low disc space drive c

I have had this Pavillion dv6305tx laptop just 2 months and after a short while the disc almost full message popped up, it is a 160gb HDD with vista ultimate 64 bit os. Strange because I had not installed any new programs. I phoned the HP line (India) and was told to re format the HDD. This I did but now I have the same message again. I have not istalled anything and the add/remove programs tells me I have less than 2gb of programs installed. The HDD seems to be filling up in its own and I cannot work it out. Would anyone please help, I think it is a setting in vista but don't know wher to start. The problem is not with the recovery partition D. Thank you.

I wonder... did you do a format of the HDD and then reinstall... or did you do a restore of some kind?

I'm not saying that's your problem, but if you do a restore all the old data may still be left on the hard drive.

The best thing to do (as long as you have a Vista install CD) would be to use a program (like fdisk) on a boot disk, delete all the partitions and format the drive. ((this assumes your install data or restore software isn't installed on a hidden partition on the HDD itself))... then reinstall Vista fresh.

You're right that you shouldn't be getting this error with a 160GB hard drive. Have you gone to "my computer" and right clicked on the hard drive and gone to properties... does this report that the drive is full?

Thank you for the reply, I have located the problem.
I purchased and installed Complete Registry cleaner from Abexo, I removed the program because it was not working properly even though with XP pro it was fine. It does not like Vista 64 bit so don't buy it. Even though i had removed the program using Add/Remove it was still on the computer under c: Application/ Data/Roaming. Deleting this solved the problem. It was listed as having a 126GB size.

Get a freeware program to analyse which directories are consuming the space. eg. Advanced System Optimizer. Some backup files (eg system restores) can consume massive amounts of disk space. Also search for files >500MB in windows search and see what you can get rid of. The usual stuff also - uninstall Windows components you don't really need, empty recycle bin, clean internet cache, installation caches, uninstall unused programs. Watch for duplicate personal files, eg music files, photos.

What is the disc space requirement of Vista ultimate? (on box)

kopiteinnz said:

I have had this Pavillion dv6305tx laptop just 2 months and after a short while the disc almost full message popped up, it is a 160gb HDD with vista ultimate 64 bit os. Strange because I had not installed any new programs. I phoned the HP line (India) and was told to re format the HDD. This I did but now I have the same message again. I have not istalled anything and the add/remove programs tells me I have less than 2gb of programs installed. The HDD seems to be filling up in its own and I cannot work it out. Would anyone please help, I think it is a setting in vista but don't know wher to start. The problem is not with the recovery partition D. Thank you.

Click to expand...

kopiteinnz said:

Thank you for the reply, I have located the problem.
I purchased and installed Complete Registry cleaner from Abexo, I removed the program because it was not working properly even though with XP pro it was fine. It does not like Vista 64 bit so don't buy it. Even though i had removed the program using Add/Remove it was still on the computer under c: Application/ Data/Roaming. Deleting this solved the problem. It was listed as having a 126GB size.

Click to expand...

Wow, no wonder then..... if that software package was taking up 126GB... and then with Vista installed along with other basic software I could see you having a problem.

Is that how much space it normally takes up?.. cause that's HUGE!, I don't think any "normal" software requires anything close to that... even games.

As a rule of thumb... don't use any XP software that deals with the OS itself like a Registry cleaner, hardware drivers, antivirus etc unless is says it's compatible with Vista. Most other general software should be OK, but anything that has to work hand and hand with the OS should be designed specifically for the OS as so much has changed between XP and Vista.

I'm happy you solved your problem. You should be able to enjoy your PC a little better now.

TK.