Low Disk space on C drive

[JinaJ]

I am constantly facing a Low Disk Space error on C Drive of Windows. I have plenty of space I think. But still the notification is a bit irritating. I had performed disk cleanup to check the some more space. It wiped a good number of files. Second I scanned my system with a antispyware software which found nothing. I have two partition. A 20GB allotted to C drive and 60GB allotted to D drive. Now the C drive has 4GB left. But still low space error keep on popping. My another partition is also empty and has ample of space left in the same. I had searched for duplicate files also in the same. Atlast I had verified my pagefile.sys in system which was above 700 mb. How can be the page file so large. Does this is the cause of issue.

[Eithne]

There is a tool called as Treesize. It will give you detail of each file and folder in your system. You can try that to find which folder occupy how much space in the system. It is a free tool. Second run Disk Defragmentation. This tool offer you a proper disk management. It will arrange the data in the drive. The C drive only popups warning that the disk space is out. Run disk cleanup a number of time and wipe out the files in document settings. Like under download or desktop. Those are the places were maximum data is kept.

[Han$naH]

I got the error when I was trying to install some file in C Drive. It was a game of around 4GB. There is a nice alternative that you can go for. You must set your installation directory as D drive so that all your software can be installed in that section. Another thing you can disable the page file to clear it completely. Disable page file first and then run Disk Defragmentation. Then enable the same back again. I hope you can find enough free space.

[Epstein]

20GB is quiet less for C Drive. There are can be number of files that are inside and occupying the space. Sometime Windows update are the cause of error. Because if there are large updates pending, and your drive space is low, you keep on getting that notification. You must use a cleaner software regularly to keep unwanted file. You can merge a 10GB space in the drive. But that is only possible in new systems. While in old there is risk of losing Windows. Remove unwanted software's and then check back.

[Toby-Martin]

I am not sure about the partition thing, but there can be certain issue with the same. The popup mostly appear when there is very less space. 4GB is quiet enough. You can disable the notification from Control Panel. Go My Documents and check whether you have additional files in it or not. Remove unwanted software from Windows. I had performed some update recently. In this the SP2 update was about 440MB in size. The setup goes fine. But the download updated still remains in the pc after installation. It lies somewhere in Software Distribution folder in Windows/System32. I generated a log file which showed me each size of folder in Windows. Through that it became easier for me to work with low disk space problem.

[Abdulmajid]

It is not a virus, neither it is a issue related to some installation. Your disk space is low due to lots of data installed in your system. Windows update, fresh installation, download, etc are all the stuff which eats up maximum space in y our system. You can avoid by performing regular maintenance from time to time. Go to start menu and you can wipe out a number of stuff from there. Disk cleanup will not give you much space. You must always allot atleast 40GB to Windows directory. As there are updates or sometime downloads that by default goes to the C drive only. You must add more storage space if needed.

[SMichael]

I think the error can be resolved if you can move the page file to another directory. The page file occupies empty space of your hard drive to perform actions. And if a large amount of C drive space is occupied you can get those errors frequently. For that right click on My Computer > Properties > Advance > Performance > Advance > Virtual Memory. Click on that. You can see the Windows directory as default listed partition there. You can here set the page file for C to 0 and the assign around 1 to 2GB to D drive. You can enable auto settings here also. But if you keep a prescribed amount only then the page file will remain free from fragments. Restart your system to check the effects. And if there is any performance issue then you can run System Restore to get your settings back. The only best way to avoid such issue in future is by adding a higher disk space. That is far more better.

[FRIESEN]

Rightclick on My Computer and click on Manage. In that what the space amount you see. If it is completely used up then there is nothing you can do here. There are number of software which can give you a detailed report on each folder size you have in your computer.

[Janairo]

I did the page file thing mentioned above. I move the same to another largest partition. After that I checked System Restore. But I have no restore points nor any drive is assigned for the same. I had moved my Document Settings folder to D drive it was around 10GB. Now there is the largest folder left is Application Data. What should I do with this. I cannot remove installed software. Is there a way by which I can merge additional space in Windows directory.

[Patter-Son]

It look there are number of fonts installed in your system. Application data act as support for older programs to run. You cannot make changes to it. It is the default settings of Windows. I will advice you to re-install windows and this time manage to get more space from the other partition. There are tools that can help you to shrink partition and then with the help of Windows installation disc you can merge it. There are number of temporary internet files which also consume a good amount internal space. Just get more space added to your Windows directory. That's all the error is will disappear.

[CoYoTeA]

I have to hard drive and has a dual boot system. I am getting the error on both. I had kept the third partition separate for data. I have updates, software and tons of bookmarks that I cannot remove. I had disabled the popup from notification. Low disk space is not a major issue. Windows just notify about the size that keep on reducing.

[Chapal]

It is not recommended that you move your page file. It will affect your system performance. Just repartition the existing drive and add some more space. That will led to windows installation from scratch. There are some tools that can help you to manage the page file. But it is worthless unless there is no enough space in the system.

[Myra]

Page file shifting will allow you to utilize more space from other partition. That is the quiet best way you can go for. It will put a bit little pressure on the pending. I had tried a number of tool to merge a bit extra space in the existing one, but that failed. Changing page file location is not a big deal. For that you have to go in System Properties. The steps are already mentioned above in a old reply. Just right click on My Computer > System Properties > Advance > Performance. Here you can modify the same. I did this when there was only 1GB left in Windows partition. You can reduce the page file for time being.

[Borgnine]

I do not have a XP installation disc because of which I am not able to made adjustment on the partition. I can extract more 20GB from another partition. I am ready to format my computer also. I had kept a 20GB as separate but it is reserved for some software. I am looking for some software that can allow me to manage the partition size without formatting the system. I know there are tool but I need the most trusted one only. As playing with system partition can cause complete failure. I got a system restore disc with me. That can only be used if the system is crashed and it is going to restore old partition format back again.

[Patton]

See playing with the partition is only recommended if you are ready to format your computer. Because if something happens you have to re-install windows at any cost. So get the data backup first. Second cleaning temp folder or wiping out other internal files is of no use. It will only help you to gain some mbs. For high space you need to get rid of much bigger files. You can also check the recycle bin. It by default consume 10% of your system partition. You can set the the same to more lower to gain a bit more space. That can be done through system properties. I use a external hard drive to store some additional data. All my media file lie inside the external partition only. Go on Program files where you can find some folders which are left by old software. If they do not exist remove them. Compressing a large or entire Windows Directory can also give you more space. But it puts a great impact on the system performance.