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Full Hard Drive

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by samiangel

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What causes a hard drive to get full? I need to explain to company employees what can make the HD get filled up and then I need to explain preventive measures to stop it from occuring.
P.S. Im a new IT Major and Im doing a Co-Op,so I need suggestions. Thanks

9 replies

by thechas

A hard drive fills up when you install too many programs, and save too many files to the drive.

This is true for both local hard drives in a users PC, and network shares.

Too reduce the amount of drive space used, consider the following:

How many backup copies of a file do you need?

Do I need to store a copy of a file that is on the network on my PC?

How many screen-savers and wall-papers do I need?

How many fonts do I actually use?

Should users be allowed to store MP3 and other media files on their PCs?

Same for user installed software. should it be allowed?

How many different programs that perform similar tasks should be allowed on a users PC?
IE / Netscape / Mozilla
MS Office / Corel Suite / Star Office
Image editors
CADD software

Things that users can do to help free up space on their drives:

Empty the Recycle Bin.

Clear your temporary Internet files.

Delete any un-needed messages from your e-mail software.

Scan images to be used in documents too a 'reasonable' size.
You do not need 1200*1200 DPI resolution for a picture that you are going to shrink 75% to fit it into your report.

For MS Word, clear the document history after the final revision.

Shut down your PC properlyto avoid creating chkdsk files when scandisk runs at startup.

This covers most of the basics. I am sure you will get additional ideas from the list, and other peers.

Chas

by thechas

I almost forgot about clip-art and other graphic images.

Image files consume GB of hard drive space on many PCs and network drives.

If the firm uses a lot of images, consider setting up a network share that specifically contains 'approved' image files.

Chas

by samiangel

Thanks for all the help. I turned in my assignment and the comment from the instructor was "Excellent job, well done". Great information

by yelhsa3840

ya cut out the uneeded crap, games and stuff you dont need i have this problem too, and try backing up the older data that you dont use and delete it but save the backup copy just in case

by csmith

I think you missed the session about calculating productivity.
The cost to productivity, of training, and the cost of mistakes that occur when deleting files are so high, and the cost of hard drives is so low, that in almost all cases it is advisable to just add hard drives, and let the employees worry about getting their jobs done.
Run the numbers.
Then you will see why the saying
"The most expensive hardware is cheaper than the cheepest employee."
came about.
The bottom line is output of work (Sales) not hard drive usage.
Regards, Chris

by csmith

The above assumes that there is a policy in place to prevent downloading of porno clips, video games, etc.
There are a few rogue businesses where this problem of no prohibition occurs, so it is worth checking.
Anything that interferes with the firms business must be discouraged, because in todays economic environment, staying in business is a challenge.

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