500GB hard drive almost full :(

My new ThinkPad X201 is 500GB, W7/XP and my hard drive is almost full. It is my work computer, not used for email, internet, gaming or movies. I need to reclaim my disk space.

I've performed C: cleanup, CCleaner, deleted all restore points & turned off Rescue & Recovery since I use Rollback Rx & Drive Cloner Rx.

C: properties are 420GB used, 34GB free.

Device Space Manager shows "Unscanned, 375.9GB, 82.64%, 560 files" & says "files are left unscanned due to access restrictions."

WinDirStat shows C: has an <unknown> file 381.6GB, 83.9% & free space is 34.7GB, 7.6%.

TreeSize shows C: is 39.7GB, with 34.6GB free space. It has 2 files (RRbackups & System Volume Information) with an exclamation point inside a yellow circle & [Access is denied], 0GB each.

I use Rollback Rx, which has a 12/10/10 baseline of 333MB, a snapshot 4/6/11& 4/11/11.

I also use Drive Cloner Rx, but it saves to an external hard drive. I'm running Cloner right now (just in case) & I'm using a different computer to communicate here.

I've talked to Lenovo support (almost 2 hrs.!) & let the tech take over control.

The problem is in the system folder with the file <unknown> 381.6GB that takes up 83.9% of my hard drive. According to him, this folder probably contains system restore points & it's highly likely that if this file were deleted, the space would be reclaimed. However, he isn't allowed to tell me how to do that. He said that a geek would know how. It would involve going into the registry.

In WinDirStat, I tried right-clicking on the folder to see if I could simply delete it there, but there are no options to do so.

Anyone savy enough to understand this?

In the alternative, I do have a baseline Rollback Rx snapshot taken 12/10/10.

As a last resort, I could reformat the hard drive.

Suggestions?

 

Greetings, fst-tlk.

AFAIK, no Registry tweaking is needed to dump System Restore points. Simply navigate to the System Restore tab (in XP, it's Control Panel > System > System Restore; in 7, it's CP > System > System Protection > System Restore > Configure), turn off System Restore for any drives listed, and reboot. This should flush all Restore Points. You can then navigate back in and re-enable.

There are also settings in each area to lower the amount of disk space System Restore can use - I suggest a couple of gb, which should be sufficient.

 

I did that early on...no help.

Can you tell me how to capture a pic of the WinDirStat? I could attach it so you can see what I'm talking about.

TIA
Gini

 

Ah, sorry - missed the "deleted all restore points" in your first post.

If you're wanting to do a WinDirStat screenie, with the program up, press the <Prt Scr> key. Then open Paint and paste the screenshot. Save as a .jpg, and post it here per these instructions: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post.

 

Odd - if you've deleted/flushed System Restore, then what Restore Points are these?

 

It is my dinner time but just to see if we are talking about System Volume Information try this:

How much used space do you see for each of these three entries.

 

I don't have a clue what he meant. He may have said "system files."

Attached is WinDirStat. Note the very first line below C:

 

Used Space - 0B (0%)
Allocated Space - 0B (0%)
Max. Space - 9.096GB (2%)

 

Ok, so it isn't System Volume Information.

Try Space Sniffer download the older version 1.1.2 (the newest one is buggy for me on win7). http://www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/download.html Space Sniffer is portable so it doesn't install. Unzip the file and click on the exe in the folder. See if it gives any better idea of where that file is located.

 

Before I do that...

I did a c:\dir/a/s/p so I could slowly look at C: & see if there was anything very large. There are 2 files that stand out:

4-11-11 3,060,518,912 hiberfil.sys (today's date)
12-3-10 4,080,713,728 pagefile.sys (the date I received this laptop)

Any help?

 

They are about right that is 3gb and 4gb. Pagefile is usually set by RAM amount, I'm not sure about hiberfil? But the proportions look correct.

i was hoping it would be one of those two files gone amok.

I think SpaceSniffer might be worth a try. I know there is a program that will show something where WindDirStat says unknown. I think it is S/Sniffer but I'm not sure. Worth a minute or two to run the program.

 

OK, give me a few to run it, then.

 

OK, I've run it. Now what? Post image here? If so, what configurations?

 

Attached is the SpaceSniffer view, showing Unknown Space. Of course, it also shows a huge RR backup, which shouldn't even exist anymore.

 

At least we know half the space is in RR Backups but WinDirStat doesn't confirm that information. Before we go looking for different programs or fixes I would do a chkdsk to rule out an index problem.

I know you have probably already done a chkdsk but I would do one again just to rule out a file system error. Computer>right-click on C: choose Properties then under the Tool tab make sure the box for fix errors is checked and hit OK. Let it restart to run the check. (I think you can skip the second box for bad sectors which takes a lot of time. You just want the indexes checked)

 

OK, I'll do it again. I have done this several times, though. When it reboots, I get a strange gray screen that blinks a couple of times, then it proceeds normally. It doesn't give me any message to let me know that all is okay, just boots normally.

 

Rebooted normally. No message as to ckdsk. Assume it was OK? Available space on disk hasn't changed.

 

You don't see anything about Starting chkdsk and Stage1 then 2 then Stage 3?

That seems strange. If chkdsk hasn't run correctly then it might be the simplest way forward to figure out a way to get chkdsk to run.

You could do it by downloading a Win7 recovery disc and using the command prompt from there. Does the laptop have any recovery options when you press F8 at startup? Something like Repair as the last option? Which might take you to this screen? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-7

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Just for info Go to RRBackups folder then into SZ folder do you see the folder with all the letters in the name? If you right click it and select properties do you get the 183gb size?

 

No, nothing as to chkdsk, which I thought was unusual, but I'm new at W7, more used to XP & DOS.

I haven't tried F8 at startup. Should I?

The folder RRBackups won't let me have access. Right clicking & Properties shows 0 size. Advanced tab does give option of Compress Contents or File is Ready for Archiving. I thought about doing these to see what happens. Whatcha think?

 

I tried to compress it & to archive it, but it wouldn't let me. It says I have to have administrative rights. Don't understand why I don't. I'm the only one who uses this computer & have administrator rights.

 

Don't compress it. I really think making sure chkdsk works would be the first thing to do to rule out an index problem.

Try Start>type in Disk Management and then enter key.
See if you have a System Reserved partition. If you do then you should have the repair options at startup with F8. Get to command prompt and try chkdsk /f and see how it goes.

Downloading the Win7 recovery disc involves using a torrent client which isn't hard but I'll check real quick if I can use XP's recovery console to do a chkdsk on Win7. Recovery console is a quick download.

 

I just tried a scheduled chkdsk on win7. It goes to the Windows is starting and then to a black screen for chkdsk and goes through the 3 stages showing you progress--so chkdsk is not running on your computer.

I tried XP recovery console and it wouldn't work for Win7.

I'll look for a link for the recovery disc. Are you running win7 32 or 64bit?

 

I'm getting very frustrated

 

64 bit. Yes, it must not be running, because I didn't get that. Just grayish screen, blink, grayish screen, them opening to desktop. No words or information.

 

Give the F8 another try. Hit it repeatedly as you boot up through the splash screen see if you get the list with Safe Mode etc. and if their is a Repair your computer option.

The actual command might be chkdsk /f C: if you see an X: prompt in command prompt.

I'll post the link to the torrent download of the recovery disc in a minute. I could not find a direct download.

 

I really think going to the trouble of running a chkdsk is worth it. Because all the space/file programs seem to see space occupied but can't give filenames it seems something is wrong with the indexes rather than two super secret files taking up huge amounts of space.

I can't find a direct download link for the recovery ISO file. So you will have to use a torrent download for a free copy. The instructions are at the bottom of the screen. The middle link for x64 will be a tiny .torrent file which you save to your HD. Then install utorrent and just go with the defaults. Don't worry about optimizing speed. Then double-click the torrent and it should open utorrent. go ahead and hit start torrent. It will take a bit longer than a direct download. When completed you can burn the ISO file to a blank CD using imgburn or similar burning software. In imgburn you would use the "Write Image File to Disc" option. Then boot to the CD. It will search for your Windows installation. Click Next and it should give the list of options. Select command prompt and run the chkdsk /f C: command. It should look like the standard black DOS screen with white writing going through the three stages.

http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/

 

I have a Lenovo Recovery Media disk I made for this laptop on 3/22. Would it help with the chkdsk problem?

 

I don't know what the options are on the disc. Do you have a manual that shows the options? You don't want to restore your computer to factory defaults. You just want to get to a command prompt.
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F8 still didn't work? That is what that system reserved partition is supposed to provide.

 

HDD Diagnostics Program in BIOS is complete. Results are:

PASS: Controller Diag
PASS: Read Verification & Speed Test

When it started to reboot, I pressed F8 over & over again. It gave me this message: Error 0210: Stuck Key 42 Press <F1> to setup. That's the same thing it did before, which is why I went ahead & did the diagnostics.

The Recovery Media disk didn't come with the laptop. I tried to make recovery disks & the media disk was first. When it got to data disks, after 19 disks, I got an error message & gave up Maybe that was the first sign that I had a problem?

Going to try chkdsk 1 more time, this time adding the C:, so chkdsk /f C:. Maybe leaving off the drive letter is why it wouldn't work (fingers crossed).

 

OK, chkdsk /f C: produces the same result. The DOS screen says it's going to run upon reboot, but there's no sign that it does. I also tried doing Run chkdsk /f C: - same result.

I looked at the files on the Recovery Media disk. It is just a boot disk, so no help there.

 

Whoa! Hold everything!!! I got chkdsk to work!

On the programs window, I typed chkdsk & chkdsk.exe came up as an option, so I hit enter. The DOS screen came up & it's checking it right now!

Unfortunately, I fogot to put in the /f parameter, so I'll have to do it again once it completes. Will advise results.

Hallelujah!

 

I'll look this over tomorrow.

Getting the recovery disc is not that difficult take about an hour for it to download. (I've downloaded several versions) It is a useful tool to have around for Win7 startup problems so it wouldn't be a waste of time even if chkdsk didn't solve the problem.

 

Good!

Make sure it is doing the check on volume C:. It should tell you on the screen.

 

It checked it & I didn't see anything strange. Then I put in the /f parameter & it brought up chkdsk /f.exe, so I clicked enter. Of course, it said it had to reboot to run, so I said yes. Instead of telling it to restart, I told it to shut down. Now I'm going to start it back up & see if chkdsk will function.

 

Well, crud. It started up without going to a DOS screen So, that tells us that chkdsk works, but not with the /f parameter.

 

try chkdsk.exe /r c:

 

It was slower starting back up...had more grayish screens, but then went to the desktop, bypassing a DOS screen.

Is the parameter different in W7 than it is in XP?

 

Recovery disks usually want /r as the parameter. Windows itself likes /f. So go with /r

You shouldn't be getting a request to reboot if you are running off a recovery disc. It should not have mounted the C: drive but be running of the disc itself. I really have to go to bed. I'll look for a link to the options on your Lenovo disc tomorrow.

 

Sorry, I must have misled you. I didn't boot to that disk, but will try that. I merely looked to see what was on it.

Thank you so much. I was trying to get everything squared away before work tomorrow. I'll be away all day. Will check in tomorrow evening & give an update.

In the meantime...pray that everything goes okay, cuz I'm not too comfortable with this laptop right now!

Night-night.
Gini

 

FYI, I tried booting from the Recovery Media Disk & it wanted to reformat the hard drive, so I said no. Then it took me to safe mode & I selected safe mode with command prompt, put it chkdsk /f C: & it took me back to a screen to reformat the hard drive, so I again said no. Looks like this disk is only to be used to restore to factory settings, certainly not what I want to do right now.

I have enough GB to go all day at work tomorrow without a problem, so I'm going to chance it (holding my breath), since I have the advantage that it will also be videotaped. Gonna tell the videographer he better not screw up - LOL!

I'll post an update after the day is done.

 

Hi, it looks like I may be offtrack with the chkdsk (although we should look at that later). There are tons of people that have lost much space from the Lenovo Rescue and Recovery software.

Do you see an advanced menu when you start Rescue and Recovery? Do you see preferences? I think setting the number of backups to one and seeing what happens may be a good option to see if it will delete the existing ones before creating an new one.

 

One other tip I read when reading on the subject was that if in that interface you see the option of deleting previous backups manually that you choose to delete the newest one first and work your way back to the oldest. I'm not sure if this is relevant to the current version of the software but some people had trouble when trying to delete all backups at once and when trying to remove the oldest ones first. So if you have to delete manually start with the newest ones then go back and delete the older ones.

 

Also, if you experience any problems with the procedure, from post #18 of that thread:

Might be something to look at if the procedure barks at you.

 

Sorry, had to work.

I downloaded a W7 recovery disk so I could properly run chkdsk. Attached is a pic of chkdsk /f & chkdsk /r.

Remember...Resuce & Recovery is set not to run & all backups have been deleted.

 

Here is the Drive Space Manager:

 

Is it space that Rescue & Recovery has reserved? If so, since I don't use R&R (I use Drive Cloner Rx & Rollback Rx), if I were to uninstall the program (85MB), would it free up the space? I've already set it to 0 backups & there are no backups & on the options I've checked it to exclude everything listed (there were 50 items listed).

Also, I noticed on the Recovery disk I made (thanks to your instructions!), there is an option "Windows Memory Diagnostics." Maybe I should run that?

 

I would think so, yes.

Wouldn't hurt, might help.

 

Hi, try one more screenshot. Use the newest version of space sniffer but right-click the spacesniffer.exe and click troubleshoot compatibility. Then go with the recommended settings. (I think the newest version shows System Volume information). I just want to see what it shows for free space and unknown space. It looks like chkdsk is showing 40gb used out of 470gb which is the goal.

I don't see any problem with uninstalling the Lenovo Rescue and Recovery if you don't use it.

 

Attached are 2 versions.

 

I'm confused by these pics because I don't see the RR Backups folder. Does Windows still show your drive as being almost full? (It seems you should have regained at least 180gb of space.)