Help - C: running extremely low on space [Win7 ultimate| 64 Bit]

Spacescreamer

Spacescreamer

ex-Mod
Hey guys..

I had allocated 30GB for the C: when i installed Win7.
There are other 3 partition as well which have got ample space.

Issue is with the main C: partition. I have been running out of space for quite some time. 2.xx GB used to be the norm generally which itself used to be pretty low. Since past few days that the updates been pushed, the scene is hovering at less than a GB at times as well.
I havent installed anything major apart from the essential stuff.

I thought 30 GB will be good enough for the Win 7 ultimate (64 bit), but the space management is really killing me now.
I have to install some important programs now, but with such low space status.. i dont think it ll be possible.

So pls do tell me what is taking up so much space on the HDD (C: ie)
and how to reclaim decent amount of GB back..

Thanks in advance. :)


EDIT: Already did checked the C:\windows\temp.. atm nothing more than 120MB.
 
if you do regular Win 7 updates check the C:\windows\software Distribution\download folder.
this is where the updates are downloaded before being applied.

You can delete this folder safely to reclaim space.

Also you can install programs in your other partitions without any problem what so ever.
 
do u use itunes? I had an issue wherein both my sis's and my iphone created almost 20+ GB of stitty backups
Check to see if any program is creating such backups
 
TheIcebreaker said:
if you do regular Win 7 updates check the C:\windows\software Distribution\download folder.
Click to expand...

This is a good trick, reclaims around ~50MB -->200MB depending on how many updates you have pushed in recent times.

@Spacescreamer, when you use the clean for temporary files option do you delete all the extra space-hogging system files in your drive like -- rollback files for SP1 patch [this takes ~900MB in a 64-bit installation], others areas that can be culled are the 'restore points' which can hog a lot of space. Do not do this. if you pull the plug on the SP1 backup files you cannot rollback to vanilla Windows7; the only recourse is a re-installing of the OS.

Finally like Ryan has said use something like CCleaner to keep your 'temps' in check. You can download it from here --> CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download.

Hope this helps, Cheerio!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
vercetti said:
do u use itunes? I had an issue wherein both my sis's and my iphone created almost 20+ GB of stitty backups
Check to see if any program is creating such backups
Click to expand...

No itune usage. :)


TheIcebreaker said:
if you do regular Win 7 updates check the C:\windows\software Distribution\download folder.
this is where the updates are downloaded before being applied.

You can delete this folder safely to reclaim space.

Also you can install programs in your other partitions without any problem what so ever.
Click to expand...

Found 2GB worth of material.
Updates been applied. Atleast the essential ones. So planning to remove all the bloat from that folder. Thanks

But still i feel the space is taken up a lot more than expected. ~24GB for OS (if i keep about around 2GB aside for the other S/w )??

I found this before i went about posting this query in here: Why does Windows 7 take up my entire 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD? - Microsoft Answers
 
With no software installed and swap file/hiberfil.sys moved off the partition, and weekly cleaning and maintenance, you can get a Win7 x64 install in under 14GB. I have this on two machines so I know what I'm talking about. x86 is even smaller, I can crash the space down to about 8GB which is not too shabby.

Things to watch for:

Swap file size, over 4GB means you can keep a very small or no swap file (I have none, with 8GB RAM).

hiberfil.sys, a file that is about the same size as the memory you have on board. Indispensable for laptops and for systems that need to hibernate. For all the others, best removed totally, search for instructions online.

Temporary files, you won't believe the amount of garbage Windows generates.

Browser cache: if at all possible, keep your cache small. A 50MB cache should be enough for 8-9 hours of browsing. Mozilla caches are difficult to fully clean so it's best to move them off the disk totally, or to not have a cache at all if you have a decent connection.

Programs: Install everything off the C: drive. Technically, partitioning one disk should be done only when there is no other disk. If you have one more, use that to install software and utilities.

Windows updates, as pointed out above, can occupy up to 1GB if you add in service packs and all updates.

Finally, Windows' own utilities can have a pretty large footprint, use the Control Panel to run the features 'off'.
 
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