Windows 10: Temporary Files is taking up 12gb of space but not really

So if I go to my storage settings, it says that Temporary Files are taking up 12gb of space. However when I click on 'Temporary Files', it shows that my downloads take up 6gb of space and the rest take up about 500mb of space. What is taking up the remaining 4.5gb?


I remember before it said that 'old windows update files' were taking up about 3gb of space but now that file doesn't show up in storage settings

:)

 

Issue with temporary files

Hi Junaid,

I unhide the files as per the article "Show hidden files" but it does not help to see what takes up to 29GB in my temporary files (settings/system/storage/temporary files).

The other two methods you mentioned have already been tried without success.

Regards,

Guy

 

Temporary Files Continuously Eating Disc Space

Recently I got an error that kept popping up on my screen saying that windows could not install an update due to low disc space. When I clicked on the link attached to the notification it took me to a page that listed the types of storage that where occupying
my disc and gave me cleanup options. Temporary files was taking up much of my disc space with roughly 42 GB dedicated to it. So I ran the cleanup tools on that and the other storage folders, this only freed up a few hundred MB. Since this was not enough I
deleted some applications to free up space. This worked temporarily and I was able to use my computer. However, when I got on the next day I was out of space again, I took the same steps I had taken previously to make my laptop usable. When I got on today
storage was full again and temporary files are now taking up over 78 GB of my 117 GB hard drive.

I have tried diagnosing the problem by looking through this forum. I tried searching for viruses but found no foreign files, I tried using all of Microsoft's build in disc cleaning programs but they are only a temporary fix that free up less that a Gigabyte,
and I've tried direct commands to delete the temporary files on my computer. My recycling bin is empty.

I wish I could attach pictures but I cant take a screen shot with no place to store the image. If anyone thinks they know what to do and needs a specific picture I can try to free up some space to get one.

 

Unable to delete temporary files

Hi Sumit,

Looks like you are running out of storage space, let's walk you through the steps of running
Disc cleanup for your Windows 10 device.

To delete temporary files, kindly follow these steps:

• Press the Windows key to launch the Start menu.
• Type in Disc cleanup and press Enter.
• Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
• Select OK.

If you need to free up more space, you can also delete system files:

• Press the Windows key to launch the Start menu.
• Type in Disc cleanup and press Enter.
• In Disk cleanup, select Clean up system files.
• Select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
• Select OK.

If the suggestions above didn't work, feel free to post back so we can further troubleshoot.