XPS 8700, used space on C: way too large

Question

I have only about 30 GB of user data, but the used space on C: is 155 GB. The last time I looked at 'Properties', it was much, much less than 100 GB. I don't know when the jump happened. What could cause this jump?

Valinger · Accepted Answer

I found the culprit, I experimented with a backup app, and when I abandoned the app, many, many GBs were not uninstalled. Thanks to all who responded!

Vic384 · Answer

@Valinger There are many possibilities for the jump in disk usage. An application you are using may not be cleaning up temporary files, you may have inadvertently downloaded files (music or video files), the Windows QS may have created files because of errors or may not be cleaning up temp files, etc. You should use File Explorer to examine file folders on the drive to see if you can find where these files are or download and install a file folder size app that will give you an idea of the size of your file folders and look for exceptionally large folders.

Captain Marvel · Answer

Look in the Recycle Bin folder and empty it if it has deleted files. Also look in the System Volume Information folder. If there are more than one file, delete all but the newest one. Then see if the amount of free space has increased.

RoHe · Answer

What version of Windows?

If you recently updated Windows to a newer version, the update may have saved the prior version as a backup in case you needed to revert if there were any problems...

Browsers also leave enormous amounts of data on the drive, even when you have the browser set to clear cookies, cache, and history when you close the app. So try clearing those files.

XPS_Man · Answer

Mostly it's Hibernation file or windows indexing  Run this quick utility to find out which folder is eating all the space.  https://windirstat.net/index.html

XPS Desktops

XPS 8700, used space on C: way too large

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