Windows 7 W7 disk full

[Leonard]

I only have 1.2 GB left on 178 GB C:

I looked at properties and C:/windows is 130 GB.

C:/windows/temp is 30 GB and has a lock symbol on the folder icon.

Is this reasonable? I have removed down to basic programs.

Btw C:\users is only 20 GB.

help please... Thanks!

 

[Neemobeer]

Anything over 55GBs in C:\Windows is probably too much. Have you run the built-in disk cleanup utility? I would also simply open C:\Windows\temp and delete everything in there.

 

[Joe S]

Check the settings for Restore Points they can eat a lot of space too. You may need to reduce that setting.
Joe

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Make sure you are logged on as an Administrator account when checking your Windows/Tmp folder. If you are not and logged in as a Standard User that folder will be locked on all other User accounts but the Standard User account.

If that fails to work, download the free LOCKHUNTER utility (YOU CAN GOOGLE FOR IT!) which should tell you which app or program is holding that folder closed or locked; you can then delete it--it may require a reboot or two to accomplish a complete unlock. From there, you should be able to delete all the folders and files within your Tmp folder. If you cannot, you likely have significant windows corruption, and a full windows reinstallation with a disk wipe clean is going to be in your near future if you want to free up any space on your hard drive.

Also, if Lockhunter doesn't do the trick, it's highly likely that your Hard Drive is failing or has failed. Have you tested it? If not, keep in mind that desktop hard drives are only designed to last 3 years, and laptop hard drives only 2 years! If you are the original owner of this computer and have never replaced the hard drive in it or paid someone to replace for you, it's very likely that it's failed by now!

If you get to this point, be aware that read sector errors on failing drives often cause system folders in windows to appear locked when they are not, it's just that your hard drive has flaws on it's surface that prevent windows from reading information in the normal locations where windows stores them on the hard drive.

You can take your computer to a local Computer Pro and pay him to replace your hard drive and reinstall W7 on it. Or if you wish to DIY, I wrote an very easy step-by-step Troubleshooting Guide which will allow you to test your Hard Drive, RAM, and other hardware inside your computer, as well as use common software repairs to get your Windows running again. Bear in mind, that Windows reinstallation almost always clears off all kinds of junk including massive Registry entries no longer being used in your Registry by programs you no longer use or have at one point removed. There are utilities such as CClearner Link Removed that will help you with this, but not nearly as much as a full drive wipe and Windows reinstall!

Most kinds of problems with Windows can be resolved by a full Windows factory reinstallation; and that will stick better if you don't do the reinstall on failed/failing obsolete hard drives.

Here's the link to my Troubleshooting Guide: Windows 10 - Unclickable Task Bar

If you get stuck along the way, post back any questions you have. We are here 24x7x365.

Best of luck,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Leonard]

Thanks guys.

Btw, i did do a disk cleanup (not much offered). I also did the second tab of disk cleanup where it deletes all but the latest restore point. Not much change.

I am original owner and bought several years back and only have the one user account so i think that it is the full admin rights. I will try and delete the temp directory (thnaks for confirmation that i can delete it).

I will also do the trouble shooting per <<<BIGBEARJEDI>>> and hopefully find that the HDD is bad. I might DIY a HDD replacement and restore just to see if i can do it. I have all of my files on a WD MyCloud.

I cracked my iPhone and then again and thought i better get it backed up on itunes on this laptop before i can get into it. This precipitated the realization that OK, yes, the HDD is erally full.

I have also had problems w windows updates failing A LOT. So may fix this as well.

Thanks again for the info and qwik reply!!!!

 

[Neemobeer]

We can get a better idea of what directories are filling up your drive with du.exe. You can download it here Disk Usage

• Copy du to your desktop
• Open a command prompt and CD to your desktop with cd %userprofile%\desktop
• Then run the following and accept the EULA du -l 4 -c C:\ > C_Disk.csv
• This may take a couple minutes to run
• Zip and upload the C_Disk.csv file to the site

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

You're welcome! If you run neem's du command and upload the log file he can tell you what your biggest offenders are in terms of directories using up your disk space. It would be good to know this, even if you do find your HDD faulty and replace it with a new Windows install to keep it from happening again.

Cheers!
<<<BBJ>>>

 

[Leonard]

I ran du and uploaded. After the du run, i was able to delete most of the temp dir and harvested ~30GB. I will do diagnostics next.

 

[Neemobeer]

Here is a list of the top locations taking up space. I've highlighted ones that you should be able to further research or clean up. Sizes are in GBs

YELLOW - Move data to a backup up to your discretion'
ORANGE - Delete with directions or research further
GREEN - Settings data, need to research whats in them and what can be cleaned

Path DirectorySizeOnDisk
c:\Windows 54017290240 54.02
c:\Windows\Installer 30372122624 30.37 You can clean this up with PatchCleaner PatchCleaner - safely clean your windows installer directory | homedev - software development out of the box
c:\Users 22636254288 22.64
c:\Users\Leonard 22583493712 22.58
c:\Windows\winsxs 13885018112 13.89
c:\Users\Leonard\Pictures 11139719168 11.14
c:\Users\Leonard\Pictures\Leonard iPhone 11094790144 11.09
c:\Program Files (x86) 9258795008 9.26
c:\Users\Leonard\AppData 6963652352 6.96
c:\ProgramData 4461670400 4.46
c:\Users\Leonard\AppData\Roaming 3663836160 3.66
c:\Windows\System32 3209543680 3.21
c:\Windows\Installer\$PatchCache$ 2920108032 2.92
c:\Windows\Installer\$PatchCache$\Managed 2920103936 2.92
c:\Users\Leonard\Music 2741354496 2.74
c:\Users\Leonard\Music\iTunes 2741239808 2.74
c:\Users\Leonard\AppData\Local 2463212288 2.46
c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files 2142158848 2.14
c:\Program Files 1818226688 1.82
c:\ProgramData\WildTangent 1665388544 1.67
c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution 1551466496 1.55
c:\ProgramData\Apple 1542844416 1.54
c:\ProgramData\Apple\Installer Cache 1542758400 1.54 Delete everything in this folder
c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore 1332592640 1.33
c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office 1277112320 1.28
c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Windows Live 1265045504 1.27
c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Windows Live\.cache 1265041408 1.27
c:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink 1251147776 1.25
c:\Windows\SysWOW64 1243561984 1.24
c:\Windows\assembly 1243004928 1.24
c:\Users\Leonard\Downloads 1196660400 1.2 I would delete everything in this folder
c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15 1163608064 1.16
c:\Windows\System32\DriverStore 1131982848 1.13
c:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository 1126694912 1.13
c:\Users\Leonard\Downloads\DesktopPC 880095440 0.88

 

[Leonard]

Ok Thanks. Will do the orange. I have some iphone pic backups in my user pics that i can move to MyCloud.

 

[Leonard]

More fun... Got the attached window from .install on patch cleaner at initial netFramework452, and the log file is attached that the window is referencing...

 

[Neemobeer]

Reboot and reinstall

 

[Leonard]

no bueno
went for about 2 minutes again

 

[Leonard]

is there a cleaner for .netFrameworks?

 

[Leonard]

i tried the the .NET Framework Repair Tool . still no good. I wnet to add/remove program files and only .netFramework 461 is listed and i clicked on it to repair and after a couple of prompts:

Should i try the .NET Framework Cleanup Tool ??

 

[trstick1]

Download the free program CCleaner. Years ago, my co-worker told me he was looking for a new hard drive for his laptop. I looked at his laptop and it was booting up very slow. I asked him if he has cleaned the hard drive and never did it since he brought the laptop 4 years earlier. I installed CCleaner and there was a long wait scanning the hard drive. The CCleaner found 2.1 Gb of internet junk and cleaned up the hard drive. Rebooted the laptop and it booted like a new laptop.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

 

[Neemobeer]

CCleaner is worth a try as well. The patch cleaner tool my not recognize .NET 4.5 is installed, some tools have bad detection even though 4.5 is included in 4.6.1

 

[trstick1]

If you have all your files in your MyCloud, it is best to replace your hard drive. You can buy a 1 Gb hard drive for 50-60 US dollars.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

 

[Leonard]

Ccleaner netted 40GB and i am up to 60GB+ free. Results in attached zip.

 

[Leonard]

So that error on add/remove programs posted above re trying to repair .net 461... I selected yes to remove it from the list and re ran the .net repair tool. then downloaded 462 and installed it. It worked. MyCloud sync has successfully restarted as it was barking about needing a .net framework. So i will reboot from ctrl-alt-del without installing updates. then i will try and install updates that had been failing. let's see...