Loss of disk space despite clean install

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  1. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
       #1

    Loss of disk space despite clean install


    I recently did a clean install of W10 from a USB drive that I downloaded the media on from Microsoft. I did this because my 580 GB hard drive showed only 20 GB of free space despite the fact that I really don't store that much data. After the clean install of W10, Windows explorer still shows I am using 500 GB of disk space and only have 80 GB of free space. All apps are gone now as are my files. I did backup to Macrium, but that is another issue. Right now I am just trying to get some free disk space. I have a Dell desktop with 4 GB RAM and 580 GB hard drive. I am not at that computer right now and cannot remember the exact chip specs, but I think it has a 2.5 MHz speed. Any ideas on why my disk is so full despite a clean reinstall of W10? Any suggestions on how to fix it? I appreciate your help. Also, prior to reinstall I was getting frequent BSOD's with various different error codes, never the same one. In addition, restart does not seem to work right. It hangs when trying to restart and I have to shut it down and restart manually. I don't know about the BSOD issue yet, but the restart issue is still a problem after the reinstall.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 8,103
    windows 10
       #2

    goto system then storage double click on drive c: now you can see were the space is going clicking on any object gives you more details post results. Have you got a lot in 1 drive or similar. I have all my software files etc and its only 70 gig. try UnCleaner – The Unnecessary Files Cleaner Solution - Josh Cell Softwares see what that frees up.

    When you say a clean install did you format the drive is there a windows old folder?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,983
    Windows 10 x86 14383 Insider Pro and Core 10240
       #3

    I regularly install Windows 10, both 32-bit, and 64-bit on partitions of 30 GB for testing. A clean install takes about 12GB.

    What else are you restoring?

    Could it be a large synced Onedrive folder?
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #4

    I looked at the storage map. 435 GB listed in "other". Under other, there were 331 GB in (Files at root drive). I looked into these file folders individually but couldn't get them to add up to 331. There were 6 that had contents listed at greater than 1 GB. These were Windows (15.7 GB), Windows Old (16.0 GB), AMD (8.09 GB), IDrive Local (35.3 GB), Program file x86 (1.97 GB) and Users (1.2 GB). I'm not sure what's taking up all the space. Any thoughts?

    I will try the Uncleaner you suggested.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Reply to Fafhrd


    I don't think it's the onedrive. that has only 5.13 MB,
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Reply to Samuria


    I looked at the Uncleaner from Josh Cells Softwares but it doesn't say it is compatible with W10. It lists W7, W8, XP and VISTA. Ergo, I did not try it. Any other thoughts?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,983
    Windows 10 x86 14383 Insider Pro and Core 10240
       #7

    If you have a Windows.old folder, it was not a clean install, but an upgrade.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I recently reinstalled W10 using the W10 installation media downloaded from Microsoft. Originally I had upgraded from W7. The description of the reinstallation lead me to believe the disk would be essentially wiped, and it was termed a "clean install". Apparently not. Still, I am not sure how to proceed to free up this huge amount of disk space that is being usurped. Any thoughts?

    I have attached the storage usage screen shots if that is helpful.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Loss of disk space despite clean install-storage-usage-1.png   Loss of disk space despite clean install-storage-usage-2.png  
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 51
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #9

    I also tried vssadmin list shadow storage, but this tool did not work.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       #10

    I would start with option 2 here:
    Open and Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials

    Select everything on the list to remove.
      My Computer


 

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