Hard drive is full - HOW TO FREE SPACE!

[badazz_it_getz]

how can i get the space freed up to copy a long disc..and im getting errors about illegal use and keeps asking if my drive is full after i clean out what little it lets me thanks john oops these are just plain audio cd's

[admin]

I assume you have already removed everything you can "throw away" from your hard drive.

BEST Solution:
The easiest solution is buy yourself a IDE hard drive for a Christmas present. You clearly need the space, and this is the long-term solution for you. Otherwise, you will run into this problem again, and again, and again...

Backup Solution:
You can make a backup copy of files on your computer and then delete them from your hard drive.

You have a CDRecorder on your computer. If you have any other backup device such as a ZIP drive or a Tape backup drive then you have more than one option.

1. You don't want to do anything with program files on your computer. That will mess up your computer.

2. Figure out how much hard drive space you must free up. Without this, you are acting blindly, without knowledge.

WARNING! It is NOT a good idea to use up every last sector of free hard drive space. You are creating what is called a "boundary condition" - you are running into the limits of the hard drive, and wierd things can happen at the "outer boundary limits".

3. Go to Windows Explorer and locate the directories with files that you have created with files in them. This will most likely be what is called "data" files; manuals, reports, graphic images, etc. Add up the file sizes (xxMB) for each file that you can remove. If it comes to less than you need to free up, stop now and go to the Best Solution above. That is your only choice.

4. Decide what files can be removed from the computer without impacting your use of the computer. WRITE them down, or print the directories and mark the files you will be removing. I don't care how good a memory you have, this is dirt simple... get a hard copy of the drive, directory, subdirectories (if any) and filenames you will remove.

5. Using your CDR (or other backup device), write the files to the CDR as a CDROM or DATA Disc, depending what your CDR software calls it. You can use a CDRW disc for this and re-use it many times. CDRW are rewritable, where CDR are write-once.

6. Read the CDROM you have just made and make sure the files are REALLY THERE that you think are there. If they are not, the next step will cause you grief down the road.

7. Using your hard copy, delete the files from your har drive that you have verified in #6 above that you have backed up.

Your computer "should" now have the free space to make your backup.