Lost disk space in Windows 7, cannot find the missing

My hard drive is complaining it is low on disk space, but a strange thing seems to be happening: Explorer reports 10Gb of available space (on a 120 Gb hard disk), chkdsk in the command prompt does the same but if I use a disk space tool such as SpaceSniffer or WinDirStat, only 50Gb of data is found.

My guess is that there somehow is a hold on a large block of disk space (but that's just a guess) because of a prior very large (40 Gb) download attempt that didn't complete.

There isn't 40Gb of files on the drive (hidden or visible), yet Explorer insists that something is there. How can I claim back this hard disk drive (without formatting my hard disk)?

SpaceMonger is providing a clue, reporting four unscannable folders which add up to 43Gb:

C:\RRBackups
C:\System Volume Information
C:\Windows\Csc\v2.06
C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\Wmi\RtBackup

Does anybody know what these folders are for, and how I can claim back at least some space?

Restore point claims about 4Gb, so that doesn't seem to be the main problem.

Tsanders

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 31

accept whatever answer is correct, if none work, then add your own answer and say so. Welcome to Super User! :-) – studiohack – 2010-08-17T00:36:24.700

Answers

C:\RRBackups: Weekly image of the whole drive (?!?) http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/topic/thinkpad-rrbackups-and-disk-space

C:\System Volume Information: System Restore and Previous Versions.

C:\Windows\Csc: Client side cache, used in Offline Files.

No clue what the last one is.

Hello71

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 7 636

You were spot on! RRbackups turned out to be a folder used by the Lenonvo Backup & Recovery tool. I don't recall instructing it to create regular backups, but it did decide to take up 43 Gb of space. Uninstalling the app solved the problem, alhtough advanced settings also might hold some clues.

Thank you everybody for your help! – Tsanders – 2010-08-09T11:10:24.993

1@Tsanders: If this answer helped you, mark it as accepted by clicking the check on the side. This marks the question as answered and also gives the answerer a little reputation bonus. – Hello71 – 2010-08-09T14:09:18.463

Update on 11/18/2012:
The disk space losing problem was because the program "Lenovo Rescue and Recovery" on my Lenovo T410i laptop, uninstall the program from control panel will get the space right back.

Grace

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 31

My guess is that this is the System Restore feature,
which you can manipulate in the properties of your local disk station or in the control panel.

Tamara Wijsman

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 54 163

Foldersize v 5.6.52 or higher will show RRbackups, and let you handle it. The folder is a product of backups from the system.

Christer Månsson

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 11

Check that your computer isn't backing up unwanted hidden files.

I had turned on 'Traces' in my Kaspersky Internet Protection. It was saving files of every anomaly to send to engineers if needed. The saved hidden files amounted to 200 GB. Once 'Traces' had been disabled and the unwanted files deleted my hard drive space was restored.

KeithT

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 11

I would try deleting previous system restore points, they take up a HUGE amount of space in Windows 7, I know this from experience...

In order to do this, go to 'Computer', then right-click your hard drive, and click 'Properties'. Then on the tab where it shows the pie graph of hard drive space, click 'Disk Cleanup'. It will run for a few moments and determine what can be deleted to free up hard drive space...When it is finished and brings up a dialog box, go to the 'More Options' tab, and then click 'Clean Up' under the bottom section, titled 'System Restore and Shadow Copies'. Hope that helps!

studiohack

Posted 2010-08-07T08:30:18.553

Reputation: 13 125