Low disk space

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stan
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Stan

Sister-in-laws laptop (XP Pro) getting low disk space and low virtual memory
messages.

6gig HDD, I uninstalled 3 apps totaling nearly 800 MB but C: properties
(there's just one partition) lists no change in free space. (71MB free).
Addendum: Virtual mem increased now down to 9 MB free space.

Did manage to run 2 online virus scans, (can't update AVG not enough free
space) and a updated Spybot s&d, and no malware found.

I'm currently trying to find a diagnostics for this Toshiba HDD but just
started looking.

Can't defrag not enough free space.

Error checking reports: 10152 bytes free.

Sys info reports: Total VM 2GB
Available VM 1.96 GB
Page file space 386.82 MB (system managed)

Windows folder size= 4.04 GB
Size on disk= 4.08 GB

Program Files folder = 521 MB
528 MB

Anyone know why the 800 MB doesn't show as free space?
 
Stan said:
Sister-in-laws laptop (XP Pro) getting low disk space and low virtual memory
messages.

6gig HDD, I uninstalled 3 apps totaling nearly 800 MB but C: properties
(there's just one partition) lists no change in free space. (71MB free).
Addendum: Virtual mem increased now down to 9 MB free space.

Did manage to run 2 online virus scans, (can't update AVG not enough free
space) and a updated Spybot s&d, and no malware found.

I'm currently trying to find a diagnostics for this Toshiba HDD but just
started looking.

Can't defrag not enough free space.

Error checking reports: 10152 bytes free.

Sys info reports: Total VM 2GB
Available VM 1.96 GB
Page file space 386.82 MB (system managed)

Windows folder size= 4.04 GB
Size on disk= 4.08 GB

Program Files folder = 521 MB
528 MB

Anyone know why the 800 MB doesn't show as free space?
Click to expand...

Have you reviewed the software in usage on the computer ?

Is there something like Norton GoBack ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_GoBack

*******

In terms of reviewing what is currently on the disk, you can
use a graphical tool such as SequoiaView.

http://w3.win.tue.nl/nl/onderzoek/onderzoek_informatica/visualization/sequoiaview//

http://www.win.tue.nl/cgi-bin/usr/sequoia/download3.cgi

ftp://ftp.win.tue.nl/pub/home/sequoia/Sequoia1_3XPInstall.exe

(AV scan of the installer)
http://www.virustotal.com/reanalisi...973fd842b46545db6ffa7c4d0f4346ab83-1270865559

Perhaps you'll be able to spot some usage of the disk that is
relatively large in the graphical display. I use SequoiaView
for spotting "file hogs" on my C: partition.

*******

The Process Monitor tool, is supposed to be able to watch file system activity.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

In the example here, you can see the usage of the File Summary, to get
some idea of what was going on.

http://ask-leo.com/i_have_constant_..._how_can_i_tell_what_program_is_doing_it.html

There used to be a tool called FileMon, which concentrated on files,
but that has been replaced by ProcMon. I found it slightly easier
to get FileMon to produce useful output. In ProcMon, when you start
the program, a "Filter" dialog will pop up. Add an entry to that,
which says "Operation" "Is" "WriteFile". The WriteFile item is at the
very end of a long menu. Once you apply at least one filter
condition in that dialog, and commence capture, then you'll see
a log of ongoing activity. If there are multiple green entries, they
might all be in effect at the same time. You can add or remove them,
in the Filter dialog.

What I'd be looking for on ProcMon is:

1) Remove a small file from the system. (Toss in wastebasket)
2) Let ProcMon capture activity while you're deleting that item
from the wastebasket.
3) Some process on the computer will be watching for blank space
to appear, before it starts writing again.
4) Give it some time, and then stop the trace (control-E) in ProcMon and
see what ended up doing writes to the file system. That process
could be the thing using up the disk.

ProcMon produces tons of data, and so the trick is filtering it
effectively. It took me quite a while, to figure out the filter
event I was looking for (to emulate FileMon) was the Operation one.

It may take you more than one attempt, to track down the culprit.
For example, maybe "WriteFile" is not the way that the space is
getting eaten.

There is another program, called Handle, that is supposed to show what
files are open. So the sysinternals pages do have a wealth of
tracing tools of one sort or another. (Sysinternals was bought by
Microsoft, and the two principle staff members now work for Microsoft.)
I hope you find a solution, before you run out of files to discard :-)

If you go to the System control panel, you might try disabling System
Restore if it is currently enabled. That could be used as a way to free
up some space. The space used for that, is in C:\System Volume Information.
Mine currently has about 2.6GB in it. Of course, a "rabid writer"
will quickly eat up the freed space, so I expect this will only help
you the one time. System Restore is a useful function, and I don't expect
on such a small drive, that the space used amounts to much.

HTH,
Paul
 
Stan said:
Sister-in-laws laptop (XP Pro) getting low disk space and low virtual memory
messages.

6gig HDD, I uninstalled 3 apps totaling nearly 800 MB but C: properties
(there's just one partition) lists no change in free space. (71MB free).
Addendum: Virtual mem increased now down to 9 MB free space.
Click to expand...

Do you really mean 6GB, or is that a typo?

If you are running XP Pro on a 6GB HD, then your real problem is that
the HD is way to small. I suggest getting a large new HD, possibly
wrapped up in a new laptop.
 
Start > Run. %temp%
Delete all files found (some may be in use)
Internet Options
Delete all temp files, & set temp size to 50mb
But at the end of the day the HD is too small, I find it hard to believe
your Tosh was originally supplied with winxp
 
Stan said:
Sister-in-laws laptop (XP Pro) getting low disk space and low
virtual memory messages.

6gig HDD, I uninstalled 3 apps totaling nearly 800 MB but C:
properties (there's just one partition) lists no change in free
space. (71MB free). Addendum: Virtual mem increased now down to 9
MB free space.
Did manage to run 2 online virus scans, (can't update AVG not
enough free space) and a updated Spybot s&d, and no malware found.

I'm currently trying to find a diagnostics for this Toshiba HDD but
just started looking.

Can't defrag not enough free space.

Error checking reports: 10152 bytes free.

Sys info reports: Total VM 2GB
Available VM 1.96 GB
Page file space 386.82 MB (system managed)

Windows folder size= 4.04 GB
Size on disk= 4.08 GB

Program Files folder = 521 MB
528 MB

Anyone know why the 800 MB doesn't show as free space?
Click to expand...

Windows XP and other applications can take (easily) between 4.5GB and 9GB.
I would not suggest anyone with a drive smaller than 20GB even attempt to
run a full featured version of Windows XP and install anything else of
significance.

In any case - you say you uninstalled what was reported as using 800MB and
you gained nothing...? Perhaps the hibernation file quickly filled the gap
and/or the pagefile? Coud be that they were already super-small because of
the sad size of the drive and they had room suddenly.

Although I don't believe you will be doing much with 6GB of space, here is
what I can suggest:

Uninstall AVG. Uninstall Spybot Search and Destroy.
Install Avira AntiVir. Install MalwareBytes.

Download/install the "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility":
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN
(no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your keyboard)
--> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"..

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

You can turn off hibernation if it is on and you don't use it..

When you hibernate your computer, Windows saves the contents of the system's
memory to the hiberfil.sys file. As a result, the size of the hiberfil.sys
file will always equal the amount of physical memory in your system. If you
don't use the hibernate feature and want to recapture the space that Windows
uses for the hiberfil.sys file, perform the following steps:

- Start the Control Panel Power Options applet (go to Start, Settings,
Control Panel, and click Power Options).
- Select the Hibernate tab, clear the "Enable hibernation" check box, then
click OK; although you might think otherwise, selecting Never under the
"System hibernates" option on the Power Schemes tab doesn't delete the
hiberfil.sys file.
- Windows will remove the "System hibernates" option from the Power Schemes
tab and delete the hiberfil.sys file.

You can control how much space your System Restore can use...

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Highlight one of your drives (or C: if you only have one) and click on
the "Settings" button.
4. Change the percentage of disk space you wish to allow.. I suggest moving
the slider until you have just about 1GB (1024MB or close to that...)
5. Click OK.. Then Click OK again.

You can control how much space your Temporary Internet Files can utilize...

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 64MB and 128MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 64MB and 128MB. (It may be MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.

You can use an application that scans your system for log files and
temporary files and use that to get rid of those:

Ccleaner (Free!)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Other ways to free up space..

JDiskReport
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/index.html

SequoiaView
http://www.win.tue.nl/sequoiaview/

Those can help you visually discover where all the space is being used.

You should now perform a full CHKDSK on your system drive (C:)...

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

You should now perform a full Defragment on your system drive (C:)...

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Uninstall any and all third-party firewall applications (ZoneAlarm, etc)
and utilize the built-in Windows Firewall only.
 
Dumped temp files already; file size is 50 MB.

It's an old computer given to her, came with WIN98. Fellow that gave it to
her put XP on it. (For Paul, yes I mean 6 GB)
Yeah, new computer is in order but money is scarce for sister-in-law.
 
Shenan,
most of what you suggest is already done. Hibernate and restore have been
turned off by Windows itself.

I did lower Temp Internet file size to100.

I'll try installer cleaner if I can get it down loaded at all.

AVG wants to make a back up before uninstalling and there's no space so AVG
objects and stops. Maybe there's away to turn the backup feature off.

I'm aware of deleting $uninstall files but have not done so yet.

Well, let me try some of your and Paul's suggestions and I'll get back.
 
it must be a pretty old
laptop.

time to get a larger
hard drive and move
all the personal files
off the internal drive.

in doing so you will
free up space.

or you can also upload
personal files to
microsoft's skydrive
website for free.

it provides 5 gigs
of free space.

another free website
is microsoft's office
live in which office
type files can also
be stored for free
and accessible
via the file menu option
in any office programs.

and yet there is one
more option and that
is to move personal
files to a usb memory
stick.

sticks are pretty large
and can hold much of
what is stored on that
small internal hard
disk.

however, sticks are
volatile and are risky
to store data on them
for long periods.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- Microsoft Partner
- @hotmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~"share the nirvana" - dbZen
 
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