Windows folder too big?!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!

We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
fact it is one of the newest computers.

Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Lys,

so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
windows dir.
may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?


"Lys" wrote:

> One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
>
> We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> fact it is one of the newest computers.
>
> Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
has happened only to this machine)....

Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).

It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
internet etc...)

I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?

"WarOfGenesis" wrote:

> Lys,
>
> so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> windows dir.
> may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
>
>
> "Lys" wrote:
>
> > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> >
> > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> >
> > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
install of windows on the system.

"Lys" wrote:

> It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> has happened only to this machine)....
>
> Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
>
> It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> internet etc...)
>
> I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
>
> "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
>
> > Lys,
> >
> > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > windows dir.
> > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> >
> >
> > "Lys" wrote:
> >
> > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > >
> > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > >
> > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Hmmmm.... well if it does happen repeatedly I suppose that's what I'll have
to do. Frustrating as it's a brand new machine!

Just intrigued really as to how it happened and how to prevent it!

Thanks, though )

"WarOfGenesis" wrote:

> Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
> back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
> install of windows on the system.
>
> "Lys" wrote:
>
> > It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> > software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> > has happened only to this machine)....
> >
> > Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> > disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
> >
> > It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> > Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> > increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> > internet etc...)
> >
> > I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> > going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
> >
> > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> >
> > > Lys,
> > >
> > > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > > windows dir.
> > > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> > >
> > >
> > > "Lys" wrote:
> > >
> > > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > > >
> > > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > > >
> > > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Thought you might like to know, it's happening again as we speak!! The
Windows dir is just dramatically increasing in size.... the user isn't doing
anything intensive, no surfing so it can't be temporary internet files...

It's frustrating and confusing!! Anti-virus scan proved there's no viruses,
System Restore is off.........

No idea what's up!

"WarOfGenesis" wrote:

> Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
> back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
> install of windows on the system.
>
> "Lys" wrote:
>
> > It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> > software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> > has happened only to this machine)....
> >
> > Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> > disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
> >
> > It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> > Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> > increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> > internet etc...)
> >
> > I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> > going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
> >
> > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> >
> > > Lys,
> > >
> > > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > > windows dir.
> > > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> > >
> > >
> > > "Lys" wrote:
> > >
> > > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > > >
> > > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > > >
> > > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

well if it was me i'll would just do a clean installation. lol... thats
it.... so then i'll have a good idea whats up.

"Lys" wrote:

> Thought you might like to know, it's happening again as we speak!! The
> Windows dir is just dramatically increasing in size.... the user isn't doing
> anything intensive, no surfing so it can't be temporary internet files...
>
> It's frustrating and confusing!! Anti-virus scan proved there's no viruses,
> System Restore is off.........
>
> No idea what's up!
>
> "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
>
> > Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
> > back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
> > install of windows on the system.
> >
> > "Lys" wrote:
> >
> > > It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> > > software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> > > has happened only to this machine)....
> > >
> > > Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> > > disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
> > >
> > > It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> > > Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> > > increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> > > internet etc...)
> > >
> > > I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> > > going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
> > >
> > > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Lys,
> > > >
> > > > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > > > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > > > windows dir.
> > > > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > > > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "Lys" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > > > >
> > > > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > > > >
> > > > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Hm yes, it's becoming increasingly tempting... lol!

I'll see how it is on Tuesday!

Many thanks for your feedback.

"WarOfGenesis" wrote:

> well if it was me i'll would just do a clean installation. lol... thats
> it.... so then i'll have a good idea whats up.
>
> "Lys" wrote:
>
> > Thought you might like to know, it's happening again as we speak!! The
> > Windows dir is just dramatically increasing in size.... the user isn't doing
> > anything intensive, no surfing so it can't be temporary internet files...
> >
> > It's frustrating and confusing!! Anti-virus scan proved there's no viruses,
> > System Restore is off.........
> >
> > No idea what's up!
> >
> > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> >
> > > Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
> > > back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
> > > install of windows on the system.
> > >
> > > "Lys" wrote:
> > >
> > > > It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> > > > software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> > > > has happened only to this machine)....
> > > >
> > > > Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> > > > disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
> > > >
> > > > It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> > > > Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> > > > increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> > > > internet etc...)
> > > >
> > > > I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> > > > going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
> > > >
> > > > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Lys,
> > > > >
> > > > > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > > > > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > > > > windows dir.
> > > > > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > > > > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > "Lys" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > > > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > > > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > > > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

LOL, no Probs,

"Lys" wrote:

> Hm yes, it's becoming increasingly tempting... lol!
>
> I'll see how it is on Tuesday!
>
> Many thanks for your feedback.
>
> "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
>
> > well if it was me i'll would just do a clean installation. lol... thats
> > it.... so then i'll have a good idea whats up.
> >
> > "Lys" wrote:
> >
> > > Thought you might like to know, it's happening again as we speak!! The
> > > Windows dir is just dramatically increasing in size.... the user isn't doing
> > > anything intensive, no surfing so it can't be temporary internet files...
> > >
> > > It's frustrating and confusing!! Anti-virus scan proved there's no viruses,
> > > System Restore is off.........
> > >
> > > No idea what's up!
> > >
> > > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Well Lys, theres not much you can do but if gets full then you'll need to go
> > > > back and clear the temp folder. not unless you want to try and do a clean
> > > > install of windows on the system.
> > > >
> > > > "Lys" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > It's just the C:\Windows dir. There's nothing unusual there, all the same
> > > > > software as is on other computers etc (which is why I can't work out why this
> > > > > has happened only to this machine)....
> > > > >
> > > > > Just suddenly 'grew' to 29GB and so the computer was whinging it was low on
> > > > > disk space (which is what alerted me to the problem).
> > > > >
> > > > > It's fine again now the temporary folders have been cleared from within the
> > > > > Windows directory, but it just doesn't seem right that a folder can suddenly
> > > > > increase in size by about 27GB!?! (Especially as the user barely goes on the
> > > > > internet etc...)
> > > > >
> > > > > I'm just wondering if it's likely to happen again without warning - am I
> > > > > going to be called persistently every few days to solve the problem....?
> > > > >
> > > > > "WarOfGenesis" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Lys,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > so you're client as a 29gb windows folder ??? are you talking about
> > > > > > c:\windows? well it should'nt be it should be around 2gb at lest if the
> > > > > > windows dir.
> > > > > > may be there are programs which have been ghosted on the pc that the client
> > > > > > does'nt need ??? which folder ??/ or is it the pc in general ?
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > "Lys" wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > One of our client PCs on XP has a Windows folder of size 29GB!!
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > We've narrowed it down to the offline files taking up so much space, but how
> > > > > > > has this happened?? The PC is set up exactly the same as all the others, in
> > > > > > > fact it is one of the newest computers.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Any ideas why this has happened?? Is it going to happen again after the
> > > > > > > appropriate folder contents have been deleted??

 

[Nestor]

I had the same problem, but a found this to figure out what folder has the big size....

Using Windows Explorer, goto Tools, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Select the option to Show hidden files and folders, and then scroll down to remove the tick to "Hide protected operating system files". Then re-check the C:\ root directory and the C:\Windows folder.

in my case, the big folder was Installer

The issue now is, what is the correct way the detele the files inside Installer, whitout having problems with the OS.

 

[Nestor]

Googlers,

Here is the solution for cleaning up a crowded Installer folder:

http://blogs.msdn.com/heaths/archiv...ed-patches.aspx

In case the page goes away; essentially you download the Windows Installer Cleanup Tool from Microsoft which comes with a command line utility called msizap.exe. After installing the tool, run:

C:\Program Files\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap G

And it will automatically remove any .msp files that are not registered on your system. This process cleared over 6GB from a client's server system partition.

Thanks!

 

[Guest]

I've had a simlar problem, although on a MacBook Pro running Parallels. Windows balooned to round the same size, 27-28GB, with the files saved to disc it occupied the available 32GB set for the Windows XP Pro OS. Looked at Installer as per the earlkier post but it was a relatively mearger 233MB so obviously not the main problem.
Did the simplething of a disc clean up, clearing temporary amnd offline files, and it is now back to around 10GB total disc space which is pretty much what I expect. Windows now shows up as 2.87GB which is expected. Time will tell to see if it builds again. The cause seemd to be the recent auto update of Parallels which had been ticking over quite okay prior to the update. Still waiting on a reply from their help line though, the website says they have a backlog of questions, not surprised.
Hope this helps.

K

 

[phhill3]

I had an even larger problem of this nature than I have read about in any of the posts on any of the sites. My windows folder was over 100gb. I did everything recommended: deleted uninstall files & folders, temporary files & folders, etc, and hadn't come NEAR a reasonable size. Finally I sat down with my work laptop (also running XP Pro) and started comparing size, folder by folder. I finally hit paydirt when I discovered a file called tvDebug.log in folder: \WINDOWS\Internet Logs\. That single file was over 90gb in size. When I researched it I found it is a ZoneAlarm log file. There are instructions for removing it readily available.

This won't solve everybody's "folder too big" problem, but it is an additional place to look, especially for folks who are running ZoneAlarm.

Good Hunting, PatrickH

 

[gsawyer]

Wow! This was a great tip. I've been mucking around with PCs for years and I've never heard of this utility. I have no idea why it doesn't come by default with Windows.

I'm referring to the Windows Installer Clean Up utility mentioned above. I downloaded it from a reputable source on the web (the link above no longer worked). I installed it and ran a C:\....\msizap help command first just to make sure G was the right option for me. I then ran the G option and I watched a long scroll of messages indicating tons of useless files were being eradicated from my machine.

The reason I needed this utility was similar to the stories above. I rarely use this computer, except when I'm using it for recording music. Suddenly, I notice that I have only 1 GB of space left on the drive of 74 GB. I knew that was insane, and I immediately assume I had some sort of virus. But after running several anti-virus scans and knowing that this machine rarely connects to the internet, I concluded something else was at work.

All I can say is Thank God for this post. After running this utility, I regained about 45 GB of disk space. Can't thank you enough!

 

[buwish]

This topic has been closed by Buwish