Multiple Hard drives

[rcp623]

I have 2 hard drives and I cannot locate a setting to clean the secondary drive

[Nergal]

there is no such option in ccleaner, on the whole nothing places "crap" on a secondary drive if you have changed you windows setup so as the make the secondary drive some how hold your appdata without also changing the windows %enviromental variabables% (thorugh i'm not sure how you would've been able to do that) then you will have to download the "embedded ini" files from the sticky in ccleaner discussion and edit them to reflect your locations and rename the win*1.ini (where *=app,sys,reg)

 

 

 

honestly there is little chance that there is stuff left over on your second drive, and there is the built in include/exclude seciton (under options) if you want a specific folder on the second drive to be cleaned

[mr don]

there is no such option in ccleaner, on the whole nothing places "crap" on a secondary drive if you have changed you windows setup so as the make the secondary drive some how hold your appdata without also changing the windows %enviromental variabables% (thorugh i'm not sure how you would've been able to do that) then you will have to download the "embedded ini" files from the sticky in ccleaner discussion and edit them to reflect your locations and rename the win*1.ini (where *=app,sys,reg)

 

 

 

honestly there is little chance that there is stuff left over on your second drive, and there is the built in include/exclude seciton (under options) if you want a specific folder on the second drive to be cleaned

 

You basically have to manually clean a secondary drive. He is right.

 

The problem with cleaning a secondary drive is the data locations of "trash" folders are so wildly variable that it would be nearly impossible to implement. The drive with Windows is easily enough cleaned because the trash locations are known.

[Alan_B]

if you have changed you windows setup so as the make the secondary drive some how hold your appdata without also changing the windows %enviromental variabables% (thorugh i'm not sure how you would've been able to do that)

 

My solution is JUNCTIONS or reparse points.

 

I have relocated about 2 GB of "static" and "semi-static" stuff, such as C:\I386 and C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles,

from C:\ to a different partition on the same physical internal drive.

 

Almost everything works exactly the same, excepting that :-

Perfect Disc does not defrag the relocated files unless it is aimed at the drive which really holds them;

Acronis does not waste time and archive backup storage by including them in them in each backup.

I would expect CCleaner to behave like everything else I have tested, and not discriminate against junk that can be seen through the junction.

 

Because I am cautious I have NOT relocated anything that might be needed upon start-up.

This ensures that upon a total gut-wrenching crash I need only use the Boot-CD to restore partition C:\,

and then I can Start the computer and use all the Windows GUI facilities to restore all the other partitions.

(I wish Boot-CDs could identify partitions with the same drive letters as are used when running under Windows).

 

Not too sure if my choice of reparse point would redirect to a different physical drive,

but that is a total nono for me because my BIOS does not enable the USB until I login,

and my priority for the external drive is image backups - and otherwise to be OFF and keeping them safe.

 

Regards

Alan

[PierreS]

I have 2 hard drives and I cannot locate a setting to clean the secondary drive

You can use the "custom folders" option. As for temp files and other system-managed folders, it's been my experience that CCleaner uses the registry to locate them, so even if you relocated them (which I do) they'll be cleaned. One prime example is the recycle bin: there is one physically on each drive/partition, and they're all emptied as a matter of course.

[PierreS]

Not too sure if my choice of reparse point would redirect to a different physical drive,

It does. I've relocated my user data files (Documents, Downloads, etc?) to a physically different drive that's on a removable tray and can be put under lock and key. All that's required is that you take care to have the drive inserted before power-up.

[rcp623]

Thanks!

 

My secondary drive is full of junk and I don't know what to remove. It's purpose is to be a backup and hold my pictures and music (which is a lot).

 

So thanks again and there seems to be no real remedy for me yet!

[Alan_B]

My secondary drive is full of junk and I don't know what to remove.

 

If you cannot identify something to remove, why do you think that is junk ?

 

You could select the most obvious bit of junk and remove it to the recycle bin.

Then go to the recycle bin and restore it back.

Then see if it has been successfully restored.

If you can successfully restore from the recycle bin you could move all suspect "junk" to the recycle bin,

and then make full use of the drive, its files, and its applications.

If something is broken then hopefully an error message would give a clue upon what needs to be restored,

otherwise you can restore everything from the recycle bin and hope that mends whatever is broken,

then try again but restrict how much junk you move in multiple stages.

 

Alan

[Alan_B]

It does. I've relocated my user data files (Documents, Downloads, etc?) to a physically different drive that's on a removable tray and can be put under lock and key. All that's required is that you take care to have the drive inserted before power-up.

Thank you for confirming that it works across partitions and also physical drives.

 

Do you know how it identifies the destination ?

Does use the drive letter, or a partition number,

or what I believe is a GUID, e.g. as shown in drivetable.txt in my System Volume Information :-

S:\/\\?\Volume{b1e4e786-9751-11df-91b1-806d6172696f}\ 11 0 50 S_Suzanne's Ipod.

N.B. Some parts of "{b1e4e786-9751-11df-91b1-806d6172696f}" are affected by :-

which physical drive I am looking at ;

which partition manager I used to move / expand a partition ;

and if I use Acronis to restore an image to a partition.

 

A few years ago a 30 GB drive was replaced by an empty 160 GB drive,

and Acronis restored a backup image of C:\ as it had been on the 30 GB drive,

and 160 GB immediately booted and ran perfectly,

excepting Acronis was unable to create new backup images.

I fixed everything by creating a new task script,

and I found that Acronis made the stupid mistake of auto creating a script that used GUID instead of drive letters.

Hence my interest in what can be broken by changes to GUID.

 

I have an interesting detail about removable drives.

If I want to use the external I power it before I power the Laptop.

Because System Restore can take a minute out of my life by duplicating a monster Open Office etc. installer,

and it does that even if I merely wish to look at its properties to see its version number etc.,

I have told Windows GUI it must NOT monitor the external partitions.

 

I found System Restore generally remembered this, even after repeated power up and subsequent shut down without any power to the external drive.

Occasionally when I switched on the external first and then the Laptop I would find the externals were monitored, and I found this was always after my daughter had used the P.C.

I found I could replicate the problem with great difficulty -

I had to start-up the P.C. first and then wait a fairly small period before powering up the external,

but it was very difficult for me to wait just the right amount of time.

My daughter accidentally got her timing wrong more frequently than I could when I was deliberately attempting to replicate the symptoms ! !

 

That is why one of my start-up script actions is to compare drivetable values with yesterday to detect any change to monitoring. More recent action on the external has been to seize ownership of "system volume information" folders and replace with files with the same name (and also with no extension.)

 

Regards

Alan

[rcp623]

Thanks!

 

I will try that. As a novice myself maybe you can tell me why I need Program files, temporary files and other misc files on a hard drive that I use store music and pictures and to back up the main drive. There is so much stuff that the drive is now 85% full with only 4G of music and least than 1G of photos?

 

If you cannot identify something to remove, why do you think that is junk ?

 

You could select the most obvious bit of junk and remove it to the recycle bin.

Then go to the recycle bin and restore it back.

Then see if it has been successfully restored.

If you can successfully restore from the recycle bin you could move all suspect "junk" to the recycle bin,

and then make full use of the drive, its files, and its applications.

If something is broken then hopefully an error message would give a clue upon what needs to be restored,

otherwise you can restore everything from the recycle bin and hope that mends whatever is broken,

then try again but restrict how much junk you move in multiple stages.

 

Alan

[PierreS]

@Alan_B: I have no idea how CCleaner identifies the various drives/partitions in order to clean the recycle bins. That's a question for its developer(s). If I had written it (assuming I were able to), I'd use the registry as the easiest available information repository.

[Alan_B]

@Alan_B: I have no idea how CCleaner identifies the various drives/partitions in order to clean the recycle bins. That's a question for its developer(s). If I had written it (assuming I were able to), I'd use the registry as the easiest available information repository.

 

Thanks for responding anyway.

 

Regards

Alan

[Nergal]

I believe, though may be wrong, that windows makes it's own symbolic link, linking all the bins on all the drives together

[mr don]

If you cannot identify something to remove, why do you think that is junk ?

 

You could select the most obvious bit of junk and remove it to the recycle bin.

Then go to the recycle bin and restore it back.

Then see if it has been successfully restored.

If you can successfully restore from the recycle bin you could move all suspect "junk" to the recycle bin,

and then make full use of the drive, its files, and its applications.

If something is broken then hopefully an error message would give a clue upon what needs to be restored,

otherwise you can restore everything from the recycle bin and hope that mends whatever is broken,

then try again but restrict how much junk you move in multiple stages.

 

Alan

 

I would be careful suggesting the use of the recycle bin to store the data, Allan. This could be dangerous if a user does not have backup options & has multiple drives connected. Normally, Windows does allocate each drive it's own drive letter in addition to allocating space on the drive for the recycle bin.

 

However, I have also had the issue occur that under certain circumstances, an external drive would be disconnected & a flash drive connected to the same USB slot. Normally, Windows recognizes this, but I have had it happen that a flash drive can suddenly take on "new properties" where it has a recycle bin.

 

In investigating the problem, it appears that Windows somehow failed to fully recognize the other drive had been disconnected, & the flash drive would get the "old" properties of the other drive. Normally, flash drives do not have a recycle bin, but do you know what it is like to have a 16 GB flash drive plugged in & when you check the properties, Windows says it is a 120 GB drive & assigns the flash drive a recycle bin? (same properties as the drive just disconnected prior to inserting the flash drive).

 

The weird thing is, that though flash drives normally are not assigned a recycle bin, when this happens, the recycle bin actually works, although the drive size is wrong.

 

Your advice sounds a little dangerous for newbies & could cause computer malfunction/boot problems if certain parameters came into play concerning the way Windows treats recycle bins when switching between drives. I first discovered it by accident using flash drives & switching between Seagate External 500 GB drive & flash drives. It appears it can be replicated by removing a drive, then plugging in another without using safe eject. At the time, I was researching how to mod U3 drive space in order to run a customized launchpad, when I discovered it so I wasn't as picky about safe eject use.

 

This leads to other potential problems such as what happens if other users who are not nearly as savvy as you or I happen to unplug & plug in another drive without using safe eject? I have seen others who do that before I warn them of the potential dangers. If the properties of the 500 GB drive are transferred to the flash drive I just plugged in, what will happen if a user decides to "format" the drive, or even test the "new properties" of the drive, since Windows now treats is as an internal drive instead of removable? Perhaps they would even be able to partition the drive or do other potentially damaging things?

 

Please be sure a user has a backup before proceeding.

 

What you are suggesting seems to have been suggested with the best of intent, but appears to be with the capability of causing catastrophic data loss if a user who is inexperienced happens to stumble upon your post.

[PierreS]

I agree. Furthermore, the recycle bin is allotted a given percentage of the drive's space. Whenever you "delete" something and it pushes the bin's contents over that limit, the system will effectively remove enough of the older contents to make room for the new. Anything "stored" in the bin can thus disappear without warning.

[mr don]

I agree. Furthermore, the recycle bin is allotted a given percentage of the drive's space. Whenever you "delete" something and it pushes the bin's contents over that limit, the system will effectively remove enough of the older contents to make room for the new. Anything "stored" in the bin can thus disappear without warning.

 

You are absolutely right on that. Although there the right-click the recycle bin/properties & then the option to either configure drives all at once or independently, it still runs the risks that novices will inevitably choose an inadequate size for one of the drives, or even not bother choosing at all since they would unlikely know that you can change it!

 

Additionally, if they happen to switch between an external drive & a flash drive on the same USB port, & if windows fails to recognize that the external drive has been removed before it recognizes the flash drive has been inserted.... Then if they were to try to "resize" the recycle bin to a larger size than the entire flash drive is (since external drives are typically far larger than flash drives, & the flash drive would inherit the external drive properties) data loss would again be something that could occur.

 

I agree 100% with you.

 

P.S. Ever tried setting recycle bin properties for a drive to a max of 100% of a that drive's space & then clicked apply?

[Alan_B]

I agree, the recycle bin could malfunction.

 

In my defence I did NOT say to delete them, but to move them to the recycle bin,

and would expect a supplementary question if RCP623 had not known what I meant.

 

I gave advice upon how to test the need for these things, and how to restore if it transpires they are needed.

 

RCP623 asked a simple question, and I gave advice upon how to answer it for him/herself.

My method that has always worked without fail for me.

Here we are 6 days later and no one else has said anything to help him.

 

If we cannot assume a functioning Recycle Bin,

should we assume a functioning ability to restore a registry backup key ?

 

Regards

Alan

[PierreS]

P.S. Ever tried setting recycle bin properties for a drive to a max of 100% of a that drive's space & then clicked apply?

No I haven't. As a matter of fact, one of my first actions on a new system is to bring the bin's size down, not up

[PierreS]

In my defence I did NOT say to delete them, but to move them to the recycle bin,

and would expect a supplementary question if RCP623 had not known what I meant.

In my experience, moving a file to the bin is exactly equivalent to deleting it, as far as the consequences to older entries go. At least, that's how the bin works on the NT platform. Possibly Win9x/ME was less consistent, I never experimented that?

[Alan_B]

In my experience, moving a file to the bin is exactly equivalent to deleting it, as far as the consequences to older entries go. At least, that's how the bin works on the NT platform. Possibly Win9x/ME was less consistent, I never experimented that?

I will not argue with your experience but it is not applicable.

 

We are talking about giving instructions that are safe for a novice who does not have your experience.

It is VERY important that a novice should understand that the purpose of the advice was to preserve unwanted stuff in a different location, and had I carelessly said DELETE he might have done so via a DOS command line.

 

Alan

[PierreS]

@Alan_B: a real novice isn't even aware of the command prompt

Your lifelong habit of overcaution rears its head

[rcp623]

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice. I will let you know how things turn out and what exactly I am able to accomplish.

[Alan_B]

@Alan_B: a real novice isn't even aware of the command prompt

Your lifelong habit of overcaution rears its head

So you advocate teaching a painful lesson to the naive user ?

I agree that a little knowledge is dangerous,

Do you have to discourage the gaining of knowledge by punishment at every opportunity ! !

[PierreS]

So you advocate teaching a painful lesson to the naive user ?

I agree that a little knowledge is dangerous,

Do you have to discourage the gaining of knowledge by punishment at every opportunity ! !

Of course not. I advocate education, always. But I also don't believe in giving a loaded gun to ignorant people. The command prompt is such a loaded gun, so a naive user shouldn't be made aware of it unless its potential is fully described. Afterwards, everybody should be allowed to make their own mistakes.

[Alan_B]

Forgive me but it was YOU who brought up CMD.EXE

That is more of a loaded gun than my response to YOU (not to him) in which I referred to DOS command but gave no clue on how to do that.

I am reasonably certain that any novice who has got to this forum will have already encountered the terms DOS and CMD.EXE anyway.

 

Regards

Alan