Hey everyone! I'm facing a frustrating issue with my SSD where it seems like there's a considerable amount of hidden files on my C drive. I've looked everywhere in File Explorer and can't find any evidence of those files. Right now, I only have 61.3 GB free out of 464 GB, and I know my Steam library isn't the culprit. I've accounted for around 100 GB with visible files, yet Steam and File Explorer are indicating that there's an extra 308 GB of 'other stuff' I can't see. I'm suspicious that it might be related to Microsoft Flight Simulator as it downloads in a peculiar way, but I can't locate any files related to it. To top it off, I deleted the game through Steam recently, which seems to have triggered this whole mess. My SSD is a Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB running Windows 11. I have other drives that store most of my data, but I've been scouring my C drive looking for answers for weeks. Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Could you be using any games with mods or programs like Vortex for managing them? Some games create 'symlinks' or 'junction links' that make the OS think more space is being used than actually is. These can direct files to other locations without showing up where you expect them to.
I recommend using better tools than the built-in Microsoft storage app, like WizTree or WinDirStat. They offer more comprehensive scanning and can help you visualize what’s really on your drive.
I used WinDirStat and discovered my AppData folder was hidden. Once I deleted excess files from there, my SSD space issue was resolved. Good luck!
Try running this command in an admin command prompt:
dir X: /AL /S
Just replace X with your SSD's drive letter. This will help you find any symlinks or junction links that might be taking up hidden space.