Windows 10: Loss of disk space despite clean install

I checked the BIOS settings in setup. I could not find any Secure Boot.

 

Looks like this. Gotta go eat dinner. I'll be back a little later, and so will others.

 

Looking in system info it says "Secure Boot state is not supported"

 

In the BIOS, is there a way to toggle from Legacy to UEFI ?
If yes, then toggle it to UEFI then see if Secure Boot shows up.

 

And the BIOS mode is Legacy, not UEFI. Again, would it be easier/possible to convert to UEFI? I saw a tutorial on this, but I am not sure how to tell if my motherboard will support UEFI. I'll be back in a few. Time for a beer.

 

Before you do anything else can you download the free version of Mini Tool, install it and post
screen shots of what it shows ?
This tool will show all the partitions you have,
even the hidden ones which windows disk manager won't show.
Best Free Partition Manager for Windows | MiniTool Partition Free

 

Fast Startup?

He could physically disconnect the OS drive, boot from disk, then connect the drive back to do the clean install.

 

I used the MiniTool and found there are LOTS of files that are all exactly 200 MB. Probably a couple hundred of them all told. They could easily be eating up my hard drive. I've included the screen shot of the drive itself and one of a few of the 200 MB files. Still, this doesn't solve my problem of wanting to do a clean reinstall of W10. Are there any other views you want to see through MiniTool?

 

Would the UEFI structure work given that I have a Legacy BIOS?

 

Hmmm......not sure, but don't think so.
Do you have a flash drive to make the Win10 install media? You could use Fast Startup? Are all those 200MB files showing in your recycle bin - have you emptied that? I can't tell if it's your current bin, or one from a previous installation.

 

From an article about your machine model....

Any standard SATA 3.5" desktop drive up to 2 TB will work fine. If you are willing to use the new drive for data only you can go larger than 2 TB, but you must partition and format the drive in the GPT partitioning scheme using Windows Disk Management. Since the Studio XPS 435T/9000 does not have a UEFI BIOS you cannot boot from a GPT partitioned hard drive.



http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/disk-drives/f/3534/t/19449990

Ignore the part about the hard drive. My point is his box does NOT support UEFI.

Have to find a way to get it to boot Legacy. He created that DVD using the native Windows ISO Burner. I had him DL and install IMGBurn. Would that create a bootable DVD for Legacy? Is there some other setting in the BIOS? It sees the DVD cause it says "Press any key to boot from CD......", but then ignores DVD and boots 10.

 

Speak up! Any solution?

 

If the OP were to physically disconnect the OS drive, he could boot from disk, and then reconnect it to do the install. (Just have to be very careful doing that live...)

 

The DVD, according to his post, is full of EFI support files and folders. I think the native Windows ISO Burner is assuming, somehow, that that's ok. Hate to suggest it, but IMGBurn, which he DL'd, may create a bootable DVD.

 

You know....the newest Windows 10 ISO files require Double Layer (DL) DVDs because single layer do not have enough space on them. Are you inadvertently "overburning" a single layer DVD and that might be why it isn't booting? If you must boot from DVD, I highly suggest a DVD+R DL (double layer and NOT a rewritable), burned at the slowest speed setting.