Windows 10: not able to shrink C: even though there is plenty of space free

Some of windows system files got corrupted so i did recover it through recovery drive. Everything was fine until i knew that Windows C: is taking up 500GB of my disk space. I tried shrinking it but it's showing " available space on drive for shrinking : 0mb "..... Total space : 500gb. Used space : 40gb. Free space : 460gb. Why can't i shrink C: and make use of the free space ?. Is there anything wrong with recovery i've done ? Is there any SAFE WAY to shrink it ? Please give some solutions.

P.s. : Earlier (before recovery) , C: was allocated around 200gb and was working fine.

:)

 

Cannot shrink C: partition: Not enough space

Try launching the Event Viewer to see which individual files are blocking the partition shrink.

1. Once again, attempt to shrink the partition. You should get the "There is not enough space" error.
   
2. Launch Windows' Event Viewer application.
   
3. In Event Viewer, go to Windows Logs > Application.
   
4. Find and Click a recent log of type Warning. It should have the message, "Error: during volume shrink initiated on volume Windows (C we failed to move a movable file extent." (screenshot)
   
5. The Diagnostic details will give you the name of the "last unmovable file"
   
6. Delete this file (Simply send to recycle bin. I did not need a hard delete).
   
7. Try shrinking your volume again.
   
8. Repeat steps 2-7 until you successfully shrink your partition. (In my case, I had to do this 3 times, as I had 3 pdf files in my local Google Drive that were for some reason stuck as 'unmovable'.).
   
9. Restore your deleted files.
   

CAUTION:
Make sure you know what you are deleting! In my case, I knew that these pdf files were:

1. Not system files
   
2. Easy to download again if they became lost
   

 

Unallocated Space to C Drive

Thanks

 

Unallocated Space to C Drive

Hi Travis,

It appears that a disk partition was created but was never assigned its allocation. Assuming there are no files stored in the unallocated partition, perform these steps to combine it with your C: drive:

• In Disk Management, right-click on (C which appears next to the
  Unallocated partition.
  
• Select Extend.

Let us know if you're able to combine the spaces after following the steps above.

Regards.