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Thread ID: 63548 2005-11-13 19:52:00 Winodws XP Incorrectly Reporting Free Space Gamesnmore (7422) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
404170 2005-11-13 19:52:00 OK I am trying to fix a computer. It has Windows XP and a 120GB Hard Drive. It used to report the free space correctly, now how ever it is saying that there is only 6.5GB free.

I have all files and folders showing and I have calculated the actual amount of space that is being used and how much should actually be free. 6.5GB is about 20-30GB less than it should be.

Windows recognises the full size of the Hard Drive correctly. The Recycle bin is empty, Restore points are off. I have run ScanDisk through it with fix errors etc ticked.

If we delete something from the hard drive it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any suggestions on what to try next to solve this problem??

Thanks

Nathan
Gamesnmore (7422)
404171 2005-11-13 21:26:00 Two or three things come to mind here

Is this a pre-installed OPSYS? Then you have a hidden partition with the rescue stuff there...or

You don't have SP-2 installed...XP has a hard time recognising large drives without SP-2 ....or


You forget to install the drive's drivers....

Confirm all this first and try again...
SurferJoe46 (51)
404172 2005-11-13 21:39:00 Check under Disk Management for unallocated space. Metla (12)
404173 2005-11-13 21:42:00 Run a Error-checking / Scandisk on the HDD CYaBro (73)
404174 2005-11-13 22:57:00 No it isn't a preinstalled OS, there is no hidden partition, Windows has SP2 installed, It was working fine see the full size and reporting the correct amount of free space.

It can still see the full size, but it isn't correctly reporting the free space.

I have run Scan Disk already and had it fix errors but still it is incorrectly displaying free space.
Gamesnmore (7422)
404175 2005-11-13 23:00:00 Use ccleaner and clean out all the temp files etc. Speedy Gonzales (78)
404176 2005-11-13 23:08:00 Format C: Metla (12)
404177 2005-11-13 23:55:00 Format C:

Metla..you bad!
SurferJoe46 (51)
404178 2005-11-13 23:57:00 Use ccleaner and clean out all the temp files etc.

Boy..going out on a limb here..but don't the temp files wind up in allocated spaces on the hdd? How are they gonna affect the freespace that cannot be seen?

I always thought there was a limit set to a default value (at least, anyway) in an installation. If the system's XP, then it cleans house all the time..re-allocating space and deleting oldest files for the newest...right?
SurferJoe46 (51)
404179 2005-11-14 00:25:00 True the temp files are counted and reported just like any other file on the disk, It won't have any bearing on the dive size being misreported, Though the thread starter probally has something like system restore enabled.

As for XP doing self maitence?

Hell no, Its default settings and habit of cacheing every damn thing cause a rapid blowout, and provide nice nesting places for adware,spyware and viruses.

When I clean out a system before scanning for infectations I can remove multiple gigs of pure and utter rubbish, Especially when I flush system restore.

And keep in mind that XP keeps seperate temp/cache/history files for each user account.
Metla (12)
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