I am using 2003 server. My C drive (used for Windows and a couple other small apps) is 9GB.

Somehow, my free space got down to 1.2 GB (12%)

I have been trying defrag the drive and could only do so by compressing files and deleting temp files each time I defrag. Normally I could get to 13 % and it would let me defrag.

Today I removed (using Add/Remove ) a approx 100meg app that monitors my APC unit.

The software removed easily. Add/Remove did not indicated I needed to reboot to make the Remove ‘take’.

I checked my C drive after the app was removed and I now have 33% free space, 3.2 GB of free space, indicating that removing a 100 meg app freed 2GB of space.

I called APC. They said there are not data collection files that would have caused the software to take this much space.

I have not rebooted the server and am cautious about doing so until I understand why I now have the extra 2GB.

Mary

You are kind of stuck now. Your ups is down for a graceful shutdown.

Might consider a ntbackup with system state first, it may not help.

I guess you could try sfc.exe.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

Thanks for that info.

I think I’ll be ok on the UPS if I reload the app on a larger drive.

My main concern is understanding how removing a 100 meg app managed to free up 2GB of space?

Does anyone know how this could happen?

The software co told me there is no way that the app I removed took that amount of space.

Mary

First off, 9 GB's isn't enough space for an operating system install, especially not a server. As time goes by and updates are applied and drivers and just plain normal usage, your drive will fill up.

If you're running a single drive that's partitioned, get something like Partition Magic and move some more free space over to that partition. I'd recommend no smaller than 25 GB's for an OS.

I'm not sure why removing the APC software opened up so much free space. I use the enterprise software at work all the time and I've never seen that happen. It's entirely possible that for some strange reason Windows was reporting the free space incorrectly and removing that app fixed the issue. With windows, nothing surprises me anymore.

You can easily reinstall the APC software onto another drive without issue and it will connect nicely with your UPS.

Partition Magic won't work on Server. You need server partitioning software not workstation based.

APC does make log entries. Removing the program may have been only 100 meg but the logs can get quite large depending on how you configured them.

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Thank you for this info. I have not been able to find partitioning software for the Server that I feel is safe.

Do you have one in mind?

I did not do the initial configuration and agree 'big time' that this is not enough space on the C drive.

But for now, if I can't partition, I'm stuck keeping an eye on this drive until we upgrade to 2008 server (maybe next year).

Does that sound reasonable to you?

I appreciate they advice from all 3 of you. I have a small business. I'm not the IT person, but from the DOS days I know space is a big issue.

I asked APC about the logs and they indicated they keep a max of 24 weeks and there is no way it would take this space.

I'm baffled about the extra space.

And I'm hoping that when I reboot the server some issue doesn't arise because of whatever caused the space to free up.

Do you think I should be concerned about the reboot.

Thank you again. You have been a big help.

Mary

Mary

First, I complete DISAGREE that 9 GB is not enough space. 9 GB is PLENTY of space if you manage the server well. The only exception (generally) is a terminal server, in which case, I STRONGLY recommend that you use one partition as large as you can. But other than that, 9 GB is perfectly reasonably. A Small Business Server should be a little bigger, but even on SBS (which has Exchange built in) you can survive with 9 GB and good management.

As for finding out why uninstalling 100 MB freed up 2 GB, it's pretty much too late now. Before clearing things you're not sure about, always analyze what exactly is using the space. It may have been logs... temp files... or something else entirely. You can try to review your backups and see what was in there back before you removed it, but that's about it.

I suggest you review my document on Windows Boot Drive Size to see why 9 GB should be more than enough with proper management. (Yes, TODAY, on a new 2003 install, I would probably make it 10 GB... MAYBE 12... but 9 should be just fine as well).

www.lwcomputing.com/tips/static/bootdrivesize.asp

Should I be concerned about rebooting the server?

Mary