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I have just done a clean Windows 8.1 (64 bit) install on a Dell XPs 12. So far so good in the sense the machine works. However checking Disk Management I see that of the 237 GB hard drive only 35% (83.96 GB) are available. According to one answer on this forum (Windows 8 disk space usage vs Windows 7) Windows 8.1 should only take 8.1 GB or there about. I assume that it has something to do with disk partitioning. Or perhaps something of the old operating system was left on the drive although I am sure I selected the option Not to save any data during installation. I am prepared to start all over since I just reinstalled. As I am a new member you might not see the screen shot of Disk Managemen I am attaching. Thanks for the advice Disk Managment.jpg

In answer to the question I posted. I have run Disk_Clean_up selecting nearly all options since I was on a very new installation and thought that I could afford a system crash. The process seems to have deleted old versions of the operating system from the hard drive (also Window 8.1) giving now a 208 GB Free Space against the previous 83 GB. I will update with any problems if I encounter any. Addendum: I have downloaded and run Spacesniffer, but found it to be a tool for advanced techies and I was not able to really deal with it.

Mokubai
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TheOldWolf
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2 Answers2

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If there are no additional partitions that you can see, you likely have the windows.old file.

There is a program called space sniffer (free) that will show you where all of the disk usage is and in which folder, instead of looking at everything individually.

BrutalDawh
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  • Thanks. No there are no additional partitions. Would the "windows.old" file take up 150 GB of space? (my own estimate here of the Disk Capacity (237GB) minus the Free Space (83GB) – TheOldWolf Jan 27 '21 at 16:26
  • @TheOldWolf - It could have you ran an appropriate tool to [visualize[(https://superuser.com/questions/8248/how-can-i-visualize-the-file-system-usage-on-windows) the disk usage only our system though? Using properties on the system disk is not an appropriate tool. Can you edit your question and provide us information from one of those programs (they must be ran as an Administrator)? – Ramhound Jan 27 '21 at 17:00
  • If that's how large it was prior to the clean install. Did you reinstall through the settings? There you can select to either keep or remove all old files. Or did you install through creating bootable usb or similar? – BrutalDawh Jan 27 '21 at 17:01
  • `Windows.old` to my knowledge does not exist on any version before Windows 10 This is the reason I am asking you to provide enough information to answer your question. – Ramhound Jan 27 '21 at 17:02
  • I'm pretty sure when I went from 8.1 to 10, I ended up with a .old folder, but I may be recalling incorrectly. – spikey_richie Jan 27 '21 at 17:48
  • @spikey_richie - Yes; That would be because you went to Windows 8.1 but the author only reinstalled Windows 8.1 – Ramhound Jan 27 '21 at 18:43
  • Ha, yes, valid point. Either way, disk cleanup seems to have resolved the issue. I'll read more carefully next time. – spikey_richie Jan 27 '21 at 18:48
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In addition to @BrutalDawg's answer, there are some other steps you can take.

  • Run the Disk Cleanup tool, and click through to 'Clean up system files'

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  • Run TreeSize Free edition (an alternative to Space Sniffer) to scan the drive for large directories, you may potentially have some bloated log files which can be purged
spikey_richie
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  • The author is using Windows 8.1 not Windows 10 so they can't use the disk cleanup tool more than likely to recover the disk usage from a previous windows installation. – Ramhound Jan 27 '21 at 17:03
  • Thanks, I have run Disk Clean-up and it is now showing a C:/ drive with 208 GB Free space against the 83 GB before running Clean-up. Much better obviously. Mind you I have asked to delete (clean) all kind of system files (Temporary, etc...) since I have just started on a new installation and I can afford (I think) to experience some mulfanctions. I seem to have noticed that the process specified the removal of old Operating system versions. So I think that was the problem. Let's hope everything works now.. Thanks for the help – TheOldWolf Jan 27 '21 at 17:18
  • @ramhound I don't recall the dialog for 8.1, or the process from Windows 7. Still, looks like it helped based on the OP's comment above. – spikey_richie Jan 27 '21 at 17:46