computer Help !!!

[DukeDog]

Ok .... hear it goes
I have windows xp and when I go to fee up space on my hard drive it does nothing. It literally does nothing. What have I done ??? I haven't added any new programs or hardware . It says I have no viruses . What to do ???????
Any help would be great .
Jeff

[MarkS]

It depends on the size of the file your deleting. Lets say that you have a 80 GB harddrive. If you delete a 8MB file off of the drive, you are freeing up a whopping total of 1/10,000th of the total disk space!

Depending on the size of your drive and the size of the files, it is going to take LOTS of deleting to even make a dent.

[kris101]

Did you empty your recycle bin?

[MarkS]

Originally posted by kris101
Did you empty your recycle bin?

Oh yeah... It could also be this...

[pnosko]

Try using Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup.

[tgreene]

A quicker and easier method to free up ALL the space, is as follows:

DOS Prompt > C:/wipe > [ENTER] :D

j/k this will erase everything!

[DukeDog]

I do use the method that Pnosko mentioned . That's the one that doesn't work anymore for me . When I run pc doctor and I check my hard drive it is unable to check it. I get a internal error message. It says could not obtain drive size or perimeters. I usually go and delete my cookies and temp internet file weekly but haven't been able to for a couple of weeks. So I know there's plenty to delete.
I guess I'll end up having to get somebody to come out and look at it. :(
If you have any other tips or help please feel free.
Jeff

[sammystingray]

I won't give any advice without being able to sit down and play with it, but at that point, when programs start crashing, I usually think about burning any important files to CDs (usually just digi pics in my case). There are all kinds of things to do and try, but I almost always just go for a reformat when things start crashing. It's less aggrivating and time consuming, and your PC will be faster after. You could have reformatted instead of posting this, and been back up within a couple hours.

[jimwat]

It says could not obtain drive size or perimetersAre your drives formated for FAT32 or NTFS? Some older diagnostic tools (not sure about PC doctor) will not recognize NTFS formated drives. Also, if you have your hard drive partitioned, XP uses a new dynamic partitioning (by default) that some drive diagnostic tools do not recognize. If you have eliminated these potential incompatibility issues, and the drive tools still do not recognize your drive, it could be a hardware problem. Start with re-seating the drive cables.

[DukeDog]

Thanks guys but I guess from your posts this is beyond my computer skills to fix . Fat32 and ntfs ......:confused: I don't even know how to reformat ????
But thanks anyway ;)
Jeff