I just got this new computer and already I need help with it. There is something going on that I just can’t explain or understand. This new Gateway came with 428 (of 459 total) GB of free space available. Great, I thought. That’s a hell of a lot. More than I’d ever need or use, certainly.
But then it started to shrink for some reason. The first day it went down to 422 GB of free space left. Then 420. Why, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s causing it but I know what it’s NOT.
First thing that it’s not: Downloading things. I have downloaded SOME things but none of it is malicious in any way. I’m talking things like Yahoo Messenger and Trillian and other things most computers have. I even have a lot of anti-virus programs and spyware seekers and they say everything is fine, not to mention this stuff started only a few hours after I first got net service. I even tried deleting preloaded programs that I’m never going to use (like MS Word and MS Office–things that took up a lot of space) and my free space went down more of all things instead of up! I even tried deleting the things I’ve downloaded (I.E. Trillian, messengers) and it doesn’t do any good.
Second thing it’s not: Nothing needs to be emptied or deleted. I delete temp files every day. I even tried deleting all cookies and saved password info. I empty the Recycle Bin on a daily basis.
Yet the second and third day I had this computer, the free space went down to 419 GB and then 415 GB. So I went to bed and when I got up the next day (I left the computer on, although my screensaver ran) it was at 410 GB.
Third thing I know it’s not: Leaving my computer on all night. Because after that night, first I started putting my computer on sleep mode (didn’t work, next day I had 409 GB) and two nights ago I shut it down completely just to start it up again the next day (again, it didn’t work. 406 GB).
So by now I was opening “computer” and checking the free space on an hourly basis. Sometimes it’d slip down a notch without me even doing anything but going from internet page to internet page…but then, yesterday, when I got up and came on and checked it (401 GB), I started up the internet and then checked it again. It was at 399 GB! So I shut down the window I had up, started the internet up a new and checked it again. 398!
WHAT is going on here? How could I have lost three GBs of free space by just opening a web browser? I just don’t get it. On my mom’s computer you can download a million things and it takes about 60 new programs downloaded just to lose HALF a GB. I mean seriously, a GB is a BIG thing. How can one lose THREE alone just opening a browser? Even now I just checked it and in the last three hours it’s down to 389 GB. Where is it going? Does anyone have any idea?
I even tried System Restore and deleting files and other programs I don’t need. Nothing seems to work. I know all the of things it can’t be (as listed above) but I have no idea what it could be. I’m guessing I don’t have something turned on that I should or something off that I should have turned on or something flicked to the “activated” or “deactivated” mode but I’m at a loss to what it could be.
I have a feeling I’m going to have to call the store I got it from and ask for support but I wanted to avoid that (I’m not so good talking with people on the phone I don’t know–I have trouble ordering a pizza even) and give you guys a chance first.
Does anyone have any idea or suggestions? I’m willing to try almost anything. It’s alarming the pace I’m losing GB over nothing is at right now.
Vista’s System Restore may be part of the problem. Of my 250 GB, 30 GB is dedicted to System Restore. This was a bit of a shock at first. I guess MS assumes everyone uses 1 TB drives these days.
But I was losing GB way before I ever ran System Restore the first time. Since then I’ve ran it once more (so twice total). I can understand it taking up space and even a lot of space but does it consistantly make the disk space go down?
If anyone has any questions (about things I have on or off or regarding my computer), I’ll answer/find out. Feel free to suggest things it could be and how to remedy it and I’ll try them all. Just as long as it stops the disk space from slowly going down.
It’s gone down three times now after I’ve gone to bed so whatever it is, it’s something that must still run or work after the computer’s off or in sleep mode…and like I said, it went down just by opening up a browser so I’m thinking it has to do with something not turned off or on or something I’m missing/not knowing about that needs to be emptied or…man, I have no idea.
I’ll try that Treesize thing.
Guys, you’re asking me questions in Greek. I know NOTHING about computers. I have no idea how many hard drives I have (one? No idea.), no idea what a system is (is that what version of computer I’m using? I have Window’s Vista), or what a partition is.
I have three that are the main ones. Trend Micro Anti-Virus, SpySweeper, and BigFix. That’s all (I’m pretty sure)
I have no idea how to use this treesize thing.
I’m better at you guys just telling me what to look up and reporting back what the answer is. I can follow directions really well, but asking me “What blah blah do you blah?” will be like trying to explain to me something while speaking Japanese.
Okay, I think I may have found the culprit folder.
I used Treesize to sort by date what’s been storing the things that take up the most space and it’s there. It’s the “System Volume Information files”. As you can see from the GB used each day numbers, they coincide with how much I’ve been losing daily.
Only I don’t know:
A. What they are.
B. If my computer can work without them
C. How to access it even (keeps giving me a message saying access is denied. For good reason?)
D. If that’s really what’s taking up the space on the computer and making the free space go down daily or if it’s something else.
E. How to stop it if it IS the culprit.
How do I get rid of them? Whatever they are, they keep growing.
Those files take up 11 percent of the free space.
Thank you, Quartz for telling me about TreeSize.
Ok. I can’t help much, because I don’t do Vista, but it looks like **Quartz **nailed it in one. It is problem with Vista’s System Restore. Good news are that most probably you can fix it with some tuning of settings and/or Treesize. The bad news is that you have to wait for someone more Vista savvy to explain exactly how.
Oh? So with those screenshots that I posted, you can tell it’s the System Restore eating up the Disk Space daily? What do you see that tells you that? Is System Restore what creates those System Volume Information files?
Anyway, if anyone knows how to fix it (and possibly regain that lost disk space), just tell me step by step what to do (in here or PM) and I’ll do it. I’d be forever in your debt.
Unless you are really short on disk space, I wouldn’t worry about it. The fact that disk space seems to be disappearing does not mean that it will continue until all of the space is exhausted. The operating system and its applications use disk space to improve performance and enable recovery from problems. That’s a feature, not a bug.
Well, it’s a pretty annoying (and somewhat disconcerting) feature. But I’ll let it go for awhile now and see just how low it gets.
And thank you very much, GuanoLad, that topic sounds exactly like what’s going on. I’ll use it to help my computer if/when the space lowers to alarming levels.
If anyone has any suggestions, tips, stories or anything else to add, though, feel free.
Well, if default for Vista is 15% and your HD is 459 GB then it should eat… <after quick calculation> …something like 69 GB. Kinda a lot. I would set it to lower levels after all.
What’s happenning here is that very so often Window backs up key files - the registry and the like - to the System Volume Information folder. This typically happens after you log in and once a day or so. Then, should things go pear-shaped, you can recover by using Last Known Good (in the former case) or restoring to another system restore point (in the latter).
Despite the space used, I like to keep a long history. I leave my machine on semi-permanently, so if one of Microsoft’s updates has a nasty side-effect, I might not immediately notice it.
I can follow directions really well, but asking me “What blah blah do you blah?” will be like trying to explain to me something while speaking Japanese.
