Vista mysteriously eating drive space

[Goldfish4209]

For some reason, as I create, delete, move around, copy, etc large files like music, vista seems to be slowly stealing HD space. I do alot of messing around with my 10Gb music collection, and every time I do stuff to it, some drive space vanishes. My 232Gb HD was down to about 130Gb free, when I converted all my music to compressed low quality MP3 for a friend, burned it to a disc, and deleted all the mp3. All the vista crap disappeared, and I suddenly had 160Gb of free space, with no overall increase in actual file space. Now, after about a month and a conscious addition of 5 Gb max, free space has gone down from 160Gb to 126. What's going on? Is this some kind of archiving that vista does that I don't know about?

Oh, and this vista stuff shows up as large, unmovable chunks in JKdefrag. Thanks in advance.

 

[imported_smile]

I think you should turn off vista system restore features. Try to look at shadow copies too.

Off topic:

I tried a free Windows server 2008 enterprise from MS TechNet site that you can evaluate for 420days (8 Months) and I was surprised to find out that even with enabled Aero and all bells and whistles it ran faster than Vista, much more faster.

I tested it on my old computer P4 1.7 1GB RAM 160GB HDD Geforce FX5700. Vista was unusable on this system. But server was very useable.

See these links:
http://www.win2008workstation.com/wordpress/
http://blogs.msdn.com/vijaysk/...-super-desktop-os.aspx
http://windowsserver2008.dyndns.org/activation.asp

 

[Pabster]

Shadow Copies and System Restore both use fairly significant amounts of space, particularly with large drives.

I prefer to use both features so I leave them enabled but if you're tight on space, go ahead and disable those features.

 

[RebateMonger]

The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

Well, I don't play Crysis or host a SQL server on it, but yeah... it runs fine for day to day Internet tasks. I don't use anti-virus software on it because I haven't needed to. Been using it for a year. And no, it doesn't get slow.

 

[Noema]

Vista runs fine with 1GB provided one restricts usage to light activities like web browsing, email, listening to music or word processing.

Which is what 99% of the population uses computers for, anyway.

 

[Pabster]

I've ran Vista on 512MB machines. It's definitely doable. The myth that one needs gigs and gigs to run Vista is pretty hilarious.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

Well, I don't play Crysis or host a SQL server on it, but yeah... it runs fine for day to day Internet tasks. I don't use anti-virus software on it because I haven't needed to. Been using it for a year. And no, it doesn't get slow.

How do you know it doesn't need a virus scanner at all ? Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Pabster
I've ran Vista on 512MB machines. It's definitely doable. The myth that one needs gigs and gigs to run Vista is pretty hilarious.

Yeah but what is the minimum amount of ram you want to have in a machine to use Windows Vista and is this for all version of Vista or only certain ones? If only certain ones which versions?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

Well, I don't play Crysis or host a SQL server on it, but yeah... it runs fine for day to day Internet tasks. I don't use anti-virus software on it because I haven't needed to. Been using it for a year. And no, it doesn't get slow.

How do you know it doesn't need a virus scanner at all ? Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

Because using a limited account is enough to prevent anyone who uses the computer from infecting it with a virus. I don't use a virus scanner on any of my Vista PC's and I've never had virus or spyware problems.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

Well, I don't play Crysis or host a SQL server on it, but yeah... it runs fine for day to day Internet tasks. I don't use anti-virus software on it because I haven't needed to. Been using it for a year. And no, it doesn't get slow.

How do you know it doesn't need a virus scanner at all ? Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

Because using a limited account is enough to prevent anyone who uses the computer from infecting it with a virus. I don't use a virus scanner on any of my Vista PC's and I've never had virus or spyware problems.

Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: Jeff7181

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The "problem" is likely Shadow Copies (Previous Versions). Vista keeps daily snapshots of monitored files. If you delete, modify, or overwrite a monitored file, Vista will have a record of the previous version in case you want to go back.

I'm glad to see those quotes. I figured with 4 computers running Vista I'd run into at least a couple of the problems I've heard people talk about and needing to turn off some features in Vista like System Restore or Previous Versions. I was wrong.

An XP2500 with 768 MB of RAM and a 9200SE runs Vista Home Premium minus Aero just fine.
A Latitude D520 with a Core Duo and 2 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 32-bit with Aero just fine.
A Thinkpad R61 with a Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM runs Vista Business 64-bit with no problems either.
And my new home build E8400 with 4 Gigs of RAM, a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard and 8800GT runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit with no issues and it's fast as hell. (by the way, I did install XP Pro on a 36 Gig Raptor on this hardware, and it doesn't feel any quicker than Vista does on an 250 GB Hitachi 7200 RPM drive)

Wow you run Vista on a pc with only 768 MB of ram ? I thought it is best to have a minimum of 2 GB for Vista ? Do you run a anti virus and anything else in the background actively with this machine ? Does it ever get slow ?

Well, I don't play Crysis or host a SQL server on it, but yeah... it runs fine for day to day Internet tasks. I don't use anti-virus software on it because I haven't needed to. Been using it for a year. And no, it doesn't get slow.

How do you know it doesn't need a virus scanner at all ? Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

Because using a limited account is enough to prevent anyone who uses the computer from infecting it with a virus. I don't use a virus scanner on any of my Vista PC's and I've never had virus or spyware problems.

Is there any other system tray icons that run on it in the background or nothing at all runs?

Only thing in the tray is sound, network, AOL tray icon and the sidebar icon.

 

[Metron]

Originally posted by: Pabster
I've ran Vista on 512MB machines. It's definitely doable. The myth that one needs gigs and gigs to run Vista is pretty hilarious.

I also run Vista Home Premium on an older Sony Vaio laptop with a 1.4 Pentium M and 512 MB of RAM. I have Open Office 2.4 loaded, and I am using Avast 4.8 for my anti-virus.

It is admittedly slow booting up, but after everything loads I have no complaints.

No Aero, due to an older built-in graphics card.

I use it to VPN into the office, and for Open Office, web browsing and email. No complaints.