System files are using 120 Gb of disk space !

Question

System files are using 120 Gb of disk space !

G R 20

Three folders seem to be using 120Gb of disk space. A folder called Windows, Program Files and Program files(x86) That is insane.

I have already run Chkdsk /r thinking that was the problem, but it ran without any issues and recovered just 3 GB.

How do I get rid of these bloated folders.

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Answer accepted by question author

DaveM121 905.8K Independent Advisor

This problem is most likely caused by the CapabilityAccessManager database becoming corrupt.

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.

1

Please provide a screenshot of your C drive in that TreeSize utility.

2

Then in TreeSize, navigate to this folder - C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager

Please provide a screenshot of that folder in that TreeSize utility.

.

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

G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T14:29:19.1366667+00:00

It seems you were correct. Here are the two screen shots

This is just of the C: drive and you can see the problem there already

This is of the second screen

Now that I know where the problem is...what do I do ?
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T14:34:19.32+00:00

Thank you for the screenshots.

That CapabilityAccessManager database file cannot be deleted in the normal way, please follow these steps carefully.

Boot Windows into Safe Mode.

Click your Start Button, then just type cmd and on the resulting list, right click Command Prompt and select 'Run as Administrator'.

Paste in this command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

takeown /f "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" /r /d y

Paste in this command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

net stop camsvc

Paste in command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

icacls "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" /grant administrators:F /t

Paste in command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

del "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager\*.db-wal"

When that command completes, close Command Prompt and restart Windows in normal mode.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:00:12.99+00:00

Thanks for the detailed instructions , let me do that next
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:04:33.68+00:00

Okay glad to help, thank you for that information, please follow those steps carefully.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:41:27.08+00:00

I went through the entire procedure as you instructed and..it looks like that file is deleted. However, it does not appear as if the disk space came back.. I ran TreeSize again and suddenly the total size is smaller. Screenshot below It was 423.2 .and now it is showing 368.6gb. Where the heck did the space go?

Do I need to do a disk cleanup to recover the space? Or defrag or something like that?
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:48:06.46+00:00

In TreeSize the space you are looking at is the used space on the drive.

Look at the bottom left of the TreeSize window, you have gained 54.7GB of space from that process, in your first screenshot you had 43.8GB free of 459GB, in the new screenshot, you now have 98.5GB free of 459GB.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:55:44.45+00:00

I see. Got it. Is it typical that the system files are using over 50GB? Windows is using 54.4Gb.

Thank you so much for your outstanding help !! Much appreciated
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:58:32.7033333+00:00

No that is not normal, typically the Windows folder should be around 36Gb in size, please open TreeSize again and expand the Windows Folder, then please provide a screenshot of that so I can see what folder in there is using all the space.

1 additional answer

Your answer

G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T14:29:19.1366667+00:00

It seems you were correct. Here are the two screen shots

This is just of the C: drive and you can see the problem there already

This is of the second screen

Now that I know where the problem is...what do I do ?
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T14:34:19.32+00:00

Thank you for the screenshots.

That CapabilityAccessManager database file cannot be deleted in the normal way, please follow these steps carefully.

Boot Windows into Safe Mode.

Click your Start Button, then just type cmd and on the resulting list, right click Command Prompt and select 'Run as Administrator'.

Paste in this command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

takeown /f "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" /r /d y

Paste in this command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

net stop camsvc

Paste in command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

icacls "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager" /grant administrators:F /t

Paste in command in Command Prompt and press Enter:

del "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager\*.db-wal"

When that command completes, close Command Prompt and restart Windows in normal mode.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:00:12.99+00:00

Thanks for the detailed instructions , let me do that next
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:04:33.68+00:00

Okay glad to help, thank you for that information, please follow those steps carefully.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:41:27.08+00:00

I went through the entire procedure as you instructed and..it looks like that file is deleted. However, it does not appear as if the disk space came back.. I ran TreeSize again and suddenly the total size is smaller. Screenshot below It was 423.2 .and now it is showing 368.6gb. Where the heck did the space go?

Do I need to do a disk cleanup to recover the space? Or defrag or something like that?
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:48:06.46+00:00

In TreeSize the space you are looking at is the used space on the drive.

Look at the bottom left of the TreeSize window, you have gained 54.7GB of space from that process, in your first screenshot you had 43.8GB free of 459GB, in the new screenshot, you now have 98.5GB free of 459GB.
G R 20 Reputation points

2026-06-29T15:55:44.45+00:00

I see. Got it. Is it typical that the system files are using over 50GB? Windows is using 54.4Gb.

Thank you so much for your outstanding help !! Much appreciated
DaveM121 905.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-29T15:58:32.7033333+00:00

No that is not normal, typically the Windows folder should be around 36Gb in size, please open TreeSize again and expand the Windows Folder, then please provide a screenshot of that so I can see what folder in there is using all the space.

Answer 1

G R 20

I did some digging and found that the app SmartByte is responsible for this problem. So I have deleted it. I guess the next step is deleting the corrupted file ?

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