Do I have to leave free space on my storage only D drive?

[eonius]

Does disk defragmenter or virtual memory need space? It's an old Dell 233. The 2.01MB C drive has Windows 98SE, all program files, swap file and word documents. There is 610MB free. The 4.01MB D only has image files and small vids. It has 640MB(14%) free.
I click on an image file on D and my default Irfanview (on C) displays it. My Photoshop scratchdisk is on D. I only have 64MB ram.
Can I stretch this thing out until I can afford a new system and add images to D without sacfricing performance?
I'm an intermediate tech who has been learning the hard way and any help would be appreciated. This might be the first forum I've actually posted in although I've read some great advice here.

 

[pmonett]

I think it is more a question of speed than need of space. Defragmenters will work more quickly when more space is available, since they will obviously be able to store more fragmented stuff out of the way before copying it back unfragmented.
Besides, from old experience with Windows, I always keep at least 10% free disk space. I don't know about XP or 2000/2003, but I know that 98 and 95 before started behaving badly if less than 10% was available.

As far as virtual memory is concerned, I think there is something you misunderstood. Virtual RAM is disk space that the OS treats as additional RAM. Therefor, if you have a swap file, it is on disk. Any virtual memory tool behaves the same way - since actual RAM is not available, it has to write data somewhere.
The real question is : does your OS need a swap file ? And Win98SE definitely needs a swap file if you only have 64MB of RAM.

If I were you, I would immediately go and buy a stick of 256MB of RAM to add to the system. You will find your system's performance greatly enhanced - and much less disk access for your image viewing. As for hard disks, current prices are at less than $0.6 per gigabyte. I would get myself a 40GB disk and replace the old 4.01GB (surely it is GB, not MB ?) disk. Or maybe put the new one as third disk, if you have the space.

Pascal.

 

[cdogg]

Disk defragmenter runs best with at least 100-150 megs free on the partition that you are defragmenting. However, it will still run with low space - just at a slower pace.

So to answer your question it should be fine to add images to the D: drive. If you think you will go below 100MB of free space, then I would consider pmonett's suggestion of upgrading the hard drive, which you can use in your new PC down the road.

Adding RAM is also a great idea in your situation since you only have 64MB. Just be careful with the amount. First of all, Windows 98 doesn't need more than 512MB of total memory. Also since you have an older system, the amount you can have on each stick of RAM might be limited to 128MB. Check your specifications before you buy.

http://www.crucial.com

is a good place to start when trying to find out what kind of RAM you need if you don't have the manual handy.

~cdogg
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[eonius]

Thanks. You're right - I meant GB not MB. And this system is not worth upgrading. I'm just trying to squeeze every drop from it until I start working again.
Crucial does not supply the kind of ram needed for my old computer and neither does any of the local stores I've checked. I also think that one of the slots doesn't work for some reason as when I had problems with the ram a few years ago a tech told me he just put it in a different slot and it worked ok.
So anyway, I don't think I can add ram to this system. Besides, it's only got a 2MB video card and 1MB sound card. As I say, I'm just trying to squeeze some more storage out of it. I've managed to keep this little system running as effeciently as possible.
As mentioned my OS is on a physically separate hard drive - C. I've got about 30% free space which is more than recommended for the swap file. You're right - below 10 or even 20% and it doesn't run well.
I installed a separate physical D hard drive (luckily it was a simple install) to be used solely for psd, jpg and small video files. No swap file, no system files, just images and vids.
So, to rephrase. As my D drive is not used by Windows for a swap file will my system suffer (be slower) if I fill it up?
I've been viewing it as kind of like a 4G Zip Disk that you can almost totally fill up. Am I right or wrong to think like that?

 

[wolluf]

eonius - you're basically correct (but defrag does need free space on the drive being defragged - and won't run at all if free space is below a certain percentage - which I've forgotten - though 5 or 15% did come to mind! - of the total disk space)

 

[cdogg]

It is fine to fill up your D: drive. But as it's been said several times now, defragmenting that drive down the road may not work or will work at a snail pace unless you leave enough free space.

If you don't care about fragmentation, then fill her up! It's not a system partition and doesn't contain the page file as you said...

~cdogg
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[pmonett]

If you buy a new hard disk now, you can use it again in a new machine.
But I understand that funding is not an extensible resource, so you probably have other priorities.

Pascal.

 

[eonius]

Thanks for all your quick and knowledgeable answers. This is a good forum.

Due to my current financial situation I'm going to use about half a gig more (640MB free space down to about 150MB)for image files like unflattened PSDs and see what happens. By then I hope to have a new PC. Thanks again.