What is Taking Up Space on My Hard Drive?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying and managing disk space usage on a computer's hard drive, particularly focusing on the internal C drive. Participants explore methods for discovering what files or programs are consuming space, as well as the implications of deleting files and the potential for performance issues.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about the significant amount of space used on their C drive and seeks methods to identify the files responsible.
  • Another participant clarifies that drive space is not the same as memory and suggests checking specific folders like 'Program Files' and 'Windows' for large files.
  • A participant mentions difficulty in identifying which files to examine for space usage.
  • Concerns are raised about the effectiveness of deleting files and emptying the recycling bin, with a participant noting that their calculations do not account for the total used space.
  • A suggestion is made to use the freeware application TreeSize to visualize disk usage in subfolders.
  • Participants discuss the possibility of hidden files or large files in temporary or browser-cache folders contributing to space usage.
  • One participant reports that deleting files has not improved performance and raises questions about specific files they do not recognize, such as 'avanquest' and others taking up significant space.
  • Another participant advises that deleting files may not enhance performance and suggests trying disk defragmentation instead.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best approach to identify and manage disk space usage. Multiple views are presented regarding the effectiveness of deleting files and the tools available for analyzing disk space.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various tools and methods for disk space management, but there is uncertainty regarding the implications of deleting certain files and the overall impact on system performance.

feelau
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Hi, so recently I bought an external hard drive and started transferring my data into that to get more space in my internal one. I then noticed that I've used up almost 50% of my c drive but I don't know what it's used for and don't see anything that would use up this much memory. Is there any way to find and tell me what these programs/files are so I can transfer/remove them? Thanks
 
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I then noticed that I've used up almost 50% of my c drive but I don't know what it's used for and don't see anything that would use up this much memory.

Conventionally, drive space isn't referred to as 'memory' although it is abstractly similar, but of course, matter is abstractly similar to memory so we do make distinctions.

You will have to look through the folders on c: to see what is using the space. You'll probably find that most space goes to c:/pagefile.sys and your 'Program Files' and 'Windows' folders.
 
The problem is I can't identify which ones i should look at
 
sry for double posting but I read online that deleting the files and emptying the recycling bin doesn't really help so what do I do to find the files I've already deleted as well as permanently wiping all the useless stuff out?

EDIT: So I clicked on properties to see how much space each file uses up and I only total up to 10gb of space on disk so i have no idea where 14 other gb of disk space went :(
 
Last edited:
There is a useful freeware application called TreeSize
http://www.jam-software.com/software.html
which shows the usage in various subfolders.

Do you have hidden files and folders?
You might have large files in various temp or browser-cache folders.
 
Go to control panel ->administrative tools->computer management to find out what is going on with the drive.
 
I'm starting to go back up to 72% now, I thought deleting would help increase performance and make my comp run more smoothly, but it seems it's getting even slower now, what's going on?

EDIT: Another question, what is avanquest, i have it as a file and i don't know what it is. Can I delete it? oh and I downloaded treesize and did the wasted space tab and it showed me all these files and kb(assumed to be the wasted stuff) The thing is I have no idea what the files do. I mean there's something call pchealth and another one call inf and they each take up like 31,000kb of wasted space and then there's another file call $hf_mig$ and it takes like 27,000 kb of wasted space but i don't know what they are...

EDIT: I've been looking at computer management but I don't know what to do
 
Last edited:
deleting files won't make it run any faster, you can try disk defrag
 

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