What should backup files look like in recovery (d) partition drive?

[heedee]

Hi all,

Here is my issue summarized:
--I want to make sure I have the backup files I need on the D drive.
--I also want to figure out why I for some reason now have low disk space and what I could do to resolve that.

I am getting a message about low disk space left in recovery drive. I have an HP Pavilion dv 6305 us, running Vista Home Basic with a 32 bit system.

I don't actively use the recovery drive. I can't think of any reason why I would all of a sudden have low disk space.
I have used disk cleanup to delete files and have deleted all but the most recent restore point. It says I have 108 MB free of 6.26 GB.

I know the D drive is supposed to contain your Vista backup files (not your information, documents, etc.). I want to make sure that's what I have. Can anyone tell me what SHOULD be contained in the D drive and what it should look like? Here is what I have in the D drive (I have all hidden folders and files set to show):

--Folder: heedeelaptop (466 MB)
--Icon: Recovery (when I click on it, just a warning from HP about not deleting files in the recovery drive) (192 KB)
--MediaID.bin (528 bytes) Not sure what this file is.

The heedeelaptop folder contains a "Backup Set Folder". This folder contains "Backup Files" which contains 8 Backup file folders. Each folder contains a folder that says C, and then they have various folders in each which seem a little haphazard. Some of them contain files named HP, Hewlett-Packard, Documentation with numbers as the folder names, then letters that seem to relate to Mozilla Firefox, then HP Games shows up twice in other folders, etc.

I am just trying to make sure this is what is supposed to be on the D drive. I may have accidentally done a backup of my documents/pictures, etc. files onto the D drive a few weeks ago, and there were a few failed attempts so I'm not sure if the D drive could be taken up by these failed copies. Could I have overwritten the original backup files? The backup set files I have described are labeled May 10, 2009 (whereas I've had my laptop for almost 2 years now and I would think if the D drive contained the correct, original backup files, they would be labeled with a date back in 2007).

If anyone can offer any insight into this issue, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you!
Heidi

[Vitus]

Whenever you try to backup your system files or any other files you need to go for START->Program Files->Accessories->System Tools->Backup, and when you will select your data to backup it will ask for the location it may be any external if you have so otherwise it may be on your hard disk.

And for the Description of the Low Disk Space Notification in Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
   

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type NoLowDiskSpaceChecks, and then press ENTER.
5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
6. Type 1, and then click OK.

[nitesh mehta]

That is not a good place to put backup files, because you may need to recover the system using the files that are legitimately on the recovery partition. The recovery partition is not a good size for making backups either, as you have noticed. Go to the nearest Office Depot or equivalent and purchase a USB hard drive. They are big and cheap. I got a 150 GB model for around a hundred dollars.

[Humberto]

Hello , As Your Getting Low Disk Space Error , and the Backup Files Have Labelled 10 may It Means There Would be a Backup Of Your COmputer On Your D Drive , i Dont How You Can access It But you Can restore it , For more info

Vista Complete PC Backup and Restore

[heedee]

Thanks for your help everyone but I'm not sure I've had my problem addressed with the suggestions. I DO recognize that the recovery drive is not where you should do backups of your files. I do have an external hard drive that I use to make backups by copying folders of my documents, pictures, etc.

That is exactly why I don't know why I am getting a low disk space notification. I don't want to just turn the notification off. I want to solve the problem and determine why I have low disk space. I had a guess that perhaps it was because I once accidentally may have made a backup onto the D drive. That's why I described the folders that I see on my D drive. Do those sound like RECOVERY files that SHOULD be on there? Or do those sound like accidental backup files that should NOT be on there? Can anyone tell from the file folder descriptions?

How can I free up space on the D drive (not just turn the notification off)? I have tried the traditional ways I described before. How can I know which folders are the recovery files? How can I know if I have files that I could potentially delete off the d drive?

Thank you for all of your help!

[vinx02]

If you dont need anything on that drive, just format it and do another backup..