Windows XP disk space problem

[Duoae]

Okay, i'll make it short since XP just crashed and ate everything i had open.

I have a 4GB primary HD and it's short on space. I send all temporary files like cookies and such to the secondary disk to save on space.

Windows has the biggest directory at 1.5 GB - which is fine, but i was wondering if there are files i can delete in the hidden "undo" folder. There are two large archived files; backup and boot. I don't use system restore so i was wondering if i can delete the backup file - or does windows check the parity of files in the system with those in the archive or replace them if one suddenly corrupts or something? Also the system volume information folder. As i don't use restore, can i just send it to the bin?

There are also loads of $NTuninstall folders in the windows folder. Does anyone know if it's safe to get rid of these? I won't be undoing any downloaded patches i've had for XP so i'm not worried about that if that's what they do...

Thanks for the help!

[superbo3]

i would say get a bigger harddisk you can easyly find very very cheap ones now a days

[NutWrench]

System Restore can take up a lot of space, too. You can change the size of it or disable it.

[Duoae]

I have a 20GB as my secondary. But this pc is for work (and in work) none of it is my own and i have no money to buy more parts. The reason i don't swap them around is because i keep all of my work data on the secondary. There's no way i'm having a smaller or partitioned drive as my primary with my data. Plus the headache of reinstalling a legitimate copy of XP..... and the long time backing up of all my stuff off of the secondary - which i do about every month.

I'll delete those backups. Thing is, i've never had system restore enabled.... i don't know why they are there.

[edit]

Quick question about the system restore. I can delete lower numbers right? ie. the restore points go from RP336 to RP347. So i can delete everything from 336 - 335 right?

[NutWrench]

Since you have 2 drives, you could put your swap file on the second drive, too. (You can change it right from the desktop)

[Duoae]

Thanks Nutwrench! 1.5 GB is now free! I've also increased the size of my page file allocation as well.... hopefully i won't get as much slowdown from lack of memory now.


I'll raise a beer in your honour tonight! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Scotty]

The "Undo" stuff sounds like it's left over from a past upgrade from Windows 98/ME/2000. If so, there should be a "Windows XP uninstall information" entry in "Add/Remove", which should remove any such files.

The "$NTuninstall" folders were created by updates, hotfixes, etc. If you're sure you'll never need to roll back, you can delete all of these.

To turn off System Restore, go to the System Restore tab in System (or rightclick My Computer, pick Properties, then go to that tab). This should get rid of everything in the "System Volume Information" folders.

If you just want to downsize System Restore, use the slider to select a smaller size. Older restore points will automatically be purged.

If you already deleted things in System Volume Information by hand, System Restore may now be corrupt. It would be safest to turn it off, reboot, verify the System Volume Information directories are empty, turn it back on, then select a smaller size.

A warning about System Restore: System restore monitors everything outside of "Documents and Settings" for changes. If you download a few gigs of files, discover a problem with your system, use System Restore to fix it, anything you saved outside of Documents and Settings after the restore point could get wiped out. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

[Duoae]

Yeah, ta. I've basically done all of those now.