Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 August 12

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August 12

I have more free disk space than when I started?!

Okay, I noticed something really weird today. Here's what happened: the last time I checked how much free space I had left on my HDD was about (IIRC) a week ago. I'm pretty sure it had about 58GB left. Today, I checked it again; and now it has 60.3GB left! Between then and now, I had done the following:

• Installed the drivers and related software for a printer
• Downloaded some PDFs and similar files
• Updated AVG

So I'm puzzled. I have more free disk space after downloading things! The system is my laptop, a Toshiba Satellite running Vista Home Premium SP2. Does anyone know what could have happened here? I don't think I had uninstalled anything during this time... I half hope I'm imagining things. Thanks! --.Yellow1996. ^(ЬMИED¡) 01:22, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Maybe you had some temporary files somewhere that got deleted automatically. Jackmcbarn (talk) 01:27, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm never though of that. 2 Gigs though? Well I don't know much about those temp. files so I guess that could probably be it. As long as the cause is benign (no virus etc - haven't noticed a performance hit yet! ;))... thanks Jackmcbarn for putting my mind at ease! :) --.Yellow1996. ^(ЬMИED¡) 01:35, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

As well as temporary files (particularly the internet cache), defragmentation can cause a HDD to show slightly more free space, and the Page file will change size (though I'm not sure if this is included in free space calculations or not). MChesterMC (talk) 09:42, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Could also be Hiberfil.sys: Basically when your laptop goes to Hibernation mode the system dumps the memory into that file and uses/loads it when the system is resumed. It would typically be around the same size as your installed memory 112.198.90.155 (talk) 09:52, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Well I haven't done a defrag for a while, so it's unlikely that is the cause; also, wouldn't the hibernation file make it so I have less disk space rather than more? --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 17:27, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Two possibilities come to mind (1) emptying the recycle bin could do that. (2) Did you check the size the same way? Some things give the actual number of bytes, some give it in the number of KB, where KB=1024 bytes, not 1000. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 17:39, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Unfortunately, it was in the same place (under "computer" on the start menu.) For the recycle bin, is it possible it emptied on its own? Though I don't think I sent anything there recently, and I'm pretty good about emptying as soon as I delete. --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 18:21, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

As far as I know, it never empties on its own, unless the HD gets nearly full. It is a good idea to leave deleted things in there a while, in case you need to get them back. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 19:38, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Generally, I only delete things that there would be no chance of me needing them (accidental copies, old outdated files, etc.) And I guess since it can't empty automatically then that rules that theory out! --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 01:16, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

It's also possible that AVG was using space inefficiently, say by storing things uncompressed, and the updated version fixes that, so now it takes up less room. StuRat (talk) 20:10, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

I had never thought of that. That's a good explanation, StuRat; thanks! :) --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 01:16, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

You're quite welcome. StuRat (talk) 10:20, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

iPod battery

My iPod is having problems. Recently it got discharged and I didn't pay much attention because I was't gonna use it. Yestarday I tried to charge it but the screen shows a message that reads: Please wait, Battery Level very Low or something like that. I waited 3 hours and it started charging-. When it was full, I disconnected it and I started listening to music. A couple of minutes later it turned off.

I don't know what happened, it'd never done that before. What seems to be the problem. And... if the battery is broken, can it be replaced or not? Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 13:14, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Hey Miss Bono, I know that you can't follow links so I'll sum up all that I found: basically it looks like your battery is probably broken, or close to failure. Luckily, they can be replaced and aren't terribly expensive. If there's an Apple store nearby then you should probably take it in for them to have a look. Good luck! --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 17:33, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Tnanks .Yellow1996., there are no Apple Stores here so, i am afraid I will have to ask my aunt for a new battery. She can buy it in the US. I'd hate losing my U2 iPod :'( Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 17:39, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

I looked a little deeper and found if she would get them right from Apple, then they probably cost about $80. But- they appear to be anywhere between $5-$30 (US) online, so that's probably the best place to get them. I hope your U2 iPod gets back to working soon! :) --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 18:18, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Yellow1996 is almost certainly correct that you need a new battery, but I would try charging it a few more times, just in case it partially recovers its capacity. Be careful when buying a replacement because some of the fakes can be dangerous. Dbfirs 20:30, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Oh, thanks for the info. I hope my baby recovers again... :'(... how many hours should I charge it? Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 20:38, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Just keep recharging until "full" and using until "empty". There's no guarantee that it will recover, and it will never get back to its original capacity, but its worth trying. The battery probably has a weak cell that has been over-discharged when you left it "empty". (It could be replaced by an expert, but taking apart the battery is not recommended unless you know exactly what to do and can obtain a matching replacement cell.) Dbfirs 07:18, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

hi, today, Dbfirs. I did exactly what you told me, but again... it is dead.... Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 12:49, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Sorry about that. You might try taking it to someone who has a charger designed to recondition such batteries (they apply a higher than normal voltage for a short time to persuade the safety circuitry to let some charging current through). Just sometimes, it's possible to persuade the circuitry to start charging again, but if one cell is truly dead then taking the battery apart and replacing that cell is the only option, and it will probably be cheaper and safer to buy a new battery if you can get a good one at a reasonable price. It's the fake chargers that are really dangerous, though if you buy a battery for £2.99 (UK pounds) (as advertised here) then it might not hold as much charge as the genuine Apple batteries, and it might get a bit hot. Dbfirs 17:17, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. Miss Bono ^[zootalk] 20:35, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

wow!! You are cuban!!!! I was beginning to feel I was the only one in here!

Caution: And so… he don’t speak English quite well so he just take a license and start to write in cuban about her trouble…

oye ojalá y resuelvas con las indicaciones que te dicen de las baterías pero me parece que cuando eso llega a cierto límite no tiene vuelta atrás, en amazon hay baterías de esas muy baratas, una amistad compró una de marca newer… creo… la cuestión es que era la más barata que había en ese moemnto, le salió con el envío y todo en menos de 10 cuc y hasta ahora le dura más o menos lo mismo que la original. Igual yo tengo teléfonos de varia gente en la habana que se dedican a hacer reparaciones de ipod y esas cosas, lo que no sé ni cómo pudiera hacerte llegar esa información por aquí, por las políticas que tienen, si quieres ya me dirás que es lo que tengo que hacer, se ve que tienes tremenda experiencia aquí jeje… por cierto que página más linda tienes!

ha, algo como referencia no vaya a ser que se pongan bravos… link Pruebas seguirla?! :) salu2

Iskánder Vigoa Pérez (talk) 01:29, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Help find the cursor

On my Windows 8 system, I often need to find the cursor and I can't find it. This is usually after a search that moves the cursor to the search string, but then I have a hard time finding the cursor. I can press and release the Ctrl key and circles will show me where the mouse pointer is. Is there something similar for the cursor key? (Most of the time I don't want to make the cursor more obtrusive.) Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 15:06, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

How does the cursor currently appear ? If it's thin and not set to blink, that might be the problem. I suggest a thick cursor, which inverts the color under it, blinking rapidly. StuRat (talk) 20:13, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Normally it is a thin, blinking vertical line, but after I do a search on a webpage, it turns the background green. But many times I can't see it. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 20:45, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

There doesn't seem to be a known way of doing this (at least that I could find); so I'd have to second StuRat's suggestion of making the cursor more prevalent, if your current green background isn't doing it for you. --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 01:18, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

I only have a problem after doing a search. I have some vision problems. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 20:07, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Then it's possible you could reconfigure it in the browser's settings. This page deals with changing the appearance of the cursor throughout Windows 8; the only pages I could find to do with browser-based solutions applied only to Ubuntu... --.Yellow1996.^(ЬMИED¡) 01:05, 14 August 2013 (UTC)