Member Avatar for quintabelina

I have an HP Pavillion Laptop, about 3 years old and has always run really well, no complaints (had a slow Startup but that's been solved)- never any virus and a good performing little machine. I've always tried to keep it as clean as possible, all updates, etc. but I've noticed the "D" drive only has 4% space left!!!!! ( 370,163, 712 bytes free) Downloaded some movies from Gravoid and used up some of my room on the "C" drive, but I still have 15, 087, 095, 808 bytes free and once I view and delete the movies, will be more. Yet, how can I eaten up all that space on the D drive? I read it was being taken up by the backup and restore options, is this true?
Is there a way to clear this space? Would it be advisable for me to do this? I got an error message some time ago telling me there wasn't enough room, but I could never figure out what to do about it..... Any suggestions?

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Following up on the helpful pointers from , , and : the fastest, safest way to free D: is to find exactly what’s using the space, then act on the biggest items.

First, create a visual map of D: (run the scanner elevated so hidden/system folders show). Tools that show a treemap make the culprit obvious — for example WinDirStat or TreeSize Free. Scan D:, note the largest folders/files and the filetypes (video, .vhd, .iso, backup folders, etc.), and only then plan removals or moves. (windirstat.net)

Some large allocations are hidden system stores rather than ordinary files: System Volume Information (restore points / shadow copies) and Volume Shadow Copy storage can consume many GB. Check current shadow-storage usage from an elevated Command Prompt with:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

If shadow storage is on D: and is large, it can be resized or old shadows deleted — but deleting shadow copies removes restore points and previous versions, so back up anything important first. See Microsoft’s vssadmin command documentation and notes about shadow storage. (learn.microsoft.com)

Also look for Windows system-image or backup folders (for example a root-level WindowsImageBackup or large .vhd/.bak files). System image backups are intentionally large and live in a WindowsImageBackup folder; if found, move them to an external drive before deleting. (learn.microsoft.com)

If comfortable with a command line, list the top files by size (PowerShell example):

Get-ChildItem -Path D:\ -Recurse -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
  Sort-Object Length -Descending |
  Select-Object -First 25 FullName,@{Name='MB';Expression={[math]::Round($_.Length/1MB,2)}}

Use the map + the file list to move or archive large personal media to an external disk, or delete only non-system files. For any system-sounding file or folder, document its name and size before removing; when in doubt, preserve the data and move it off the machine first. (ss64.com)

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Member Avatar for freshfitz

The backup and restore options are usually hidden on a different partition so that should not be taking up the space unless you have software that is doing a backup and storing it on your hard drive. in my computer right click the drive and select disk clean up this will delete any un-used temp files that may be hogging space. also search for files over 80gb if you go into windows search you can specify a file size see if there are large files taking up space

Member Avatar for FlamingClaw

-=Free space=-
Windows XP uses a file called hiperfil.sys to save everything it needs when Windows XP goes into hibernation. If you are like me, and never use the hibernate function, you can turn it off. By turning hibernate off, Windows XP deletes the hiberfil.sys. This can free up the as much disk space as the amount of ram that you computer has.Go to Control Panel/Power Options/Hibernation and uncheck the box.

Member Avatar for caperjack

CCleaner to remove all the temp files and clear caches .
www.ccleaner.com

Member Avatar for FlamingClaw

I read it was being taken up by the backup and restore options, is this true?
Is there a way to clear this space? Would it be advisable for me to do this?

-=To disable System Restore=-
CAUTION: Disabling System Restore removes all previous restore points. To continue to use System Restore to restore your computer to a previous point, do not disable System Restore.

The System Restore feature is enabled by default. To disable System Restore:

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. On the Performance tab, click File System, or press ALT+F.
3. On the Troubleshooting tab, click to select the Disable System Restore check box.
4. Click OK twice, and then click Yes when you are prompted to restart the computer.
5. To re-enable System Restore, follow steps 1-3, but in step 3, click to clear the Disable System Restore check box.

System Restore is the feature that allows a computer system to be rolled back, or restored, to a point before certain events took place, for example, prior to specific software or hardware installations. System Restore is a powerful tool that in most cases, should not be disabled.

Member Avatar for quintabelina

Got a couple of messages asking me to "mark as solved" if I've taken care of this..... I'm sorry but I haven't had time to look at your suggestions yet due to some crisis' at home: We had DSL installed in our new apartment, the tech caused a major electrical short and one of our computers (the custom made one with all the fancy hardware) is now fried! We've been without as computer for over a week now..... THEN the brakes on my old reliable went out and I had to take it in and it cost 5 times what it should have and it's still not resolved (GRRRR!....) THEN the guy who was polishing the floors (terrazzo marble floors with over a year of grime..) slipped, his buffer flew off and hit my new Sony Bravia TV!!!!!!!
Sorry, but it's been a BAD week and I can't even think, I'm so stressed out trying to figure how to get back to step 1, but once I calm down I will get to it.........(everything's out getting repaired but it will take a little while- I live in Southern Mexico, Puebla- which means we're on Mexican time) and I'm not the most patient person...

Member Avatar for mjdodd

also worth checking which drive the pagefil.sys (virtual memory) file is on as if left to its own devices windows can enlarge this file...
M

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