HDD Full. Not sure how or with what

I have a computer running windowsXP with a 75GB drive that shouldn't be more than 1/2 full, but, no matter how much I delete, I can't free up more than 500mb. I tried to deal with it almost a year ago, but after being unsucsessful, and having another computer, I stopped messing with it. Recently I deleted an entire user account, just to prove to myself that the problem was still there... Yep, only freed up 300mb. Then I ran all of the malware scanning tools that this site lists in the malware removal guide. A little bit of malware was detected, but the advice I got from Malware removal section was to ask for help here. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=261245

I still don't know what is fillling up my C drive, and the scans didn't fix the problem. My computer is running unusally slow, since I don't ahve any space to work with. At this point, I don't know what to do, so assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Well in my opinion i would save what ever info you want on to a big FlashDrive Stick

Sounds to me like what ever virus or malware where on the computer was eating up space.

So i would probably Recommend a Full Reformat of XP.

When a HD get's that full i think its about time to do a full format.

 

See how much of your hard drive space is devoted to System Restore. You can also download either SpaceSniffer or JDiskReport to see where you space is being
used.

Delete all temp files also.

Start>Run
In the Run box type %Temp%

 

Please follow tgell's advice and check the System Restore settings.
3% to 5% should be enough.

If you have CCleaner Slim you can use that to remove unneeded stuff.
Be sure to check Empty Recycle Bin OR clear it out yourself if you do not have CCleaner.

In CCleaner Options -> Settings -> Secure Deletion you can turn that ON and select Simple Overwrite, although this does
Not provide any additional free space.

From Windows Explorer or My Computer, Right click on the C: drive and select Properties.
Select Disk Cleanup and see if there is anything there that can be removed, (after CCleaner).

Then click the Tools tab and Error Checking - Check Now.
Check Both of the boxes and then click Start.
Then re-boot the computer.
CHKDSK will run when the computer restarts.

This discussion may help - be sure to check out the software links provided.
pwilliner's posts: Hard Disk Drive Full But Shouldn't Be

 

Regarding system restore points: in most situations it is sufficient to keep only the last restore point; you can delete older restore points using Windows' Disk Cleanup tool → Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup ... More Options tab.

The tool may also otherwise help you to clean up some unnecessary disk usage.