Low on Free Space!

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I'm not 100% certain, but i've seen it and maybe its due to disk compression setting being enabled.. some files are automaticaly compressed to help free up some disk space etc..

That's normal. 320GB is 320,000,000,000 Bytes,
Dont you mean "Bits" (Gigabits)? Plus some of that space is taken up by other sectors that makes the HDD run, such as File Allocation Tables, Boot sector, partition tables, firmware/driver info etc.

Also, I was wondering, is there any way I can save files to my new hard drive, but still have the files show up on my desktop? I'll almost always save new files to my desktop first, then sort them out later on. For example: I'll download a video from the internet to my desktop, I'll watch it, then I'll put it somewhere in my "Program Files" a few days later.

Transferring files from one hard drive to another via cut + paste is sooo slow, lol.
Why dont you just download straight to your new hdd, and put a shortcut to that hdd (drag the hdd icon from My computer onto the desktop) instead? Its a lot more conveniant than download>cut/paste>store. Moving files inside its own HDD is much more faster than moving files through cables from one HDD to the next.

Will files I download to my new hard drive from now on run faster, or just open faster? For example: If I move my Mozilla Firefox folder to my new hard drive, will my browser run faster, or will it only open faster?
Your new drive isn't faster than your old one, it might even be slower due to the large size. They're the same technology(I think) and the only reason it would run faster if at first it wasn't as cluttered as the other one. I suggest you don't put any 'program files' over, as they are in the registry and it would be a pain to get them to work properly. Simply use your new drive as a mass storage drive.
While its true that the drive will perform at similar speeds to the one you have now, it will run slightly faster since it doesnt have to reference program files for windows and run the movie/other files at the same time, so it decreases the latency. If you're running the movies/programs etc from the other drive it is faster, since the HDD's head reading the hdd can just stay on one "place", without having to jump from one sector to the next one thats far away then back, while the other hdd is used for referencing windows's files or opening a program etc.. with an added bonus of the storage HDD not constantly turned on all the time.

Large hdd or small, if you keep it relatively clean, tidy (sorted into folders etc) and defragged then it will make no difference or to create any sort of un-normal lag..

So if you are experiencing some lag right now, its probably that you've used the hdd as one big folder, having a lot of items on one page, and/or using thumbnail previews as well. If thats the case, right click on an empty space>New>New Folder and start moving those files into respective logical catagories (Movies, Anime, Music etc) and with their own subgroups etc.. Otherwise, a good defrag wont hurt, since a lot of files probably have been moved around to your hdd from when you got it, and is starting to get a bit all over the place..
 
I've only transferred about ~10GB and it's still lagging up on me. :/ I've only transferred video files and whenever I try to play something on my new hard drive, it's just extremely choppy. The graphics play slowly and the sound becomes choppy. But after ~1 minute, everything plays fine, but there's still some static in the background. Videos on my old hard drive works perfectly fine...

And yes, my hard drive is sorted well. I have folders for every anime series, etcetera. Any suggestions about the lag?
 
Not exactly sure, is the new drive the same format as your current one? (FAT32 or NTFS).

@N3051M; I'm pretty sure it's bytes. The only thing I've ever seen measured in bits is internet companies quoting their line speeds.
 
Both are NTFS.

I'm starting to think it's my RAM or something. Maybe my computer couldn't handle all that new free space? Just a guess from a noob, haha.
 
I have another question. When I delete things on my new hard drive, why don't they show up in the Recycle Bin?

Wow, EVERYTHING on my new hard drive is slow. It takes me ~6 minutes to extract a .rar/.zip file when it'll take ~1 - 2 minutes on my old one. Is this lag normal, or...? It's really bad. If I want to watch a video, I'll have to close everthing, otherwise, the video and audio will both be choppy. Basically every file on the new hard drive is slow... Help would be extremely appreciated!
 
It's getting worse and worse. Now it'll get so choppy that it'll take a 1 second scene, 5 seconds to play. Ugh... wtf? I've given up on my new hard drive until it gets fixed. Could someone please help?
 
I'm honestly stumped.

I've never heard of anything like this happening. Technically speaking, both drives should run at exactly the same speed. Short of fragmentation/clutter problems(which the new drive should have the upper hand in...).
 
Wow, really? Because I'm really experiencing these problems. I even download the same file onto both drives and test it myself. You don't happen to know any solution? :(

Could it be the work of something else? Like a virus or something?
 
Sorry to be absent for so long.. had a small ISP issue

@N3051M; I'm pretty sure it's bytes. The only thing I've ever seen measured in bits is internet companies quoting their line speeds.
Eh.. you're probably right (mostly used in the ISP industries).. although both are interchangable to each other (1 bit = 0.125 bytes, 1 byte = 8 bits) so its a draw :D
EDIT: HDD manufacturers do count them in whole units, as you've said.. but windows/etc will register it as true value (x1024 etc).. there's a thread here speaking about it, and probably tedster'll link it up..

There are a few hunches i have, conserning your lag problem..

1. there could be insufficient power from the psu to support the new HDD plus the rest of the pc (PSU getting maxed out because too much devices drawing power at the same time)

use this calculator to determine a minimum need, then add 50watts to the results (headroom)

2. you've been unlucky enough to get a bad hdd.. download the diagnostic utility from seagates's website and run it.. although the power you'll need to fix first to be able to run the test properly (if it is the cause)
 
Er.. I don't know how to find out the things the calculator requires, like "PCI Cards, System Type," etcetera.

But I'm going ahead and trying out the SeaTools thing.
 
So I went ahead and used the diagnostic program and it said my hard drive "passed." So I'm guessing it might be #1, but how do I find out the information I need to enter into the calculator?
 
Use Everest Home or SIW to help you know what your pc contains inside (motherboard, CPU etc) then match those information to the questions/answers the calculator gives you and follow the rest of my instructions and post your results....

You can also open up your pc and also post us here what the info on your PSU's lable has (Brand, watt rating, Amps etc)
 
Check that your new hard disk is using DMA (from Device Manager check IDE controllers).

The color "problem" is a feature in Windows Explorer. Compressed files and directories in NTFS partitions show in different colors by default, you can change it from folder options if it bugs you ("Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color").
 
N3051M said:
Use Everest Home or SIW to help you know what your pc contains inside (motherboard, CPU etc) then match those information to the questions/answers the calculator gives you and follow the rest of my instructions and post your results....

You can also open up your pc and also post us here what the info on your PSU's lable has (Brand, watt rating, Amps etc)
I'll try and find Everest Home, since I have no clue what SIW stands for.

I'll gladly do that, if you'll tell me what a PSU is. :p Thanks!

Mictlantecuhtli said:
Check that your new hard disk is using DMA (from Device Manager check IDE controllers).

The color "problem" is a feature in Windows Explorer. Compressed files and directories in NTFS partitions show in different colors by default, you can change it from folder options if it bugs you ("Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color").
Yeah, it's set to "DMA if available."

It's not really a "problem," just didn't know what it was for. Thanks. :)
 
I tried Everest Home and I didn't understand like 90% of the things that it showed me after scanning. Er.. is there anything I could use that'll help me find the things to put into the calculator that's less complicated? :/

Thanks!
 
You should get somewhere around a 250 GB and that's almost impossible to use up. Then, when it's installed, transfer all of the memory(except windows OS data) and then use the old hdd for primary use.

If you need instructions, PM me or post in this thread.
 
Yeah, I need instructions. <_< I think you missed my other posts. I already bought a hard drive, but now it's running extremely slowly. :(
 
SIW=System Information for Windows

You should get somewhere around a 250 GB and that's almost impossible to use up. Then, when it's installed, transfer all of the memory(except windows OS data) and then use the old hdd for primary use.
You can still add hdds on without having to result to cloning the hdd over to the new one. He already has it installed, its just a little lag issue that we're trying to solve..

I tried Everest Home and I didn't understand like 90% of the things that it showed me after scanning. Er.. is there anything I could use that'll help me find the things to put into the calculator that's less complicated? :/
SIW will, although since you've already got Everest, here's the easy way.

Open up Everest. Expand the branch [+] on Computer and click on Summary. if you still can't figure out whats what in your system, then click on the button named Report. Go Next, then select System Summary Only. Post that log file here, and we'll translate it for you.

PSU=Power Supply Unit: The little gray/black box that connects between your PC to the wall power outlet and provides the power for the pc. Pic attached on what the lable looks like..

PSU_Lable.jpg
 
I think it'd be safer if you checked it out, just in case I think X is this, but it's actually that. :/

Thanks!
 

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Just as i thought.

Well i went through the report for you, and the calculator comes up with 302 watts. But since this is estimated, we'll bump it up to 350watts.. 400 if you plan to do some modding later on. So in other words, the psu lable you've supplied is short 100watts.. as a typical OEM hardware is..

Go for a good brand such as Antec, Coolermaster, Enermax etc and you should have no less than 20Amps on the +12Volt rails.. Cheap/generic stuff is not much use, since its crap as proved my many threads on this forum.

However, since its a dell, you may have to check if it uses the standard ATX PSU or a proprietry ones.
 
N3051M, would you mind explaining it more? Like... do I need to get a new PSU or something that connects to it?
 
Yep. You'll need to buy a new psu and replace your existing one with it. But since its a dell you might want to check if they used their own parts for it (different holes etc) or if they used standard ones before purchasing a new one.

350w with 20Amps or more on the +12V should be the minimum spec PSU that you'll need to buy..
 
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