C Drive Keeps Loseing Space

[Scroby]

My C Harddrive keeps loseing space and I don't know how to make it so it stops filling up. I've tried removing programs to help clear up the C Drive but I've gotten no where with that. I also have a D Harddrive that has plenty of space/room but I'm not sure if I can make that drive the drive that automatically get downloads/programs instead of my C drive.

 

If anyone could give me any help so I can either clear a lot of room on my C Drive or is there a way to make it so my D drive is my #1 harddrive?

 

Thanks in advance.

[NoCalMike]

Have you defragged? What is the capacity of your C drive?

[Scroby]

The harddrive size is 5.89 gigs and I've tried to defrag the harddrive but my computer won't let me because I have to apprently have a certain amount of space on the drive to defrag it and I just can't get that amount of space free.

[Timmy8271]

Empty the Recycle Bin

 

Empty the Windows 'temp' folder (C:\windows\temp)

 

Scan the drive with Scandisk

 

Adjust or clear your System Restore settings:

 

Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> File System

 

Scan for virus/malware

[Ripper]

I am missing 25 gigs on one of my partitions. I have no idea where they went.

 

But I will just buy a new drive. It is still quite annoying.

[AntiLeaf33]

I am missing 25 gigs on one of my partitions. I have no idea where they went.

 

But I will just buy a new drive. It is still quite annoying.

 

Do you mean you have a 200GB hard drive and you only see the C Drive as being 175 GB (for example?)

[Ripper]

No, I have a 160 hard drive with two partitions. One 40 gig and one 120. Using, say Total Commander, I can account for were all but 25 gigs of the 120 gig drive is. It kinda just disappeared one day, all at once. I had about 30 gigs left on the drive and then it suddenly went to 5. I'll just format the thing when I get a new one, but I did find that very strange.

[AntiLeaf33]

Well, thats pretty fucked up.

[MrRant]

In Internet Explorer, go to Tools -> Options -> General and click Settings. Make sure the Temp Internet Files is like 80megs or so. You don't need it to be huge.

[Scroby]

Empty the Recycle Bin

 

Empty the Windows 'temp' folder (C:\windows\temp)

 

Scan the drive with Scandisk

 

Adjust or clear your System Restore settings:

 

Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> File System

 

Scan for virus/malware

I hate to ask this, but could you explain these steps more detailed? Basically I just know how to point and click on things.

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

Also, check your System Restore settings. You may be creating a bunch of restore points that are taking up silly amounts of space on your drive.

 

Use your favorite search engine for more information on how to check this stuff out and how to, if necessary, remove old restore points.

 

[AntiLeaf33]

Just a little brain storming on the shriking hard drive issue: First, its probably nothing to do with temp files, or anything like that, as they would take up space on the hard rive, not make it dissappear. Odds are there is something physically fucked up with the drive. Sounds like one of the platters on the drive may have failed (a hard drive consists of several layers, or platters) and that may have resulted in lost disk space. If your talking about getting a new drive then I would go that route. If a few platters are failing now, then it probably isn't too much of a stretch for the rest of them to fail, and then all of your data and files are lost.

[Dandy]

I have a 200GB hard drive, and 177 is all that shows up. Is that normal?

[MrRant]

Yes. It has to do with how they measure space.

[AntiLeaf33]

A lot of times they measure the space incorrectly. The do the calculations where 1 megabyte has 1000 bytes, when it reality it has 1024, which then throws off what they advertise. Also, you computer is going to use a portion for the hard drive for the master boot record (even if your OS isn't installed on the drive, it puts aside the first part of the disk for a bootable OS)