HDD problem

[Hellravager]

Anyone know why i only have 8.77gb out of 500gb when i barely have anything installed? Dont know the exact model of my HDD bought it from bestbuy like 3 years ago XD

[Deleted]

Recycle bin full? Reserved space for OS or restore/recovery points?

[Hellravager]

Recycle bin full? Reserved space for OS or restore/recovery points?

Recycle bin nope, reserved space maybe where do i check that?

[Deleted]

Recycle bin nope, reserved space maybe where do i check that?

Go into Computer, right click on your HDD and click properties. Press Disk Cleanup, check all boxes and press OK. The restore points are saved under system files, so check that box.

[Hellravager]

Go into Computer, right click on your HDD and click properties. Press Disk Cleanup, check all boxes and press OK. The restore points are saved under system files, so check that box.

Yea did that nothing T-T

[teddytous]

http://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/

This will very quickly show which folders got your space taken. Let us know the folders and we can help more.

[Hellravager]

http://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free/

This will very quickly show which folders got your space taken. Let us know the folders and we can help more.

Is it safe? better not be a .exe

[Deleted]

Yea did that nothing T-T

Hmm, okay. Don't think I was specific enough though. Go into Disk Cleanup again. Press the "More Options" tab and perform a cleanup on "System Restore and Shadow Copies".

[Hellravager]

K got 18gb back, got defrag going too 15% fragmented

[teddytous]

What's your issue with .exe files? It merely stands for executable. You know, a program you run...

I'd assumed he was joking. But who knows.

[Hellravager]

What's your issue with .exe files? It merely stands for executable. You know, a program you run...

If you must know .exe files can contain trojans, backdoors all kinds of stuff same with unsafe websites that might contain key loggers, you dont know this yet your on a computer? Must not of been for long

[Deleted]

K got 18gb back, got defrag going too 15% fragmented

Great! Only 40gb left then. Defrag won't free up space though. It'll just relocate it more efficiently.

Just gonna add this in here before you fuck yourself over. DO NOT "Compress this drive to save space"! It'll make you PC unbootable if you have your OS on that disk. Mentioning as a preventive measure before we have a whole new thread on our hands.

[Varabently]

If you must know .exe files can contain trojans, backdoors all kinds of stuff same with unsafe websites that might contain key loggers, you dont know this yet your on a computer? Must not of been for long

Not sure you really have much room to talk when you're concerned about a .exe file. JPEGs can contain malware too...just about any file I would guess. Better go back to paper if you're really that worried about it. Scan it with a virus scan if you're that worried, jeez. Treesize is totally legit.

[Hellravager]

Not sure you really have much room to talk when you're concerned about a .exe file. JPEGs can contain malware too...just about any file I would guess. Better go back to paper if you're really that worried about it. Scan it with a virus scan if you're that worried, jeez. Treesize is totally legit.

Thats what i was wondering thank you for answering varabently, rest cant answer without jumping down my throat thinking im insane

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Great! Only 40gb left then. Defrag won't free up space though. It'll just relocate it more efficiently.

Just gonna add this in here before you fuck yourself over. DO NOT "Compress this drive to save space"! It'll make you PC unbootable if you have your OS on that disk. Mentioning as a preventive measure before we have a whole new thread on our hands.

Ah was about to click it XD thanks for saying that

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Have treesize scanning now

[Deleted]

Ah was about to click it XD thanks for saying that

No problemos. It happens all too often when people want to free up disk space.

[Hellravager]

Done scanning now how would i go about posting the results? Just type it in manually or is there a copy and paste?

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Just typed down whats taking the most space but heres what it tells me, leaving soon to play D&D with my brothers so probably be back in a few hours

211.1 GB Program Files
66.8 System Volume Information
49.2 ProgramData
31.4 Users
27.9 [30 Files]
23.0 Windows
19.3 Games
8.1 Gamedownloader
4.3 GB Program Files
1.4 GB Nvidia

[Hellravager]

211.1 GB of program files is barely anything installed? That's essentially 50% of your usage. Do the math on that stuff and it's 442.5 GB used. So, the reason you have no room is because you've used it all.

Yea issue is i dont know whats taking all that space i only have 3 games installed via steam. Skyrim 40gb by itself mods XD, Witcher 3, Agarest Zero, after that non-steam games are Elder Scrolls Online and SWTOR, TERA.

[Eroginous]

Anyone know why i only have 8.77gb out of 500gb when i barely have anything installed? Dont know the exact model of my HDD bought it from bestbuy like 3 years ago XD

Windows 7/8 does this really stupid thing of filling up your Users folder with old stuff that you may or may not need/use anymore. After 3 years, I'm sure it's full of temporary stuff you can just delete (videos would be the biggest culprit here). Navigate to This PC > Local Disk > Users > Your Username and right click that file. Select the properties option from the drop down, and give it a few minutes to calculate how big that folder is.

If that folder contains your 40gb of lost data, you can go through it and delete things you know you don't need anymore. The biggest culprit tends to be the Temp folder. You can view this folder by going to the folder options and selecting 'show hidden files and folders,' then navigating to Appdata > Local > Temp, inside the User folder. Again, you can check the size of each folder by using the 'Properties' option in the drop down when you right click it. Be careful about what you delete from that folder, it will contain important stuff like settings and save data from programs. The temp folder is a safe bet because that's where your programs store temporary data while things are in a transition state.

Just make sure you have saved all your current projects and close out of all programs before you decide to start deleting stuff from that folder. There will be other folders in the 'local' folder too that you might be safe in deleting. When you install a program, a folder is typically created there for settings and other data, so if you have any folders for programs you no longer have installed or use, you can probably safely delete them.

Otherwise, I would suggest backing up all your important stuff and reformatting your hard drive (possibly buying a new one). You can get a 1TB hard drive for about $50 these days: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148840

As a general rule of thumb, it's a good idea to do a fresh install of Windows every 6 months or so, just to keep things in good running condition. You can backup browser bookmarks, save your passwords, and keep any important data you might want by backing that data up to another storage device prior to each reinstall. Remember, it's always easier to install a fresh copy of windows than it is to try and fix problems related to malware/viruses. It's better to keep important data on a separate hard drive than your Operating System (this includes games and programs that you frequently use), that way if something does happen, a clean install won't completely screw you.

Good luck!

[Hellravager]

Leaving to go play D&D for a few hours i'll be back later once i do i'll list all the games i have installed as well as their sizes

[Eroginous]

So go to programs/features under the control panel and sort by size. Here's a hint, it's all those games you listed.

Pretty much, this^ When you say you have only 3 games installed, then list 3 MMOs on top of those games, it's pretty clear what the problem is. MMOs take up a huge amount of space on a hard drive due to how expansive each game world is. On average, they are going to eat 20-30gb of hard drive space, depending on what kind of MMO and the quality of the textures. If a game company doesn't compress high resolution textures (EA) for their games (titanfall), you're going to have an abnormally large data file associated with that game. Titanfall has this issue and takes up something like 60 gb of space, and it's not even an MMO. It's an FPS game. GTA V takes up about the same amount of space as Titanfall, and has a gigantic world for you to play in.

It sounds like you need to buy another hard drive just for your games. Trying to get by with 500gb isn't really feasible in 2015. If you have a laptop, buy a 2.5 inch hard drive to replace the one you have. Backup all your stuff you want to keep, install windows to it, and manage your hard drive space better.

Side note: How do you not know about installed software taking up space on a HDD? Must not have been using computers for long...

Some people don't have the slightest clue how PCs work. They act like it's just a magic box with unlimited storage space for everything they can possibly download/install. Not saying that's the case with OP, but I've seen much, much worse from people who have used a PC for 12 years.