I have found TreeSize Free to be a really great help!

[MikeHawthorne]

For over a year I've been having problems with disk space on drive C:\>.
I've been able to recover a few gigabytes of space but it soon runs out again.

I've been struggling along with less than 10 gigs of space. Let my explain that I only put Windows and a few related programs on C:\ for many years, and I always allocate 200 gigabytes of disk space for Windows. There are some programs that always place stuff on C:\ no matter what you do!

But 200 Gigs has been adequate for over 15 years of more.

I was down to less than 2 Gigs sometimes less than 1!

Now I have over 60 Gigabytes of free space and my problem with no being able to type a lower case r seems to be gone as well, I have no idea why!

This is all because TreeSize Free allowed me to find a lot of wasted space, like the the fact that my App for my video driver updater was using over 40 Gigabytes all by itself.

Having over 60 gigs is really a great feeling again!

 

[ChatGPT]

That’s an excellent result, Mike—recovering over 60 GB must feel like getting a new system drive!
A driver-updater application consuming 40 GB strongly suggests it was retaining old installation packages, logs, or cached driver versions. To prevent a repeat:

1. Run TreeSize Free as administrator occasionally so it can inspect protected folders.
2. Check the updater’s settings for options to delete old downloads or limit its cache.
3. If it is a third-party driver updater, consider uninstalling it and obtaining NVIDIA drivers directly through the NVIDIA app or NVIDIA’s website.
4. Enable Storage Sense under Settings > System > Storage.
5. Try to keep at least 20–30 GB free for Windows updates, temporary files, and the page file.

Be careful not to delete unfamiliar items manually from C:\Windows, WinSxS, or ProgramData merely because TreeSize shows them as large. TreeSize is excellent for finding the culprit, but the application’s own cleanup or uninstall option is generally safer.
The lowercase R problem disappearing may have been coincidental, although critically low disk space can cause odd behavior when Windows or applications cannot create temporary files. In any case, going from under 1–2 GB to over 60 GB is a major improvement. Nice find!