C:/ is full after erase of unused space

T

TomCM

New Member
I tried to delete the folder in the root of C (which contains a lot of 216 MB files), but the C i still full and when i reboot the files come back?! I would appreciate any suggestions. :)

Tom
 
What OS and version of Eraser are you using? This could be a permissions issue.

David
 
Clearly the files are not deleting, and this is usually because of permissions issues or something putting a lock on the files. Try uninstalling Eraser, then seeing if the files will delete. Alternatively, boot in safe mode, and see if they will delete then. An even more extreme approach is to boot from something like a Linux boot disk (anything that doesn't boot your Windows installation, can access your hard drive and has some sort of file manager will do) and delete the files from there.

Whatever you do, once the files are deleted, I suggest that you download and install Eraser 6.0.7, which has a number of bug fixes.

Hope this helps.

David
 
DavidHB: thanks for the help but I still can't solve the problem. I tried to uninstall Eraser but I get an installation package error (error code 2869). I also tried to delete the program folder but it's keep coming back when i reboot, just like the locked files that I've tried to delete both i normal and safe mode. (The locked files will delete but they are coming back and uses all space on C:/). The boot cd suggestion you gave me I haven't tried yet. I may need a little more help with that one. Where can I get a such CD?
 
Before we think about boot CDs, I suggest you do a disk check, just to be sure that the file system isn't playing up. You'll need to do it on reboot, and it may take a while.

In My Computer, right-click on the drive, then select Properties|Tools|Check Disk (I may not have the terminology quite right: I'm writing this on a Windows 7 machine). Check the box to fix errors and the one to check for bad sectors. The system will almost certainly ask you if you want to do the check on restart; confirm that you do. Then reboot, go away, and do something different for a while. Just make sure the check completes; you'll be lucky if you get anything out of the task completion report as it speeds by. Then try the deletions again.

The other thing is that you need to be running in a user account with administrative privileges. In XP, you usually are, but it's just possible that logging off and switching to the Administrator account may help. But do the disk check first.

David
 
I get a message that Windows can't do the check disc on C. I also tried doing this and the deletion with administrator account as you suggested, but that doesn't help either :-( Now what, maybe the reboot CD will fix it?
 
I'm worried that you may have file system corruption, and it is difficult to recommend any file operation, including with a boot disk, unless/until we know that the drive and file system are healthy.

When did Windows tell you that it couldn't do the disk check? What normally happens with a system drive is that Windows tells you that it can't do the check while the system is running, and asks if you want the check scheduled for the next reboot. Did that happen? If so, try the check again, and ask for it to run on reboot, and we'll go from there. If that was not what happened, please could you tell me what error you did get.

Do you have a full system/data backup? I think that you may well need one.

David
 
When I try doing a Check Disc I get an error like "Windows can't fullfill the disc check" (best translation I can do from my language). I tried to check and uncheck the two options there: repair automatically problems in files and search for and try to repair damaged sectors. I don't get the option where to check disc on reboot. I did a check disc for about week ago and the system where healthy then (if that matters now).

I don't have a backup but at least I've copied my most important files to an external hardisc. I did try system restore but that doesn't help either. I get messages that the system is full and I need to delete files to get space, but it doesn't worl after I delete files either and they are coming back when I reboot.
 
Joel: Thanks, but that doesn't work either. I get the same error message when trying to do the check disc after deleting the files. When I have deleted the files it says in disc properties on C: that I have my lost space back and lot of free space on C: but I still can't add any files or do windows operations. Any other operations I do within any application on the computer doesn't get saved, every setting I change, uninstalling, deleting etc. comes back to where it was after I reboot... :?
 
Are you running any disk backup utilities, GoBack, True Image or the like? What antivirus application are you using?
 
To amplify Joel's question a little, what programs are you running on startup? Have you tried disabling these with msconfig?

David
 
Use the command prompt and type chkdsk/R...R as in recover any data that was lost, then after that scan finishes type in chkdsk (you get a 3 stage scan in read only mode) and see what it says just what kind of error the HDs have. It will probably say to do a chkdsk/F...F as in fix, if you do a chkdsk from My Computer and check the 2 boxes it does a 5 stage scan. If you want the same scan from the command prompt you would type in chkdsk/F/R you will get a 5 stage scan, if you type in chkdsk/F you will get a 3 stage scan.
 
Joel: I've haven't got any backup, so I'll have to reinstall Windows if we can't solve this problem :x I'm using AVG antivirus Free Version.

David: On startup (msconig) I have: AVG Anitvirus, Sygate Firewall, Winpetrol, ccleaner, ctfmon, Comodo time machine (which I've tried but doesnt work), Logitech LCD screen (for Z-10 speakers). No matter if I disable one, two, three or all, they are still starting up again...

Carver: I tried typed exactly what you suggested but I just get message saying: "Can't open volume for direct access" or something like that (I translated the text into English from my language).

It seems like that I can't do any changes on the computer at all (settings, deleting, saving). When I try to do the changes it just comes back to where it was after I reboot or I get a message that I can't do it because of insufficient space.
 
TomCM said:
David: On startup (msconig) I have: AVG Anitvirus, Sygate Firewall, Winpetrol, ccleaner, ctfmon, Comodo time machine (which I've tried but doesnt work), Logitech LCD screen (for Z-10 speakers). No matter if I disable one, two, three or all, they are still starting up again...
Click to expand...
I think Comodo Time Machine's the culprit here. Try getting rid of it.

TomCM said:
Carver: I tried typed exactly what you suggested but I just get message saying: "Can't open volume for direct access" or something like that (I translated the text into English from my language).
Click to expand...
After doing that, Windows will ask if you want to schedule the disk check on the next restart. Select yes, and reboot your computer. Let it ru overnight.

TomCM said:
It seems like that I can't do any changes on the computer at all (settings, deleting, saving). When I try to do the changes it just comes back to where it was after I reboot or I get a message that I can't do it because of insufficient space.
Click to expand...
Seems like what Time Machine is meant to do. Their actual site is down, but it sounds like what GoBack does (and GoBack does do these things)
 
Thanks Joel :D It seems like Time Machine was the problem. I tried to uninstall it in Windows, but that didn't work because it came back when i rebooted. When i uninstalled Time Machine in the "boot menu" in the program it did work! I choose to go back a little and load before I installed eraser and the big files are gone. So I think the problem is solved and I haven't had any problems yet. Thanks to all for your help :)
 
Having a full drive after an unused space erase is a rather common complaint, but I can't pinpoint what's causing the problem. In the meantime, the workaround in the FAQ is the main way of resolving the problem. The task log also contains details.
 
I'm really glad that this is fixed; I was getting worried! Good teamwork on the forum, too.

The problem seems to arise when available space is zero. It's almost as if Windows then needs more space to delete files ... :?

David
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top