Strange "Low Disk Space" Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter A. Stavrakoglou
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Peter A. Stavrakoglou

Running WinXP Pro with 1024 megs of RAM. The only thing installed on
my 6 gig "C" partition is Windows and anything else that installs
there by default. All apps are installed on another partition as well
as storage of all documents, mp3s, photos, etc. I leave my PC running
during the day. When I return home from the office and begin to use
the system there is a low disk-space warning and I find that I only
have about 15 megs of free space. Running any kind of disk clean
utility will only free up a few megs. I keep no temporary internet
files, those are cleaned by WindowWasher after each use of IE. I have
disabled System Restore. As soon as I reboot, 2 gigs of space is
freed on my "C" partition. After leaving the system running the next
day, I return from the office to find the same problem.

I have two apps running in systray all the time - AV and scanner
utility. Anyone ever seen this problem before? I have not and I have
been using XP Pro since it's release. I cannot pinpoint any recent
installation of any software that would cause a problem like this.
 
Peter said:
Running WinXP Pro with 1024 megs of RAM. The only thing installed on
my 6 gig "C" partition is Windows and anything else that installs
there by default. All apps are installed on another partition as well
as storage of all documents, mp3s, photos, etc. I leave my PC running
during the day. When I return home from the office and begin to use
the system there is a low disk-space warning and I find that I only
have about 15 megs of free space. Running any kind of disk clean
utility will only free up a few megs. I keep no temporary internet
files, those are cleaned by WindowWasher after each use of IE. I have
disabled System Restore. As soon as I reboot, 2 gigs of space is
freed on my "C" partition. After leaving the system running the next
day, I return from the office to find the same problem.

I have two apps running in systray all the time - AV and scanner
utility. Anyone ever seen this problem before? I have not and I have
been using XP Pro since it's release. I cannot pinpoint any recent
installation of any software that would cause a problem like this.
Click to expand...

I suspect your paging file, pagefile.sys, at the root of C:\ is probably
about 3GB maximum size with that amount of physical RAM.
R-click My Computer|Properties|Advanced tab|Performance|Settings
button|Advanced tab|Virtual memory|Change button| Choose Custom size. Set
the minimum to 100MB. Set the maximum to 1050 MB. *Press set* Press Apply,
then OK twice. Reboot.
 
S.Heenan said:
I suspect your paging file, pagefile.sys, at the root of C:\ is probably
about 3GB maximum size with that amount of physical RAM.
R-click My Computer|Properties|Advanced tab|Performance|Settings
button|Advanced tab|Virtual memory|Change button| Choose Custom size. Set
the minimum to 100MB. Set the maximum to 1050 MB. *Press set* Press Apply,
then OK twice. Reboot.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try.
 
Peter said:
Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try.
Click to expand...


No problem. You may need to enable viewing of hidden and system files to see
pagefile.sys.
Control Panel|Folder Options|View tab|Put a dot beside Show hidden files and
folders.Remove the check mark beside Hide Extensions of Known file types and
Hide Protected Operating System files. Press Apply then OK.
 
Ed Light said:
Might perform better to first defrag, then set it at 300Mb minimum.
Click to expand...

Usually what I do is disable Virtual Memory completely, reboot, defrag, then
set the new pagefile. Read it in a tech mag somewhere a few years back for
Win98 Optimizing but should apply to any Win OS.
 
Usually what I do is disable Virtual Memory completely, reboot, defrag,
then
set the new pagefile. Read it in a tech mag somewhere a few years back for
Win98 Optimizing but should apply to any Win OS.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I thought that might result in a non-boot.
 
Ed Light said:
Interesting. I thought that might result in a non-boot.
Click to expand...

For me, it never has.. Done it this way on several systems and most recently
on my WinXP box w/only 256MB of ram.
 
I just noted this thread, as it has been a long time, but it is better toreplace the disk with a larger disk by 3rd party software, like AOMEI Partition Assistant, and then clone your old system disk to a new larger disk. There are two ways to replace the old system disk, only migrate the OS to the new disk:http://www.extend-partition.com/help/migrate-system-wizard.htmlthe other way:http://www.extend-partition.com/help/clone-hard-disk.html
Click to expand...

Running less space for a disk than he was.

Helps to know what the OS is doing, too....

http://www.xteq.com/
 
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