My hardrive is almost full and I don't understand why. I ran windirsat but it only found 76 of the 350+GB space used.

[Constanza]

My hardrive is almost full and I don't understand why. I ran windirsat but it only found 76 of the 350+GB space used.I can't seem to locate what's using all this space and I'm very close to just wiping the system.

 

[goodguy713]

are there multiple users on the same system with different partitions? do you have a back up image of your hard drive stored on the same drive?

 

[Hawkeye22]

How much space is reservered for system restore? I think the default is 12% and on a large drive, that can be quite a bit. If you haven't yet, try reducing the amount of space reserved for system restore. You can also use disk cleanup to remove all but the last restore point.

I don't think windirstat shows hidden system files.

 

[Constanza]

I also used wiztree and it didn't find anything different.

 

[geofelt]

Windows will have some hidden files.
Have you selected the option to view system files?

I think there are some better free utilities that will map out your space better.
Google is your friend for that.

Lastly, it is possible that you have a virus or malware.

Perhaps this would be a good time to upgrade to a ssd and a clean install.

 

[zyche01]

Hey insed of going through all of the headachesthatgo along with this, I recomend just putting aanything non-replacable on a flashdrive and restore to factory defualts. If that doesnt solve the problem well asses it from there. Hope this helps, zyche.

 

[Constanza]

Hi Hawkeye22

I've used CCleaner twice now to try and resolve this. I've emptied my recycle bin, and done general searches for large files and they just don't show up. I't s pretty bizarre. I've also checked to see if possibly malware is causing a hiccup up but I've run three full checks with Vipre, Windows Defender and some other program the IT guy here suggested so I've pretty much dropped that out as a possibility for now.
Here's a URL to my screen shot.

http://i39.tinypic.com/n3p2jk.jpg

I'm not super techy - I'm a designer so I'm not lost but if at all possible simple is best

 

[Constanza]

are there multiple users on the same system with different partitions? do you have a back up image of your hard drive stored on the same drive?

Hi goodguy713

There are no other users - how do you check to see if you have a back up image of your hard drive on the same drive?

 

[goodguy713]

control panel / backup restore / if there is a back up it will show.

 

[Hawkeye22]

I have version 3.28 of CCleaner and I don't see an option to clear restore points. I don't know if that's an option in the newest version or not. The built in windows disk cleanup does have that option.

 

[goodguy713]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-AJiDMUWHY

this is a more detailed process its easier for you to just go here and get the basics..

 

[Constanza]

How much space is reservered for system restore? I think the default is 12% and on a large drive, that can be quite a bit. If you haven't yet, try reducing the amount of space reserved for system restore. You can also use disk cleanup to remove all but the last restore point.

I don't think windirstat shows hidden system files.

Hey insed of going through all of the headachesthatgo along with this, I recomend just putting aanything non-replacable on a flashdrive and restore to factory defualts. If that doesnt solve the problem well asses it from there. Hope this helps, zyche.

Hi Hawkeye22

I've used CCleaner twice now to try and resolve this. I've emptied my recycle bin, and done general searches for large files and they just don't show up. I't s pretty bizarre. I've also checked to see if possibly malware is causing a hiccup up but I've run three full checks with Vipre, Windows Defender and some other program the IT guy here suggested so I've pretty much dropped that out as a possibility for now.
Here's a URL to my screen shot.

http://i39.tinypic.com/n3p2jk.jpg

I'm not super techy - I'm a designer so I'm not lost but if at all possible simple is best

 

[Constanza]

control panel / backup restore / if there is a back up it will show.

No Backup Restore

 

[geofelt]

It is possible that the directory on your hard drive is messed up and can not locate all of the blocks.
Or, perhaps you have used up all of the spare blocks. This might happen if the drive is old or failing.

You might have to reformat the hard drive to recover to recover them.

 

[goodguy713]

get an external hard drive back up your files just in case. what ever is on there could be lost .. run a virus scan make sure your up to date. do searches for file exstentions like .jpg .gif .mov .mp4 .mp3 .mkv .mpg those tend to be some of the most common media file exstensions on drives.. on a side note if you have itunes and a large media libary you might want to consider moving some of it to an external drive.

 

[himnextdoor]

Is your drive partitioned to show up as two drives? Perhaps you can find a drive 'D' in 'Computer'?

How many hard drives are listed in Computer and does their combined total as shown in their 'Properties' page add up to about the right amount?

Often, Laptop suppliers partition the drive to create a 'Data' drive onto which Windows backs up any data it deems fit. This can result in the drive becoming full over time.

In Control Panel > Folder Options, you can select the 'View' tab and check the box to show hidden file and uncheck the box that says 'Hide operating system files'.

In order to delete these file, you will have to first take ownership of them.

And delete them I would. I hack Windows backup disabled in Services and any files I do want to be backed up are copied to an external drive. I never saw the point of backing up data onto the same platter as the original data. If the drive fails, the backup is automatically lost as well.

If there is another 'D' partition, I would delete it and reclaim the space for the 'C' drive.