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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 doe...
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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.