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Videos, pictures, music collections and Windows' system files can take up all the room on your hard drive, but if you identify the space hogs, you can do something to reclaim your resources. Andy Shaw tests six free hard-drive analysis tools you can use to pinpoint the files that take up the most space
WinDirStat I windirstat.info I ****
FEATURES ***** PERFORMANCE irtckick EASE OF USE *****
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What we liked:
WinDirStat is a dry, boring-sounding name yet it's one of the most useful free tools you can get for Windows. As soon as it launches, it starts to scan your hard drive, creating a list of all your folders in an expanding tree-like structure. You can click a folder's '+' button to delve into its contents, even while it's scanning.
As the folders are analysed, they shift in order. The largest folders move to the top of the list, so you can easily identify the space hogs. In a frivolous touch you wouldn't expect in a free Windows tool, little Pac-Man icons munch their way through the folders to show you which ones are currently being analysed - it makes us smile every time we see it.
Once the analysis is complete, the bottom half of the screen is switched to a graphical representation of your hard drive. This breaks its contents down into folders and individual files - the larger the block, the bigger the file. The blocks are colour-coded, too, with a key in the top-right panel so you can instantly see whether your biggest space hogs are videos, system files or something else. When you click a block, it shows you where in the folder tree...