Solving Hard Disk Problem with Dell GX620

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SUMMARY

The discussion addresses a storage discrepancy on a Dell GX620 computer running Windows XP Professional SP2 and Suse Linux 10. The user reports a difference of nearly 12GB between the reported used space on the C drive (55.1 GB) and the calculated size of all folders (43.4 GB). The issue is attributed to wasted space in the final cluster of each file, which is a common phenomenon in file systems. The user confirms that the computer operates without issues despite this discrepancy.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of file systems and storage allocation
  • Familiarity with Windows XP Professional SP2
  • Basic knowledge of Linux operating systems, specifically Suse Linux 10
  • Awareness of disk partitioning and management
NEXT STEPS
  • Research file system allocation and cluster sizes in NTFS and FAT32
  • Learn about disk space management tools in Windows XP
  • Explore disk usage analysis tools for Linux, such as Baobab or du
  • Investigate methods to optimize disk space on Windows and Linux systems
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for system administrators, IT professionals, and users managing dual-boot systems who need to understand disk space discrepancies and optimize storage on both Windows and Linux environments.

sid_galt
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I have four partitions, two of Windows and two of Linux. The Windows partitions have sizes 129 GB - C drive and 4 GB - W drive.

When I check the amount of used space on C drive directly by right clicking on the C drive icon and then clicking properties, I get 55.1 GB used space and 74.1 GB free space.

However when I select all the folders in C drive and then calculate their size, it comes out to be only 43.4 GB - a difference of nearly 12GB. The paging file size is only 1.5-3GB so that cannot account for this.

Otherwise the computer is working absolutely fine and giving no problem at all.

My computer is Dell GX620, Intel Processor 640 3.2GHz, 1 GB ram, 160GB SATA Seagate harddrive, Windows XP Professional SP2 and Suse Linux 10.

What could be the cause of such a huge difference between the total size of folders and the used space on the disk reported by the computer?
 
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It's the wasted space in the final cluster of each file. Open up a my computer window, then double click on one of your partitions. Click on edit, select all, then right click on any of the highlighted icons, and then click on properties. This will show the actual file sizes and the space used on disk for these files. You can also just right click on a file or folder and click on properties to see the same stats.
 
Oh! Thanks for the help
 
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