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Josew's avatar
Josew
Silver Contributor
Apr 11, 2026

Windows 11 D Drive Space Drops Dramatically After Deleting Game

After emptying the recycle bin to delete a large game folder on Windows 11, my D drive space dropped drastically (from over 100GB to 40GB). Disk check found no errors. What's causing this? Any fixes?

3 Replies

  • AdamWu's avatar
    AdamWu
    Iron Contributor
    Apr 13, 2026

    Run the command `chkdsk D: /f /r` to repair file system errors, and manually delete the `D:\System Volume Information` and `D:\$RECYCLE.BIN` folders to free up hidden space.

  • Azaellow's avatar
    Azaellow
    Brass Contributor
    Apr 13, 2026

    This is the most probable culprit. Every drive has a reserved "maximum size" for the Recycle Bin (e.g., 10% of the drive). If the folder you deleted was larger than this limit, Windows bypasses the Recycle Bin entirely and performs a permanent deletion.

  • Lifeoozne's avatar
    Lifeoozne
    Copper Contributor
    Apr 12, 2026

    This issue is typically caused by a corrupted or hidden $Recycle.Bin folder on the drive. When the Recycle Bin metadata becomes corrupted, Windows may fail to release deleted files properly, leaving large hidden files behind even though the bin appears empty. In some cases, Shadow Copies/Restore Points or hidden system folders such as System Volume Information can also consume unexpected space.

    Steps that you can try 

    1. Manually clear the Recycle Bin folder

    Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

    rd /s /q D:\$Recycle.Bin

    This deletes the hidden Recycle Bin folder on D:. Windows will recreate it automatically.

    2. Check Shadow Copy storage

    Run:

    vssadmin list shadowstorage

    If large allocations exist, reduce or delete them:

    vssadmin delete shadows /for=D: /all

    3. Scan with a disk space analyzer

    Use WinDirStat, TreeSize, or WizTree to identify hidden folders consuming space. This confirms whether $Recycle.Bin or System Volume Information is responsible.

    4. Run Storage Sense or Disk Cleanup

    • Go to Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense and run cleanup.
    • Or run cleanmgr, select D:, and tick Recycle Bin and Temporary Files.

    Notes

    • Deleting $Recycle.Bin permanently removes recoverable files.
    • Removing shadow copies deletes restore points, so ensure backups exist first.
    • Disk analyzers are safe read‑only tools; they will not modify files.

     

    The space loss is almost certainly due to a corrupted $Recycle.Bin folder or hidden shadow copies. Clearing the Recycle Bin folder and checking shadow storage should restore the missing space immediately.