Storage Getting fill up slowly even when I cleaned it up

Ryan Liang 20 Reputation points
2026-07-16T03:32:17.12+00:00

Basically, I've been clearing up my storage because I've been running abit low, but I remember having like 100 GB free out of my 496gbs and now suddenly I have only 16gb I cleared it out yesterday to free up 51 GB by clearing shader cache, but now it's nearly full again, its like my storage is going up and down all the time I dont know whats happening could it be some kinda virus? Storage failure? Corrupted drivers? But clearly, I don't think my system needs 169 gbs of storage Screenshot 2026-07-16 152925

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
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Ramesh Srinivasan 89,865 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-07-16T04:37:03.7566667+00:00

You can use the TreeSize (freeware) app available from Microsoft Store to identify major consumers of disk space.

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/xp9m26rsclnt88

  • After installing TreeSize, run it as administrator.
  • Select the C drive in TreeSize.
  • From the View menu, select "Show Treemap chart".
  • Click "Show at bottom".
  • Enable "Show chart in 3D".
  • Enable "Show single files".

This generates the 3D chart. You can easily identify large files and hovering over a block will show the name of the corresponding file with the full path.

Take a screenshot of that window and upload it in your next reply.

Standard Disclaimer: There is a link to a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to provide accurate, safe information.

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  1. Hendrix-V 20,790 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-07-17T04:37:02.6433333+00:00

    Hi Ryan Liang,

    Thank you for sharing the storage breakdown screenshot. Based on what is shown, the main areas using space are Installed apps (234 GB) and System & reserved (169 GB), while temporary files only account for about 3.5 GB. This suggests the storage growth is likely coming from installed software, system files, or reserved system storage rather than temporary files alone.

    To narrow down the cause, you could try the following quick checks:

    1, Review Installed Apps

    • Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps
    • Sort by Size
    • Check for large applications, games, or development tools that may no longer be needed

    2, Check System & Reserved Storage

    • In Settings > System > Storage, select System & reserved
    • Review how much space is being used by system restore points, hibernation, reserved storage, or virtual memory

    As I have checked and validated, the approach from the Independent Advisor is correct, so you can follow then let us know if it works.

    Feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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