Where's my disk space going?

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JDiskReport is a similar free tool that I've had great luck with over the years, on machines ranging from PC's to enterprise file servers.
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/

Wow. Over 19GB in the C:\BACKUPS folder I created 2-1/2 years ago and forgot all about, over 16GB of stuff I downloaded from MSDN and didn't put on DVDs yet, and 49GB for all the .iso files on my system.

I guess it's time for a little cleanup.

Hi guys,
Each time you install a new software oor uninstall or make changes to the computer, WINDOWS save all the modifications, so if something wrong happens later, you can be able to restore your system.
This option is called "SYSTEM RESTORE" (at least on VISTA).
And as default it can occupyed 10% of the HD. The only way to make this not happen is to delete these files stored by WINDOWS or just to deactivate the "SYSTEM RESTORE" .
If you want more informations just ask.

Gowest,

Vista's default is actually 15% and can be changed by using VSSADMIN command from a command line.
http://www.davescomputertips.com/Newsletters/20070801.php#4

I bet the original question was an XP installation. I would also bet there are quite a few MS Update files in the c:\windows folder he could delete.

How about changing the amount of disk space the Recycle Bin uses? It's default is 10% of your hard drive space. I change mine to about 2% because I rarely delete anything that I want to retrive.
On a small drive the extra space really helps.

It's called "System Restore" on both Windows XP and on Vista. You can access the options to modify or disable it by right clicking "My Computer" and hitting properties or scrolling over to "System" in Control Panel.

for Vista: "System protection" should be on the list on the left (this opens the "System Protection" tab where System Restore resides).

XP: "System Restore" is also located as a tab.

I do recommend that you leave it enabled IF you dont have another backup solution (I recommend you get one), but it might be useful to you to lower the disk space reserved for System Restore properties.

I HIGHLY recommend Treesize.
http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml
It simply does not get any easier than this program. There is a free version and a paid version. I use the free version. It also integrates a right click context menu entry while in explorer that allows you to easily view the disk space used for a selected folder. I have tried SpaceMonger and found its' interface to be far too confusing.

Philip

One thing that can steadily consume disk space is cached Internet pages - easily cleared via the tools menu of your browser.

I have seen more than once (today for example) in running the JKDefrag utility actually reclaim free space on a gunked up server. I suspect its rebuilding stale directory tables that allocate space no longer in use.

I like your "tip jar" (very clever). However, I cannot tip because I have not yet found an answer to my question.

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