Running Out of OS Drive Space, Possible Solutions...

5rrt455645 · 23 Oct 2013

Hi there,

Sorry if I've misposted this but not sure what category this falls in.

I bought an ASUS S56 laptop 6 months back or so that had a hybrid 24 GB SSD and 700 GB HDD. I tried the Windows 8 (which came preinstalled) but I wasn't ready for the change yet so I made the needed BIOS/UEFI changes and installed Windows 7 on the small 24 GB SSD (C:\).

I've setup the defaults so that all new programs and documents are saved on the HDD (E:\) as to keep space available for the OS on the SSD. Now 6 months later my OS is seeming to grow and I'm running out of space on the SSD. I've already disabled hybrid sleep and a few other features in order to minimize the space the OS takes up but I can't seem to stop it from growing.

I'm wondering if there are any additional ways to reduce the space my OS is taking? Is there any files in the C:\Windows that can be deleted? Or is my only true solution to replace the hybrid SSD/HDD with a full size SSD?

Thanks for the help.

Tews · 23 Oct 2013

You can lower the size of your page file, delete restore points except the most recent one, but in the end, I would go for a larger SSD.

whs · 23 Oct 2013

I wonder where all your space goes. The OS should easily fit into 24GBs. I suggest you analyse the space usage with this program. It will give you a nice graphic that will show the big chunks. Click on those and it will tell you what it is.

One more thing you might want to do is to reduce the pagefile to 2GBs maximum. With any RAM 4GB or larger that is plenty.

LOL, Tews beat me to the pagefile deal by 20 seconds. The restore point suggestion is excellent. 1 or 2GBs for the shadowstorage should do. Make frequent images to protect yourself.

Brink · 23 Oct 2013

Hello Joel, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Here's a list of items to check that may help. :)

Hard Disk Space - Free Up and Recover

DavidE · 24 Oct 2013

I agree with all the suggestions you have been given to help minimize and reduce the amount of space needed for Win 7 64 Bit.
However I do not believe 24 GB is a realistic/practical amount for Win 7 x64 on an ongoing basis.
I see an apx .5 GB increase in space used monthly, after Patch Tuesday for W7 x64...
For the screen prints below, the OS was installed ~ 4 years ago, so maybe you won't see the type of space used that I do, if you reinstall the OS (and programs) every "x months".
As I have no problems with an "old" install, I see no need to re-install the OS, all programs, and re-configure everything else.
Anyway, for this Win 7 x64, the Windows folder alone is > 32 GB of space.
Total space for "C" is > 37 GB, and I install all programs on "C".

I remember reading an old SF thread about the min. recommended amount of space needed for Win 7, and I believe the "general consensus" was 60 GB.
If I can find that thread/discussion, I'll post the link.

I haven't run the "Cleanup" for the "new update" and I know i could clean ~ 7 GB of space from this, but how much can that really buy if someone has too small a "C" drive?

Running Out of OS Drive Space, Possible Solutions...-wspsp01.png

Running Out of OS Drive Space, Possible Solutions...-wspsp02.png

indianacarnie · 24 Oct 2013

Welcome to the forums! I believe just about everything "doable" has already been mentioned. I too am of the opinion that a newer larger ssd/C drive is called for. At least in the recent future anyway.

DavidE · 24 Oct 2013

I did forget to mention that from what I see the OP has a laptop...
I have desktops, so adding more HDs/SSDs is not an issue for me...
For someone with a single bay Laptop, that's a consideration...
I don't know the costs of upgrading to a larger hybrid drive for a single bay laptop to try and get the best of both worlds in a single device, and I can appreciate that as an important consideration...

whs · 24 Oct 2013

I don't understand why you guys think that Windows 7 needs all this space. I run 5 of my 6 systems on 60GB SSDs and all have more than 50% of free space. This system I am posting from needs 27GB for Windows 7. But this is an 'old' installation and the winsxs folder is well over 10GB. In a new installation this should be around 5GBs. I have also allocated 3GB for the shadowstorage. Windows 7 itself is only 20.6GBs. Below is a WinDirStat picture that shows the whole story.

The only reason I have a 120GB SSD on this system is because I have 3 virtual systems on the SSD (Windows8, and two Linux) which need another 53GBs. The main space eater is Windows 8. On the 60GB machines I run only 1 virtual Linux from the internal SSD and that fits easily. The other virtual systems I run from an external SSD.

To save space, I do, however, always get rid of the hiberfile and reduce the pagefile to 2GBs. My user data is on the spinners - either internal or external (for the laptop). On my wife's laptops she keeps her data on a USB stick. That makes it easy for her to carry her data between her 3 laptops (in 3 locations).

indianacarnie · 24 Oct 2013

Well.......... ummmmmmmmmm

I have 7 and all my programs on a 128GB SSD, and still have 87GB free. So....... I guess in my case at least I just like having "extra". I DO have 2 drive bays in my laptop so my space is not as constrained as some peoples are. I just like having all the space I can get and with SSD's dropping in price as they are I just can't help but recommend larger. Guess in that respect I'm typically "American", bigger and more powerful IS better after all ..........