buy it i was told not to get a reused one.... |
I have a western digital and it works very well. my wife uses a comp usa brand which ws cheaper and she has had no issues with it either. |
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05/20/2007 09:22:05 PM · #17 |
| normally what I do is do an advanced search of the harddrive for all files over 10240kb and then sort the results by size. I normally find a few files ~100MB or more that I really don't need or that I can offload onto a CD |
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05/20/2007 09:30:58 PM · #18 |
Recycle Bin, Right click, Properties, Use one setting for all drives, see if it's set to 10%. You can slide it to about 2-3% and gain quite a bit of drive space back that way. Instead of allocating 10% of your hard drive to the recycle bin, setting it to 2-3% is more than enough.
Disc cleanup helps, clearing out internet Explorer History and/or search for all temp files (search) *.tmp and delete them. Look around for other files such as *wmv (movies) *.wav (sound files), *.mpg (movie files) as these do take quite a bit of space as well.
Just a few things to clean up clutter.
Message edited by author 2007-05-20 21:33:10. |
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05/20/2007 09:34:39 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by jclairemcphotos:
anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good size/price ratio for a 100 gb hardrive?? |
I got a LaCie 250Gb drive for $89.99 at Costco just yesterday. I tend to think of hard disks as pretty much a commodity these days, so as long as it comes with a warranty I'll buy by price. And I love all the free space I suddenly have!
Message edited by author 2007-05-20 21:35:15. |
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05/20/2007 09:41:30 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by MaryO:
Originally posted by jclairemcphotos:
anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good size/price ratio for a 100 gb hardrive?? |
I got a LaCie 250Gb drive for $89.99 at Costco just yesterday. I tend to think of hard disks as pretty much a commodity these days, so as long as it comes with a warranty I'll buy by price. And I love all the free space I suddenly have! |
Warranties don't seem so cool on a hard drive. Sure I get a new hard drive, but who cares if all your stuff is frag'd? |
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05/20/2007 10:06:25 PM · #21 |
| I just got back from walmart and they had a couple different brands of 320mb drives for around $100 |
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05/20/2007 10:48:40 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Originally posted by MaryO:
Originally posted by jclairemcphotos:
anyone have any suggestions about what would be a good size/price ratio for a 100 gb hardrive?? |
I got a LaCie 250Gb drive for $89.99 at Costco just yesterday. I tend to think of hard disks as pretty much a commodity these days, so as long as it comes with a warranty I'll buy by price. And I love all the free space I suddenly have! |
Warranties don't seem so cool on a hard drive. Sure I get a new hard drive, but who cares if all your stuff is frag'd? |
Point taken, but that's why God made backups ;-) |
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05/20/2007 11:02:57 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
For the record, you're discussing "storage space", not "memory"; memory is RAM, the space on your hard drive is storage. As others have said, the biggest culprits on using up space are likely to be the temp files and the recycle bin; the latter, especially, can get HUGE if you are dumping unwanted RAW files into it...
R. |
A hard drive is also memory. It is just farther away from the CPU which takes longer to access.
RAM is coupled to the data bus on the board right by the CPU and loses memory when the power is turned off. Where as a hard drive can hold memory for years with no power. RAM has no moving parts like the hard drive which is comparable to a CD player.
Message edited by author 2007-05-20 23:19:20.
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05/20/2007 11:07:51 PM · #24 |
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Message edited by author 2007-05-20 23:09:29.
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05/21/2007 12:28:16 AM · #25 |
Originally posted by Telehubbie:
A quick place to go to is start/programs/accessories/system tools/disk cleanup. This will run a program where you can choose to remove any temporary files that are hogging up your hard drive. Also remember that a 70 gig hard drive will loose probably 5 gigs or so due to the formatting of the drive. You can also go to control panel/add remove programs and take out any programs not used anymore. Lots of more options, but this is where I would start. |
Good place to start but while there...
I'm on Vista here and apparently it is different so I am shooting blink...
Restore Points are the biggest hidden killer of space... On the dialog above you should see a more options tab. One of the 3 buttons is Restore or something like that.
If everything is cool on your computer there is a place the delete all but the last good restore point. This will give you G's back of space. By default restore points are set to a percentage of your disk... usually way too much (something like 10 or 15%)
Message edited by author 2007-05-21 00:36:24. |
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