Deleating Applications Didn't Free Up Hard Disk Space.

[BrownOut]

I was down to the last 3GB on my laptop's hard drive, so I deleated several GB's worth of applications. I restarted the computer and checked the drive, and it still says only 3GB of space available. Do I need to do something else to free the space that should have been freed when I deleated the programs.

PS: Where I wrote "deleated" I really mean "uninstalled"

Thanks

 

[DerStrom8]

I was down to the last 3GB on my laptop's hard drive, so I deleated several GB's worth of applications. I restarted the computer and checked the drive, and it still says only 3GB of space available. Do I need to do something else to free the space that should have been freed when I deleated the programs.

PS: Where I wrote "deleated" I really mean "uninstalled"

Thanks

Hi BrownOut

Did you also delete the installers, shortcuts, and other downloads associated with the programs?
I could be wrong, but I think the installers take up quite a bit of space, even if you uninstall the program. If you got the programs online, you'll probably find the installers in the download folder.
Which OS do you use?

Der Strom

 

[BrownOut]

Hi DerStorm, I am using Windows XP. I thought the uninstall utility would take care of all that for me. Either way, I should see some change in the space available, don't you think?

PS: All the shortcuts for the programs I uninstalled are gone from my desktop.

 

[DerStrom8]

Hi DerStorm, I am using Windows XP. I thought the uninstall utility would take care of all that for me. Either way, I should see some change in the space available, don't you think?

PS: All the shortcuts for the programs I uninstalled are gone from my desktop.

I don't believe the uninstall utility also deletes the installers you've downloaded. These installers generally take up quite a bit of space, even if the program is not installed. And it depends on the programs--you may or may not see a difference in the available space. I would also run a disk defragmenter to clean up any fragmented files. That there might even make the difference you're looking for. A disk cleanup may also be good--it cleans up any files, cookies, etc. that are not necessary to your computer's operation.
Let me know if these help!

Regards

 

[BrownOut]

After running clean disk, which took about half a day, my drive says it has 18GB available. That should have been about what I gained by uninstalling the programs. I guess freeing up space just doesn't show up unless you follow it with a 'cleaning' Thanks DerStrom!

 

[canadaelk]

I also use the free CCleaner and their Defraggler (seems more thorough than Disk Defragmenter, but, oh so slow!) to clean and speed-up my old systems. E

 

[DerStrom8]

After running clean disk, which took about half a day, my drive says it has 18GB available. That should have been about what I gained by uninstalling the programs. I guess freeing up space just doesn't show up unless you follow it with a 'cleaning' Thanks DerStrom!

Glad to hear it worked, BrownOut!