Disk Defragmenter

[downside]

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.

[gordon5]

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.

[gordon5]

Thanks for the tip re hibernation file downside. That's one I didn't know about! 

[mshrmh]

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).

[suffolk*sue]

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.

[Paul Caswell]

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

[Zeb]

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.

[Paul Caswell]

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

[johnat]

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.