Solved SSD issue

My C is on an SSD. There is 55 GB capacity, I can account for 33.2 GB by looking at the properties of all the folders on that drive.However the PC is telling me that I only have 2.94 GB free. I have run CCleaner, emptied temp and recycle bins. Where else can I find the 22 odd GB that should be there? Driving me nuts

Sam

Well, it depends on your software, there might be few big hidden folders, like office cache, plus hibernate file, pagefile, swapfile and so on, so everything is ok.

A) Have you checked to see if Trim is turned on in Windows? To do this follow these steps:

1. Open: Start Menu --> All Programs --> Accessories --> Command Prompt

2. Copy/Paste the following command after the cursor and press enter:

fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify

3. If it is enabled the following appear:

DisableDeleteNotify = 0 This means it's enabled.

DisableDeleteNotify = 1 This means it's disabled.

5. To enable, copy/paste the following command and press enter: fsutil behavior set disablenotify 0

B) You also need a "rubbish bin collector", (as well as Trim), which is standard with Corsair SSD HDs. This minimizes what would otherwise be wasted space that is there but is not shown as available nor is it useable.

C) Also I have system restore turned off. Once you've turned it off, delete all previous restore points.

If you want to know more about how SSDs store and retrieve data, here are a couple of links.

This first link is very revealing about how SSDs store the data and how space is wasted. Click on the April 2012 issue and see pg 54-56. Pg 56 looks like the same thing that diskeeper is doing. When you reach the page just click it and it will zoom and then can be moved around to read it.

1. ComputerPowerUser.com Digital Edition

2. Diskeeper

3. SSD HD endurance

Hello Sam,

Have you refreshed or done an upgrade install of Windows?

Double check to see if you may have a C:\Windows.old folder. This folder could easily be that large, but will not show it unless you had opened the folder first.

If you do, then the tutorial below can show you how to properly delete it to regain the space it's taking.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2527-windows-old-folder-delete-windows-8-a.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Viewing the properties of the folders does not show you all the files. Download something like WinDirStat

WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics

However, my guess is you have two large files that you can't see in explorer, one is the hibernate file (hiberfile.sys) and the other is the page file (pagefile.sys). These tend to be about the size of your installed memory, and could easily be taking up 8-12GB alone.

You also also won't see a 1:1 mapping of file sizes to disk usage either, because there is always some small amount of disk clusters that are not completely full, and thus end up being wasted space for each file (this is often called sector slack). And, there is often a difference in how hard disks are measured and how windows measures them. Hard disk manufacturers say that 1k is 1000 bytes, but Windows says it's 1024 bytes, so as this adds up, it can mean you see significantly less disk space than you thought you had.

And check the shadowstorage. The command is:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The Allocated number is what is currently used.

Note: the shadowstorage will not show in WinDirStat
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...nge-maximum-disk-space-usage-windows-8-a.html


And whilst you are in Command Prompt, get rid of the hiberfile. The command is:

powercfg -h off

Hibernate - Enable or Disable - Windows 7 Forums

Be aware you lose speeds of hybrid boot if you disable the hibernation file. Probably not as important with an ssd, but worth noting.

pparks1 said:

Be aware you lose speeds of hybrid boot if you disable the hibernation file. Probably not as important with an ssd, but worth noting.

Click to expand...

Good point - but I did not notice any difference (from the SSD). But you can always experiment with on/off. To set the hiberfile back on, the command is:

powercfg -h on

Hibernate - Enable or Disable - Windows 7 Forums

whs said:

And check the shadowstorage. The command is:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The Allocated number is what is currently used.

Note: the shadowstorage will not show in WinDirStat
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...nge-maximum-disk-space-usage-windows-8-a.html


And whilst you are in Command Prompt, get rid of the hiberfile. The command is:

powercfg -h off

Hibernate - Enable or Disable - Windows 7 Forums

Click to expand...

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.2.9200]
(c) 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


C:\WINDOWS\system32>fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify
DisableDeleteNotify = 0


C:\WINDOWS\system32>vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2012 Microsoft Corp.


Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (E\\?\Volume{e190f11f-543d-11e1-92ce-806e6f6e6963}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (E\\?\Volume{e190f11f-543d-11e1-92ce-806e6f6e69
63}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 0 bytes (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 18.6 GB (1%)


Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (C\\?\Volume{e190f11e-543d-11e1-92ce-806e6f6e6963}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C\\?\Volume{e190f11e-543d-11e1-92ce-806e6f6e69
63}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 56.5 MB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 320 MB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 320 MB (0%)

Looks like it was the system restore points which were set to a value of 22GB. Deleted all restore points, but that only cleared another 7 GB.

What did you mean in the earlier post about a rubbish bin collector? Different from the recycle bin and/or CCleaner??

By the way, thank you all for your support. I was overwhelmed to see so many posts when I woke up this morning!

Your shadowstorage is fine. You had only 1 restore point at the time the cmd picture was taken.

samhfoley said:

What did you mean in the earlier post about a rubbish bin collector? Different from the recycle bin and/or CCleaner??

Click to expand...

Rubbish bin collector or garbage collector in SSD HDs is different to recycle bin or registry cleaners.

Basically it collects left over files/data fragments that are recognized by Windlows as valid, but which in fact are obsolete and unnecessarily using up space. In early versions of SSDs they were not always included, but most current manufacturers do. So whether yours has one or not would depend on the age and manufacturer. Best to contact tech support for your particular brand to find out.

Never heard of rubbish bin collector, do you mean GC ( garbage collection) on the ssd drive?

GC is found on all modern ssd's and is run at the FW level. Proprietary algorithms from each oem are responsible for how it runs. More aggressive on some drives than others.
[h=3][/h]There is no action from the end user required to use GC. It will run by itself as needed in the background.

I have a newer SSD, purchased last summer OCZ Vertex 3.

For those that want to understand how Garbage Collection works, here is a very good read: Garbage Collection and TRIM in SSDs Explained - An SSD Primer | The SSD Review

Note: there are 6 sections. See towards the bottom of each page.