Need Advise

[LIQUIDCELL]

Ok, I seriously need to free some hd space since I just reinstalled XP professional on top of existing XP professional.

The thing is I messed up some f* files that prevented me from booting on XP1, then just reinstalled XP2 and deleted XP1's c:\windows file.

The problem is the disk space has not increased as it should have since most of my desktop files (which held more than 30 gig) from the former OS no longer exist. HELP? does it make any sense at all?

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I also need advise on buying external HD.... I know it's much expensive than internal ones, but I cant help it. It's for my laptop.




Thanks ...... greatly appreciate it!!!!


~Kirsten

[Jinto]

In your case (deleting the windows directory) you just deleted some vital parts of your programs, like .dll files or registry entries and other data held in the windows (sub)directories.
The bigger part of your programs is spread all over your harddrive in directories such like "programs" (or other install specific programlocations). You have to either find all of them and delete them manually or you can also backup the files you need for later use, reformat your harddrive, set up the new system and copy your backupped data back on disk.
(The best way to uninstall programs would be the install manager in windows, but since your old winxp is no more there is no track of the installed software anymore, and your XP2 does not know of any software installed before its own installation date)

[_Sin_]

Originally Posted by LIQUIDCELL

Ok, I seriously need to free some hd space since I just reinstalled XP professional on top of existing XP professional.

The thing is I messed up some f* files that prevented me from booting on XP1, then just reinstalled XP2 and deleted XP1's c:\windows file.

The problem is the disk space has not increased as it should have since most of my desktop files (which held more than 30 gig) from the former OS no longer exist. HELP? does it make any sense at all?

---------------------------------------
I also need advise on buying external HD.... I know it's much expensive than internal ones, but I cant help it. It's for my laptop.




Thanks ...... greatly appreciate it!!!!


~Kirsten

I don't know why you didn't just reformat your HDD from the beginning. Backup all important data and reformat the drive. The result is a clean Windows installation with 100% working programs and a lot of free space.
Things to do after the new installation:
0. Get XPAntiSpy
1. Get a firewall + antivirus program and update them at once. Optional: Get an AntiTrojan software like TrojanHunter
2. Deploy Windows Service Pack 1a
3. Install all critical updates for Windows
4. Make an Image of your drive and burn it to a CD

The programs can be found via google

Originally Posted by LIQUIDCELL

The problem is the disk space has not increased as it should have since most of my desktop files (which held more than 30 gig) from the former OS no longer exist. HELP? does it make any sense at all?

The desktop files are not stored in the C:/Windows/ folder. That's why you haven't deleted them yet. They can be found in (Note that the names might be a little off, because I'm not using an English Win Xp): C:/Documents and Settings/<User name>/Desktop and My Files

[Jinto]

Hm, I wonder what exactly is meant with desktop files. I can hardly imagine, that someone would store 30GB of data there. Maybe all the programs linked on the desktop are counted in in that amount of space.

[AnimeOni]

I've seen it there. A lot of people store their AVIs on a folder on the desktop so a person like me may have 100GB on my desktop. Not that there's anything wrong with it :P

For my personal convience, I store my media on an external drive so I do not see this problem myself.

Another thing that can make it big is the IE cache which stores data in the \docu_settings\user\local settings\temp int files.
________
NSR50

[KeinikuSuki]

Originally Posted by LIQUIDCELL

The problem is the disk space has not increased as it should have since most of my desktop files (which held more than 30 gig) from the former OS no longer exist. HELP? does it make any sense at all?

1. Delete Old "Document and Settings" Folder.
If you changed the name of your account the old internet and desktop folders will still may be on your hard drive. You can find these files in "C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Desktop" and "C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings". If you attempt to delete one of those folders from a current user profile, XP will simply not let you. However, you may still manually delete files from these folders.

2. Empty Your Recycle Bin.

3. Run Disk Cleanup
Open your start menu and point to "Run". Type "cleanmgr.exe" and press enter. This wizard will allow you to remove internet files and temporary files.

4. Check the size of your pagefile.
Point to "My Computer," right click and choose "Properties." Choose the "Advanced" tab and select "Settings." Choose the new "Advanced" tab and check "Total paging file size for all drives: xxxx MB". The amount should be around 1.5 to 2 times your physical RAM.

5. Check to see if hibernation is enabled.
Depending on how much physical RAM you have, much disk space could be secured for hibernation. Open your start menu and point to "Run". Type "powercfg.cpl" and press enter. Choose the "Hibernate" tab. Uncheck "Enable hibernation" if you do not use the feature.

[LIQUIDCELL]

Thnx guys. Ive just backed up and reformatted. Less complicated


heh


~Kirsten