This document describes how you can reduce disk space usage by using utilities to identify duplicate, old and large files and delete or archieve them to a storage device.
DefinitionsCD - Compact Disc Process Overview1. Use utilities to identify duplicate, old, and large files. ConceptsWhy it is important to manage disk space • Careful management of disk space reduces the need for disk and backup storage capacity. Document retention times for legal documents From a legal perspective, it is important to retain certain documents (e.g., tax records) for the required period of time and delete them when the time period expires. In general, do not delete a file unless you are absolutely sure that the file is unnecessary. Document size When you are faced with the need to reduce disk space usage, concentrate on large documents (e.g., 5 megabytes [5000KB] or more) that give you a big payoff in reduced space requirements. After you delete the biggest documents, review smaller documents for possible deletion. Tip: Typically, deleting one .PPT file has more impact than deleting 20 Word documents. Word files that contain many graphics are an exception to this rule. In the following example, note the file size of the .PPT file relative to the sizes of the Word .DOC files. You would have to delete many Word files to reduce disk space by the same amount as just the one .PPT file:
AssumptionsThis document assumes that you: ProceduresUse Dupfindr.exe to find duplicate files Download a copy of Dupfindr.exe You should have a copy of the Dupfindr.exe utility on your computer in the system path. From there you can use it to find duplicates in your folders. 1. Launch Internet site http://www.wfu.edu/~lewisjr/Utilities/. 2. Scroll down until you see DUPFINDR.EXE. 4. Ensure that Save this program to disk is selected. Click OK. 5. Depending on your computer operating system, navigate to the proper folder: Result: DUPFINDR.EXE is copied to your disk. A window shows progress. When download is complete, the progress window automatically closes and the web site is re-displayed. Example of the progress window: 7. Close the web site. Find duplicate files Use Dupfindr.exe to find multiple copies of the same file so that you can delete the unnecessary duplicates. 1. In the folder where you stored Dupfindr.exe, double click Dupfindr.exe. 2. Click the Browse button. 3. Click folders until you open the folder that you want to check. Click OK. 4. If you do NOT want to search all subfolders under the folder that you selected, click the Include subfolders box to remove the checkmark. Use Dupfindr.exe results to manage files 1.If you need to make the Folder column wider so that you can see the paths better, drag the bar between the Folder and Size columns to the right. 2. If you have numerous duplicates and you want to print the results of the search, in the menu bar click File, then Print Report. 3. If you want to sort the files in a different order, in the menu bar click View, then Sort and the sorting criterion that you wish: 4. If you see a file that you want to delete, you can delete it from the DupFinder window: C. If you are sure that you want to delete the selected file, click Yes. Find old, obsolete files You may be able to delete or archive old files. Your goal is to find files that were last accessed or modified more than one to three years ago. Note: You may have a reference file that you ACCESS periodically but that you do not MODIFY. In searching for files to delete or archive, it is recommended that you first search for files Last Accessed over a year ago so that you do not delete files that you might need to read. If you wish, you can then search for files that have not been modified in the past few years. Example: You wish to search for files last accessed more than 2 years ago because you probably do not need these files. Always use a date in 1980 as the start of your time span. Subtract 2 years from today’s date and use that as the end date in your time span. The search will find the files that were last read between 1980 and the date two years ago that you specified. 1. Click Start, then Search and For File or Folders: 2. In the Look in: field, select the folder that you want to search. 3. Click Search Options >>. 4. Click the Date check box. 5. Select the type of file property to look for from the pulldown menu: 7. Click Search Now. 8. If file details (such as the In Folder column) do not appear, in the menu bar, 9. Use the results to investigate old files. Find large files In deciding which documents to delete, first go after large files (e.g., those over 5 MB [5000KB]) that will substantially reduce your disk space. Then review smaller files that do not provide such a significant payoff in reduced space. Find large files in a single folder If you have just a few folders to check, you can use Windows Explorer. 1. Open Windows Explorer. One method is to hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and press the letter e once. Example of file display. Files normally appear in alphabetical order by name. 4. Click the Size column header. Search a folder structure for large files If you have a complex folder structure (top-level folder with multiple subfolders), 1. Click , then Search and For File or Folders. 4. Click the Size checkbox. Note: If you do not see this detailed display, click View, then Details. 7. To reverse the current sorting order, click the Size column heading. To return to the displayed sorting order, click Size again. A note about deletions in Microsoft Word When you delete something from a Word document, Word doesn’t actually let go of the deleted material. It just marks it as deleted and does not display it. Eventually as you work with a document and make subsequent changes, Word notices that it is accumulating deleted blocks and it lets go of them and reduces file size. So even though you delete big chunks of text or graphics, your file size may not shrink immediately. Turning off “fast saves” forces Word to unload deleted text when you delete and 1. With any Word document open, in the menu bar click Tools, then Options. 2. Click the Save tab. 3. Remove the check mark from “Allow fast saves”: |