Windows Explorer showing wrong disk size.

Prakash Yogi 1 Reputation point
2021-10-30T07:03:39.577+00:00

I have Windows 11 but this problem has been persisting since Windows 10. File Explorer shows wrong size very often and a lot of times prevent downloads and program installations. Yesterday I installed a game which was 54GB. I had 129GB of space free on my disk. After installation explorer was showing only 16 GB left. After I started my Laptop today now there is 75GB free disk space. Yesterday I wanted to download something which was of 20GB but was unable to do so because of that problem. This same stuff happens when I download something. Disk shows a lot of free space but fills even before download completes(download size is way smaller than free disk space). How to resolve this issue?

Windows 10
Windows 10
A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
10,694 questions
Windows 11
Windows 11
A Microsoft operating system designed for productivity, creativity, and ease of use.
8,269 questions
0 comments No comments
{count} votes

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
  1. Reza-Ameri 16,836 Reputation points
    2021-10-30T17:45:52.7+00:00

    Sometimes you have files in the cache , when it shows low disk, try run the Disk Cleanup and see if it find temporary files.

    0 comments No comments

  2. MotoX80 32,076 Reputation points
    2021-10-31T14:37:42.247+00:00

    Treesize Free is a great tool for identifying which folders are eating up your disk space.

    https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free

    You might have to run it while you are downloading a big file, or right after you get an error to see if temporary files or cache file as Reza mentioned are using up your free space.

    You can also use Resource Monitor to watch file activity to see what files are being accessed.

    145253-capture.jpg

    0 comments No comments