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I have a computer with the main C: drive getting full. I want to figure out what's on it and where. Searching for large files doesn't do me any good though.

Issues:

  • There are multiple user accounts. I need to search inside these user folders.
  • I want to know about swap files, paging files, hibernation files, etc.
  • I want to know about large sub directories in the Windows folder. Not all are instantly accessible and I don't know what ones a standard search is excluding.
  • I don't have a good way of knowing how large the system recovery section is.

As it stands now I can highlight the folders on my C: and hit "Properties" and see that they contain 63GB of files. I'm missing another 120GB though! I want to know what it is and where it is. I am an Administrator.

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  • Have you tried WinDirStats? windirstat.info/index.html
    – acejavelin
    Apr 25, 2016 at 16:25
  • I have not - really don't know any applications that can do this. Will take a look at it.
    – Paul
    Apr 25, 2016 at 16:30
  • Not bad. As I mentioned above, Windows shows 63 GB in use from the "Properties" on the folders on the drive. But the main drive overview window shows 176.8 GB in use. This application was able to identify 170.1 GB. So it is not finding everything but it certainly found a lot.
    – Paul
    Apr 25, 2016 at 16:38
  • This could simply be a difference in reporting or cluster size... WinDirStat is good, there are several other tools though. howtogeek.com/113012/…
    – acejavelin
    Apr 25, 2016 at 16:39
  • You can't just right click Properties on your system drive, many reasons for that, but basically Windows keeps a single copy of a file but has several links to that folder. When you determine your usage through Properties each link is counted. If WinDirStat only lists what files the user which runs it has access to.
    – Ramhound
    Apr 25, 2016 at 19:20

1 Answer 1

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WinDirStat is a great free tool that can visualise how much space files and folders take up on your computer. There is also a portable version if you want to run it from a USB stick or don't want to install anything on the computer.

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To access locations where UAC would be invoked, try holding down Shift, right-clicking on the WinDirStat icon and then clicking on Run as administrator.

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  • I prefer TreeSizeFree, much better overview compared to this UI mess
    – magicandre1981
    Apr 26, 2016 at 4:28
  • You can hide the multi-coloured blocks at the bottom of the UI if you want. They are quite a nice way to quickly spot large files and large file types, but it's not essential to have visible.
    – Richard
    Apr 26, 2016 at 13:29
  • for me this is the most confusing part. you can't see anything useful from it. They are just wasting space that you would need for the TreeView
    – magicandre1981
    Apr 26, 2016 at 15:32

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