Deleted items do not free up space. Running out of memory...

I've deleted a bunch of pictures to try to recover some space but it made no difference. Right now, I've only got about 450MB of free memory left. That makes it hard to run more than one program at a time. I've tried slimming down as much as possible, but this old computer is choking up.
Defragmenting did not change anything.
I've changed a few pics from 500x500 pixels to 5x5 pixels and got a few MB back, so deleting should do the same thing, but removing 100s of pics didn't change a thing.
When deleting, I send things to the recycle bin, then empty the trash can, so they should be gone, shouldn't they?
Any idea how I can recover my memory? confused
Thank you much for the help.

 

Thank you very much for the quick response.
Sorry, I thought the signature would post: WindowsMe, Firefox 2.0.0.3, IE6 (haven't used it in a good while, thanks Firefox), ZoneAlarm free, AVG free, Spybot, Adaware, Ccleaner

I have to admit that I never know which memory is which, but yes, this is hard drive memory. (As an aside, how do you find how much RAM you have?)

I run Ccleaner several times a day. I've also ran it to fix issues. I've also ran WindowsMe cleanup. The Restore points do not survive restarting the computer, I guess because there's not enough memory for it.

My main thing at this point is how to regain the space that should be freed by deleted items, but is not?

Thank you much.

 

To find out how much removable RAM you have, right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Properties" and it will say down the bottom of the box that pops up. Usual RAM sizes used to be 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 mg or combinations of those but now you're usually looking for 128, 256, 512 or 1 gig sizes or combinations of those sizes. (By combination, I mean that perhaps you have a 128 stick and a 256 stick which would add up to 384mg.)

 

Thank you much.

 

Firstly run a search for *.tmp,*.chk,~*.*
Delete these, others file extensions like can usually be deleted also.
Look into these three programs:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Find_Junk_Files_d1953.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Tweak-ME_d132.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download414.html
I have little experience with Me but I believe these should help out.
Some applications like AOL 9.0 dump a tremendous amount of flotsam on a computer too, back in the day, when I used AOL, it was a deluge of empty folders, and rubbish. CCleaner is a must. Maybe get a flash, external hard drive, or install a slave drive to help out.
windows\system32\chkdsk.exe might also shed light on the problem, or check out this link if you haven't already.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/maintenance.mspx
Lock and load...:major
Bug

 

Thank you much for some good info.
So far, removing *.tmp,*.chk,~*.* gave me back 70MB and helps the computer run faster.
I didn't delete them using the recycle bin, though. I moved them to a flash drive, where I could delete them. If I had deleted them the normal way, the files would not be visible anywhere, but I would not have gained a single MB, which is really what's driving me nuts. Any idea on how to make the delete button truly erase files?

I'm not sure what to do with windows\system32\chkdsk.exe. I'm sure it must sound a bit dumb, but how do I access it?

I'm going to check the links you mention and let you know. Again, thank you.

 

I use a little prog called sure delete. This apparently actually deletes the info of the hardrive. Might be worth trying.

 

i noticed you use zone alarm.
be careful when deleting files from your C;/windows/temp directory, zone alarm stores important files there.

you can safely delete all files that end with tmp, gid, or begins with ` (tilde).

on a side note i noticed you decreased a picture file from 500X500 to 5X5. if you didn't save the original you might as well delete the 5X5 file because it's too small to be of use.

 

Thank you very much to all for the responses.
leopold99
on a side note i noticed you decreased a picture file from 500X500 to 5X5. if you didn't save the original you might as well delete the 5X5 file because it's too small to be of use.
This was a test to see if doing this would free up some space since deleting files worth 100s of MB did not change the amount of free space available. Shrinking a few files (to be deleted anyway) improved the free space by a few MB, which told me my problem was with the delete button.
Since then, I figured out a better way to "delete" files by moving them to a flash drive, then deleting them from there. I wish I had thought of it sooner, because I have 100s of deleted MB that are somewhere in limbo land.

be careful when deleting files from your C;/windows/temp directory, zone alarm stores important files there.
I'm not sure if I deleted any file from there, but that may be why I suddenly got a ZA alert that windows registration was trying to sneak by. Thanks for the warning.

Dread_2004
I use a little prog called sure delete. This apparently actually deletes the info of the hardrive. Might be worth trying.
I haven't had the time yet, but I'll give it a try and let you know. Thank you.

Bugballou
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Find_Junk_Files_d1953.html
Wow! A full scan found 50,366 files!
Many are 1KB CPY files (no idea what it means) found in c:\_restore\temp but some are over 1,000KB and found in different folders and of a different type.
Since there is no help, and I'm definitely no geek, is it safe to delete them? Is there anything I should stay away from? As leopold99 mentioned, it would probably be a good idea to stay away from the temp folder, but is there anything else?

windows\system32\chkdsk.exe might also shed light on the problem
Searching for windows\system32\chkdsk.exe tells me that windows\system32 is not a valid folder, and searching for system32\chkdsk.exe tells me system32 is not a valid folder.
There is one system32. in C:\WINDOWS (yes!) and one in C:\disks\PIP_CD1\PIP
There is one chkdsk.exe in C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CAB and one in C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND
Any idea what all this means?
Thank you so much.

 

Hi Gaia2,

I see that I can't PM you so I thought I'd contact you through here.

The reason that the details didn't come through in your signature is because for some reason your details are in your Biography instead of your signature. Use the User CP link near the top left of this page and then look for Edit Signature near the top left of that page. You'll get only one box to put all this into.

 

Duh! Good think I said I was no geek... Thanks a lot.
I also can get PM now.

 

Holding SHIFT key while using delete key bypasses the recycle bin and immediately deletes the files.

 

Holding SHIFT key while using delete key bypasses the recycle bin and immediately deletes the files.
Thank you very much, sach2 but that's not the problem.
When deleting, I send things to the recycle bin, then empty the trash can, so they should be gone. I understand that things are never completely erased, but that's not my concern here.

The problem is that deleting items does not free up space. Deleted items are not visible anywhere, but it seems that they are stuck somewhere in limbo.
What I'm trying to figure out is how to get rid of deleted items so it frees up space... and, I hope, recover the 100s of MB of what should be freed space from items previously deleted.
Thank you much.

The program http://www.majorgeeks.com/Find_Junk_Files_d1953.html seems to be a great one, but since there is no explanation or help file in it, I'm a bit afraid of deleting files. Does anyone know this program?
Thank you.

 

I'm not sure why deleting wouldn't free up space. Remember most pictures are fairly small and you have to delete many of them to see an appreciable difference in mbs of free space.

As far as chkdsk goes C:\windows\system32\chkdsk.exe /f in the command line will run chkdsk and fix any errors. You can also run it in My Computer by right-clicking the C: drive> selecting properties and under the tools tab select Check this Disk for Errors. In the pop up check both boxes and restart the computer. Checking the second box increases the time needed but in this case it is worth the trouble.

Also you might try WinDirStat it gives a color coded representation of your HD file system. It might be useful in locating any unknown large files that are taking up space.