storage space

M

mestone

New member

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2:37 AM

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1

OS

windows 11

• Mar 24, 2026

• #1

Hi:

I noticed that my system files occupies 1.73 TB of space on a 2 TB system. I keep getting a message that my space is low. I delete some files, however, the message keeps appearing. Can someone tell me what is going on here, Michelle

 

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windows 11

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windows 11

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PC/Desktop

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HP

glasskuter

aka Mama Glass

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The Lone Star State of Texas

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Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168

• Mar 24, 2026

• #2

First run disk cleanup as administrator to remove unnecessary stuff.

To see what us hogging your disk space you can use TreeSize Free.
installable version - TreeSize – Official Download
portable version (no installation)- Download TreeSize Free Portable

 

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System One System Two Other systems

• At a glance

  Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630

  OS

  Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.9168

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Dell Optiplex 7080

  CPU

  i9-10900 10 core 20 threads

  Motherboard

  DELL 0J37VM

  Memory

  32 gb

  Graphics Card(s)

  none-Intel UHD Graphics 630

  Sound Card

  Integrated Realtek

  Monitor(s) Displays

  Benq 27

  Screen Resolution

  2560x1440

  Hard Drives

  2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme

  PSU

  500w

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  MT

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  Dell Premium

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  Logitech wired

  Mouse

  Logitech wireless

  Internet Speed

  so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell

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  #1 Edge #2 Firefox

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  Defender+MWB Premium

• At a glance

  Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated

  Operating System

  Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9168

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Beelink Mini PC SER5

  CPU

  AMD Ryzen 7 6800U

  Memory

  32 gb

  Graphics card(s)

  integrated

  Sound Card

  integrated

  Monitor(s) Displays

  Benq 27

  Screen Resolution

  2560x1440

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  1TB Crucial nvme

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  Logitech wired

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  Logitech wireless

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  still too embarrassed to tell

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  Firefox

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  Defender

• System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.9168

H

Helmut

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• Mar 24, 2026

• #3

There is about 1.8 TB available on a 2 TB drive so it is nearly full, only ~3% spare. A system drive requires about 20% free space to operate efficiently. Hence the message.

 

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Windows 11

gunrunnerjohn

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SE-PA

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Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.9168

• Mar 24, 2026

• #4

Something appears amiss if the system files are taking that much space. My entire windows installation takes less than 200GB, that includes some pretty large applications. My entire WIndows folder is a fraction of that size!

 

My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

• At a glance

  Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.9168Intel Core i5 14500, 14th Generation64GB DDR4GeForce RTX 4060

  OS

  Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.9168

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Brew

  CPU

  Intel Core i5 14500, 14th Generation

  Motherboard

  Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI

  Memory

  64GB DDR4

  Graphics Card(s)

  GeForce RTX 4060

  Sound Card

  Chipset Realtek

  Monitor(s) Displays

  LG 45" Ultragear & Acer 24" 1080p

  Screen Resolution

  5120x1440 & 1920x1080

  Hard Drives

  Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
  Silicon Power 2TB US75 NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
  Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
  Seagate 4TB Ironwolf, rotating HDD archive files
  External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures

  PSU

  Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W

  Case

  LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case

  Cooling

  Lots of fans!

  Keyboard

  Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000

  Mouse

  Logitech G305

  Internet Speed

  Verizon FiOS 1GB

  Browser

  Firefox

  Antivirus

  Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security

• At a glance

  Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.9168Intel Core i5 1440032GB DDR5Intel 700 Embedded GPU

  Operating System

  Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.9168

  Computer type

  PC/Desktop

  Manufacturer/Model

  Home Brew

  CPU

  Intel Core i5 14400

  Motherboard

  Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX

  Memory

  32GB DDR5

  Graphics card(s)

  Intel 700 Embedded GPU

  Sound Card

  Realtek Embedded

  Monitor(s) Displays

  27" HP 1080p

  Screen Resolution

  1920x1080

  Hard Drives

  Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
  Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
  Samsung 2TB SATA SSD

  PSU

  Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W

  Case

  Okinos Micro ATX Case

  Cooling

  Fans

  Keyboard

  Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000

  Mouse

  Logitech G305

  Internet Speed

  Verizon FiOS 1GB

  Browser

  Firefox

  Antivirus

  Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security

• Nimo N171 17" Laptop, (Intel i3-1215U, 16GB RAM, 2TB NVMe, Win11 Pro)
  Acemagic Vista Mini PC V1 (Intel N150, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, Win11 Pro)
  HP ENVY h8-1540t, (24GB RAM, 2TB SSD, 2TB HDD, Win11 Pro)