drive spaced used doesn't add up 1

[somedea]

On my Windows Server 2003 servers, I'm checking on free space on the C partitions. Viewing hidden files and folders, I have at least 2 GB of space unaccounted for. That is to say, I add up all the files and folders, and the size is not equal to the amount Windows says is used. It is at least 2 GB less on all the servers. Is this the space reserved for the page file?
Thanks

 

[LWComputingMVP]

You can try to use TreeSize - I don't like it because it's not always accurate when it doesn't have permissions to folders... but you can try it. It should tell you what folders have what amount of space used. What I use is the Microsoft utility DIRUSE (downloadable from Microsoft). It's command line, but tends to be more accurate.

My guess is you have something like Volume Shadow Copy enabled and it's storing data in your System Volume Information folder - or it could be catalogs from backup jobs or even undeleted backup temp files if you use BackupExec.

 

[somedea]

Thanks, thats going to be a big help!

 

[lhuegele]

It could also be related to how your disks are formatted and how large your sector sizes are. You have to remember that the your allocation size (when a disk is formatted) determins the smallest chunk of data you can store.

Let's say that your allocation size is 16k. This means that even if you are storing an 8k file, you will actually be storing 16k on the disk.

Most people don't think about this any longer. As disks get larger and larger, so does the allocation size, and most people just use the default without giving any consideration to what they actually are going to be storing there.

Good luck,