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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: suffolk*sue on Sunday 19 September 10 10:46 BST (UK)
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Hi, can anyone help please.
I am running Windows XP.
I decided I would do a defrag, computer is six years old and never been done.
After analyzing the Recovery drive, this doesn't need doing. Doing the same to the Main drive and this does need doing.
Before defragging the message says to have at least 15% free to do it successfully, I have 3%. I went through old progs and deleted quite a few, mainly games my son installed years ago, but it still shows 3%. Can anyone advise me what to do next.
Thanks.
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Have you tried a program like CCleaner (http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/)? It will remove lots of files that you dont need.
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After 'deleting' them have you also emptied the recycle bin? All 'deleting 'does is change the location in the file access table to the recycle bin. You haven't saved any space yet.
If you doing a major defrag for the first time you need to (a) allow at least an hour, and (b) reboot and do it again. If you can get a trial of something like Norton 360 you can use it's performance tools.
Ideally, if you have a usb external disk or flash memory you can copy large files to that while you are deciding what to keep. Once you have defragged you can load them back for safety until you are sure.
Ken
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Nothing in the recycle bin, should have said uninstalled stuff rather than deleting. I already have Norton 2009 on here, would that have any sort of tools, don't know much about computers.
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suffolk*sue - before you defrag you can use the "disk cleanup" tool - also under the System Tools area of XP. It will look for other files that can be removed such as temporary internet files and other "temp" files (often created when doing downloads) - it will also offer to "compress" old files that are not used.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
If you set it going it gives you options (with tick boxes) before actually deleting/compressing etc, so if you're unsure you can have a look & come back & ask more questions.
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Norton 2009 is only anti-vitus/internet security. You need to say if you have a laptop or a desktop, also the size of the disk. With a desktop you can cheaply install a second disk to store your data, leaving the C drive just for programs.
Looks as if your disk is full of data rather than programs. If you look in my pictures, my videos, My Documents etc you can click on the top of the size column to find the largest ones. You should also start/search for *.PDF as these can be massive.
I would also suggest you load - http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - for free. This will give you a one page summary of your PC.
Do you have XP on CD? Have you installed the Service Packs? If you still have these as .exe on your PC you can copy them to CD and delete. Or did it come with MS Works and you are using MS Office? If you haven't got the XP disks you have potentially worse risks than not being able to defrag. You need to make sure you have copies of any data you cannot afford to lose.
Compressing old files is a last resort as it will slow your PC. Better to try saving space first.
Ken
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Another good tool that's very helpful for discovering where all your disk space has gone is WinDirStat.
http://windirstat.info/index.php
It's free. :)
Paul
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Hi
As an alternative to the windows disk defragmenter (which can take several hours!) I use the Auslogics one found here - http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/ - download the free version of course!!
Its a nice piece of software (Imho).
gordon5
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Hi
As an alternative to the windows disk defragmenter (which can take several hours!) I use the Auslogics one found here - http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/ - download the free version of course!!
Its a nice piece of software (Imho).
gordon5
Thank you for your replies.
Hi Gordon, I downloaded the above, but on trying to defrag it says the same as before, because there is less than 10% disc space it may affect the effectiveness of the defrag, so I was unsure whether to continue.
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One big file you can remove is your Hibernation file.
It is a hidden file so you if you cannot see it then go to Control Panel and select Folder Options. Click on the View tab.
Next check Show Hidden files and folders.
Next uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
Now click on Power Options in Control Panel and click on the Hibernation tab.
Uncheck Enable hibernation.
Now close Control Panel and click on My Compter and double click the C drive.
You should see a huge file called C:\HIBERFIL.SYS at the root of your C drive. Click on it and then hold the Shift key down and press the delete key.
That will delete the file without sending it to the recycling bin.
Now check the amount of free space and you might just have enough to perform a defrag.
You can reverse all the steps above after the defrag if you want to put things back to how they were.
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Hi again
If it is still telling you too little disk space then try running ccleaner. It will get rid of those pesky files that microsoft conceal on our hard drives and will hopefully free a bit of space for you. Another possibility is on the disk cleanup utility mentioned earlier. if you click on start and computer then right click on the drive you want to tidy up, select properies and disk cleanup. It'll run through its thing and you'll get a screen telling you how much space can be saved by deleting files. You should also have a tab saying more options. Click on that and then on the button for cleaning up system restore and shadow copies. It'll ask you if you're sure, select delete. That will get rid of all but the most recent restore point and should free a fair bit of space.
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Thanks for the tip re hibernation file downside. That's one I didn't know about! ;D
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Suffolk*sue:
As you seem unsure (very understandably) you might want to follow the step-by-step guide "How to reclaim hard-drive space" on this link - it doesn't require you to download any more programs
http://www.pcworld.com/article/97442/stepbystep_reclaim_harddrive_space.html
(I use ccleaner & would recommend it, but as your main problem is lack of space it's probably best to start with what will already be on your PC & make use of that).
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Thank you for all your suggestions and will see how it goes.
After deleting some more stuff I have increased from 3% to 7% space, only another eight to go.
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Hi Sue,
The WindirStat I posted a link to earlier will show you which folders contain the most. It is a very good tool for your situation.
Paul
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Hi guys!
Had a massive break and hopefully now back and thought I'd make this my first return post.
I never defragged my PC.
I've done a lot of PC repairs around the county recently and the biggest cause of slow Windows XP was compression enabled. Very few can remember enabling it but you can tell if it's enabled by doing this:
1. Open "My Computer"
2. Open your hard drive usually C: (might be called "Local Disk")
3. Open "WINDOWS" and scroll down looking at the filenames and folder names
If any of the names are blue then you've got compression enabled and no amount of defragging will fix this. I won't post how to fix this unless someone posts back saying they need to know.
If you really do want to defrag your machine (Windows 7 users don't need to as the operating system has a brilliant file management system in place) then only do it once every 6 months. The more often you defrag the more chance you've got of losing files.
Reason why is because the defragger moves files around the hard drive very quickly splitting them up and re-joining them again. This doesn't go wrong that often but when it does it can go terribly wrong.
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All,
An RC member PM'd me about using WinDirStat. I though it may be of use to post my reply:
Hi,
Yes the bottom half is pretty and once you get the hang of the program it is helpful but you can safely ignore it.
The main work needs to be done in the top panel.
The top panel lists all of the folders on your drive with the biggest ones at the top, so start at the top and follow these rules:
1. NEVER delete anything from inside Windows or Program Files or the equivalent on your system unless you are absolutely sure it can be deleted.
That's it!!
You can delete files, and even whole folders. The files go into the wastebasket like normal so you can get them out again if you change your mind.
The best files/folders to delete are the ones where you can hear yourself say "I remember that file/folder - I am sure I will never need it or any of it's contents again!".
What WinDirStat does best is it shows you which folders take up the most space on your disk. You can then easily look inside them and very quickly work out why.
Good luck! Your system will run much better once you have around 25% or more free.
Once all the clutter has gone, by all means run a defrag.
Paul
Paul
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Thank you for all your suggestions and will see how it goes.
After deleting some more stuff I have increased from 3% to 7% space, only another eight to go.
Surprised nobody has mentioned deleting ALL the files in the temp directory (in \\windows\temp from memory) and then emptying the recycle bin OR setting the recycle to NOT store deleted files at all - which is what I do - if you delete something it's G O R N E !!
Another storage hog is the gazillions of files that updates stores in the \\windows\ directory. Once the update is done, you do NOT need these files any more. I get rid of them every month or so, amazing how much space that will recover for you.
Good luck.
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Paul
Someone mentioned CCleaner which removes all that you listed, plus more.