Unknown file on C drive

ignatzatsonic said:

Do you have a disk search tool other than built-in Windows? Something like Everything, that can search the Master File Table and sort by size.

I suspect it wouldn't be found even then because it's just bad reporting or unexplained space, so would not have an MFT entry.

Paul Black said:

Yes Everything is a good choice => Download Everything 1.4.1.969

I hope this helps!

I already have Everything and it didn't show the file even as admin

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OldNavyGuy said:

Run Disk Cleanup.

First thing I did, nothing changed

Run Disk Cleanup and see if that removes it.

If not -

Other options for viewing drive contents -

MiniTool Partition Wizard

Use the Partition Explore option.

Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

Boot from a Linux Live CD (USB)

The 10 Cleverest Ways to Use Linux to Fix Your Windows PC

Explore the drive in Linux.

Ghot said:

Macrium Reflect, pretty much has to SEE the file to back it up bro.

I don't think it saw the file, it the final backup size is around 71gigs while the original drive comes up to around 8gigs.
The file shrank somehow

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OldNavyGuy said:

Run Disk Cleanup and see if that removes it.

If not -

Other options for viewing drive contents -

MiniTool Partition Wizard

Use the Partition Explore option.

Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Wizard Free

Boot from a Linux Live CD (USB)

The 10 Cleverest Ways to Use Linux to Fix Your Windows PC

Explore the drive in Linux.

MiniTool partition saw nothing, let me make a Linux boot usb and check

Ghot said:

I just "explored" one of my backups. In order to do so, Macrium mounted it. I right clicked the image after it opened in File Explorer, and chose Properties. It was 26.5GB.
I also right clicked and chose Properties on my C: drive... it was 26.3GB.

If you check your backed up image, and your C: drive, and the sizes ARE 19GB different (C: drive being the larger), then all you'd have to do is make a backup and restore from it. That would erase the 19GB file.

Just a thought.



/e If the mounted backup and the C: drive are the same size, then obviously it wouldn't work.

No they aren't 19gigs apart, they were almost 7.5 gigs apart, so I ran WDS again and the file now shrank to 7.4 gigs

Ghot said:

Then I would try making a backup and then immediately restore from the backup, using the bootable Macrium media to do the restoration.

If the C: drive was the larger of the two, then it looks like Macrium will erase that "unknown" file. Ofc, it may come back, over time, depending on where it came from to begin with.



/e I'd test it for you, but I don't have a mysterious "unknown" file.

I am planning to do this, let me check if a file exists from a Linux live image just in case