I use the free Everything program. It lists every file on your PC. Set the list so that you see the largest files at the top. Have a look through the big ones.
I have previously deleted the Windows.old file and the Hibernation file. You can delete files from within Everything. I've also found large files in the Documents folder.

 

you don't have to use 3rd party tools, windows has on board stuff for that, these 3 commands do the same:

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded
//edit// my bad, windows clean manager seems to come with windows...
Ok.. I checked it a little, I'm pretty sure it can't get rid of old updates and service packs.
The commands above deal with that.

 

Thanks for all the feedback!

According to WinDirStat, the big culprit is ProgramData @107gb. But in Explorer>ProgramData>Properties it says only 7.56gb.
Within ProgramData, Microsoft folder uses 85gb. Microsoft>Windows>CapabilityAccessManager>CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal uses 83gb.

In Windows Explorer, the CapabilityAccessManager folder has 0 bytes. Go figure.

 

Okay. I think we have a big SOLVED here.

The CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal can be deleted. First the service needs to be stopped. Best practice is to delete the file in Safe Mode using cmd. I was unable to do that, so I deleted it within WinDirStat. I freed up 83gb. The file is still in recycling Bin, in case I run into problems. So far so good!

 

ill recommend u install Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC. super low ram and cpu consume, and space :P from there, check all ur stuff.

 

Funny! Then I just happened to do the right thing a few days ago: to archive the R2R era before the SYSTEM
for posterity in a book (no joke):
THE R2R NFO-BOOK:

Spoiler: The R2R NFO-Book pt.1 (pdf)

 

often overlooked by people is emails. if you never delete...

 

Spoiler: CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal occupies the entire memory space - September 3, 2024

CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal occupies the entire memory space - September 3, 2024
I recently encountered a problem with a client whose Windows 11 PC was starting up slowly and several programs were complaining about insufficient disk space. And indeed, it turned out that there was no more space available on the SSD. The culprit was quickly identified as the file "CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal", located in the directory

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\CapabilityAccessManager

The file was located in the directory and, in this case, had a size of 1.6 TB. There isn't much information about this problem online; most suggestions are to disable the "Capability Access Manager" service, then change the user permissions on the folder and delete the file. While this works temporarily, it can have serious side effects and doesn't actually solve the problem.

The "Capability Access Manager" service, which in Windows 11 is listed under "Services" as "Managerdienst für den Funktion-Zugriff" (Capability Access Manager Service), manages camera and microphone access for UWP apps and other programs, if I understand correctly. If it's disabled, neither cameras nor microphones will work in Windows 11. The "CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal" file is a log file that continuously records all access to the microphone or camera.

The solution
The information about what a ".db-wal" file is and an entry in the Windows 11 settings ultimately led us to the solution. Under "Privacy and Security > Microphone," there's an item at the very bottom called "Recent activity." This displays all microphone accesses in the past few days. And there, the culprit was listed: a program that had requested more than 10,000 microphone accesses in the last seven days. These numerous accesses caused the "CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal" file to grow steadily over the course of a month until it eventually ran out of storage space. Since the program was updated, the file is now only a few kilobytes in size and is regularly cleared after the computer restarts.

The program in question was Auto Shutdown Manager , a tool that can automatically shut down computers in various ways. For example, it takes into account whether certain programs are still open. One option is to use the noise level picked up by a microphone to determine if anyone is still in the room. If not, it can shut down one or more computers to save power. Either this option was faulty in an older version, or (what I suspect) Microsoft changed something in one of the recent Windows 11 updates that causes apps to permanently log microphone access. In any case, the program has been fixed, and the problem is resolved. Perhaps this short guide will be helpful to others with a similar issue.

https://office--tipps-net.translate...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

 

I don't know if anyone is still following this thread ... UPDATE:

I'm back to only 7gb of free space. The CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal is still empty, so I don't know where the hidden data is now. I did add a few new programs but nothing more than 10gb, total. Windirstat doesn't seem to be showing me any obvious culprits.

I'm thinking of replacing my 225gb SSD. My PC only has one nvme slot, so I'll have to get a USB to nvme "enclosure" to clone the original drive. Pricing on 1tb ssd range from $170 to $400. I'll be going with the $170.

 

If CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal is in recycle bin, then it's still in C. You didn't free up space. If you empty the recycle bin, then you'll see that empty space in C will be increased but of course you will lose "forever" the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal.

 

https://windirstat.net/ is your friend, it maps your entire storage and displays every file by size in an awesome graph, also it's free!

 

I recommend you a symbolic link on a second SSD use folder move https://foldermove.com/

 

Agree about TreeSize. It's extremely fast and you can quickly find a bunch of files and folders that look suspiciously large (like crashdump folders and stuff). Just make sure that it's files and folders that you can delete without problems before you do anything.

 

I mean if you really want...

For hidden files:

for /f "delims=|" %x in ('dir /a:h /b') do @attrib -h "%x"
For system hidden files:

for /f "delims=|" %x in ('dir /a:sh /b') do @attrib -s -h "%x"

 

It was WinDirStat that originally showed me the 83gb CapabilityAccessManager file. It was deleted and removed from Recyle Bin a month ago. Over the course of this month, the 83 gigs began to dwindle to the point where I now have 7gb of free space. Windows created a new CapabilityAccessManager file but WinDirStat shows it having zero bytes. All of the folders I listed at the start of this thread are pretty much unchanged in size. CAM was the glaring issue the first time around. Now I can’t see where all of the space has gone.

 

Hello @DimChandeliers, Windows collects a lot of data after every internet visit, for system restores and temporary data.
Please delete this data from time to time using the following instructions on your PC:

Windows 11: How to start disk cleanup

Perform disk cleanup in Windows 11
Disk cleanup can be useful if there is a lot of old or corrupted data on your computer. This cleanup process ensures that this data, as well as incorrectly formatted, duplicate, and unimportant information, is updated or deleted. Here's how to do it in Windows 11:

1. Click on your computer's Start menu. This is usually displayed in the lower taskbar as an icon with four squares.
2. Then enter "Disk Cleanup" in the search field. The closest match will then be "Disk Cleanup System".
3. Open this "app" by clicking "Run as administrator". Then select the drive (C and you will be taken directly to the system data cleanup.
4. This also allows you to update, revert to old Defender versions, and the previous version.Windows version Delete (windows.old) if you wish.

Source: www.chip.de/ratgeber/software/windows-11-datentraegerbereinigung-starten-so-geht-s_6d56144e-3f57-4f24-a47c-c7f9fee40d93.html

How to Run Disk Cleanup in Windows 10

Spoiler: Using BleachBit with Windows 11:

Using BleachBit with Windows 11:
BleachBit --> https://www.bleachbit.org - Free

Advantages: It can deeply clean your system, delete unnecessary files from browsers, apps, and system caches more thoroughly than the default Disk Cleanup.

Caution: Because BleachBit can delete a lot of data, including some that might be important for troubleshooting or recovery, it's important to use it carefully. Always review what it plans to delete.

How to use BleachBit:
1. Download from the official website (make sure to get it from a trusted source).

2. Install and run BleachBit.

3. Select the types of files you want to delete (browser caches, system logs, temporary files, etc.).

4. Preview the files to see what will be removed.

5. Click Clean to delete the selected files.

 

Since you know when you last cleaned, you should be able to find out where your space went by checking a listing of your files & folders on the drive and sorting by date modified, limiting to items of >1MiB, and ignoring everything older than your last cleaning date.

"size:>1m dm:>260401" with voidtools' Everything, for example.

 

This is exactly why we have symlinks. Move the big static data (samples, app content, etc) off the system drive to a storage area (a different physical volume). Some apps will have built-in pointers to allow this. We use symlinks for those apps that do not have support for remote content built in.

Although a 256GB system drive for a production platform is a bit lean in the first place. Would recommend at least a 512GB or 1 TB for a system drive that would be future proof.

P.S.-
Word to the wise... I would be very careful when using "automatic" tools for "system clean up". They are too vague about what they are doing and by the time they do something stupid, like deleting shit you don't want deleted, it's too late. Use a tool to show you the areas that need cleaning, but do the cleaning yourself.

 

Last edited: May 1, 2026 at 7:02 PM

and you wonder why it is full?