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Dear PC Doctor:
I went to print a document on my PC but I got a message that it couldn’t print because there wasn’t enough memory. There also was a pop-up warning on the lower right of my start up screen that said “low disk space.” What can I do?
Thanks,
Ken
Dear Ken:
This message automatically appears when the amount of free space drops below a certain point. I’m wondering if you’ve been downloading a lot of things from the internet or if you’ve been saving a bunch of big files. In any case, there are a few things you can do that ought to free up enough space so that you can print and use your computer the way you want to.
You can run Disk Cleanup. This tool removes temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and removes a variety of system files and other items that you no longer need. To do this, open Disk Cleanup by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Disk Cleanup, and then, in the list of results, click Disk Cleanup. In the Drives list, click the hard disk drive that you want to clean up (usually C), and then click OK. In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, on the Disk Cleanup tab, select the check boxes for the file types that you want to delete, and then click OK. In the message that appears, click Delete files. I think that, once you do this, you should be able to print again.
You could also uninstall old programs. To uninstall or change a program, open Programs and Features by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Programs, and then clicking Programs and Features. Select a program, and then click Uninstall. Just make sure you really don’t want that program anymore!
You could also transfer old files to removable media, such as CDs, DVDs, or flash drives. Once you’ve done that, you could delete them from your computer. You could also add an external hard drive.
Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor
Posted: to Athol Library News on Wed, Nov 25, 2015
Updated: Wed, Nov 25, 2015