Why i keep losing hard drive space??

Question

OK all this week i keep losing a lot of space in my hard drive without installing any program..I DON'T download music, I DON'T download programas, I DON'T download pictures, I DON'T download nothing..so why i keep losing space in my hard drive every single day..? What i can do..?

Thank you very much

Answer 1

well most probably there is a virus or trojan or spyware jus copying dummy data all over ur hard disk. u shud hav also experienced the following, reduced copy paste speeds...(takes more time) there is hard disk activity even when you are not doing anything, system is little bit slower... well these are symptoms to the above problem. ur pc is infected and u need to clean it up ASAP. use a gud security suite like AVG internet security and do a through scan on ur hdd... gud luck.

Answer 2

Try the following:

1. Check your Hard Drive for physical damage, go to "My Computer", Right-Click on each drive you have and click properties, at Tools tab, under Error Checking, run check (with the exception of your primary operating system drive where the check can't be run as the operating system is currently using it, it will prompt you to perform the check on next reboot BEFORE windows starts-up (confirm that). You can and better check the recover found errors.
2. Check your start-up programs, there might be a P2P (e.g.: Kazaa / eMule ...) program that's running in the background, you can do this by Typing Msconfig from Command Prompt (Start -> Run), Check the Start-up tab, You need to know what's running when your windows boots (you may find that removing unnecessary programs will also boost your PC performance)

3. Run CCleaner - a free tool (you can download from www.filehippo.com) to remove crap (i.e.: unused temp. files ...)
When you run it, look how much space you gained, if it's a lot, look what types of files were deleted (you might notice for example that many files origin from a specific software)

4. You need to check your PC for viruses and Trojans.

5. Surfing the internet downloads items to you "Temporary Interner Files" folder, eventhough CCleaner will erase these files (And you are probably talking about a more massive hard disk space loss), still you can reduce this quota being saved on your PC by clicking at your IE browser: Tools -> Internet Options -> Settings.

6. Are you using an emails software (i.e.: Outlook, Incredimail ...), If true then all mail is being downloaded to your hard drive and this can reduce your hard drive free space dramaticaly.

7. If you've updated your windows with Live Update, then a backup for these installations is saved too. These can be deleted (Again either by CCleaner, or manually from: C:\Windows\ (Look for hidden files starting with $NtUninstall ...)

Answer 3

Without knowing how you use your computer, there is no way to answer your question ... but I can help you answer it yourself ...

I will assume you are running Windows.

1. Click on the START button (bottom left of your screen)
2. Hover your mouse over "ALL PROGRAMS"
3. Hover your mouse over "ACCESSORIES"
4. Click on the link "Windows Explorer"
5. Click on "Search"
6. Choose the "All files and folders" option
7. In the "Look in:" drop down menu, choose "Local Hard Drives (C:)
8. If there are options available under this, skip to instruction # 9. Otherwise, choose "More Options" (or something like that)
9. Click on the "When was it modified?"
10. Choose the "Specify dates" option (it should be filled in for today ... if it is not, only insert today's date in both from: and to:
11. To reduce the amount of results (there will be hundreds), click on the "What size is it?" and choose the "Large (more than 1 MB)" option
12. Click on the "More advanced options"
13. Assure the drop down menu says "(All Files and Folders)"
14. Click on the "Search system folders" option
15. Click on the "Search hidden files and folders" option
16. Click on the "Search subfolders" option

**WARNING** There will be system files and hidden files that show up in your search. DO NOT OPEN THEM unless you know what you are doing. You will normally not know the difference of normal, user friendly files or hidden files that are hidden to protect you from crashing your computer. You can destroy data, or crash your computer forever by opening certain files **WARNING**

17. Click on the "SEARCH" button

There you go ... that is where all of your memory is going. You may be able to find out why these files were created, and maybe not. If you have questions about certain files, your best bet is to ask your question on http://answers.yahoo.com again yet being more specific like what the file name(s) is/are and the location on your computer that they were created.

Now, to continue with the instructions:
18. Get your search back to the prior settings:
19. At the left of your results screen, click on the "Start a new search"
20. Click on "All files and folders"
21. Click on the "More advanced options"
21. Make sure the "Search hidden files and folders" is UNCHECKED. You normally don't need the "Search system folders" checked, so consider having this unchecked also.
22. Back up at the top of the search options, in the "All or part of the file name:" box, type something in like "now I know"
23. Click on the "SEARCH" button - this is simply to reset your search options so next time you search for a file, you will not be pulling up hidden and system files (normally)

I don't know what you can do with this information, but I hope I answered your question.
Paul

Answer 4

The operating system stores a lot of files and data in the temporary folder. If you are online, the system stores files, cookies, sessions data related to websites etc in the temp folder and thats why you loose space of the hard drive.

you can get rid of that data by a utility 'Disk Cleanup'.

This is how you find the utility
Start menu >Programs > Accessories > System tools > Disk clean up
select the drive for the clean up and ok, thats done.

Answer 5

could be that you have an ad hosting program o your computer (spy/ad ware) do you have ad-aware installed? if not get it here www.lavasoft.com if it isn't that then you need to look at possible hardware problems (ie bad sectors forming) run scan disk or check disk and see what is up, windows update also stores allot of not needed files on your computer, that can ad to the problem... also, download and install ccleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) it is a safe and effective program for removing excess sludge from your hard drive. you can also get a 30 day free trial of system mechanic pro, which will aid in detecting and even help fix problems with your hard drive if they exist. you can get that at http://www.systemmechanic.com very safe and effective, what I listed here are the functions I would go through first on my own clients pc's (I am a computer tech) hope they help you.

Answer 6

It could be one of two things - some kind of virus, or your hard drive failing physically. If blocks on the drive go bad, they get marked off as unusable. Either way I'd recommend backing up your drive ASAP. Try running a virus scanner on it, although it may or may not show anything. You can usually download diagnostic software from the drive manufacturer, but the diagnostics usually destroy all your data, which can be an issue.

Answer 7

It isnt just you if you have Windows! Hackers will, and probably did, hack into you and use your hard drive. They call your computer a "Zombie" and they use your computer to send out spam mail. Take action immediately!
The best solution is to dump Windows and get an open source software instead because Windows is a virus magnet to 114,000 viruses. One good secure and free operating system is kubuntu at www.kubuntu.org

Answer 8

I get all these internet temp files and have to do a disk cleanup everynow and then them temp internet files pile up and slow down yer pc.

Answer 9

maybe you are downloading lots of videos..or pics..are you emptying ur recycle bin? downloading games? if you're a gamer try Atomic Cleaner it cleans out gamer files..good luck!