Disk drive running low 4

[Pippinlady]

Please can anyone suggest what is happening and a fix. despite clearing out whole GB's of files we have even less space on our hard drive than before.
My husband did make several movies, which took up a lot of space but he has deleted these and emptied the recycle bin, but we are still told we only have 2.85 MB, yes MB of space left. Now I realise that leaving files in the recycle bin does not free up space but I cannot understand how we still only have this much left as we emptied it.
We carried out clean up but it doesnt seem to have made much difference.
I am wondering if there is some form of bug in the system. I run Adaware, Spybot and NAV with our firewall on the airport base station.

Becasue I use an Apple for my own computing needs I am not so familiar with XP so if anyone can tell mehow to list all the files over a certain size that might help me trace where we can make some changes.
When I looked at Task Manager
I notice that several .exe files are duplicated , one for each user logged on i.e explorer.exe. winlogon.exe Ad-aware etc
Is this normal?
I was running Ad-Aware SE whilst writing this thread but it seems to have disappeared before completion. I am very worried there is something nasty in here.
Are there any sites I can trust to run scans remotely?
We would be grateful for any help with this.
TIA

emachine 2.3 mhz 80 gb hdd 512 RAM Wireless connection thru Airport Express/Belkin F5D7000 card
Forgive my mistakes it's how I learn!

 

[Pippinlady]

I did find some more space by uninstalling some little used software. We have the discs so can always re-install later if needed.
The strange thing is although PaintShopPro was using 205mb of space before I un-installed it there was only an extra 73 mb on the system after. I know that some software leaves little bits of itself behind on Windows but I didnt think it would be that much.
Is it possible it included any edited pictures in the original file size. I must admit I am totally confused now
I am thinking of booking it into the well known PC shop that we bought it from for a health check, we have a five year plan, but that would probably take a couple of weeks at this time of year. and my husband wants instant results.
Otherwise I think this machine may end up going out of the window.

emachine 2.3 mhz 80 gb hdd 512 RAM Wireless connection thru Airport Express/Belkin F5D7000 card
Forgive my mistakes it's how I learn!

 

[TheLad]

Have you tried running the Disk Cleanup wizard? To access it, go into My Computer, right-click on the C: and the Disk Cleanup icon should be on the General tab. The wizard will then perform a scan of the C: and will detail items which it thinks you can either get rid of or compress. This wizard will not delete anything unless you tell it to, but be careful anyway

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"It's true, its damn true!"
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[Pippinlady]

Hi thanks for that tip. it helped. and I know where about 52 gb is in videos etc. I have now regained nearly 1gb of space with the measures I have taken so far.
I am hoping that once the video is burnt to DVD that the space will be very considerable.
thinking of investing in an external hdd to save this happening in the future.

thanks once again


emachine 2.3 mhz 80 gb hdd 512 RAM Wireless connection thru Airport Express/Belkin F5D7000 card
Forgive my mistakes it's how I learn!

 

[BaudKarma]

If you do a start/search for files or folders, there are options which will allow you to list all files above a certain size. You can use that to see if there are any huge files lurking on your drive that you're not aware of.

You might also try running chkdsk. Do start/run, then type "command" onto the line that opens up. That'll open up a command window, and you can type CHKDSK at the prompt. If chkdsk finds any errors, you'll have to rerun it with a /f option to fix them.

The drive space you're freeing up might be disappearing into your paging file. Windows resizes your paging file on the fly depending on your current requirements. If your system was really low on drive space, Windows might not have been able to expand the paging file when it needed to. Then as soon as you freed up some drive space, Windows gobbled it up for the paging file.

Trend Micro has a good online virus and spyware scanner. Give them a try at

http://www.trend.com

 

[linney]

Plenty of space saving suggestions in these links.

Hard Disk still full after deleting large files
thread779-1136701


Relocating Hard Drive Capacity and File Compression
thread779-939540

 

[Pippinlady]

Thanks everyone. I used several of your ideas, and found hubby had exported video files totalling 52GB. He deleted those and is starting fresh. I deleted some software too which hadn't been used for ages. I have the discs so can easily reload them if necessary.
One thing that is puzzling now is that hubby tried burning a small video last night to our Sony External DVD burner but nothing seemed to have happened. It may well be he didnt choose the right drive But as he has already burnt a few coasters using this drive he does know how to use it. I suggested that as we have enough coasters he uses DVD_RWs until he knows everything is OK as he can re-write to those.

emachine 2.3 mhz 80 gb hdd 512 RAM Wireless connection thru Airport Express/Belkin F5D7000 card
Forgive my mistakes it's how I learn!

 

[Rick998]

One thing to check is whether your burning software deletes its (temporary) image files automatically.

For example, 'Nero' creates image files that end with a .NRG file extension. At the end of the burn you should be asked if you want to keep the image file. You may not realise that it's a complete copy of the CD/DVD you've burnt and can be huge. Unless you want to burn further copies from the image file then you should always answer 'no'.

I'm not suggesting the following is the sole reason for 'burn' failures but it can be one of them.

After using 'Disk Cleanup' and deleting a lot of files - it is a good idea to run 'Disk Defragmenter' (Start > Accessories > System Tools)... not only to improve performance but also to make free hard disk space 'contiguous' (adjacent) again.

Hope this helps...

*****************************************
Background info:

The processes that go on behind the scenes during CD/DVD burning can be a little complex to follow so here's an analogy that may help:

My understanding is that your video source file(s) on the hard disk (or being streamed from a digital camcorder) is the 'input stream' and can be likened to streams and rivers. The image file is like a large reservoir many miles away. The 'buffer' (onboard memory) on the CD/DVD burner is like a small holding tank in your loft. The data output stream being burned to the DVD disk is like water flowing from a tap downstairs.

If there isn't enough rain then the streams and rivers can't fill the reservoir fast enough. If the reservoir (image file) doesn't keep up with demand then there will be insufficient water to keep the holding tank ('buffer') full. If the holding tank empties then the tap (data burning stream) will dry up (buffer under-run = burn failure = 'coaster').

Water supply systems can cope with a temporary shortage... CD/DVD burning can't. Modern CD/DVD burners known as 'burn-proof' come with larger and larger 'buffers' to decrease the risk of 'coasters'.

Now imagine the reservoir (image file) is actually a collection of smaller reservoirs (i.e. a fragmented hard disk) all linked together. This makes good use of available space but means that filling the holding tank can take longer because the water supply is now coming from many different places. If it takes too long to fill the holding tank from the mini reservoirs then the tap can run dry, even though there's actually plenty of rainfall in total.

(In essence, this is what can happen during 'burning', especially with video DVD's because the files that make up the video are larger and take longer to shift around the hard disk. Another factor is hard disk specs, i.e. fast hard disks with large amounts of onboard cache are the equivalent of big bore mains water pipes.)

Defragmenting the hard disk makes (most) available free hard disk space 'contiguous' again. It's the equivalent of re-combining all the mini reservoirs into one single gigantic reservoir (image file). There's less delay supplying the water (input data) so the holding tank ('buffer') stands a better chance of not running empty. This means there is a better chance of a successful DVD burn.

Like the local water board should, it makes sense for you to carry out regular maintenance (Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter) to help prevent drought <grin>.

 

[linney]

Resources for Troubleshooting DVD Problems in Windows XP (Q308012)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/0/12.asp

DVD RW not burning
thread779-814287

http://www.dvdrhelp.com

DVD FAQs

http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

 

[Pippinlady]

HI Defragging made a lot of difference, thanks for the reminder.
and hubby managed to burn to DVD last night
He even found out and corrected a mistake he was making. so he is improving
Thanks once again for all your input.
I loved the analogy of the WaterPipes. Brilliant
I gave stars to everyone I hope.


emachine 2.3 mhz 80 gb hdd 512 RAM Wireless connection thru Airport Express/Belkin F5D7000 card
Forgive my mistakes it's how I learn!