Windows 10: Loss of disk space despite clean install

Thanks. I am a bit if an idiot, so I am unsure with how to proceed with your suggestions. I am not sure where to get or how to use Linux Mint LiveDVD and I do not know what GPARTED means. Sorry to be so retarded in this. Your help is appreciated.

 

You have a bootable USB windows 10 setup drive, and a Macrium backup, it seems. I guess you still have these, or can make them again. All your files and apps are gone.

Why not perform a clean install following one of the tutorials here on tenforums, e.g.
Clean Install Windows 10 Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

You will need to delete all the existing partitions at the "where do you want to install windows" screen to leave just unallocated space.
then proceed from there.

 

Actually, a clean install over an existing OS will create a Windows.old folder, it just won't migrate any of the information or data from it.

 

Looking at your screenshots, I see you have 453 GBs in "Other" and 32 GBs in "Temporary." You can click on each one of those entries and expand them to get more specific information on what may be taking up all that space. I know for sure that your windows.old will be displayed in the "Temporary" view but it would also be interesting to see what's in that "Other" view that is taking up a whopping 453 GBs. FYI, you can also delete items from within the expanded Temporary view. If you need help after looking at the expanded views, please post a screenshot of each (like so):

 

Remember that these Windows settings views of items on the disk drives do not run with elevated permissions, and just like any other modern Windows App has limited access to system files.
If Windows File Explorer desktop application has folder options set to view hidden and system files, then there will be more information available there.

It's a matter of definition if a clean install leaves anything behind, but I'd define a clean install starting with an empty unallocated disk drive, booting from a setup USB or DVD or a networked ISO setup image, allowing setup to create necessary partitions for UEFI or MBR installations, and continue the installation from those sources.

My view is that a windows .old is left from an upgrade started from within a running windows system, even if the user elects to keep nothing (files and data), since it will use drivers from the old system, and offers a rollback option (hence Windows.old remaining).

 

You are all correct that I installed W10 originally as an upgrade to this computer. That seems to have caused a lot of space to be taken up with the residual files/folders from the old system. These were not removed by doing what I thought was a clean installation later on. Hence, I am stuck with a reasonable sized hard drive that has little space left on it, and a Macrium backup image that has dutifully imaged all the files and folders that are eating up so much space on my disk. Hence, restoration of the Macrium image would not solve my problem.

My optimum solution would be to delete all the old files and folders in the "Other" area noted on my storage map, but I am not sure of a safe way to do this without causing more problems with functionality.

The nuclear option is to wipe the drive and start over. I could recover data files and apps from my backups, but this creates a bit of a time crunch to get it all back up and working again. Do any of you have suggestions on the optimal approach? I am at my limit of knowledge here so your input and experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you don't care about wiping out all of that data, it's fairly seamless to boot your computer from that Windows 10 bootable USB flash drive and follow carefully the tutorial that Fafhrd provided a link for in post #15. Just carefully read the step by steps provided and pay particular attention to Step 10, where you will actually "discard" all of that data. I say "discard" because it's not a wipe in the strict and secure sense. However, discarding or unallocating the drive space to that data in Step 10 should accomplish what you want.

 

OP is ready to rock and roll, as long as OP's version of Macrium Reflect will let OP pick the data folders and files out of that giant full image and restore said desired data folders and files. Naturally, any 3rd party programs and utilities will have to be reinstalled; OP can use that full image as a "road-map" of what to reinstall.

 

That's the best solution for data recovery. Mounting the .mrimg and using Explorer to copy back all the USER folders/files. That should also pull back his installers for 3rd party. Starting with an absolutely clean, bare, unallocated HDD/SSD and install to it....and let Windows correctly make what it needs. Make sure it's activated and verified and happy...then install Macrium and copy user data back.

 

Thanks for the help. I will give it a try as soon as I have a day to play with. I'll get back to you when/if I am successful.

 

Best of luck. Let us know how you make out. Either way......

 

Well, I tried to do a clean installation following the instructions in the tutorial referenced by Fafhrd in post 15, but I am not seeing the same screen shots that come up in that tutorial. I get the same options I had when I was trying to do a "clean installation" of W10 the first time around. I did not reinstall as it seems to just lead me down the same path I have already been down - keep nothing and reinstall, but when I did this, I still had 453 GB in Other Files as noted above in post 17. I don't want to go through this again unless it will actually work this time.

I have a W10 ISO file burned to a DVD as instructed in one of the tutorials. Should I now format the hard drive and then boot from the DVD? If so, can you please give me quick instructions on how to format the hard drive and then boot from the DVD? I am assuming that if the BIOS settings list the boot sequence for the DVD as #1, that it will automatically boot from the DVD if it is in the drive when I turn the machine on. Is this true?

BTW, I have a legacy BIOS, not UEFI.

 

When you get to point of choosing where to install Windows, you need to delete every partition you see on the C: drive. All of them. You will then have one unallocated partition on the drive. That's where you will install Windows. It will create what it needs based on your BIOS and hardware.

 

You need to boot the computer from the DVD to do a clean install. The option to boot the computer from the DVD will be in BIOS/UEFI.

 

I went through the reinstall process but was never given an option to delete partitions. The options shown in step 10 of the tutorial referenced by Fafhrd were never presented. My storage map shows I am again left with 454 GB taken up in "Other" of which 331 GB are in C:\ (Files at drive root). I am very frustrated. What am I doing wrong? How can I fix this? Screen shots of the storage maps are below. Of note, when each file folder is queried for properties, the total does not even come close to 331 GB. What gives?