Windows.edb file fills up disk - but is not displayed as target when cleaning up storage

Question

On an 8 year old industrial PC the 118GB SSD was filled up by a 85GB Windows.edb file.

Why is there no Windows-warning for this...?

Am I missing something?

It took some effort to finally locate this file - using the following command in an Administrator CMD:

dir C:\ /A /C /S /OGN /TW > C:\temp\Cdrive.txt

then import all files in an Access table and sort by size...

The tool SpaceSniffer - also run as Administrator and "show unaccessible space" - first indicated the issue.

Answer 1

Regarding your question on where to track these specific bugs: Professional system administrators rely on the Windows Release Health Dashboard (available at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/release-health/). This is the definitive, official source where Microsoft documents "Known Issues," "Resolved Issues," and "Safeguard Holds" for every specific version of Windows (e.g., 1607, 22H2).

For granular detail, you can also search for the specific KB (Knowledge Base) number of your latest installed Cumulative Update (found in your Update History). The official Microsoft Support article for each KB always includes a "Known issues in this update" section, which is where the .edb bloat issue for build 14393 was originally documented.

BTW, I'm not a Microsoft moderator, my wish :)

VP

Answer 2

Hello Jake104E,

The exact Windows build you provided (1607, Build 14393.5) confirms the root cause; you are running the initial release of the Anniversary Update without subsequent cumulative updates, and that specific version had a documented issue where the indexer loop resulted in uncontrollable EDB growth. Since the machine is an offline industrial controller, you should not attempt to patch this behavior but rather disable the service entirely as you planned.

Regarding your specific technical questions, executing sc config wsearch start= disabled followed by net stop wsearch is permanent and will survive a restart. You do not need to touch the Registry Editor because the sc config command directly modifies the exact same "Start" registry key (setting the DWORD to 4) on your behalf. Please note that the space after start= is mandatory for the command to execute successfully. Once the service is disabled and stopped, you can delete the Windows.edb file, and it will never be recreated.

If the issue has been resolved, please consider accepting the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VP

Answer 3

Hi VP.

Thank you for the tips. I have made a "rebuild" of the index - which reduced it by the 85 GB - but it appears to be growing at some pace.

I have an image of the PC and can therefore restore the machine "as it was with the large Windows.edb". I have tested stopping the WSearch and deleting the file + starting again.

I have not modified the index settings - but will look into that. The PC is only used for process control - i.e. nu users making searches. I assume that file access by qualified addressing (full path and name) does not rely on an index - and there is therefore no need for an index. So maybe I could even stop WSearch entirely?

The PC is completely offline, so there is not automatic way of updating.

It has however been replaced with an installation with updates/patches - and the original PC (with the big Windows.edb) is now available for my investigation.

Answer 4

Hello Jake104E

To resolve this immediately and permanently, you must delete the bloated database and strictly restrict the indexing scope. First, open an elevated command prompt and run the command net stop WSearch to halt the Windows Search service, which will release the file lock. Once the service is stopped, navigate to the ProgramData path mentioned above and delete the Windows.edb file entirely, which will instantly free up your 85GB of trapped storage.

Next, open the Control Panel, navigate to Indexing Options, click Modify, and strip away all selected directories except the Start Menu and essential user folders. Re-enable the indexing engine by running net start WSearch in your elevated prompt. The system will create a fresh, heavily optimized database based on your restricted scope.

Finally, ensure this PC has the latest cumulative Windows updates applied, as Microsoft has previously released specific patches to address runaway EDB file growth in older builds.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

VP

Answer 5

The issue you're experiencing with the Windows.edb file filling up your disk space is related to how Windows handles indexing in versions starting from Windows 8. Unlike Windows 7, where only properties of files were indexed, Windows 8 and later versions store both properties and persistent indexes in the Windows.edb file. This change can lead to a significantly larger Windows.edb file, especially when indexing large PST files or a large amount of content.

The lack of a warning regarding disk space may be due to the way Windows manages system notifications and disk usage reporting. The Windows.edb file is not typically included in standard disk usage reports, which might explain why it was not displayed as a target during your cleanup efforts. To manage the size of the Windows.edb file, you can either index less content or perform an offline defragmentation of the .edb file using specific commands.

Here are some steps you can take:

1. Index less content: Modify the indexing options to reduce the amount of data being indexed.
2. Run an offline defrag: Use the command prompt to run the EsentUtl.exe tool to defragment the Windows.edb file.

These steps can help mitigate the disk space issue caused by the Windows.edb file.