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date: Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:06:29 -0500,
group: microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
back
Re: LOST Disk space for no reason
Hi, redheart.
This question comes up often. The answer is usually multi-part; some parts
are simple, others not.
First, are you sure ALL hidden files are showing? Can you see hiberfil.sys
and pagefile.sys? Each of these will be at least as large as your installed
RAM and they don't normally appear. How about your Recycle Bin? Have you
emptied it recently?
To see a list of ALL your files in all folders and subfolders, open an
Administrator:Command Prompt window (right-click on CMD.exe, click Run as
Administrator and supply the password) and use the good old DOS command Dir
with a couple of switches:
Dir c:\ /s /a
For a big drive with lots of files, you'll probably have time for a cup of
coffee as the thousands of files scroll up your screen. The Dir command
lists all the files in a Directory - the former name for Folder. The C:\
makes it start in the Root (\) of Drive C:. The /s switch lists files in
all subfolders, too. And the /a switch lists all files, even those with
Hidden or other attributes set. In other words, this lists everything on
Drive C:, subtotaled by folder.
Type Dir /? to see a mini-help file showing all the switches and parameters
available with the Dir command. For example, /p will pause the listing
after every screenful. Dir /os will list the files by size with the largest
at the top; dir /o-s will put the smallest at the top. And, of course, Dir
"C:\Program Files" will list only those in that folder. Many other
variations are possible; just type dir /? and study it for a while.
One factor that affects some users more than others is "slack space". Since
the default size of an "allocation unit" or "cluster" is 4 KB, every file
will use at least that much disk space, even if it is a one-byte file. And
every file will waste a portion of its final cluster unless its size is
evenly divisible by 4 KB. So 1,000 1-byte files will take 4 MB of disk
space, even though the contents add up to only 1,000 bytes. If you have
only a few large files, this factor is negligible, but if you have many
small files, the impact can be noticeable. And the Windows Live Mail
database, for example, is made up of many small .eml and .nws files. (NTFS
uses disk space usage more efficiently for small files, so this is less of a
problem than for FAT or FAT32 systems.)
I'm sure that doesn't answer all your questions, but it should help you
explore further.
On a side note, redheart, your message was posted on some forum named
"NNTP-Posting-Host: vistax64.com", apparently, and forwarded from there to
the Microsoft public news server, which is the host for this
microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management newsgroup. While forums like
Vistax64 perform a valuable service in disseminating helpful information,
the relay to and from the MS server often results in messages that are
delayed, out of sequence, or just plain lost. To "cut out the middleman"
and be connected directly to the Microsoft public news server, which is free
and does not require you to log in, just click here:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management
That one click will start your news reader, create your news account on the
MS server, and download the most recent posts for you to read. Later, you
can click Tools | Options and customize the interface in many ways to suit
the way you want to use it.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
"redheart" wrote in message
news:c8908bb002ee37850df11486cdbddc9c@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> Hi, I am on Vista 64 SP1 Home Version.
>
> Under Computer, the Local Disk C: shows I have used 57GB of C drive.
>
> But in C Drive, I highlighted all the folders and hit properities, it
> shows only about 47 or so GB. I have enalbed display all hidden files
> and system files. So where the heck did the 10 GB space go ?
>
>
> --
> redheart
date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:42:29 -0500
author: R. C. White
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