Vista - false mem readings?

a copied a big file (bout 30Gs). Before HP total advise center said c drive
had 34% free. About half way through it said it had 42% free and had 291GB.
After it copied everything it said it was 40% free,291GB. I was confused so I
deteted the file and it said it was 49% free and 291GB. I restarted my
computer and still it is stuck on this reading 49%, 291.83GB. I havent done
much lately exept for some updates from some programs. Any advice on how to
get a proper reading?

Hi, Chubbyhead.

What does is say if you empty the Recycle Bin?

Deleted files usually are not actually deleted at first. Vista puts them
into the Recycle Bin, which means that they are still taking up space on
your computer. Then, if you realize that you did not want to delete them
after all, you can recover them. Since you recently updated some programs,
the previous versions of some files may now be in the bin.

If you don't recover deleted files, they stay in the Recycle Bin for a
while. I'm not sure how long, but generally until the bin gets so full that
it does not have room to store the next file you delete. Then Vista does
finally completely delete enough old files to make room for the
newly-deleted one. The arithmetic doesn't always come out even; to make
room for a new 10 GB file, it might have to delete an old 100 GB one,
leaving you with 90 GB more free space than you had before, not 10 GB. You
can, of course, tell it to delete specific files, or to bypass the bin.

If you right-click on the Recycle Bin icon, you can manage a few settings,
including the size of the bin.

By the way, we usually reserve the term "memory" for RAM (seldom over 4 GB),
using terms like "disk space" for room on the hard drive (seldom under 40 GB
these days).

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta in Vista Ultimate x64)

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