My pc says i have used all my storage which is 1tb but i have only used 117gb

Question

My pc says that i have used 109 out of 117gb on my pc. But when i got to the about section on the settings, it says i have 1.03TB on the computer. I dont know how to fix it and when i try to download something it does not let me. I have been struggling with this issue for years now and i have no fix.

Answer 1

1

Right click your Start Button and open Disk Management.

Expand the bottom pane so all drives and partitions are visible in the bottom pane.

Please provide a screenshot of that Disk Management window.

2

Download the free TreeSize app from the Microsoft Store.

Very Important - to run TreeSize, you must right click its icon and choose Run as Administrator.

Please provide a screenshot of your C drive in that TreeSize utility, so I can see your hard drive and work out where that space is being used and if there is an underlying problem.

Please ensure the full TreeSize window is in the screenshot, there is information on the top and bottom bars I needs to see.

Answer 2

The About page is showing the total capacity of the physical drive (about 1.03 TB), but Windows is treating only a much smaller partition (around 117 GB) as the system drive where apps and updates are installed. That smaller partition is what is full, which is why downloads and installs fail.

Use these steps to see what’s happening and fix it:

1. Check actual partitions and free space
   1. Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
   2. Select This PC on the left. Under Devices and drives, note:
      • How many drives/letters are listed (C:, D:, etc.).
      • The total size and free space of each.
   3. This view shows which partition (usually C:) is near full, even though the physical disk is 1 TB.
2. Use Storage settings to see what Windows is counting
   1. Select Start > Settings > System > Storage.
   2. At the top, confirm which drive is being analyzed (usually Local Disk (C:)). This is likely the ~117 GB partition.
   3. Turn on Storage Sense to automatically clear temporary files and Recycle Bin items if space is critically low.
3. Free up space on the full partition Work through these in order until enough space is freed:
   1. In Settings > System > Storage, use Cleanup recommendations to remove:
      • Temporary files
      • Large or unused files
      • Apps you don’t use
   2. Move personal files (videos, pictures, downloads) from the nearly full partition to another drive/partition that has free space or to an external drive.
      • In Settings > System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Where new content is saved, change new documents, music, pictures, and videos to a drive with more space.
   3. Turn on OneDrive Files On-Demand so that cloud files don’t consume local disk space.
4. Plan a partition change (optional but recommended) The long‑term fix is to give the Windows/system partition more space from the rest of the 1 TB drive. This is done by shrinking the large data partition and extending the system partition using Disk Management. Because this is a structural disk change, it should be done carefully and only after a full backup. The context here only covers the concept; for detailed partitioning steps, follow guidance from Disk Management documentation or a support professional.
5. Keep enough free space for updates Windows feature updates typically need 6–11 GB free, and quality updates need 2–3 GB or more. After freeing space, keep a buffer of free space on the system partition so Windows Update and app installs can complete.

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References:

• Find information about your Windows device
• Fix low disk space errors quickly in Windows
• Free up drive space in Windows
• Storage settings in Windows
• Free up space for Windows updates
• Get help with Windows upgrade and installation errors
• Windows 10 update issues on devices with low storage space
• How do I partition a hard drive on Windows 11? - Microsoft Q&A