Linux for Windows users: Installing Ubuntu

In praise of the now-rare Easter egg

Maybe the recent holiday made them do it, but Lounge members hanging out in the General Productivity forum went hunting for Easter eggs this past week.

Some of their finds — of the software kind — are colorful, indeed.

In deference to trustworthy computing, undocumented features aren’t done anymore by responsible programmers. But it’s still possible to barrel-roll a Google page — and it’s hardly any trouble at all.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	General nonproductivity
Word Processing	Word 2010 prompts to change Normal template on every exit
Spreadsheets	Count same characters at beginning of string
Databases	Call-sign sort
Visual Basic for Apps	Find string in style name
Microsoft Outlook	How to efficiently update email addresses in contacts list?
Non-Outlook E-mail	Need good email client for travel
Other MS Apps	Custom tags in OneNote Metro or Modern?
Windows
General Windows	Trouble with two optional updates: KB 3048778 and KB 3035583
Windows 10	Custom restore point?
Windows 8	How to control starting place in folder tree after folder deletion?
Windows 7	About KB 3035583
Windows XP	Corrupted flash drive
Windows Servers	Primary DNS Server gone; need to promote secondary or replace primary
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer	NYT website freezes computer for a minute
Third-Party Browsers	Strange behavior in Chrome
Networking	Internet connection down every 20 minutes
Software Development
Windows Programming	Constructing Where clause with multiple conditions in gridview?
Web Design & Development	SQL statement to update values?
Other Technologies
Non-Microsoft OSes	Linux installer doesn’t see hard drive or partitions
Security & Scams	Flash drive–hosted Windows for safer malware removal
Maintenance	Cloning Win7 PC to dissimilar hardware
Hardware	Tablet question
Other Applications	How to make Skype work?

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.

Some fun — watching a dog watching a dog

Clearly, some people assume the greatest use of an entertainment center is to amuse their pets. And sometimes, we’re entertained by videos of the pets watching videos. Take, for example, this clip of Minny, a little dog who gets lots of exercise while watching another canine hopping high into the air. An enthusiastic viewer, Minny pogo-sticks along with the video activity. The household cat is not amused. Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Linux for Windows users: Installing Ubuntu

In a February article, we gave a brief introduction to Linux and its history, showing why some Windows users might want to experiment with this open-source OS.

This follow-up story will tell you how to install and run one of the more popular Linux distributions — Ubuntu (pronounced, “oo-boon-too”).

To quickly recap the Feb. 19 Top Story, “An introduction to Linux for Windows users,” Linux has become an immensely important operating system, mostly for back-end services and standalone devices. On the consumer side of things, it’s the basis for Android phones and tablets, routers, network-attached hard drives, and many other devices. Linux might soon be the central operating system in your car.

In that previous article, I also noted that — contrary to what many Windows users believe — versions of Linux have intuitive and familiar graphical user interfaces. In fact, one of the more interesting aspects of Linux is the broad selection of desktop designs. And while Linux has fewer consumer and business applications than are available for Windows, you can find an app for almost any need.

As promised in the February introduction, this article will walk you through installing Ubuntu Linux, one of the most user-friendly distributions (distros) — and one that’s earned a reputation for innovative interface designs.

Linux rarely comes preinstalled on a newly purchased computer (an Ubuntu page has an official list of supported desktops and laptops). So users typically get lots of experience with the installation process. It’s essentially no more difficult than installing Microsoft Office from a CD. Many Linux users run the OS alongside Windows or OS X — and in some cases, both — using a multi-boot configuration. If you’re just getting started with Ubuntu, running it on a virtual computer system is another excellent option. Or, if you have a retired-but-still-functional PC sitting in a corner of your office, Linux is a great way to put the hardware back into service.

For help with setting up multi-boot and virtual configurations, see the following stories. They discuss other operating systems, but the information can be applied to installing Linux.

• “How to safely test-drive Win10 — step by step” – Oct. 16, 2014, Top Story
• “Two ways to put Windows 7 and 8 on the same PC” – April 4, 2013, Best Practices article (paid content)
• “How to run Google’s Android OS on a Windows PC” – March 13, 2014, Top Story
• “Setting up a Win7/Win8 dual-boot system” – April 11, 2013, Best Practices article (paid content)
• “How to avoid Win7/Win8 dual-boot hassles” – Feb. 12 LangaList column (paid content)

Using a virtual machine is almost always easier and safer than configuring a dual-boot setup. But if you choose dual-boot, I strongly recommend taking the precaution of backing up your main operating system (typically Windows). Also, I’m assuming that Ubuntu will not be your full-time OS — this article is for Windows users who want to experiment with Linux. So I won’t discuss how to transfer your working data from Windows to Ubuntu.

Once you have Linux up and running, I think you’ll find, as I do, that working with Ubuntu is a fun way to spend a spare hour here and there, learning something new about the world of Linux computing.

Step 1: Download an Ubuntu distribution

Installing Ubuntu starts with downloading the bits and creating a bootable installation disk or USB drive. You can find the free ISO file on the Ubuntu site; beginning users should go with the recommended Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS (Long Term Support) version. Select the edition appropriate for your system processor — 32-bit or 64-bit — and click the big Download button. That will take you to a nag page for contributions; click the “Not now, take me to the download” link — or feel free to contribute a few dollars to future Ubuntu development.

Note that the installation file is about a gigabyte, so the download will take some time. (BitTorrent users can click the “Alternate downloads and torrents” link directly below the Download button for much faster downloads.)

If you’re going to set up a multi-boot system or install Ubuntu on a spare PC, burn the downloaded ISO to a CD/DVD or load it onto a USB drive. Be sure to select the settings that will make the media or drive bootable. (Simply copying the file won’t produce a bootable disk.) For more on creating a bootable flash drive, see the April 25, 2013, LangaList Plus column, “Tools for creating a bootable flash drive” (paid content), and the Oct. 17, 2013, Best Practices column, “A complete Windows repair kit — in your pocket.”

If you’re going to set up a virtual machine, put the ISO somewhere on your local hard drive where you can easily find it.

Step 2: Check the hardware (or virtual machine) setup

Ubuntu recommends the following minimum hardware setup:

• 700MHz processor (Intel Celeron or better)
• 512MB of system memory
• 5GB of free hard-drive space
• 1024 by 768 screen resolution
• CD/DVD drive or a USB port
• Internet access

Web access is important because the installer will attempt to download the latest software and security updates from Ubuntu. In my experience, it’s best not to rely on Wi-Fi during installation — use an Ethernet connection to your router.

And if you’re installing Ubuntu on an old PC, be sure there’s no valuable, unarchived data on the hard drive!

Step 3: Start the installation process

Insert the optical media or USB drive and boot the system. After a couple of minutes, you should see a welcome screen (Figure 1) offering a choice that Windows (and Mac) users might find surprising. (Note: When I installed Ubuntu in a VirtualBox (site) machine, I received a couple of error messages on booting. I simply ignored them and waited for the Ubuntu welcome screen to appear.)

Figure 1. The Ubuntu installation tool lets you try the OS directly from an optical disc or flash drive.

As the welcome screen notes, the “Install Ubuntu” option will set up the OS on the hard drive. The “Try Ubuntu” option is a feature common to most Linux distros — a so-called “live system” runs directly from an optical disc or USB drive. It’s a more-or-less complete Linux system that can load into system memory without touching the computer’s hard drive.

An optical disc is read-only, but USB-based live systems can have writeable partitions that allow settings and data to be saved across sessions. Live CDs were originally used as cross-platform utility disks, but they quickly evolved into a convenient Linux marketing tool. Because a live system doesn’t affect Windows, you can try a Linux environment without committing yourself to anything.

(Live CD/USB systems are also used in ultra-secure Linux distributions such as Tails [more info], which hardens a full range of applications with encryption and anonymity. It can be used on any machine without leaving traces of the user’s activity.)

To start, I’ll take advantage of Ubuntu’s live-system option to give a brief tour of Ubuntu’s Unity desktop. You’ll be able to resume the installation from inside the running live system.

Step 4: A quick tour through the Unity interface

When you click Try Ubuntu, your computer (or virtual machine) will reboot into the sign-in-free — but otherwise normal — Ubuntu Unity desktop, shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Ubuntu's Unity desktop shouldn't look especially alien to Windows users.

First released in 2010, the Unity (more info) desktop derives from Ubuntu’s goal of supporting desktop and mobile (i.e., touch) users with one interface. The original, highly configurable interface was simplified and locked down, with large application icons fixed in a launcher and search functions largely replacing conventional file navigation. (With the same goal in mind, Microsoft ported its mobile-inspired Metro design for the new Windows 8 desktop. But as we all know, the dual Metro and Windows 7–style interfaces only confused users. Apple avoided that design quagmire by maintaining — so far — relatively separate desktop and mobile UIs.)

In a nod to the Mac designers, Unity’s toolbar changes dynamically, depending on the application that has focus. As shown in Figure 3, moving the mouse over the desktop’s toolbar automatically switches it to an application-specific menu. (On some systems, Unity applications — like Metro apps — open in full-screen mode by default.) The Unity desktop includes the LibreOffice productivity suite. There are also some sample media files for checking out video playback.

Figure 3. On Ubuntu, applications such as Firefox (shown above) use a blend of Windows and OS X UI features.

In short, Unity treats applications in a fairly conventional way, supporting multiple, resizeable app windows and a standard Windows Explorer–like file manager. Unity has features in common with Windows 8: Ubuntu’s developers emphasize the use of search — and that means using the Dash, accessed via the Super key. Tapping the Super key (typically, the Windows key on most keyboards) pops up a search-box window (Figure 4); holding it down displays a list of keyboard shortcuts, shown in Figure 5.

Figure 4. Clicking the Super key pops up a Win8-like search box with filters for common applications.

Figure 5. Holding down the Unity Super key displays a list of common keyboard shortcuts.

The initial Dash window includes various icons for quick search filtering by applications, files, video, music, photographs, and social-network messages. Typing a search term triggers immediate searches — for example, typing “vid” (see Figure 6) quickly returns several video-related applications.

Figure 6. Entering a search term — in this case, vid — immediately returns related applications and files.

The Dash has elements that will be familiar to both Windows 8 and Yosemite OS X users. Each of these three search-centric interfaces attempts to dispense with static menus and mouse-clicks by imitating the auto-complete environment pioneered by Google. They also blur the line between client-side and browser-based resources. That might not be ideal for personal security, but it’s fully in line with the vision of the mobile future currently embraced by the tech world.

For example, selecting the Dash’s application category and entering “terminal” returns terminal emulators included with Ubuntu (hey, it’s Linux) as well as applications that can be downloaded from the Net. Selecting the video category and entering “roller derby” brings up a mix of YouTube videos, retail offerings from Amazon, and other sites. (The presence of an Amazon icon in the launcher suggests that Ubuntu is receiving some revenue from that online retailer, which might have some influence on search results.)

Now that you’ve had a quick introduction to the Unity interface, it’s time to move on to the full installation. But first, you might find a video demonstration of Unity’s heads-up display (HUD) interesting. HUD is yet another approach to dispensing with hierarchical menus and guessing what the user is actually looking for.

And for a taste of the flashier capabilities of the Unity interface — including multiple virtual desktops (a Linux staple), crazy 3-D rotating cube displays, and wiggly windows — have a look at another YouTube video.

Step 5: Completing the installation process

Back at the Unity desktop, double-click the Install Ubuntu icon (see Figure 7) to set up the operating system on your hard drive.

Figure 7. Click the Install Ubuntu icon to fully set up the OS on a physical or virtual machine.

From this point on, installation should be relatively familiar to anyone who has installed Windows from a CD — although, in this case, the installer runs inside a window of the still-running live system. (Note: You could have started the full installation by clicking Install Ubuntu back on the original welcome screen.)

A wizard steps you through the process, starting with language selection. The next screen lets you select check boxes for downloading software updates and for installing third-party utilities such as codecs for playing MP3 files and MPEG videos (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Ensuring that Ubuntu is ready to install

Note: Ubuntu is based on the Debian Linux distribution, which excludes restrictively licensed proprietary software from its core repositories. For user convenience and to be competitive with commercial operating systems, Ubuntu has licensing agreements with Fraunhofer (site) and Technicolor (site), giving MPEG support for users who opt in. (Such agreements are controversial [more info] in the free-software community.)

Click Continue when ready.

Next, choose the installation type. The default, shown checked in Figure 9, is to let Ubuntu erase your hard drive and handle all drive configuration. You can also choose to encrypt your drive, configure volume management, and manually partition the drive — all of which are beyond the scope of this introduction. Click Install Now to continue.

Figure 9. Ubuntu offers several installation types; using the default setting will erase all data on the target drive.

The installation wizard will then pop up a warning that your drive will be erased. If you’re sure you’re ready, click Continue. Next, on successive screens, select the time zone, keyboard layout, and sign-in information.

Enter your name, the computer’s name, a username, and a password (see Figure 10). The wizard will rate the strength of your password as you type it in. You should click “Require my password to log in.” You also have an option to encrypt your home folder (again, a topic beyond the scope of this Linux introduction ). Click Continue when done.

Figure 10. When you add your new sign-in credentials, Ubuntu rates your password strength.

Wait while the installation wizard finishes setting up Ubuntu on your hard drive. The wizard will entertain you with pretty pictures and user tips. Eventually, you’ll be prompted to reboot. On physical systems, before clicking the Restart Now button, be sure to remove the CD or USB drive.

When the computer reboots, Ubuntu will welcome you with its standard sign-in screen, shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11. You're now ready to experiment with a fully installed version of Ubuntu Linux

Note: If you’re running Ubuntu on a VirtualBox machine, be sure to install the Guest Additions. In the virtual machine’s toolbar, click Devices/Insert Guest Additions CD image. Once the virtual CD is mounted in Ubuntu, click the CD icon to open it and then click the Run Software button in the upper-right of the window. This process adds services and drivers that make Ubuntu more usable.

Now, the real fun begins. In a final installment of this introduction-to-Linux series, I’ll talk about features that are uniquely Linux — things that might at first mystify both Windows and Mac users. That’ll include essential configuration options, basic system administration, adding and updating software, and an introduction to the role of the Linux command line.

Solving vexing webpage-printing problems

Some workarounds can help when webpages won’t print properly, either on paper or to a PDF file.

Plus: Trouble with the Win10 Technical Preview, how to access older business-app files on newer PCs, and why Vista and Win7 gadgets should be uninstalled.

How to correctly print/PDF complex webpages

Reader James Clawson seeks help with printing Web content.

• “I like to save selected webpages such as FAQs for purchased software. I can then reference that info when I’m not online or when I’m traveling and don’t have a safe Wi-Fi connection.

  “I normally click Print, select my PDF software as the ‘printer,’ and then save the resulting PDF in a folder.

  “But I now find many websites will no longer print properly. For example, the first page prints or is saved as a PDF, but the rest of the website content is seemingly ignored. This happens whether I use IE, Firefox, or Chrome.

  “Any ideas?”

Your problem is likely caused by active content in the webpages.

Active content isn’t hard-coded into a webpage; rather, it’s dynamic content generated inside the browser, more or less on the fly. Using scripts, CSS, ActiveX, embedded objects, and such, some complex pages are generated almost entirely as active content.

Browsers know how to handle the code for this type of content and correctly display the pages. Unfortunately, some print drivers don’t — and neither the hardcopy printer nor the PDF pseudo-printer can render the page properly.

The good news: There are several easy workarounds.

If your goal is to save copies of webpages to your hard drive, you can bypass the print drivers entirely by using your browser’s save complete webpage option. Here’s how:

• Access your browser’s Save as menu. In IE, click the gear icon and select File/Save as … (or use the same toolbar menu options); in Chrome, click the three-bar settings icon and select Save page as …; in Firefox, select the Save as option either from the toolbar or the three-bar settings icon. Other browsers will have something similar.
• Choose a location and name for the saved copy of the webpage.
• In the Save as type: option, select Webpage, complete (*.htm,*.html), as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. A browser's Save as type: Webpage, complete option is usually a reliable way to save a full, local copy of just about any webpage.

When your PC is offline, the locally saved page will still open in your browser. I find that most pages saved this way are complete. When errors occur, they’re usually cosmetic and don’t affect the saved page’s basic usefulness.

If that doesn’t work, or when you truly need a hardcopy of a difficult-to-print webpage, your best option is to capture a static image of the page — then either print the image or save it as a graphics file (e.g., .jpg).

You can do this manually using built-in Windows tools, or you can do it automatically with add-on software.

Manual method: Display as much of the webpage as will fit into your browser’s window. (You can use the browser’s zoom option to fit more of the page into the window, though often with reduced text quality.) Press your keyboard’s Print Screen (PrtSc) key to capture an image. Next, open Paint or any other graphics editor and paste the image into the editor. Crop or adjust the image as desired and then save and/or print the resulting file.

You can also use the Windows Snipping Tool (more info; Vista/Win7, Win8) to capture and crop images of webpages in one step.

Automated method: Use an image-capturing tool that allows scrolling to reveal and capture all parts of a page. Examples include DuckLink’s DuckCapture (free; site) and TechSmith’s Snagit (free trial/paid; site).

Using one or more of the preceding methods should let you print just about any webpage — no matter how complex its content might be.

Display trouble with Win10 Technical Preview

Like many of us, Paul Dakos is test-driving Windows 10 Technical Preview in a virtual machine. (See “How to safely test-drive Win10 — step by step” in the Oct. 16, 2014, Top Story. See also additional resources at the end of this item.)

• “Fred, I found installing Win 10 in a virtual machine to be very easy, following your steps in ‘How to safely test-drive Win10.’

  “Now that it’s running, I’d like to use the OS full screen at my monitor’s native resolution. But I can’t figure out how to do that. The 1080p resolution isn’t an available option in my display properties. An Internet search yielded a few suggestions, none of which worked.

  “I understand that the VM uses hardware virtualization, so Win10 doesn’t see my actual video card.

  “I’d like to give Win 10 a try in the VM environment, but I’m not going to do it in a small window at less than 1080p.

  “Any suggestions?”

This is almost surely a temporary driver problem. Win10’s (or possibly VirtualBox’s) display drivers simply aren’t quite ready for prime time.

Remember that Win10 is very much a work in progress. In fact, Microsoft is still adding major features. For example, the Spartan browser (a likely replacement for Internet Explorer; MS info) just appeared in build 10049.

With the big pieces of the OS still in flux, it’s not surprising that many drivers are missing or not fully developed.

VirtualBox is also in flux. Each time a major new Win10 Preview build is released, a new version of VirtualBox extensions usually follows a short while later. (VirtualBox’s full support for Win10 can’t be completed until Win10 itself is complete.)

So I think you’re just a little premature. When Win10 has cooked a while longer and when VirtualBox subsequently supports the finished version, driver support should be at least as good as it is with previous versions of Windows — and VirtualBox.

More Win10 Technical Preview info:

• “Why you should join Win10’s tech-preview process” – Oct. 9, 2014, Top Story
• “What’s new — and expected — in Win10, build 9926” – Jan. 29 Top Story
• “Working with Windows 10 Preview, build 10041 – March 26 Top Story

Accessing older file types on newer PCs

Evelyn Hamby wonders whether she’ll have trouble accessing and editing her older business-app files when she upgrades to a newer Windows — and probably to a newer Office suite.

Her question is specifically about the Vista-era Microsoft Works 9, which has been discontinued. But the answer applies to other older document types as well.

• “I’m using Vista and running Microsoft Works. (It came with the PC.) I know I’ll have to upgrade soon.

  “Will my Works documents be able to carry over to, say, Windows 8 or Win10? I have a lot of PDFs also.”

Not to worry, Evelyn. You’ll likely be able to use all your older documents, as-is, on your new PC.

Some standard file formats — RTF, HTM, HTML, TXT, and many others — can be used by almost any productivity app or suite from any publisher and on any operating system.

The PDF format is effectively a standard, accessible by many applications, and Microsoft Works files (e.g., .wps and .xlr) are still widely supported.

You probably won’t have to do anything special to continue using your existing PDFs. Just install the current PDF creator/reader of your choice, and that should be that.

As for your Works files, you have two major options.

The best choice: Microsoft Works reached end of life in 2012 (info), so start planning now for your migration to a newer suite of business tools. Many suites and productivity apps — not just those from Microsoft — offer built-in support for Works’ native file types.

Microsoft Office 2010, 2013, and 365 can all directly open Works documents. See MS Support article 315757, “How to open a Works 6.0, a Works 7.0, a Works 8.0, or a Works 9.0 word processing document in Word,” and the TechNet article, “File format reference for Word 2013, PowerPoint 2013, and Excel 2013.”

Works files are also directly supported by free suites such as LibreOffice (site) and OxygenOffice (site).

AlternativeTo has an online list of even more third-party options.

If you encounter a file type that your new suite of business tools can’t handle, you can use free online conversion tools. See, for example, Zamzar, DocsPal, Online-Convert.com, and fileminx.com.

In a pinch, you can also open your Works files and then resave them in one of the universally supported formats mentioned above such as .rtf, .htm, .html, and so forth. Once a document is saved in one of these formats, virtually any other productivity app will be able to handle them.

The second-best choice: If you have the original Works setup discs, you can try to install the suite on your new PC. This isn’t a best choice because Works is no longer supported. But it would let you continue to use Works and your Works files just as you do now.

I don’t have a copy of Works to experiment with, but most Vista-era programs such as Works 9 can install and run just fine on Win7 and Win8.

If you have trouble getting Works — or any old software — to run, try the compatibility troubleshooter built into Win7 and Win8 (and, so far, into Win10). Open Control Panel and type troubleshoot into its search box. In the search-results list, click Troubleshooting and then, under Programs, click Run programs made for previous versions of Windows.

But again, the better option is to migrate your files to newer formats — it’ll breathe new life into your old Works files.

Why all Vista/Win7 gadgets should be uninstalled

After reading “Options when a favorite weather app fails” (March 26 LangaList Plus item), several readers wrote in to discuss a fix for a very specific kind of weather-app problem — the failure of the old-school, Windows desktop Weather gadget.

That prompted a discussion of why you shouldn’t be using any Vista or Windows 7 gadgets!

Reader Fred Brack’s note was first to arrive.

• “You responded to a reader’s inquiry about his weather app failing. I wonder whether he was using the Microsoft Weather gadget. If so, the bizarre fix is to edit and then immediately save a system-configuration file. This also fixes the problem of the gadget giving the forecasted temperature range only. The file is at this address:

  C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Services\Cache\Config.xml

  “Open it with Notepad and then save it without changing the file in any way. (I created a shortcut to do this.) The service will restart in less than a minute. Strange, but it works.”

Yes, that is strange.

But here’s the thing: Windows gadgets aren’t safe! Microsoft makes this clear on its “Gadgets have been discontinued” page:

“Gadgets are no longer available on our website because the Windows Sidebar platform in Windows 7 and Windows Vista has serious vulnerabilities. Microsoft has retired the feature in newer releases of Windows. Gadgets could be exploited to harm your computer, access your computer’s files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time. An attacker could even use a gadget to take complete control of your PC.”

So, fixing the configuration file to resurrect the Weather gadget — or any gadget — is still not an acceptable solution.

In fact, I’d suggest uninstalling and/or disabling all gadgets, pronto!

For more information — and a fixit to automatically disable gadgets — see Microsoft Security Advisory 2719662, “Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution.”

As for the weather-app problems that sparked this discussion, I still recommend using the programs referenced in the March 26 column. They work, they’re current, and they don’t have the unpatchable security holes that make Windows gadgets potentially dangerous to use. Many of the third-party apps are free; what’s not to like?

A utility that helps with hard-drive cleaning

For almost all Windows users, the time eventually comes when you need to free up space on your hard drive or drives.

Unless you’re unusually well organized, the task of finding unwanted files can be a nightmare. WinDirStat is a small, open-source utility that can help.

There are dozens of applications that can help with finding and removing obsolete and duplicate files. But while I was researching the March 19 Best Utilities story on Autoruns, one of my sources recommended the lesser-known WinDirStat, an app that inventories your entire storage system and lets you easily and effectively remove unwanted files and directories. Here’s a review of this capable tool.

A word of caution: Before using any application that can make significant changes to your system, we recommend making a full backup of the system.

Finding big files and folders quickly

As with many good utilities, WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics; site) can be either fully installed or run directly from an executable (a portable version). A Download.com page offers both versions.

When you launch the program, you’re presented with a simple dialog box (Figure 1) for selecting all drives, specific drives, or a single folder to inventory. Note that the C: drive is selected by default.

Figure 1. WinDirStat opens with a simple drive- or folder-selection screen.

When you select a drive and click OK, the main WinDirStat window appears and the tool immediately begins searching the selected drives, folders, and files (see Figure 2). As WinDirStat runs its inventory, it displays a green overall progress bar at the bottom and uses roving Pac-Man-like characters to show specifically which folders are being examined. WinDirStat is relatively fast, but — depending on the size of your drive — the full inventory could take some minutes.

Figure 2. Animated Pac-Man-like icons let you know which folders WinDirStat is searching.

When the scanning process finishes, WinDirStat displays the results in three main sections: a directory-tree list (upper left), a file-type list based on file extension (upper right), and a color-coded treemap (bottom). Figure 3 shows a typical completed scan.

Figure 3. WinDirStat sorts found files and folders in three very different ways.

WinDirStat gives you multiple ways to see drive-space consumption. In the treemap, each file type (by extension) is shown as a colored rectangle, proportioned to match the space a file type is using. Clicking an extension in the file-type list puts a white border around rectangles in the treemap — as does selecting a folder in the directory tree. (Clicking the various entries in the WinDirStat screen will make these actions clearer.)

Note that in Figure 3, the Users folder takes up the majority of the space. Clicking on the “+” beside each directory-tree entry reveals its contents, letting you drill down through folders and, ultimately, to individual files. The directory-tree view also shows folder/file sizes and their percent of overall space used.

Running through the options and settings

WinDirStat’s toolbar gives you a variety of controls for finding folders and files as well as for removing data you no longer need. Once you’ve run through the toolbar options, I recommend going to the Options menu. It provides numerous ways to organize the WinDirStat window. For example, by default, the directory-tree, file-types, and treemap views are all enabled. But the options menu lets you quickly hide all but the directory-tree view.

The last item in the Options menu — Configure WinDirStat — lets you change the app’s key settings. The Settings tabs include:

• General: Lets you select list style, language, and size units. It also includes two advanced options you’ll probably need to read about in the WinDirStat help files: “Cross File System Boundaries” and “Follow Junction Points.”
• Directory List: Choose subtree-percentage colors and whether WinDirStat displays the time a scan takes. You can also turn off the Pac-Man animations.
• Treemap: Control grid colors, rectangle colors, treemap style, and more, as shown in Figure 4.
  

  Figure 4. WinDirStat's controls for the treemap view

• Cleanups: Set up custom command-line cleanups of drives, files, directories, and so forth. These are advanced options that will probably require a look at the WinDirStat help docs.
• Reports: Customize WinDirStat’s “Send Mail to Owner” reports.

Finding and deleting unwanted folders and files

WinDirStat offers several ways to locate and eliminate unwanted files. However, using the three views can be somewhat confusing at first. For example, the utility’s instructions state that all three views are linked — but that’s not completely true. If, for example, you click an entry in the file-types (extensions) list, you’ll see corresponding rectangles highlighted in the treemap view — but no change in the directory-tree view.

Similarly, if you click an entry in the directory tree, you’ll see squares marked in the treemap but not in the file-types list. (Clicking a specific file in the directory tree will, however, highlight its extension in the file-types list.)

The only place where all three views are clearly linking is when you click a rectangle in the treemap — the related file and extension are highlighted in the directory-tree and file-types lists.

After some experimentation, my preferred method for locating potentially unwanted files was by type — starting in the file-types list. For example, selecting the TechSmith Recording .trec format in the file-types view (Figure 5) immediately adds white borders around the purple boxes in the treemap (circled in red in Figure 6). But the related files are not highlighted in the directory-tree list.

Figure 5. In this example, I've selected the .trec extension.

Figure 6. Files with the .trec extension are highlighted with white borders.

Large files will be represented by correspondingly big rectangles in the treemap. To find the details about a large and possibly unwanted .trec file, I clicked a suspect rectangle in the treemap. That immediately displayed the file in the directory-tree view (see Figure 7) along with information on its location and size. From there, it was easy to delete obsolete files.

Figure 7. Clicking a specific box in the treemap displays the associated file, its location in the directory, and its stats.

Note that the treemap can be a sea of tiny boxes. To get a more detailed view — and to make more accurate selections — go to the WinDirStat toolbar and click Treemap/Zoom in. One thing I found annoying: you can select only one treemap rectangle at a time.

You have several ways to delete folders and files. You can press the Delete key or select Clean Up/Delete (to Recycle Bin) — or you can permanently remove files by pressing Shift + Delete or selecting Clean Up/Delete (no way to undelete!). Both menu options can also be used by right-clicking a file or folder.

For more automated file removal, use Options/Configure WinDirStat/Cleanups to create custom command-line scripts. (I rate this as an “expert-level” option.) WinDirStat lets you define up to 10 custom scripts.

After removing batches of files, it’s useful to refresh WinDirStat’s lists. To do so, simply click File/Refresh All or the related toolbar icon (second from the left).

Cleaning up office-PC drives plus more info

Using WinDirStat, IT pros can check multiple systems to ensure that user folders have not grown too big. The utility can give information on the total storage space by folder, and it’ll also report consumed space by file type — an excellent way to find massive, unauthorized collections of audio or video files on workstations.

WinDirStat takes a somewhat different approach to drive cleaning. Before you dig deep into the utility, WinDirStat, I suggest visiting the WinDirStat site and reading the related blog for more information.

An open-source app, WinDirStat is essentially donationware; you won’t get nagged to upgrade to a pro version. If you like its ability to sort files by extension and find it as quick and useful as I do for finding unwanted files, you might like to throw the developers a few dollars.