Hard drive used space increasing

[Apokalipse]

there are folders and files in Windows which are hidden, I mean really hidden
if you have "show hidden files" on it still doesn't show them, and they don't get deleted ever even if you go to Ie and in internet options you click "delete files"

if you have 98, the folders are in C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5\{4 folders of randomly generated names}

if you have an NT or NT based OS (like 2000 or XP), they're in C:\documents and settings\{user name}\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\{4 folders of randomly generated names}
and there is an index.dat file also in content.ie5 which stores all typed URL's

if you have an NT based OS, with the exception of XP Home, you can create a DOS script that deletes these files every shut down

open notepad, and add these lines:

del "C:\Documents and settings\*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5\*\*.*"
del "C:\Documents and settings\*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5\index.dat"
del "C:\Documents and settings\*\Local Settings\Temp\*.*"
del "C:\Documents and settings\*\Local Settings\Temp\*"
del "C:\Windows\Temp\*.*"
del "C:\Windows\Temp\*"

this also deletes the index.dat files, Windows will make another one, but it won't have all the URL's stored
I've also written commands to delete files in the other temp folders
save it to C: as a .bat file - save as, select "all files" instead of "text document" and put .bat on the end of the file name

then go to start, run, type 'gpedit.msc' then under 'computer settings go to 'windows settings' and double click on "scripts (startup/shutdown)"
double click on shutdown on the right, and click on add, then browse and select the .bat file you've created and click apply
then close gpedit and reboot

now when it is executing a shutdown/restart you should see "executing shutdown scripts" and this means it worked, and it's deleting the temp files

*edit*
the reason these folders are hidden is because of the desktop.ini files inside them. every folder has a desktop.ini which basically has all the folder settings. if you delete them, Windows will remake them and they will still be hidden, but Windows doesn't check if they have been modified, so you can edit them in notepad

they should have this if they're hidden:
[.ShellClassInfo]
UICLSID={7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}

just delete the second line so you're left with this:
[.ShellClassInfo]

and it will not be hidden

 

[Windwaker222]

if your playing a game like counter-strike, anytime you visit a server that has been edited with new maps or sounds your computer automatically downloads them too your HD. After a few hundred servers, your file could be getting pretty big..

 

[whiteknight01]

Still Growing

Tried all of the above that applied...........I do have XP, it makes no difference what game is played and I do not play games on line.............the only thing in my local temp file is 444kb which is "security catalog".......hard drive usage continuing to grow as time goes on.........any other thoughts, thanks again.

 

[Smokin-A.I.]

Re: Thanks but no go

Thanks for the input. I know my hard drive usage space when just my operating system and all other items but games are in and it is about 30 gigs. An example of what happens is: I install a game that takes 3 gigs and when done unintall it which should put me back to 30 gigs used but it is almost 33 still even after uninstalling, cleaning up cookies, running defrag......

after uninstalling , do you manually go to ...my computer the c: then look to see if the files were deleted?
just uninstalling a game (etc) doesnt always delete the game . try that . if that and every thing esle didnt work , i would start looking for a virus!!!

 

[whiteknight01]

That doesn't do it.....

Yes, I manually delete all files and I do not have a virus of any kind.................any other ideas?

 

[intercodes]

whiteknight01,

Its intresting , nobody specified a 'scandisk' .

Okie, run a full[thorough] scan disk on your drives. The space is there, but windows reports it wrong. Scandisk should probably fix this. If you want to know the real amount of free space in your disc,try some 3rd party software displaying disc info

 

[katsumoto]

Whenever I want to clean up my hdd, I just use the disk cleanup feature on my System Mechanic 4 Pro software--it does wonders.

 

[AND_YOU_ARE]

I found this happening on my system, but i wipe my hd and do a complete reinstall so that solves the problem, espicaly when you have a ghost image so you dont have to spend time installing everything.

 

[lazerman]

If I make the script like you say, and I put this

del "C:\Documents and settings\Mitchell\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5\*\*.*"
del "C:\Documents and settings\*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5\index.dat"
del "C:\Documents and settings\Mitchell\Local Settings\Temp\*.*"
del "C:\Documents and settings\Mitchell\Local Settings\Temp\*"
del "C:\Windows\Temp\*.*"
del "C:\Windows\Temp\*"

What do I enter for the *'s? And if I just write:
del "C:\Documents and settings\Mitchell\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.ie5"

Will it delete everything in that folder or the folder itself?

 

[Apokalipse]

the *'s are wildcards, it means that all files and folders in that directory will be deleted

Tried all of the above that applied...........I do have XP, it makes no difference what game is played and I do not play games on line.............the only thing in my local temp file is 444kb which is "security catalog".......hard drive usage continuing to grow as time goes on.........any other thoughts, thanks again.

you cannot see the folders because Windows hides them. if you want to get to these folders, you can type their address in the address bar above, or you can go to a DOS window, and type:
"C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /e,{put directory you want to go to here}"
and that will open the directory if it exists, even if Windows would normally not allow you to - with the exception of folders with passwords

*edit* something I forgot to add
sometimes when it executes the script, it will ask you "are you sure you want to delete these files" and while Windows is shutting down you see the logon screen, and you can't give it an answer
so, to every line in the script, add "/q" at the end of them
so it is: "del {whatever directory} /q"
now it will not question you