Trying to free up space on my HD

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Last week I transferred 12 GB of media files to an external drive and deleted them from my HD and recycle bin. I expected to gain space on me internal 1.5TB HD, but instead I lost 15 GB of space. I ran a search and found the deleted files but they were empty. I ran security scans and duplicated file scans and nothing showed up. I'm very confused as to how this could happen and would appreciate any input. I've never experienced this problem before.
Thanks in advance.

Custom Build running win vista 64 bit Ultimate: service pack 2
Inter Core 2 Duo CPU E8400 @ 3.00GHz
8 GB Ram
Nvida GeForce 9500 GT
ASUS P5Q SE2 MB
 

My Computer

System One

Could you check and tell me how much system restore is using on your drive since these can take up a lot of disk space and may coincidentally cause additional disk space on your drive

To do so please follow this tutorial: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html

You may also want to try and run a disk cleanup to see how much temporary or unused data can be removed

To do so simply follow this tutorial - http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76073-disk-cleanup.html

Hope This Helps,
Josh! :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 2400 @ 3.10GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn H67MP-S/-V/H67MP
    Memory
    8.0GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (2GBx4)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD HD Radeon 6870
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SMB1930NW (1440x900@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    977GB Seagate ST31000524AS ATA Device (SATA) + 250GB WD iSCSI attached Drive
    Case
    Novatech Night
    Mouse
    Dell HID-compliant mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
Shadowjk said:
Could you check and tell me how much system restore is using on your drive since these can take up a lot of disk space and may coincidentally cause additional disk space on your drive

To do so please follow this tutorial: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html

You may also want to try and run a disk cleanup to see how much temporary or unused data can be removed

To do so simply follow this tutorial - http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76073-disk-cleanup.html

Hope This Helps,
Josh! :)
Click to expand...


Hello,

I forgot to mention that I ran a disk cleanup before...no help
As for the restore point I followed the prompts and no drives appear in the restore window.
I have never required a system restore and apparently one isn't available and needs to be set up.
However, what happened to almost 44 GB of disc space?

Last night I had 727 GB of free space and this morning I have 683 GB of free space.
The anti virus software runs every night along with my malware scan after which the computer is automatically shut down.

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

You should have gained 12 GB of free space after deleting 12 GB's of files. How you managed losing 15 GB instead is arithmetically not possible.

Also, if you do not have restore point, that means your System Restore is not on...which is not cool. Your SR must be ALWAYS be on.

44 GB of difference beetween total space and free space is normal. Mine is 41GB and we have nearly identical system except I have 4 GB RAM instead of your 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    pavilion dv7-1170us
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    1 298.09 fujitsu G2 ATA Device
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced 102-key
pappi said:
You should have gained 12 GB of free space after deleting 12 GB's of files. How you managed losing 15 GB instead is arithmetically not possible.

Also, if you do not have restore point, that means your System Restore is not on...which is not cool. Your SR must be ALWAYS be on.

44 GB of difference beetween total space and free space is normal. Mine is 41GB and we have nearly identical system except I have 4 GB RAM instead of your 8.
Click to expand...

If you read my post again you will see that I don't have a 44 GB difference between total space and free space. Rather, I have lost another 44 GB of free space from my hard drive.

Mathimaticaly or not, I lost space by deleting files and for some unknown reason I have lost another 44 GB of space by doing nothing that's why I'm asking for advice.
 

My Computer

System One

I think it's still worth a try to eliminate System Restore as culprit. I would hit Win-Pause. Click on the approriate link to go to System Restore settings. Then see if there's a choice to turn system resotore off. Turn it off, then back on. If something doesn't seem right there you can disable drive shadow service using the services applet. Reboot, then turn it back on. See if it reports more free space than before.

Also search on "vssadmin" for command line access for even more control, such as limiting system resotre maxiumum size.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G 2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
MilesAhead said:
I think it's still worth a try to eliminate System Restore as culprit. I would hit Win-Pause. Click on the approriate link to go to System Restore settings. Then see if there's a choice to turn system resotore off. Turn it off, then back on. If something doesn't seem right there you can disable drive shadow service using the services applet. Reboot, then turn it back on. See if it reports more free space than before.

Also search on "vssadmin" for command line access for even more control, such as limiting system resotre maxiumum size.
Click to expand...

I didn't have a System Restore set up when the 59 GB were removed from my HD Free Space.
Today I set up a System Restore and it's using 5 GB, which is acceptable.
My problem is what happend to the 59 GB when a System Restore did not exist.
I tried Scans, Disk Check, Disk Cleanup, Defrag, Dupe Files, Disk Search and nothing shows up.
There are some Dupe Files but they only add up to about 50 MB.

Thanks for your input.
 

My Computer

System One

I got that. But it's apparent something is not working as expected. The duped files for instance. What made the dupes? One thing that makes dupes is shadow copy. That's why I suspect it. But it's your PC after all.

Also I would read up on vssadmin since Vista doesn't provide the disk space max slider like XP and W7 does. The only way to limit the max usage for Restore Points is via vssadmin command line.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G 2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
MilesAhead said:
I got that. But it's apparent something is not working as expected. The duped files for instance. What made the dupes? One thing that makes dupes is shadow copy. That's why I suspect it. But it's your PC after all.

Also I would read up on vssadmin since Vista doesn't provide the disk space max slider like XP and W7 does. The only way to limit the max usage for Restore Points is via vssadmin command line.
Click to expand...

I ran vssadmin and I gained 9 GB of free space, which is helpful.
A programmer I know suggests running Diskshadow which according to him runs a deeper search than vssadmin. The program is not part of win vista but he wants to run it on my computer this weekend.
I will let you know the outcome.
Thanks again for your help.
 

My Computer

System One

btw do you have a UPS on your system? Those little fraction of a second power glitches can produce lots of inconsistencies on the HD if you don't have a battery backup. First time I reinstalled OS/2 from 17 floppy disks because of a power glitch during boot, I ran out and got a UPS. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G 2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
MilesAhead said:
btw do you have a UPS on your system? Those little fraction of a second power glitches can produce lots of inconsistencies on the HD if you don't have a battery backup. First time I reinstalled OS/2 from 17 floppy disks because of a power glitch during boot, I ran out and got a UPS. :)
Click to expand...

No I don't and I know I should have one.
Looking at the online models.
 

My Computer

System One

Even a cheapie on sale type is better than none. The ones that condition the power are way expensive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Some Radeon Cheapie with 512 MB Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    CRT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    750 GB SATA 3G 2 SIIG Superspeed docks w/WD Caviar Black Sata II or III
MilesAhead said:
Even a cheapie on sale type is better than none. The ones that condition the power are way expensive.
Click to expand...

You're right.
I'll get serious about it after my present problem is solved.
My friend is dropping by this weekend, probably Sunday, so I will let you know how Diskshadow works.
 

My Computer

System One

Try disc clean up with Ccleaner

CCleaner - Download

Make sure you use piriform(not FileHippo). You can use it to delete all restore points except the latest(which by default is not deletable). But I doubt very much if SR is accountable for that much missing free space.

Another program that can help regain free space is defrag. I use auslogic Disk Defrag - Best Free Defrag Software For Your Hard Drive
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    pavilion dv7-1170us
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    1 298.09 fujitsu G2 ATA Device
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced 102-key
Do you have a link to download diskshadow?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    pavilion dv7-1170us
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    1 298.09 fujitsu G2 ATA Device
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced 102-key
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