Hard disk space disappared after running optmisation programme

[yazzev]

Hello, I recently installed a registry optimisation programme on my computer, which uses Windows Vista Home Basic. Before the installation, I had around 80GB of hard disk space. After running the programme, I began to get a message saying that the space on my hard disk was very low. I've tried to fix this by erasing files, but any space I gain immediately disappears. I have tried chaning restore points but that has not worked either. A friend told me I should just format my disk/reinstall the operating system, but I am loathe to do that and ruin my laptop for ever. Any ideas?

 

[saran008]

Hi Newcomer and Welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

First run disk cleanup!

Then you uninstall that registry optimisation program (more details please).
Restart & Check about the empty disk space, repair/reinstall OS will be the last choice.

 

[AtaliaA1]

I agree with Suran, No need to reinstall your OS. You are aware of the program that caused your error, now
it is a matter of getting that Program off of your PC, and all of it's files. It sounds like the files for the program
are hidden from you? or in the Boot sector of the hard drive, this would be invasive of a program or utility but possible, let's
assume the latter for now, and follow Surans Idea first. Let us know.

 

[deBALZAC]

Maybe the cause of the problem is not the app you`ve just installed. Windows Vistas has a System Restore Schedule that for some reason in some cases makes the used space in your HD increas each time you start the system.

To determine how much disk space System Restore is using, the following command can be used:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

For the above command to run you must use elevated privileges:

1 – Click on the Start menu then click All Programs / Accessories.
2 – Right Click on the Command Prompt option and from the drop down menu click on the Run as Administrator option.
3 – At the command prompt type:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

and press Enter

(NOTE: if the command does not run change directories to c:\windows\system32).

After the vssadmin has executed you will see results similar to the following:

Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 237.419 MB
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 400 MB
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 2.092 GB

The output above shows space used on the C:\ drive by System Restore is 237.419 MB.
The maximum space allocated for System restore is 2.092 GB

To view the number of restore points you currently have on your Computer run the following command

vssadmin list shadows

Next, to reduce the allocated space used by Vista's System Restore, use the following command:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=[OnVolumeSpec:] /for=[ForVolumeSpec:] /maxsize=[MaxSizeSpec]

Where:

OnVolumeSpec: is the drive letter, for examaple C
ForVolumeSpec: is the drive letter, for example C
MaxSizeSpec: is the maximum size you want System Restore to use, example 1GB
Example: vssadmin resize shadowstorage /On=C: /For=C: /Maxsize=1GB

When decreasing the space allocated to System Restore, you will loose the earlier system restore points. The advantage is gaining extra free space. If you are concerned with losing the previous restore points, wait until you do not need them anymore before reducing the allocated space.

If you plan on upgrading to Windows Vista or running a clean install and will need extra space, consider reducing the space after installation has completed.

It is not recommended to disable System Restore. The capability to restore to a previous point in time or having the new Shadow Copy feature available can be a time saver if something goes wrong or if you delete a file.

Edit reason: source --> http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-reduce-disk-space-used-by-windows-vista-system-restore.html

 

[yazzev]

Hi Newcomer and Welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

First run disk cleanup!

Then you uninstall that registry optimisation program (more details please).
Restart & Check about the empty disk space, repair/reinstall OS will be the last choice.

Many thanks for your suggestion, have tried that, had already unistalled offending application but to no avail, problem persisted.

 

[yazzev]

Maybe the cause of the problem is not the app you`ve just installed. Windows Vistas has a System Restore Schedule that for some reason in some cases makes the used space in your HD increas each time you start the system.

To determine how much disk space System Restore is using, the following command can be used:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

For the above command to run you must use elevated privileges:

1 – Click on the Start menu then click All Programs / Accessories.
2 – Right Click on the Command Prompt option and from the drop down menu click on the Run as Administrator option.
3 – At the command prompt type:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

and press Enter

(NOTE: if the command does not run change directories to c:\windows\system32).

After the vssadmin has executed you will see results similar to the following:

Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 237.419 MB
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 400 MB
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 2.092 GB

The output above shows space used on the C:\ drive by System Restore is 237.419 MB.
The maximum space allocated for System restore is 2.092 GB

To view the number of restore points you currently have on your Computer run the following command

vssadmin list shadows

Next, to reduce the allocated space used by Vista's System Restore, use the following command:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=[OnVolumeSpec:] /for=[ForVolumeSpec:] /maxsize=[MaxSizeSpec]

Where:

OnVolumeSpec: is the drive letter, for examaple C
ForVolumeSpec: is the drive letter, for example C
MaxSizeSpec: is the maximum size you want System Restore to use, example 1GB
Example: vssadmin resize shadowstorage /On=C: /For=C: /Maxsize=1GB

When decreasing the space allocated to System Restore, you will loose the earlier system restore points. The advantage is gaining extra free space. If you are concerned with losing the previous restore points, wait until you do not need them anymore before reducing the allocated space.

If you plan on upgrading to Windows Vista or running a clean install and will need extra space, consider reducing the space after installation has completed.

It is not recommended to disable System Restore. The capability to restore to a previous point in time or having the new Shadow Copy feature available can be a time saver if something goes wrong or if you delete a file.

Edit reason: source --> http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-reduce-disk-space-used-by-windows-vista-system-restore.html

Many thanks for your detailed tip, I had already tried that, when I used the command List Shadowstorage, got message saying that 'List' was not a valid command, so you can see how bad things were. But I've managed to fix the problem, will tell how.

 

[yazzev]

Hello, I recently installed a registry optimisation programme on my computer, which uses Windows Vista Home Basic. Before the installation, I had around 80GB of hard disk space. After running the programme, I began to get a message saying that the space on my hard disk was very low. I've tried to fix this by erasing files, but any space I gain immediately disappears. I have tried chaning restore points but that has not worked either. A friend told me I should just format my disk/reinstall the operating system, but I am loathe to do that and ruin my laptop for ever. Any ideas?

Dear all, after spending days trying to sort this problem, I finally cracked it, with help from comments on the internet, I simply run a sentence on Google and checked out different documents for this thread. To cut a story short, I had to restart my computer and on restart, press F8 to start on SAFE MODE and once there I run the different options, including one for checking the HDD and that is what did it, it cleaned up the HDD and at the end of it I got my 47GB of hard disk space back.