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Large File

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by Aetolos, 2004/01/03.

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  1. 2004/01/03
    Aetolos

    Aetolos Inactive Thread Starter

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    I have an almost 600MB file on my D drive and I don't know anything about it the name of it is pagefile.sys. It showed up with a bunch of other files (that I removed from my pc) about an hour ago while I was playing games on Valve's Steam. When I try to delete this file, it tells me it is protected so I cannot delete this file. Also there is one more that I found in the D drive. It is named 'System Volume Information', with two folders inside of it. I managed to delete all of the files inside of that except for 'change.log', which when I try to delete tells me that it is being used by another user. There were a few things related to the Steam client and half-life inside, so I beleive these strange occurances have something to do with this. Please help.

    I also posted for help for this at:
    http://steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47463
     
    Last edited: 2004/01/03
    Aetolos,
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  2. 2004/01/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Aetolos!

    You have messed with an important system file and an important system folder.

    pagefile.sys is used by the system (WinXP and Win2K) to augment the physical memory. It should not be deleted.

    System Volume Information contains restore points created by System Restore. There should be one SVI folder on each drive/partition. Neither it nor its contents should be deleted.
    To undo what You did, if on WinXP, on the desktop > right-click the My Computer icon > Properties > System Restore > Tick the box "disable SR" and confirm.

    Restart the computer and go back to untick that box to re-enable SR.

    Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and check that a new restore point has been created when SR was re-enabled. If not, create one!

    Christer
     
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  4. 2004/01/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Christer,
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  5. 2004/01/03
    Aetolos

    Aetolos Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thank you very much for your help. Fortunately, I only needed to reboot, and everything had returned to where I deleted it from.

    I also find files on my D drive that are titled for example 'kp12f3' or something of that nature. They are just files, no file extensions. Is that part of Virtual Memory or System Restore also?
     
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  6. 2004/01/04
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Aetolos,
    You´re welcome ...... :) ...... !

    You shouldn´t be able to delete the pagefile.sys and You couldn´t.

    I´ve got to ask, is WinXP or is it Win2K, installed on C: or is it installed on D:?

    If Windows is installed on C:, then the pagefile.sys has been moved from its default location on C: to the location on D:, probably by the person who set up the operating system.

    I´m amazed that You managed to even get into the SVI folder. It is a very restricted folder which by default can be accessed by the system only, not even by the administartor without changing security settings for the folder.

    When I double-click on the SVI folders on my WinXPpro, I get a big red X and an access denied message!

    I don´t know what the 'kp12f3'-type files are but they are not part of what we have discussed here ...... :confused: ...... I think!

    Christer
     
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  7. 2004/01/04
    Aetolos

    Aetolos Inactive Thread Starter

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    Christer,

    I am running Windows XP Home and it is installed on C drive. And now that you mention it, I think a lot of things were moved to D drive for memory purposes on C.

    I don't know what I did to get into the SVI folder, all I did was click on it and it let me in. Should I expect to see any problems for deleting these files in the first place? I have not noticed any so far.

    If I get any more of those strange files again, I will be sure to post more information about them.

    Thanks for your help!
     
    Aetolos,
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  8. 2004/01/04
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Aetolos,
    You´re welcome ...... :) ...... !

    If You follow my suggestion to disable System Restore, the SVI-folders will be cleared of their contents.

    When You re-enable SR, a new restore point should be created but don´t rely on it without checking.
    If no one has been created, create one manually.

    Now, You should be back in square one regarding the SVI-folders.

    You can also limit the disk space alotted to SR. The minimum value of 200 MB will give a few restore points but not more than ten. When a new one is created, the oldest gets kicked out.

    By default, SR is activated for all disks and partitions. There is no sense in having it activated on a partition that does not hold the operating system. Disable it for partitions other than C:.

    Christer
     
    Last edited: 2004/01/04
    Christer,
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  9. 2004/01/05
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I have been at a computer on WinXP and FAT32. I could get into the SVI-folder without any problems.

    My guess is that these file and folder protection things only work on NTFS.

    Christer
     
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  10. 2004/01/05
    markp62

    markp62 Geek Member Alumni

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    Moved to XP.
     
    markp62,
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