I had the same problem once, and I hate XP ever since. I've installed Windows at first on a 4G something partition from my 40 G drive. But then it started to save a thousnad of different files there untill it exploded itself and I ended up with a computer telling all the time: Can't to that, not enough space.
My first reaction was, to delete all the useless stuff. DON'T DO THAT. I could not restart my computer after that and Windows was completly dead. Files were missing, although I could not remember deleting them.
I ended up installing Windows XP anew. You don't have to format you drive before you do that, I remember that they will be formated automatically while installing Windows.
Now my computer is working and Windows does not complain any more. Most important is too keep that folder windows produces to keep you personal data in (my music, my pictures and such) out of the drive. It can be moved into another drive without harm.

I hope I have helped you some.

As a temporary measure, run cleanmgr.exe (should be in your system dir, so just type that file name in the run box and it'll start).

Although, Windows delights in having that pop up on its own when you least want it, so maybe you've already run it. (But if not, I'd hazard to guess that you can save a lot of space by deleting the temp files and the catalog files for the indexer, assuming that's a service you haven't disabled yet. (If it isn't, now is a good time to disable it, too. "Indexing Service")
I think you long since moved away from IE as well, yes? But if not, IE by default gives itself a tremendously humongous amount of space for the cache (temporary internet files). Going into its preferences and setting that to something reasonable will let you go on for a few years again as well.

Also, you can usually save some space by deleting all the movies in the windows directory. I think they're all under help or tours or somesuch. (I don't have them anymore, so I can't tell exactly.) :)


If you really want to format that drive, you'd do it by inserting the windows install CD, booting from it, and telling that to do this, but you'd then have to start the very very lengthy process of reinstalling every single security update and getting all the programs that install necessary drivers e.a. in the system dir (not to mention in the registry - so basically every single program on your computer) to work again, which I would advise against unless you really have no other recourse.

Hmm... ok.

That system cleanup thing pops up probably 10 times a day for me so I've deffinetly used that.  It doesn't do anything at all to help make space and when it asks if I want to delete unused programs and offers the list, 90% of those are on the other drive so again, doesn't help.

I checked the temporary internet files thing in IE and it shows 96mb as the alloted space.  What's a reasonable amount?

And where do I find the indexing service?  Not sure what that is.  All I've done was go into evice manager and found a tab labelled system restore and clicked the box next to "disable system restore for all disks" hoping that was how to turn off what was eating my space. (Which is still disappearing actually.  This morning my computer now tells me I have 0 space left.)

And I think I found the tour things you mentioned, Aan, but it wouldn't let me delete them, first saying to be sure the disk isn't full or that they're not in use, and then when I tried to delete the sub folders it said they were already in use.

And thanks for the suggestion, Kamiko.  I don't think there's much if anything in those folders.  I save everything to the other drive and regularly check those on the c drive to be sure windows hasn't stuck things there that I don't want.  Maybe I'll try moving them just in case though.

And I have to head out for work now but maybe when I get home I'll try to figure out where all the restore points are so I can delete them.  If it will let me delete them.  I've gradually had less and less luck being able to delete anything because apparently I don't have enough free space to delete things.

*sigh*  It's times like these that I really, really hate computers.

Firstly, having XP on a 4gb drive will drive you crazy, because it is nigh on impossible to stop it filling that very quickly.

I suggest what the others have said. Download all the latest updates for windows, the firewall and antivirus and put them on a cd or a removable drive (or the other drive).

Then do the reformat thing as described by... someone above.

Every six months or so you should defragment your drives which can be found in Start-> All Programs-> accessories-> System Tools if you don't know.

And I'd expect to do this every year or so as well. Isn't windows great?

-X

Weird, my compu is only using 2Gb of it's C-drive. And I've had it quite a while already... *wonders which setting could be different in her compu* I had MyCom install it all for me (well the Windows part anyway).

Yalahii.

On my XP services can be found under Control PanelAdministrative ToolsServices

Yalahii.

Hit F8 (or F9? just keep hitting them both all the time) during startup (just before the windows screen shows, usually) and choose windows safe boot to boot in. That will probably boot okay, and then you can delete the files.
Or use your windows install cd to start the recovery console and delete files from there.

Totally off topic, but Magpie, I adore your sig. *g*

I work as a network administrator, and I also have to maintain around 70 workstations. 


Maybe its because I'm conditioned to it, but I really don't see reformating a computer as that big of task.  Hopefully you have the install disks for your software and the ability to make data backup either through cd burning, external hard drives, or usb flash drives. 

If you reinstall Windows, I would just create one partition on a drive that small.  If you don't have a broadband internet connection, you can order some of the Windows update disks from Microsoft.  I have a Service Pack 2 disk I ordered from them, which for most of the machines I service, saves me about a 75MB download.

Generally when I have to do a reinstall, it takes me about 3 and half hours to install Windows, Office, all updates and the various software we run. 

For many people who are not adept at some of the maintainence on a pc, they can get pretty bogged down, and a reformat and reinstall will provide them with a performance boost, in that it is an extreame way of cleaning one's registry, cleaning up the file system, and getting rid of adware/spyware.

I reformat/reinstall Windows on my parents computer probably about every year or two, because I am not there to maintain thier computer, and its quicker for me to just reinstall than to fix it in many cases.

[ July 07, 2006: Message edited by: Dan ]

If it's possible, definitely upgrade your RAM. Office 2007 is a beast in terms of RAM and processing. That would be my first recommendation to you, in fact.

Ha, got another computer question to ask.

As I am planning to leave Taiwan soon, possibly next year, I was wondering if I can take back my desktop computer, too. The voltage in Taiwan is 110, and Germany has 240. Is it possible to replace the power adaptor inside this kind of computer back home? Thankfully all my notebooks can deal with any voltage. On that note, I do not even know if my desktop can do that too, probably have to open it up to check, but I guess it wouldn't work. My sceen probably has to stay, pity. So much electrical stuff I cannot take back because of the damn voltage difference.

I haven't got a clue, but my guess would be that it's not possible. Or at least not all that easily.