BleepingComputer.com: Computer hard drive says no space - why?

Broni, on 25 May 2011 - 11:57 AM, said:

True. But sometimes it changes quite a lot.

I did add up program sizes and file sizes a while back and it was roughly right for what it said, but then I deleted a lot and for some reason ended up with a lot less space despite the fact I haven't downloaded or saved anything else.

What do you have on the D partition? If you have a USB memory stick of sufficient capacity, you should be able to save the existing contents of that partition to it. Next, follow the instructions here http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2668-partition-volume-delete.html to delete the existing D partition and then http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2670-partition-volume-extend.html to extend the existing C partition into the now empty space. If you wish, you can make a new D partition by shrinking the C drive (which should now occupy the full capacity of the drive) by following the instructions here http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2672-partition-volume-shrink.html and choosing a suitable size.

For reference, here is Bleeping's own Tutorial: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/shrink-and-extend-ntfs-volumes-in-windows/

This post has been edited by Dwarf: 25 May 2011 - 12:22 PM

Dwarf, on 25 May 2011 - 12:07 PM, said:

Nothing really, just a few small files that the computer itself has placed there. Most of it is just random letters rather than proper file names so I've no idea what it is. I've never done anything with it.

I apparently have about 9GB of programs (looking at add/remove programs). I've moved over about 4.5GB of files, which is all the files I have stored. But 4.5GB of space still isn't much and the bar above where it says the GB free is red instead of green so I guess my computer isn't happy that it is so full. I don't know what's taking up the rest of the space.

Clean out the temporary Internet files & delete all system restore points except the last one.
System restore points & temp files can take up a considerable amount of space.

Turn system restore off. Let it clear the restore points then turn it back on
See here for instructions.

Then go to control panel - Internet options & delete the browsing history.
See how much space you have then.

Any pics or music that can be relocated?
Any games that can be uninstalled?

Do not relocate any programs as they will no longer work!

Eyesee, on 25 May 2011 - 12:53 PM, said:

I do clean out temp internet files quite often. I clicked on System Restore and it came up with a window saying "No restore points have been created on your computer's system disk." I went through the control panel and clicked Backup and Restore Center. Is there any other way to view the list or is what it says there correct and I have no restore points? In which case, why do I have no restore points as I haven't turned system restore off?

As for files, I have moved them all now. I have left programs where they are and have already uninstalled all unused programs/games.

Well, you can't move anything else, then you need to get bigger drive.

Broni, on 25 May 2011 - 02:39 PM, said:

The drive is big enough though. The programs and files are what I used to have on, but I used to have loads of space. There's something now taking up space that didn't used to be there only I don't know what.

Download and run treesize to see where the space is being used.
http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml

lol some people cant be helped sorry for being honest but i have always done what was asked in these forums and have never been led stray. The people on here are eager to help and their advice is as professional or better than any computer shop.

I'm glad, I didn't have to say that

pachm, on 25 May 2011 - 08:51 PM, said:

I said right from the start that I was sure there was nothing wrong with the download. I wasn't doubting anyones solution, I simply said my computer didn't like the download and I'm not risking doing something it doesn't want to as I've had problems in the past after doing so. It's why I asked for a different way to find the solution - being experts I figured if anyone knew a way it'd be you guys here. I have 3 messed up computers/laptop already, I don't wish to have another. Not one person on here could help with my laptop after it did some weird things. I got told to download many things, none of which helped and most of which were never needed as they were other ways of finding out the info needed.

Downloading and going against what my computer says seems to cause a lot of problems. And somehow they all end up with more on the hard drive than what they started with despite removing files and only having the programs I used to have on(although this is by far the worst I've seen) so I figured there must be some common reason as the drives used to be big enough and still seemingly have the same data on.

So sorry if I don't seem like I'm grateful for your help cuz I am and I'm not doubting any of you. It's my computer I don't trust as it does some weird things for no reason and sometimes things such as a simple download can crash it.

Here are your options:

1) Follow the advice and instructions offered

2) Don't follow the advice and instructions offered

It's your system and it's your choice. One thing I can assure you, if you do follow Broni's advice and suggestions you have a much better shot at solving your problem than if you don't.

Allan, on 26 May 2011 - 11:49 AM, said:

I know and I did follow his advice, I just needed a slightly different way to give him the information. I wish my computers didn't do weird things, but all of them do so I just like to be more careful now as I don't want another dead/almost useless computer. My computers don't seem to follow the normal rules. I mean, I have a suicidal laptop that randomly fixes major problems so long as you leave it in a certain room and I'd love to know why.

Snozboz ?

The drive you have appears to have been partitioned to appear as two drives, thats C and D.
Everything you have is on c: although the system may be putting temporary files and some of the pagefile on D
To get more space on C you need to move user files from C to D. That should be anything in the my documents folder, and in particular pictures and music files because they are the largest files.

Remember that anything deleted that is still in the Trash Bin is still counted as used disk space. You have to empty the bin to remove it fully. If you run disk cleanup (from accessories, system tools) it will show how much space is in use by temp files, trash bin, etc. Could you run that and post the figures ? , you dont need to delete anything yet.

The disk space will vary simply from the page file changing size as the computer is running.

I would suggest you look at your My Pictures folder and see how much space it is using, then My Music and see how much space it says to begin with. Open My Documents in windows explorer and right click on the folder, select properties (general tab) to get the disk space. Please post those numbers.

I appreciate that you have enough concerns that you dont want to add more, but you can do some things with just your own system tools.

This post has been edited by markr9: 30 May 2011 - 01:37 PM