Lets make it simple. So that space exist but is not usable in normal everyday way. That I wanted to know
You aren't making it simple, you are not understanding it completely.
1). Some of the files, are real files. They really take up some space on your hard drive. These reduce the amount of space available to store files and install applications.
2). The other items are hardlinks to files that exist someplace else on the hard drive. Now, the real true physical file exists and WILL decrease the amount of space that is really on your hard drive. The hardlinks are NOT real physical files and DO NOT consume disk space on your hard drive.
Go back to my example recently.
- I started with 44.9GB of free disk space.
- I copied in a "REAL" file that was about 650MB in size
- My hard drive space dropped to 44.2GB of free disk space. This is what applications have access to and represents how much stuff I can copy onto my hard drive before it's full.
- I then created numerous hardlinks and made it appear that my C:\Windows\aTestFolder had almost 4GB of stuff in it.
- I demonstrated that TreeSize free would report an increased size of my C:\windows folder and would report that C:\windows\aTestFolder was 4GB in size.
- But looking at my command prompt showed that my free drive space stayed consistent at 44.2GB of free space. it's the same amount of space that I had above, applications still have access to the exact same amount of free space. (even though I magically created what appears to be 4GB folder called C:\windows\aTestFolder)
- I could have made 500 hard links to that same file and made it appears that my C:\windows\aTestFolder was (500 x 650MB) was 325GB in size. Treesize free would show a 325GB folder, and Explorer would show a 325GB folder if I looked at properties. All miraculously on my 80GB hard drive.
- Even with 500 hard links to the file, my command prompt would continue to show 44.2GB of space free. (Because none of these hardlinks actually decrease the amount of free space on your hard drive.
So, NO....it's not like the space exists and you cannot use it in everyday use. The space that is free can be demonstrated with a command prompt or looking at Windows Explorer...or the bottom of the TreeSizeFree window. The hardlinks DO NOT, and HAVE NOT reduced the amount of free space on your hard drive. The amount of hardlinks have never counted against you.
the 4.2GB worth of hardlinks you discovered have NOT reduced your available free space by 4.2GB. In fact, if they did actually count against you, instead of having 8GB of free space on your hard drive, it would actually drop to 4.
YOU ARE NOT BEING CHEATED OUT OF ANY SPACE, THE SPACE ISN'T MASKED OFF AND UNUSABLE.
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