Tame a new system’s hard-drive bloat

Topic

New Reply

	TOP STORY[/size][/font] Tame a new system’s hard-drive bloat[/size]
	By Susan Bradley You just bought that new Windows 7 computer, and the next thing you know — you’re running out of space. Here are some tips and tricks to show where your hard drive space is going. [/size]

---

The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/top-story/tame-a-new-systems-hard-drive-bloat/[/url] (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

[/tr][/tbl]

Reply | Quote

Replies

Gave the Service Pack cleanup command a go and it worked OK. Well, at least I managed to do a Restart w/o problem. Please note that, at least on my i5 laptop running Win 7 SP-1 64 bit, the disk drive ran like a b***** for about 10+ minutes after the text mode status bar indicated 100%. Unfortunately, I had a senior moment and forgot to check my C: drive’s space usage before running the command so I can’t report how much space I got back. :cheers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

Reply | Quote

In a few seconds, Tree Size reveals (in descending order) the chief offenders in hogging disk space. Since Windows is a bloat machine, Tree Size is a vital tool in trimming wasted space.

The beauty of this utility is it not only identifies the biggest space hogs, but lets a user view them individually– program by program– within the Explorer-style folder tree. A user can drill down well beyond six levels deep, to actually expose the specific program responsible.

At that point, the program can be deleted, if appropriate.

When I discovered Tree Size about one year ago, I spread the word whenever possible– and continue to use it to keep my regular Windows environment as clean as possible.

Reply | Quote

I’ve used a tool complimentary to TreeSize, that is WinDirStat: http://windirstat.info/ . It also helps identify “space wasters”, but it does so visually. It uses the “treemapping” technique of displaying files and folders as blocks. The size of each block is relative. You can drill down in folders.

On the 1 or more partition question I vote for “more”. At a very minimum I recommend C: for
Windows and Apps, D: for personal DATA files. This way you can restore windows/apps without worrying about nuking your personal data. Part of this approach requires redirecting your Windows profile to the D: drive. That includes your desktop, docs and IE favorites folders to name the “big 3”.

Given the size of HD’s shipping with new computers these days, 200-500+GB, partitioning makes sense. Setting aside 50-70GB for the C:, gives you lots of room for adding apps, while leaving lots of room for data files. Separating OS from Data allows you to customize your backup strategy, setting different frequencies and types Full Image or Incremental, based on changes to files.

Reply | Quote

In typical MS fashion, it took my Win7x64 machine, with an SSD for the C: drive, 20-30 mins just to get to 100%, now it’s taking more minutes to finish.

Reply | Quote

HARDLINKS

Article has “That’s because a file can be located in two places — the …”

It would be better to have “”That’s because the same file (data) can be referenced in multiple directories (folders) (up to 1024) — the …”,

It’s the data that takes up the space, the directory entries (hardlinks) are stored in pre-allocated space known as the Master File Table (MFT) – see here for details http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q174619.

AFAIK things like FolderSizes & WinDirStat do not discount the space for files that are referenced from multiple directories – although I’ve not looked at most recent versions. The reason that these utilities count every hardlink as consuming space, is that to do otherwise would require them to create a partial reverse lookup database – which would itself take space not to mention considerable time.

Reply | Quote

What we need is a way to move programs and data, with new Registry entries and Hard links etc. Those of us not prescient enough to separate data from programs sure could use a way to do it ex post facto.

Reply | Quote

What we need is a way to move programs and data, with new Registry entries and Hard links etc. Those of us not prescient enough to separate data from programs sure could use a way to do it ex post facto.

I think of it this way – programs are the tools (saws, chisels, hammers, drills, needles, spoons, mixers etc), data is the material (wood, tinplate, fabric, eggs, flour, eggs etc)

If I move a chisel from a bench to toolbox, I’d prefer that the wood to stay where I put it 😉

@essex133 – pssst I rarely follow Susan’s advice, but I also don’t run a “corporate” network, our six boxes run with no restriction, UAC off, and WU on – no problems, even with .NET.

Reply | Quote

The thing that struck me the most about the article was Susan’s admission that if you followed her advice and manually installed Windows SP1, unneeded files would have been left on your system, which then have to be got rid of by running the command prompt clean up – whereas if you ignored her advice and only installed SP1 when it became available to you though Windows Update, all the unneeded files would have been deleted automatically! So although I don’t like to say so, maybe there is a lesson to be learned from this story?

Reply | Quote

The thing that struck me the most about the article was Susan’s admission that if you followed her advice and manually installed Windows SP1, unneeded files would have been left on your system, which then have to be got rid of by running the command prompt clean up – whereas if you ignored her advice and only installed SP1 when it became available to you though Windows Update, all the unneeded files would have been deleted automatically! So although I don’t like to say so, maybe there is a lesson to be learned from this story?

Remember that you have to balance this with whether you may at some point need to uninstall SP1. If you run the command prompt clean up, you will make SP1 a permanent part of Windows 7 without the ability to uninstall the service pack. This can be very important if you only have the original Win7 DVD and want to attempt a repair installation of Windows 7 to fix problems without the necessity of reinstalling all your apps and data afterward. If you are unable to uninstall SP1 from you current Win7 install, your original pre SP1 Win7 DVD will not allow you to do a repair install unless and until you remove SP1. Also, downloading and installing the full service pack assures a more trouble free installation than does relying on Windows Update to install SP1.

The easiest way to get around this is to do an image backup of your system partition, if you know it to be healthy, and then run the command prompt clean up as Susan indicated. After successfully cleaning up and consequently making SP1 permanent, another image backup can be made so you can restore the image if your Windows 7 installation becomes broken and in need of repair.

You can get an abundance of information on imaging in the Security & Backups Forum.

Reply | Quote

“benefits to multiple partitions. The first is the ability to separate your personal data from system data”

I agree and it was an easy registry fix under XP , but how do you accomplish it under Win 7

Reply | Quote

”benefits to multiple partitions. The first is the ability to separate your personal data from system data”

I agree and it was an easy registry fix under XP , but how do you accomplish it under Win 7

if you mean My Documents/Pictures etc, then

[*]go to c:/users/<yourusername/ in Windows Explorer,
[*]right click the folder you want to move,
[*]select Properties,
[*]select the Location Tab
[*]enter the new location and click the Move button,
[*]repeat for the other folders you want to move.

There's probably 4 other ways to do that, but its the one I found and it works fine.

Reply | Quote

”benefits to multiple partitions. The first is the ability to separate your personal data from system data”

I agree and it was an easy registry fix under XP , but how do you accomplish it under Win 7

Bob, you might be interested in a recent discussion of this issue in the Windows 7 Forum here.

Reply | Quote

I tried but got this msg:28770-Capture
any ideas for next step?
Thanks,
Ron

Reply | Quote

I tried but got this msg:28770-Capture
any ideas for next step?
Thanks,
Ron

Hi Ron, and welcome to the Lounge!

Did you right click the Command Prompt menu item as Susan depicted in her article and select “Run as Administrator”?

Although you likely are using an Administrator profile, in Windows 7 you are part of the Administrator Group, and are not running with the highest privileges. Running Command Prompt with the “Run as Administrator” command temporarily elevates your privileges to that of The Administrator account in Windows 7, which is much like the Administrator account in XP.

Reply | Quote

Did that just to make sure my shortcut on cmd.exe was still good. And got the same msg. Could it be possible that let Win7 update automatically SP1, and there is nothing there? Too old to remember if I or Win7 did that update….

Hi Ron, and welcome to the Lounge!

Did you right click the Command Prompt menu item as Susan depicted in her article and select “Run as Administrator”?

Although you likely are using an Administrator profile, in Windows 7 you are part of the Administrator Group, and are not running with the highest privileges. Running Command Prompt with the “Run as Administrator” command temporarily elevates your privileges to that of The Administrator account in Windows 7, which is much like the Administrator account in XP.

Reply | Quote

Did that just to make sure my shortcut on cmd.exe was still good. And got the same msg. Could it be possible that let Win7 update automatically SP1, and there is nothing there? Too old to remember if I or Win7 did that update….

No, “Run as Administrator” ensures you are running the software at the most elevated privilege level, which some tasks require.

If Windows Update installed SP1, then there would not be anything to clean up, as WU cleans up after the SP1 install.

Reply | Quote

That’s what I thought. Thank you for easing my mind.

Reply | Quote

The DISM option /SpSuperseded generates the reply “… option not recognized in this context.” The alternative spelling /SpSuperceded also doesn’t work.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the article.
Bottom line, can i delete the winsxs folder or not?
Also, i use ccleaner to clean out my system, there is an addon (i dont remember where i found it) that adds many programs to the options of what to clean out.
Jo

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the article.
Bottom line, can i delete the winsxs folder or not?
Also, i use ccleaner to clean out my system, there is an addon (i dont remember where i found it) that adds many programs to the options of what to clean out.
Jo

It’s fine to clean out most program data. But I would not clean out WinSxS unless you have such a small hard drive that you are constantly running out of disk space. There is no performance advantage to any of these cleanups.

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

I have a 320 hard drive with 10 allocated to recovery, 40 allocated to shadows, and my photos [which Vista is ruining one by one with corruption] on an external drive and even with constant daily or more cleaning 85 gigs is consumed. I don’t know how I’d get that on a 40 or 60. I have so many utilities to examine the file sizes, look for duplicates, you name it, that it is amazing and invest a lot of time maintaining this machine, but I have a lot of spare time.

Reply | Quote

Hi Ron, and welcome to the Lounge!

Did you right click the Command Prompt menu item as Susan depicted in her article and select “Run as Administrator”?

Although you likely are using an Administrator profile, in Windows 7 you are part of the Administrator Group, and are not running with the highest privileges. Running Command Prompt with the “Run as Administrator” command temporarily elevates your privileges to that of The Administrator account in Windows 7, which is much like the Administrator account in XP.

And of course, it is possible to enable The (Hidden) Administrator Account in Windows 7. For all versions, there are instructions here . There are also instructions to re-hide that account, if need be.

By the way, this entire discussion of ways to save space on a hard drive is rather pointless. Given the enormous size and very low cost per gigabyte of today’s hard drives, it is simplest just to give Windows and all its sludge all the room it wants. My Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installation has never grown larger than 50GB, so I give it 120GB to play with. But seriously, 60-80GB would be perfectly sufficient. On a 640-GB internal SATA drive, what’s the difference. performance-wise? Practically zero.

The best excuse for cleaning up a hard drive is to allow Windows and its programs to launch faster. Startups and background processes are the worst offenders here, not accumulated log files and mini-dumps. I do clean out most of the Windows Sludge (with CCleaner and Glary Utilities) periodically, but I would not go so far as to manually clean out WinSxS. The gained disk space is entirely negated by such things as having to repair Windows 7 SP1 when your install disk is SP0. Windows performance doesn’t give a hoot one way or the other.

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

But seriously, 60-80GB would be perfectly sufficient.

Seriously? The vanilla install of Win7 is around 25GB. Put on Office, Photoshop, AutoCAD, 3D Studio MAX, PowerDirector or any other production software, and that 60GB is gone.
The 120GB is better, especially with Autosaves, Temp files, Project fragments, etc.
I once tried separating programs onto another drive, but on a re-install they stopped working because the registry entries disappeared.
Now I only worry about project files and downloads. I prefer programs like FireFox that can have a complete profile backed up and restored easily.
I also prefer the OS on its own drive. And by that I mean its own physical drive, not a partition.
The system will work faster because the OS is not sharing the drive mechanics. As far as I know, all HDD have just one actuator that all the ‘heads’ are attached to.
So no matter how you look at it, only one read or write can be done before the actuator has to move to another location.
And since the OS is always working behind the scenes, another physical drive can be used simultaneously for other things.
No matter how many partitions you divide a drive into, it is still ONE drive.
This steps into the large-drive debate. How big is too big?
Yes Terabytes are cheap, but try to backup one, or three, or twenty. That NAS with 8 Terabytes of variously important data has to be mirrored to where… another NAS with the same or larger capacity.
What happens when a drive has electronic or mechanical failure (or SMART kills it). ALL that data is lost.
Google did an analysis of Drive Failure in 2007 [http://labs.google.com/papers/disk_failures.pdf%5D and the results were interesting.
Windows (95 onward) has always had a problem with re-installation because of the registry.
No matter where you put programs, they will most likely have something in registry.
It would be nice if there was an ‘OS Registry’ and a ‘User Registry’ that could be layered on boot and backed up easily.
Another gripe is the update bloat. A clean install of an OS including an SP is smaller than one that has been updated to the same level.
Why is this? AntiVirus software has the same problem. Can the updates not be integrated? Or compressed?

Reply | Quote

I once tried separating programs onto another drive, but on a re-install they stopped working because the registry entries disappeared. Now I only worry about project files and downloads. I prefer programs like FireFox that can have a complete profile backed up and restored easily.
I also prefer the OS on its own drive. And by that I mean its own physical drive, not a partition.
The system will work faster because the OS is not sharing the drive mechanics. As far as I know, all HDD have just one actuator that all the ‘heads’ are attached to.
So no matter how you look at it, only one read or write can be done before the actuator has to move to another location.
And since the OS is always working behind the scenes, another physical drive can be used simultaneously for other things.
No matter how many partitions you divide a drive into, it is still ONE drive.

DragonXG, you said you once tried installing programs on a different drive to the OS but upon re-install, they stopped working because the registry entries had gone. But a couple of lines down, you said you prefer the OS on its own drive! Surely this is a contradiction and what you really meant to say was that you prefer to have the OS and programs together on one drive?

It would be nice if there was an ‘OS Registry’ and a ‘User Registry’ that could be layered on boot and backed up easily.

Yes, that would be great, wouldn’t it? No doubt it will happen in the not-too-distant future!

Another gripe is the update bloat. A clean install of an OS including an SP is smaller than one that has been updated to the same level.Why is this? AntiVirus software has the same problem. Can the updates not be integrated? Or compressed?

Yes, it’s annoying the way Microsoft Update prompts you to install dozens upon dozens of updates every time you do a clean install. And that only when you have finally finished installing them all (yawn) do they offer you the SP update? One would think that they could roll them all up and bundle them in with the SP update, wouldn’t you? But perhaps it’s better from a safety point of view to keep installing separate batches of updates so that if they do cause any problems, you can roll your system back with the automatic System Restore that was created, before installing the next batch? I don’t know…..?

Reply | Quote

I tried but got this msg:28770-Capture
any ideas for next step?
Thanks,
Ron

Ron,
Have a look at your command, it ends with an underscore. However, Susan’s article is ambiguous on this point: the picture shows the underscore, but the command in the text above does not have it.

If you look at RG’s screenshot in #2 above then he appears to succeed without the underscore.

HTH, but I have not tried it myself.

Regards,
mo.eu

Reply | Quote

When I ran the DISM command in WIN 7 64-bit I get:
Error: 11
You cannot service a running 64-bit operating system with a 32-bit version of DISM.
Please use the version of DISM that corresponds to your computer’s architecture.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the informative article. Will TreeSize take care of all the unwanted and redundent files that are downloaded in the temp and temp internet files that are buried 5, 10 or more layers deep in obscure areas? I do a lot of work with online rating systems and those company sites have buried directories and files where a copy is saved if when I choose another file to save a proposal in.
Regards,
Paul

Reply | Quote

the properties method doesn’t move the profile, just the data. I am wanting to have the complete profile on an seperate drive as the article mentioned, so if the system is resetored the profiles are safe. It was simple in Vista & XP, you changed the drive letter in the registry before the user was added and that is all it required. Thanks

Reply | Quote

Partition drive benefits:
We create images on a separate partition at specific installation intervals.
1) If no recovery partition, then an “out-of_box” image before the first boot into windows is created
2) All windows SP’s and updates, as well as desktop, taskbar, start menu , IE configuration tweaks. Only Admin account exists.
3) Office installed, user accounts created, and each account office settings tweaked. This includes importing Quick Access and Ribbon bar settings.
4) Flash, Java, and all other programs required for everyday usage. This includes all program configurations.
5) My Documents, Music, Video, Photos, Desktop, Favorites are all redirected to the Data partition.

This allows us to quickly go back to specific clean points with an images should the system become unstable, etc., with no worry about overwriting data. The images are always readily available. System Restore points are usually turned off. When the images are created we also make sure that the hibernation file and pagefile are don’t exist, which drastically reduces the image file sizes. Then we turn them back on when ready to put system back into use.

I also use a batch file “Multiple Dated Batch File Backups” which can be found here http://www.captainken.us/utilities.htm to backup all program configuration settings that are stored on the main C drive.

Regarding program drive (C drive) space requirements:
It doesn’t take much to file up 60GB of space with just programs when using Windows 7. Programs like Office, Adobe Suites, video editing programs, restore points, etc will eat up space very quickly. Not to overlook all the windows updates.

Watch out for Sync File Partnerships blot!
The article overlooked this area that I have just discovered. If you’ve created an Explorer jump list shortcut to an external drive, then you have a sync file partnership that has been setup. Here’s a good thread on the topic with examples on how to clean them up.
http://forums.techarena.in/vista-help/668593.htm

Another place disk space is wasted in these two locations with Temp files:
C:UsersadminAppDataLocalTemp
C:WindowsTemp

It is shocking by the amount of installation data that is left behind by various programs. It ranges from several MB’s to a GB or more!!

Therefore, we have developed a program ClearTempFiles.vbs that runs at boot or login that auto deletes these files in both locations. It works on WinXp, Vista and Win7 and we have it running on a large variety of systems. That being said, we take no liability for something going haywire and offer no support. You can download it from my site here http://www.captainken.us/utilities.htm . I came across this one from Bill James http://billsway.com/vbspage/ a few days ago, but haven’t tried it.

Reply | Quote

Good article. My question concerning taming the bloat is: I noticed that the winsxs and other windows folders have a vast array of sub-folders for AMd64 and other chips. I only use the Intel flavor and have no plans to use anybody else’s. Besides, if I do build a non-Intel computer, I’d still install Windows from the DVD. Is there a way to eliminate all those unnecessary files and folders without my head imploding?
Also, I did the SP1 update on-line but that huge winsxs folder is still there, even after trying to run the command-line trick you showed.

Reply | Quote

I agree with DragonXG that 25GB can be eaten up very quickly.

BTW, the correct Google labs link is http://labs.google.com/papers/disk_failures.pdf

Reply | Quote

Does Win7 still have the stupid C:WINDOWSInstaller folder that keeps growing?

On my WinXP system, this folder is almost 4GB and consumes 1/3 of the total partition size of my C: partition.

This folder cannot be removed nor can you remove files from it (I know, I tried and I had to reload an image backup). Eventually, the only way I was able to save some space was to compress it. That gave me 750MB back. So if you can’t remove something, consider compression.

Reply | Quote

Does Win7 still have the stupid C:WINDOWSInstaller folder that keeps growing?

On my WinXP system, this folder is almost 4GB and consumes 1/3 of the total partition size of my C: partition.

This folder cannot be removed nor can you remove files from it (I know, I tried and I had to reload an image backup). Eventually, the only way I was able to save some space was to compress it. That gave me 750MB back. So if you can’t remove something, consider compression.

Are you seriously saying that 4GB is 1/3 of the total size of your C: drive partition? In other words, your C: drive partition is only 12GB? If so, why on earth have you never swapped out the HD for a decent sized one, when they are so cheap? Good God man, get a grip! A single DVD is 4.7gb and a lot of people put 32GB flash drives in their cameras these days and you are still struggling on with a 12GB partition for Windows and programs?

If your computer came with XP pre-installed and you don’t know how to go about changing the hard drive, there are zillions of articles on the web that will tell you exactly how to do it! So do yourself a big favour, look them up and then splash out $50 on a new hard drive instead of tinkering around trying to delete system files to save a measly 750MB of disk space!

Reply | Quote

Are you seriously saying that 4GB is 1/3 of the total size of your C: drive partition? In other words, your C: drive partition is only 12GB? If so, why on earth have you never swapped out the HD for a decent sized one, when they are so cheap? Good God man, get a grip! A single DVD is 4.7gb and a lot of people put 32GB flash drives in their cameras these days and you are still struggling on with a 12GB partition for Windows and programs?

If your computer came with XP pre-installed and you don’t know how to go about changing the hard drive, there are zillions of articles on the web that will tell you exactly how to do it! So do yourself a big favour, look them up and then splash out $50 on a new hard drive instead of tinkering around trying to delete system files to save a measly 750MB of disk space!

C’mon man. Look at my post count (741). Do you think I might just maybe perhaps possibly know what I am doing? I recommend that you don’t assume or jump to conclusions.

FYI: I built this system myself. At the time I built it, the components were all high-end. The system is overclocked and I have about 3GB left on my C: partition. Which is plenty under WinXP.

This system does what I need right now and I’ve seen no compelling reasons to upgrade to Vista or Win7, so I don’t need a huge C: partition. IF I do decide to upgrade, it will most likely be to Win8.

Capisce?

Reply | Quote

C’mon man. Look at my post count (741). Do you think I might just maybe perhaps possibly know what I am doing? I recommend that you don’t assume or jump to conclusions.

FYI: I built this system myself. At the time I built it, the components were all high-end. The system is overclocked and I have about 3GB left on my C: partition. Which is plenty under WinXP.

This system does what I need right now and I’ve seen no compelling reasons to upgrade to Vista or Win7, so I don’t need a huge C: partition. IF I do decide to upgrade, it will most likely be to Win8.

Capisce?

The only reason I suggested you buy a new hard drive ibe98765;816926 is because you said you had once deleted some or all of the Windows Installer folder just to try and save a paltry 4GB of space and consequently had to re-image your PC! And given that anyone who really knows what they’re doing would have known not to try and delete files from Windows Installer, I think I could be forgiven for “assuming” that perhaps you didn’t know enough to be able to swap out the hard drive.

And although you now declare that you do not need more than 3gb of space for XP, that cannot be entirely true else you would not have had to try deleting or compressing Windows Installer, would you?

And why add that you see no compelling reason to upgrade to Vista or Win7, when I did not suggest you do so?! I cannot help but get the impression, from your extremely narky reply to my totally innocent albeit jokingly cajouling post, that you are the sort of person who cannot bear to be even gently cajouled into splashing out on a new hard drive?

Does Win7 still have the stupid C:WINDOWSInstaller folder that keeps growing?

On my WinXP system, this folder is almost 4GB and consumes 1/3 of the total partition size of my C: partition.

This folder cannot be removed nor can you remove files from it (I know, I tried and I had to reload an image backup). Eventually, the only way I was able to save some space was to compress it. That gave me 750MB back. So if you can’t remove something, consider compression.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the article Susan. I do like TreeSizeFree. I also like my data on a separate drive to make backup and restore easier. Particularly when I want to restore the OS. One useful thing apart from using the tip from

Northwood2222 if you mean My Documents/Pictures etc, then

[*]go to c:/users/<yourusername/ in Windows Explorer,
[*]right click the folder you want to move,
[*]select Properties,
[*]select the Location Tab
[*]enter the new location and click the Move button,
[*]repeat for the other folders you want to move.

There's probably 4 other ways to do that, but its the one I found and it works fine.

I like to make sure that the rest of the Users folder is backed up particularly the AppData so I create symbolic directory links in the data drive
e.g.
I have a folder on D: called bob open a cmd window as Administrator then change to D: then cd bob
mklink /d AppData c:usersbobAppdata
Now when I backup Bob's data his AppData gets backed up as well

Reply | Quote

@ibe98765 and @essex133,

OK, it is time to ramp things down a bit, and treat each other with mutual respect. I also recommend you both edit your posts to remove some of the biting rhetoric.

Reply | Quote

Essex133:
I will instead. I find your comment and response very off-putting for a new poster here.
In my experience, the tone of this board is different than others I have looked in on.
Calling someone a “skin-flint” is out of place here.
Have at me too, if you want to vent some more spleen.
Dick

Reply | Quote

I’m sorry you found my post off-putting, Dick. I have now removed the offending remark. But in all fairness, I found ibe98765’s retort to my original reply to his post quite narky too, which is why I decided to pick it apart fact by fact! But since I have accepted my ticking off and apologised immediately, I hope I am now forgiven (providing I do not repeat this faux pas of course, which I will try my best not to)?

Reply | Quote

A little tip! Some of you probably already knew about this, but for those of you who don’t.

Just a quicker and more efficient way to run an admin-level command prompt :
Click the Win 7 Start Orb and type “cmd” in the search box and then Ctrl + shift + enter.
That’s It, You are done.

Reply | Quote

Just for the record, my Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Windows Partition has 150GB available. But it never uses more than 50GB. Then again, I do not have Photoshop, Autocad, and other workstation applications in there. After all, mine is only a laptop.

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

	TOP STORY[/size][/font] Tame a new system’s hard-drive bloat[/size]
	By Susan Bradley You just bought that new Windows 7 computer, and the next thing you know — you’re running out of space. Here are some tips and tricks to show where your hard drive space is going. [/size]

---

The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/top-story/tame-a-new-systems-hard-drive-bloat/[/url] (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

[/tr][/tbl]

Hi, nice advice but why not make the Command prompt ‘command’ visible in the text so it can be copied and pasted?

Thanks again for the useful info.

Reply | Quote

thanks,
if i do remove winsxs what problems might i have?

Reply | Quote

thanks,
if i do remove winsxs what problems might i have?

It’s not so much that there will be problems. Although, any 32-bit program running in a 64-bit Windows environment will create new WinSxS data (and SysWoW data) — and lots of it. That being as it may, you simply would accomplish nothing much useful, except for a temporary gain of a little hard drive real estate, which would be taken back as 32-bit programs are run.

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

Hey all,

I, too, ran the command, and after several minutes it was completed. I gained about 5 GB of space and the amount of items in the winsxs folder dropped from 14,000 plus to about 10,000 plus. I thought all the sub-folders in the winsxxs folder were to be deleted; is this not the case?

Also, on the subject of space: The computer I tried this on is my Vaio laptop with a 500 GB hdd. I use this as a secondary backup for my music collection, so with all that and my programs I am down to about 125 GB left. This right now is plenty of space, but as I acquire more music that will certainly not be the case forever. Also, I have pictures and videos I’d like to transfer to this laptop, but at this rate it is not feasible. (I also have two external hdd and my main desktop with all music pictures and videos, so this is not my only backup.)

Reply | Quote