I have a question about Explorer is reporting the wrong amount of free space (FAT32 Free Space Bug):

i have my windows xp installed on a seperate partition i never install any programs on this partition.the format of this partition is NTFS.the size of this paritition is 5 gega.when i click properties of this partition it says 4.5 gega r used.however da total size of the folders inside this partition(documents n settings , program files n windows) is only 2 gega.how can i fix this problem?running scandisk doesnt fix da problem.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Since you have NTFS this isn't the FAT 32 bug. XP installs it's files, swap files, hibernation reserve space and system restore files which are all hidden but will be reported as disk space used. NTFS also uses more space for it's file structure than does FAT. You really need a bigger drive than 5 gig for XP.. We usually recommend a minimum of 10 at the least. You can unhide/show hidden and system files to see what is using the space in the C root directory. This is pretty much normal XP disk usage on install with hibernation and system restore set to max which is why it should be larger than 5 gig. C K


On Saturday, August 30, 2003 at 4:34 pm, Honn wrote:
>I have a question about Explorer
>is reporting the wrong amount of free space (FAT32 Free Space Bug):

>i have my windows xp installed on a seperate partition
>i never install any programs on this partition.the format of this partition is NTFS.the
>size of this paritition is 5 gega.when i click properties of this partition it says
>4.5 gega r used.however da total size of the folders inside this partition(documents
>n settings , program files n windows) is only 2 gega.how can i fix this problem?running
>scandisk doesnt fix da problem.
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

well,when i check da total size of da folders in my parition i always view hidden files n folders but still da siza is less dan dat shown by clicking da properties of da parition.besides my hibernation isnt activated n da system restore is set to min(200mega) n i never install any programs to this parition.i dont think dats normal.wut do u think?


On Saturday, August 30, 2003 at 8:31 pm, C K wrote:
>Since you have NTFS this isn't the FAT 32 bug. XP installs it's files, swap files,
>hibernation reserve space and system restore files which are all hidden but will
>be reported as disk space used. NTFS also uses more space for it's file structure
>than does FAT. You really need a bigger drive than 5 gig for XP.. We usually recommend
>a minimum of 10 at the least. You can unhide/show hidden and system files to see
>what is using the space in the C root directory. This is pretty much normal XP disk
>usage on install with hibernation and system restore set to max which is why it should
>be larger than 5 gig. C K
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hi, I'm having exactly the same pblm now:

I have several hard disks with partitions, some in FAT32 and others in NTFS.

I don't know why, but since yesterday I realized that each time I deleted some files 
on one of them, in the property windows of any partition, the total size used never 
decrease, but if I add some files, it still increase, until I can't add anymore because 
of the wrong total size!!! 
Whereas if I select all the directories and files, including those hidden which I 
always display, then their real total size is shown, and doesn't match the one in 
the property window of my partition...

I've tried to make a chkdsk on the fat32 and ntfs partitions of my windows xp hard 
disk, and though it didn't find any pblm, after this my hard disks were acting normally 
again...but only until I restored a ghost image of my windows system partition...

During these events there were also 2 times when my windows interface was completely 
freezing all of a sudden, and took forever when I tried to shutdown, so I had to 
reset, and no scandisk occured after the reboot..

So now as my hard disk are quickly reaching their space limit with this terrible 
bug, I really need to know why is this happening, and how can I repair and avoid 
it, without having to do a veeerryy long chkdsk on all my hd, though I'm even not 
sure it works, maybe just a reboot works randomly...

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

hi dudes, Same thing happend to me- well after alot of 'beating the head on the keyboard', the issue turned out to be NORTON ANTI VIRUS's Recycle Bin addon- just click "Empty Norton Protected Files" (right click on the Recycle bin icon) and the truth should set u free :D Hope this helps Cheers Mohammad


On Friday, September 26, 2003 at 6:03 am, jpnn80 wrote:

>Hi, I'm having exactly the same pblm now:
>
>I have several hard disks with partitions, some in FAT32 and others in NTFS.
>
>I don't know why, but since yesterday I realized that each time I deleted some files 
>on one of them, in the property windows of any partition, the total size used never 
>decrease, but if I add some files, it still increase, until I can't add anymore 
because 
>of the wrong total size!!! 
>Whereas if I select all the directories and files, including those hidden which 
I 
>always display, then their real total size is shown, and doesn't match the one in 
>the property window of my partition...
>
>I've tried to make a chkdsk on the fat32 and ntfs partitions of my windows xp hard 
>disk, and though it didn't find any pblm, after this my hard disks were acting normally 
>again...but only until I restored a ghost image of my windows system partition...
>
>During these events there were also 2 times when my windows interface was completely 
>freezing all of a sudden, and took forever when I tried to shutdown, so I had to 
>reset, and no scandisk occured after the reboot..
>
>So now as my hard disk are quickly reaching their space limit with this terrible 
>bug, I really need to know why is this happening, and how can I repair and avoid 
>it, without having to do a veeerryy long chkdsk on all my hd, though I'm even not 
>sure it works, maybe just a reboot works randomly...

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Yes, indeed it was Unerase norton which caused this, note it was also included in Norton SystemWorks which was the one I installed.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

im not installing any norton utilities ie i dont have da option of empty norton protected files when i right click my recycle bin.i only have da norton antivirus installed.


On Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 11:48 am, Mohammad wrote:
>hi dudes,
>
>Same thing happend to me- well after alot of 'beating the head on the keyboard',
>the issue turned out to be NORTON ANTI VIRUS's Recycle Bin addon- just click "Empty
>Norton Protected Files" (right click on the Recycle bin icon) and the truth should
>set u free :D
>
>Hope this helps
>
>Cheers
>Mohammad
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Whoever discovered that this was Norton is a FREAKING GENIUS. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was losing gigabytes a DAY - mostly because I'm into video developement and I was deleting/creating multi-gig files on a regular basis. Once again, thank you.


On Monday, November 24, 2003 at 1:24 am, Honn wrote:
>im not installing any norton utilities ie i dont have da option of empty norton protected
>files when i right click my recycle bin.i only have da norton antivirus installed.
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Mohammad: After discussing this with Maxtor, Microsoft, and Symantec (I use Ghost), it was, in fact, as you stated. Thanks a million !!


On Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 11:48 am, Mohammad wrote:
>hi dudes,
>
>Same thing happend to me- well after alot of 'beating the head on the keyboard',
>the issue turned out to be NORTON ANTI VIRUS's Recycle Bin addon- just click "Empty
>Norton Protected Files" (right click on the Recycle bin icon) and the truth should
>set u free :D
>
>Hope this helps
>
>Cheers
>Mohammad
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Goto start menu, disk cleanup, more options(tab): there is an option to remove restore points. If you have never done this, it will free up substatial free space. Obviuosly, some precaution should be used since this will only leave you with 1 restore point. Do not use this option if you are having problems which would require you to restore to a much earlier date.


On Saturday, August 30, 2003 at 4:34 pm, Honn wrote:
>I have a question about Explorer
>is reporting the wrong amount of free space (FAT32 Free Space Bug):

>i have my windows xp installed on a seperate partition
>i never install any programs on this partition.the format of this partition is NTFS.the
>size of this paritition is 5 gega.when i click properties of this partition it says
>4.5 gega r used.however da total size of the folders inside this partition(documents
>n settings , program files n windows) is only 2 gega.how can i fix this problem?running
>scandisk doesnt fix da problem.
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hi all, I am having the same problem with Windows XP. I do NOT have any Norton or any application installed on my computer besides the basic Windows XP installation. I have tried several reinstallations. After each, I copy a large file from a CD to "My Documents" and then erase it. But I cant' regain the space. Not with rebooting either. I tried Windows XP Home and then Pro. I had started off with a dual boot installation with linux, and later tried with no Linux only 2 windows partitions (one system, one data). Each time, I still get the same damn problem. If its of any interest, even when it was a dual-boot with Linux and I saw my windows data partition from Linux, it still read the incorrect disk usage figure. I deal with large video files. If I delete them, I cannot get the space back! I have tried formatting, both FAT32 and NTFS partitions, defragmenting... Any suggestions? SH


On Tuesday, December 28, 2004 at 2:48 pm, B Reynolds wrote:
>Goto start menu, disk cleanup, more options(tab):
>there is an option to remove restore points. If you have never done this, it will
>free up substatial free space. Obviuosly, some precaution should be used since this
>will only leave you with 1 restore point. Do not use this option if you are having
>problems which would require you to restore to a much earlier date.
>
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Thanks a million, this has been happening to me forever and I havn't been able to solve it :)


On Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 11:48 am, Mohammad wrote:
>hi dudes,
>
>Same thing happend to me- well after alot of 'beating the head on the keyboard',
>the issue turned out to be NORTON ANTI VIRUS's Recycle Bin addon- just click "Empty
>Norton Protected Files" (right click on the Recycle bin icon) and the truth should
>set u free :D
>
>Hope this helps
>
>Cheers
>Mohammad
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

THANK YOU - all of you - i was about to format the HD - thank you

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

i think da problem is dat system restore reserves some space to itself (u decide how big this space this) and it never tells u.even if u view hidden files n folders there wud still be a size mismatch.if u try erasing ur restore points except da last one ull notice da size of da mismatch decreased.so probably da left space mismatch is occupied by da last check point.


On Saturday, August 30, 2003 at 4:34 pm, Honn wrote:
>I have a question about Explorer
>is reporting the wrong amount of free space (FAT32 Free Space Bug):

>i have my windows xp installed on a seperate partition
>i never install any programs on this partition.the format of this partition is NTFS.the
>size of this paritition is 5 gega.when i click properties of this partition it says
>4.5 gega r used.however da total size of the folders inside this partition(documents
>n settings , program files n windows) is only 2 gega.how can i fix this problem?running
>scandisk doesnt fix da problem.
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

If you are having the problem with your hard drive saying that the space used doesn't equal the space of all your folders then this is what you have to do. Right click on the hard drive with xp installed on it. Go to disk clean up. Click the more options tab. Click system restore clean up. Click Ok. You should gain a good amount of space back. It will not completely match up because your most recent system restore point is taking up space.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I've been having this same problem on my winxp machine. I have an 80Gb drive. I have turned on the view of all hidden and system file, select all files/folders from c: and properties only display 6.62Gb used space. However win explorer lists only 2.49Gb free space. I've seen a lot of fuzzy math, but this is ridiculously fuzzy. In addition, the free space value is after performing a clean-up where I deleted all the restore points except recent. Also I have emptied the recycling bin. At first the size available was around 1Gb, so I filled up the harddrive with files until I got to the free space value I mentioned above (At which point windows displays a message and points you to disk clean-up utility). I have tried everything listed on this forum. Any other suggestions to this insane problem?

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Thanks to all of you for the incredible suggestions.. I lost space at the speed of light.. And now i have reduced the amount of space for SystemRestore and i have turned off Hibernation.. Thank you all very much


On Saturday, August 30, 2003 at 8:31 pm, C K wrote:
>Since you have NTFS this isn't the FAT 32 bug. XP installs it's files, swap files,
>hibernation reserve space and system restore files which are all hidden but will
>be reported as disk space used. NTFS also uses more space for it's file structure
>than does FAT. You really need a bigger drive than 5 gig for XP.. We usually recommend
>a minimum of 10 at the least. You can unhide/show hidden and system files to see
>what is using the space in the C root directory. This is pretty much normal XP disk
>usage on install with hibernation and system restore set to max which is why it should
>be larger than 5 gig. C K
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I've been having this problem since copying my winxp FAT32 boot partition (under Linux, using dd) to a new drive in order to gain some space. When I booted up, even though I have 5GB more in the partition, the free space was the same as before. Even merging the partition with free space behind it using Partition Magic 8.0 didn't help. Under Linux, found that XP was filling up the disk to reduce the amount of free space down to the previously set amount. The files are hidden files in \winnt with names consisting of a single letter, a through z, or sometimes a single digit. Deleting these files and rebooting back to XP didn't help, the files were recreated on boot, and couldn't be deleted. So under Linux again, I deleted those files, and created new directories and loaded them up with data from other drives so I could delete subdirectories under XP when I needed more space. This is a PITA workaround, but occasionally googling may eventually lead to a more permanent solution. It's easier than re-installing XP and having to reinstall all of my applications (dozens, at least). I'll see if cleaning up system restore helps, but I'm doubtful.

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Falcon's virus/malware cleanup routine

Daktari (John Wayne fan?), what about doing a repair install. Leaves your user data 
and programs in place, just replaces all system files and system registry entries.

See link below if interested.

Repair install WinXP 
Clean install WinXP

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I was having this issue along with several others in my org. Disk free space kept getting smaller even though I removed programs. We have system restore turned off. I had to go in and turn it on and then select settings on the drive and use the pull tab to move the size down to minimum and apply. I went from having 770 MB free to 16 GB free. Soemhow system restore was saving information even though it was turned off.


On Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 4:31 pm, Rich Kurtz wrote:
>
>Falcon's virus/malware cleanup routine

>Daktari (John Wayne fan?), what about doing a repair install. Leaves your user data
>and programs in place, just replaces all system files and system registry entries.
>
>See link below if interested.
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

OMG! Thanks for this solution! Worked for me:)


On Thursday, December 22, 2005 at 2:27 pm, Kathy McKinney wrote:
>I was having this issue along with several others in my org. Disk free space kept
>getting smaller even though I removed programs. We have system restore turned off.
>I had to go in and turn it on and then select settings on the drive and use the pull
>tab to move the size down to minimum and apply. I went from having 770 MB free to
>16 GB free. Soemhow system restore was saving information even though it was turned
>off.
>
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

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