Member Avatar for virginiageek

windows xp home ntfs. Dell machine, no matter how many files we delete, empty recycle bin, it refuses to download even the smallest file saying the disk is full. The logical disk manager and My computer both say there is zero disk space available on the 70 gig drive. There should be about 50 GB available.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by goldeagle2005

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A short expert summary and practical checklist to follow before deeper fixes.

The symptom described by (C: reporting 0 bytes free even after deleting files) most often comes from one of these causes: enforced NTFS disk quotas, System Restore / hidden System Volume Information usage, or NTFS metadata corruption (MFT / bitmap issues and the NTFS MFT reserved zone). correctly pointed at quotas as a likely cause; the OS will behave as if the volume is full when quotas are enforced. NTFS also reserves an MFT zone that can make space look unavailable even after large deletions. (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick, non-destructive checks (do these first): open the drive Properties → Quota tab to see whether quotas are enabled (follow ), confirm the download/mail paths are actually on C: (as suggested), and verify the volume dirty bit with fsutil dirty query C:. If the dirty bit is set or Explorer/Outlook reports file-system errors, schedule/run chkdsk C: /f (or chkdsk C: /f /r if bad sectors are suspected). If CHKDSK output mentions corrections to the MFT/BITMAP, that is a known NTFS condition that CHKDSK can repair. (learn.microsoft.com)

System Restore and the hidden System Volume Information folder can hold a large reserved chunk (XP historically allocates a significant percentage); use Disk Cleanup → More Options to remove old restore points or reconfigure restore quotas before assuming files are lost. If this is a Dell machine, running the vendor disk diagnostics is a sensible next step as recommended. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical recovery order (safe to risky): 1) back up anything critical; 2) disable or inspect quotas; 3) run fsutil dirty query C: then schedule chkdsk C: /f (repeat until no errors); 4) run Disk Cleanup to remove restore points; 5) run vendor SMART/low-level diagnostics and, if corruption persists or MFT growth is the problem, image the partition and rebuild (reformat/recreate) the volume. These steps resolve the vast majority of “0 bytes free” NTFS reports. (learn.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for fry

Maybe converting NTFS disk to FAT32 will help you?

Member Avatar for virginiageek

Converting Fat32 to NTFS can be done without data loss but the only way to go from NTFS to fat32 on a partition larger than 32 GB is to format with a DOS boot disk.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

There has to be something messed up on the settings of your computer. Perhaps you have a C: and D: drive, and are "looking" at the wrong one. Or perhaps IE was told to download files to your floppy / USB drive (if you have one). IT could also be a permissions issue (not having write permission), but XP Home appears to not care about permissions. Something to check though. If you are using a limited user account, it is possible that you are trying to write somewhere that you do not have access to. And if you are using an admin account, you should think of why you are using an admin account for your day to day things.

Christian

Member Avatar for virginiageek

The logical disk manager says the C: drive is 70 GB about 20 gb is used, disk free space is listed as zero, even after deleting files. We are able to download a file to the floppy but even outlook express cannot download any messages saying there is no free disk space.

Member Avatar for jingalala

Since its a Dell system, try to boot to diagnostic
partition or Utility partition. Run the diagnostic for
hard disk and see if the hard disk is functioning
properly. Check the way you have partitioned the
drive, and provide the information back on the site
for further help on the issue.

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

I've had this problem. It happens when the NTFS Quotas are enabled and set to deny disk writing when a user exceeds his allocated disk space. What you can do is right click the drive giving you problems, choose properties, click the Quota tab and uncheck the box labelled "Enable Quota management" (or something like that). This will take care of your problems.

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