Hard Drive getting full

[Matamata]

Any tips on what could be using up all my hard drive and how to obtain more space. I have an IBM Thinkpad R31 series.

[vehelpfulguy]

First check how big your hard drive is (right click on the icon in My Computer and click Properties).

Then check it is not split into 2 or more partitions. Most people have just a "C" partition that takes up all the disk but it is possible to have a "C" and a "D".

If you do have two partitons maybe C is full up and D is empty.

Have you been downloading movies, or songs, or putting loads of digital pictures on your hard disk?

These can all take up lots of room, particularly movies and video.

If you have lots of personal files maybe you need to back some up onto CD or DVD and delete them from your hard disk. This will free up space.

If you look on the Start menu there is an option Search. Select this then "For Files and Folders".

A search window opens, select "All files and folders". Now you can search for files by size. Start with a large size, and if you keep getting nothing reduce the files size a bit at a time until you find something.

Maybe you have some large video files you forgot about. Maybe you can back them up or delete them.

IF YOU FIND A FILE YOU DONT RECOGNIZE DONT DELETE IT, IT MAY BE AN IMPORTANT WINDOWS FILE.

If you need more help ask again.

[vehelpfulguy]

If you go on the internet a lot, all the files you look at are stored in your PC in a temporary folder. After many weeks or months this temporary folder can get huge.

Go into you browser options and choose an option like "Delete Temporary Files" or whatever it is called.

This will free up some space.

[vehelpfulguy]

If you have XP then Windows can take a Restore point a regular intervals (even if you dont ask it to).

Over time these restore points mount up so it can take a lot of disk space. To reduce the disk space it takes do as follows:

On your menus find an option called System Restore (may be in Sysytem Tools)

Select "System Restore settings"

This brings up a System Properties window and a System Restore tab.

There is an option called Disk Space usage. This says how much disk space Windows can take for the System Restore files. On mine it is 12% (which is a lot).

Use the slider to reduce it to a lower figure, maybe 5%.

That will free up some disk space.

(Not sure if it frees up the space straight away or next time you log on)

[wideboy]

Download this:-

http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/

I usually get it free on the DVD with computer magazines (UK).