Solved Macrium Reflect unexplained large increase in FULL image size


A Guy said:
Could it be the contents of C:\Windows\servicing\LCU after 3 patch Tuesdays? Usually they are around 1 Gig on 10 Home
Click to expand...
wiganken said:
There is no such folder on either of my devices.
Click to expand...
The LCU folder carried over from Win10 into Win11 21H2. It disappeared from Windows 11 starting with Win11 22H2.


Bree said:
With 22H2 Microsoft stopped using an LCU folder.

Possibly because their telemetry told them the first thing we all do after a CU is delete it? :wink:
Click to expand...
One W11 machine does not show the LCU folder - post #4
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
I can tell you this... my backup images have only increased in size about 1GB over the past two years. Version 8.1.xxxx (paid).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
@Ghot Do you exclude software from images and profile? As for me at least 70gb of software is added (that i use) in the last 2years alone.
OS and software about 420gb about 25gb of profile. (no games, and cleanup junk files weekly) Data on other disk/network.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
wiganken said:
Question – Does anyone have any suggestions please?
Click to expand...

Look at the problem from the other end. Keep tabs on the size of the installation Macrium is backing up rather than just looking at Macrium file sizes.

An 'unexplained' increase in Macrium full image disk image size implies the image file is growing while the Windows installation being backed up is not. That really would be 'unexplained' and need investigating.

If however the installation is growing in size then the increase in Macrium file sizes is fully explained by that. Fwiw my installation has grown from around 74Gb in mid December to 85Gb today. 98% of that increase is of Windows doing and although I am running DEV builds it is still one heck of an increase. I have used only Windows tools to clean the OS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 ongoing Canary 29500 latest builds
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
Tester said:
@Ghot Do you exclude software from images and profile? As for me at least 70gb of software is added (that i use) in the last 2years alone.
OS and software about 420gb about 25gb of profile. (no games, and cleanup junk files weekly) Data on other disk/network.
Click to expand...


No.

I install large things like games or big programs on a storage drive
The total used space on my C:\ drive is approx. 37GB
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Ghot said:
I can tell you this... my backup images have only increased in size about 1GB over the past two years. Version 8.1.xxxx (paid).
Click to expand...
Mooly said:
Fwiw my installation has grown from around 74Gb in mid December to 85Gb today. 98% of that increase is of Windows doing and although I am running DEV builds it is still one heck of an increase. I have used only Windows tools to clean the OS.
Click to expand...
I thoroughly clean up after each Patch Tuesday, them make my system images. I retain the last three months' images.

Mounting all three system images, then exploring them with TreeSizeFree shows that for my System One the Windows folder has actually shrunk each month this year, as have the .mrimg files.

1744296453857.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
@Bree
Windows folder on your installation grows a lot with folders:
2025-02-11 58.930 folders.
2025-03-11 64.446 folders.
2025-04-08 80.558 folders.

I made a cleanup script, to remove all the emtpy folders from Winsxs folder, because it is not cleanup properly after windows update.

C:\Windows\WinSxS\Temp\InFlight\ Deleting Empty Folders

If you want a 100% sure way of deleting files in "C:\Windows\WinSxS\Temp" boot to another OS or even a Windows PE. Permissions mean nothing in these environments. I've done this countless times with no ill effects. The script grants itself the rights to take ownership of the folders, so there's...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
It should delete almost 40k+ empty folders for your installation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Tester said:
It should delete almost 40k+ empty folders for your installation.
Click to expand...
Thanks, 34,578 folders actually. But at just 122MB I'm comfortable leaving it 'as is'.

1744300031623.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
After cleanup, it still is 122 mb, only all empty folders are gone.
For example MalwareBytes scan stalls about 15to 20min to check every folder if it has files in it, so removing the empty folders, will decrease the time needed for scanning.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Mooly said:
Look at the problem from the other end. Keep tabs on the size of the installation Macrium is backing up
Click to expand...
The size of the installation that is being backed up should only have changed minimally. I haven't installed anything since the previous image in January. As I said in my OP the DELL laptop is my secondary device and not used for data storage. I only web browse and use Thunderbird emails.
I run Privacy Eraser to remove unnecessary junk.
I have 'Show hidden files' enabled in File Explorer and searched the DELL and can't find anything.
If the size of the data being backed up has increased by 7 GB then it is not down to me.
By running Disk Cleanup I have reduced this 7 GB down to 5.44 GB still unaccounted for.

It's as if Windows has added this 5.44 GB or Macrium Reflect has suddenly included data that it didn't include in the January image. I should add that I have not changed MR settings so MR has done this itself (but only on the DELL device).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
Macrium images the partition, including file system metadata, MFT (in NTFS), etc., which isn't shown in file size totals but is stored in the image.

BitLocker or other encryption can cause the entire volume (even unused sectors) to appear as "used", leading to a large image.

Could you decrypt temporarily and try another disk image?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8524
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic LX15PRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 2TB
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop
    OS Windows 11 Pro 26200.8524
    CPU Pentium Silver N6000
    RAM 4GB
    SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB (an upgrade)
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
kelper said:
Could you decrypt temporarily and try another disk image?
Click to expand...
Thanks, but neither Bitlocker or encryption has ever been enabled on my devices.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
wiganken said:
The size of the installation that is being backed up should only have changed minimally. I haven't installed anything since the previous image in January.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I'm getting at. It should only have changed minimally but I'll bet in reality it has grown considerably. Unless you keep notes you won't know for sure.

When I clean installed in December (so just 4 months ago) I started a tally chart. This is showing free space rather than used space but outcome is the same. The partition is 200Gb. The size of the Windows install has grown inexorably:

Code: 
14/12/24: 126GB free after clean install of build 26120.2702
17/12/24: 125Gb free after Macrium Boot Menu added.
18/12/24: 123GB free after install of Dev build 26120.2705
22/12/24  122GB free after rebuild of Recovery Partition.
23/12/24  123GB free after Optimisation had run.
25/12/24  126GB free after full disk clean. Approx. 4GB reclaimed although Disk Cleanup reported only a few hundred MB to clean.
25/12/24  127GB free short time later. Seems to be hovering between 126GB and 127GB free.
28/12/24  126GB free after several Intel Updates installed.
10/01/25  126GB free.
18/01/25  122GB free following installation of Dev Build 26120.2992 No full disk clean performed.
24/01/25  123Gb free following full disk clean. Approx. 2Gb reclaimed although Disk Cleanup reported only 600Mb reclaimable.
25/01/25  121Gb free following update to Dev Build 26120.3000
27/01/25  123Gb free following disk cleanup via Storage Sense options. Free space continued to increase.
01/02/25  124Gb free.
01/02/25  123Gb following update to Dev Build 26120.3073 along with a disk clean.
12/02/25  120Gb was 123 Gb falling to 121Gb after driver update and then falling again to 120Gb after a disk clean which reported 1Gb to clean.
15/02/25  121Gb free following update to Dev Build 26120.3281 and a disk clean. 117Gb before disk clean.
23/02/25  120Gb free following update to Dev Build 26120.3291 and a disk clean. 117Gb before disk clean.
28/02/25  120Gb free falling to 115Gb after video driver update via WU.
28/02/25  119Gb free following disk clean.
15/03/25  117Gb free following Macrium restore to 28/02/25 and latest updates applied. Disk cleaned.
18/03/25  114Gb free following update to Dev Build 26120.3576
25/03/25  118Gb free and then feature update finishes after clean up at 116Gb. 118Gb to 110Gb (download complete) to 92Gb free after install to 116Gb free after disk clean.
25/03/25  114Gb free following further updates (Intel Display) and a disk clean.
29/03/25  117Gb free following update to 26200.5516 followed by disk clean. Was at 100Gb before cleanup.
04/04/25  115Gb free following update to 26100.5518 and disk clean.
Code:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 ongoing Canary 29500 latest builds
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
wiganken said:
The size of the installation that is being backed up should only have changed minimally. I haven't installed anything since the previous image in January.
Click to expand...

Like you, I don't deliberately store any personal files on any partition on my "system drive".

I very rarely install new programs on C. Most of my software is antique versions that work well.

Any growth in the occupied space on my C partition is almost entirely due to the whims and wishes of Windows itself...Windows Update, Windows Disk Cleanup, etc. Whatever housekeeping Windows chooses to do or not do.

Nonetheless...my C partition occupied space can vary considerably. In the last year, it has been as low as 45 gb and as high as 57 gb. For reasons known only to Windows. I have no problem with that.

Consequently, the size of the corresponding Macrium full images of all partitions on the system drive have likewise varied....from as little as 29 gb to as much as 33 gb. That's totally expected behavior and I have no problem with that either.

You can easily drive yourself crazy trying to fully understand all the behind-the-scenes machinations of Windows.

Have you ever spent an hour or an afternoon poking around in the dreaded "Event Viewer"? I did.....and suffered a 13 percent loss in IQ (as measured by Stanford Binet).

Patient to doctor: "Doc, it hurts when I do this".

Doctor to patient: "Don't do that".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Fishmill Special
    CPU
    Intel 265K
    Motherboard
    MSI Pro Z890-A
    Memory
    G Skill DDR5 2 x 16 kit 6000/36
    Graphics Card(s)
    none
    Sound Card
    none
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 2316H
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 900
    Hard Drives
    WD SN770 NVME 500 GB boot; Intel 660p NVME 2 TB and WD Green 3 TB storage
    PSU
    Be Quiet 13M 750 ATX 3.1
    Case
    Lancool PC-K65
    Cooling
    Noctua U12S
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 Wired
    Mouse
    Dell MS-116
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes
My windows installs have always steadily increased in size and i put that down to log files getting bigger and just mysteriuos stuff.
I've never given it much thought especially since i give the partition a generous size and let windows do its thing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair Viii Hero Wi Fi
    Memory
    G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 C30
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Radeon RX 9060 XT Reaper GDDR6 16GB
    Sound Card
    USB Out NAD M51 DAC with Adams A8 powered speakers
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    5 x WD_BLACK SN850x PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB
    PSU
    be quiet! DARK POWER 13 1000W Titanium PCIe 5.0 ATX Modular PSU
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Full Tower Case (Black)
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC - High Performance Multi-Socket PWM CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Razer Huntsman V2
    Mouse
    Razer Viper Ultimate
    Internet Speed
    Starlink 94Mbps down 20Mbps up
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    ESET
Fishmill said:
You can easily drive yourself crazy trying to fully understand all the behind-the-scenes machinations of Windows.
Click to expand...
That is so true.

In fact on this latest install I haven't even run SFC or DISM commands because I suspect half the time you are chasing your tail with so called errors that aren;t errors at all... that's another story though.

OldNavy said:
I've never given it much thought especially since i give the partition a generous size and let windows do its thing.
Click to expand...
I do actually wonder how low (my free space) will go or whether it will self limit at some point and purge some of these mysterious dark matter files that can't be found.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 ongoing Canary 29500 latest builds
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
Keeping your flux capacitor updated helps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    N/A
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair Viii Hero Wi Fi
    Memory
    G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 C30
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Radeon RX 9060 XT Reaper GDDR6 16GB
    Sound Card
    USB Out NAD M51 DAC with Adams A8 powered speakers
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    5 x WD_BLACK SN850x PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB
    PSU
    be quiet! DARK POWER 13 1000W Titanium PCIe 5.0 ATX Modular PSU
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Full Tower Case (Black)
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 G2 LBC - High Performance Multi-Socket PWM CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Razer Huntsman V2
    Mouse
    Razer Viper Ultimate
    Internet Speed
    Starlink 94Mbps down 20Mbps up
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    ESET
OldNavy said:
Keeping your flux capacitor updated helps.
Click to expand...
And regular checks for out-gassing. :cool:

OldNavy said:
My windows installs have always steadily increased in size and i put that down to log files getting bigger and just mysteriuos stuff.
I've never given it much thought especially since i give the partition a generous size and let windows do its thing.
Click to expand...
Thought I'd run the PC Manager ap just for kicks after rebooting ye olde X99 Krait. Nearly 4GB of dead wood to clean up there. Was really surprised as not even a week ago I cleaned up system files. I'm thinking Windows updates are responsible for most of this bloat. Reminds me of all that left over cardboard and packing material I so quickly accumulate from Amazon deliveries.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIN 11, WIN 10, WIN 8.1, WIN 7 U, WIN 7 PRO, WIN 7 HOME (32 Bit), LINUX MINT
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY, ASUS, and DELL
    CPU
    Intel i7 6900K and i9-7960X / AMD 3800X (8 core)
    Motherboard
    ASUS X99E-WS USB 3.1 and ASUS X299 SAGE
    Memory
    128 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM (B DIE)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA 1070 and RTX 3070
    Sound Card
    Crystal Sound (onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    single Samsung 30" 4K and 8" aux monitor
    Screen Resolution
    4K and something equally attrocious. I'll be working on this.
    Hard Drives
    A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

    Ports X, Y, and Z are reserved for USB access and removable drives.

    Drive types consist of the following: Various mechanical hard drives bearing the brand names, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. Various NVMe drives bearing the brand names Kingston, Intel, Silicon Power, Crucial, Western Digital, and Team Group. Various SATA SSDs bearing various different brand names.

    RAID arrays included:

    LSI RAID 10 (WD Velociraptors) 1115.72 GB
    LSI RAID 10 (WD SSDS) 463.80 GB

    INTEL RAID 0 (KINGSTON HYPER X) System 447.14 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 TOSHIBA ENTERPRIZE class Data 2794.52 GB
    INTEL RAID 1 SEAGATE HYBRID 931.51 GB
    PSU
    SEVERAL. I prefer my Corsair Platinum HX1000i but I also like EVGA power supplies
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT (among others)
    Cooling
    Noctua is my favorite and I use it in my main. I also own various other coolers.
    Keyboard
    all kinds.
    Mouse
    all kinds
    Internet Speed
    360 mbps - 1 gbps (depending)
    Browser
    FIREFOX
    Antivirus
    KASPERSKY (no apologies)
    Other Info
    Gave Dell touch screen with Windows 11 to daughter and got me an OTVOC. Being a PC builder I own many desktop PCs as well. I am a father of five providing PCs, laptops, and tablets for all my family, most of which I have modified, rebuilt, or simply built from scratch. I do not own a cell phone, never have, never will.
While on the subject of disk space do you ever check here, the WindowsLiveKernelReports folder?

It will always report as empty if you hover over it so click it and click through the permissions box that will appear and have a see if anything is there. These are log files and can be deleted if you don't need them for debugging. They can be be big. Somewhat unexpectedly I found a 1Gb file here from pretty much day #1 of this latest installation. I've become lazy looking here recently.

Screenshot 2025-04-12 134151.webp
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 ongoing Canary 29500 latest builds
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
This probably won't apply with the OPs case however I just learned of a video game that was taking up a ton of drive space. My granddaughter plays Fortnite. I just replaced my son's gaming computer with a newer one and in cleaning up the old one I noticed something taking up a lot of space on his boot drive. MR images had grown by a LOT. Turns out the Fortnite game defaults to saving certain game play as MP4 videos stored under the Users folder. I found over 1200 MP4 files that were taking up dozens of gigabytes of space.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7/10/11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    I'm a computer enthusiast so have quite a few systems that I run. More like an advanced hobby.
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