Erasing Unused Disk Space

[kcirtapyabes]

I have been using Eraser version 5.84 and tried to erase unused disk space. After I did it overnight, the next morning I saw the results with ALOT of failed data entries. I took a look at my HDD and found eraser has taken up around 7 gb of space. I looked for a ~ERAFSWD.TMP folder and could not find one. I tried eraser again and it took up even more space. Can anyone tell me what is wrong here and tell me how to free up my space again, at least back to my state at which I started using eraser.

 

[Joel]

Is the eraser folder hidden? Do a search for large files on your drive. Do you have a file which is larger than it should be?

Free space can only be unaccounted for if a) a file grew and no one knew about it, or b) your disk is faulty or c) your disk is corrupt.

Joel

 

[kcirtapyabes]

No the (~ERAFSWD.TMP) folder did not exist on my computer. It made sure all files and folders were visible. I have no idea where all this space is being stored at.

 

[kcirtapyabes]

I am guessing a file grew and no one knew about it. I did a search for midified files within the time period and I see no file that could be in that range of gb.

 

[Joel]

Don't bother about modified files. Eraser doesn't change the timestamp of files. You'll have to do a search by filesize and filesize alone.

Joel

 

[kcirtapyabes]

Ok I will try and do a search within the time frame and searching for files created, not modified this time.

 

[Joel]

Won't help too. Eraser doesn't modify the timestamps of files. The only files you'll find "created" are those in the eraser temp folder, but you say the aren't there. So any files you find in your search will have nothing to do with eraser.

Joel

 

[kcirtapyabes]

Yeah, i figures that out after I tried searching for the files. So where are all the files taking up such a huge amount of space? What did I do wrong when I erased unused disk space and caused this to happen. How should i erase unused disk space in the future and remove the present files taking up a lot of space?

 

[Joel]

No idea... you'll have to do a search by file size... if you still can't pinpoint one LARGE file then I can't really help you there.. You'll have to check files one by one.

But before we do such things. I'm curious - do you have any backup software? GoBack? Time Machine or the like? Automatic backup tools?

Joel

 

[jberaser]

Yeah, i figures that out after I tried searching for the files. So where are all the files taking up such a huge amount of space? What did I do wrong when I erased unused disk space and caused this to happen. How should i erase unused disk space in the future and remove the present files taking up a lot of space?

Treesize is a free software program that will show you the size of all of your folders and subfolders. If you find a folder that is extra large (I understood you to say you're looking for 7gb?) then you can check out that folder with Windows Explorer and see what's in it. You can get Treesize here:

http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml

Regards,

JoeB

 

[Overwriter]

Hi jberaser

Good idea, thank you for your help.
That looks an interesting bit of software !

 

[jberaser]

Hi jberaser

Good idea, thank you for your help.
That looks an interesting bit of software !

I have used it for years. It's an easy way to see what's taking up space on your hard drive and helping to determine if you really need all the stuff you have

Regards,

JoeB

 

[Overwriter]

It's an easy way to see what's taking up space on your hard drive and helping to determine if you really need all the stuff you have

Probably not ! :lol:

 

[kcirtapyabes]

All right thanks jberaser I'll gice that one a try. Why did I get so many error messages though? And what caused this to happen? Should I change any preferences when erasing unused disk space?

 

[jberaser]

All right thanks jberaser I'll gice that one a try. Why did I get so many error messages though? And what caused this to happen? Should I change any preferences when erasing unused disk space?

I don't know. I suggest that you first uninstall 5.84 and download and install Eraser 5.7. If you find the excess folders see if Eraser can erase them. If not you'll have to delete them I suspect. Then use 5.7 to erase your unused disc space. I used it in Safe Mode but you can try in normal mode, which is much faster.

Regards,

JoeB

 

[kcirtapyabes]

Thanks, yeah I am using 5.7, but did you say it was much faster to erase unused disk space in normal mode?

 

[Joel]

Yes, because all the drivers work in the faster DMA mode.

 

[Overwriter]

Yes, because all the drivers work in the faster DMA mode.

Could this be a feature request for V6 that it has it’s own drivers and be able to work just as quick in safe mode ? This would help users who are having issues with other software.

Sorry if this is a stupid question !

 

[Joel]

Ew. I'm known to be good at reinventing the wheel but writing a software driver is... beyond me! Coupled with the fact you need to get Microsoft approval... that's money and time...

Joel

 

[Overwriter]

Well I had to ask ! :lol: