Hopefully it’s ok to ask this question on here even though it’s not Blender related. This has been the best forum I’ve known for getting positive answers to my questions, so here goes…
My C drive on my laptop is a 1TB NVM storage. It’s presently showing 33.5GB of 935GB but if I go through my folder and files I can only count up to about 730GB. I know there will be things I’m not seeing but I’m sure I should have more free space available than just 33.5GB.
I have also tried looking at the System - Storage settings but the readings here seem odd as well. For instance, it states that I have 86GB in ‘temporary files’ but if I go in to that setting, it only shows that I have about 29GB available.
Can anyone advise me about a good method of reclaiming space on my drive? I’m quite new to windows, especially Windows 11.
Get a software that shows You what is taking space: I recommend Wiz-tree
Install it and use it on that drive
From there You will be able to see what actually is taking that space, and… Now unfortunately You will have to know if its necessary or cant be deleted.
Obviously dont delete stuff that You dont know what it is.
But stuff named “Temp”, “Cache”, “Temporary”, usually can be safely deleted, they will be regenerated/redownloaded by its sofware when needed.
Also for “.blend” files: Numbered blend files are older versions of same file
So “.blend1”, “.blend2”, “.blend3” and so on can be deleted if You are sure You wouldnt want to use previous file version cause You broke something or deleted something that You shouldn’t.
If You dont mind sharing Your folder/file names for privacy reasons (eg. projects that are NDA) You can post screen here or send me on private message.
If you want an instant way and index of all your files(even the hidden ones) I would recommend Everything from Voidtools. https://www.voidtools.com/downloads/
To find those files search type this in; .part .blend1|.blend2|.blend3|.blend4
(you need to add * in the front of each filetype if you want to ignore the filename and only focus on the filetype itself. The forum omits that symbol since it is occupied by making text bold)
With the new 1.5 Alpha, you could also use this command to find a range of files starting from blend1.
regex:extension:^blend(\d+)$
you are correct on that speed advantage which Wiz-tree has over SpaceSniffer.
That advantage might be just a couple minutes/seconds per search but adds up significantly over multiple uses.
That makes its paid version worthy of a purchase or of course using Everything which uses the same NTFS indexing method - reading the Master File Table (MFT)
I tend to favor the visual representation of SpaceSniffer over Wiz-tree.
Unless you donate/purchase a license, Wiz-tree has an obnoxious shaking Donation button which I couldn´t stand. (its in the category of bad practices you often see in nagware)
With the free version, you are bound to only non-commercial purposes.
But also: realize that Windows disk-management strategies have also begun to evolve to reflect “present available-storage realities.” Namely: “Today, there is a ridiculousabundance of ‘available space.’” Therefore, there is really no point in “reclaiming available space,” except in the now very-unlikely event that you actually need to do so.
The filesystems now simply “stuff the unwanted files into a sort of trash-bin.” And do nothing further. Until and unless there is an actual need to do so.
Yes, as an old-school programmer, I vividly remember the days when “application requirements” fought against “extremely limited resources.” However, today, the situation has completely reversed. Today, they must deal with “abundance” on all fronts.
Unless – very unlikely – you actually have “a problem,” don’t bother to “solve it.”
