Re: Low disk space
From: R. C. White (rc_at_corridor.net)
Date: 10/19/04
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Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 10:27:47 -0500
Hi, Haim.
Fragmentation means that files are scattered. It does not refer to the
quantity of files, but merely to whether they are split into multiple
pieces. A 10 MB file takes up 10 MB of space, whether it is in a single 10
MB contiguous area or divided into ten 1 MB fragments. And it is not like
NAV to complain of low disk space, but one of the other Norton products, or
WinXP itself.
Many activities can cause disk space to be consumed, either temporarily or
permanently. As a quick example, if you Copy a file, WinXP first writes the
new copy, then deletes the old; temporarily, you have two copies using disk
space. If you Delete a file, WinXP usually just moves it to the Recycle
Bin, where it continues to occupy space until you Empty the Recycle Bin (and
maybe the Norton Protected Files), at which time the space does get
reclaimed. If you are running an application such as a video editor, which
consumes a lot of disk space, you may have many temporary copies of the
file(s) you are working on. When you exit the editor program, it should
clean up the scratch copies, reclaiming all that space. After a reboot, as
you've noted, all programs are closed, so space used temporarily by all your
programs is available again - until you use it up again.
Permanent consumers of disk space include all the files that we can see,
plus many that may be hidden. If you go to Folder Options and check the
View tab, you'll see many checkboxes under Files and Folders. By default,
WinXP is set to not show hidden files and folders, to hide operating system
files and to not display the contents of system folders. These settings are
fine most of the time, and they protect newbies from stumbling into unsafe
territory. For an experienced user, though, changing these options helps to
answer the "where did my disk space go" question.
A couple of other normally-hidden files use large chunks of disk space. The
system cache (also known as the swap file or paging file) is in
pagefile.sys; the default setting is for 1.5 x RAM (768 MB for a system with
512 MB RAM) and the default location is in the Root of the boot volume. If
you use hibernation, you should also find hiberfil.sys there, just slightly
larger than your RAM (it can't be moved elsewhere).
To reclaim your free space without rebooting, you'll need to determine which
programs are using the space and not relinquishing it when done. If you
mention your favorite programs, someone here may know some "tricks of the
trade" that will make them less hungry for disk space.
RC
-- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX rc@corridor.net Microsoft Windows MVP "Haim Guivon" <arieh@lookup.net> wrote in message news:utF3enetEHA.4044@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl... > After the computer has been woking for several hours, I receive a message > from Norton AV saying that the free disk space is dangerously low and > instructing me to close running programs. > > When I check I can see that the free space in partition C:\ is indeed > close to zero. This is not due to fragmentation. > > After a reboot, "Properties" show that disk C:\ has again about 30% free > space. > > Two questions, please: > > 1) How can the disk become full when it is not due to fragmentation? Full > of what? > > 2) Is there a way except rebooting to restore free space? Closing programs > doesn't help. > > Thanks, > haim
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