Originally Posted by
3timesalady
The computer went through a lot of automatic Windows updates right after the refresh, so assuming that the restore CDs loaded up the same 5GB worth of stuff that was on the computer when I bought it (I forgot to check), is it possible that I have downloaded another 10GB of Windows updates? FWIW, I used the restore CDs without actually issuing the "format c:" command at the DOS prompt, as my understanding is that the CD would do it for me. Should I try it again and do everything manually from DOS, to ensure that the C: drive is clear?
My real solution will be to go out and get a new laptop, as the netbook was never supposed to be my everyday computer. But do I need to get a new netbook as well?
0) Clean up your temporary files - some installers/updates don't always clean up nicely - My computer, right-click on your hard drive (C), Properties, Disk Cleanup. Make sure you don't check the "compress files" option.
1) Check and see how much space you have dedicated to your swap file (Control Panel, System, Advanced, Performance Settings, Advanced, Virtual Memory). That can usually eat up a fair amount of hard drive space (on my work laptop, it's showing 2GB right now.
2) Check and see how much space is dedicated to System Restore (Control Panel, System, System Restore) - you might be able to reduce this a bit.
3) Barring that, you need to investigate where the space is actually being eaten up. Get a free program like
http://windirstat.info/ - it will break down disk usage by folder on your computer, so you can see where the space hogs are at.