Is Windows Bad At Math?
Is Windows Bad At Math?
Remove concealed objects and verify once more. Clear the Recycle Bin.
Did you choose several external drives instead of just the C drive? That’s not the standard dialog when you right-click a drive. Also, run windirstat to see how your drives are being used.
You manage a large collection of files and folders. The situation changes based on whether your folders use NTFS compression—this can shrink file sizes by about half if they’re compressible. NTFS stores essential details like file names, timestamps, and metadata in a special reserved space. For tiny files (around 100-200 bytes), NTFS still keeps this information in that reserved area rather than reserving a larger block. So, for instance, if you have 50,000 files averaging 150 bytes each, you’d accumulate roughly 7.5 MB of data that isn’t visible because it’s hidden in the reserved metadata space.
Right click the folder, go to properties, look for read-only and hidden checkboxes, then select Advanced and enable "Compress contents to save disk space." Avoid using folders with music and video files—they’re already compressed, so they won’t compress further. If your files usually shrink to about 75% or less using tools like WinZip, 7-Zip, or Ntfs File System when compression is turned on, they’ll be compressed automatically. Files that don’t compress well stay unchanged.