Computer HDD Low Disk Space Issue

Hi everyone, So my Laptop which has a 277GB HDD is currently 99% full. I've been constantly deleting things (I removed 50 GB of music, I've removed over 15 GB of pictures and video), yet my HDD is still filling up. I ran WinDirStat to see where everything is going, and I checked my Drive C: to discover that it only accounts for 45.3 GB of memory! Anyone have any idea where my other 231.7 GB of memory is going? Something somewhere is filling up my HDD, but I don't how/where to look for it. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Supercar Ace said:

Hi everyone, So my Laptop which has a 277GB HDD is currently 99% full. I've been constantly deleting things (I removed 50 GB of music, I've removed over 15 GB of pictures and video), yet my HDD is still filling up. I ran WinDirStat to see where everything is going, and I checked my Drive C: to discover that it only accounts for 45.3 GB of memory! Anyone have any idea where my other 231.7 GB of memory is going? Something somewhere is filling up my HDD, but I don't how/where to look for it. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

I only have 55GB HDD (yeah it;s an oldie) so I can relate to space concerns. Unneeded programs can take up space. Use CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download to see how much "unnoticed" material can be deleted.

If you have a factory software installed laptop Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download - Uninstall software, remove programs, solve uninstall problems can help with excess bloatware

Also check your downloads folder as it may contain exes, Rars and other hard files that could take up space, that is where the majority of my usage comes from.

Also I know you've done a few of these already, but Hard Disk Space - Free Up and Recover has some nice tips as well

whs said:

Run this command in elevated command prompt and report back what it says for Allocated and Maximum for the C partition.

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The shadowstorage is the place where the restore points are being kept. And that you don't see in WinDirStat.

PS: when you are in the command prompt window, you can right click on the window > click on 'Select All' > then right click again on the window (any place there).

That puts the content of that window on the clipboard and you can paste it here into a reply window.

Thanks! Here's what it showed:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600] Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\windows\system32>vssadmin list shadowstorage vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool (C) Copyright 2001-2005 Microsoft Corp. Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{4c37ec93-8e67-11e0-b722-806e6f6e6963}\ Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{4c37ec93-8e67-11e0-b722-806e6f6e69 63}\ Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B (0%) Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 B (0%) Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 2.774 GB (1%) C:\windows\system32>

whs said:

Hmm, so that is not the culprit. The used shadowstorage is zero and the maximum is small (1% of the partition).

Yeah this is a real head scratcher...I've removed all my music and whatnot to compensate but my memory keeps filling up and I have no idea what part of my HDD is filling up.

whs said:

Can you post a picture of the WinDirStat result - with the multi color part.

Here you go:

windude99 said:

Supercar Ace said:

whs said:

Hmm, so that is not the culprit. The used shadowstorage is zero and the maximum is small (1% of the partition).

Yeah this is a real head scratcher...I've removed all my music and whatnot to compensate but my memory keeps filling up and I have no idea what part of my HDD is filling up.

Try running a full scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware: Malwarebytes : Free anti-malware download

Will do!