Member Avatar for tapped

I need a program or a way to find used space on my harddrive. The folders that I can see accumulate to about half of my HD space. Right now it shows that I have about a 1 GB of space left. I have looked in My Docs, Doc and Settings, Program Files, and etc, but I cant find where all my space has gone, PLEASE HELP!!!

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Dani AI

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Several useful suggestions already appear in the thread — flagged hidden files, and pointed toward visual disk maps, and and highlighted directory-size checks and temp/virtual-memory artifacts. The checklist below builds on those ideas with a few lesser-known places and safe, practical steps that commonly explain "missing" space on Windows 2000 / XP systems.

Show hidden and protected system files (Folder Options -> View) and examine each drive root for large hidden files such as the pagefile and the hibernation file. Check the Recycle Bin size for each volume and run Disk Cleanup from the drive Properties. Use Disk Cleanup’s More Options to remove old System Restore points (this often frees a lot of space without touching user data). Look inside C:\Windows\Temp and the per-user Local Settings\Temp folders for accumulated files and browser caches.

Investigate the System Restore / Shadow Copy storage (it lives in the System Volume Information folder) and consider temporarily disabling System Restore to reclaim space if appropriate. Run a filesystem check to repair orphaned or lost clusters that can hide space:

chkdsk C: /f

Also verify whether the pagefile size is set very large (System Properties -> Advanced -> Performance -> Settings -> Advanced -> Virtual Memory) and adjust if needed. For a readable folder-size breakdown, a small disk-usage utility or the command-line disk-usage tool from the Sysinternals suite gives a quick top-level report without deleting anything.

Caution: avoid deleting unfamiliar system files. Back up important data before major changes. These steps usually reveal the largest culprits (hidden system files, restore points, temp caches, or oversized pagefile/hibernation). If space still cannot be accounted for, a low-level scan from rescue media or a detailed top-folder size report is the next appropriate diagnostic.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for HoustonIT

Have you changed the setting to view hidden files?

Member Avatar for Phong

I use a little program I found called SpaceMonger to see visually where my space is being used. I've been using it for years. It has really helped me see where my disc space is disappearing to.

The free version is available from . A paid version is available but I've been satisfied with the free version.

Member Avatar for Neon Zeon

Hi, Take a look at WinDirStat. Shows a visual representation of files, folders, and the space they take up. Very informative.

Here:
http://windirstat.info/

Member Avatar for FlamingClaw

And the Total Commander ?
Configuration->Display->Show hidden files...ok
place the cursor to the dirs one by one and press the 'space button'
This will calculate the size of the directory...

Member Avatar for FlamingClaw

Of course there is another program too.
Its name is Advanced System Optimizer

Unfortunately it is shareware

Member Avatar for Jupiter 2

Search for files with an extension .chk and delete them. Look into the temp directories and delete any empty files
ie 2344fgrt6.tmp = 0 bytes
Much of you space goes into vitual memory. When you open a progrma, any program, the program creates an undo file. Should you want to undo an action. This temp file is deleted when you close the program. If your computer turns off unexpectedly, this temp file may not be deleted.
Microsoft Office products dont delete their undo temp files.

Member Avatar for Member #533276

1. You can search for a few programs at google by using the keyword " disk spce analyzer" like jDiskreport or WinDirstat...

2. Or you can download CCleaner if you want to analyze
how much space you can delete.
etc.

Good luck !

Member Avatar for caperjack

April 14 since Tapped posted his question ,and never returned for an answer ,but it still gets suggestions .go figure

Member Avatar for Jupiter 2

CaperJack - It's a common question and one day someone will have the best answer. Until then us dunderheads will continue to answer old questions until they are marked Solved

Member Avatar for caperjack

one day someone will have the best answe/QUOTE] true maybe, but until the original poster post back saying yeah! that was just what i was looking for ,we will not know what the best answer was ! lol

Member Avatar for Jupiter 2

Getting a bit off topic but I keep getting into trouble when ever I ask a direct question to "them".
Is their anyway of checking his account to see if these posts are actually being received by the Poster? Perhaps the email no longer exists, does email sent from here get sent back to here as unknown?

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