Member Avatar for cbk

Os XP. About a week ago I had about 30% resourse left on 20g c drive of a older computer. and downloaded about 40 pics and I downloaded adobe acrobat reader 8. I checked my resource and and I was very low down to 150mb and was getting alerts. I deleted about the same amount of pics as downloaded and checked again and I was still about the same, resourse keeps going down not up when I delete stuff. I checked virus spyware and all clear. How am I using that much resourse?

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— the behavior you describe (free space falling after downloads and not returning when files are deleted) usually comes from a small set of causes: a running process still holding the deleted files open, large hidden system files (pagefile/hiberfil), update/installer caches, or large application data stores (mail PSTs, backup images). Other replies here point in good directions; below are practical, safe steps to isolate and fix the problem without guessing.

First, find what actually eats space. As suggested, a visual disk map is extremely helpful — if you prefer alternatives to the one linked above, try TreeSize Free or SpaceSniffer and run the tool as Administrator to scan C:. Focus on the largest folders at the root of C: (Windows, Documents and Settings, Program Files, etc.) — that quickly shows where the bulk lives.

If deleted files don’t free space, check for open handles. Use Sysinternals Process Explorer (run elevated), press Ctrl+F, and search for the folder or filename you removed; the tool will show any process keeping a handle open. Stopping that process or rebooting will usually release the space. Common offenders are editors, mail clients, backup or antivirus services.

Check hidden/system files safely: enable showing hidden files and clear “Hide protected operating system files” to view pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys. If hibernation isn’t used, turn it off via Control Panel -> Power Options to remove hiberfil.sys. Adjust virtual memory (pagefile) size from System Properties -> Advanced -> Performance -> Advanced -> Virtual memory if needed, but do so cautiously. Use Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) to remove temp/update files, and do not delete files out of C:\Windows\Installer or similar system folders manually — use proper uninstall/cleanup tools.

If these steps still don’t explain the missing space, reboot to clear held handles, re-run the visualizer in Safe Mode, and then act on the biggest directories you find.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

did you empty the recycle bin?

Member Avatar for maui_mallard

Do you have microsoft Office on your PC??? I had a similair problem and it turned out that my office setup files were still on my PC??? Once i deleted them, my computer was resources were higher

Member Avatar for JustinNH

You could also turn off System Restore to free some space up.

Member Avatar for BillBrown

You could download and use a program called Windows Directory Statistics. http://windirstat.info/ This takes a while to fully run on larger drives but it'll show you in graphical format what directories and files are taking the most space. It's a free download from a sourceforge mirror. :-)

Member Avatar for JustinNH

Or you could also go spend $30 for a new harddrive.

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