Could this be a virus

  • Thread starter Thread starter gym
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gym

Can anyone help with this one please

My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
have around 35gig free.
I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
supposed to be used up.
I ran CHKDSK and it came up with

CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

I went into MY COMPTER right clicked the Cdrive and ran the error
checker clicking the box marked automatically fix problems, I restarted
the computer, it checked the files then started up again but It did not
free up any of the 45Gig,

Can anyone help with this please.

Kind Regards
 
Can anyone help with this one please

My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
have around 35gig free.
I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
supposed to be used up.
I ran CHKDSK and it came up with

CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

I went into MY COMPTER right clicked the Cdrive and ran the error
checker clicking the box marked automatically fix problems, I restarted
the computer, it checked the files then started up again but It did not
free up any of the 45Gig,

Can anyone help with this please.
Click to expand...

As this MS article points out, there are many reasons why XP with NTFS
might report incorrect amounts of free space:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315688

Art
http://home.epix.net/~artnpeg
 
'gym' wrote, in part:
| My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
| XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
| have around 35gig free.
| I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
| space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
| it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
| supposed to be used up.
_____

Some suggestions:
Make sure that you have the settings in 'Windows Explorer' set to show
system and hidden files.
Download the utility 'SpaceMonger' from
<http://www.werkema.com/software/spacemonger.html> .
I've used it for several years, and it gives a graphical display of your
file organization and sizes. You can zoom in from the entire drive or
partition down to the file level. Sizes and identities are displayed, and
you can delete or rename files and folders from with 'SpaceMonger.' You
should see immediately what is using space on your drives. 'SpaceMonger'
freeware.

Please post in this thread if you need more help, or have a resolution that
may help someone else.

Phil Weldon


| Can anyone help with this one please
|
| My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
| XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
| have around 35gig free.
| I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
| space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
| it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
| supposed to be used up.
| I ran CHKDSK and it came up with
|
| CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
| Windows found problems with the file system.
| Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.
|
| I went into MY COMPTER right clicked the Cdrive and ran the error
| checker clicking the box marked automatically fix problems, I restarted
| the computer, it checked the files then started up again but It did not
| free up any of the 45Gig,
|
| Can anyone help with this please.
|
| Kind Regards
|
 
'gym' wrote, in part:
| My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
| XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
| have around 35gig free.
| I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
| space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
| it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
| supposed to be used up.
_____

I should have added that most viruses take some pains to remain hidden.
Gigabytes of hard drive space gone missing is not your usual virus
signature. You do have an up-to-date antivirus program with up-to-date
virus definitions always running, right? Along with anti-spyware and other
protective measures?

Phil Weldon

| Can anyone help with this one please
|
| I ran CHKDSK and it came up with
|
| CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
| Windows found problems with the file system.
| Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.
|
| I went into MY COMPTER right clicked the Cdrive and ran the error
| checker clicking the box marked automatically fix problems, I restarted
| the computer, it checked the files then started up again but It did not
| free up any of the 45Gig,
|
| Can anyone help with this please.
|
| Kind Regards
|
 
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Can anyone help with this one please

My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
have around 35gig free.
I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
supposed to be used up.
Click to expand...

If you have Java installed you could try JDiskReport:
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

This freeware program will display where your disk space is used and list
the biggest folders/files which may help track down your problem.


HTH


Adam Piggott, Proprietor, Proactive Services (Computing).
http://www.proactiveservices.co.uk/

Please replace dot invalid with dot uk to email me.
Apply personally for PGP public key.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFEbZIm7uRVdtPsXDkRAtO9AJ9n+y7VpwmPIUlQWRYlyUKVeR8TfgCePzDR
UpefQprUonjVyKpolnD50YE=
=BJKH
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
 
gym said:
Can anyone help with this one please

My computer has an 80gig hard drive, I have three accounts set up in
XP, when I check the C drive it tells me that I have used 45Gig and
have around 35gig free.
I have been into Windows explorer, checked the accounts and counted the
space used up by the likes of Windows, program files and the like and
it comes to no more than 15Gig, I cannot find the extra 30Gig that is
supposed to be used up.
I ran CHKDSK and it came up with

CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows found problems with the file system.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

I went into MY COMPTER right clicked the Cdrive and ran the error
checker clicking the box marked automatically fix problems, I restarted
the computer, it checked the files then started up again but It did not
free up any of the 45Gig,

Can anyone help with this please.

Kind Regards
Click to expand...

Check how many restore points you have. If there are many going back weeks
or months, this could be using large amounts of disk space. I usually clear
mine about once a month after a virus and anti spyware scan, as long as
everything is working OK. Then I redo a ghost image of the hard drive.
Paranoid? maybe not enough :-)

Bob
 
Thank you all for your replies
Have downloaded "SpaceMonger" scanned Cdrive, when I add all the
sectors together it stll comes to only around 15Gb but at the top it
shows only 35G free space, on a 80G disk, doesn't add up, unless I am
missing somthing, any ideas please

Thank you
James W
 
Thank you all for your replies
Have downloaded "SpaceMonger" scanned Cdrive, when I add all the
sectors together it stll comes to only around 15Gb but at the top it
shows only 35G free space, on a 80G disk, doesn't add up, unless I am
missing somthing, any ideas please

Thank you
James W
Click to expand...
I may be being dense but: is there a D drive as well?
 
'gym' wrote:
| Thank you all for your replies
| Have downloaded "SpaceMonger" scanned Cdrive, when I add all the
| sectors together it stll comes to only around 15Gb but at the top it
| shows only 35G free space, on a 80G disk, doesn't add up, unless I am
| missing somthing, any ideas please
_____

In 'SpaceMonger', what is the percentage 'free space' reported (that should
be right in the center of the block representing 'free space'.

In addition, use the 'Control Panel' in Windows XP.

In 'Control Panel', double click on 'Computer Management'

Then click on 'Storage' in the left panel

Then double click on 'Disk Management(Local) in the right panel

A list of the drives on your computer will appear.

What drives are listed?

Below the list of drives is a set of bars, one for
each drive.

What is in the bar for 'Disk 0'?
* Does the bar contain just one section
marked 'Healthy' and with a size of about 74.52 GBytes?
* OR
* Does the bar contain more than one
section? If so, what are these sections and descriptions?

In other words, is your 80 GByte hard drive partitioned? Please follow the
procedure and answer these question exactly, even if you think you already
know the answers. The results may immediately give the source of your
'problem', or at least eliminate some possibilities.

Phil Weldon

| Thank you all for your replies
| Have downloaded "SpaceMonger" scanned Cdrive, when I add all the
| sectors together it stll comes to only around 15Gb but at the top it
| shows only 35G free space, on a 80G disk, doesn't add up, unless I am
| missing somthing, any ideas please
|
| Thank you
| James W
|
 
Phil
Free Space reported by Monger 31.3Gb, 42%used

Computer Mangament
Cdrive 74.52Gb NTFS Healthy (one section)
Only other drive is CD drive showing 0 no mecia

Thanks for help

James
 
'gym' wrote:
| Free Space reported by Monger 31.3Gb, 42%used
|
| Computer Mangament
| Cdrive 74.52Gb NTFS Healthy (one section)
| Only other drive is CD drive showing 0 no mecia
_____

You posted 'Free Space reported by Monger 31.3Gb, 42%used'. Is this a typo?
Because the label in the free space block should be something like
( these example numbers are for the 80 Gbyte hard drive formatted for NTFS
that is the C: drive (system) in the computer I am using to post )

<Free Space: 75.5%>
56.2 Gb Free
Files Total: 127192
Folders Total: 8549

Is the display you actually get

<Free Space: 42%>
31.3 Gb free

rather than what you posted

'Free Space reported by Monger 31.3 GB, 42% used'?

The numbers you actually posted indicate that 31.3 GBytes is used and 31.3
GBytes is free, with (74.5 - 31.3 - 31.3) = 1l.9 GBytes not accounted.


If you have an 80 Gbyte hard drive most likely the formated size for NTFS is
74.5 Gbytes. The unused portion is reported as 31.3 GBytes, 42 % of 74.5
GBytes, indicating that 43.2 GBytes, 58 % of 74.5 GBytes IS used.

The 'Show hidden and system files' box in the 'View' tab of 'Folder Options'
in Windows Explorer must be checked.

* Now for some checks with 'Space Monger':

Click on the 'Free Space' button at the top of the 'Space Monger'
screen so that file blocks fill the entire window, with no free space shown.

The area of blocks represent the proportion of used hard
drive space the folders occupy.

Two blocks should be bigger than the rest:
'Program Files'
'Windows' (if that is the name of the folder for
your Windows XP installation)

If you let the mouse pointer hover over the block that
encloses the folder the total size of that folder with all its included
folders will be displayed. If you right click on the block, a property
sheet will appear

Hover the mouse pointer over the 'Windows' block; it should
be a few GBytes (I have a 'Windows' folder that includes much more than the
average installation and its size is 3 GBytes.)

Hover the mouse pointer over the 'Program Files' block; it
should be a few GBytes unless you have games and game demos installed there
(one game installation can use more than 1 GByte of drive space (again,
using my system as an example, my 'Program Files' is 7 GBytes.

Other large blocks for your system should be
'Documents and Settings' (perhaps many GBytes, includes
Outlook, Outlook Express, and Internet Explorer data along with 'My
Documents'
'pagefile.sys' ( ~ 1 GByte or more)
'hiberfile.sys', may not be present ( ~ 1 GByte {equal
to installed RAM + Display memory})
Some programs that may have been installed outside of
'Program Files'.
These four or five large blocks plus programs installed in other folders
should contain almost all the used space on your hard drive. If the total
agrees with what you have added up before,

THEN



Have you contacted technical support at the manufacturer of your system?

If so, and have no resolution at this point all I can suggest is the
Microsoft Knowledge Base article suggested by 'Art' earlier in this thread.

If you can't resolve the problem with that information, then
#1. Keep in mind that there may be some very simple explanation that
you don't see, and that, not being at the computer, we can't see (in which
case a good computer repair shop might be the best way to a solution.
#2. If your hard drive is otherwise healthy, and you are not too
pressed for free space (which you are not at the moment), then you could
just ignore the problem while checking for new clues from time to time with
a Google search or posts to this newsgroup.
#3. It is possible that your hard drive may have a problem ( a VERY
large percentage of bad clusters) that may get worse (try to obtain a hard
drive diagnostic program from the manufacturer of your hard drive.
#4. Ultimately, you could try backing up the entire drive, then
a. on the original C: drive, delete all the folders but the
system folder (usually named 'Windows'), defrag the result, and then check
the free space.

IF space is still missing
b. consider
(1.) purchase a new hard drive and restore the backup to
this new hard drive
(2.) reformat your original C: drive, then do a clean
install of Windows XP, followed by all the Windows XP updates and patches,
followed by all your anti-malware programs, followed by all your
applications, followed by all the data from your backup.

It all depends on what your time is worth to you and how painful the cost of
a new drive.

On the plus side
a. you may be able to get an in-warranty replacement drive
b. the cost per GByte for hard drives continues to fall rapidly; as
examples, 250 GByte hard drives can be had in the USA for under $200 US
(plus an average 6% - 7% State/County/City sales tax, no tax on Internet
purchases) and 80 GByte hard drives can be found on sale for as little as
$40 US.

If you do end up with a new drive, then if a thorough check of the original
C: drive reveals no defects, then you can use that drive for backups.

(The system I am using to post this message is where my older drives get a
new life: one 80 GByte hard drive, two 40 GByte hard drives in RAID 0, and
two 40 GByte hard drives. I use one 40 GByte hard drive for data storage
{other than music and digital images}, the 80 Gbyte hard drive as the C:
system drive, and the 80 GByte RAID 0 for music and digital images, and the
40 GByte drive to back up data other than music. The rationale for larger
and larger drives is broadband and digital imaging devices and content - it
would otherwise be hard for most users to justify even a 40 GByte hard
drive. I use Napster music service ($9.95 US per month) and have 7500 tunes
downloaded, requiring 40 GBytes storage space and my digital camera produces
RAW files of 13 MBytes per image (or ~ 3 MBytes for high quality jpeg.)

I must say that in the course of using personal computers since 1981,
installing several hundred hard drives, and using the NTFS file sysem since
Windows NT 3.51 I have never run across the problem you present.

The first hard drive I bought cost $500 US for 5 MBytes! And the first hard
drive I used ( 7.24 MByte IBM disk drive with 14 inch diameter platters,
removable) leased for ~ $1000 US per month, equivalent to ~ $6000 US in
2006.

Sorry to be so long winded but I wanted to give you some background that may
help you solve the problem yourself, especially if you have trouble getting
an in-warranty replacement.

Good luck, and please let us know the outcome; it should be interesting.

Phil Weldon

| Phil
| Free Space reported by Monger 31.3Gb, 42%used
|
| Computer Mangament
| Cdrive 74.52Gb NTFS Healthy (one section)
| Only other drive is CD drive showing 0 no mecia
|
| Thanks for help
|
| James
|
 
Phil

Spacemonger report on Cdrive

In Grey area
<Free Space 42.1%>

31.4 Gb Free
Files Total 82827
Folders total 6984

Large pink areas
Documents and Settings 11.9% 8.8Gb
Windows 4.1% 3.0 Gb
Recycler 3.5% 2.6Gb


Program Files 3.0% 2.2Gb
SWSetup 1.8% 1.3Gb

Could turning off System Restore like Bob suggested earlier help,

Cheers
James
 
'James' wrote, in part:
| Could turning off System Restore like Bob suggested earlier help
_____

No, turning off 'System Restore' won't account for 30 GBytes of missing
capacity because 'System Restore' points can't total more than 12% of the
total capacity of the hard drive ( in your case ~ 9 GBytes.) 'System
Restore' has a setting for the maximum amount of disk capacity it is allowed
to use; the default (and maximum) setting is 12%. When that limit is
reached the oldest restore points are purged to make room for any new
restore points.

'System Restore Points' are saved in the 'System Volume Information' folder.
This folder has an extra layer of protection. If you get access to the
'System Volume Information' folder you can see its size, as well as that of
each restore point in Windows Explorer and 'Space Monger'.

Phil Weldon


| Phil
|
| Spacemonger report on Cdrive
|
| In Grey area
| <Free Space 42.1%>
|
| 31.4 Gb Free
| Files Total 82827
| Folders total 6984
|
| Large pink areas
| Documents and Settings 11.9% 8.8Gb
| Windows 4.1% 3.0 Gb
| Recycler 3.5% 2.6Gb
|
|
| Program Files 3.0% 2.2Gb
| SWSetup 1.8% 1.3Gb
|
| Could turning off System Restore like Bob suggested earlier help,
|
| Cheers
| James
|
 
I NOW HAVE 54G OF FREE SPACE AND ONLY 20 USED

How did this happen, I switched off System Restore, and rebooted, that
was it.

First of all I tried to Restore the computer to a point two months ago,
it took an hour and a half to do this, when I opened up the new point I
had only 10% FREE space left, I quickly undid last Restore point, when
I arrived back to where I started I had only 12% Free, so, switched off
system restore and all is well, fingers crossed,
I am no expert but I have a niggle that the problem had something to do
with iTunes, I could be totally wrong, just a feeling.
Thank you all for replies and help.

That problem was on the kid's laptop, my desktop has an 80G hard
drive but it is partitioned, unlike the laptop,
it has a Cdrive, dackup drive and recovery drive, C drive is nearly
full, is there a simple way to make the Cdrive larger and the backup
smaller?
Thanks again
 
I NOW HAVE 54G OF FREE SPACE AND ONLY 20 USED

How did this happen, I switched off System Restore, and rebooted, that
was it.

First of all I tried to Restore the computer to a point two months ago,
it took an hour and a half to do this, when I opened up the new point I
had only 10% FREE space left, I quickly undid last Restore point, when
I arrived back to where I started I had only 12% Free, so, switched off
system restore and all is well, fingers crossed,
I am no expert but I have a niggle that the problem had something to do
with iTunes, I could be totally wrong, just a feeling.
Thank you all for replies and help.

That problem was on the kid's laptop, my desktop has an 80G hard
drive but it is partitioned, unlike the laptop,
it has a Cdrive, dackup drive and recovery drive, C drive is nearly
full, is there a simple way to make the Cdrive larger and the backup
smaller?
Click to expand...

Perhaps taking a serious look at your backup strategy would avoid
that problem and also afford far more reliable backups. You should
be using removeable media for backup rather than extra partitions.
You also might want to consider not including data files such as large
multimedia files on the same partition as Windows + Programs. That
way you won't have to be concerned about eventually running
out of file space on that partition as is happening to you now. Keep
your data files stored on removeable media where they'll be safe
from a hard drive failure disaster. The same goes for backing up
your Windows + Programs partiton. That partition can be cloned
to a backup hard drive which is not accessable during normal use.
You shouldn't have more than just a few gig of Windows + Programs
to keep separate and separately backed up.

If you do it right, you can free up all kinds of space on your working
drive and have a far more reliable backup system to boot.

Art
http://home.epix.net/~artnpeg
 
'gym' wrote, in part:
| I NOW HAVE 54G OF FREE SPACE AND ONLY 20 USED
|
| How did this happen, I switched off System Restore, and rebooted, that
| was it.
_____

Congratulations!

I still don't see how switching off 'System Restore' could free up so much
more space than 'System Restore' is allowed to use.
SOMETHING seems to have stuffed an extra 20 GBytes into the 'System Volume
Information' folder.

Just a guess, but is it possible that the machine has some kind of P2P file
sharing program operating? One that is being tricky? If so, the 'System
Volume Information' folder may begin growing again.

If it does, you can gain access to the 'System Volume Information' folder
(normally you can't even get a properties sheet to show the size) by
following the directions at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531 .
Some P2P applications may store data for sharing in the 'System Volume
Information' folder and some 'Trojan' infections associated with P2P
applications do the same. So now we have come full circle. If the
unaccounted for spaces begins to grow again, try accessing the 'System
Volume Information' folder; it should have two files ( 'tracking.log' and
the empty file 'MountPointManagerRemoteDatabase' plus a folder
'_restore{unique identifier}'. The folder has a few files (including
'fifo.log' which lists all the restore points than have been purged) and a
folder for each 'Restore Point' still available.

Thanks for posting your success. Please post again if the situation repeats
(I suspect it will.)

Phil Weldon

| I NOW HAVE 54G OF FREE SPACE AND ONLY 20 USED
|
| How did this happen, I switched off System Restore, and rebooted, that
| was it.
|
| First of all I tried to Restore the computer to a point two months ago,
| it took an hour and a half to do this, when I opened up the new point I
| had only 10% FREE space left, I quickly undid last Restore point, when
| I arrived back to where I started I had only 12% Free, so, switched off
| system restore and all is well, fingers crossed,
| I am no expert but I have a niggle that the problem had something to do
| with iTunes, I could be totally wrong, just a feeling.
| Thank you all for replies and help.
|
| That problem was on the kid's laptop, my desktop has an 80G hard
| drive but it is partitioned, unlike the laptop,
| it has a Cdrive, dackup drive and recovery drive, C drive is nearly
| full, is there a simple way to make the Cdrive larger and the backup
| smaller?
| Thanks again
|
 
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