I have a Dell Inspiron running Win 11. Maybe 10 years old? A little less?

459 GB hard drive and usually right at 1/4 full. Yesterday I logged on to duckduckgo and got an error message that it was down to 44 GB free space. Today it's down to 1.94 GB free space.

I've cleaned everything I can. CCleaner 7. Disc Cleaner. History on Google and duckduckgo.

I surf the net and stream movies via netflix and prime plus watch music vids on youtube, etc.

Suggestions? thnx

Not a guru - I use all the same programs you have, but I also run Malwarebytes daily. I have a yearly subscription but here's the free version if you're interested:

https://www.malwarebytes.com/solutions/virus-scanner

Not sure if it'll have any effect, but I figure a good anti-virus program can't hurt.

There is an utility called Folder Size - https://www.folder-size.com/.

Run it and see what is taking up space.

Delete as necessary and empty your recycle bin.

Hidden windows installation files? You may have to change your settings to make all files visible. My default assumption now is that Windows has fouled something up...

Do a search for any files larger than 10MB in size and see what they are and if you need them or not and delete them. You might also be able to figure out by the file names what may be creating them, etc. Hope this helps. God Bless

Your browser cannot independently determine your hard drive available space.

You are likely responding to a browswer ad or malware. You are possibly accepting a statement on a browser as true when it is selling a hard drive cleaning software.

If you mean by log on to duckduckgo that you start the browswer, and a pop up warning appears, that is a nonsensical ad.

Have you tried using Windows 11's "Disk Cleanup"?

Control Panel -> Windows Tools -> Disk Cleanup.

Check Task Manager to see if you have any strange programs running; end the tasks.

Besides what’s been already mentioned, try FREE Privazer and when it’s done cleaning, look in detail at all the stored checkpoints you’ve in your drive and get rid of some if not most of the old ones.

Forcing a checkdisk at boot is also a good idea while you’re doing this health check.

It does look like a false alarm anyways.

0-0

After much googlefoo, turns out it's a microsoft bug and if you're using Win 11, you need to update. Microsoft has put a glitch on my computer that steals 500 MB of space. By the time I discovered this, I only had ~1.2 GB left, and the Microsoft fix requires ~2.75 GB. That's where I am right now.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/micr...1-bug-140220863.html

quote:

Originally posted by Biker_dude:

turns out it's a microsoft bug

Really? A Microsoft bug? Hard to believe. Who woulda thunk?

quote:

the Microsoft fix requires ~2.75 GB

WTH?!

Sorry, you lost me at “10 years old”. I might be a snob, but I think it is just silly to put effort (let alone any money) into a computer that old.

Especially one that runs windoze.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Sorry, you lost me at “10 years old”. I might be a snob, but I think it is just silly to put effort (let alone any money) into a computer that old.

Especially one that runs windoze.

Hmmm, let's see...New PC at likely a $1000.00 outlay vs. spend some time unfucking it because Microsoft Windows Update(s) can (and do!) break things! Not to mention that the brand new PC could just as easily be fucked by a 'quasi-mandatory' Windows Update as the old PC, so there's no 'real' advantage to purchasing a new PC, if the old one works just fine anyway.

I've got three 10 YO PCs running Windows 11 that run just fine, so I'll save my money! None of my W11 PCs have received a Windows update since late April...I decide when & if an update is 'safe & effective' and/or necessary, and I plan to keep it that way!

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Sorry, you lost me at “10 years old”. I might be a snob, but I think it is just silly to put effort (let alone any money) into a computer that old.

Especially one that runs windoze.

If it's running 11, it can't be all that bad. It's a simple drive space problem - solved by either doing some clean up or even buying a new larger drive. Not sure I'd dump a working web surfing machine just because it's "old".

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:

quote:

the Microsoft fix requires ~2.75 GB

WTH?!

!!!!! Furthermore, !!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
You are likely responding to a browswer ad or malware.

No. It's real. Forbes: "Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Bug That Eats 500GB Of Your Storage"
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/micr...1-bug-140220863.html

I tried to run their "patch" and saw my available free space reach '0' out of 469 GB. At that point I couldn't even open a word document.

I stopped the download because it had earlier reached 99% download but wouldn't go any further. It then abandoned the download and said to retry. I retried but this time it hung up at 32% and that's when the available space reached '0'.

The linked Forbes article says MS is going to address the issue on Tuesday.

Yup...

https://www.windowslatest.com/...if-you-are-affected/

I'd be interested to know which Windows Update caused this issue. I'm currently running Build 26100.8246 on all of my Windows 11 PCs. I've 'avoided' the last couple Patch Tuesday 'Cumulative Updates' (May & June) as I had seen some concerning reports of issues I figured I'd rather avoid. I also skipped the Cumulative Updates for January and March due to similar concerns.

Recent patch is supposed to fix it.
KB5095093

https://support.microsoft.com/...f8-9f08-e6996220882d

I'm actually installing it now.

^^ I'm definitely NOT a fan of Preview Updates but it appears there's no other solution unless you wait until the Cumulative Update on Tuesday 7/14. I guess Microsoft doesn't consider this issue important enough to release an OOB (Out-of-Band) Update.