Windows 7 harddrive space taken up by nothing

[SeriouslyPunked]

Alright, I've searched these forums and a number of others and haven't found a solution to my exact problem. Basically what is happening to me is my C Drive where Windows 7 is installed is only saying I have 28gb's of harddrive space left (on a 100gb partition) yet when I've run treeview it says I've only used up 48gb's, so I should have around 50gb's free.

I've deleted all my restore points and even turned it off, to no avail. I've run Norton Antivirus and Malwarebytes which haven't found any problems. I've also run disk cleanup, chkdsk and CCleaner which didn't help. Reseting the computer also won't bring any of the hardrive space back, and neither does emptying the recycle bin or the recycler folder.

I am running a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, so there are no remnants of any old versions of windows on my C Drive. This is the second time I've reformatted my harddrive completely and reinstalled windows cleanly, and I'm still having the same problem.

If anyone could offer any more suggestions it would be very much appreciated.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you are facing a perplexing issue with the disk space on your Windows 7 system despite not being able to account for the missing storage space. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve this problem: 1. System Restore Points: - Even though you mentioned you have deleted all restore points, it's worth checking again to ensure they are completely removed. You can do this by: - Right-click on "Computer" or "This PC" and select "Properties." - Click on "System Protection" on the left-hand side. - Select your C drive and click on "Configure." Ensure that the "Disable system protection" option is selected. 2. Check Hidden Files and Folders: - Ensure that hidden files and folders are being displayed so that you can see all files on your system, including potentially hidden system files that might be consuming space. - Open File Explorer, click on the "View" tab, and check the box for "Hidden items." 3. Check Shadow Copies: - Shadow Copies can sometimes consume disk space. You can check and delete them if necessary. Here's how you can do this: - Open Command Prompt as an administrator and run the command: vssadmin list shadowstorage. - If the shadow copies are taking up too much space, you can delete them by running the command: vssadmin delete shadows /for=C: /all. 4. Check Page File Size: - The page file (pagefile.sys) can also take up a significant amount of space. You can manage the size of the page file by: - Right-click on "Computer" or "This PC" and select "Properties." - Click on "Advanced system settings." - Under the "Performance" section, click on "Settings." - Go to the "Advanced" tab and click on "Change" under Virtual memory. You can modify the size of the page file here. 5. Check for Large Temporary Files: - Use tools like WinDirStat or TreeSize to identify large files or directories that are taking up space on your drive. 6. Disk Cleanup: - Run Disk Cleanup tool (cleanmgr.exe) and make sure to select all options, including system files, to clean up unnecessary files. 7. Third-Party Disk Cleanup Tools: - Consider using third-party disk cleanup tools like BleachBit or Disk Cleanup Pro to further clean up your drive. 8. Update Device Drivers: - Sometimes outdated drivers can cause issues with disk space reporting. Ensure that all your device drivers are up to date. By following these steps, you should be able to identify and potentially resolve the issue of missing disk space on your Windows 7 system. If the problem persists, further diagnostics may be needed to pinpoint the exact cause of the discrepancy in disk space usage.