Windows 10 installation always grows to 50-60GB

[Joni_78]

Does anyone know why Windows 10 installation grows so large? I installed Windows 10 (Clean install) on my desktop about 6 months ago and I always disable restore points after install. Only thing I have installed is Winrar, Office 2015 (Only Word, about 500mb), AMD drivers and Avast. I remember it was about 20GB after install and now 6 months later it's again over 50GB. Same thing with laptop. I have OS X Yosemite on another laptop and if I remember correctly it was about 10GB after install and has been like that ever since.

 

I have done all the disk cleanup steps and Windows has cleaned everything it can, there are no temporary install files or anything left. For example C:\Windows is 22GB.

 

 

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Do you run CCleaner once in awhile? Do you use hibernation?

[Ilys]

You can use something like Folder Size to give you a clearer picture of your disk space usage.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

25 minutes ago, Joni_78 said:

Does anyone know why Windows 10 installation grows so large? I installed Windows 10 (Clean install) on my desktop about 6 months ago and I always disable restore points after install. Only thing I have installed is Winrar, Office 2015 (Only Word, about 500mb), AMD drivers and Avast. I remember it was about 20GB after install and now 6 months later it's again over 50GB. Same thing with laptop. I have OS X Yosemite on another laptop and if I remember correctly it was about 10GB after install and has been like that ever since.

 

I have done all the disk cleanup steps and Windows has cleaned everything it can, there are no temporary install files or anything left. For example C:\Windows is 22GB.

 

 

How much RAM do ya got (didn't see it in your specs) ... you know your pagefile is going to match that.  So if you have 16GB RAM...you have a 16GB pagefile.  hiberifl.sys will also be big if you have hibernation enabled.  You can turn off hibernation by admin CMD prompt and entering ...  powercfg -H off

 

You could also have a lot of restore points (I know you said you disabled it) ... but to double check ... you can run the following from elevated CMD prompt

 

Vssadmin List ShadowStorage

 

Which would give you something like this....

 

Shadow Copy Storage association
   For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{b91283c4-7b61-11e4-88e9-806e6f6e6963}\
   Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{b91283c4-7b61-11e4-88e9-806e6f6e6963}\
   Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 1.21 GB (1%)
   Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 1.67 GB (1%)
   Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 5.93 GB (5%)

 

How big is the WinSXS folder within the Windows directory?  If it is huge (mind you the size shown is deceptive), you can read the following....

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/commercialize/manufacture/desktop/clean-up-the-winsxs-folder

 

Lastly, when you are doing Disk Cleanup ... you are also selecting "Clean up system files" .. right?  Also, under Disk Cleanup you can "clean up" the system restore and shadow copies under "more options".

 

As @Ilysmentioned ... you can use a tool like Folder Size to find out which folders are using the most space ... and investigate from there.  

 

Anyway...hard to really tell you why you installation is taking up so much space without actually being at your computer.

[ShizukaNaHaji]

Are you installing Windows Updates? They may be set to automaic....

[shockz]

Your WinSxS folder is probably ballooning due to cached install files, libraries/dlls and what not. You can also take a look at your software distribution folder for updates. Both these are common reasons as to why your Windows install grows. I wouldn't mess with WinSxS, at least unless you know your way around with DISM, and even then it can be quirky, but you can probably clean up your software distribution folder. Another area that grows frequently is your AppData folder in your profile. Your internet cache and program customizations all take up space.