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Glenn56's avatar
Glenn56
Copper Contributor
Nov 02, 2026

Storage full

Hi all, I hope someone can help me. I do all the usual house cleaning of my PC regularly, but despite this, my c drive is nearing the end of the red zone. I ran WinDirStat, but unfortunately that doesn't help as it doesn't indicate what is safe/unsafe to remove. It is peppered with tiny purple blocks, forming one huge block. The next one is the red block (local drive). Most of this is MS Edge related and Edge is almost impossible to remove. I have added the image below. Any help would be gratefully appreciated:

 

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2 Replies

  • Jamony's avatar
    Jamony
    MCT
    Nov 07, 2026

    Your screenshot highlights Windows system storage, including WinSxS and NTFS metadata; the purple file-type colour does not establish that Edge owns all that space. Please do not remove those blocks directly.

     

    Start with Settings > System > Storage > Cleanup recommendations, reviewing temporary files and personal files before accepting deletion. Move wanted downloads or other large personal files elsewhere instead of deleting them.

     

    For WinSxS, run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore from an administrator terminal. Its actual-size calculation accounts for hard links, unlike a simple directory total. If cleanup is recommended, use DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup and compare free space afterward.

     

    One important qualification to the earlier reply: adding /ResetBase prevents uninstalling all currently installed update packages. I would not include it in the first cleanup attempt. The screenshot also cannot prove the transaction metadata is stale; leave it intact and investigate that separately if it remains unusually large.

  • Goutham Valugula's avatar
    Goutham Valugula
    Brass Contributor
    Nov 02, 2026

    Hi Glenn56,

     

    Edge isn't what's filling your drive. Your WinDirStat screenshot points at two Windows system areas instead.

     

    Part 1: NTFS transaction metadata (about 21 GB). C:\$Extend\$RmMetadata\$Txf holds roughly 104,000 tiny files, about 21 GB in total. These are the "tiny purple blocks" and the big red block in your treemap. It's stale transactional NTFS metadata, and Disk Cleanup doesn't see it. Please don't delete it manually. Instead, open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

     

    fsutil resource setautoreset true C:\

     

    Then restart. After that, run "chkdsk C: /f" and let it run on the next reboot. This usually clears the metadata.

     

    Part 2: A very large WinSxS folder (reported as about 100 GB). WinDirStat counts hardlinked files more than once, so this figure is inflated. Your drive has only about 3.5 GB free, though, so the real size is likely well above normal. Check the real size and clean it up with:

     

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

     

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

     

    If the analysis says the store is corrupt or needs repair, also run:

     

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

     

    sfc /scannow

     

    Also worth checking: Disk Cleanup > "Clean up system files" (old Windows Update files); System Restore and shadow copies (vssadmin list shadowstorage); and the hibernation file (powercfg /h off, if you don't use hibernate).

     

    Start with the fsutil step and restart, then run the DISM commands. Please post back what AnalyzeComponentStore reports and how much space you get back.