Tracking down spaceconsuming monster files on the hard disk(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

             Unnecessarily huge fi les extend backups without reason. These large files nibble the expensive resources of modern SSD memory users as well. A thorough clean up is the only thing that helps here.
            If there is limited space or in cases where regular backups take a long time, the cause might be due to large files such as DVD images or virtual hard disks. Different methods are available to track these down. SEARCHING WITH ON-BOARD TOOLS: Open the search function via the start menu. Click the ‘Search options’ link in XP and then activate the ‘Size’ checkbox. Leave the setting on ‘Minimum’ and enter approximately ‘100000’ KB next to it. After clicking ‘Search now’, the operating system gradually lists all the files that are larger than 100 MB. In Vista, you can directly call the search window with the [Windows] + [F] keyboard shortcut from Service Pack 1 onwards.
USING SPECIAL TOOLS: The search becomes clearer and more efficient with the help of free tools such as ‘SpaceSniffer’. The tool can be used without any further installation after unzipping the archive. Start ‘Spacesniffer.exe’ by double-clicking the fi le. Click the desired drive in the program window subsequently and then click ‘Start’. Then wait for the result of the analysis.
              Navigating between fi les is easy. Double clicking on an element zooms into that particular folder. You can again get back to the higher level with the [Back] key or the arrow button. Clicking the green star icon will show the free storage space. You will quickly identify where the large fi les are hidden through these lucid interfaces. The result of every view can be saved in a text file for printing or archiving using the ‘File | Export’ command. In order to restrict the search to a file type, enter a search criterion such as ‘*.jpg’ in the ‘Filter’ bar and press Enter.
             The tool can also be controlled using the command line such that Windows Explorer can carry out an installation in scripts or in the context menu. The program can be run as ‘Spacesniffer.exe scan C:\ filter *.jpg’ for instance, where ‘c:\’ specifies the root directory of the first partition as the search folder and the ‘*.jpg’ filter restricts the search to JPEG photo files. The tool automatically searches all the folders in the root directory.