Where has all the computer space gone?

Ok so my wife has a 32 gig acer laptop, running with Windows Vista (it's good for her.) Anyhow, it says that her C drive only has 11 out of 32 gigabytes of free space left.

I have uninstalled everything i could think of that isn't essential to the computer (games and other misc crap), it defrags/compresses regularly, and she also saves as much as she can to an external hard drive.

Is there anyone who might know why in the heck so much space is being used up?

You can use this tool to find out how much space is used on your computer for what http://windirstat.info/

honestly man, windows itself, if its regularly updated, can take up to 20gb of space on your c drive. at least, that's what i've found...

Originally posted by Bardock42
You can use this tool to find out how much space is used on your computer for what http://windirstat.info/

It's showing 66% of her computer space is tied up in a Windows folder called "winsxs".

Under the "winsxs" header, there's literally hundreds of random subfiles -- here is a pic of the computer screen, just so you know what I'm talking about:

Are those file types deletable, or are we stuck with them/the space they take up?

You can delete most of them. They're not really necessary at all.

^ I tried deleting them, but an error message popped up every time I tried, telling me I needed permission to do so..?

Originally posted by Galan007
^ I tried deleting them, but an error message popped up every time I tried, telling me I needed permission to do so..?

Perhaps you are not the admin?

Originally posted by Galan007
Ok so my wife has a 32 gig acer laptop, running with Windows Vista (it's good for her.) Anyhow, it says that her C drive only has 11 out of 32 gigabytes of free space left.

I have uninstalled everything i could think of that isn't essential to the computer (games and other misc crap), it defrags/compresses regularly, and she also saves as much as she can to an external hard drive.

Is there anyone who might know why in the heck so much space is being used up?

Vista is a hog, can take up to 15gb of space, depending on the version, x86 vs x64, Home vs Ultimate etc.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but you can buy a much larger HardDrive for fairly cheap, $40.00 for a 160gb, $55.00 for a 320gb etc. This of course relies on you having an install disc (see below).

Acer's often come with their own back-up making software, believe the software is called 'Acer eRecovery', so you could use that to make a back-up (takes 2 DVDs, iirc), install the new larger HardDrive and then (re)install Vista.

Just curious, is that 32bg HD a solid-state drive?

Originally posted by Robtard
Vista is a hog, can take up to 15gb of space, depending on the version, x86 vs x64, Home vs Ultimate etc.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but you can buy a much larger HardDrive for fairly cheap, $40.00 for a 160gb, $55.00 for a 320gb etc. This of course relies on you having an install disc (see below).

Acer's often come with their own back-up making software, believe the software is called 'Acer eRecovery', so you could use that to make a back-up (takes 2 DVDs, iirc), install the new larger HardDrive and then (re)install Vista.

Just curious, is that 32bg HD a solid-state drive?

And I do believe it is a solid-state drive.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/itprovistasetup/thread/ca7c724b-c9e7-453c-af9f-8836bf118d25

Hope you find the solution to your problem

Originally posted by Galan007
I have thought about purchasing a larger hard drive for the laptop itself (I didn't know they were so cheap, tbh) -- I was just trying to do anything I could to minimize the amount of space being used before I went that route. Do newer versions of Windows take up less space? If so, how do I go about removing Vista and adding a newer software? Would that even be easier/more cost efficient?

And I do believe it is a solid-state drive.

I think Windows 7 takes less space, but I don't think it's a lot less. Windows XP with SP3 takes about 8gb total, but you'd be downgrading to older software, not sure how you feel about that, but XP is still the most widely used OS.

Get yourself a copy of Win7 or XP, insert disc into CD or DVD drive (will need DVD drive for vista/xp), reboot and follow the instructions for a fresh install.

Originally posted by Robtard
Windows XP with SP3 takes about 8gb total, but you'd be downgrading to older software

Originally posted by Bardock42
Older? Yes. Superior? Definitely.

I only used Vista Ultimate for a about a month (or two) before I went to Win7 Ultimate; I honestly didn't see a huge problem with it and I thought it had a few nice features over XP Pro.

Win7 is the way to go though, out of the three, imo. Unless you're on older hardware of course.

When I try to load Windows XP, I get an error message that tells me it cannot load XP because the version of Windows on my computer is newer..?

Originally posted by Galan007
When I try to load Windows XP, I get an error message that tells me it cannot load XP because the version of Windows on my computer is newer..?

Give me the exact model of the computer, there are some newer comps that XP will not load on, or it's a pain in the ass to load XP, as you have to tweak the bios. You might have one of these.

Are you trying to install it while your on the Vista desktop? If so, that is wrong. Turn on the comp, insert XP and then reboot. Go into your bios (will probably be F8 or F10, it will say), change your boot sequence to boot from the CD/DVD drive first and boot from the XP disc. Follow the instructions from there.

I'd do a complete format of the drive when it ask and then install XP on a fresh slate, as you don't want to install XP side-by-side with Vista.

It's an Acer laptop. The model number is: ICL50

I just ran the Vista support package 2 -- it gave the laptop 12/32 gigs of free space as opposed to 11/32.

Awesome. none

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On another note: I have heard rumors that Windows 7 has an inordiante amount of space going to the winsxs folder. Is that true? Additionally, I am looking at getting the wife a new laptop - should I stick with Windows or cross-over to Mac?

Originally posted by Galan007
I just ran the Vista support package 2 -- it gave the laptop 12/32 gigs of free space as opposed to 11/32.

Awesome. none

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On another note: I have heard rumors that Windows 7 has an inordiante amount of space going to the winsxs folder. Is that true? Additionally, I am looking at getting the wife a new laptop - should I stick with Windows or cross-over to Mac?

Not sure on the 7 thing, but it takes about an equal amount of space as Vista, reading more into.

Macs are really nice, imo. They're just very expensive. If you buy one from a Mac Store (not sure if you have them in your area), they often give you several free lessons on learning the OS, which is nice if you're completely new.

Originally posted by Galan007
When I try to load Windows XP, I get an error message that tells me it cannot load XP because the version of Windows on my computer is newer..?

Back-up all your data first on an external hard drive before reformatting.