its saying my apps are taking up over 300GB but its not

Question

I went to installed apps and added up how much storage each game takes, it only takes up around 17GB not the over 300GB its saying I'm using. how can I fix this?

Answer 1

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

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The Installed Apps menu in Windows 11 is notoriously inaccurate. It relies on registry entries reported by software installers rather than measuring real disk usage, which frequently leads to huge phantom storage numbers (especially with Xbox/Game Pass titles, Steam, or corrupt installers).

To see what is actually taking up those 300GB, the best approach is to use a free disk visualizer called TreeSize Free. It reads the file system directly and shows exactly where disk space is being allocated.

I suggest downloading and installing the free version of the TreeSize app.

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

Then right-click the application shortcut, select "Run as administrator", select the drive to be scanned, and wait for the scan to finish.

Share a screenshot of the TreeSize scan result. Use the shortcut "Windows + Shift + S" to use the screenshot tool.

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Looking forward to your reply.

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