Where is my free space?

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

I have a 60gb OCZ ssd, so space is at a premium. I did disable hibernation for starters which helped.

If I go to Windows Explorer & right click on my drive, it says I am using 42.3GB with 17.1GB free. If I go into my C drive & select all & then right click & goto properties, it says I am using 32.8 GB & that is also the size on the disk.

Where is my missing 10 GB?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Thorsen]

interesting. Can you post a Screenshot of what you are seeing?

 

[RichTJ99]

I do have hidden files being displayed if that matters.

 

[DeaconFrost]

There's a free program called WinDirStat that will show you exactly where and what is using your space.

 

[Thorsen]

Can you make a different selection say 1 or 2 folders so your size would be less than 32G and see if it gives you a different number for the Size on disk?

 

[Thorsen]

the 10G might be allocated for the SSD for file table? swap? I have heard there is space used, but not remembering what it was for.

 

[Dwarf]

I've had a look at mine, and found the same situation. My figures, in the same order as yours, are as follows:



Just to confuse things, and make it a bit more perplexing, TreeSize Free (JAM Software - Windows Freeware) gives the following result:



This is what WinDirStat (http://sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat/) says (note that I have installed this program AFTER the above images were taken):

 

[dnorris]

System Restore points normally use about 15% of the disk space.

Change the amount of space used by System Restore | Windows Vista for Beginners

 

[RichTJ99]

Hrmm, it looks like I have system restore turned off already. I did check just a few folders & it does show less than 32gb.

Any other ideas on where to look?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[pparks1]

It's most likely the system restore taking up the space.

Right click My Computer, Properties
Click Advanced System Protection
Click System Protection Tab
Click on C drive and choose Configure button.

It will then show you the current usage and how much could be used.

 

[whs]

The only way to find out is to search systematically.

1. Run WinDirStat as already advised. That will give you the total number of bytes used by the operating system and user files. There you can also explore all folders for details. It does not, however, not show the shadowstorage

2. for that, open an elevated Command Prompt and type (or paste) vssadmin list shadowstorage. That will show you all the space used by restore points.

The results of 1 and 2 together should add to the 42.3GBs. There are no "mystery files" to look for.

 

[RichTJ99]

Here it is.

 

[fseal]

Turn off hibernation to save 1x system ram in space. WHich can be 4, 8 or 12 gig!

Also move your virtual memory over to a secondary drive with will save you 0.5 to 1x your ram.

If you have 12 gig of ram you will instantly get back 16 gig of space on your C drive.

Search forums for tutorials on each of those options.

 

[whs]

Here it is.

And what is the total C of WinDirStat?

 

[RichTJ99]

I guess its the 12gig pagefile?

 

[RichTJ99]

Turn off hibernation to save 1x system ram in space. WHich can be 4, 8 or 12 gig!

Also move your virtual memory over to a secondary drive with will save you 0.5 to 1x your ram.

If you have 12 gig of ram you will instantly get back 16 gig of space on your C drive.

Search forums for tutorials on each of those options.

Is there a downside to moving the virtual memory off the root drive? Should I just turn it off or down?

I dont really ever use more than 5-6 gigs of ram. I actually accidentally ordered an extra 6gig pack from newegg when I built this & I figured I would just keep it.

 

[whs]

Your best bet is to reduce the page file to 1 or 2GBs. Chances are it will never be used anyhow. I would not move it to another drive.