How to Determine a Hard Drive Size

Monitor hard drive size frequently to prevent running out of space to write new files.

Hard drive size is a concern to PC users because of large files, such as music, photos and videos. The developers of operating systems simplify the process of saving almost any file to the hard drive, making it easy to lose track of how much hard drive space is in use and how much is free out of the total drive space. Microsoft included a utility in the Windows operating system called "Disk Management" to help you determine the size of your hard drive.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Windows operating system

Instructions

1. Click "Start" or the Windows orb logo on the taskbar to show the Start menu. Select "Run" from the menu to open a dialog box. Type "compmgmt.msc" in the blank field labeled "Open," then click "OK" to open the "Computer Management" window.

2. Click "Storage," then the "Disk Management" icons in the left pane, which will show the physical hard drives, as well as other drives (DVD, CD and USB flash drives) in the middle/right pane.

3. Look at the section at the bottom of the right pane in Disk Management. The hard drive that holds the operating system and the "C" drive is labeled "Disk 0." Look at the number below that label; that is the size of the hard drive in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).

Tips & Warnings

• Use the Windows "Disk Cleanup" tool to remove unneeded files from the hard drive to free up space.

• If you see a section for "Disk 1" and "Disk 2," in addition to "Disk 0," that means there are three physical hard drives installed on your PC. This many drives expands storage, but this method is also employed for installing and using three operating systems on one computer, called multiboot.

References

• Microsoft: Windows XP, Disk Management Overview
• Microsoft: Windows XP, Using Disk Management
• Microsoft: Overview of Disk Management

Resources

• Microsoft: Delete Files Using Disk Cleanup
• Microsoft: Install More Than One Operating System (Multiboot)