• Unknown BSOD

    Author
    Topic
    #2593664

    Last night my Win 10 22H2 system experienced a BSOD.  In the System EventLog I see

    Event 12, Subsys – SMSS The crash dump file could not be created due to a lack of free space on the destination drive. Increasing the amount of free space on the destination drive may help prevent this error.

    On my C-disk I see “28,777,144,320 bytes free”.  I did not find any other EventLog entry that had details about the BSOD.  Would there be any other place where information about the BSOD was stored?  And I cannot believe that there is not enough space on the C-disk to store a dump.  Thanks.

    Viewing 8 reply threads
    Author
    Replies
    • #2593689

      Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

      • #2593850

        That web page says, “This file is stored in <b>the C:Windowsminidump or C:Winntminidump directory</b> depending on your version of Windows.”  I do not have either of those files on my boot disk.  Also it mentions <b>%LOCALAPPDATA%CrashDumps</b> .  In that directory I have ten .dmp files, the last from 09/18/2023.

    • #2593710

      Was there a failed attempt at Windows Update logged during the same timespan?

      Any scheduled Backups or similar running/due to run?

      • #2593845

        Neither of these two occurred.  I run Windows Update manually once a month – only after AskWoody has lowered the Defcon level.  And I run backups of my two hard drives manually every Monday morning.  This occurred on a Wednesday evening.

    • #2593948

      Hi bsfinkel:

      The full dump files on my Win 10 computer are located in C:\Windows and named MEMORY.DMP. If I search C:\Windows for *.dmp I can find one old MEMORY.DMP file from April 2022.

      WIn-10-Pro-v22H2-File-Explorer-C_Windows-MEMORY_DMP-File-30-Apr-2022

      My minidump files are located in a protected system folder at C:\Windows\Minidump. I can’t view the contents of that folder from File Explorer, even if I go choose the View tab and enable Show Hidden Files. To see content of C:\Windows\Minidump I must use a file management utility like TreeSize Free (started as an Administrator), which shows I have 5 minidump files:

      TreeSize-Free-v4_7_0-Tools-Start-TreeSize-as-Administrator-14-Aug-2023

      TreeSize-Free-v4_7_0-C_Windows_Minidump-13-Oct-2023

      To analyze minidump files you can use a free utility like BlueScreenView and/or WhoCrashed. See my 14-Oct-2020 post in LawrenceJohnston’s My Vista Machine Frequently Gets the Blue Screen of Death – Help in the MS Answers forum where I post as user GreatWhiteNorth for instructions on using BlueScreenView. As I noted in that post, these free utilities only list basic details (e.g., filename, product name, file description, and file version) of the suspected driver or module that was loaded in the crash stack at the time of the crash so they aren’t as accurate as a detailed Windows Debugger (WinDbg) analysis of full dump files, but they are sometimes able to correctly identify the name of the driver or module causing your BSODs.

      If your BSOD generated a full MEMORY.DMP file I’d suggest you post in BleepingComputer’s Windows Crashes and Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Help and Support board where a specialist can perform a free diagnosis with the Windows Debugger (WinDbg). See their posting guidelines <here> for the type of information they will need in your initial post.
      ————
      Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v118.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.7.0.522 * BlueScreenView v1.55 64-bit Portable

      • #2596134

        I have a script that I wrote many years ago to rename the MEMORY.DMP file to one that contains the date and time.  But that script obviously will not work if the Windows operating system has not created a dump file.  And, every time I get a memory.dmp file I run windbg to determine what may have happened.  When I worked with IBM mainframes (25+ years), my principal job as a systems programmer was to review each operating system dump.  My complaint in this thread is that Windows 10 did NOT produce a memory dump, nor did it produce any EventLog entry (that I can find) that tells me what happened.

        • #2596175

          My complaint in this thread is that Windows 10 did NOT produce a memory dump, nor did it produce any EventLog entry (that I can find) that tells me what happened.

          Hi bsfinkel:

          For now we are assuming that your system cannot create full dump files on your hard drive because of your lack of free disk space (which you said was only ~ 30 GB), based on the wording of your error message in your original post # 2593664.

          What is the size of your total and available disk space, and total and available physical memory [open a Run dialog box (Windows key + R) and enter msinfo32]. Also follow PaulT’s suggestion in post # 2594016 and use TreeSize Free to determine what folders are using the most disk space on your hard drive.

          Here’s what TreeSize Free Portable (using the option to Run as Administrator) shows for my Dell Inspiron 5584 laptop with a 256 GB SSD (~ 125 GB used).  This image only shows folders on my C:\ drive larger than 1 GB, and I expanded the root of C:\ to show the 8 files stored there (e.g., including hidden system files like hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, etc.).

          TreeSize-Free-v4_7_0-C_Drive-All-Folders-Over-1-GB-22-Oct-2023
          —————-
          Dell Inspiron 5584 * Intel i5-8265U CPU * 8 GB RAM * 256 GB Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD * Intel UHD Graphics 620 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v118.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.7.0.522

    • #2594014

      On my C-disk I see “28,777,144,320 bytes free”

      Less than 30GB, what size dumpfile is your W10 set for? How much RAM is in the PC?

      • #2596133

        I went to the URL in your reply, and what I see there does not match anything I see on my Windows 10 system.  I am not sure how to get to the setting(s) you want me to check.

        • #2596155

          I am not sure how to get to the setting(s) you want me to check.

          Hi bsfinkel:

          For Windows 10, go to Start | Settings | System | About.  Then choose Advanced System Settings (a link under under Related Settings) | Advanced tab | Startup and Recovery | Settings … | System Failure and see the options under the Write Debugging Information dropdown.

          WIn-10-Pro-v22H2-Advanced-System-Properties-Automatic-Memory-Dumps-EDITED-22-Oct-2023
          ————
          Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v118.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690

          2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2594016

      Try Treesize free to find out what is using the space.

      cheers, Paul

    • #2596413

      I do not remember if I ever had a memory dump created in Windows 10, so I do not know what is the size of a memory.dmp file.  Does Windows really need 30 Gb to store a dump?  And even if the operating system could not store a dump file, it could have written an entry in the EventLog that had info about the reason for the BSOD.  My C-drive partition is 223 Gb in size.

      • #2596454

        …. I do not know what is the size of a memory.dmp file.

        Hi bsfinkel:

        The first image in my post # 2593948 shows my last full MEMORY.DMP file (created 30-Apr-2022) was 1.3 GB.  I don’t know if that’s a “typical” size for Win 10 dump files.

        Does Windows really need 30 Gb to store a dump?

        I don’t know, but it’s possible a full dump file will not be created if it would cause your amount of free disk space to pass a certain threshold (e.g., under 30 GB or less than 15% of total disk space). One of the other users following this thread who has more experience analyzing dump files might be be able to answer this, but I know that the amount of disk space allocated to Windows system repair points in the hidden C:\System Volume Information folder is based on a formula that takes your total disk size into account – the smaller the drive the less maximum disk space Windows will allocate use to save system repair points.

        … And even if the operating system could not store a dump file, it could have written an entry in the EventLog that had info about the reason for the BSOD.

        The Help Desk Geek article How to Fix “Dump File Creation Failed” Error in Windows lists other possible reasons why a dump file might not be created, including corrupted system files (see my comments below about System File Checker and DISM scans), a malfunctioning BIOS, a malfunctioning hardware component, or even an overzealous disk cleaner that is cleaning dump files from your hard drive.

        I’m not certain, but I seem to recall that I’ve had one or two blue screens in the past on my Win 10 machine that displayed a stop code that Windows was able to automatically repair without creating a full dump file. However, I’d still expect something to be logged in the Event Viewer, even if an automatic repair was possible.

        My C-drive partition is 223 Gb in size.

        Thanks for that info, but you still haven’t answered satrow’s 14-Oct-2023 question in post # 2594014 about the size of dump file your system is configured to create. It would be helpful if you posted a screenshot of what you currently see in the System Failure section of your Advanced System Settings (area # 4 of my image in post # 2596155), as well as an image from TreeSize Free showing the folders on your system that are using at least 1 – 2 GB of disk space (see my image in post # 2596175).

        If you haven’t already done so, I’d suggest you also run System File Checker (sfc /scannow) and DISM commands like Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth from an elevated command prompt with Administrator rights as instructed in the ghacks.net article Use DISM to Fix Issues SFC Can’t just in case you have any corrupted Windows system files. Post back if either of those scans finds a problem with your system files.
        —————-
        Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v118.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690

        1 user thanked author for this post.
      • #2596495

        The reasons for my questions in https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/unknown-bsod/#post-2594014 were to enable us to find the size set for a crash dump (none > > > > full memory dump), (there are also boxes that would disallow logging and options for overwriting previous dumps).

        I have 64GB of RAM, so potentially I could have huge crash dumps, though my preference for ‘initial’ dumps is for 256k, easy(!) to check basics and can be useful in a majority of crash types. Smaller proportions of crash types need kernel dumps to stand a decent chance of diagnosis, a small number of crash types might well require full memory dumps for a fighting chance of a fix. There are 4-6 dump sizes to choose from iirc, dependent on OS.

        There are times when the (System drive)page file needs to be set to greater than the memory size to enable a full memory dump.

        So, we really need your numbers to help visualize what might be going on.

        1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2596755

      Replies:

      #25961553
      I have attached a screenshot – StartupAndRecovery-231024.JPG
      ———-
      #2594014
      I have 32 Gb or RAM in my machine.
      ———-
      #2594016
      I have one or two old large Garmin GPS files that I will remove.
      ———-
      #2594016
      I can see the System Volume Information hidden directory using “dir … /ah”, but I do not how to get into that directory to see what is there (via an Admin CMD Window).  I always have an admin CMD window open and available.
      ———-
      #2596454
      C:\>sfc /scannow

      Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

      Beginning verification phase of system scan.
      Verification 100% complete.

      Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
      For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
      windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
      repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

      C:\> cd \Windows\logs\cbs
      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>copy cbs.log cbs.231024.log
      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>sfc /scannow

      Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

      Beginning verification phase of system scan.
      Verification 100% complete.

      Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
      For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
      windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
      repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>copy cbs.log cbs.231024a.log
      1 file(s) copied.

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>

      I looked at the saved CBS.log file, and I have no idea if the errors it reports are germaine to this problem. Nor do I know how to correct any of the errors reported.
      I have attached the second (24a) log file.

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

      Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
      Version: 10.0.19041.3570

      Image Version: 10.0.19045.3570

      The component store is repairable.
      The operation completed successfully.

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

      Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
      Version: 10.0.19041.3570

      Image Version: 10.0.19045.3570

      The component store is repairable.
      The operation completed successfully.

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>

      This tells me that the “component store is repairable”, but it does not tell me how.

      I think that I have answered the questions in the many replies in this thread.

      • #2596759

        DISM commands associated with the Component Store. Analyze first. Then, I would try the second one and see if it cleans it up by then rerunning the Analyze command again.

        DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore
        DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
        DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /Resetbase

        • #2596773
          1 user thanked author for this post.
        • #2599710

          C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /Resetbase

          Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
          Version: 10.0.19041.3570

          Image Version: 10.0.19045.3570

          [==========================100.0%==========================]
          The operation completed successfully.

          C:\Windows\Logs\CBS>

          • #2600461

            Hi bsfinkel:

            What is your current status since running your DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image commands? For example, does System File Checker (sfc /scannow) still detect problems that it cannot repair, and are you still experiencing BSODs?
            ———–
            Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v119.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23100.2009 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.5.293-1.0.2181 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690

            • #2601021

              In response to Imacri ( #2600461) – The one BSOD that prompted this thread has not recurred.  Here is the output of “sfc/scannow”:

              D:\Computer> sfc /scannow

              Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

              Beginning verification phase of system scan.
              Verification 100% complete.

              Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
              For online repairs, details are included in the CBS log file located at
              windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For example C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log. For offline
              repairs, details are included in the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag.

              D:\Computer>
              —–

              I have attached the cbs.log file; the sfc command took a few minutes to run, so I assume that the sfc command began at 14:47.

            • #2601059

              Here is the output of “sfc/scannow”:  …Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

              Hi bskinkel:

              I’d advise you try to Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade as Paul T suggested on 25-Oct-2023 in post # 2596888. That TenForums tutorial states that “You will keep all apps, programs and personal data, just as when you upgrade, as an in-place upgrade repair uses the same basic mechanism as when you upgrade” and also notes that “You will need at least around 8.87 GB + what Windows is currently using of free space available on the Windows drive“, so if you have any more old Garmin GPS files that are no longer required be sure to archive them on another drive to free up as much disk space as possible before starting. As PaulT noted, you should also make a full disk image with disk imaging software (e.g., Macrium Reflect, EaseUS Todo Backup, etc.), before starting the repair install just in case something goes wrong and you need to perform an emergency recovery.

              Once your over-the-top repair install of Windows 10 v22H2 is finished run the commands DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth and sfc /scannow again just to confirm both those commands run to completion without finding any damaged system files.
              ———–
              Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v119.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23100.2009 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.5.293-1.0.2181 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690

            • #2601156

              Does the Repair Install Windows 11 have a relationship to my initial query – an unknown BSOD where the dump was not stored nor was an EventLog entry written?  I know that “sfc scannow” shows errors, but is there any error that is affecting the operation of Windows 10?

            • #2601166

              Just my opinion:

              Does the Repair Install Windows 11 have a relationship to my initial query – an unknown BSOD where the dump was not stored nor was an EventLog entry written?

              It might, it should (hopefully) but truthfully – we don’t have enough details to be sure of anything.

              but is there any error that is affecting the operation of Windows 10?

              Again, we’d hope/expect to see a cleaned up version of W10 with at least reduction of sfc errors, but…

      • #2596777

        If you haven’t already done so, I’d suggest you also run System File Checker (sfc /scannow) and DISM commands like Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth from an elevated command prompt with Administrator rights as instructed in the ghacks.net article Use DISM to Fix Issues SFC Can’t just in case you have any corrupted Windows system files. Post back if either of those scans finds a problem with your system files.

        Hi bsfinkel:

        Further to my suggestion in post # 2596454, the ghacks.net article Use DISM to Fix Issues SFC Can’t I referenced lists three DISM commands:

        • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth (quickly checks the image for the corruption flag and returns its findings to you but does not run repair operations)
        • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth (scans for component store corruption but does not correct any issues; the findings of the scan are returned in the command prompt window)
        • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth (scans for component store corruption and attempts to repair any issues that it finds automatically)

        If a scan with the /CheckHealth switch finds the image is corrupted, then you would normally proceed with /ScanHealth (if you would like to see details of the corruption) and then /RestoreHealth (to attempt a repair) as b suggested in post # 2596773.

        The Microsoft support article Using System File Checker in Windows recommends running Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth before running sfc /scannow.
        ————
        Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v119.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690

      • #2596809

        I can see the System Volume Information hidden directory using “dir … /ah”, but I do not how to get into that directory to see what is there (via an Admin CMD Window). I always have an admin CMD window open and available.

        Hi bsfinkel:

        Use the TreeSize Free utility I suggested in post # 2596175, using the option to Run as Administrator as shown below. I’ve attached an image of the contents of my C:\System Volume Information folder, which uses ~ 20 GB on my 256 GB SSD. If you have problems browsing to that hidden folder from TreeSize Free then go to File Explorer and show hidden items (View | Hidden Items | ENABLED) – you shouldn’t have to do this but it’s a known glitch that JAM Software has assured me will be fixed in a future release of TreeSize.

        TreeSize-Free-v4_7_0-Tools-Start-TreeSize-as-Administrator-14-Aug-2023-1

        I occasionally use the CCleaner Free utility to run a Custom Clean of my system and can go to Tools | System Restore to see more details about the 8 system restore points currently on my system.

        CCleaner-v6_17-Tools-System-Restore-Eight-Restore-Points-24-Oct-2023

        NOTE that Windows System Restore is normally disabled by default on Win 10 and Win 11, and since I have lots of free disk space I ENABLED System Restore as instructed in the Windows Central article How to Use System Restore on Windows 10. If you have not enabled System Restore your C:\System Volume Information folder should be much smaller than mine.
        ————
        Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3570 * Firefox v119.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23090.2008-1.1.23090.2007 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.4.286-1.0.2163 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.7.0.522 * CCleaner Free Portable v6.17.10746

        • #2654324

          I have a problem with free space on my C-drive.  Some unknown process(es) is/are using disk space, and I cannot tell what is happening.  A week ago, I had low disk space messages, and I did nothing; the free space came back.  Look at this:

          0 Dir(s) 13,557,297,152 bytes free     03/24 08:30
          3 Dir(s)     416,718,848 bytes free      03/27
          3 Dir(s)     537,169,920 bytes free      03/27
          0 Dir(s)     537,382,912 bytes free      03/27
          0 Dir(s)    1,113,702,400 bytes free    03/27
          0 Dir(s)    1,106,006,016 bytes free   03/27
          0 Dir(s)    1,106,096,128 bytes free   03/27
          0 Dir(s)    1,050,591,232 bytes free   03/27
          0 Dir(s)      241,594,368 bytes free    03/27
          0 Dir(s)     241,975,296 bytes free     03/27

          When I did a backup of my C-drive Monday. I had lots of free space.  Between then and today (Wed PM) , the free space has dramatically been reduced.  These lines are from a cmd window “dir” commands, where I have added the date.  Most of the last lines are from tonight, where the free space has dropped from 1 Gb to 241 Mb.  And I have not done anything “extraordinary” that I think might have caused this.  Tomorrow I will power-off my machine to replace the motherboard, and, if I remember, I will get free space listings before and after.  I wonder if there is some Windows 10 process that is storing one or more hidden files on my c-drive.  I do not know if TreeSize has access to hidden files.  I have looked at TreeSize output, and I cannot see any large files that are abnormal.  I will post more tomorrow after the new motherboard is installed.

           

          • #2654359

            13GB is not enough free space. You may be able to get some back by cleaning out files using TreeSize free, but I think you need a bigger SSD.

            cheers, Paul

          • #2654442

            Here is more information.  The culprit may be Firefox.  This morning I clicked on a URL in Thunderbird, and Firefox updated.  I assume that Firefox had crashed overnight, but I do not see a FF “crash” window, and I have not looked at FF crash reports.  After FF restarted, my C-disk reported   14,932,058,112 bytes free.  I have a full directory listing from Monday’s incremental backup and from this morning’s full backup.  I have a “diff” listing that I have to research.

            • #2654750

              The culprit may be Firefox. This morning I clicked on a URL in Thunderbird, and Firefox updated. I assume that Firefox had crashed overnight, but I do not see a FF “crash” window, and I have not looked at FF crash reports.

              Hi bsfinkel:

              You should also check your Windows Reliability Monitor (search for “reliability history” from your taskbar or enter perfmon /rel in a Run dialog box) to see what errors, if any, are being logged.

              For example, my Win 10 Pro v22H2 Reliability Monitor shows one “stopped responding” error has been logged for my Firefox browser on 18-Mar-2024 in the past 30 days. The other errors logged in the past 30 days were not related to Firefox. See the ComputerWorld article Troubleshooting Windows 10 with Reliability Monitor for further information.

              Win-10-Pro-v22H2-Reliability-Monitor-Firefox-Stopped-Responding-18-Mar-2024

              If you believe there is a problem with your Firefox browser then see the Mozilla support article Troubleshoot and Diagnose Firefox Problems. Most problems with Firefox can be solved by a reinstall of your Firefox program (Step # 4) or refresh of your Firefox browser (Step # 5).

              Note: A Firefox reinstall or refresh will not remove personal data like your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies, etc. since that data is stored in a separate folder in your Firefox profile, but a full refresh will remove your browser extensions (which are often the cause of Firefox problems) and you will need to reinstall your browser extensions after the refresh.
              ———-
              Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.4170 * Firefox v124.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24020.7-1.1.24020.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

              1 user thanked author for this post.
          • #2654745

            I do not know if TreeSize has access to hidden files. I have looked at TreeSize output, and I cannot see any large files that are abnormal.

            Hi bsfinkel:

            If you run TreeSize Free with Administrator rights as I instructed in my 24-Oct-2023  post # 2593948 then it will show hidden folders and files.

            Here are some highlights from the TreeSize Free image of my C:\ drive I posted on 22-Oct-2023 in post # 2596175 (attached again to this reply).  Note that TreeSize Free was run with  Administrator rights and results were sorted by “% of Parent” from largest to smallest.

            • At that time I had a 223 GB C:\ drive with 125.4 GB used (i.e. 97.6 GB free). Note: Settings | System | Storage will also show your free and used disk space and folders that are using the most disk space, but with less detail than TreeSize Free. I have Storage Sense (Windows automatic disk cleaning) in those settings disabled and clean my hard drive manually once a week but see the MS support article Manage Drive Space with Storage Sense for more information.
            • The largest folder on my C:\ drive is C:\Users (47.6 GB), and if I had drilled down and expanded that folder I would have seen that my music files in my personal folder at C:\Users\<myusername>\Music are using most of that 47.6 GB of disk space.
            • TreeSize Free can see the contents of hidden folders like C:\System Volume Information (21.7 GB, where system restore points are saved) and C:\ProgramData (6.2 GB).
            • TreeSize Free can see hidden files. For example, that image shows I have a single file in the root of C:\ named hyberfil.sys that uses 3.2 GB of disk space. Note: The C:\hyberfil.sys file is used to store your current session on your hard drive when your computer goes into Hibernation mode, unlike Sleep mode which stores your current session in RAM memory. See the MakeUseOf article Should You Delete the Hiberfil.sys File in Windows 10?, which explains how you can disable hibernation and reclaim the disk space used by hyberfil.sys if you don’t use this Windows power option.

            13GB is not enough free space. You may be able to get some back by cleaning out files using TreeSize free, but I think you need a bigger SSD.

            I agree with Paul T.  If TreeSize Free doesn’t find large files or folders with personal data that you can either delete or archive onto an external hard drive (e.g., like the Garmin GPS files you mentioned in your 24-Oct-2023 post # 2596755) to free up more disk space then you need a larger hard drive.
            ———-
            Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.4170 * Firefox v124.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24020.7-1.1.24020.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * TreeSize Fre Portable v4.7.2.526

            1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2596888

      Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them

      It may be easier to “install over the top” to repair that – after an image backup, of course. See this post: Got a misbehaving Windows 10? reinstall

      cheers, Paul

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2654450

      If system restore is not accidentally taking much more than the typical 3%, check under settings, then I agree the easiest next step is installing a large enough Ssd, 1tb is about the most mainstream size but consider your future needs.

    Viewing 8 reply threads
    Reply To: Unknown BSOD

    You can use BBCodes to format your content.
    Your account can't use all available BBCodes, they will be stripped before saving.

    Your information: