Old 12-02-2021, 07:32 PM   #1
stephenpaulharper
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Default Computer question.

This may or may not be related to Reaper, so here goes. My C: drive is at 70% capacity. I couldn't imagine what most of it was. Think I've identified one culprit which is my Program Data folder. There are at least a couple of hundred file folders with non-sensical numerical names Some of them are years old. Any idea what these could be, and is it safe to delete them? I'm afraid they may be related to my Reaper Projects folder, so I'm hesitant to try anything. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 12-02-2021, 07:52 PM   #2
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Can you give an example of a file, including the full path from C: ?

You can also use the handy (free) utility windirstat to figure out where the space is going.
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Old 12-02-2021, 08:14 PM   #3
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Thanks very much. "C:\ProgramData\{0B86AA33-9452-43EC-B68D-A951139C75BD}"would be an example. I will check these utilities out. Thanks again.
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Old 12-02-2021, 08:40 PM   #4
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I don't believe that has anything to do with Reaper.

As far as what they are, Windows is somewhat unfathomable to me; if karbo is around he might offer some wisdom. My guess is "something related to a windows app that is storing temporary or install-related files".

If you use windirstat you can see if those directories actually take up any significant space.

You can also try the various methods of cleaning up temp files / emptying trash / clearing cache / etc. to see if that frees any appreciable amount of space.
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Old 12-02-2021, 09:00 PM   #5
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Thanks very much. I will act accordingly. I really appreciate the advice.
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Old 12-02-2021, 09:18 PM   #6
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Sure thing. And definitely be careful about deleting stuff, even if it seems useless. Windirstat is a great tool for pointing you in the direction of big files/directories/etc, but if those files/directories are related to the OS, you want to study up before impulsively blowing things away, as you can corrupt the system. :-)
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Old 12-02-2021, 09:36 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephenpaulharper View Post
Thanks very much. I will act accordingly. I really appreciate the advice.
Right click on the "ProgramData folder and select properties. That will tell you how big it is and help you to know just how much is there in relation to your drive.
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Old 12-02-2021, 10:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clepsydrae View Post
My guess is "something related to a windows app that is storing temporary or install-related files".
Very close!

Quote:
the program-data folder (normally C:\ProgramData). Unlike the Program Files folder, this folder can be used by applications to store data for standard users, because it does not require elevated permissions.
Suites of apps will also store files that all the apps in the suite might share and use, think Adobe Photoshop, LightRoom and Illustrator etc. having config or common user preferences they all share. The folder exists as it does because it is marked as writeable - unlike Program Files which is not writeable because executables live there, is a security thing.

Now, they often have the actual correct names of the apps. I just checked mine and I have 235 of these {GUID} folders too. Two points that matter...

1. All of them only add up to 2.5 GB.
2. They are part of my Native Instruments Komplete install so it's smart that I don't delete them.

Probably smart the OP doesn't either.

I stopped using WinDirStat because that 3D thing it does bugs my eyes. I switched to SpaceSniffer a few years back. Same deal, just flat and info, no graphics and is easier on my eyes if anyone is interested.
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Old 12-03-2021, 03:46 AM   #9
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Assuming Windows: The long number in brackets is probably a registry reference. You could search for it in the (Regedit) registry to see if you can find where it originates from. The other thing to do is to specify to Reaper where it stores 'Reaper Media' and peaks, so you know this isn't Reaper stuff. It's not a Reaper thing to name files like that, but some plugins will.

A quick, if slightly risky, experiment would be just to add 'XXX' to one of the folder names, to see what stopped working, if anything. If it went wrong you could restore the drive from your backup.
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Old 12-03-2021, 06:24 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bolgwrad View Post
Assuming Windows: The long number in brackets is probably a registry reference. You could search for it in the (Regedit) registry to see if you can find where it originates from. The other thing to do is to specify to Reaper where it stores 'Reaper Media' and peaks, so you know this isn't Reaper stuff. It's not a Reaper thing to name files like that, but some plugins will.

A quick, if slightly risky, experiment would be just to add 'XXX' to one of the folder names, to see what stopped working, if anything. If it went wrong you could restore the drive from your backup.
I'd just open the folder and look inside first:

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Old 12-03-2021, 01:45 PM   #11
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There is that.
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Old 12-03-2021, 02:06 PM   #12
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I would run ccleaner a www.ccleaner.com. It is good at finding crap files and can clean your registry of garbage. Try this before you start deleting things you think are unimportant. Another large set of files you probably don't really need is some recovery files "especially upgrades from 7 to 10 for example" The computer can save a whole backup of your previous os and it can be pretty big sometimes
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Old 12-03-2021, 03:35 PM   #13
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I don't want to offend anyone because I know everyone is trying to be helpful however... These cleaners are snake oil and have been for a good 20 years. There was a time, say the windows 98 days where everything was more of the wild west and uninstallers were generally terrible at actually uninstalling.

In 2021, you don't need these tools and they are more likely to cause unintended anomalies than making anything actually better. I know some feel cleaning the registry makes their computer faster but I and someone else wrote test code years ago that tested via precise timing how much faster registry access was before after cleaning.

Well, it was faster alright, by about .01 percent. When people run these and think their machine is suddenly faster, barring extreme corner cases, it isn't, it's simply confirmation bias. I've not run any of these tools for decades and my machine is as fast and as stable as anyone else's.

Edit: To be clear, tools like WinDirStat or SpaceSniffer are fine because all they do is tell you what files are taking up space and where, then it is up to you to decide what to do, if anything.
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Old 12-03-2021, 03:49 PM   #14
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How big is your User folder?

For instance, IK Multimedia has a horrible habit. Their license manager downloads the installation files into the user folder, and leaves them there after the installation is performed.
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Old 12-03-2021, 04:18 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MiddleC View Post
How big is your User folder?

For instance, IK Multimedia has a horrible habit. Their license manager downloads the installation files into the user folder, and leaves them there after the installation is performed.
Usually that's also the uninstallers so they might want to confirm.
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Old 12-05-2021, 05:15 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karbomusic View Post
Very close!



Suites of apps will also store files that all the apps in the suite might share and use, think Adobe Photoshop, LightRoom and Illustrator etc. having config or common user preferences they all share. The folder exists as it does because it is marked as writeable - unlike Program Files which is not writeable because executables live there, is a security thing.

Now, they often have the actual correct names of the apps. I just checked mine and I have 235 of these {GUID} folders too. Two points that matter...

1. All of them only add up to 2.5 GB.
2. They are part of my Native Instruments Komplete install so it's smart that I don't delete them.

Probably smart the OP doesn't either.

I stopped using WinDirStat because that 3D thing it does bugs my eyes. I switched to SpaceSniffer a few years back. Same deal, just flat and info, no graphics and is easier on my eyes if anyone is interested.
I can't stand WinDirStat's treemap. It is too confusing. I prefer Directory Report. It looks just like the MS-Explorer but always shows the folder size
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