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XPS 8700 Drive (I:) low disk space, after Windows Update
I have a 8700 with a 2 TB HDD and a SSD running windows 10 and this week I started receiving a low disk space error. When I inspected my drives under my computer my OS indicate I have 1.8 TB of free space and there is a second drive listed as Local Disk(I:) which is almost full show a size of only 450 MB or so (not exact). When I click on this drive it appears empty even when I have selected hidden folders to show and when I check my storage in windows 10 it indicates all new data is being written to my C: drive. I also reviewed the storage/ disk management in the my computer sub menus but I don't even show that "I:" drive listed as a partition.
Can anyone tell me what this "I:" drive is used for and why I cant I clear up whatever if filling it or see any folders or data in it? The low disk space warning its creating is not affecting my system performance that I can yet tell but I like to address it before it becomes an issue.
Saltgrass
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May 18th, 2018 08:00
The new Win 10 build upgrade around the first part of May has caused this problem on many systems. The drive letter should not be on a small recovery partition and should be removed. There are several threads on the Microsoft Community forum.
So, if you can confirm it is on a small partition you can use Diskpart to remove it. After you remove the letter you might shut the system all the way down to try to keep it from coming back.
Open an administrative command prompt and type Diskpart. When you list the volumes, pick the volume number which goes with the errant drive letter and check the size of the volume to confirm. Then you select that volume number and remove the errant letter.
Then, in order,
lis vol
sel vol X replace X with the correct volume number
remove letter=D or whatever letter you show
While you have the volume selected, you may want to also check the attributes to see if they have been changed. Use the command below and see if yours shows 0x8000000000000001. This is for a UEFI install, the numbers for a Legacy install will be totally different. You may want to check back before you do anything with this.
det par
Close the command window when finished.
---------------------------------------------------------------
C:\Windows\system32>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.17134.1
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer:
DISKPART> lis vol
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 D GamerData NTFS Partition 238 GB Healthy
Volume 2 Recovery NTFS Partition 499 MB Healthy
Volume 3 C Win 10 Pro NTFS Partition 476 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 4 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy System
DISKPART> sel vol 2
Volume 2 is the selected volume.
DISKPART> remove letter=J << Since I don't have the extra letter I just added this line..
DISKPART> det par
Partition 1
Type : de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
Hidden : No
Required: Yes
Attrib : 0X8000000000000001
Offset in Bytes: 1048576
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
* Volume 2 Recovery NTFS Partition 499 MB Healthy
willys wanderers
2 Posts
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May 21st, 2018 07:00
Very helpful Saltgrass, issue now fixed on my system following those steps.
Many thanks
johntomecek
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May 24th, 2018 18:00
My Disk is the M disk with the same problem on two systems. So if I follow the instructions, what in the upgrade caused the problem and will the next upgrade cause the problem again. It sounds like the upgrade needs to be fixed before anyone does the diskpart.
Saltgrass
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May 25th, 2018 06:00
It isn't the upgrade itself, but the process used to prepare for the update. For years, folks were getting an addition drive letter placed on the EFI System partition and it was normally Z. It seems the same type situation is happening when the install makes a new Recovery partition to replace the original, probably because more room is needed in the partition.
I have two systems where the recovery tools were moved into the larger OEM recovery image partition, which surprised me.
Super Pop
1 Message
1
July 8th, 2018 18:00
I had this issue as well, I found that if you have the Dell backup and Recovery program installed, it will eventually use up all of your disk space, you won't be able to access, use or view the data on the volume. Uninstall the Dell Backup and Recovery program and it will also remove all of the data. Reboot and will have your space back again!! I spent a lot of time and money before I found this out. I hope this helps someone.
brannams
2 Posts
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July 9th, 2018 06:00
Thanks for the tip. To try it, I uninstalled the Dell Backup and Recovery, and rebooted.
The I: partition was still there, still giving me Low Disk Space messages.
I am now backing up all of my data (just in case), and plan to reinstall the latest Backup/Recovery program. And maybe go round the uninstall loop one more time.
Is it the case that if I actually do not reinstall the Dell Recovery program at all (and maybe choose an alternative), the I: partition will not become a time-bomb that threatens to stop my computer?
Is anyone else in the same position as me now, still stuck with I:?
Tarnm
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July 17th, 2018 04:00
Hi @brannams, did you see this post below? I had the same error and followed the last post where you use diskpart to remove the drive letter from the disk with low space alerts in your case it will be the letter I: (not your c: drive!). This fixed my issue and I believe it's a Windows update related issue making the system drive visible. The system disk shouldn't be visible by default and I believe it is for recovery and shouldn't be accessible from Windows explorer. The remaining space alerts stop once the letter is removed and will no longer be visible in Windows explorer.
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Error-message-quot-Running-out-of-disk-space-on-E-drive-quot/td-p/6079230/page/2