Computers have memory limitations and you may encounter the notorious “You are running out of disk space” or “Low Disk Space” error in your Microsoft Windows operating system. Years of saving pictures and videos of friends, family, and even your pet eventually push the amount of free space available on your computer. Most computers have more than enough Windows hard drive space to support even the most prolific photo enthusiast which may lead you as a Windows user to ask “Why am I running out of hard drive space?”
There are a variety of reasons why your hard drive may be running low on available disk space, but the most common reason is a lack of hard drive maintenance. Don’t blame yourself, even those who consider themselves computer nerds do not always take care of their computers as they should. Hard drive space is used every time you visit a website and the use of your hard drive by internet browsers has been increasing over the years. At the advent of the internet, browsers like AOL and Microsoft Internet Explorer would store images to help web pages load more quickly. With increased bandwidth provided by cable and DSL larger files like videos and photos were saved on hard drives. Over time and without the use of maintenance tools like disk clean-up, not only will your computer run out of hard drive space or get the Low Disk Space Error,
but you may experience a slow-down in your computer. This slow-down would occur because your hard drive would have to take extra time as if sifts through volumes of unnecessary information and old files just to find the one picture of your mom.
To understand why maintenance is important you have to understand how a computer accesses and uses information. The Microsoft Windows operating systems are based on software loaded on a hard drive working jointly with random access memory (RAM). The hard drive in your computer is where all of the information that you access is stored. It is a physical disc that rotates much like a CD. Unlike most CDs, data can be accessed, written, and deleted much faster on a hard drive. RAM is also an integral part of a computer and acts as a corollary to the hard drive. Information stored on a hard drive like photos and music remains on the hard drive even after your computer powers down. Information stored on RAM is erased once your computer has been turned off. RAM is important because it allows your computer to process information faster by storing frequently used programs in its memory instead of relying on the hard drive to bring up each program every time you as the user requires it. Even though hard drives can access information at blazing fast speeds, having RAM increases the efficiency of any computer. When these two pieces of your computer work in concert your computer can work efficiently. Additionally, with regular computer maintenance, either manually or through an automated program, you avoid the dreadful low disk space error message in your Microsoft Windows operating system.
