# Solved: hard drive space is getting smaller and smaller



## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

hi,

alright so here is my issue, my laptop HP Pavilion dv7 notebook PC, running windows 7 is having a slight issue. For the past weeks i have noticed that my hard drive space is shrinking, even though i have not been placing any new files on computer
my specs are windows 7, intel core i7, installed memory (RAM) 6.00GB, system type is 64bit
and i only now have left 10.1GB out of 450GB

i have purchased a external drive and moved all personnel files and movies and so on

i even deactivated hybernation on my pc, which gave me an extra 7GB
i then ran disk clean and deleted temp files

also ran defragment but after 6 days, i gave up as it was still running, then i tried to run ccleaner and that ran for 6 days as well with it being stuck at 0%

not sure what else i can do, buddy of mine suggested that my drive is just dying and i'mim due for a new 1
is that correct?
is there anything else i am missing, what am i doing wrong
and why is the space getting less, i'm sure within the next few days it'll be down to 0GB

please help!

thank you


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Download TreeSize and see which folders are consuming all the space: http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

> also ran defragment but after 6 days, i gave up as it was still running, then i tried to run ccleaner and that ran for 6 days as well with it being stuck at 0%


In addition to running treesize, I would also download and run the drive maker's diagnostic. You may have a failing drive; even old, slow systems run ccleaner in just a few min. You download this from whomever made the drive ie Seagate, WD, etc.


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

i downloaded it, but it seems to constantly be changing numbers not sure if its still calculating
is there any way i could send you a screen shot, and if so how would i do that

thank you


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

How to post a screenshot: http://library.techguy.org/wiki/TSG_Posting_a_Screenshot

Try running the program in Safe Mode, you may have something running on the computer thats is slowing it down and eating the drive space such as backup thats incorrectly setup or maybe a virus.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

You can post a screenshot right in your thread. Take the screenshot and use an editor like irfanview or whatever to save it as a jpeg type file. Now hit the Go Advanced button in your thread; then hit the manage attachments. Point it at where you saved the file and click upload. Note there are max sizes for files so you may have to crop your screenshot.


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

Alright guys I'm still at work, I get off in 2 hours and will follow y'all's advise
In the meanwhile thank u so
Much for all ur prompt and professional responses
C y'all in 2hrs


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

Alright guys I'm still at work, I get off in 2 hours and will follow y'all's advise
In the meanwhile thank u so
Much for all ur prompt and professional responses
C y'all in 2hrs


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

ran without safe mode


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

with safe mode this time and more details, hence to pictures

please advise

thank you


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Hmm, TreeSize only shows 53GB being used but does report only 9.37GB free.

Try Space Sniffer to see if it shows a different result: http://www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/index.html


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## Rearden (Jan 15, 2013)

Tree Size wasn't done running in post #9. You can see the hourglass on the Users folder. That means it's still calculating. Let it finish. You'll probably find some large files there or a lot of little ones.


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

alright guys, i let it run all last night, and only hit 10% but i think we all see where this is going

HOLY CRAP ALL THOSE TEMP FILES AND RISING!!!!!!!!!!!!

is there a quick way to delete those?
no wonder ccleaner was stuck at 0% while deleting temp files

otherwise i'm willing to do a clean format, which quite frankly i would prefer since its been 3 years

but my laptop never came with boot cd or windows, so that's strange

anyways advise would be appreciate it

great forum and support so far, thanks again


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Most [if not all] laptops come with a hidden partition that contains the install files for your system. Read your manual as to how to access the hidden partition; you are going to have to hit a key or key combo to start the recovery process.

Some of these give you an option to keep data or wipe the drive. Be sure of what you want to accomplish prior to beginning this task. Most important; have a current backup of anything important ie docs, mp3s, etc, etc.


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## Rearden (Jan 15, 2013)

It shouldn't take that long to scan a drive. I think there's something wrong with yours. Did you run the drive manufacturer's diagnostic tools on it?


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

You can try CCleaner or deleting them in Safe Mode, or using the delete option in Internet Explorer.

Or doing a full recovery on the laptop.

I'm wondering why its so big in the first place, maybe a virus or malware?


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

Since you have already tried ccleaner


> i tried to run ccleaner and that ran for 6 days as well with it being stuck at 0%


I would really test the drive with the drive maker's diagnostic prior to doing anything else. Download this from whomever made the drive ie Seagate, WD, etc. If possible, get the dos or boot version since this removes windows from the task. This should be in iso format so you will need to make the bootable CD or flash drive using the iso.


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

No I did not run the manufacturer tool, at this point all important files are transferred to my external drive and I'd rather just do a format
However I cannot see the necessary files and it never came with the bloody windows cd
I see a second drive and when I click on it it says recover but then when I click on the recover file it's empty

So anyone know to format the proper way for my specs?
I'll google some guides later, I just don't wanna format and then not be able to boot back up 
That computer is my life, so I gotta know it'll work again
Lol


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

See here how to run the recovery: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00006110#N145


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## miladjuckel (Mar 2, 2013)

alright guys great news, i went ahead and reformatted the entire disk, of course i backed up all personnel files prior to that on external drive
anyways here are the results, i have a 450GB hard drive that was showing about 10GB left
after the format i am now showing 413GB free!!!!!!!!!!!!
success!!!!!!!!!!!

i immediately deleted all the add on junk ie sling box, demos etc. on the first boot up, which surprisingly the formatting only took about 2 hours, i freaking spend more time trying to figure out how to transfer my itunes library back my main drive, anyways
then for fun i even ran the ccleaner, which if y'all recall was stuck at cleaning temp files for 6 days
well it took less then 45 sec for it to analyze and clean, with the formatted disk loooooooool

anyways just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the support, i'm sure this ain't gonna be the last time that y'all here from me 


PS: u won't believe how fast my laptop is again, files and sites load up like there's no tomorrow

next project my buddy sold me on is Solid state drive, i'm open to suggestions btw, lol


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

SSD's are indeed really fast.

Over the years junk builds up in the system and its good to do a clean reload every once in a while.


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## crjdriver (Jan 2, 2001)

> However I cannot see the necessary files and it never came with the bloody windows cd


It would also be a good idea to make the recovery disks that a hp will make for you.


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