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General discussion

Disk Space

by jswt May 25, 2007 7:25PM PDT

Where are all the backup files stored when defragging, updating software, etc. and can any or some of thee files be safely deleted? Each time I defrag, I lose disk space.

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4 Posts
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Which "backup files?"
by John.Wilkinson May 26, 2007 9:34AM PDT

Which "backup files" are you referring to? Do you mean restore points, duplicate files created by a third-party backup utility, or something else? Windows itself has several groups of files that could fall into that category and other softwares even more, so let us know. Also, be sure to include which operating system you are running...it can chance from OS to OS.

As to defragging, it actually shouldn't have any noticeable effect on the amount of free space available. How much are you 'losing' each time, and out of how much?

Let us know.
John

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Disk Space
by jswt May 26, 2007 9:48AM PDT

Not sure. I am using Windows XP, Micron computer (about 6 years old), Pentium 2. Thought maybe that when I defragged or updated windows, Symantic Anti-virus, etc. that they made files which were stoired on my hard drive and was eating up space. You can tell I don't know much about this stuff. Seems I lose about a hundred megs each time (guesstimate). Couple weeks ago I have 15 gb left, now I am down to about 14.8. Computer is really slow also. Thanks, John

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Some things to check/try...
by John.Wilkinson May 26, 2007 10:09AM PDT

* System Restore takes up a considerable amount of space for restore points, but you can click here and scroll down to the How To section for information of adjusting the amount of space it can use.

* The system paging file (also known as Virtual Memory or the ?swap? file) also takes up space on the hard disk, though it is recommended that you let Windows continue to manage it (meaning it's increased/decreased as needed) as it sees fit. Restricting it can reduce system performance and cause ?virtual memory? error messages.

* To identify the areas in which most of the space is being used I suggest the free program TreeSize. With a few clicks you should be able to find the source, and delete it if you desire.

Also, even though you're running Windows XP I'd suggest reviewing numbers 1-5 in this post from the Vista forum.

That should free up some of the space for you.
John

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Disk Space
by jswt May 29, 2007 8:02PM PDT

John,

Thank you very much. Some of those things I knew to do and try to do frequently. The rest sure helped. Appreciate all your help. John

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