11GB of storage space lost in under 4 minutes of idle?


  1. Posts : 3
    7 Pro 64bit
       #1

    11GB of storage space lost in under 4 minutes of idle?


    I didn't know what other section to ask this in. I have a 60GB SSD as my main OS drive and it floats between 11.55 and 12 gigs of empty space. I don't mind this because everything I want on it is already on it and I don't forsee any permanent changes in the near future. Earlier I stepped away from my machine and I had 11.55GB free, nothing unusual. A little over 4 minutes later I stepped back and noticed a critical storage space warning in my taskbar. I looked at my sidebar Drive Meter and noticed I was down to 0.99GB free space! Something stole just under 11GB SSD space in under 5 minutes and I want to know what it was!

    Is there any way to view changes made to a hardrive in a set timeframe? I looked through explorer in each of my major folders at the "Date Modified" section and found nothing that large, or in the proper timeframe.
    Thanks in advance!
      My Computer


  2. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #2

    It is possible that you got a bunch of extra shadows (although 11GB is a lot). Run this command and look for Allocated

    vssadmin list shadowstorage

    But if it is files (user or system), the easiest way to find out is with WinDirStat
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3
    7 Pro 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thanks for the reply!
    ShadowStorage is using less than 400MB so thats not an issue, upon using WinDirStat I found my pagefile.sys is 19.3GB! I've set Windows to not use a pagefile and set it to purge on shut down. After 3 reboots it's still at 19.3GB. So after a little searching I can't seem to find anybody who wants to tell me where the pagefile.sys is located so I can just delete it. I realize people say you shouldn't disable/delete it, but I don't see a vital need for it when I am already low on drive space.

    Can you tell me where the "pagefile.sys" is located?

    EDIT:
    Just realized you can right click delete from within WinDirStat! Solved it, Thanks Again!
      My Computer


  4. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #4

    You should not delete the pagefile completely. That will get you into trouble. Go to Start > Help and Support and search for "Pagefile Setting". That will tell you how to set it. I suggest 1GB or 2GB as an acceptable size.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3
    7 Pro 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Yeah, once I deleted it and restarted, I set it to be 1GB. It just didn't seem to want to purge itself when it was 19GB, so I wiped it and remade it an acceptable size.
      My Computer


 

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