XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-11, alt.comp.microsoft.windows   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   Maria Sophia wrote:   
   > I checked all the normal places to clean up disk space. Anything I deleted   
   > kept the disk below limits for only a few minutes. Then the disk filled up   
   > again. I looked in all the usual spaces for the usual culprits (which I cal   
   > list separately in a followup article so others also know where to look).   
      
   While this PSA describes a Windows shadow-storage setting that can quietly   
   consume remaining disk space & how to correct it with a single command,   
   below is a list of the classic places to check for storage hogs (AFAIK).   
      
   These are ranked (by me) by likelihood & impact (risk for mass deletion):   
      
   Impact = how large it can get (which can be safely deleted, IMHO)   
   Risk   = how dangerous it is to delete or modify (low, medium, high, IMHO)   
      
   HIGH IMPACT (can consume tens or hundreds of GB)   
   Windows Installer cache (MSI/MSP) [H]   
     C:\Windows\Installer   
      
   Windows Search index database [M]   
     C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb   
      
   DriverStore (FileRepository) [H]   
     C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository   
      
   Hyper-V virtual disks [L]   
     %PUBLIC%\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks   
      
   Docker / WSL2 virtual disks [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Docker   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited*   
      
   VirtualBox VMs [L]   
     %USERPROFILE%\VirtualBox VMs   
      
   VMware VMs [L]   
     %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Virtual Machines   
      
   Paging file (pagefile.sys) [H]   
     C:\pagefile.sys   
      
   System memory dump (MEMORY.DMP) [L]   
     C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP   
      
   MEDIUM IMPACT (can grow large)   
   Windows Update working folder [M]   
     C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution   
      
   Windows Installer rollback backups [M]   
     C:\Windows\Installer\$PatchCache$   
     C:\Windows\Installer\*.rbs   
     C:\Windows\Installer\*.rbf   
      
   System Restore snapshots [M]   
     C:\System Volume Information   
      
   Windows Event Logs [M]   
     C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs   
      
   Hibernation file (hiberfil.sys) [H]   
     C:\hiberfil.sys   
      
   LOW IMPACT (common, small, safe to delete)   
   User temp files [L]   
     %temp%   
      
   System temp files [L]   
     C:\Windows\Temp   
      
   Extra temp folders [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp   
     C:\Temp   
      
   Crash dumps (apps and services) [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps   
     C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\CrashDumps   
      
   Windows Error Reporting [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WER   
     %PROGRAMDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WER   
      
   Browser caches [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data   
     %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles   
      
   Windows Update download cache [L]   
     C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download   
      
   Delivery Optimization cache [L]   
     C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DeliveryOptimization   
      
   Microsoft Store / UWP data [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages   
      
   Package Cache (VS, .NET, etc.) [L]   
     C:\ProgramData\Package Cache   
      
   CBS and DISM logs [L]   
     C:\Windows\Logs\CBS   
     C:\Windows\Logs\DISM   
      
   Application logs [L]   
     C:\ProgramData\*\Logs   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\*appname*\Logs   
      
   Windows.old (rollback) [L]   
     C:\Windows.old   
      
   Setup logs [L]   
     C:\Windows\Panther   
     C:\Windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log   
      
   WPR traces [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WPR   
      
   Reliability Monitor [L]   
     C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\RAC\PublishedData   
      
   Media Player thumbnails [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Media Player   
      
   Old .etl logs [L]   
     C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI   
     C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\NetSetup   
      
   Delivery Optimization logs [L]   
     C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DeliveryOptimization   
      
   Windows Defender history [L]   
     C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender   
      
   Prefetch [L]   
     C:\Windows\Prefetch   
      
   Crashpad dumps [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Crashpad   
      
   Large app caches (Adobe, Unity, Steam) [L]   
     %APPDATA%\Adobe   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Unity   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Steam   
     %PROGRAMDATA%\Steam   
      
   Shader caches [L]   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\Steam\htmlcache   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache   
     %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\GLCache   
      
   Driver installer caches [L]   
     C:\NVIDIA   
     C:\AMD   
     C:\Intel   
      
   Useful commands   
      
   Disk Cleanup:   
     cleanmgr   
      
   Remove superseded updates:   
     dism /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup   
      
   Show largest folders under C:   
     powershell -c "gci C:\ -Directory | sort length -desc | ft name,length"   
      
   Show largest files on the entire drive   
     powershell -c "gci C:\ -Recurse -File -ea SilentlyContinue | sort length   
   -desc | select -first 20 | ft length,fullname -auto"   
      
   Show largest folders under a specific path   
     powershell -c "gci 'C:\path' -Directory | % { $_.FullName; gci   
   $_.FullName -Recurse -File | measure length -sum }"   
      
   Check shadow storage usage   
     vssadmin list shadowstorage /for=C:   
      
   Resize shadow storage to a sane limit   
     vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=5GB   
      
   Show disk usage by folder (PowerShell 5+)   
     powershell -c "gci C:\ -Directory | % { '{0,10:N2} GB  {1}' -f ((gci   
   $_.FullName -Recurse -File | measure length -sum).sum/1GB), $_.FullName }"   
      
   Show Windows Update download cache size   
     powershell -c "(gci C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download -Recurse   
   -File | measure length -sum).sum/1GB"   
      
   Clear Windows Update download cache   
     net stop wuauserv & net stop bits & rd /s /q   
   C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download & net start wuauserv & net start   
   bits   
      
   Show size of the Windows Search index   
     powershell -c "(gci   
   'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows' -Recurse -File   
   | measure length -sum).sum/1GB"   
      
   Show size of DriverStore   
     powershell -c "(gci C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository   
   -Recurse -File | measure length -sum).sum/1GB"   
      
   Show size of pagefile and hibernation file   
     dir C:\pagefile.sys   
     dir C:\hiberfil.sys   
      
   Show size of MEMORY.DMP   
     dir C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP   
      
   Show size of Windows.edb   
     dir   
   "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb"   
      
   Show size of System Volume Information (admin only)   
     dir "C:\System Volume Information"   
      
   Show size of event logs   
     powershell -c "gci C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs | sort length -desc |   
   select -first 20 | ft name,length"   
      
   Show size of CBS.log   
     dir C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log   
      
   Show size of DISM logs   
     dir C:\Windows\Logs\DISM   
      
   Show size of Windows.old   
     dir C:\Windows.old   
      
   Show size of a folder (quick)   
     powershell -c "(gci 'C:\path' -Recurse -File | measure length   
   -sum).sum/1GB"   
      
   Confirm whether something is currently exploding in size   
    Win+R > resmon > Disk > [sort by] Total (B/sec)   
    Look for something like...   
     SearchIndexer.exe > Windows.edb corruption   
     svchost.exe (netsvcs) > Windows Update stuck   
     OneDrive.exe > sync loop   
     MsMpEng.exe > Defender logs   
     chrome.exe > runaway cache   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)