disk space

[tearinghair]

I'm trying to free up some disk space. When I deleted a number of photos, itunes and other files it seemed to make very little difference to the available space. I run disk cleaner and defragment fairly regularly. At other times, when I don't do anything at all, the free space suddenly becomes bigger. Why is this, please, and also is it safe to delete Temporary Internet Files during disk cleanup?
Thanks
J.

[Ethel]

Yes, delete temporary internet files.
Also delete all system restore points except the most recent one, or reduce the amount of space allocated to system restore. This can easily hog 10 gb or more if you have a large rive and have it set to maximum.

A music track or photo doesn't take up a lot of space - however hundreds or thousands will.

Look at your Add/Remove Programs - are there any programs there that you never use? If so, get rid of them.

Check also for duplicates - there is one application (Jave SE) that downloads a complete version automatically instead of updating the existing program. I have seen 11 on one PC, each taking up a lot of space. You will find them in the Add/ Remove Program list too.

[tearinghair]

Many thanks, Ethel. I think I've done everything I can with Add/Remove programs. I don't often do system restore, so that shouldn't be a problem?

I removed 30-40 photos, and about 20 Itunes (I don't have many on the computer anyway), so perhaps it wasn't enough to make much difference. Removing Temporary Internet Files should help, though.

[ChuckFickens]

30-40 photos is nothing (probably about 50-60Mb) and 20 tunes is also hardly anything at all...

How large is your hard drive and how much is currently used?

if you goto my computer and right click on the hard drive and select properties it will tell you.

[ACtheTROLL]

call me old predictable
it doesn't look free ... but it is

http://www.ccleaner.com/download

install - run with default settings
(if you log on to lots of sites you might want to exclude cookies)

also don't forget - you have to empty the recycle bin to get the space back

[ACtheTROLL]

forgot
then run chkdsk and defrag

it won't recover space ... but it's good practice
it should be done 3 or 4 times a year - just to keep the works "oiled"

[tearinghair]

Thanks, ACtheT, I'll try that this evening when I'm feeling calmer and less inclined to shout at the machine.

ChucKF: Capacity 18.64 GB, 3.09 free space (that's gone up .07 since this morning), 16% free. The free space normally varies between 14 - 19%. I don't feel comfortabloe unless I have at least 17%, as at certain times of the year I have to download a lot of stuff which I can't risk losing.

[Rollo]

You say:

"I don't often do system restore, so that shouldn't be a problem? "

Don't forget that system restore will run automatically every so often, unless you have disabled that deature.

[tearinghair]

PS re your comment about emptying the recycle bin, AC: You're right to assume that I'm not terribly confident with computers (65 and female....we can't all be like Ethel!), but yes, I did realise that I had to do that. But very tactfully put, thank you.

[Ethel]

Do check your system restore - as already pointed out, it happens automatically unless you disable it altogether (don't do that!).

In XP

Start - Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - Free up space on your hard disk
Choose C drive and wait - it will compress old files first.
When that has finished, click the 'more options' tab.

Click 'clean up' under 'system restore'. You will be asked if you want to delete all but the most recent poin. Click ok and ok again.

Repeat for all drives that you have.

[tearinghair]

I've now done disk cleanup, which has increased my free space to 3.12, i.e. 16% - a slight improvement. There is no 'Performance and Maintenance' listed under Control Panel, but I tried Accessories: system tools and eventually found a 'disk space usage' pointer set at Maximum. System restore only seems to allow me to perform that particular action, and it is set to run automatically. I didn't click the 'system restore' button in case it insisted on performaing the action then and there, which I don't really want to do (the computer is running quite nicely at the moment and I don't want to rock the boat!). I can't find a 'delete all but the last point' box.