So, I've lost upwards of 70 GB. I read on the internet it could be backups taking up all the space. Any truth to this? If so, how does one fix this? The article didn't give a solution. There isn't much installed on my computer at this point compared to what used to be installed. Even so, I have 127 GB left out of 586. This is after I uninstalled the vast majority of my games and other large files.

It started when I tried downloading a torrent worth around 50 GB. That was the first time I've used a torrent in.... 6 years? Basically, I realized that I really didn't need what I was downloading, and I didn't want to leave my computer sitting for a day and a half. So, I canceled the torrent at around 1.3% and right as I tried to delete it my computer froze, as it tends to do. I restarted my computer, opened up uTorrent, deleted the torrent in question, and checked my memory left: it was down by exactly 50. Obviously restarting the computer, et al, didn't work. The memory is just gone.

I then lost another 20 GB for no explainable reason later in the future. I got about 10 of that back, also for no explained reason, even later. I'm still missing around 60 GB. Any idea where it is and why it left me?

Also, Microsoft Visual C++ is taking up 3.99 TB according to Programs and Features. Is that normal?

It's... it's eating it! Then, it's going to eat me! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

1. Is your Windows page file set to be managed by Windows?
2. BitTorrent clients typically reserve the amount of space required for the entire file when it starts downloading. You probably have the placeholder file from the torrent on your HD somewhere.

Also...and I'm not knit-picking you here...just for clarity...you're talking about HD space - not memory.

Your memory is being eaten by your computer? SAVE YOUR MEMORIES MAN! RUN FOR IT!

How exactly could I check either of these? I've gotten a grand total of 8 hours of sleep in the past three days, and I wasn't very well learned in advanced computer literacy to begin with.

Actually, I may be stupider than I thought. I can at least check for the torrent file by myself, although I think I've already deleted that.


EDIT: Welp. Found the torrents. Now at 180GB. Although there's still that issue of the missing twenty, but... Eh. Wow. Okay. Going to stop pretending I have the slightest hint of human intelligence in any given situation now. Not that I thought I had much to begin with.

Lol...most people aren't interested in being computer geeks. It's not a character flaw.

As far as the paging file goes, http://www.theeldergeek.com/physically_setting_the_page_file_size.htm. If it's set to "system managed" that could be why you're seeing fluctuations of a gig or two here and there. Not sure about the 20, though. Have you ever used http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner? You could start by using that to delete temporary files.

I am interested in being a computer geek. Started after I first upgraded my computer. I'm just too stupid.

I run windows 7, but, hmm. I'll try CCleaner. What exactly is characterized as a "temporary file?" Anything possibly important?

EDIT: Researched what exactly a temporary file is. Turns out the name is self explanatory. I was just worried that some programs running would be using temporary files every now and then to help them run. Which they do. I was just worried the cleaner would hurt that. Apparently it only removes leftover files, and I assume the programs could make the files again if they needed to.

I feed my computer external harddrives, which it's happy with..

although it's becoming a little bloated, like me

Any temp files that you may have downloaded online.

Also your System Restore may be taking up some of the space. (I believe the default setting is it will take up 10% of your HDD).

Its worth going into you main drive and doing disk clean up as well, tick all the boxes, that can take up some space, Utorrent can also dump a few files in different locations as well, ive had to go manually looking for folders its created, only to find stuff i thought id deleted.

1. Download http://windirstat.info/

2. Make sure to go options->show unknown

3. unknown is your system restore/shadow copy info.

4. Track down the big storage users and manage them.