After an update, I was suddenly left with a 500 GB hidden folder on drive O: (this is my Drivepool storage machine), and I couldn't figure out the owner.
It turns out, the owner might be anyone, and the folder could have gone 'plus-sized' due to a (partially) failed update.
So... how to reduce the amount of 'unnecessary' files Windows has (or might have) created?
1. Delete Old Updates and Temporary Files
This may work, but didn't help in my case
1. Windows 11 Settings / System / Storage / Temporary Files
2. Remove Files
2. Clear System Restore Points
(There doesn't seem to be a menu entry for this? Weird.)
1. Windows 11 Settings
2. In the search box, enter 'Create Restore Point'
3. Select the right drive, then 'Configure'
In my case, there were no Restore Points on drive O: so this didn't help.
3. Clear Shadow Storage
Windows keeps a copy of certain files, using the Shadow Copy Service. This can be triggered by a back-up tool, a Windows update, or any other kind of activity.
It's not always easy or even possible to find out who caused unnecessary writing and storage, but if the folder is excessively large (in my case more than 500 GB) something probably went wrong.
The minimal size is 400 MB. Allocating 10% of a 4 TB drive is still 400 gigabytes!
I've set it to 10% for now, and lessee what happens.
1. CMD
2. vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=o: /on=o: /maxsize=1%
3. vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=o: /on=o: /maxsize=10%
We just set it to 1% to clear it out, and then returned it to a default 10% (good enough for most users)...
4. Tip
Check out TreeSize Free, which may help identifying what's eating up all that space.
(In Total Commander, show both hidden and system files.)
Lessee what happens next, or if the above fixed it...
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