Where’s my missing SSD space?
QMy PC has an SSD as its C drive, where Windows is located, as well as a 3TB traditional hard drive (D). I try to store all my apps and other files on this second drive. However, over the years C has become clogged up and it’s almost out of space. The Storage section in Windows settings says 101GB is used space and about 5GB is free. File Explorer shows the same values. However, when I investigate the individual folders, they total only 78GB. When I doublechecked this using Windirstat (https:// windirstat.net) it suggests the same.
Why is this? And how can I free up space without having to install a new and larger SSD or wiping and re-installing Windows 10?
AThis is because the latter two methods of checking how much space folders and files take up won’t necessarily account for hidden system files. To see a fuller picture with Windirstat, for example, launch it as an administrator by right-clicking its entry in the Start menu, then pointing to More before clicking ‘Run as administrator’.
This won’t change the fact that your C drive is low on space. To deal with this we’d suggest starting with the Disk Clean-up tool that’s built into Windows. Press Windows key+r to open a Run box, then type cleanmgr.exe (see screenshot 1 ) and press Enter. In the next box, click the ‘Clean up system files’ button 2 then select the More Options tab and click in turn the ‘Clean up’ buttons: both System Restore and Shadow Copies can be storage hogs, so clearing out these could free up plenty of space.
Finally, you might be able to move some installed programs from drive C to D. This works only for apps installed via the Microsoft Store, but it’s worth trying. Click Start followed by the Settings cog, then Apps followed by ‘Apps & features’. Now click an app and, if you see a Move button, click it, then choose drive D as the destination before confirming your choice by once more clicking Move.