drive used/free space dilemma

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skipro
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm

drive used/free space dilemma

Post by skipro »

Win 7 partition: Lenovo laptop
Win 10 also on HD

BIBM [partition works],
"Detail" used = 276G, free = 75G
"Resize" min = 276G
Partition works "Edit" sees the same contents as Win plus pagefile & hiberfile = 10G and a hidden "OEM Recovery partition", which = 172MB. This is an additional 10G Win appears not to see.

Win Powershell, cmd prompt, File Explorer
used = 269G [plus 10G not seen] = 279G [close to BIBM results]
free = 73.5G

"File Explorer", in both Win 7 & Win 10, calculate the Drive [in left column] = used 269G, free 73.5G
This is significantly larger than what is reasonable for this OS. It is a minimal OS and I have run Disk Cleanup, including System files, several times. There is no bloat.
BUT!!!!
"File Explorer" calculates the total of all items [in right column] as 68G or used space = 68G
This is approximately the size what I would expect for this OS partition,
I see nothing else but the contents of Win 7 and all adds up to 68G.

BIBM and Win seem to come to same calculation when looking "AT THE DRIVE"
But a major discrepancy exists:
the drive = 269G
the contents = 68G

Something invisible is either taking space or the method of calculating is off.
I have run scandisk, dskchk /f numerous times. I even defragged.
I ran Seagate HD utility with no errors on HD.
What am I missing?
Eric
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: France

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by Eric »

skipro wrote:
> BUT!!!!
> "File Explorer" calculates the total of all items [in right
> column] as 68G or used space = 68G

This can appear if you don't open "File Explorer" with administrator rights. In that case, the "File Explorer" cannot access many directories (like directories of others users, system directories...), and thus, doesn't count there contents.
skipro
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by skipro »

Eric,
Run as admin, got same results.
Even if it did include some additional stuff, 269G vs 68G??
I do not think it is hidden stuff, it is too much. I think it is in the calculation.
Eric
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: France

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by Eric »

I suppose the basket is empty ?
TeraByte Support
Posts: 3596
Joined: Thu May 05, 2011 10:37 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by TeraByte Support »

all the hidden file system metadata also takes space, as does reserved space, swap file, restore points, indexes, etc.. Some administrator doesn't have access to without changing permissions and would have to also see hidden and system files.
skipro
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by skipro »

I have worked with many OS partitions and have never seen anything like this.
This is an OS with minimal stuff in it. There are minimal programs and no data. It shows as 269G. It should show about the 68G as seen in explorer when adding the parts. Nothing like the calculation of the "whole". 269G, not a chance. 200G of invisible [to everything] stuff!

Previous reply:"
"all the hidden file system metadata also takes space, as does reserved space, swap file, restore points, indexes, etc.. Some administrator doesn't have access to without changing permissions and would have to also see hidden and system files."

I have never seen a Win OS, similar to this one, anywhere near this size. I cannot see how any standard hidden stuff could account for this difference.
Why is this OS partition different than all the others? Why would stuff be "more hidden" in this one?
I would think "Partition Works" would not be limited by OS permissions. What would be hidden from Partition Works?

Sorry folks, I could be off base here, but the suggestions, which I appreciate, do not resonate with my brain. Maybe I am dense.
Bob Coleman
Posts: 785
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:58 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by Bob Coleman »

I don't really know much about this. but a couple of thoughts.

"BIBM and Win seem to come to same calculation when looking "AT THE DRIVE"".

If that's true, why is this being pursued here rather than perhaps in a more general Windows support forum?

"Why is this OS partition different than all the others? Why would stuff be "more hidden" in this one?".

I guess the implication here is that the reported values must be incorrect. Just being devil's advocate, I might ask "Why would Windows and/or BIBM be calculating any differently on this partition than any other?".
skipro
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by skipro »

Bob,
Logical questions, but..
The reason I posted here was the makers of this software are much more knowledgeable regarding hard drives than even the most knowledgeable Win techs. I think this is a hard drive issue, not a Win issue.
My belief is the HD is sending this info, so Win and PW report the same. My guess is the HD has sections on the disks that create or are calculating this number [used]. Are they errors or bad sections, but not being reported by tests. Is this why they do not show as "Available" or "unused"? That is my best guess. As far as I know, bad sections are marked as "unavailable". This would show as less "available" or "unused". Would this then show as more "used"?
Is this a circuit board issue? Could that create misleading numbers?
I am surely NOT trying to prove myself right or correct. I welcome someone proving me wrong. I would welcome a more provable answer, one that makes more sense.

"Terabyte Support"
I base this theory largely on PW.
I would think PW would show ALL, hidden or not. If that is the case, there are no unaccountable files, and it reinforces my hypothesis.
If this is wrong, would someone educate me to the limitations of PW in seeing "stuff". What will PW not see?
Other than a file/folder, what else would use disk space in an OS partition.
I am open to learning something new.

The obvious, to me, test of my theory is to delete the partition, see what the unused space is. Will it show all?
Also, copy partition to another drive and check sizes.
I was hoping for a more academic answer since the HD is not currently available.
Brian K
Posts: 2213
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:11 am
Location: NSW, Australia

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by Brian K »

skipro,

To give us more information, can you run TBOSDT Pro as an Admin and enter...

list hd 0 /f /u /w /a=2048 /s /t

Can you post a screenshot of the result?
skipro
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm

Re: drive used/free space dilemma

Post by skipro »

As requested. MBR 1 is partition being discussed.
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