My primary C drive has 222gb of space in total available according to windows just as it should do, after viewing hidden files the total contents of the drive are about 26gb including windows and basic software installed after I did a fresh install of windows however the drive is only showing 24gb of free space.
Where is the rest of the space?
Win 10 pro
Ok that helps a lot I can see folders that are not visible otherwise. many gigabytes are used by MSIXVC which seems to be windows store apps and goes along with the other problem I have been having with partial downloads of windows store games disappearing.
How can I manually delete partially downloaded games from the windows store? Direct deletion is not permitted and the partially downloaded games are not listed anywhere in the windows store or associated menus.
Also how can I make windows show these files without needing third party software? I do not like the idea of having invisible and inaccessible very large folders on my computer. It even seems to have several gigabytes in a 'deleted' folder.
I need all this space back.
You may not be able to.
Windows File Explorer is often misleading and you don't have a lot of control over what it reveals other than "show hidden files".
You can try the built-in Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense to see if that gains back some space.
System Restore may be gobbling up gigabytes. That's controllable.
You could turn off hibernation if you don't use it, saving gigabytes.
Hi,
try this option: -
How to delete windows store unfinished downloads
TRy the 2 basic built-in options to start with.
In Windows/File Explorer, right-click on your C drive > Properties > Disk Cleanup. I always select everything (never had any problems) > OK. Go and get yourself a cup of coffee and watch an episode of GoT, this may take some time if you haven't done it previously (or for some time)
After you've finished this round, start all over again ... right-click > Properties > Disk Cleanup > this time, choose the option Clean up system files. Again, I always tick evrything (again, never had any problems) > OK ... this one could take even longer.
2 other options you might want to consider after this, freeware 3rd party software (use either, or both)
ccleaner
Wise Disk Cleaner
However, ALWAYS just use the default settings for these programs until you really know what you're doing
That MSIXVC appears to be for Metro Exodus....
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...e-1d3a0576ee10... after having issues cleaning my windowsApp folder, il discovered inside it another folder called MSIXVC, with inside, a gigantic 54.8Go file ....
...well, looks like it's definetly related to metro. I unistalled the game, no more file...I suspect that the unknown file is due to the xbox game pass beta or Metro Exodus, you can uninstall the game to see if the file disappears....
Ok so it's definitely partial windows store downloads taking the space. Disk cleanup won't detect it even when cleaning system files, the link from Lottiemansion didn't help as resetting the store still leaves the files behind and the windows troubleshooter was predictably useless plus the system wont allow me access to manually delete.
Any more options other than spending all day reformatting the system and reinstalling everything and then never touching the windows store again?
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Ah yes I did start that game downloading but after a system restart the download vanished mid way through - leaving all the files behind it seems.
How can I remove them, so far nothing is working.
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Ok kinda fixed it, not really an ideal method but I've had to use a script to take permission of the folders (if anyone needs, its here Dropbox - TakeOwnership.zip - Simplify your life ) and then forcefully delete them that way.
Damn windows store huh, who would have thought I would have to waste half my day off work trying to delete a game download....
FYI:
Taking ownership of windowsapps folder - failed to process?
Taking ownership of windowsapps folder - failed to process?
Taking ownership of windowsapps folder - failed to process?
If you get problems because you can't restore original permissions then usually it's best to reinstall windows.
I don't think it's a general permission problem, it's basically a fresh windows install from last week. From what I can see online it's more of an issue of the windows store denying user access to the installation files coupled with the store not properly removing partial downloads.
Thanks all for the help though.
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