Member Avatar for Azmah

Everytime I clear space on the computer, it suddenly fills up! Simple and annoying.
I'm getting concerned of the cause, as its causing incoveniences.
Thanks in advance.

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Dani AI

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Brief checklist that builds on ’s suggestion to show hidden/system files and ’s WinDirStat tip — these steps find the obvious large folders. When nothing obvious shows, the usual culprits are less visible system files and services (hibernation file, shadow copies/restore points, Windows Update cache), local cloud-sync or backup images, or large application data (Outlook PSTs, VM images, etc.). The following targeted checks remove guesswork and are safe when run from an elevated prompt after a backup.

Quick, high-impact commands (run in an elevated Command Prompt):

powercfg -h off
vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /all    (removes all restore points)
net stop wuauserv
del /s /q C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*
net start wuauserv

Notes and cautions: disabling hibernation deletes hiberfil.sys but also disables hibernation/fast-start. Deleting shadow copies removes all System Restore points. Stopping Windows Update (wuauserv) first avoids locked files; Disk Cleanup (use “Clean up system files”) is a safer, GUI alternative that also exposes “Windows Update Cleanup” and previous-installation items.

Other checks to consider: inspect local cloud-sync folders (OneDrive/Dropbox/Google Drive) and backup software archives (Acronis/Macrium) that may store images on C:. Look for very large mailbox/PST files or VM disks in user folders. If free space vanishes after cleanup, run the disk-usage tool while booted to Safe Mode or from a rescue USB so services don’t recreate files while investigating. Antivirus quarantine folders and oversized logs can also silently grow.

Always take a backup or create a fresh restore point before deleting system items. If the disk map from WinDirStat (or equivalent) shows specific large folders, those folder names and sizes are the next diagnostic detail to examine.

Recommended Answers

All 14 Replies

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Can you identify which folder is filling up with space? Also, there is a file called "pagefile.sys". This file is used for virtual memory managemnet. the size of this file can be up to 1.5x the amount of RAM you have on your computer. The default setting for windows is to allow windows to manage this file. Therefore, it will grow and shrink dynamically based on windows's needs. this could be the source of your problem.

Of course, there could be other reasons as well. I would suggest that you open Windows explorer, and in the settings, configure the view to show hidden and system files... navigate your folder structure, try to locate the folder that has very large files.

report back any files that do not seem "normal" in expected size.

As usual, it would be good to ensure that your antivirus client is up to date and you are regularly scanning your computers for malware.

Member Avatar for flagstar

Maybe it was just you're constantly using web browsers and filling up the browser cache.
To get clear detail of what you can delete/clear properly, use CCleaner. It will pinpoint the chunk of trash you need to clear out.

Member Avatar for scudzilla

I have a friend that experienced having a malware that forces windows explorer to report that his hard drive is almost full, although only half of it is used. Maybe you're experiencing the same?

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Good point. it may be a good idea to download malwarebytes and run a scan. I have found their product to be very good at locating malware that your traditional AV engines are missing.

Member Avatar for Member #932792

Maybe it's because you're downloading too much HD ********... Haha, to be serious tho. You should download a free program called WinDirStat. It is free, no ads, no Bs. You can run it for any of your drives, it will analyze it for you, and give you a list sorted after disk usage. You will also have a big 'picture' (in lack of a better word) made up of different sized squares in different colors. Each square represents a file. The size fo the square represents the file's size, and color represents each filetype. You can't go wrong with this program. It will make your life a lot easier.

commented: thanks for the heads up on WinDirStat +0
Member Avatar for silvercats

yes! There is a Virus that does that. Scan from a Anti virus like Avast free,MS security essentials,malware bytes, Kaspersky (using trial period of 30days) or a GOOD AV. I think it must be a virus,I have heard cases like this. Start from safe mood and do the scan

Member Avatar for c3r3alki113r

also see what is taking up space with something like Space Sniffer

its like WinDirStat but portable

Edited by c3r3alki113r
Member Avatar for Member #932792

I don't think there are any common viruses that does this. I fail to see how this would benefit the hacker in any way. In fact, it would be very bad for the hacker.

Member Avatar for scudzilla

There are probably some people out there that create these things for the sole sake of annoying others.

Edited by scudzilla
Member Avatar for Member #932792

Voted down, eh? Okay. Let me tell you why. Writing a program like this is extremely time-consuming. I know of many apps that's designed to create viruses/malware, I know people who code this, and have done it myself. The three main categories is keyloggers, stealers, RATs and worms. All these programs collect information about the user that will benefit the hacker (passwords, personal info, logins etc.). When writing these programs, the main thing you have to think about, is that this program needs to be invisible. The victim should not know that he is infected. The exception is when you write a program that will disable security software, regedit, taskmanager AND cmd. The reason for this is that it makes it really hard for the average victim to re-enable all this, and then get rid of the virus.

Because of this, I doubt it is a virus. But of course, it is still possible that a virus like this exists. Please localize the big files (with WinDirStat maybe?) and post the filenames here. They should be completely random if it is something a virus made. Like this: #)RY#nrn/&=]opiasjdkl839

Please tell us if this is the case. Also, make sure to have the view hidden files option enabled, and also uncheck hide operating system files.

Edited by Member #932792
Member Avatar for Krushang Shah

delete the temporary memory, cache
other possibility is that u may have a virus names autorun, this virus keeps on multiplying and it may cause the same problem

Member Avatar for Member #952511

Hold Windows Button+R and then a small box should come up. type in %temp% and press enter, there should now be a load of files in windows explorer, delete all of them and that should free up some space,

PS. Try disk cleanup, acsess it by going to start button>all programs>acsessories>system tools>disk cleanup.

Hope this helped!

Member Avatar for adityatandon

Azmah, how much space is actually there on ur hard disk ?? Could we have some specs please.

Member Avatar for Member #119326

It could be System Volume Information (SVI), a hidden system folder created to store System Restore information. I became aware of this when I did a clean install of Win 7 and cleaned up, I thought, lots of old data only to find I hadn't gained as much HDD space as I expected. See explanation and what to do to recover disc space caused by this at http://indrajitc.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/reclaiming-disk-space-from-system-volume-information/

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