Dude, where's my disk space?
May 25, 2007 10:34 AM Subscribe
Windows Server 2003: My 40GB disk partition shows up as being less than 5GB in Windows Explorer, but appears as 40GB in Disk Management. What's going on?
This is a brand new install on a brand new server. I've tried reinstalling Windows and the behavior remains. No quotas are enabled. Google hasn't been any help so far. Any ideas?
This is a brand new install on a brand new server. I've tried reinstalling Windows and the behavior remains. No quotas are enabled. Google hasn't been any help so far. Any ideas?
Best answer: If there is important data on that partition, back it up. Run a disk-check on the logical drive. If that resolves nothing, go to disk manager (after ensuring the partition's data is safely backed up) and delete and re-create the partition. Maybe create two partitions out of it, then delete both and then create one.
If that doesn't fix it, try converting from NTFS to FAT32 and back again. At the far extreme end, if all else fails, backup, wipe, and reallocate the entire physical disk.
Any of these steps may resolve the issue.
Good luck.
posted by BigLankyBastard at 11:56 AM on May 25, 2007
If that doesn't fix it, try converting from NTFS to FAT32 and back again. At the far extreme end, if all else fails, backup, wipe, and reallocate the entire physical disk.
Any of these steps may resolve the issue.
Good luck.
posted by BigLankyBastard at 11:56 AM on May 25, 2007
If it's a single disk and not a raid setup, I would do as purephase suggested and do a full format on the drive.
Otherwise, knowing what type of hardware this is running on also helps (dell poweredge, HP, WhateverTheLocalKidUsesInHisBasement) in regards to getting a better solution :)
posted by nataaniinez at 4:24 PM on May 25, 2007
Otherwise, knowing what type of hardware this is running on also helps (dell poweredge, HP, WhateverTheLocalKidUsesInHisBasement) in regards to getting a better solution :)
posted by nataaniinez at 4:24 PM on May 25, 2007
Change drive letters around, see if Explorer reports something different after a restart.
Sounds stupid, I know. But I have seen recovery partitions on servers cause this kind of conflict.
posted by disclaimer at 5:51 PM on May 25, 2007
Sounds stupid, I know. But I have seen recovery partitions on servers cause this kind of conflict.
posted by disclaimer at 5:51 PM on May 25, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for all the answers. The problem was on a boot partition on a Dell box. Formatting before installing Windows didn't change the results. I ended up making it a FAT32 and reinstalling Windows, and this worked. I still have no idea of the cause of the weirdness.
posted by blue mustard at 4:12 PM on May 26, 2007
posted by blue mustard at 4:12 PM on May 26, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by blue mustard at 11:43 AM on May 25, 2007