Folder Size

May 3rd, 2006

Working with large media files requires a lot of hard drive space. Sometimes you abandon a project that leaves large files tucked away in places you will never remember. In my quest to keep my computers running smoothly and efficiently, I am always looking to reclaim space. Yesterday I wrote about CCleaner which removes temporary files and the like, but this won’t help make decisions about other files, and scouring your hard drive for files to remove can be a tedious task.

The first question you should ask is, “where are all of these files and how much space are they taking up?” Today’s cool, free, utility is called Folder Size. It is a single file program that requires no installation. After launching it, you are presented with your computer’s directory structure. Double-click any drive or folder, and Folder Size scans all of the files in the subdirectories and provides a bar graph showing the largest directories at the top. By clicking on any of the bars, you can further break down the contents of subdirectories. You can then explore any of these and remove files - at your own risk of course.

This brings up an important rant: If you have a 30GB hard drive and you have only used about 5GB, don’t go “cleaning up” things if you are not sure what you are doing. I have gotten plenty of calls from people that thought they were doing themselves a favor by deleting files they didn’t think they needed.

Rule of thumb: If you didn’t create the files and don’t know what they are, then DON’T DELETE THEM.

Folder Size is available here.

Entry Filed under: Technology

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