Identifying a piece of software

[#1]

I know Windows is bloated, @penneck - but you must have quite a few programs on there to be using 60GB.

[#2]

@penneck 

Ah, the delights of Windows!

Once you have got your storage sorted out, you might want to have another go with a Linux distro.  😀

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[#3]

I also have MS Office, Mailwasher and lots of other "operating software" type software (what makes a process work) on the C: partitiuon, but all the data is kept on the E: partition. The trouble seems to be that a lot of things I go to on the web seem to insist that you cannot just look at something, and then decide to download it if you want it. Oh no, you have to download it anyway (outside my control but it may be something on my pc that is doing it). These downloads always go onto the C: partition, so anything I decide I dont want, I have to remember to go and delete it. So the C: partition gets filled up when I'm under the impression I'm not adding to it. I've learnt now to go in and have a clearout every so often.

Regards

Graham

[#4]

@penneck 

Which web browser are you using?

The ones that I use, (Firefox and Chromium), allow you to change where downloads are saved in their Settings.

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[#5]

I use Chrome. I also have Internet Explorer (which I haven't used for years) and Edge which I use on the odd occasion when there is a problem which might be Chrome related.

Bear in mind I am still using Win 7. To go to Win 10 or Win 11 would require a new pc, and I've never used either so I would have to learn the new OS. Quite why when MS produce a new OS they cant have the icons which do the same thing having the same name and looking the same, independent of which version of OS it is.

Also, a new pc would require a new printer - my present printer uses a parallel port but works okay. My pc is almost as old but has the necessary port. The cost of updating is mounting so I will only update when I am forced to.

Graham

[#6]

@penneck 

Chromium, which I have available on my Linux PC, is very similar to Chrome - in fact it it is the "free" version of it.

In Chromium:

Click on the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu.

Click on Settings.

Click on the 3 horizontal lines next to "Settings".

Click on "Downloads"

Click on "Change" and set it to whatever you want, then save and close.

I think that you probably then have to close the browser and the new setting will take effect next time you open it.

Ironically, it was printer problems that made me move to Linux about 15 years ago:

I "upgraded my PC from Windows XP to Win7, but then discovered that my printer wasn't compatible and the manufacturer had no intention of releasing Win7 drivers - they said that I needed to buy a new printer.

I had been reading about Ubuntu Linux at the time, and in a fit of pique I installed it on my PC and of course my "old printer worked fine!

Apart from a move to Linux Mint at some point, I've never "looked back" - though I do still have a portable USB SSD with Windows 11 on it I can boot into for those rare occasions when a piece of software just won't work under Linux.

Are you aware that Windows 7 hasn't been supported by Microsoft for many years, (since 2015?), and is a potential security risk when you go online?

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[#7]

@penneck 

Something else you could try to free up space is to look at all installed programs then uninstall those that you no longer need.

A good program (was recommended here) is Revo Uninstaller Free. This not only uninstalls the unwanted programs but also searches for leftover files and folders and will delete them if you wish.

I recently used this to remove many demo (and other programs I wanted to re-install fresh) gaining many GBs of space.

[#8]

A registry cleaner, such as Wise Register Cleaner, might help to improve the machine speed

https://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-registry-cleaner.html

Oh yeah...it`s also FREEEEEEE !

[#9]

Good point, @shutter , but the fact that the drive is only 60GB, and IIRC still only has a very small 'free space' will mean it will stay slow, although your suggestion may give it a little more wriggle-room.

[#10]

I haven`t used WIndows since 7 stopped being supported....but I do remember it has it`s own "defrag" software.

and it used to amuse me for a few minutes to watch it moving all the little squares about, and "getting them all in a row" so to speak.

Doing a Reg Clean first, and then doing a De-frag should give some improvement in machine speed, and also get rid of some (smallish) bits of rubbish, taking up valuable space on the small HDD size.

Wise Regstry cleaner is very quick and efficient.... it also has a "system tune-up"  section and a "Defrag" section,... so it is an "all-in-one" piece of software.

[#11]

Can I make a few things clear to everyone. I'm not worried about speed, so no need to defrag from that aspect.

I have a 500GB hard drive which is partitioned into two areas, C: and E:.

C: is 66GB and has the operating software, whether Windows, Office, Malwarebytes, or other things.

E: is the rest of the hard drive, and holds the data files (a lot of data).

I dont want an external drive if I can avoid it.

Now it may be that what I need is a larger hard drive, such as 1000GB, but first I would like to clear out unnecessary stuff such as downloads that should be in the E: partition from the C: partition, or files that are no longer required (such as that iso file).

As a result of the efforts over the last few days, the C: partition now has more than 6GB of space, so again no need to defrag.

Therefore, right now, I am happy.

Thankyou all of you for your help and suggestions

Regards

Graham

[#12]

@penneck 

You say there's no need to defrag the drive but I beg to differ. When heavily fragmented (which it may be if you rarely or have never defragged) this may cause extra wear and tear on the drive as the heads most likely need to move far more frequently to find all the 'pieces' of a given file. Also, defragging will make more contiguous files which may actually end up releasing further space albeit probably not by much.

[#13]

@penneck  How much free space do you have on the E: drive ?

If there’s plenty of free space you could resize the partitions.

@Mav ‘s right a defrag may help, nothing to loose….

[#14]

@Champnet   @Mav  @jab1  &  @Mr_Paul 

I have now defragged the C: drive. The pre-defrag figure for the C: drive was 9% fragmentation, the post defrag figure is 13%. That doesn't look like an improvement, or have I misinterpreted it. Also the figure for Free Space on the C: drive has gone from over 6GB to just over 3GB, so I seem to have lost out there too.

I dont have a great deal of space on the E: drive either, so the answer doesn't seem to be transfer some of the E: partition to the C: partition. The long term answer may be to get a larger capacity hard drive, and copy all from the old drive to the new. I dont know whether it is possible to just do a straight copy from one to the other, or will I have to install individual items on the old C: drive to the new, one item at a time (Windows, then Office, and then....), then put in an E: partition on the new drive, mount the old drive externally and copy the old E: partition to the new one. I dont particularly want an external hard drive for every day use but this method means having an external drive at least temporarily. After that, it would just be powered up as and when required - probably as a backup

Regards

Graham

[#15]

@penneck That increase in fragmentation after a defrag is a little worrying, suggesting the HDD is on its last legs. What is the HDD's total capacity?