WinDirStat shows 244GB unknown space on external drive The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer...
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WinDirStat shows 244GB unknown space on external drive
The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results Are InHard drive full, but files / folders don't add up to used drive spaceMy PC has “invisible” files that take up 100GB+ of spacedisk space lost 65GB without reasons on win 7 enterpriseWindows 8 drive shows no space but no data is insideCheck why my hard disk always has no free spaceHow can Windows 10 function on as little as 32 GB of disk space?Almost half of disk space unaccounted for on Windows 7 computerHow would I use Takeown to take ownership of all folders on one drive?SD card has 26gb large “file”Unknown missing space in Windows 7 C: driveWinDirStat Save Report OptionWindows Server 2012 Essentials shows wrong used space on SSDWhy does WinDirStat report less space used than Windows does?Why am I missing 537.53gb of drive space?Hard drive showing 333 MB of used space even though there are no files?Harddisk space used by unknown data on Windows 10Unknown missing space on C driveexFAT shows 3TB used, but no files show on driveCannot Move Files to Hard Drive/Not Enough Room on Destination File System- External HDD with Plenty of Space
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I recently noticed that one of my external hard drive seems to be missing a lot of space. It was recommended that I try WinDirStat, as it could help identify how much space each file was taking up. This is the result:
As you can see, there is about 244.7GB "unknown" usage.
Doing a bit of research online, the most common suggestion was (a) Recycle Bin and (b) System Volume Information.
(a) As you can see, empty. To double check, I ran Disk Cleanup. It confirmed that it was empty. (Note that a new file appeared by the time I took this screenshot, but it's only 129 Bytes.)
(b) Harder to tell. However, according to various forums, the most common reason for System Volume Information to grow large is due to System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive, as seen here:
What else could be causing this issue? It is an enormous amount of storage to have gone missing!
hard-drive windows-10 windirstat
|
show 4 more comments
I recently noticed that one of my external hard drive seems to be missing a lot of space. It was recommended that I try WinDirStat, as it could help identify how much space each file was taking up. This is the result:
As you can see, there is about 244.7GB "unknown" usage.
Doing a bit of research online, the most common suggestion was (a) Recycle Bin and (b) System Volume Information.
(a) As you can see, empty. To double check, I ran Disk Cleanup. It confirmed that it was empty. (Note that a new file appeared by the time I took this screenshot, but it's only 129 Bytes.)
(b) Harder to tell. However, according to various forums, the most common reason for System Volume Information to grow large is due to System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive, as seen here:
What else could be causing this issue? It is an enormous amount of storage to have gone missing!
hard-drive windows-10 windirstat
"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
3
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
1
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22
|
show 4 more comments
I recently noticed that one of my external hard drive seems to be missing a lot of space. It was recommended that I try WinDirStat, as it could help identify how much space each file was taking up. This is the result:
As you can see, there is about 244.7GB "unknown" usage.
Doing a bit of research online, the most common suggestion was (a) Recycle Bin and (b) System Volume Information.
(a) As you can see, empty. To double check, I ran Disk Cleanup. It confirmed that it was empty. (Note that a new file appeared by the time I took this screenshot, but it's only 129 Bytes.)
(b) Harder to tell. However, according to various forums, the most common reason for System Volume Information to grow large is due to System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive, as seen here:
What else could be causing this issue? It is an enormous amount of storage to have gone missing!
hard-drive windows-10 windirstat
I recently noticed that one of my external hard drive seems to be missing a lot of space. It was recommended that I try WinDirStat, as it could help identify how much space each file was taking up. This is the result:
As you can see, there is about 244.7GB "unknown" usage.
Doing a bit of research online, the most common suggestion was (a) Recycle Bin and (b) System Volume Information.
(a) As you can see, empty. To double check, I ran Disk Cleanup. It confirmed that it was empty. (Note that a new file appeared by the time I took this screenshot, but it's only 129 Bytes.)
(b) Harder to tell. However, according to various forums, the most common reason for System Volume Information to grow large is due to System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive, as seen here:
What else could be causing this issue? It is an enormous amount of storage to have gone missing!
hard-drive windows-10 windirstat
hard-drive windows-10 windirstat
edited Aug 30 '15 at 10:18
DavidPostill♦
108k27235271
108k27235271
asked Aug 30 '15 at 9:15
BSnapZBSnapZ
98118
98118
"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
3
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
1
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22
|
show 4 more comments
"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
3
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
1
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22
"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
3
3
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
1
1
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22
|
show 4 more comments
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
Instead of windirstat you should use TreeSizeFree.
Run it as admin, so that TreeSizeFree shows all hidden/system files.
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).
– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have theMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.
– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
add a comment |
Running Windirstat as Administrator will reveal most of this. In some cases it can be system protection files, corrupt files, old installers, or in my case, the Recycle Bin.
Per the Windirstat Propaganda Blog,
https://blog.windirstat.net/20061013/unknown-space/
This mysterious item is just the difference between what Windows
reports as the free space on the volume minus size of the files WDS
can access. Please note the part WDS can access! This is the important
point here. WDS cannot access the files under System Volume
Information on all the (NTFS?) drives, so it cannot sum up the sizes
of these items. And by the way, we have had reports of up to 30 GB of
“” space.
The root of the problem is permissions, apparently.
add a comment |
In my case it's the Windows search file, Windows.edb, in:
ProgramDataMicrosoftSearchDataApplicationsWindows.
New contributor
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
add a comment |
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Instead of windirstat you should use TreeSizeFree.
Run it as admin, so that TreeSizeFree shows all hidden/system files.
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).
– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have theMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.
– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
add a comment |
Instead of windirstat you should use TreeSizeFree.
Run it as admin, so that TreeSizeFree shows all hidden/system files.
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).
– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have theMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.
– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
add a comment |
Instead of windirstat you should use TreeSizeFree.
Run it as admin, so that TreeSizeFree shows all hidden/system files.
Instead of windirstat you should use TreeSizeFree.
Run it as admin, so that TreeSizeFree shows all hidden/system files.
answered Aug 31 '15 at 15:30
magicandre1981magicandre1981
82.4k20127205
82.4k20127205
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).
– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have theMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.
– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
add a comment |
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).
– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have theMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.
– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
1
1
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (
C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
Thanks. In my case, it showed that the <unknown> space of 40 GB was the virtual drive used for Docker (
C:UsersPublicDocumentsHyper-VVirtual hard disksMobyLinuxVM.vhdx
).– Michaël Polla
Nov 5 '17 at 14:54
I also have the
MobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
I also have the
MobyLinuxVM.vhdx
which is about 2gb. And I have a similar situation, but how can I confirm that it's docker related? superuser.com/questions/1371209/sd-card-has-26gb-large-file where did you find that? Since both windirstat and treesize do not show a name or anything even when I run it as admin.– JP Hellemons
Oct 31 '18 at 10:30
add a comment |
Running Windirstat as Administrator will reveal most of this. In some cases it can be system protection files, corrupt files, old installers, or in my case, the Recycle Bin.
Per the Windirstat Propaganda Blog,
https://blog.windirstat.net/20061013/unknown-space/
This mysterious item is just the difference between what Windows
reports as the free space on the volume minus size of the files WDS
can access. Please note the part WDS can access! This is the important
point here. WDS cannot access the files under System Volume
Information on all the (NTFS?) drives, so it cannot sum up the sizes
of these items. And by the way, we have had reports of up to 30 GB of
“” space.
The root of the problem is permissions, apparently.
add a comment |
Running Windirstat as Administrator will reveal most of this. In some cases it can be system protection files, corrupt files, old installers, or in my case, the Recycle Bin.
Per the Windirstat Propaganda Blog,
https://blog.windirstat.net/20061013/unknown-space/
This mysterious item is just the difference between what Windows
reports as the free space on the volume minus size of the files WDS
can access. Please note the part WDS can access! This is the important
point here. WDS cannot access the files under System Volume
Information on all the (NTFS?) drives, so it cannot sum up the sizes
of these items. And by the way, we have had reports of up to 30 GB of
“” space.
The root of the problem is permissions, apparently.
add a comment |
Running Windirstat as Administrator will reveal most of this. In some cases it can be system protection files, corrupt files, old installers, or in my case, the Recycle Bin.
Per the Windirstat Propaganda Blog,
https://blog.windirstat.net/20061013/unknown-space/
This mysterious item is just the difference between what Windows
reports as the free space on the volume minus size of the files WDS
can access. Please note the part WDS can access! This is the important
point here. WDS cannot access the files under System Volume
Information on all the (NTFS?) drives, so it cannot sum up the sizes
of these items. And by the way, we have had reports of up to 30 GB of
“” space.
The root of the problem is permissions, apparently.
Running Windirstat as Administrator will reveal most of this. In some cases it can be system protection files, corrupt files, old installers, or in my case, the Recycle Bin.
Per the Windirstat Propaganda Blog,
https://blog.windirstat.net/20061013/unknown-space/
This mysterious item is just the difference between what Windows
reports as the free space on the volume minus size of the files WDS
can access. Please note the part WDS can access! This is the important
point here. WDS cannot access the files under System Volume
Information on all the (NTFS?) drives, so it cannot sum up the sizes
of these items. And by the way, we have had reports of up to 30 GB of
“” space.
The root of the problem is permissions, apparently.
edited Jun 29 '18 at 15:33
answered Apr 5 '18 at 0:57
J E Carter IIJ E Carter II
1665
1665
add a comment |
add a comment |
In my case it's the Windows search file, Windows.edb, in:
ProgramDataMicrosoftSearchDataApplicationsWindows.
New contributor
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
add a comment |
In my case it's the Windows search file, Windows.edb, in:
ProgramDataMicrosoftSearchDataApplicationsWindows.
New contributor
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
add a comment |
In my case it's the Windows search file, Windows.edb, in:
ProgramDataMicrosoftSearchDataApplicationsWindows.
New contributor
In my case it's the Windows search file, Windows.edb, in:
ProgramDataMicrosoftSearchDataApplicationsWindows.
New contributor
New contributor
answered yesterday
Lll FffLll Fff
111
111
New contributor
New contributor
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
add a comment |
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
Can you please elaborate a bit more for what the file is and how much it takes up for other future answer seekers?
– Eric F
yesterday
add a comment |
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"System Restore Files. I had a look, and it is definitely turned off for this drive" - was it ever turned on in the past?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:23
3
Did your run windirstat as administrator?
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:28
@DavidPostill This is the first time I've checked system protection settings since buying the drive earlier this year, so I'd say that it has never been turned on. And yes, this was run as administrator.
– BSnapZ
Aug 30 '15 at 10:53
Did you upgrade to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows? Perhaps there were files on the drive from the old version that now have the wrong owner/permissions and cannot be read by WinDirStat.
– DavidPostill♦
Aug 30 '15 at 10:55
1
I prefer TreeSizeFree over WinDirStat . Run TreeSizeFree as admin to see more.
– magicandre1981
Aug 30 '15 at 18:22