Really slow reboot times?

[drfsupercenter]

All my Outlook Express data is in D:, the other partition.

I disabled all auto-running virus scans. They got annoying. I can try disabling everything though...

[Chewy]

http://www.download.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=TreeSize+Free&searchtype=downloads

see where it's all going, your hard drive space that is

[drfsupercenter]

Thanks Chewy!

I found some interesting stuff... apparently Zune software had a cache of all its transcoded files eating about 1GB which I deleted... Audible service keeps its files there, so I'll be sure to change that location too. Now I know which programs are hogging my space.

WINDOWS takes up about 6GB... that's normal, right?

[Abuilder]

drf
A base install of XP w/sp3 will take about 2.5 GB. The rest of that 6GB in your %windir% is from software that dumps most of it's files in the /system dir.
BTW: how much free space do you have on your D: ?

[drfsupercenter]

On D: around 2GB. That comes and goes - the big space consumer there is My Music. Since I have tons and tons of music I have to keep sorting it - and my iTunes folder is so large I'm considering just moving it to another drive. (But can iTunes actually move its library like that?)

The "system32" folder was about 1.5GB... the rest was in... "files" was about 2.5GB, and the rest is shared among stuff. That's not program junk, is it? I mean, I've installed screensavers and stuff but nowhere near a gigabyte or more's worth.

[jmet]

Here is your solution:

[drfsupercenter]

LOL, but I don't want to reformat!

I have tons of programs I'd lose if I did that. (I have about 50 or so I got from Giveaway of the Day... last I checked those can't be re-installed)

I now have about 2GB free of 30... if that's still not enough I can remove some big programs like Microsoft Office and put them on the other partition instead.

[Abuilder]

Drf
It sounds like it’s time for a major spring house-cleaning. I use to be a download freak myself. I use to have every FOSI app and keygen out there not to mention napster.
After awhile I had no idea what was what any longer. Major clutter!!!!! Amoungst the virus’s and malware. LOL
If I where you I would concentrate on backing-up what you really don’t what to loose and trash the rest before the crash happens. Like Chewy said 20% free is smart and with you having only 1% on your windows partition it’s a wonder windows will even boot.
End of lecture.

[PurpleDemon]

LOL, but I don't want to reformat!

I have tons of programs I'd lose if I did that. (I have about 50 or so I got from Giveaway of the Day... last I checked those can't be re-installed)

I now have about 2GB free of 30... if that's still not enough I can remove some big programs like Microsoft Office and put them on the other partition instead.

Hi DRF,

That is correct on the giveawayoftheday, unless you get lucky and get it offered again. If it gets much worse you might be forced to do a format.

Just curious, Are your pictures, music, and my documents folders on your primary(OS) partition? I am just trying to figure out what exactly is taking up 28GB I did not think Office was that big.

[drfsupercenter]

Well, as I said I don't have any viruses... I can try scanning with Ad-Aware but I'm pretty sure I knocked out all the bad stuff already.

I have about 5% free... and I'll see if I can't get it up to about 20.

And my music and stuff is on D:. I just moved the "My Documents" folder over there, and using a little trick I found on this forum a while ago, associated the "My Documents" shortcuts in Explorer with that alternate location.
Office isn't that big... but it's about 900MB. It's the largest of all my programs (Installed to drive C anyway!)
Adobe stuff takes up like 12GB, but I knew that was a huge space hog so I put it on the other partition instead.

[Chewy]

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (v1.34) and save it to your desktop.
alternate download link 1
alternate download link 2
If you have a previous version of MBAM, remove it via Add/Remove Programs and download a fresh copy.

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
• Double-click on mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
• When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
• When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
  • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  • Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
• Then click Finish.

MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.

• If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself.
• Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install. Alternatively, you can update through MBAM's interface from a clean computer, copy the definitions (rules.ref) located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from that system to a usb stick or CD and then copy it to the infected machine.

On the Scanner tab:

• Make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected.
• Then click on the Scan button.
• If asked to select the drives to scan, leave all the drives selected and click on the Start Scan button.
• The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient.
• When the scan is finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
• Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process.

Back at the main Scanner screen:

• Click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad.
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply and exit MBAM.

Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you may be asked to reboot your computer so it can proceed with the disinfection process. Regardless if prompted to restart the computer or not, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot normally (not into safe mode) will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware. MBAM may "make changes to your registry" as part of its disinfection routine. If using other security programs that detect registry changes (ie Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere or alert you after scanning with MBAM. Please temporarily disable such programs or permit them to allow the changes.

[Chewy]

Run HijackThis.
Click on Open the Misc Tools Section.
Then press Generate StartupList log, making sure that both boxes next to it are checked.
Select Yes at the prompt.
A Notepad file will open, and will automatically be saved in your HijackThis folder.
Paste this log in your next reply.
More information with a screenshot, can be found here.

[drfsupercenter]

I just ran Malwarebytes a couple days ago...

Though I'll try HijackThis when I get home from school.

[blutach]

Are you trying to connect any other computers wirelessly as drives on startup? This can take oodles of time if the other machine is not responding nicely.

Regards

[drfsupercenter]

No. Just my USB drives.

Well that little Windows tool worked... The "saving your settings" only took about 5 seconds this time. It took under a minute to shut down.

Startup still takes a minute or two but I'll work on that a bit more... clearing off more space etc.