Windows 10: do virtual disk drives take up my real computer space?

i made a vhd in windows 11, and i was wondering this. if i made my vhd 1 tb, then would it take up actual space or is the tb from the server?

:)

 

20GB Missing from drive after Virtual Hard Disk Deleted

If you have deleted a 20GB virtual hard disk but cannot see the 20GB space freed up on your physical drive, it is possible that the virtual hard disk was not actually stored on your physical drive but rather on another storage device or partition. It could also be possible that the virtual hard disk was located in a hidden or system folder that you may not be able to see by default.

Here are some steps you can take to try to locate the missing 20GB of storage:

1. Check if the virtual hard disk was stored in a different location: If you created the virtual hard disk in a location other than your default drive, it may be stored in a different folder or drive. Try searching your other drives or partitions to see if the virtual hard disk was stored there.
   
2. Check for hidden or system folders: Some virtual hard disks may be stored in hidden or system folders that are not visible by default. Make sure that you have enabled the option to view hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer, and also check for system files and folders.
   
3. Run a disk cleanup: It is possible that the deleted virtual hard disk is still occupying space in your Recycle Bin. Empty your Recycle Bin and also run a disk cleanup to remove any temporary or unnecessary files.
   
4. Use a disk space analyzer tool: You mentioned that you have already used WizTree, but it is worth trying other disk space analyzer tools like TreeSize or WinDirStat to see if they can identify any hidden or unallocated space on your drive.
   

If none of these steps work, it is possible that the virtual hard disk was not properly deleted or was not deleted at all. You may need to use a data recovery tool to attempt to recover the virtual hard disk or to recover any lost or hidden storage space on your drive. However, data recovery can be a complex and risky process, and there is no guarantee that it will be successful.

 

Lost space of Pen Drive

Hello,

Thank you for bringing up your query on Microsoft Community.

We regret the inconvenience caused to you.

• 
  Have you tried connecting to a different computer?
  

I suggest you to connect the USB flash drive to a different computer and check.

First back up all the data from your USB drive to another location.

I suggest you to connect the USB flash drive to a different computer and check.

Let us try the following steps, and check if it helps.

Step 1: I suggest you to refresh the drive letter and then try to rescan the drives that are connect to the computer and check.

To refresh drive letter:

• Open Computer Management (Local).
• In the console tree, click Computer Management (Local), click
  Storage, and then click Disk Management.
  
• Click Action, and then click Refresh.
  
• Once you have refreshed connect the new zip drive and to update hardware information, click Rescan Disks instead.
  

Step 2: For unallocated space on USB drive

• 
  Press the Windows key, and type Diskpart.
  
• 
  Click the result to open the DiskPart command prompt window.
  
• 
  In the command prompt window, type list disk and hit Enter.
  
• 
  The removable USB drive or hard disk will be shown under
  Disk 1.
  
• 
  Type in the following commands and hit Enter.
  

select disk 1

Clean

create partition primary

• 
  The first command selects your removable USB drive.
  
• 
  The Clean command deletes all the current partitions present on the USB drive.
  
• 
  The Create primary partition creates a fresh partition and allocates all the unallocated space on this fresh partition.
  
• 
  Type Exit to close the command prompt window.
  
• 
  Unplug your USB drive and plug it back again.
  

Hope it helps.

Let us know the status, we are glad to assist you further.

 

Virtual Disk

Hello

I am Sidney, an independent Microsoft expert, and also a customer just like you. I will try to help you resolving your issue.

Be aware that everything inside your virtual disk will be deleted.

In order to delete a virtual disk , you will need to:

- press Window + R at the same time

- Execute ‘diskmgmt.msc’ and click OK

- The Disk Management window will open

- Please right-click on the virtual disk listed in the Volume column (your 10 Gb drive)

Then you can extend your main disk so that it uses the new allocated space.

Best,

Sidney