will1231

Hey,

First of all thanks in advance or reading over this, i'm not computer illiterate but this is a little over my head.

Well, I ran HP system recovery to clean up my system. I had some music and movies that i didn't mind getting rid of.

Everything went well and my laptop works, but it's strange my C: says that I have used 72GB out of 100GB, when i go into the C: the folder sizes only add up to maybe 20GB.

I think my music and movies might still be on the drive even though they are not visible.
My question: is is there, either, a folder that backs up my files where the files would be hidden or a way a clear my hard drive without effing my system up?

thanks again.

peterm16

Hi there i am not sure of the soloution to this as this did the same with my laptop in exactly the same circumstances and i would really like to know how to fix it :o i did find this folder that wen you go to my computer then into your main hard drive and then doccuments and settings you will see all the users that you set up well one of them on mine was my last account so i jus went into it and deleted all i could it freed up bout 20gb but still better then nothing just out of interest what laptop is yours ? :)

justpassingby

Hi will1231 and welcome to TSF !

Log as an administrator then in windows explorer go to tools => folder options => view, tick "show hidden files and folders" and untick "hide operating system protected file". Now select your hard drive in the left pane and select all the files and folder in the right pane. Right-click them and click properties. How much space do you see there ?

If you still only see 20GB then we'll use another program to find where those files are, if you see more like 70GB now then you can right-click => properties one folder at a time to check their size and find which subfolder is holding your music and video files.

will1231

I've got a HP Pavilion 5500 I picked up for a great price while I was working at Office Depot. Great Laptop for being 2 years old.

hey justpassingby, thanks for the quick response. I did what you said and it still shows that i'm using waaay more space then I should be. and i didn't see any folders that could have the previous files in them.

I was brainstorming what the problem could be, and do you think maybe I have the free space but the chart is just wrong? or maybe I really am using that much space even though the folders don't add up?

Thanks

justpassingby

Try this program to find out where those files are :
http://windirstat.info/
If you see some "unknown" space then check this link :
http://blog.windirstat.info/20070321/unknown-again/

will1231

Alright, sorry about the late reply.

I ran WinDirStat and it says that the C: is 18GB, but under the properties menu it still says that I've used 68GB. There is no "unknown" space.

Thanks

justpassingby

Could you post a screenshot of Windirstat's readings (arrange the directories by size like on this screenshot) and another one of the disk management ? To access disk management, right-click "my computer" => manage. Click on disk management and maximize the window so that we can see all the information.

To post a screenshot press the printscreen (or prt scr) key on the keyboard, go to start => all programs => accessories => paint. Click edit => paste then save the image as a .jpg. Use the manage attachments button from the advanced options here to attach the image to your post.