Low disk space on drive C:

  • Thread starter Thread starter aztodd
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A

aztodd

I have two 120 gb hd's. with 16 gb of 1 hd dedicated to the c:.

Other than Fdisk and reformating...is there anyway to increase the siz
alooted to the c:?

Thank yo
 
Sure, get a third party partition program, like Partition Magic, or BootNG,
or whatever.
 
First use Windows 'Disk Cleanup' to create more space on your C: drive.
Description of the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Next: Empty the Recycle Bin.

You can also free up more disk space by reducing
the number of 'System Restore' points:
Select Start/Control Panel/System, then in the System Properties window
click on the System Restore tab.
Next select the drive letter where Windows is installed (usually C:),
Then click on the Setting button
Now in the Drive Settings window move the Disk space usage slider to the
left to reduce the amount of drive space System Restore points will use.
This will remove some of the older restore points and free up some space.

Disable Hibernation and delete hiberfil.sys file (If you have it enabled):
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...sys-hibernation-file-in-windows-xp-and-vista/
and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/hibernate.mspx

Next if you still need more space:
Remove the files used to uninstall updates to Windows
These folders and associated files in these folders are safe to remove,
however once deleted you will no longer be able to un-install a patch or
update that was associated with the deleted folder/files.
I would keep the most recent set (last two months just in case) of folders
and delete the older updates.
As a safety net I burned these folders to a CD before deleting them.
These files are located in the Windows folder and have folder names
like $NtUninstallKBXXXXXX$.
They are hidden folders so enable viewing of hidden files in Windows
Explorer.
Warning: One folder you should not delete is: $hf_mig$
Also See Doug Knox's page on this issue:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm

Finally - You can reduce the size of the Internet Explorer Disk Cache:
How and Why to Clear Your Cache:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/customizing/clearcache.mspx
Just follow the instructs but instead of increasing the size (as stated in
the article) decrease it.

If you have more than one partition or drive then:
How to Change the Default Location of Mail and News Folders:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175037

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
(Example: move it to the D drive)
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310147
Also:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

How to move the Spool folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q308666

JS
 
As Bill suggests - XP Disk Management will not extend a system/boot
partition - to extend C requires a third-party utility- takes two steps
first you must create "free space" must be created followed by partition
extension.
 
I have two 120 gb hd's. with 16 gb of 1 hd dedicated to the c:.

Other than Fdisk and reformating...is there anyway to increase the size
alooted to the c:?
Click to expand...


Not natively. Unfortunately, no version of Windows before Vista
provides any way of changing the existing partition structure of the
drive nondestructively. The only way to do what you want is with
third-party software. Partition Magic is the best-known such program,
but there are freeware/shareware alternatives. One such program is
BootIt Next Generation. It's shareware, but comes with a free 30-day
trial, so you should be able to do what you want within that 30 days.
I haven't used it myself (because I've never needed to use *any* such
program), but it comes highly recommended by several other MVPs here.

Whatever software you use, make sure you have a good backup before
beginning. Although there's no reason to expect a problem, things
*can* go wrong.
 
I have two 120 gb hd's. with 16 gb of 1 hd dedicated to the c:.

Other than Fdisk and reformating...is there anyway to increase the size
alooted to the c:?

Thank you
Click to expand...

That requires you to make images of your C: and D: drive. Format and
re-partition. A much better way it to remove Program from Drive C: and install
them on D: or elsewhere but you can also

Change Paging File Size
As the Administrator, right click My Computer.
In System Properties click Advanced. Click Perfomance
Settings. In Performance Options click Advanced/Change

Now you can change C:to 500Mb and you must then allow
another partition preferabley on the same drive to
carry paging files around 2000MB. In my case I have E:
with 2000MB and F: on another drive with 2000MB more.
Easy when you know how. In my case I recovered the 2GB
on C: drive which made the machine run a lot faster.

B|rge in sunny Perth, Australia
 
I have an external 120 GB hd that I could use and FDISK and reformat if
necessary, or is it best to use one of the programs suggested?
 
If you want to KEEP what you have, you'll have to use a third party program
(for repartitioning). If you don't care about that, then it doesn't
matter.
 
THANK YOU...I will look at the 3rd party softwares that you suggested.

Thanks again,

Todd
 
That requires you to make images of your C: and D: drive. Format and
re-partition. A much better way it to remove Program from Drive C: and install
them on D: or elsewhere but you can also

Change Paging File Size
As the Administrator, right click My Computer.
In System Properties click Advanced. Click Perfomance
Settings. In Performance Options click Advanced/Change

Now you can change C:to 500Mb and you must then allow
another partition preferabley on the same drive to
carry paging files around 2000MB. In my case I have E:
with 2000MB and F: on another drive with 2000MB more.
Easy when you know how. In my case I recovered the 2GB
on C: drive which made the machine run a lot faster.

B|rge in sunny Perth, Australia
Click to expand...


For the purpose of recovering space on your C: Drive, you should change the
Location of the Paging File. I can take as much as 2 GB on the partition where
you should only have the Operating System.

To change Paging File Location. As the Administrator, right click My Computer.
In System Properties click Advanced. Click Performance Settings. In Performance
Options click Advanced/Change

Now you can change C:to 500Mb and you must then allow a partition preferably on
another disk to carry a Paging file of about 2GB ie 2000MB.
In my case I recovered the 2GB on C: drive which made the machine run a lot
faster.

B|rge in sunny Perth, Australia
 
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