Missing free space on my T400 C Drive

[fmpelleg]

In a Windows 7 environment, I have a 230 GB internal HD configured by Lenovo to have a "C" partition of 221 GB and a "Lenovo Recovery" partition of 9 GB.  When I run any number of Disk Storage utilities, I can accomodate for about 130 GB of used space on the C partition yet the OS tells me there is only 7.88 GB free.  I have looked for hidden files, OS and Lenovo backup files, but have found nothing that could account for the nearly 100 GB of unaccounted space.

What am I missing?  Has anyone ever encountered this issue?  Before I purchase another internal HD and get rid of the one I have, I'd like to know if there is any way of recovering this missing space.  Please let me know what else I should look for that may be using this storage.

Frank

[ColonelONeill]

It's very likely the C:\RRbackups folder where Rescue and Recovery backups are stored. By default, you will notice that it takes up 0 bytes of space, but that is due to the security restrictions placed on that folder.

[nevermore]

Check the disk space usage in System Protection.. some of the 'missing' space may be used by shadow copies.. also don't forget cleaning your drive on a regular basis (use CCleaner) to get rid of unnecessary files.

[fmpelleg]

If there are security restrictions on this folder, how do I modify these so I can see and manipulate what may be in there?

NOTE: When I run the Lenovo Storage utility to scan disk utilization, 7599 files using 78 GB of storage are listed as "unscanned". I have no way of finding these and determining what they are doing out there.
Thanks

[fmpelleg]

Hi ... I've been through these steps ... no luck.

NOTE that when I use the Lenovo storage utility to scan the disk, it lists 7599 files using 78 GB of storage as unscanned.  How do I find these?  This is clearly what is stealing the extra space on the HD.

[ColonelONeill]

Show hidden and system files, go to the root of C:, Take Ownership of the RRbackups folder.

Take Ownership can be found here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/add-take-ownership-to-explorer-right-click-menu-in-vist...

[fmpelleg]

Thank you very much for this tip ... I used the utility that you pointed me to and did find the 75 GB hidden in the rrbackups folder.  Now, my question is :

What controls RRBACKUPS and how do I remove files here safely that I really don't need?

Regards,

Frank P.

[ColonelONeill]

RRBackups is maintained by the ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery software. I suppose you can get it to compact your backups or delete some older backups, or move them off to an external USB driver for future reference.