Thanks for your advice, it's appreciated. I would like to find out how big my registry is though, and how much space the registry backups would typically use..and also the amount of space several restore points would take up.
I know !! I'm a pain.
Thanks again,
Illiterate
On disk, the Registry isn’t simply one large file but a set of discrete files called hives. Each hive contains a Registry tree, which has a key that serves as the root (i.e., starting point) of the tree. Subkeys and their values reside beneath the root.
Location of Windows registry files
The location of these registry hives are as follows:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM : \system32\config\system
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SAM : \system32\config\sam
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SECURITY : \system32\config\security
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE : \system32\config\software
HKEY_USERS \UserProfile : \winnt\profiles\username
HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT : \system32\config\default
(the left side of the colon is the reg data and the right side is the location on your disk)
Some hives are volatile and don’t have associated files. The system creates and manages these hives entirely in memory; the hives are therefore temporary in nature. The system creates volatile hives every time the system boots. Examples are:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \HARDWARE : Volatile hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM \Clone : Volatile hive
These files are database files, and only RegEdit, Regedit32 and the Kernel32 can read them. The primary tool in Windows 7 for working directly with the registry is Registry Editor. To access it, simply type Regedit in Start Menu Search Bar and hit Enter !
You will not see the files unless you choose to show them as follows;
Hidden Files and Folders - Show or Hide
HTH
Last edited by Sir George; 03 May 2014 at 10:09. Reason: clarification
If you don't use hibernation, you can delete the hiberfile with this command: powercfg -h off. That frees up space at the amount of the size of your RAM. And if you have 4GB of RAM or more, reduce the pagefile to 2GB.
If you want to quickly see where all your space goes, run this program: https://windirstat.info/
Hello,
You people are absolutely amazing, I shall print out these pages and ' have a bash' as we say, In the meantime I have managed to free up a further 2 gig on the hard drive taking me to 198 gig free space... but I shall stop there. In line with an earler suggestion it's a pointless exercise to look to free up just the remaining 2 gig which would have taken me to 200 gig. However, each post reveals a further 'trinket' insofar that I now need to ask how to reduce the pagefile size.
Thanks to each and every one of you.
Illiterate.
Also,
Look at "Cleanup System Files", you may be able to get a lot of space back ...
To get to this:
- Open Windows (file) Explorer
- Right click the [C] drive
- Click Properties
- Click Disk Cleanup
- Click Clean up system files
Look at how much space can be recovered in "Service Pack Backup Files" and "Windows Update Cleanup"
I've seen up to 10GB free'd depending on
- was the original install pre-SP1
- how many Windows Updates have been installed
- OS is 32 Bit / 64 Bit
- has cleanup ever been run before
My screen print tries to visually show you how to get there ...
Hello,
I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have so much help. On this page alone there are 'little gems' of information, and I thank you all for that... I had better start putting all this info into practise.
Thanks once again.
Illiterate.
Here is my guide on how to use ccleaner if your interested in freeing up some space.
CCleaner - Delete Junk Files
Hello,
I've left a quick note beneath your tutorial. Thanks for taking the trouble to make things clearer for myself and all the other 'newbies' on the forum. Brilliant..Thankyou.
Illiterate.
Another cleaner I remembered that can cleanup and recover space is TFC.
I can't remember how much space I free'd, but I remember being pleasantly surprised.
My OSs were installed 4+ years ago, so your mileage may vary
See this post from Jacee about using TFC
windows update did not configure on restart?
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