Dwindling Free Space Windows 10

[mgrlvr]

Hi! I am new to this forum.

Free space on my Windows 10 machine with 118 GB SSD has been an issue for the past several months. I had 8 GB of data stuck in my recycle bin. I resolved that issue about 4 days ago. I uninstalled Adobe Reader and reinstalled another version. Between those two actions, I was at 14.5 GB of free space on the C drive. The free space has been dwindling over the past four days to where I am now at 4 GB free space. I've not added anything to the machine. Why would I lose approximately 10 GB of free space without doing anything? I read something about hibernation taking up a large amount of space. What additional information do I need to post that will help the knowledgeable folks on the forum help me with my problem?

Thanks so much.

Pat

 

[mgrlvr]

free space on c drive is 4.26 GB

 

[ChatGPT]

With only 4.26 GB free, you’re in the “Windows may start malfunctioning / updates may fail” zone. The good news is your earlier numbers show VSS/Restore Points were a big contributor, but capping alone doesn’t immediately return space—you also have to remove older restore points and clear system caches.
Below is the safest “get space back fast” sequence.

---

Step 1 (fast, safe): Delete older restore points (keeps the most recent)​

This is the quickest way to claw back most of that ~9–10 GB VSS usage you saw.

1. Start menu → type Disk Cleanup
2. Right‑click Disk Cleanup → Run as administrator
3. Select C:
4. Click Clean up system files
5. Go to More Options tab
6. Under System Restore and Shadow Copies → click Clean up…

This keeps only the latest restore point and removes the older ones.
After that, reboot and re-check free space.

---

Step 2: Set the cap to a truly “small” value (3–5 GB)​

Right now you said Maximum shadow copy storage is 15.3 GB—that’s still large for a 128 GB SSD.
Run Command Prompt (Admin):
vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=5GB
If Windows refuses because current “Used” is above 5 GB, do Step 1 first (cleanup), then run this again.

---

Step 3 (often a big win on 8 GB RAM): Disable Hibernate (if you don’t use it)​

On an 8 GB RAM system, this can free multiple GB immediately.
Command Prompt (Admin):
powercfg /h off
Note: This disables Hibernate and Fast Startup.

---

Step 4: Run Disk Cleanup (system files) selections that often recover several GB​

Repeat Disk Cleanup (Admin) → Clean up system files, then check items like:

• Windows Update Cleanup
• Delivery Optimization Files
• Temporary files
• Device driver packages (if offered)

(Do not check “Downloads” unless you’re sure.

---

Step 5 (don’t delete WinSxS manually): Component store cleanup​

Command Prompt (Admin):

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

This is the supported way to reduce WinSxS bloat.

---

After you do Steps 1–3, please post these 2 things​

1) The new output of:
vssadmin list shadowstorage
(Just the Used / Allocated / Maximum lines are enough.
2) Your new free space on C:.
If you do Step 1 (restore point cleanup) + Step 3 (hibernate off), you’ll very often jump from ~4 GB free to well over 10–15 GB free quickly.

 

[mgrlvr]

do I want to clean up older complete windows PC back up

 

[ChatGPT]

It depends what Windows is calling a “PC backup” — there are two common things people mean, and the advice is different.

1) If you’re seeing “Previous Windows installation(s)” (Windows.old)​

This is not a “backup you created” — it’s the folder Windows keeps so you can roll back to the previous Windows build/version.

• Pros of deleting: can free many GB quickly.
• Con of deleting: you lose the ability to roll back to the prior Windows version/build using the built-in rollback option.

Rule of thumb: If your PC has been working fine since the last big update and you’re not planning to roll back, it’s usually OK to remove it—especially with only ~4 GB free.

2) If you mean Windows system image / “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” backups​

These are “complete PC backups” (system images / backup sets) and can be huge.

• If they’re stored on C:: yes, deleting older ones can be a good idea (but keep at least one known-good recent backup).
• If they’re stored on an external drive: you usually don’t need to delete them to fix C: space.

Best practice: Keep the most recent system image (or at least one you trust) and delete older ones only if you’re sure you won’t need them.

---

Quick question so I tell you the right “yes/no”​

Where exactly are you seeing that option?

• In Disk Cleanup (a checkbox list)? If yes, what is the exact wording you see.
• Or in Control Panel → Backup and Restore (Windows 7) → Manage space?

Reply with the exact wording (or a screenshot), and I’ll tell you which ones are safe to remove and how much space you’re likely to get back.

 

[mgrlvr]

Setting to 5GB max has me at 10GB free space

 

[ChatGPT]

Excellent—that result is exactly what we wanted. Going from ~4 GB to ~10 GB free after capping Shadow Copy storage strongly confirms that System Restore/VSS was the main “space leak.”
That said, on a 128 GB SSD you’ll be a lot happier if you can get to 15–20 GB free so Windows Update and temp files don’t constantly push you back into the danger zone.

What to do next (safe + keeps restore points)​

1) Re-check VSS numbers (make sure it will stay controlled)​

Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run:
vssadmin list shadowstorage
You want to see:

• Maximum ≈ 5 GB
• Used/Allocated at or below that, and not creeping upward endlessly anymore

If you paste those 3 lines here (Used/Allocated/Maximum), I’ll confirm it’s perfect.

---

2) Keep only the most recent restore point (optional, but often frees more)​

If you still need a few more GB and don’t mind losing older restore points:

1. Disk Cleanup → right-click → Run as administrator
2. Clean up system files
3. More Options tab
4. Under System Restore and Shadow Copies → Clean up

This keeps the newest restore point.

---

3) Run Disk Cleanup (system files) for update leftovers​

Still in Disk Cleanup (admin), also check things like:

• Windows Update Cleanup
• Delivery Optimization Files
• Temporary files

(Leave Downloads unchecked unless you’re sure.

---

4) Optional “big win” if you don’t use Hibernate (often several GB)​

powercfg /h off
This disables Hibernate/Fast Startup and removes hiberfil.sys.

---

Prevent it from happening again​

• Leave System Restore ON but capped (you already did this).
• Turn on Storage Sense: Settings → System → Storage → Configure Storage Sense (set it to run automatically).

---

Quick question​

After a reboot, does your free space stay around 10 GB, or does it start dropping again?
If it drops again, the next likely culprit is Delivery Optimization cache or Windows Update cleanup, and we can pinpoint it with one more TreeSize view of C:\ProgramData and C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.

 

[mgrlvr]

Do I need to reboot?

 

[ChatGPT]

Yes—rebooting is recommended after the changes you just made.

Why reboot helps​

• Windows may not immediately release/reflect freed space until services restart.
• It ensures the Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) and System Restore components re-initialize under the new 5 GB cap.
• If Windows Update services were active (common), a reboot helps them settle and prevents “stuck” temp usage.

What to do​

1. Close your programs and restart the PC (Start → Power → Restart).
2. After restart, check:
   • This PC → Local Disk (C free space
   • (Optional) run in an Admin Command Prompt:
     vssadmin list shadowstorage

What you should expect​

• Free space should be about the same or slightly better than before the reboot.
• It should not continue dropping rapidly anymore now that VSS is capped.

If after reboot your free space starts falling again (e.g., you lose multiple GB over a day), tell me and we’ll check the next most common grower: Delivery Optimization cache and Windows Update temp files.

 

[mgrlvr]

Can I stop for now and restart this conversation again tomorrow?

 

[ChatGPT]

Yes, absolutely.
Go ahead and stop for now. When you come back tomorrow, just reply in this same thread and mention:
1) Your free space on C: (after the reboot, if you do reboot), and
2) The current output of (Admin Command Prompt):
vssadmin list shadowstorage
If the free space starts dropping again overnight, also tell me roughly how many GB it drops and over what time period.
We’ll pick up right where we left off.

 

[datawizard0103]

Hi! I am new to this forum.

Free space on my Windows 10 machine with 118 GB SSD has been an issue for the past several months. I had 8 GB of data stuck in my recycle bin. I resolved that issue about 4 days ago. I uninstalled Adobe Reader and reinstalled another version. Between those two actions, I was at 14.5 GB of free space on the C drive. The free space has been dwindling over the past four days to where I am now at 4 GB free space. I've not added anything to the machine. Why would I lose approximately 10 GB of free space without doing anything? I read something about hibernation taking up a large amount of space. What additional information do I need to post that will help the knowledgeable folks on the forum help me with my problem?

Thanks so much.

Pat

This behavior is typically caused by Windows managing system storage in the background rather than user activity. Over several days, Windows Update can cache update files, System Restore can automatically create restore points, and the paging file can expand as memory demands change. On a 118 GB SSD, these system-managed files can easily consume 8–10 GB without any visible installs or downloads. Reviewing Storage Settings and running Disk Cleanup with system files enabled will usually identify and reclaim the space.

 

[mgrlvr]

Hi! I am back. I am having the same issue again. With what I previously from this thread my problem went a way for several months. Now I am back to less than 1GB of storage space. Can you help.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi Pat — yes, we can pick this back up. Since the same fix helped for several months, the first suspect is again System Restore / Shadow Copy storage, or Windows has reset/expanded the cap after updates.
With less than 1 GB free, avoid installing anything new for now.

Step 1: Check Shadow Copy storage first​

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
vssadmin list shadowstorage
Please post the three lines for:

Used Shadow Copy Storage space:
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space:
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space:

If the Maximum is no longer around 5 GB, then the cap changed or was reset.

Step 2: Reapply the 5 GB cap​

In Command Prompt as Administrator, run:
vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=5GB
Then check free space again.

Step 3: If you need space back immediately​

If shadow copies are using many GB, you can remove old restore points.
Safer option — delete the oldest restore point only:
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /oldest
You can run that more than once, checking free space after each time.
More drastic option — delete all restore points:
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /all
Warning: deleting all shadows removes all current restore points. After cleanup, we can create a fresh restore point once you have enough free space.

Step 4: Quick space recovery if Hibernate is enabled​

If you do not use Hibernate, run this from Command Prompt as Administrator:
powercfg /h off
This often frees several GB on an 8 GB RAM system.

Step 5: Run Disk Cleanup as Administrator​

1. Open Start.
2. Type Disk Cleanup.
3. Right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
4. Select C:.
5. Click Clean up system files.
6. Check Windows Update Cleanup, Delivery Optimization Files, Temporary files, and Recycle Bin if appropriate.
7. Do not check Downloads unless you are sure you want those files deleted.

Step 6: Tell me these results​

Please reply with:

1. The new output of:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

1. Your current free space on C:.
2. Whether you ran:

powercfg /h off
If VSS is not the culprit this time, the next places we’ll check are Windows Update cache, Delivery Optimization, WinSxS, and ProgramData using TreeSize again.

 

[mgrlvr]

Current free space is 2.44 GB I did not run powercfg /h off

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi Pat — thanks. 2.44 GB free is still critically low, so we should recover space before Windows Update or normal temp files consume the rest.
Since you did not run powercfg /h off, do these in this order.

1) First: check whether System Restore/VSS grew again​

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
vssadmin list shadowstorage
Please paste the lines showing:

Used Shadow Copy Storage space:
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space:
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space:

If the Maximum is no longer around 5 GB, reset it with:
vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=5GB

2) If VSS is using a lot of space, delete only the oldest restore point​

This is safer than deleting all restore points:
vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /oldest
Then check free space. You can repeat that command one or two times if needed.
Do not use /all yet unless you are comfortable losing every restore point.

3) Consider disabling Hibernate for quick space recovery​

With 8 GB RAM, the hibernation file can use several GB.
If you do not use Hibernate, run this in Command Prompt as Administrator:
powercfg /h off
Important: this disables Hibernate and also disables Fast Startup. If you later want it back, you can undo it with:
powercfg /h on

4) Run Disk Cleanup as Administrator​

1. Open Start.
2. Type Disk Cleanup.
3. Right-click Disk Cleanup.
4. Choose Run as administrator.
5. Select C:.
6. Click Clean up system files.
7. Check Windows Update Cleanup, Delivery Optimization Files, Temporary files, and Recycle Bin if needed.
8. Do not check Downloads unless you intentionally want those files removed.

5) Please reply with these two things​

1. The output of:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

1. Your free space after any cleanup steps.

Once we see the VSS numbers, we’ll know whether this is the same issue returning or whether something else is now filling the drive.

 

[mgrlvr]

how do I copy the vssadmin list shadowstorage to this window

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi Pat — easiest way is to copy it from Command Prompt or save it to a text file.

Option 1: Copy directly from Command Prompt​

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

1. In the Command Prompt window, use your mouse to highlight the output text.
2. Press Enter or press Ctrl + C to copy it.
3. Come back to this forum reply box.
4. Press Ctrl + V to paste it.

Option 2: Send the output to a text file​

This may be easier.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run this command:

vssadmin list shadowstorage > "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\vss.txt"

1. Go to your Desktop.
2. Open the file named vss.txt.
3. Copy/paste the contents into your reply here.

Option 3: Use Notepad automatically​

Run this in Command Prompt as Administrator:
vssadmin list shadowstorage > "%TEMP%\vss.txt" & notepad "%TEMP%\vss.txt"
That will open the results in Notepad. Then:

1. Press Ctrl + A.
2. Press Ctrl + C.
3. Paste it here with Ctrl + V.

You only need to paste the lines showing Used, Allocated, and Maximum shadow copy storage.

 

[mgrlvr]

For volume: (C\\?\Volume{9657db27-e7f3-47de-9455-dcc8af9dbe4b}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C\\?\Volume{9657db27-e7f3-47de-9455-dcc8af9dbe4b}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.00 GB (4%)

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (\\?\Volume{c2ffd8f6-1997-49d3-956a-8ae2f9ec53cc}\)\\?\Volume{c2ffd8f6-1997-49d3-956a-8ae2f9ec53cc}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C\\?\Volume{9657db27-e7f3-47de-9455-dcc8af9dbe4b}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 480 KB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 320 MB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED (100%)

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (D\\?\Volume{3ac2a2e3-e5b4-455d-86b3-5662fb4dad3d}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (D\\?\Volume{3ac2a2e3-e5b4-455d-86b3-5662fb4dad3d}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 104 MB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 1.74 GB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED (1868079050%)

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (E\\?\Volume{e2300a32-2a7d-4971-bb16-103b7224b521}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (D\\?\Volume{3ac2a2e3-e5b4-455d-86b3-5662fb4dad3d}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 928 KB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 321 MB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED (1868079050%)

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (G\\?\Volume{b7231289-ba87-4272-918f-0dc5c13a26f8}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (G\\?\Volume{b7231289-ba87-4272-918f-0dc5c13a26f8}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 134 MB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 29.1 GB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: UNBOUNDED (461078224%)

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi Pat — great job copying that over.

Good news: C: restore points are not the problem this time​

Your C: shadow copy storage shows:

Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.00 GB

So the fix from before is still working. System Restore/VSS is capped correctly and is not currently eating your C: drive space.
The low space is coming from somewhere else now.

One thing I notice​

You have other volumes with UNBOUNDED shadow storage, especially D: and G:, but those are not currently using much actual space. They are probably not the cause of your C: drive problem right now.
For C:, the important part is: 0 bytes used, 5 GB max — that looks good.

Step 1: Free space quickly by disabling Hibernate​

Since you have 8 GB RAM and you did not run this earlier, this is the next best quick win.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
powercfg /h off
This may immediately free several GB by removing hiberfil.sys.
Warning: this disables Hibernate and Fast Startup. If you want it back later, run:
powercfg /h on
After running it, check C: free space again.

Step 2: Run Disk Cleanup as Administrator​

1. Click Start.
2. Type Disk Cleanup.
3. Right-click Disk Cleanup.
4. Choose Run as administrator.
5. Select C:.
6. Click Clean up system files.
7. Check these if listed: Windows Update Cleanup, Delivery Optimization Files, Temporary files, Recycle Bin, and Temporary Windows installation files.
8. Do not check Downloads unless you are sure you want those files deleted.
9. Click OK.

Step 3: Check Windows component cleanup​

Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
If it says cleanup is recommended, run:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Do not manually delete anything inside C:\Windows\WinSxS.

Step 4: We need to find what is large now​

Since VSS is not the culprit, the next likely causes are:
hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, Windows Update cache, Delivery Optimization, ProgramData, browser caches, or a large app cache.
If you still have TreeSize installed:

1. Open TreeSize as Administrator.
2. Scan C:.
3. Post a screenshot of the top-level view, like you did before.
4. Expand Windows, ProgramData, and Users if they are large.

Step 5: Please reply with these results​

After doing powercfg /h off, please tell me:

1. Your new free space on C:.
2. Whether Disk Cleanup found large items.
3. If possible, post a new TreeSize screenshot.

Right now we know one important thing: your old Restore Point problem is not the active cause this time.

 

[mgrlvr]

9.19 gb free space