Windows Forum·65,807 discussions

Empty partition shows 277MB used

Bob, you may recall that after I couldn’t get into Windows and ultimately was able to do a restore, Windows thought that my C: (boot) drive was still 200GB, even though as part of the process of getting back into Windows, I’d wiped the drive and created a new C: partition of 300GB. At that time, I left the rest of the drive unallocated.
A few days ago, I finally changed that to drive D, but haven’t used it yet. Despite the fact that the drive only contains $RECYCLE.BIN (129 bytes) and System Volume Information (0 bytes), File Explorer showed that 228MB were being used. I low-level formatted it, and now it shows 277MB are being used. At one point (before the format), it showed 100GB as being in use!
My File Explorer view options are to show hidden and system items.
It’s a primary partition, but not active.
AVG doesn’t find any malware.
I don’t know what else to try.

Topic

Re: File Explorer

In reply to Empty partition shows 277MB used

File Explorer shows files and folders. I’ve never seen some total in File Explorer.

Now please tell what chkdsk says about the sectors used for different purposes.

Event viewer log for chkdsk

In reply to Re: File Explorer

Chkdsk was executed in scan mode on a volume snapshot.

Checking file system on D:

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure …
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
Continued in next reply.

If chkdsk can’t repair the volume

In reply to Event viewer log for chkdsk

I delete that partition and start over. If the drive can’t be prepared and formatted then I suspect hardware.

I will in some cases boot up a Linux off USB (no install) to see if I can use GPARTED to clean up the drive, make a partition and format it there. There are tutorials on the web about that.

Replies to both of you

In reply to If chkdsk can’t repair the volume

Kees_B, the system here won’t let me reply to your post again.
Bob, first, regarding your first reply, I’d take your word for it that it’s normal, but how do you explain that at one point, it was showing 100GB being used?
As to your reply above, despite all those error messages, chkdsk bafflingly ends with the statement that no problems were found. So, as far as chkdsk is concerned, it has nothing to repair. Is there any reason I can’t use my GPARTED DVD, as opposed to USB?

277MB is fine by me.

In reply to Replies to both of you

100GB would be some error. The reason for that has no real clue here except the CHKDSK output. If I saw that I’d wipe the drive, start over. At first I would go Windows native with the usual disk management to remove the partition, create a new partition and let it format then check it out.

If that failed I’d boot my Linux tools. It doesn’t matter if they are on USB or DVD.

There are rare situations in very OLD PCs that you see this issue or even a BAD SATA CABLE but here I only know what is revealed.

-> For example a too long discussion ended abruptly once the member revealed the drive had been dropped.

You mean you’re supposed to inform that it’s been dropped?!

In reply to 277MB is fine by me.

Windows Disk Management. I’m back to 228MB.
I’ll try GPARTED, but that has to wait until the next time I reboot. You may recall that I do that as infrequently as possible. I’ll post back when I do reboot.

Part 2

In reply to Event viewer log for chkdsk

The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.
The USA check value, 0x0, at block 0x1 is incorrect.
The expected value is 0x1.

Looks normal to me.

In reply to Empty partition shows 277MB used

Even a formatted drive will not give you 100% of the total bytes the drive has because there is overhead to what we call a “file system.”

There are rather deep discussions on file systems but as this looks normal I’ll stop here.

Still left with a question

In reply to Looks normal to me.

I used GPARTED to delete the partition and as soon as it was recreated, 113.29MB were shown as being used. Although that seems like a high number to me for file system usage, I really have no choice but to accept it. What puzzles me is why Windows File Explorer shows a different number. After using GPARTED, I rebooted into Win8.1 and immediately checked Properties with File Explorer. It showed 228MB as being in use.

Looks normal to me too

In reply to Looks normal to me.

Looks normal to me too

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Replies