I recently upgraded my motherboard and CPU but kept my 1TB NVMe drive as the boot drive. I reinstalled Windows fresh, but now it's only showing about 872GB of usable space. I know that 1TB drives typically have around 930GB of actual usable space, but this seems excessive. Normally, Windows doesn't take up that much space. Could I have accidentally installed Windows twice? I've checked the installed programs, and Firefox is the largest at just 0.30GB. I've got plenty of extra storage, but I'm concerned I didn't inadvertently create a duplicate Windows installation. Here's a link to the partition layout image: [https://imgur.com/q76stvf](https://imgur.com/q76stvf)
3 Answers
I wouldn't worry too much. When installing Windows, it can vary how much space it takes up depending on updates and features enabled. If your drive shows 872GB free, that's still a decent amount. Just check the directory sizes if you're super curious, but it sounds right for a new setup.
Honestly, a difference of 60GB isn't too unusual. With the upgrades and the space Windows takes for its updates and system files, it can add up quickly. A few years back, we had some computers with 64GB drives, and they started running out of space just from updates. If you feel something might be off, maybe take a closer look in File Explorer at what’s taking up space.
It might be worth checking if you have a 'Windows.old' folder on your C drive. Sometimes, during a fresh install, Windows keeps this folder to save old files, which can consume quite a bit of space. You can get rid of it using the Disk Cleanup tool, just make sure to use the option for system files.
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