Windows 10: Hard disk free space and total folder size don't add up

I'm trying to free up my hard disk for Windows updates but the numbers don't add up. In folder options I chose both "Show hidden files, folders, and drivers" and unchecked "Hide protected operating system files". I tried Disk Cleanup and scanned with Windows Defenders but can't figured out the discrepancy. Please help



:)

 

The used size of a hard disk that contains only one folder doesn't mat

Many thanks guys for the help,

• The Chkdsk /scan found no errors
• The OS files are visible
• The All folder used to be in the same HD 1 but the observation that they don’t have same size attracted my attention
• I can compare folder by folder, but how to fix if I get difference in size?

The are still not identical size

 

Hard disk space

The first and most obvious reason you don’t have access to all your hard drive space is that there’s a significant piece of software installed on it already: your operating system. Unless you specifically selected a “no OS” model, it will come pre-installed
with something.

Another place your hard drive space might have gone is to a manufacturer-created disk partitions. In years past, a new computer commonly came with one (or a whole book full of) CDs containing software, including a recovery disk. In the event of a total meltdown
of your machine, you could boot from this drive and restore your computer to an right-out-of-the-box state.

Other possible reasons including hidden partitions, unpartitioned hard disk space, system protection takes up much space and many others. check out

this tutorial to see how to solve it step by step.

Hope it is helpful.

 

Discrepancy between 'Used Space' on C drive and total of actual folders/files

According to 'Properties' in Windows Explorer, my C drive (one of four partitions on my primary drive) has 296GB 'Used Space' and 272GB 'Free Space', giving a total partition size of 568GB. However, if I add up the total space occupied by all the folders
and files on C drive that are listed in Windows Explorer they come to roughly 44GB. (The largest folder is Windows (19.5GB), followed by Users (9GB) and Program Files (5.8GB). The rest of the folders are smaller than this.). Nearly all my applications, data,
photos, videos, backups etc are on the other three partitions on the primary hard drive or on a secondary internal hard drive.

Can anyone suggest what accounts for the HUGE discrepancy between the reported 'Used Space' and the total of the actual folders/files? I first noticed this when backing up my C drive using Acronis TrueImage, which yields a back up file of 218GB - presumably
the 296GB with some compression. A few months back I recall that the Acronis backup files were sized at around 60-70GB, so there's something funny going on! If there is some giant folder or file that is lurking on my C drive, what could it be and why isn't
it showing up in Windows Explorer?