Question New computer for son and storage says full

[JDH09876]

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberp...c=11&CampaignID=968410&SubscriberID=373406875
I have a 12 year old that is in to gaming, This is what I bought him in March and now it says storage is full. He doesn’t have that many games. And the 2tb space is empty.

 

[Zephyl]

240GB SSD is probably full and whatever is being downloaded/installed is getting put on it instead of the HDD.

 

[JDH09876]

240GB SSD is probably full and whatever is being downloaded/installed is getting put on it instead of the HDD.

Thank you! I kinda wondered that but I have no idea how to change it to the HDD. Do you know how to or at least point me to a good video that can tell me how?

Again thank you for your help

 

[captaincharisma]

if the link you provided is the exact computer you bought for him then it has a 240GB SSD drive for windows and programs and a 2TB HDD for everything else. if you or your son is saving everything to the 240GB drive this explains why it is reporting as full. if you have any files like video or music then you can move them to the 2TB drive to free up space on it. also games will fill that drive up fast too so it would be best to install any games to that 2TB drive

 

[Zephyl]

Thank you! I kinda wondered that but I have no idea how to change it to the HDD. Do you know how to or at least point me to a good video that can tell me how?

Again thank you for your help

It depends on what you want to "change." Downloading files off the Internet normally isn't hard, you just change the destination folder to a location in the hard drive. If he needs space for a game on Steam, this guide might be able to help.

 

[Sethdarkus]

Make a file on the HD name it media or something silly than right click photos go to properties than you should see a menu in one of the tabs to relocate it, relocate it to the HD file you made and repeat for music, videos, downloads etc. you will want to redirect your Microsoft add one to install and be placed on the HD but you can learn how with a simple google search

 

[Maxsupertweaker]

Your son has to learn how to point his browser to a download location. Whatever type of browser or browsers he is using there are settings in the browser that he can change to put the downloads on the HDD.

Just click on the hamburger menu (three or four horizontal lines) on the upper right of a browser, click Settings, look for the download setting and change to the HDD.

I am talking about ALL downloads. Doesn't matter if it's a new program, images, game files and patches, videos, music etc. All should go to the HDD. If it's a program it will install from the HDD to the C:drive SSD. A 250 GB SSD will handle a lot of installed programs along with the Windows Operating System.

It's just takes a little effort to learn the Settings in any particular Internet Browser i.e. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and several others.

Best of luck!

 

[punkncat]

As above, if this is Steam or Origin you can just physically move the whole folder over to the other drive, use the interface to point it at the new destination and easy peasy done.
If these are downloaded individual games it is just easier to uninstall and reinstall in the new destination folder.

 

[xxHAPPYxx]

Just to make it clear, I'm not sure we have explained this, your son's PC has two hard drives. One small but really fast (SSD) for anything you want loading fast and one slow but large capacity (2TB HDD). When you look at 'this pc' in windows you should see both.

We think your Son has used all the SSD space but not the HDD space (8x larger). You can get over this by changing the destination games download to. Normally the place you are downloading from asks where you want to install the game (either SSD or HDD).

It my look like gibberish but each of the storage devices have a letter assigned to them (which you will see in 'my pc'), you just need to pick the one that is your large HDD and it will download to that device.

Hope this helps

 

[punkncat]

^ Yes....to further explain that.

Open your file explorer and go to "My PC". You will see your individual drives listed and how much space they have. With no CD drive I expect you would see C and D. Under each letter will be a bar showing how big the drive is and how much available space you have.

You more than likely have a directory like C/ProgramFiles/Gametitle or maybe C/SteamLibrary (it's according to how you installed it)
In the instance that it's Steam or Origin you can take that complete folder cut and paste it to (for instance) the "D" drive. So then it would be D/SteamLibrary

The next time you open the console for that service you can go in settings and point it to the new destination and the games will automatically start working again.

 

[USAFRet]

And to be also crystal clear, you can only do that with Steam and Origin games.
All that other gunk on the drive..no.

You also need to look into Downloads and videos, etc. That stuff can be moved to the HDD.
Specific procedures:

Win 7 & 8: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/new-ssd-now-what-redirecting-static-files-elsewhere.1518605/

Win 8.1 & 10: How To - How to Redirect Folders to Other Drives in Windows So you’ve gotten a new SSD, and don’t want to fill it up with needless stuff. Redirect those files/folders elsewhere. Open Windows Explorer in Desktop On your proposed target drive, create the relevant target folders. You must do this. If you just designate the drive root (D: ) it will attempt... forums.tomshardware.com

 

[iamabot]

The hardrive may be a scam like the 1tb china sd cards for 30 bucks

 

[iamabot]

you can also combine the partitions with diskpart with cmd

 

[USAFRet]

The hardrive may be a scam like the 1tb china sd cards for 30 bucks

Doubtful.

 

[USAFRet]

you can also combine the partitions with diskpart with cmd

That si going down a long dangerous road.

 

[lucasnomail]

Well assuming its games from steam you can use this http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover

for other apps you can use
https://www.funduc.com/app_mover.htm

and
for "modern" windows apps you can move them using system native tools

Press Ctrl + I to bring up the Settings menu. From here, click System and then select Storage from the left-hand menu.
Underneath Save locations, you will see various dropdowns. To change the default drive for new apps, use the New apps will save to: dropdown.

Also you can "move" folders like Pictures, Music .... to a different drive just right click > Properties and Change Location.

 

[USAFRet]

SteamMover is an outdated tool. That functionality is now built directly into the Steam client.

Steam games location

In the steam client:

Steam

Settings

Downloads

Steam Library Folders

Add library folder

 

[rubix_1011]

Steam still freaks out if you accidentally unplug a SATA or power cable to the drive that houses its data...it will then proceed to install all Steam software under the defaulted Steam 'parent' install directory (ex: C: )

Found this out recently when my son opened his case to clean out dust and accidentally bumped the SATA cable...his primary OS SSD filled up unexpectedly because Steam started downloading the games in the library it 'knew' should be installed, couldn't find the remote Steam install directory, so just went ahead and installed under C:.

Seems like this should be fixed.

 

[digitalgriffin]

And while you are in there modifying steam download folders, modify his connection to limit his download speed to 1 Meg/second (~8mbps (mega bits)). That way other people can still surf the net or watch movies.

How to: https://windowsloop.com/limit-steam-download-speed/


I also recommend that you enable family view.

This will hide "Adult titles" from your son, keep him from messing with the settings without the pin. It will also require your permission to download new stuff or make purchases. There can be some extremely "Controversial stuff" on there.

how to and why: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5149-EOPC-9918&l=english

I also recommend family link if he has an android device. Kids get curious about your son's age. It can be tricky to install, but if you get stuck, feel free to contact me, or post in the forum on a new topic.

Details: https://families.google.com/familylink/

 

[digitalgriffin]

Steam still freaks out if you accidentally unplug a SATA or power cable to the drive that houses its data...it will then proceed to install all Steam software under the defaulted Steam 'parent' install directory (ex: C: )

Found this out recently when my son opened his case to clean out dust and accidentally bumped the SATA cable...his primary OS SSD filled up unexpectedly because Steam started downloading the games in the library it 'knew' should be installed, couldn't find the remote Steam install directory, so just went ahead and installed under C:.

Seems like this should be fixed.

Yeah I had a similar issue with my network shares that would go down. The worst part is steam will not only redownload everything you try to access, but also delete that folder without ever trying to reconnect again, or notifying you. Luckily I have fail-over now with local backup.